Commercial loan brokering ... why the mystery ?Anthony M. Gramzacommercial loan brokering, education, NAMB
As we sit in our offices whether we are residential or
commercial mortgage brokers amazed by the financial marketplace and
the amount of business that we have generated over the past several
years, we should all be wondering the same thing: When are these
attractive rates going to make their leap upward? And once they do,
how will we prepare ourselves to counter the resistance of buyers
to buy, and sellers to become somewhat more realistic in their real
estate pricing?
With times changing, we need to prepare ourselves for the
inevitable fact that we must begin to earn a living. We are, in
most cases, paid on a commission basis, and since many of us have
enjoyed the spoils in the residential marketplace, should we
consider setting our visions to commercial loan brokering? The
answer in my humble opinion is yes!
Many brokers in this industry have stayed away from commercial
loans for varying reasons: they are foreign to them; they don't
understand the nomenclature; they have been spoiled on the fast
payments of commissions on the residential side; or they have heard
of the time-frame from application to closing or of the horror
stories of unworthy clients and brokers losing their commissions
& whichever the reason, they have become completely turned off.
The natural question that needs to be posed is, how do we
overcome?
Ladies and gentlemen, the answer is education. What better way
is there to become educated than through the offerings and services
of your local National Association of
Mortgage Brokers state affiliate's Educational Committee. Many
good courses are currently being offered, and NAMB has made many
instructors available to its state affiliates. In most cases, the
cost is nominal, and the little that you spend will bring back the
investment threefold. Talk to your fellow brokers, and learn more
how commercial loan brokering can become a financial reward and,
more importantly, how it can become the new source of revenue when
the residential well dries up. It's no mystery, it can and it will
happen. Are you prepared?
The business of doing commercial loan brokering has not changed
in the past 50 years. It is still a people business, a face-to-face
transaction, and a three-party system between the commercial
mortgage broker, the client and the lender, which should and, in
most cases, will end up being a profit center for all. For all the
many years that I have been associated with NAMB as a commercial
mortgage broker, I am still amazed at the lack of interest on the
part of many of our members to learn more about commercial loan
brokering. I still say, as I have preached so much in the past ...
it's no mystery.
If the choice is not to enter this side of our industry, so be
it. However, why would you let potential commission dollars slip
through your fingers? At the very least, use your knowledge to
listen to a potential client, get the basics and then refer them to
another broker who is willing to take over the responsibility and
place it with an interested lender. A referral fee or a portion of
the potential commission is better than nothing. Yet, our members
continue to let the dollars roll out of their doors because the
attitude is "We don't do commercial deals!"
I have been teaching commercial loan brokering classes for the
past 10 years, five of them as a member of NAMB. Of all the members
who have taken NAMB-certified commercial brokering courses, I often
wonder how many have still not ventured over to this side of our
industry. I'm afraid to say that probably too many have decided
that commercial loan brokering was not for them, and instead of
utilizing some basic knowledge, they have allowed the knowledge
gained in those previous classes to fade away.
For those who have elected to take the challenge, who have taken
our advice and are willing to struggle to help a client get the
proper funding needed for their business, I applaud you! You are
the winners; you are the folks who know that commercial loan
brokering is not a mystery.
Life's challenges and battles do not always go to the stronger
or faster person, but sooner or later, the person who wins is the
person who believes they will. You have heard it many times over,
and yet, we cannot help but to repeat it againif you think you will
lose, you are lost; but if you maintain a positive attitude without
losing hope, you will win. Furthermore, if you join the fraternity
of commercial loan brokers, you will have supporters who will help
you win ... and for sure, you will realize that commercial loan
brokering is no mystery!
Anthony M. Gramza is president of Rochester, N.Y.-based AMG
Commercial Mortgage Group Inc. He may be reached by phone at
(585) 264-9540 or e-mail
[email protected].
