Imagine my surprise at finding tag (like on the playground) is an organized sport. Imagine my surprise at finding two gas stations at the same intersection yesterday in Truckee, California with two different prices for unleaded! Rather than wait for the CFPB to tell me that I could save money by going to the cheapest station, as it did by paying for a study on how different lenders have different mortgage prices, I actually reasoned, all by myself, that I could, and did, buy the least expensive gasoline. Switching gears, but continuing on with the thinking vein, a lot of reasoning went into determining that a) the earth is round, and b) globes are not some newly invented conspiracy theory. Someone needs to let Georgia’s current GOP district chair Kandiss Taylor know globes are globes. What the heck am I missing by subscribing to the round earth concept? And how about this for sensationalist headlines from Auction.com: One-Third of Buyers Expect Home Prices to Decline. Really? &#
While lenders are grappling with steadily increasing Agency repurchase requests, it’s National Donut Day! Someone had better offer those folks at State Farm Insurance a donut… maybe they’ll change their mind about cutting off insuring properties in California. Three thousand miles away, I wonder if Florida home owners should be happy of even having insurance despite it being four times cost of the national average. And good luck insuring anything built near the coast prior to 1992’s Hurricane Andrew. While we’re on the topic of Mother Nature and economics, it’s fine for the Biden Administration, or any politician, to call for more affordable housing, but what about where’s there’s no land or a community limiting development due to running out of water like in Phoenix!? (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Lenders One, one of the largest mortgage co-ops in the country with a diverse mix o
Putting out this daily commentary is like being in the army: I usually do more by 6AM than many people do during much of the day. The commentary is a little early this morning since I received an email on Thanksgiving from IsabelleDuvall@opale-voyages.fr that my U.S. Government social security account password had expired and for me to send her my social security number and a new password. I wanted to take care of sending Isabelle the information first thing this morning, and am sure that everything will be just fine. It’s not fine in the credit world any more than the tale above is. The industry was given an early Christmas “present” by Fair Isaac and the three credit bureaus, although this is not “official”: the vast majority of the mortgage lending industry will most likely incur a massive mortgage credit report price increase for 2023. With per-loan costs over $11,000 already, this sure won’t help. For better news, today’s podcast is
Sometimes it’s tough to find good news out there. For independent mortgage bank (IMB) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered bank lenders, the MBA reports that production costs exceeded $11,000 per loan in the 3rd quarter leading to a net loss of $624 on each loan they originated. (More below.) And the cost of determining a borrower’s credit will be heading significantly higher, according to word on the street. The increases are not coming from credit resellers, such as credit reporting agencies, but rumored instead to be coming from the bureaus and Fair Isaac, customers are encouraged to speak with their credit source for the exact details on tiers, actual percentage increases, and timing to put speculation to rest. Want some good news? We’re a month away from the day with the least amount of sunlight (solstice). Want a free Denny’s breakfast for a year just by wearing this $5.99 T-shirt? In a fantastic marketing feat, there are only 150 of them and they go
Do whatever you want to your clock, it doesn’t change the feeding time of your pets! Friday’s a holiday… Want to help out your vet (veteran, not veterinary) clients? There are plenty of good things that businesses and services are offering to veterans… My USN (1942-1962) Dad would have loved them. Check them out. Does your client have an existing VA insurance policy? You can add value by pointing out that with VA's online Instant Loan Approval service, Veterans with certain insurance plans may borrow up to the value of their policy. In our general industry, there’s a lot going on out there. STRATMOR’s current blog is, “Supply and Demand are Still Driving Mortgage Pricing.” Mr. Cooper’s laying off 800 employees. (As always, displaced employees can post their resumes here for free and employers can view for several months for the low fee of $75.) UWM and Rocket released earnings with much fanfare. This week lenders an