podcast, our Data Reports, the "A Tale of Two Mortgages" webcomic, and LodeStar Report Newsletter.
FEATURED
Data Reports
2025 Purchase Mortgage Closing Cost Data Report
The national average total closing costs for a purchase mortgage transaction were $4,661. This amount consists of a national average of 1.06% of the home sales price.
VIEW POST
FEATURED
Full Disclosure
Vibe Check Before the Holidays
Here’s one last mortgage industry vibe check before the holidays. With just three and a half short weeks before break, Jim and Alayna give their take on the state of the mortgage industry.
LISTEN NOW
Loan Estimate Challenges
Ohio’s Biggest LE Challenges
Known as “The Buckeye State,” Ohio has produced the second-most number of American presidents of any state with seven.
Full Disclosure
Which Strategies Have the Biggest Impact
NFM Lending’s Greg Sher sits down with Alayna Gardner to discuss the impact of social media, the need for true leadership, and which marketing and leadership strategies really make the biggest difference in today’s mortgage industry.
Loan Estimate Challenges
Kentucky’s Biggest LE Challenges
The Commonwealth of Kentucky, also known as the Bluegrass State, provides few quirks when it comes to LE challenges.
A Tale of Two Mortgages
Fax Fear
Octavia must face her fear of using Horace’s outdated tech.
Loan Estimate Challenges
Oklahoma’s Biggest LE Challenges
Home to the nation’s first parking meter, the Sooner State is a fairly straight-forward state when it comes to LE challenges.
Full Disclosure
A Person-First Approach to Lending
Alayna Gardner sits down with Travis Dyson, VP of Sales at Flagstaff Bank, on the power of relationships in lending, the importance of planning, and the primacy of putting people first.
Loan Estimate Challenges
Kansas’s Biggest LE Challenges
Nestled among the plains states, Kansas is home to over 800 caves. None of them have applicable fees, to our knowledge.
A Tale of Two Mortgages
Lord High Rates
The Fed continues its primordial heroic struggle against its cosmic arch nemesis, Lord High Rates.
Deeper Thoughts
What Differentiates LodeStar’s Quality of Service?
The LodeStar Kelsey joined was three people, including her. Now, LodeStar, though still a small business, has nearly twenty employees spread across several departments. And with that growth in personnel has come a growth in the amount of knowledge LodeStar possesses.