“6-7!” has swept the nation for youngsters of indeterminant age, and for no real reason. Other numbers have meaning, as do dates. For example, today is November 10th and on this day in 1975, the freighter S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during a massive storm, killing all 29 of the crew. (Gordon Lightfoot memorialized the tragedy in a hit song the following year.) What’s in a number? Today, let’s look at “50” or “100.” Through some social media software, the president has brought up the 50- or 100-year mortgage as a way of improving affordability. Most people in this country would prefer to pay off their mortgage sooner than later. Does anyone admire the Japanese economy, or grandkids paying off their grandparent’s mortgage? “Through the use of simulation, the conclusion is reached that the 100-year mortgage has failed to increase the affordability of homes. Instead, affluent homeowners are more likely to employ long-term mortgages as an estate-planning tool to reduce inheritance taxes.” (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by TransUnion. Mortgage lenders choose TransUnion for their identity-focused, data-driven mortgage insights and solutions, enabling them to achieve more desirable lending outcomes in a volatile housing market. Hear an interview with TRUE’s Steve Butler on the challenges of income analysis in lending, particularly the delays caused by manual data entry and underwriting processes, and how technological advancements are solving this.)