All the possibilities!!
I have been lending in the “non-qualified“ mortgage sector for about a decade – these are mortgages where we don’t verify your personal income. (non QM). I’m educated and familiar in the “agency” loans as well ( Fannie- Freddie-FHA) But I believe Non-QM and “unconventional” or Commercial lending has especially resonated with me, due to the need for “creativity”- the need to sometimes think outside of the box, or look at a scenario with a different perspective. I think this happened with me due to a few reasons.
1. I never looked at a client as a transaction it was always as a relationship
2. When I got into the business in 2008 the “sky” was falling due to the meltdown- so Creativity and quick thinking was a necessity or loans would die.
3. Persistence and education – I am one of the few originators that is always reading and educating themselves with all the new guidelines. I never tell a client no- I always say – not today- but this is what we can do to get you qualified
4. Being Latino – the culture is very secular, they are very private and once they meet with you, and believe in you, they’re not bargain shopping you to save 2 dollars on a transaction. Loyalty is tremendous in this culture.
Lately my 1-4 family stated income product has been a tremendous success in the market– we have been funding so many of these, I’m glad to be able to help so many people. The ability to identify the client who is qualified for that product has been the factor that has led to so many transactions.
Let’s talk about opportunity for a minute – opportunity presents itself to those that are prepared.
Let me Illustrate –
This week I met with a National Savings and Loan institution – They are looking to pierce the 1-4 family investment property market. This was arranged by my Account Executive- the deal was they wanted to the top 4 commercial brokers in NYC – they wanted to sit with them and evaluate the potential synergy of working with 1 of them as a beta test-
All 4 of us had to confirm to the meeting and send our gross pipeline loan amounts to be considered.
We all did the vetting- and the day of the meeting- I drove to Manhattan, and when I arrived I was informed that the other three candidates all called in and gave various reasons why the couldn’t make it- at this time I was sitting with the President of the company. (All this was going on by way of text message)
We are sitting in the boardroom, myself, the President of mortgage operations, Chief operating officer, my Account AE. The other three candidates were on a conference call, on hold. We never conferenced them in, at that point I knew they were no longer in the running. We went over intake, products, credit criteria, and closing procedures. Our meeting took 2 hours – and at the end of the meeting. He informed the other candidates ( by text message) that they didn’t qualify. I would be the only one rolling this product out.
The moral of the story is- show up– if you say your going to do something, then you do it. You don’t only do it when it’s convenient. Integrity Matters.