Month: February 2026

Can’t you feel the anticipation building? March 5 th … Trigger leads… Don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten all about it. When a borrower applies for a mortgage and their credit is pulled, that data has historically been sold as a “trigger lead” and dozens of calls are received. Starting March 5, according to the law, credit bureaus can no longer sell trigger leads, the borrower’s lender can still contact them, and the current servicer may also reach out. Originators are reminding clients that…

Let’s check the ol’ mailbag. “Rob, I know that the May MBA’s National Secondary is in Manhattan, as it has been for years. Have you heard that it is moving for 2027?” It is best to ask the MBA, but I believe that this could be the last year of the contract with the Marriott for that site, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if 2027’s was in a major city, in the Central Time Zone, with a couple baseball teams. “Rob, have you heard that during Trump II, we’ll see less regulation and an increase in…

“A regulator, a lender, and an AI assistant walk into a bar…” “Rob, have you heard anything about a state regulator going after a lender on AI doing licensed LO activities?” No, I haven’t, but the industry is waiting. It is no secret that Congress and regulators have trouble keeping up with technology. But is an AI “conversation” with a borrower any different than a questionnaire given to that same borrower? Will the line be drawn at RESPA items? Can regulators audit transcripts of AI…

Today happens to be rocker George Thorogood’s 76 th birthday, and mortgage bankers know that he re-did Amos Milburn’s 1953 classic tale of rent collection, land ladies, and payment avoidance . Not having your rent money and having too much debt is not a recipe for success, but loan officers deal with that all the time while trying to help their clients. At the Optimal Blue Summit going on now, sessions range from AI to loan officer tools to market strategy, product unveilings built to…