For more than 25 years, I’ve heard loan officers complain that their rates aren’t competitive. One of the first questions rate shoppers ask is, “What’s your rate today?” For far too long, the industry’s focus has been on rate—not on what is truly the best financial decision for the borrower. Many salespeople sell rate because […]
Are you selling the rate or building relationships? Read More »
The housing market continues to test patience: inventory remains constrained in many regions, buyer and seller activity is starting to normalize and interest rates still shape consumer hesitation (but that may be changing!) By conventional measures, momentum feels limited. Yet beneath those conditions, a different signal is emerging; one that may prove more predictive than
Why real estate agent confidence is a leading indicator for 2026 Read More »
As we prepare to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it’s important to pause and reflect not only on Dr. King’s national legacy, but also on the work he did in my hometown of Chicago that continues to shape lives, opportunities and generational progress today. Dr. King’s Chicago campaign and the fight for fair housing
How MLK’s Fight for Homeownership Equality Changed My Life Read More »
With mortgage rates expected to remain flat for the foreseeable future, lenders of all sizes are looking for creative ways to attract creditworthy borrowers who may not fit into the conventional loan box. Below are four trends that will enable lenders to expand their reach to new borrowers in 2026: Non-QM lending goes mainstream A
4 trends that will help mortgage lenders reach new borrowers in 2026 Read More »
In today’s digital-first environment, administrative access is essential to keeping real estate, title insurance, and mortgage operations running smoothly. From managing core production systems to supporting secure transaction workflows, administrators play a critical role behind the scenes. However, administrative access also represents one of the most significant cybersecurity risks facing organizations today. With elevated privileges
Reducing risk: The importance of administrative access responsibilities Read More »
For the past several years, the U.S. housing market has faced an unusual constraint: not a lack of buyers, but a lack of sellers willing — or able — to move. Millions of homeowners remain “rate-locked,” holding mortgages originated in 2020–2022 at interest rates between 2% and 4% (Federal Housing Finance Agency; Freddie Mac Primary
The $2–4% mortgage trap is freezing housing: Defeasance may be the way out Read More »
Trust is built through relationships. It is not automatic, it is not assumed, and it is never guaranteed — it is earned. Working for a well-respected company with a long history of service does not automatically make someone a Trusted Mortgage Advisor. Trust is personal. It belongs to the relationship between the loan officer and
Trust is earned, not granted: The foundation of every successful mortgage relationship Read More »
Transitioning from military service to a civilian career is rarely straightforward. For me, it led to the built environment — an industry that, to my surprise, felt immediately familiar. Construction sites, development teams, and project organizations operate under pressures familiar to military units: tight timelines, limited resources, high stakes, and the need to coordinate across
Manually updating spreadsheets. Dealing with paper jams in the printer. Remember what office life was like in 2005? If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can find many of the same practices still in place in the investor’s reporting offices of loan servicers today. But why haven’t these offices evolved with changing technology? It’s partly cultural, but
The spreadsheet trap: Why investor reporting still operates like it’s 2005 Read More »
“The Court accepts as true all of the well-pleaded facts in the Complaint and draws all reasonable inferences in favor of Plaintiffs.” So said U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama on 12.4.2025. According to Reuters: “A group of companies that lease land for mobile homes has convinced a federal judge in Chicago to dismiss a proposed