Express Approved News Today

Dang these five-day work weeks seem long! My cat Myrtle doesn’t seem overly concerned with work, days or weeks, as long as that line-caught ocean salmon keeps showing up in her bowl. Food? From Michigan, Don C. observes, “I hate when I think I’m buying organic vegetables, and when I get home, I discover they’re just regular donuts.” Spell them doughnuts or donuts, who out there doesn’t get excited when they catch a glimpse of that pink box coming through...

“I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.” Management teams at lenders and vendors can’t be indecisive in this environment. Who’s going to be right, come Q4 of this year, and Q1 of 2023, which many believe are going to be extremely painful as the purchase market seasonally slows. Are the cuts lenders are making now enough to show warehouse lenders and broker-dealers profitable months and quarters? News continues to hit the tape, including Russia’s ...

Let’s face it, women spend more time worrying about what men are actually thinking than men actually spend thinking. While capital markets staffs are checking out graphs of the Fed Funds Rate, and a steepening yield curve, MLOs of both sexes are thinking about bolstering their referral base: Realtors are for rookies. In the last several weeks, my travels around the country (currently in Tennessee for the TNBA educational luncheon… Did someone mention “Walking in Memphis?&#x2...

“I don’t always go the extra mile, but when I do, it’s because I missed my exit.” And that extra mile costs more every week. Higher gasoline prices certainly hit service workers and commuters much harder than other segments of the population, namely higher wealth individuals. (Thank you to a reader in Utah who sent, “Breaking News: gas prices are now so high, it is actually cheaper to buy cocaine and run everywhere.” And there’s “Beer is ch...

Loan originators spend their time making people’s days (unlike this film clip). Builders hope that they make people’s days, and I spent some time this week with building industry expert Ivy Zelman. She is very interested in watching the “build-to-rent” phenomenon, and sure enough… “Build-for-rent housing has boomed since the pandemic began. More than 6,700 build-for-rent homes were completed in 2021 alone, marking a record-breaking year for the sector. T...

Lending is full of statistics. And originators follow many of them, looking for an edge in finding clients. Last year 27.1 million Americans moved, 80 percent within the same state and 20 percent interstate moves. This report showed Florida being the most moved-to state and California topping states for folks moving away from it. Originators also look for ways to add value to their clients. They might want to consider letting them know about Realm. (Nope, this is not a paid endorsement.) Homeo...

Things change and time passes. A little more than three months ago we “fell back” and now we have less than a month until most states in the U.S. change their clocks again (spring ahead). Less than two months ago, Ohio’s Community Savings Bancorp was purchased by Double Bottomline Corp., led by Evan M. Stone, President and CEO, and by rumored other entities in residential mortgage banking. Evan’s a good guy, likes being busy, and likes making a profit, so why not be t...

Everyone has a story about something they said or asked that they shouldn’t have. “When are you due?” is a good one, as is asking, “When did you turn 60?” when the person is only 55. But forecasters are out in force, saying things about interest rates they may, or may not, regret later. Analysts at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, for example, expect an interest-rate increase likely forthcoming from the Federal Reserve to be less than the widely predicted half-per...