According to the Federal Reserve, the amount of consumer outstanding debt now exceeds the pre-2008 crisis levels. That means consumers owe more money today than they did back in 2008. The difference is in the makeup of that debt. Today, consumers owe more in combined non-mortgage debt than they do in home financing. Not surprisingly, student loans lead the pack.…
I don’t know about you, but I am fed up with the political BS going on in Washington, DC with the President, his cabinet, tweets, conversations, and the election. It’s over! It’s time to get on with running the Country. The Democrats only interest is in discrediting Trump and blocking anything he tries to do. Regardless of any potential benefits…
In a recent story in Mortgage Orb, I was asked to comment on the MBA white paper called “GSE Reform: Creating a Sustainable, More Vibrant Secondary Mortgage Market.” The white paper discusses the new MBA proposal to have the GSEs “congressionally re-chartered” (re-privatized) and have the mortgage-backed securities that they issue be “explicitly guaranteed!” I stated that in my opinion, the…
It’s one of those things that bug me. I see all these ads on TV by big pharmaceutical companies advertising drugs you can only get by prescription. Why advertise directly to consumers for something they cannot buy? There must be a reason. Do they believe, or does market research show, that this information will lead to the consumer to request…
In ongoing efforts to increase homeownership rates and provide home financing to underserved markets, both Fannie and Freddie are entering the mobile home financing market. This is part of their ‘Duty to Serve’ requirements under the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act that I mentioned in an earlier blog. The intent is to expand the market for the purchase of,…
Sounds like a name for a bad soap opera or a reality TV show. But, once again this year, the trend continued. Non-Bank mortgage lenders shed employees in December, January, and February only to find the need to find new employees in March. Like the annual migration of the Wildebeests, it happens every year. Why haven’t lenders figured this out?…
