Posted To: Pipeline Press

At the last company Christmas party, loan agents lined up on one side of the room and the underwriters on the other side. The loan agents throw fire cracker at the underwriters...and the underwriters lit them and threw them back. A long-time underwriter wrote to me and opined, "Consumers always want more than what they can afford and we gave them exactly what they wanted for the last 10 years (without any prudent financial advice). I actually like the guideline changes and feel it is necessary to eradicate some of the lackadaisicalness that I hear in some underwriter's voices. Manufacturing quality is still a problem for the Agencies, and originating mortgage companies are still closing loans that are not 100% purchasable by the aggregators upon delivery. Fannie and Freddie have technology...(read more)