Unlike lenders who are dealing with 8 percent on rates sheets, sports fans and sports bars are reveling: NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, all at the same time… And Philadelphia is in the thick of it. A lot of halftimes. Is our industry “down 20-0 at halftime?” Here are the thoughts of Fairway CEO Steve Jacobson on not giving up, having shots taken at you, and using the tools lenders and LOs have to keep helping their clients, including technology. The word “technology” was mentioned about 4,698 times this week at the conference in Philly. If you’re wondering what a great use for AI is, it is summed up in this two-panel cartoon. Gallus Insights CEO Augie Del Rio summed it up nicely. “A machine will always beat a person. A person with a machine will always beat a machine.” But one of the messages this week was how lenders are shedding, yes shedding, expensive unused technology in an effort to cut costs. It is easier said than done, but IT staff
“What do you call a bovine with a stutter that makes chocolate milk? Cacao.” Speaking of sweets, hats off to Byte’s booth at the conference for dishing out some amazing s’mores brownies here in Philadelphia. (They will be my breakfast on my flight out this morning.) The brownies are sweeter than the upcoming credit report cost increases (there is definitely a shift to lenders having borrowers pay for credit reports up front, not eating the cost of reports run on loans that don’t fund), the search by IMBs for HELOCs and 2nds and jumbo outlets, the talk of distant future EPO (early pay off) penalties when rates decide to drift down, and continued over-capacity and cost cutting until then. That said, there is good news for existing homeowners trying to build net worth: house prices hit another peak in September per one measure. (Today’s podcast can be found, after 8 AM ET, 5 AM PT, here: Sponsored by nCino, maker of the nCino Mortgage Suite, built
Talk in the hallways here at the MBA Annual in Philly? How about the cost of insurance of all types. Case in point: “What Happens When the Flood Insurance Market Goes Underwater?” The NAR commission legal issues are a big, big deal, possibly impact real estate agents’ commission structure. The cost of credit will be going up, with the evening up of tiers: ask your CRA about it. Buybacks (repurchases) have been a problem for months. Several sales managers have told me that a new reason to touch base with previous clients, besides asking about outstanding 30 percent credit card debt, is LOs reminding previous borrowers about investing their money in a money market or Treasury Direct account and earning 5 percent. The CFPB’s attention, as well as that of other regulators, is on redlining, and we can expect to see fines and penalties due to that. (Today’s podcast can be found here: Sponsored by nCino, maker of the nCino Mortgage Suite, built for the moder