“My landlord told me that she would like to have a chat with me about the house’s sky-high heating bills this winter. I told her, ‘Sure thing, whenever you want. My door is always open.’” A key selling point for originators, in talking to potential clients on the fence about buying a home, is rent. Rents have been increasing, and there’s no sense of permanency, but if you can’t pay your rent, qualifying for a home loan is going to tough. LendingTree found that more than 8 million U.S. adults live in a household not caught up on rent payments. About 3.6 million adults are also living in households that are not being charged rent, primarily in Mississippi, West Virginia, Alaska, Arkansas, and Alabama. There are plenty of rent disputes in the courts, just as there are disputes and cases involving mortgage bankers. I bring this up because convicted former MBA Chairman Ron McCord and his Oklahoma-based company settled CapLoc’s allegations that they put fraudulent loans on a funding line settled for $31 million. Brad Finkelstein did a write up. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week it’s sponsored by MGIC. Since 1957, MGIC has insured more than 13.5 million mortgage loans with innovative products, tools and strategies that help customers solve problems and fuel growth. Explore tools and solutions to boost your business here. Listen to an interview with Tallulah Le Merle, where she flips the script and asks Robbie questions about mortgages.) Lender and Broker Services and Software