This morning I Head East to Chicago for a handful of days. If you’ve wondered what a pilot sees when landing at O’Hare, here’s a mesmerizing video. (What is the tallest building in Chicago? The library, because it has so many stories.) From coast to coast lenders and vendors are eyeing the MBA’s volume predictions for 2023 and stay ahead by reducing overhead. In the furor over cutting costs, a cottage industry has sprung up helping lenders review their vendor arrangements. Given that product, price, and service are what vendors sell, products and service are usually, if not more, important than price, but companies like MTG Services review pricing schemes. (No, this isn’t a paid advertisement; contact James Zeldin with questions.) Today’s podcast, posted after 5:30AM PT, is sponsored by Appraisal Logistics, a full-service AMC licensed in all 50 states. AIM-Port’s robust integrations, custom automations, and granular reporting tools are d
Anyone who has ever gone swimming in the ocean knows that, in a violent surf, the swimmer can’t spend time and energy in the waves near the shore being knocked about. They either swim out beyond them, or swim into the beach. Using that analogy, think about lenders and vendors in the current environment. Having “no plan” is not a plan. Best to go one way or the other, because staying in the surf can be exhausting. (It will be a topic of today’s chat between the MBA’s fabled chief economist Mike Fratantoni and me at 11AM PT.) Meanwhile, capital markets departments are grappling with renegotiations, although I am hearing from lenders that with pipelines primarily consist of non-rate sensitive new home purchases and cash-out refis. It would be fair to expect new, lower mortgage rates to actually stimulate some new demand by consumers. And consumers certainly have options, including sponsored stories about the best cash-out refinance and home equity loan p
Here in Southern California for the California MBA’s Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference, the topics include RESPA, marketing services agreements and Section 8(a), and compliant low income and affordable housing lending. Speaking of which, Here’s a lousy headline to wake up to: “KeyBank Promised to Increase Low-Income Lending, Then Did the Opposite.” In other news lenders are watching, I don’t care if you don’t believe in climate change. And you don’t care whether or not I do. The point is, insurance companies, pension funds, private MI companies, and investors in mortgage-backed securities do, and the pricing and availability of mortgages, and insurance, in those areas is changing as well. Yet people are flocking to areas plagued by fire, hurricanes, and bed lice. (I threw that last one in to see if you were reading.) (Today’s podcast has an interview with Evergreen’s Robert Lipston on why now is the time for
The Buffalo Springfield sang, “There's something happening here… But what it is ain't exactly clear.” Those were historical times, and a reminder that things are always changing… In Whole Foods the other day I overheard a little girl speaking to another little girl (both in yoga pants) saying, “I’m vegan; I don’t eat candy from animal pinatas.” What the heck, that’s the focus now? For something a little more common sense, and relevant, the current blog on the STRATMOR website is, “The Secondary Market’s Focus.” Certainly the goals of the Federal Reserve will be a topic this Thursday at 2PM ET when the MBA’s fabled chief economist Mike Fratantoni and I whilst we talk shop for 2023 with Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach. Few stones left unturned! (Today’s podcast is sponsored by Appraisal Logistics, a full-service AMC licensed in all 50 states. AIM-Port’s robust integ
My cat Myrtle has toys and games, namely the end of a shoelace, a ping pong ball, and an occasional bout with the light from a laser pointer. Humans have toys too, and here are the top ones from the year you were born. (More fun to look at the years when you’re 5 or 8.) Some of those are big bucks now, speaking of which, everyone out there is trying to save money. Here’s one way: for loan officers requiring continuing education, you only have a couple weeks to complete your 2022 CE classes. If your company is a Lenders One Member, your classes are free! (No, this isn’t a paid ad; contact Tricia Migliazzo for information.) And this may be on the test: The six criteria that make up the completed mortgage loan application are: A – Address of the subject property, L – Loan amount requested, I – Income of applicant, E – Estimated value of mortgage loan application, N – Names of borrowers, S – Social Security Number. There is you