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Opinion

Opinion: Dear President Trump, I have an idea to help first-time homebuyers

Contributors, Donald Trump, First-Time Homebuyers, Government Lending, Homebuyers, Housing Market, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

Over the past several months, President Donald Trump has floated a number of ideas aimed at helping Americans buy homes again. Among them are proposals such as 50-year mortgages and other creative financing tools intended to lower monthly payments for buyers struggling with today’s interest rates. The intention behind these ideas are novel and understandable. […]

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The industry’s quiet first line of defense

Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage Fraud, Opinion, Real Estate Fraud, Technology, Title, Wire Fraud /

Most professions get credit for what people can see them do. A surgeon’s skill is visible in the outcome. The engineer’s work shows up in the bridge that holds. In real estate, the closing table tends to get all the attention, from the signatures and the handshakes to the transfer of keys. What doesn’t get

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VA loans are not slow, agents who prep early close faster

Agent, Contributors, HWmember, Opinion, Real Estate, VA Loan /

Military families and veterans don’t buy homes the way most civilians do. They move on short notice and often finalize purchases from hundreds or thousands of miles away. When you add a VA home loan into the mix, some lenders and agents assume the transaction is headed for trouble before it even starts. That assumption

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Reducing risk: Why logging, protection, and review matter

Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Real Estate, Technology, Title /

In real estate, title insurance, and mortgage lending, transactions depend on technology operating accurately and securely behind the scenes. Every login, file access, system change, and integration generates activity that can either support business continuity or signal potential risk. One of the most overlooked yet powerful cybersecurity safeguards is maintaining and reviewing application logs. These

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The best real estate agents aren’t tougher, they are more structured

Agent, Contributors, HWmember, NextHome, Opinion, Real Estate, real estate agent, Real Estate Marketing, real estate teams, Residential Real Estate /

When every deal feels personal, even winning gets expensive. There is a particular look you start to recognize once you have been around the real estate industry long enough. You know the one. That steely, thousand-yard stare that comes from decades of real estate. It shows up at open houses around hour four. In late-night

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From loan pools to consumer wallets: The ripple effects of credit score lender choice

Contributors, credit report, Credit Score, HWmember, Opinion /

On January 15, 2026, the FHFA provided documentation to the Housing Policy Council (HPC) in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made in July of 2023.  Those documents, though redacted, clearly indicated that the GSEs did not recommend approving two scores as was directed by the FHFA. Rather, the GSEs only recommended

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HannaList adds fuel to the escalating private listings war

Agent, Brokerage, Clear Capital, Compass, Contributors, Hoby Hanna, Homes.com, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, HWmember, Opinion, Real Estate, Realtor.com, Zillow /

The private listings debate just got louder. Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has launched HannaList, an internal listing network that allows Howard Hanna agents to share listings exclusively with Howard Hanna buyer agents before those properties ever reach the MLS. Combined with what Compass has built since acquiring Anywhere, two of the industry’s most significant

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Private listings are polarizing real estate, here is a path forward

Agent, Brokerage, Clear Cooperation, Contributors, HWmember, MLS/Associations, National Association of Realtors, Opinion, Real Estate, Real Estate Listings /

The private listings debate has become one of the most polarizing conversations in organized real estate — and in my view, it is being handled poorly by nearly everyone involved. Advocates are cherry-picking the benefits without acknowledging the risks. Critics are sounding alarms without acknowledging the legitimate reasons private listings exist. And somewhere in the

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Verification is the new credit score

Artificial Intelligence, Contributors, credit report, Credit Score, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

The mortgage industry does not have a speed problem. It has a confidence problem. For decades, the credit score has served as the central organizing mechanism of mortgage risk. It estimates the probability of repayment using historical behavioral data. It is statistically validated, embedded in capital markets, and operationally indispensable. But the credit score answers

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The 200-Basis-point gap: Why many lenders are leaving money on the table

Contributors, HWmember, Lenders, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

A decade of MBA Quarterly Performance Reports tells a story the mortgage industry has yet to fully absorb.  A 200 basis point gap between TopTier® and Bottom Tier lenders persists. As of the quarter ended September 30, 2025, the top 20% of lenders earned 139 basis points of pre-tax production income. The average lender hovers

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