Archive | The Mortgage Scoop

Zillow

What Really Happened at Mesa? Inside a Fast, Expensive Failure

Dec 24, 2025

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15 min read

What Really Happened at Mesa? Inside a Fast, Expensive Failure

Plus, CoStar accuses Zillow of overcharging mortgage borrowers, a startup attempts a version of Rocket's Redfin play & more

James Kleimann

Dec 22, 2025

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14 min read

UWM Brokers Hit with RESPA Inquiry

Minnesota regulators are looking into UWM's Success Track program. Plus, mortgage lenders insure against AI errors, Mesa's abrupt shutdown & more

James Kleimann

Warehouse lenders

Hard Times for Easy-Money DSCRs & a Stealthy Mortgage Tech Unicorn Lands a New Client

Dec 19, 2025

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14 min read

Hard Times for Easy-Money DSCRs & a Stealthy Mortgage Tech Unicorn Lands a New Client

Investors & warehouse lenders are increasingly taking a cautious approach to DSCR loans. Plus, fresh info on UWM's plans for Two Harbors, a major servicing tech deal & more.

James Kleimann

UWM

Inside UWM’s High-Stakes Servicing Gamble & ICE Gets Its Swagger Back

Dec 17, 2025

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12 min read

Inside UWM’s High-Stakes Servicing Gamble & ICE Gets Its Swagger Back

Our analysis of UWM's pending $1.3B acquisition of Two Harbors, what Tim Bowler's exit from ICE Mortgage Technology means for the industry & more.

James Kleimann

Countrywide

Dec 15, 2025

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12 min read

Top Producer Trips: Now Safe for Work

A look at the evolution of President's/Chairman's Club trips post-Countrywide. Plus, a fast-rising lender opens the books (sort of) & Google gets into the Portal Wars.

James Kleimann

Homebuilder

Dec 12, 2025

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11 min read

When the Homebuilder’s Agent Roots Against Their Own Mortgage Co.

Why builder LOs & builder sales agents are often frenemies. Plus, what to make of Trump's EO on AI regulation, another Triple Play fight & more

James Kleimann

The Fed

How Mortgage's Biggest-Ever Brawl Went Down

Dec 10, 2025

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11 min read

How Mortgage's Biggest-Ever Brawl Went Down

We've got the inside story on why two rival lenders went at it at Triple Play in Atlantic City in '21. Plus, an update about a very interesting CCM clawback case, expectations post-Fed Day & more

James Kleimann

FHA

The Anti-50-Year Mortgage Hack & the Mortgage Reality Show America Deserves

Dec 8, 2025

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12 min read

The Anti-50-Year Mortgage Hack & the Mortgage Reality Show America Deserves

Here's a real-world hack to flip a "Refer" to a "Approve" on both FHA & Conventional loans. Plus, what would a new Netflix mortgage reality show look like?

James Kleimann

Freddie Mac

Freddie's the New AI Sheriff & Layoffs at Lennar Mortgage

Dec 5, 2025

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13 min read

Freddie's the New AI Sheriff & Layoffs at Lennar Mortgage

A breakdown on how to prepare for Freddie's new AI rules, layoffs hit Lennar Mortgage, a twist on a classic mortgage fraud scheme & more

James Kleimann