I was very excited last Saturday when I rode my bike by a garage sale and saw, “The Holy Bible” for sale, with a “signed edition” sticker on it. Of course I bought it. How cool is that? Trains are pretty cool too. “A railroad conductor needs to make sure he doesn’t go down the wrong track and lose his train of thought.” This morning I head to Milwaukee by train. While in Chicago I spent some time hearing how LOs must get back to the basics, including clear routines and discipline. They must provide education and guidance since LOs are in the “people business.” Technology is a great tool, but not the end-all in the loan process: AI may not take your job but somebody who can use AI might. Lenders, and real estate agents, are asking, “How are companies training a new generation of LOs and other residential mortgage workers?” (Today’s podcast can be found here, sponsored by Visio Lending and its top notch b
Today is 092023 and I head to Savannah, GA for the SECUREN (credit union) conference. Did you know that the last day of 2023 is 123123? In other “fun with numbers,” as a stockholder in a lender, how’d you like $5 million because your company couldn’t keep its costs down? The median sale price per square foot in Savannah is $197, up 13 percent since last year, if you believe Redfin. Want to build wealth? The median sale price per square foot for new single-family homes in the U.S. has increased a whopping 368 percent since 1980. Additionally, the median square footage for homes in the U.S. has increased 52 percent since 1980, while the median sale price has increased 609 percent. Compared to 2008, the peak financial crisis, home buyers today face an 85% higher median sale price per square foot of homes. California is the most expensive state when looking at price per square foot. Highest and lowest cities? San Jose at $845 per square foot, Cleveland at $133 p
As the Western Secondary winds up, and weary capital markets staff & vendors head home from Orange County, perhaps humming “California Gurls,” working conditions and changes in the work environment are still a topic. For example, Goldman Sachs is making a concerted effort for its workforce to return to the office five days a week. I’ve concluded that I need a non-technical, high-paying, remote job that can be done with minimal effort. It turns out that there’s a term for it: “Lazy-girl job.” AEs and vendor sales staff have gradually returned to calling on offices and occasionally bringing those pink boxes filled with treats. While we wrap up with this state, pink boxes started appearing in Southern California courtesy of Cambodian refugee (and successful So-Cal donut shop owner) Ted Ngoy. Many other Cambodian and South Asian immigrants became donut shop owners after coming to the United States in the mid-1970s to escape the Khmer Ro