“Once you lick the frosting off of a cupcake, it becomes a muffin. And muffins are healthy. You’re welcome.” Adding another expense to a transaction is certainly not welcome, yet that’s exactly what was voted into effect by residents of Los Angeles County in November. When you sell a house, paying a 5-6 percent commission to the real estate agent is typical. In LA there’s another 5 percent tax on top of that for high-priced houses to help fund affordable housing. Apparently home sellers in Los Angeles are slashing prices and sweetening deals before a new “mansion tax” goes into effect on April 1. The effect on supply and demand and pricing will be interesting, especially how it impacts the volume of sales. Along those lines, don’t pad your volume numbers, especially if you’re about to go public, otherwise the Department of Justice may come knocking like it did with Sterling Bancorp. (And don’t discriminate. In this e
Where should we start the week? How about how predictions and forecasts are nearly worthless when they’re out of date one week later? How about with an old-fashioned run on a bank, eliminating any talk of another Fed rate increase. People wonder, “Where do I bank? Is it big enough? Is there enough regulation?” Lenders are making sure that their warehouse funding is not only from one bank, since nothing will shut down a faster than lack of liquidity and inability to fund loans. With the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank (below, see government announcement from yesterday), here’s a great graphic of how we ended up with just four megabanks in the USA. And how did regulators not see a huge bank failure coming? Regulation is in the news, not only in banking but also in loan officer compensation. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is requesting the public’s input on the economic impact of the mortgage loan originator rules on small mort
Here in Las Vegas (Why did the Dalai Lama go to Las Vegas? Because he loves Tibet) the population is about 650,000 with all manners of housing, subdivisions, and lifestyles. But around the nation and world, there are numerous ways and places to live. Here’s a story about a former NFL star who says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium. What do Stowe, Vermont, Whitefish, Montana, and Lake Placid, New York have in common? The three U.S. towns made Travel & Leisure’s 25 Most Beautiful Small Towns. If you only want a house for part of the year, with elevated mortgage rates and home prices having risen considerably, the solution might be buying 1/6 of a house. Or sharing equity, which is what some of your borrowers and homeowner clients consider. “An Unlock HEA gives you cash in exchange for a portion of your home’s future value.” Or one can live underwater. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s i
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, traditionally associated with love. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, an Ohio animal shelter is offering to write your ex’s name in a litterbox, and let its adoptable cats “go to town.” Someone there knows good PR. Did you know that some countries never know who won the Super Bowl? As the pre-printed “Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl 2023 Champs” t-shirts are shipped off to places like Guatemala or El Salvador, in this country bond market traders and investors are focused on inflation. The Consumer Price Index report for January is tomorrow and forecast to show a 0.5 percent month-over-month rise with energy prices higher again. The headline year-over-year inflation reading is expected to drop to +6.2 percent from +6.5 percent in December. We probably won’t see inflation back in the 2 percent range unless the labor market softens considerably, and that is not evident. Too much inflation will k
Want to really let someone know that you’re no longer interested in them? For $10 the San Antonio Zoo is offering a special Valentine’s Day greeting for exes who keep bugging you after you part ways: naming a cockroach after your not-so-special someone and feeding it to an animal. What about when a lender parts ways with a loan officer? Obviously a new company may not have the same product set, and good luck to LOs who rely on one product and then are cut loose, especially if it is a purchase-centric product. For example, I bet all of those Flagstar originators will miss that portfolio product: A well-priced ARM that allowed clients to buy before selling. (Flagstar offers a wholesale and correspondent channel, by the way.) (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Milestones. Giving homeowners an all-inclusive homeownership experience including home value and equity monitoring, home maintenance reminders and how-to articles, cloud-ba