When this commentary gig gets old, I think I’ll take up… throwing needles? But so far so good, putting this out six days a week. Yesterday I glanced at the calendar, and we’re 10 percent of the way through 2024 already! Still raining here in Northern California, and the flooding has caused a lot of concern in the mortgage industry, especially among companies servicing loans on any houses that are damaged, as well as owners of MBS with loans in them on any potentially damaged homes. At least the days are seeing more sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere. Daylight Savings kicks in on Sunday, March 10, just a little over a month away, and goes on until November. (Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and most of Arizona blow off this clock changing stuff.) Today’s Commentary podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Vesta, the new, modern Loan Origination System (LOS) which helps lenders reduce their co
I’m visiting with lenders in Tennessee much of this week, and a fair amount of the talk revolves around conversations with borrowers “unlocking the equity in their homes.” We’ve shifted quickly, which reminds me… What do Howard Johnson’s, Red Barn, Burger Chef, Beefsteak Charlie’s (I could go on… Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor, Sweet Tomatoes, Chock Full o’ Nuts, although that is trying to stage a comeback…) have in common? They were all wildly popular and profitable, but went out of business. Few companies last forever, and corporate history is littered with big names. In lending, some top lenders from previous years are long gone. In unrelated, but related, news, Better.com was in the news again yesterday for another massive, publicized round of layoffs. (I use the term “publicized” since there are many lenders doing the same thing that don’t make the national news.) The online mortgage st
I’m visiting with lenders in Tennessee much of this week, and a fair amount of the talk revolves around conversations with borrowers “unlocking the equity in their homes.” We’ve shifted quickly, which reminds me… What do Howard Johnson’s, Red Barn, Burger Chef, Beefsteak Charlie’s (I could go on… Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor, Sweet Tomatoes, Chock Full o’ Nuts, although that is trying to stage a comeback…) have in common? They were all wildly popular and profitable, but went out of business. Few companies last forever, and corporate history is littered with big names. In lending, some top lenders from previous years are long gone. In unrelated, but related, news, Better.com was in the news again yesterday for another massive, publicized round of layoffs. (I use the term “publicized” since there are many lenders doing the same thing that don’t make the national news.) The online mortgage st