Dec. 31: Wholesalers wanted; pricing products; wide Non-Agency changes (Paris Hilton’s loan); NAMB interview on the broker biz

There is one less mortgage publication as MortgageOrb announced that it is calling it quits and today is its last day. Like lender’s closing departments, I am sure that it will be a busy day there for the staff. But otherwise, it will be a quiet day today for many with a little spare time. For those of you who like photographs and history and have time to scroll, here are 46 photos “that tell the story of the century so far.” For those of you who enjoy learning, and are in areas of drifting…

Leadership, Discipline, and Purpose from a Life in Mortgage Banking

Mortgage banking is not a career people grow up dreaming about. There’s no college major for it, no clear on-ramp, and yet few industries shape the U.S. economy and the lives of everyday families more profoundly. That paradox is exactly what makes mortgage banking such a compelling profession, and why so many people who “leave” it eventually find themselves drawn back in. My own path into the business was anything but traditional. I didn’t graduate college. I was drafted out of high school in…

Dec. 30: Non-QM, tech jobs; capital markets tools; Mortgages with Millennials today; LOs & 2025; LinkedIn = intellectual isolation ward?

How many people live in the United States, and the world? Here you go , as accurately as you’re going to see anywhere. Loan originators are acutely aware of demographics (“know your borrower,” right?). Naming generations is relatively recent, and then-People Magazine Editor Landon Y. Jones coined the term Baby Boomer. (He died last year.) The oldest Baby Boomers turn 80 in 2026. By the end of this decade, all baby boomers will be 65 and older , and the number of people 80 and over will double…

Dec. 29: Tech sales job; IMBs wanted; Pricing product; fraud continues… take your own exams! 2026 in-person events kick off soon

“Vladimir Putin arrives at an airport, gets in line at the customs desk. Customs officer: ‘Occupation?’ Putin: ‘No, just visiting.’” Some percentage of readers reading today’s Commentary are doing so from an airport in the Northeast, waiting for their delayed flight to depart. Whether manmade or natural, climate change and weather “occurrences” are a fact of life, and can’t be corrected with technology, but data is certainly used in predicting weather. Vendors and lenders think about data…

Vieaux from the Street: 2025 Year in Review

What this year actually taught us about mortgage, momentum, and what matters next. I’ve been around this industry long enough to know the difference between a “tough year” and a turning year. 2025 was the latter. Not because rates suddenly got friendly. Not because volume magically returned. But because the rules of engagement finally changed in plain sight. This was the year where pretending the old playbook still worked became harder than rewriting it. The year the middle disappeared Here’s…

Dec. 26: LO jobs; non-QM, DSCR, pricing engine products; investor’s conv. conforming news flow continues

Did you know that the average age of a real estate agent, per the NAR, is 87? Okay, I’m just kidding. (Hey, the day after Christmas, before the weekend… there are probably 18 people reading this, so I could have gotten away with that one.) It’s in the 60’s. But for those originators or sales people who want to know their customer and who’s out there buying, the NAR has some decent stats for you to peruse. Are there Rocket Mortgage billboards promoting free Redfin leads any time Cleveland…