“What do hospital gowns and insurance policies have in common? You’re never covered as much as you think you are.” Although loan officers are not insurance experts, they are seeing the escalating cost of homeowner’s insurance impact affordability. (Last Friday’s TMC show focused on why insurance costs are rising.) Insuring homes is not the only issue, however. The average bill for the repair of an American vehicle is $4,437, and for an electric vehicle that is up to $6,618, about 49 percent higher. Collision insurance claims have increased 64 percent between 2018 and 2022, fueled by increasingly sophisticated cars and more complicated things that need to get fixed when they get broken. No longer are we just hammering out dents, but rather we’re taking computers out of the car and fixing it. Insurance costs may be on the agenda (the why’s mortgage rates certainly will be) when the California Association of Mortgage Professionals (CAMP) pr
Is it just my imagination or do restaurants no longer have salt and pepper shakers on the tables after COVID? Is it just my imagination or do organizations with initials that begin with “N” have trouble keeping their leadership? In August of 2023 the chief of NAR resigned, last week it was the NRA, and this week it is NAR’s turn again, this time losing Tracy Kasper to blackmail! Meanwhile, keeping on with real estate news, and realizing that anyone can sue anyone, news came out after Christmas that Zillow, which also owns Zillow Home Loans, is suing rivals over software that schedules property showings.  Agency news Freddie Mac (FHLMC) and Fannie Mae (FNMA) still have the lion’s share of the applications coming through lenders. What’s going on with their conventional conforming products? Fannie Mae SVC-2023-06 December Servicing Guide update advises large non-depository sellers/servicers of updates to the frequency of financial
You should know that caffeine increases the power of aspirin and other painkillers, which is why it is found in some medicines. You should also know the “50-50-90 rule”, which definitely applies to me: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90 percent probability you'll get it wrong. Cute sayings aside, one thing you don’t want to be wrong on is Fair Lending, and every lender, and their employees, should know the rules and regulations surrounding it, and know that its enforcement is a priority of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and is often mentioned in its Supervisory Highlights. In today’s “Mortgage Matters” presented by Lenders One (at 2PM ET, 11AM PT) attorney Brian Levy addresses Fair Lending, as well as the NAR verdict and other “hot” legal and compliance topics. Today’s podcast can be found here, and this week is sponsored by nCino makers of the nCino Mortgage Sui