Today I head to Northern California, home of plenty of technology. The other day I went to the doctor and the receptionist handed me a tablet and said, “Please fill out these medical forms on the screen, which are identical to the ones you filled out earlier online, and have the exact same questions your doctor will ask you later in the exam room.” Great. There’s nothing like old-fashioned printed things. I am sure that menu Quick Response (QR) codes are fine, but plenty of other QR codes are not: beware! “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned the public against scanning any old QR code in a consumer alerts blog last week. Naturally, the warning comes down to security and privacy: bad actors can put QR codes in inconspicuous places or send them via text or email, then just sit back and wait for a payday in the form of money, logins, or other sensitive information. Lord knows that the mortgage industry has enough challenges from lousy characters without m
When I grow up, I want to own a place at the beach. It turns out that if I’m not too picky, and don’t mind being within a mile of the surf, I might be able to swing it. Here are the “Cheapest Places to Own a Place at the Beach in the U.S.” People living there had better pay their property taxes, but it’s no surprise that more than $14 billion in property taxes go unpaid each year, according to the National Tax Lien Association (who knew there was such a thing?!). Each year, the average American household spends, if they pay it, $2,690 on real-estate property taxes plus another $444 for residents of the 26 states with vehicle property taxes. WalletHub's 2023’s Property Taxes by State report reveals that Hawaii has the lowest real-estate tax, $700, while New Jersey is highest at $6,057. Twenty-six states levy some form of vehicle property tax. “Blue” states have 30 percent higher real-estate property taxes than “Red&#
If I had a dollar for every time someone called me a boring nerd, I'd have a mean daily income of $5.64 with a standard deviation of $1.25. Turning “boring” into “interesting” is something to be proud of. How about a hand-held miniature chainsaw or a shopping cart with a magnifying glass attached for reading labels? For loan originators, new and old, who think creativity has vanished from residential lending, maybe they should focus on the basics. This eBook has been recommended to me: “The Ultimate Borrower Communications Strategy for Mortgage Lenders.” I recently received this note from a successful loan officer. “Rob, my commissions in 2020 and 2021 were over $500k each year. In 2022 they dropped about 50 percent to about $250k. 2023 promises to be even lower, and I’ll be lucky to make $200k. Are you seeing this everywhere?” Yes, I am. But keep things in perspective. In the U.S., and certainly in the world, $200k
I just looked at the balance of my checking account: $LMAO.00. Here’s a tip of the day to keep your bank account from going to $0 with this non-mortgage information from the FBI: Don't use free public phone charging stations in airports, hotels, and shopping centers. And be careful any time you receive a phone call from a supposed law enforcement official. For some mortgage information, Curinos calculated that March 2023 funded mortgage volume decreased 53 percent YoY and increased 46 percent MoM. The average 30-year conforming retail funded rate in March was 6.36 percent, 19bps higher than February and 238bps higher than the same month last year. (Curinos sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures, and the data is examined further here.) Today’s podcast can be found here and is sponsored by SimpleNexus, an nCino company and award-winning developer of mobile-first technology for the modern mortgage lender.
John F. Kennedy has been gone nearly 60 years, and Jackie Kennedy (Onassis) nearly 30, but the couple still resonates with people. The first home that they owned as a married couple is for sale in Washington DC. If you’re ever in a guessing game about the most expensive places to live in the United States, stick with the safe bets: New York and anything California. Seems the press has latched on to declining home sales, but declining due to high prices, lack of inventory, or lack of buyer’s interest? Other stories indicated increasing home sales, but in certain price ranges, more builder inventory, or continued Millennial first-time home buyer interest? Take your pick. Meanwhile, lenders and originators have their continued regulatory speedbumps. Orrick reports that, “The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), on behalf of the NMLS Policy Committee, issued a request for public comments on proposed uniform state licensing standards for mortgage companies. The