What do Costco and Las Vegas have in common? You go to buy a gallon of milk, and it costs you $285.” There isn’t a lot of autumn foliage here in Las Vegas, but if you’d like a map of the fall colors, here you go . I’ve received a few comments about how the industry is changing, and in curious ways. There is some creative thinking out there. Along those lines, I received this note. “Rob, have you heard of a title company franchise where LOs and brokers keep title fees, and “ow

In my last piece, I wrote about Sora 2 and its potential to transform video creation for mortgage professionals. What led me there wasn't curiosity about video. It started a few months earlier when I began building a series of custom GPTs for FinLocker. Those projects became my testing ground for understanding how emerging technology can actually make a difference in how loan officers show up for their clients and partners. I built the FinLocker GPT Toolkit to solve a simple

“Where do amputees get prosthetics on a budget? The secondhand store.” Budget, stalemate, and shutdown news continues in Washington DC. The sun still comes up in the morning, and there is news on related issues. For example, thank you to Sean S. who told me that HUD opened the suggestions window for improving the HECM (reverse mortgage) product. The reasons why Treasury and mortgage rates remain elevated despite the shutdown and Fed’s rate cuts will be discussed in the Capit

As I wrap up my time with FinLocker and step into my role as President of MISMO, I’m happy to share that the MLO VieauxPoint  weekly segment will continue with Chrisman Commentary. You’ll just have a new, and improved, Vieaux. Ethan Vieaux, Vice President of Customer Success at FinLocker, will be taking the pen from here. Ethan has spent years in the trenches with loan officers, helping them integrate technology that genuinely serves both their business and their borrowers. H

President Trump has recommended that publicly held companies only report earnings every six months instead of every three. Don’t...

Last Sunday, my wife and I got a call no parent ever wants to receive. We went from watching Football to packing bags and booking an...

“Why do millennials think the government saved their lives? Because they are indebted to it forever.” Here in Colorado, the United States...

Loan officers who want a lasting career should expand their focus to include homeowners 55 and older, who control trillions in housing...

At the recent conferences I've attended, including here in Atlanta at the Loan Vision Innovation Conference , talk of federal government...

I’ve been in mortgage since 1991. Rates were north of 10%, “apply now” meant stacks of paper, and the concept of consumer-permissioned...

My cat Myrtle was always up for a battle with a lizard in the yard. On a larger scale, the ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu said,...

I’ve been tracking Kristin Messerli's  NextGen HomeBuyer research for five years, and this year’s Financial Literacy Edition  is the...

Tomorrow I head from Boise to Jackson for the Mississippi Mortgage Banker’s Fall Conference . Certainly a topic in my email in-box and at...

“Twas the third of September, that day I’ll always remember … Wherever he laid his hat was his home, and when he died, all he left us was...

After talking with and interviewing hundreds of mortgage professionals, I can say with certainty: the loan officers who win in this...

I was today years old when I realized that the shovel was literally a groundbreaking invention. The best ads and marketing focus on rates...

Since originating my first loan in 1991, I’ve lived through plenty of cycles where the Fed gave us a dose of reality. Friday in Jackson...

Apologies first! Yesterday I mistakenly wrote, “ARMs now account for nearly 50 percent of applications…” Thank you again to those who...

If you’re unfamiliar, the HELPER Act (Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder)  proposes a straightforward idea: allow...