Power House

Better founder Vishal Garg joins Diego Sanchez for a candid conversation about the proxy fight, the move away from ad-driven direct-to-consumer lending, and his plan to power origination for the rest of the industry rather than compete with it. Garg is blunt about his own mistake: not pushing the AI hard enough while younger competitors moved faster. They also get into distributed retail and wholesale, recent cost cuts, and what the path to profitability looks like from here.

Related to the episode:

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

A home is more than an asset. It’s the place and community we build our lives around. Zeb Lowe sits down with Matt Dean, founder of Dean&Co., to explore how thoughtful planning and authentic storytelling can turn a collection of neighborhoods and businesses into a real community.

Matt shares what he’s learned working alongside developers, why getting the whole team around the table early matters, and how community-centered master-planned neighborhoods can offer something that conventional suburban development often misses. They also discuss the challenges of bringing these projects to life, including builder hesitation and local opposition, and why patient, well-aligned capital can help a vision survive the development process.

For housing and real estate professionals, Matt’s message is simple: Pay attention to what makes a place feel like home. The payoff isn’t just a successful project. It’s seeing people connect, grow, and make a life there.

elated to the episode:

Want more from Zeb? Don’t forget to subscribe to LendingLife.

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

Mortgage fraud has moved from a technical compliance issue to a political weapon. Though detected fraud remains uncommon, allegations can carry enormous weight—especially when homeownership feels increasingly out of reach. The episode explores why intent matters, how accusations can shape reputations before the courts weigh in, and what this reveals about public trust and the American dream.

Related to the episode:

Want more from Zeb? Don’t forget to subscribe to LendingLife.

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

In this Power House conversation, Kevin Kauffman shares how Freddie Mac is working alongside lenders to meet rising costs and a changing housing market. He describes a partnership built on listening, data, and practical support—from streamlining lending processes to helping consumers find down payment assistance.

Related to the episode:

Want more from Zeb? Don’t forget to subscribe to LendingLife.

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

Trade associations are looking beyond the C-suite to better serve the people closest to consumers. Clayton Collins and California MBA CEO Paul Gigliotti discuss how stronger member engagement and collaboration across state lines can help the mortgage industry navigate a changing landscape. From industry consolidation to AI and housing affordability, the conversation explores how associations can turn advocacy into practical solutions for lenders, originators and borrowers.

Related to the episode:

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

al Tarsia of Castle Green Finance joins Zeb to explain C-PACE, a financing tool that lets commercial developers fund energy-efficiency and resilience work without reopening the whole capital stack. He covers how it can make a deal pencil when conventional lending leaves a gap, where it fits in housing development and disaster rebuilding, and why long-term fixed-rate money matters in a market this unpredictable.

Related to the episode:

Want more from Zeb? Don’t forget to subscribe to LendingLife.

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with top-producing originator and Premier Mortgage Resources executive Mandi Feely Swain to trace her career from loan processing to the executive level. She explains what separates the originators who will excel in a tough market from those who fall away.

Related to the episode:

Want more from Zeb? Don’t forget to subscribe to LendingLife.

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

Zeb Lowe and California MBA CEO Paul Gigliotti unpack the policy decisions shaping the mortgage industry—from the defeat of California’s proposed CRA bill and stalled mortgage portability and PACE proposals to disaster-rebuilding assistance and forbearance reform. They also look ahead to the ROAD to Housing Act and why affordable housing deserves mortgage professionals’ attention. The big takeaway: understanding policy early can help the industry prepare, advocate, and spot opportunities.

Related to the episode:

Want more from Zeb? Don’t forget to subscribe to LendingLife.

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

Homeowners 55 and up are sitting on enormous untapped equity, and most lenders still don't have a plan for it. Jim Cory, Managing Director of Reverse at Guild Mortgage and a board member at NRMLA, joins Zeb to explain how reverse mortgages went from a loan of last resort to a flexible tool for older homeowners and the almost-seniors behind them. He covers the rise of jumbo reverse products, the move from 62+ to 55+ eligibility, and why reverse for purchase may be the least understood play in the market. They also get into the industry shift: large IMBs are bringing reverse in house rather than brokering it out, building full departments the way they once did with non-QM. Plus stigma, Boomer tech adoption, and the referral network moving from realtors to financial planners and CPAs.

Related to the episode:

Want more from Zeb? Don’t forget to subscribe to LendingLife.

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

Shant Banosian, president at Rate, calls this market “separation season,” the stretch when the best operators pull away from the pack. He leads 2,000 originators and has personally closed more than 40,000 loans and $10 billion in volume, and with rates above 7% he sees an opening most of the industry is missing. In this episode, he walks Clayton Collins through how top originators pair data and technology with real advice, where non-QM and AI in operations fit into Rate's plan, and why getting originators out of the file frees them for the relationship work that grows a business.

Related to the episode:

Want more from Zeb? Don’t forget to subscribe to LendingLife.

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they’re differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.