To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends:
- We were on a panel recently with a person from HUD. We asked her how many consumer complaints come from actual consumers, and she said that the overwhelming number of complaints is from mortgage bankers ratting on their competitors. Nice. But all’s fair in love and war, right?
- We get lots of calls from smaller shops hoping to become a net branch of a larger affiliate. We’ve seen some pretty bad net branch operators, and we’ve seen some that do a great job, so feel free to contact us if you’re thinking of making this move. It could be a disaster if you choose wrongly – or a huge success if you get the right affiliation. We can help you figure out who’s good and who’s not.
- Who will buy Financial Freedom from the FDIC? Well, the company was never licensed in any states because it was part of thrift, Indy Mac. So the natural buyer will be a company that’s already licensed in all 50 states – or a company that is or that owns a bank. Our bet? Mutual of Omaha , the big insurance company which also owns thrift.
- A bit of baseball minutia on walks: In 1913 Christy Mathewson won 25 games and walked only 21 people all season. The same year, Walter Johnson won a stunning 36 games but walked only 38 batters. And in 1962, an obscure Bill Fischer of the A’s went 84 consecutive innings without giving up a walk. That set a record. Runner-up is Greg Maddux who went 72.1 consecutive innings without a walk in 2001.
- A note from a brilliant economist we know, Doug Duncan, who responded to our comments on going paperless. “I note your comments on going paperless and its benefits for cost reduction. One of the basic equations for which we had to be able to provide the math proofs in economics is that in a competitive industry, cost minimization equals profit maximization in the long run. It amazes me how the real estate finance business has never fully appreciated this.” By the way, Doug was the chief economist at the MBA for years and knows what he’s talking about!
- For those of us with kids thinking about where to go to college, here’s some good advice for them: Always apply to t