Best Efforts Commitments News Today

Attendees of next week’s MBA Secondary conference can look forward to… A giant hot dog in Times Square that spits out confetti at high noon. (Keep your risqué comments to yourself please.) They can obviously look forward to much more at the actual conference, including information about the economy, regulators, and seeing what the Agencies and aggregators are up to in terms of products. Every client is important, and originators want a full product suite from their compani...

“I accidentally rubbed ketchup in my eyes. Now I have Heinzsight.” In terms of foresight, looking ahead, there are some interesting things going on out there in Mortgage Land! How ‘bout the CapitalW Collective non-profit for women in mortgage capital markets? And Beeline's Miguel Vega has been in the press lately with, "The Dream of Owning a Piece of America is a Dominant Theme in the Latino Community” and the company launching a Spanish-language vers...

When I was a kid, whenever I would walk by a pay phone or newspaper vending machine, I’d check the coin change slot. Or periodically check under my Dad’s La-Z-Boy… every penny or dollar counted! (Nowadays, I still get excited when I find a forgotten quarter in my own pants or backpack.) Plenty of folks at last week’s Great River Conference were trying to do the modern equivalent of that by learning about the current vendor offerings of technology, or meeting with thei...

At the TMBA’s Secondary Conference in Houston a topic is obviously interest rates and the economy… And the fact that the nation’s interest payment expense now exceeds our defense expense! It’s also a fact that Texas’ business climate is very friendly for companies. The #1 state in the nation for residential lending, California, not so much. Overheard here in the hallway: “California is a blue state wrapped up in red tape.” That said, permit proces...

Did someone say, “National Margarita Day”? (Splendid timing, especially as vendors and lenders contemplate a rate and volume environment that may not change much for months, and compensation & personnel adjustments continue.) In 2023, the United States was the leading recipient of Mexico’s tequila exports, importing 84.8 million gallons of tequila from South of the Border. This has nothing to do with residential lending, other than plenty of folks in our biz enjo...

Who doesn’t think swearing parrots are funny? Although you wouldn’t want your parrot talking about the clap when Aunt Beatrice comes over for Sunday dinner. I’m sure that every LO has heard their share of salty words, and they deal with much more for their clients than just a loan. Working with their client’s debts, assets, rental insurance until they buy a home, even servicing after the loan funds, you name it. Everyone across the nation is feeling the brunt of seemi...

Change is constant: How ‘bout U.S. Steel, the Pittsburgh steel producer that played a key role in the nation’s industrialization, being acquired by Nippon Steel in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $14.1 billion? (Let’s not forget that GM and Ford have been dwarfed by Tesla, Mercedes, Toyota, and even Volvo.) I had my share of “hard hat” jobs growing up, so I noticed OSHA announcing a switch from traditional hard hats to safety helmets. Is that the polit...

There is always non-mortgage financial news. Mark Cuban is both selling his share in the Dallas Mavericks and leaving Shark Tank. Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman Charlie Munger has died. When I want something bougie to give as a Christmas present, I go to… Alabama? U.S. airlines lose 2 million suitcases a year, and they all go here along with the contents up for sale. Will Rogers came up with, “Things will get better… Despite our efforts to improve them.” Th...

Besides Janet Yellen’s In-N-Out foray, it is a rough environment out there: Hope you don’t want a Wells Fargo HELOC. Or just ask Citizens who is exiting the wholesale channel; More below on that. Many lenders are reporting unit volumes dropping by 50-70 percent, in part due to higher rates caused by inflation expectations. Buying stuff in the holidays will be more expensive this year, and here’s a personal tale of inflation. I happened to be near a See’s Candy store r...

“Hey, just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.” Lenders, who paid out bucks, believe that they are right and within their rights in “clawing back” bonuses paid to employees, namely producers, when production didn’t pan out. (Let me know if you need it sent to you.) Is the bond market “right” pegging Treasury and mortgage-backed security prices and therefore mortgage rates? The traditional “flight to quali...