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Opinion

President Donald Trump: I have an idea to help first-time homebuyers

Contributors, Donald Trump, First-Time Homebuyers, Government Lending, Homebuyers, Housing Market, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

Over the past several months, former President Donald Trump has floated a number of ideas aimed at helping Americans buy homes again. Among them are proposals such as 50-year mortgages and other creative financing tools intended to lower monthly payments for buyers struggling with today’s interest rates. The intention behind these ideas are novel and […]

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Serving VA buyers: Practical guidance for real estate agents

Agent, Contributors, HWmember, Opinion, Real Estate, VA Loan /

Military families and veterans don’t buy homes the way most civilians do. They move on short notice and often finalize purchases from hundreds or thousands of miles away. When you add a VA home loan into the mix, some lenders and agents assume the transaction is headed for trouble before it even starts. That assumption

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HannaList adds fuel to the escalating private listings war

Agent, Brokerage, Clear Capital, Compass, Contributors, Hoby Hanna, Homes.com, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, HWmember, Opinion, Real Estate, Realtor.com, Zillow /

The private listings debate just got louder. Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has launched HannaList, an internal listing network that allows Howard Hanna agents to share listings exclusively with Howard Hanna buyer agents before those properties ever reach the MLS. Combined with what Compass has built since acquiring Anywhere, two of the industry’s most significant

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How to ensure locked-down compliance during HMDA reporting season, and year-round

Compliance, Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination, Regulatory /

HMDA reporting season has just wrapped as financial institutions were required to submit detailed data from the previous calendar year’s mortgage applications and loans to their regulators by March 2nd. But for compliance professionals at community banks, the work doesn’t stop there.  HMDA reporting has become less about “checking the box” and more about defending

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Why mortgage licensing must be a priority for private lenders In 2026

Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

Private lending has matured. What was once a fragmented, relationship-driven corner of real estate finance has evolved into an increasingly institutional, multi-state industry with sophisticated counterparties, warehouse lines, and capital partners. Yet one critical area still receives far less attention than it deserves: mortgage licensing and compliance. For private lenders, particularly those making business-purpose residential

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Affordability takes center stage in the 2026 housing market

Affordability, Affordable housing, Contributors, Housing Market, HWmember, Opinion, Real Estate /

The 2026 Spring Market is about to be upon us, and one aspect is clear: affordability is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. The price escalations experienced during the pandemic, driven by historically low interest rates, are now largely in the rearview mirror. In most markets, the prospect of near-term appreciation for would-be buyers is

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You can’t automate trust: Why I built my business on relationships

Artificial Intelligence, Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

I have built an entire company on being able to relationship. Yes, I said it like that on purpose. According to Google, a relationship is “the way in which two or more concepts, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.” And while the industry is currently obsessed with AI ( I mean

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Let’s be real. We can do better when it comes to using AI in marketing.

Artificial Intelligence, Contributors, HWmember, Marketing, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination, Real Estate Marketing /

So, you finally discovered ChatGPT, Claude or whatever shiny AI toy your nephew told you about. Congrats! You’re officially part of the future of marketing! Ok. Not really. Not the way you’re doing it. Here’s a scene being played out way too often lately. Someone types “write me a LinkedIn post about title insurance” into

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Why eNotes are moving from optional to operational

Contributors, Digital, Digital mortgage, HWmember, Opinion /

For years, electronic promissory notes occupied an awkward middle ground in mortgage lending. The concept was sound, the infrastructure was in place, and early adopters demonstrated that the model could work. Yet adoption remained uneven, often stalled by questions about investor acceptance, warehouse lender readiness and operational complexity. That hesitation is becoming harder to justify.

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The rental market has entered its infrastructure era

Contributors, Housing Market, HWmember, Opinion, Rental Properties /

The next housing transition will not be defined by who builds the most units.It will be defined by who controls the rental workflow. For years, the rental conversation has centered on demand. More renters. Longer tenures. Fewer paths to homeownership. That story is familiar and by now well understood by most real estate professionals. What’s

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