Rob Chrisman's Perspectives Archives - STRATMOR Group

Mortgage Rates Are Not Random

mariajunk — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 18:52:16 +0000

Mortgage rates may feel unpredictable day to day, especially in periods of heightened volatility like we have seen recently with court rulings on tariffs, the war in Iran, and broader international unrest. STRATMOR’s clients and lenders around the nation are dealing with this and trying to hedge pipelines in a volatile market. Meanwhile, originators are […]

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Helping Borrowers in a Market Defined by Complexity and Change

mariajunk — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 21:59:43 +0000

Lenders are revisiting tools, programs, and practices that many believed were relics from a prior era. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), for instance, resurfaced as we ended 2025, not because they are inherently problematic, as some sensational coverage implies, but because today’s rate environment and affordability pressures make them relevant again. What should originators watch for as […]

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Artificial Intelligence in Mortgage Lending

mariajunk — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 14:38:25 +0000

Forget “old fashioned” intelligence, “artificial intelligence” (AI) is all the rage. AI is in the press, it’s driving companies’ stock valuations, and it’s impacting human employment. For lenders and vendors in residential lending, every conference has one or more sessions on how it might help net revenue, how to incorporate it, and what it even […]

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Rates Drop, Pipelines Pop — Don’t Let Fulfillment Flop

mariajunk — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 14:11:12 +0000

Consumer-direct lenders are seeing a little more life these days as rates slide. “Straining in their harnesses” would be too strong of a term, but refinance volumes and locked pipeline size continue to improve for many lenders. In terms of secondary market execution, generally speaking, “unknown investors” paying up for generic Ginnie, Fannie, and Freddie […]

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No Lender Wants a Government Shutdown, But Just in Case…

mariajunk — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 21:07:36 +0000

By now, most people know that the Federal government’s finances don’t run on a standard calendar year, like most companies and families. Each year, the start of the government’s fiscal year begins October 1. (Starting in 1842, the fiscal year began July 1, but in 1974 it was moved to October 1 to give lawmakers […]

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Servicing: What’s All the Fuss About?

mariajunk — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 14:55:32 +0000

When my parents bought their first home in 1967, it was a VA loan at 6.5 percent. The local bank did the loan, and on the first of every month my mom would drive the check over to the bank and give it to the teller (I still have the silver dimes and quarters that […]

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The Tax and Spending Bill: The Impact on Borrowers

mariajunk — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 13:30:11 +0000

On July 4, President Trump signed the tax and spending package legislation into law. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) stated that the final tax package “preserves or strengthens — and makes permanent — numerous pro-housing and pro-economic growth tax provisions… that will benefit homeowners and renters, increase housing production, and improve the financial outcomes of […]

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Beyond the Primary Market: How MBS and ABS Impact Lending Strategy

mariajunk — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 15:10:37 +0000

There’s a myriad of places where individuals, families, and institutions can invest their money. In the residential mortgage space, lenders and investors often focus on residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commonly referred to as MBS. This falls under the “secondary market,” side of the business (versus the “primary” side of the business where lenders deal directly […]

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Compensation is Still Lender’s Largest Expense

mariajunk — Mon, 19 May 2025 13:04:12 +0000

I was at an event recently and there was an audience of originators from credit unions, banks, and independent mortgage banks (IMBs). The organizer told me, “Don’t talk about comp. The IMB LOs all make 75 to 150 basis points per loan, but the bank and credit union originators make a $4,000 to $6,000 per […]

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Love Them or Leave Them? The Ongoing Saga of Fannie and Freddie

mariajunk — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 18:21:49 +0000

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, wish they’d stay exactly the same or wish they’d go away entirely, residential lenders have varying opinions about “the Agencies” or “Government-Sponsored Enterprises” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ever since both were put into conservatorship in 2008 (yes, 17 years ago), figuring out what to do with them has proven […]

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