Today I am in San Diego for the SD CAMP event. At the same latitude, a poll was taken by Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office which asked whether people who live in Texas think illegal immigration is a serious problem. 29 percent of respondents answered: "Yes, it is a serious problem." 71 percent of respondents answered: "No es una problema seriosa." (Did you know that Texas even has its own pledge of allegiance?) Politics aside, Texas is home to many lenders. And many hotels. Marriott certainly has the business travel market dialed in, but just six companies in the United States control 80 percent of branded hotels, and two companies (Choice Hotels and Wyndham) may merge giving us five. Choice owns Radisson, Quality Inn and Econolodge brands; Wyndham owns Ramada, La Quinta, Days Inn, Super 8, and Howard Johnson. If a takeover/merger occurs, 16,500 hotels and 46 brands will be run by a single entity. Yikes! Today’s podcast can be found
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Today, as I head to Chicago (from the Native American word shikaakwa, for the wild onion) on my way to Philadelphia, I received this note. “Rob, why is PenFed exiting from correspondent?” Well, you should talk to your PenFed rep. But if anyone had to make a harsh guess, it would start by asking, “Why would any member-based organization with a branch network and thousands of members, in this environment, feel the need to offer wholesale or correspondent channels to others at very low margins who may be competitors?” There will be plenty of competitors under one roof at the MBA’s Annual starting Sunday. For many IMBs, their goals by going include searching for a great HELOC and/or 2nd program, seeing what’s new with down payment assistance programs, and seeing the latest in under-served markets. Another topic will of course include inflation and interest rates. Is your car insurance up 19 percent? Yesterday’s CPI said so. How about taking
Today is 101223. Of course you know, by looking ahead to the last day of 2023, that it will be 123123. By then, how many times do you think you’ll hear, “Due to a strategic decision, we’ve decided to…”? Those lenders looking at volumes for the next several months may be wary or even frightened. As if volumes aren’t scary enough, there are only 19 days until Halloween! Where are you going to be trick-or-treating this year? There are some good candidates out there that my cat Myrtle may fly into on her broomstick: Tombstone (AZ), Slaughter Town (LA), and Seven Devils Town (NC) are at the top of her list. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that there are roughly 128.5 million occupied U.S. housing units that could be potential stops for trick-or-treaters. If you're at one of those and are expecting trick-or-treaters, there are 3,227 U.S. confectionery and nut stores and 726 U.S. formal wear and costume rental establishments. (Today’s po