Page 3 - Knowledge Coop News Today

Denver’s airport has the longest runway in the U.S. at 16,000 feet (3 miles). As thousands of vendors, with some lenders thrown in for good measure, and me, head to Nashville for the MBA’s conference this weekend through next Wednesday, I am reminded of a bit of air travel trivia. Namely, if a commercial pilot seems to land quickly and taxi off the runway as soon as possible, generally that pilot’s background is Navy. If the pilot lands gently and taxis for a bit, that pilot...

Here in Orange County, the mortgage talk runs the gamut. Sure, a recession would cause rates to drop, but before that happens, are residential lenders looking at a long autumn and winter? Our biz is dealing with broad topics such as affordable housing, housing inventory being impacted by potential sellers taking properties off the market, and the general trend in mortgage rates, all the way down to the cost of credit reports potentially approaching $100 per report and making sure you talk to you...

Now we have a butter shortage raising prices ahead of the holidays. Great. While margarine makers are licking their chops over the news, vegans and other readers should know that no animals are ever harmed in the making of this commentary! But speaking of harm, in the current environment, and probably for the next couple quarters, vendors and lenders working 30 percent harder to make 40 percent less. Or worse. If the Fed’s actions can push asset prices higher, it’s actions can also...

As Florida’s homeowners, insurance companies, and companies that service loans in Hurricane Ian’s path, brace for the storm, lenders nationwide continue to grapple with a very, very difficult environment. Everyone wants a decent HELOC. Servicing sales have dropped. Buydown loans are back in vogue. (Ask your investor if they buy them, but Planet Home, AmeriHome, and Northpointe jump to mind.) Everyone wants a viable ARM product, at a fixed rate program with some points back. There a...

We have witnessed a change in our work environment. From the Central Coast of California, Jeff O. sent, “Yesterday I had convened a zoom meeting of major national programs that took two months to set up. I was disappointed when one of the key program leaders was missing. He appeared 25 mins into the meeting and apologized for being late, saying that a sink hole had appeared in his backyard and needed to wait for help to arrive before jumping on the call. It is the most unique excuse I hav...

I knew it was going to be a rough morning today when my alarm went off and I found my cat Myrtle staring at the computer screen watching Social D’s “Don’t Drag Me Down.” (Excuse the language.) There was this email: “Rob, I’m thinking about leaving my company because it doesn’t offer 180- or 270-day rate locks. What do you think? We have trouble competing even with shorter term pricing. My current employer is allowing me to lock in a 60-day rate at...

My friend David had his id stolen and now he’s just Dav. Having anything stolen is not a laughing matter, and since we’re in the money business, lenders and vendors are often the target of cyber-attacks. If you want the FBI’s take on them, the Texas MBA is hosting the “Anatomy of Cyber Attacks” webinar next Wednesday, April 13th. (More upcoming events below.) Some MLOs think that interest rates have stolen their livelihoods, but really, did you think 30-year mo...

A 26-state federal investigation that penalized 400-plus LOs for effectively cutting class raises questions about the effectiveness of the continuing education programs. 

Here we are at Groundhog Day. A rodent predicting the weather has little tie-in with the 1993 movie of repeating the same day over and over again. Locks are certainly not repeating 2021 levels for January, with initial anecdotal pipeline numbers down 30-40 percent. Are you reducing costs accordingly? When the residential lending market is good, owners think they’re the smartest guys in the room, and in the last two years volume and margins have covered up a lot of faults. (And now, are ...

MLO Jobs; Risk Reduction Products; Marketing, Workflow Tools; JPs Earnings, and the MBAs Take on 2020s Profits Apr 14 2021, 8:08AM "I wear a stethoscope so that in a medical emergency I can teach people a valuable lesson about assumptions.” People shouldn’t assume that all offices are made equal. People in our biz shouldn’t assume that “all lenders are the same.” Jim Cameron from the STRATMOR Group has noticed a difference between depository banks and indepe...