In news underwriters will need to know, banks and satirists across the United States are taking Director Bill Pulte’s and President Donald Trump’s 50-year mortgage suggestion are running with it. They (the underwriters) would now require an applicant's grandkids to co-sign on a 50-year mortgage "just in case” as part of the approval equation. What happens when you leave out a key part of the equation? ( Skip ahead to the two-minute mark for another chuckle.) The IT staffs o

A proposal to introduce 50-year fixed-rate mortgages into the U.S. housing market has reignited debate over how best to address the nation’s affordability crisis. Proponents argue that longer loan terms could make homeownership accessible to more Americans by lowering monthly payments. However, a closer analysis reveals that the product offers limited real savings, significant long-term costs, and structural challenges for investors and the secondary market. The 50-year mortg

It’s the 100 th edition of these Musings, so it seems I need to write something special: something that is accessible and insightful to all readers and will provide deep meaning and energize your life. [1] At a minimum, this “Musing for the masses” will avoid using acronyms that only my mortgage industry peeps understand and refrain from discussing ongoing litigation implications. [2] I’m even going to spend some time talking about summer camp. So, in this “ Very Special”

As the mortgage industry closes out 2025, servicing has become a battleground defined by what many are calling the “recapture wars.” In a market shaped by volatility, shifting rates, and heightened customer expectations, retaining borrowers has never been more critical, or more challenging. This evolving landscape presents an opportunity to connect the dots across the mortgage ecosystem to help lenders and servicers operate with greater speed, efficiency, and intelligence. Th

It's dog eat dog in the ranks of the FHFA and Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. The question is, does anyone care, or is anyone surprised? We want to follow the law, right? Everyone knows that the Trump Administration fired the Inspector General and Fannie’s ethics staff . Now the Wall Street Journal reports that, “Fannie Mae Watchdogs Probed How Pulte Obtained Mortgage Records of Key Democrats… FHFA’s acting inspector general handed probe report to U.S. attorney office that had indi

As the central states brace for a cold snap, I received a note from a mortgage broker in Florida. “Rob, don’t politicians understand that housing ‘affordability’ problems aren’t only the result of rates and prices that are set by the markets? Owners are hit by taxes and insurance increases. What about condo fees and special assessments? What about city and county fees? Loan level price adjustments are determined by historical performance. Extending the maturity of a mortgage

A recent topic with the agencies was on using cryptocurrency as a viable, qualifiable asset for mortgages. Another proposal on 50-year mortgages. If the narrative isn’t already loud enough, here’s the plain question: How do we get more Americans (especially younger ones) into homes?   It’s a worthwhile venture (the sentiment, not the 50-year mortgage), especially when the average mortgage 30-year rate remains stubbornly above 6.5%. Ongoing pressures from the recent government

For our Clients, Colleagues, and Friends, All of you know a lot about mortgages, but not too many of you know much about mortgage REITs. These are publicly traded companies that own pools of mortgages or mortgage-backed securities. Throw in some leverage and you get eye-popping dividend yields. But there are reasons to be cautious about this, so give us a call if you want to discuss. Last week I mentioned some of my assistants. One of the most interesting assistants was Chloe

Zillow appearing inside ChatGPT changes where discovery begins. It does not mean agents and lenders should lean on Zillow. It means more buyers will describe what they want in a general assistant first, then see results that may flow through a portal. Your advantage comes from meeting consumers before that first portal touch and making your expertise the easiest next step. What Shifts and What to Do About It 1) Conversation Is the New Search Box Publish short, plain-English a

“6-7!” has swept the nation for youngsters of indeterminant age, and for no real reason. Other numbers have meaning, as do dates. For example, today is November 10 th and on this day in 1975, the freighter S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during a massive storm, killing all 29 of the crew. (Gordon Lightfoot memorialized the tragedy in a hit song the following year.) What’s in a number? Today, let’s look at “50” or “100.” Through some social media software, the p

“ What did they say? Can you rewind it?” Let’s start with something totally non-mortgage-related but applies to nearly each and every one of us. A new survey found that 34 percent of U.S. adults (including, somewhat counterintuitively, 40 percent of those aged 18 to 44) always or often use closed captions when watching television shows or movies. The accessibility setting has gone thoroughly mainstream, and young people adopting subtitles as the norm is an interesting wrink

Imagine being handed a backpack, a pair of hiking boots, and a couple freeze dried food pouches, then told you’ve just joined an expedition to climb Mount Everest… Except, there’s no compass, no tent, and no bear spray…. That’s us right now.   We’re bushwacking our way through an unsolicited economic experiment, with no clear sight of base camp. And the longer this shutdown drags on, the lower our visibility becomes. The only thing keeping us from traversing off the side of t

While we had a relatively quiet week this week, largely due to the U.S. government government shutdown, I'm getting the sense from my conversations with people in the industry around the nation a sense of cautious optimism mixed with growing uncertainty. Why? Well, markets are grappling with weaker labor data, a prolonged government shutdown, and signs of cooling in the broader economy. Despite lackluster official data, delayed by the now 38-day shutdown, private reports such

How was the Louvre in Paris robbed? The password for the cameras was… ready? Louvre. (I’m sure that the Smithsonian, MOMA, Vatican IT, and lender IT staffs are busy changing theirs. (I have my passwords in a notebook… no one can read my scrawl.) Lenders and vendors on the conference circuit are hoping that the Federal Aviation Administration has better security, and its website says, “The FAA manages the world’s safest and most complex aviation system. On an average day, we

Frequent conference goers or traveling salespeople are obviously concerned about the Trump Administration cutting 10 percent of flights for a variety of reasons. 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents are working without pay. For anyone looking for a job through the Job Board , here’s a pro tip for a question in your next interview: “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Answer: “Celebrating the 5 th anniversary in your l

As Jerome Powell’s term as Federal Reserve Chair nears its conclusion in May of next year, attention is shifting to who will lead the central bank into its next phase, and what that leadership could mean for the mortgage industry. The finalists reportedly include current Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder. Each brings distinct s

It hit me this morning… The current interest rate market is essentially EVERY season of the Dallas Cowboys. Think about it. Each year, we beaten down Cowboys fans get all excited about what the season might bring. Trades go off, positive signals emerge, and hope is offered that this will be the year everything turns around! And then, right when the season is on the line… we faceplant.   If you happened to catch last night’s Cowboys game, then you know exactly what I (we) am f

In today’s mortgage industry, the term “intelligent document processing” (IDP) often gets oversimplified. Many assume it’s simply about teaching machines to “read documents.” But true IDP, particularly at enterprise scale, is far more sophisticated. It represents a foundational shift in how lenders, servicers, and investors manage document-heavy workflows. At its core, IDP addresses one of the mortgage industry’s biggest bottlenecks: the inefficiency of handling, classifying,

For decades, FICO has been the dominant force in credit scoring, central to the U.S. mortgage ecosystem since the introduction of its score in 1986. It has long drawn both scrutiny and reliance from the industry, regarded as a gatekeeper to credit access for millions of consumers. But a major structural shift is now underway: FICO has announced a direct licensing model that will bypass the traditional credit bureaus and instead work directly with credit reporting agencies (CR

Earlier this year, around the time tariffs were originally announced on "Liberation Day," bonds were defying logic and leaving even seasoned traders scratching their heads. Today, things make a little more sense, but only just. Yields have fallen, MBS price discovery is less of a problem, and a clearer trading range has developed, yet investors are still wrestling to interpret a Federal Reserve that seems both cautious and conflicted. At the heart of this story lies the term