Opinion – Cantilever Real Estate

Your voice matters: Shape the future of real estate in your community

May 6, 2025 by bp56691

The real estate industry is facing another change. This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. In the face of change, the industry has always innovated on behalf of buyers and sellers. This time, it’s about updates to the Clear Cooperation Policy.

Precision partners: How AI and human expertise are elevating lending excellence

May 1, 2025 by bp56691

Artificial intelligence has moved from a buzzword to boardroom priority in lending. After years of hype and speculation, we’re finally seeing real transformation in how loans are processed, underwritten, and serviced. What’s most fascinating isn’t just the technology itself but the emerging pattern of success: the institutions making the greatest strides aren’t those attempting to replace human judgment with algorithms, but those finding the sweet spot where AI and expertise converge.

In every conversation I have with lenders implementing AI, the same truth emerges: the technology alone isn’t the breakthrough. It’s the thoughtful integration of advanced algorithms with seasoned lending professionals that’s creating results neither could achieve independently.

Disaster recovery for mortgage servicers: Navigating crisis with compliance & resilience

March 20, 2025 by bp56691

California’s wildfires highlighted the chaos that natural disasters continue to unleash – not just on homeowners, but also on the mortgage servicers tasked with supporting them and the insurance industry that covers the cost of rebuilding. From wildfires to hurricanes, floods and earthquakes, each crisis tests a servicer’s ability to manage compliance, borrower support and investor expectations. Even if federal enforcement decreases, servicers remain accountable for assisting distressed borrowers and ensuring the continued stabilization of mortgage-backed securities (MBS). A structured, forward-thinking approach is essential for servicers to meet state regulatory demands while maintaining seamless borrower support and investor confidence, even amid unpredictable crises.

The Trump administration thinks HUD’s Disaster Relief is a waste of money. They’re wrong

February 19, 2025 by bp56691

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced its own DOGE Task Force this week, after Elon Musk’s team ravaged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) last week. While American voters have little transparency into this undemocratic firing squad, we know that they intend to fire half of all HUD’s employees, including those […]

6 time management hacks to help agents sell more homes in 2025

February 17, 2025 by bp56691

A majority of agents believe 2025 is going to be a great year for the housing market. Around 85% have an optimistic outlook, and 70% believe the market will be more stable, according to a new survey from Clever Real Estate. Although agents are split on whether it’s going to be a buyers or a […]

M&A: Run your business like it’s for sale, so it never has to be

February 14, 2025 by bp56691

Managing M&A Integration for mortgage companies is like being a wedding planner for arranged marriages. Not everyone is happy to be at this party, but I’ll be damned if they aren’t 1. impressed with the aesthetic and 2. dancing and laughing by the end of the night.

Risks and opportunities for real estate in Trump’s second term

January 20, 2025 by bp56691

Voters delivered a Republican trifecta in Washington, D.C., but a razor-thin House majority and the Senate filibuster will put some limits on what is legislatively possible for President Donald Trump and the GOP Congress. The President and financial regulators will have a greater ability to deregulate, though recent Supreme Court decisions could rein in those efforts to some degree.

Capitulation: Why buyers and sellers are ready to move

January 20, 2025 by bp56691

Inaction is easy. It’s quiet; unwritten; immune from critique. It sits undone; confidently static.
But if buyers and sellers were compelled to transcribe their inaction, it would read like a sociopath’s diary entry:
“We could have watched you grow up, but your grandpa and me weren’t willing to give up our 2.875% rate to move closer to you.”

Disband or rebrand DEI? Three considerations for your association or firm

December 24, 2024 by bp56691

Fair housing is not about earning it or being worthy of it. Fair housing is simply – to borrow from Constitutional language – an inalienable right. To codify this housing right, not only do we have the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 but we have several federal amendments and executive orders as well as state and local laws that insulate over 19 protected classes in various parts of the U.S., which include:

The power of gratitude in leadership

December 19, 2024 by bp56691

Great leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room or having all the answers— it’s about creating an environment where people feel valued, inspired, and empowered to do their best work. Gratitude is one of the most powerful tools a leader can use to build that environment. It costs nothing but has the potential to transform your team, your culture, and your results.