Month: October 2025

I was recently on a hike with a gal pal, and we were talking about her future. I asked, “You don’t have any kids. Who is going to take care of you when you get older?” She replied, “The sommelier.” The future should be on everyone’s minds. I met up with a friend last week at the MBA Annual, and, knowing that his son had worked summer jobs for a lender in our business, I asked him about his son entering the residential lending. He replied, “He was all set to become a loan officer assistant but…

There are some creative thinking and collaborations out there; anyone who walked around the exhibition hall this week at the MBA Annual saw that. For another example, a startup working on industrial heat batteries has linked up with an oil company (an unlikely partner) in its quest to commercialize its carbon-free alternative battery. Holmes Wester Oil Corp uses gas-fired boilers in its oil recovery system but has replaced one of them with Rondo Energy’s battery. It is a 100-megawatt-hour…

I was recently on a hike with a gal pal, and we were talking about her future. I asked, “You don’t have any kids. Who […]

There are some creative thinking and collaborations out there; anyone who walked around the exhibition hall this week at the MBA Annual saw that. For […]

As shown in this video clip , don’t ever underestimate your opponent, or competitor. There were plenty of opponents and competitors (most friendly) at this week’s MBA Annual, and today on Last Word at 1PM ET, Brian Vieaux, Kevin Peranio, and Courtney Thompson discuss highlights from the conference, how the ongoing government shutdown could affect borrowers’ ability to pay and broader market stability, and what “shutdown economics” means for lenders, policymakers, and the housing industry…

As shown in this video clip, don’t ever underestimate your opponent, or competitor. There were plenty of opponents and competitors at this week’s MBA Annual, […]

Economies and strategies impact various groups differently. Remember Mervyn’s, Montgomery Ward, or a dozen other large department stores that are no longer? Saks Fifth Avenue is now rumored to be potentially joining them. Residential lending is obviously impacted by the slowing economy: if you want lower rates, a government shutdown is one way to negatively impact the U.S. GDP. Interest rates were a topic at the MBA Annual, and thousands of lenders and vendors have headed home. (Nadia…

Economies and strategies impact various groups differently. Remember Mervyn’s, Montgomery Ward, or a dozen other large department stores that are no longer? Saks Fifth Avenue […]

“Why did the Tibetan Monks go to Las Vegas? They are very good at games of chants.” One topic among hallway chats with lenders here at the MBA Annual is keeping costs down. After all, everyone is selling, or putting their loans into portfolios, at roughly the same price, so whether a lender is doing $10 million a month or $1 billion a month, cost and efficiency are paramount. The current STRATMOR write up is titled, “Rates Drop, Pipelines Pop: Don’t Let Fulfillment Flop.” One of the simplest…