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You Can No Longer Get Your Mortgage in the Back of a Van

by Alex Stenback 01.08.2009

Speaking of increased documentation requirements, turn times, and scrutiny, here’s an email from a long time client in response to a list of items needed for their loan application: “Are you for real with all this?  Didn’t I used to be able to just sign a piece of paper in the back of a van [...]

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Coining a Term: The Hipponary Effect

by Alex Stenback 01.08.2009

Hipponary: A critter, or organization, or industry, with the mouth of a Hippo and (ahem) “exit orifice” of a Canary.  Used to describe the effect on a system where a large volume of inputs overwhelms other elements of the system. ——– With mortgage rates plumbing levels never seen before (grab our Twitter feed for real [...]

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Announcing: Holiday and Hiatus and A New Contributor at Behind the Mortgage

by Alex Stenback 12.23.2008

Forgive the light posting.  Mrs. Behind The Mortgage and I are busy welcoming the little man you see above into the world and enjoying some much need family downtime. I’ll be back to regularly scheduled blogging around January 1st.  The little guy says: “Take a nap, and rest easy.  Mortgage rates are probably headed lower [...]

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Now Live: Behind The Mortgage 2.0 (Beta)

by Alex Stenback 12.11.2008

You should be reading this in the all new design and layout for Behind The Mortgage.  If you are reading this via an RSS reader, please indulge us and click through and take a look at the new look and feel. A couple of notes on the newness, for those interested in such things (for those [...]

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Does Panhandling Pay Better than Selling Real Estate?

by Alex Stenback 08.08.2008

"I figured out the hours I put into [selling that home] I made about 25 cents an hour so I could have just picked up change on the street and done just as well." Says local realtor Faith McGown after selling a home for a personal record low $30,000.00.Realtors the Latest Casualties of the Real [...]

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Is Your Neighbor in the Slammer?

by Alex Stenback 07.24.2008

Rotten Neighbor is entertaining enough, what with toxic hipster couples and all.  But the banker in us has always found it far too subjective for any real use. For instance: We dig it when a certain young man in the neighborhood walks down the middle of the street rapping unintelligbly at top volume, arms uplifted [...]

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Everything You Need to Know About the IndyMac-FDIC Takeover

by Alex Stenback 07.16.2008

Just utter brilliance from Tanta at Calculated Risk on the FDIC takeover of Indymac Bank and the ensuing shenanigans (police calls, fisticuffs, etc.) reported by the LA Times: Mr. Bash is quite upset that the price of nearly doubling his deposit insurance coverage at no monetary cost to him is several days worth of red [...]

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How Many Tickets Would You Buy?

by Alex Stenback 04.25.2008

If an organization was raffling off a $1.4 Million dollar home near Lake Minnetonka for charity, how many tickets would you buy? Unfortunately, we won’t get to see this play out: The state Gambling Control Board has blocked an Inver Grove Heights organization from raffling off a home near Lake Minnetonka worth $1.4 million.   The [...]

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Garrison Keillor is a Below Average Neighbor

by Alex Stenback 01.16.2008

Strib, PiPress, WCCO, Metroblogging, MNSpeak all weigh in on neighborly jerkitude from Keillor: Keillor and his wife, Jenny Lind Nilsson, filed suit to block…construction of the three-stall garage and studio behind the home of neighbor Lori Anderson. Keillor Clash With Neighbors Sent to Mediator [Strib]

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