Brand Spankin’ New

“You also have to be good at giving bad news sometimes,” Ali says. “And to experience that early on is extremely valuable for your career.”

Ali had a corporate background in sales and IT when his brother Dan, also an LO, encouraged him to pop the 9-to-5 bubble and start clean. He began working as a loan officer assistant 12 years ago, before getting licensed in 2014.

“I started cold-calling … doing refinances at a high volume,” he recalls of those early days. “I had to experience the challenges of a rookie early on and overcome them at a very quick pace.”

The industry has grown up a lot since then. Today’s new LOs face similar, but different trials.

“They're entering the space when the industry has already passed that first adaptation,” Ali says. “We've already started to evolve, incorporating tech, expedited underwriting, imaging software, auto chatbots, [and] auto uploads. In my time, tech was up and coming, so we took full advantage. I understand the tech like the back of my hand. But now that it's standard, the next level up is AI. I think these new LOs are really going to do a good job of taking advantage of it.”

Watch it on The Interest: Emerging LOs Are Redefining Success

CRUSHING GOALS

Julian Yuen was licensed in late June 2023, and his goal was to close four loans by 2024. Yuen accomplished that feat in April 2024 and is now on his way to closing four more. 

“I’m focused on progress over perfection, instead of being super results-oriented. I feel like that brings me more joy, more fulfillment,” Yuen says. “I'm going to make sure I continue to meet people and learn more about the myriad products out there so that I can be honest with myself at the end of the day. If I hit it, great. If I didn't, at least I know I exhausted all options in trying to hit that goal.”

In Yuen’s world, it’s more important to build a strong foundation than it is to quickly stack files.

“It’s not necessarily like I need to be the top producer or chase this certain volume or number of units,” he says. “But I am chasing after new trainings, new opportunities to grow, different programs that I can offer my borrowers. At the end of the day, if I can give them that five-star client experience, that's an accomplishment, and I can go to sleep happy.”

ROCKET TO SUCCESS

Once a senior director and mortgage banker at Quicken Loans (now Rocket Mortgage), Ali “Ace” Charafeddine now trains teams of LOs to maximize their profits tenfold. 

“It's not about the mortgage, it’s about how you're changing people's lives,” says the author of The 10 Keys of Sales and founder of virtual training course Acez Academy.

“I truly believe that sales fundamentals can be duplicated in any industry,” Charafeddine says.

As a consultant for West Capital Lending, he helped the Irvine-based lender grow into a mega broker, now surpassing $1 billion in volume. 

“That was a very proud story for me, because when I started, I had no experience and I was still able to be a number one in a company with thousands of people. And that was because I only focused on the relationships and the genuineness of helping people.”

He encourages new LOs to hone their communication skills and put in sweat equity.  

“If they can have a conversation with somebody, go deeper than anybody else and make that person truly feel like they understand their life, and then customize an option that makes sense for them, that will be their biggest competitive advantage. I always say I'm not a mortgage originator – I'm a therapist, an attorney, a counselor, a financial advisor, I'm whatever the client needs me to be. And once they have that down pat, work harder than everybody else.”

TAKE IT PERSONALLY

A computer science and engineering graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Yuen has applied his institutional knowledge to originating.

“In the world of computer science, we're taught how to break problems down, understanding inputs, outputs, constraints, edge cases…that correlates to guidelines in the mortgage world,” he explains. “What are the inputs? Borrowers, income, debts, their goals. What are their edge cases? Are there any exceptions that can be made? Just finding the different puzzle pieces to help get them into a loan program that meets their home ownership goals.”

Hugo Gonzalez, another new LO at Equity Smart, began his originating journey at the tail end of January. A former “Big Four” public accountant and professional video game player of Super Smash Bros. fame, Gonzalez likes making his own schedule. It was an old friend he ran into at the bar who encouraged him to consider becoming an LO.

“A lot of the things I loved about being a competitive video game player aligned with being a mortgage loan officer,” he says. “I decide my schedule, I decide how hard I want to work, if I want to see success.”

Strong interpersonal skills are what Gonzalez believes are his superpower.

“I'm a terrible salesperson, but what I am good at is having people work with me, trust me. I don't really have to go out there and sell. I can just go out there and have people like me and then that can translate into business.”

What he calls his “training wheels loan” was with a near-perfect file and a borrower who shopped him.

“It came down to me being willing to go to a lower rate, honestly for this deal,” Gonzalez says. “Because it was my first, I was willing to go as low as it took because I just wanted the experience. I didn't care about the money.”

Gonzalez sealed the deal on April 16 and took off from there. “I’ve got another purchase closing this Wednesday, two HELOCs hopefully closing next week, a couple pre-approvals out there,” he told NMP Magazine in mid-May.

Custom Rate LO Amber Stout considers her knowledge of finance and experience as a property investor her LO-armor.

“Since graduating college with a finance degree, I understood the power of wealth creation through real estate and decided to purchase rental properties several years after graduation,” she says. “The benefits of owning properties, particularly the cash flow – gave me the freedom and flexibility to leave my W2 job, solidified my decision to pursue this career. I wanted to help others build wealth through real estate.”

Stout also desired the ability to work from anywhere and build her own business. 

“In my opinion, personal growth is essential for business growth, which excites me,” she says. “My education in finance, experience in owning rental properties, extensive network of investors, and past sales experience have all contributed to my success in this career thus far.” 

TO NICHE THEIR OWN

Stout found her niche working with fellow investors, but also first-time homebuyers with an interest in becoming investors someday.

“I think it's crucial for rookie LOs to determine their ideal client and who they are best able to serve,” she says. “This will allow them to learn how to solve that particular client's problems and effectively market to and attract that specific type of client. Most importantly though is being able to provide enormous value to that particular clientele as that will create raving fans and therefore referrals.”

Gonzalez, on the other hand, is sampling a little bit of everything right now.

“I feel like my niche is just gonna be ‘jack of all trades.’ I know that takes a lot of work, research and understanding, but so far at least I’ve been completely open to that and learning everything I can.”

He takes seriously the fact that every borrower is different, and the more information you have about them, the better. A lesson learned quickly after those first few files.

“The experts will tell you something, but they might not say it with a full understanding of the scenario. So my philosophy from now on is going to be trust, but verify,” Gonzalez says. “If I'm asking an AE or an underwriter anything, I'm always gonna verify what they say. That's not to say that anyone does a bad job. It's just the nature of this business. There are so many details to consider. Not everybody can be 100% right without all the information.”

A first-generation American, Yuen is bilingual in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese and was able to use his multi-language background to find a niche. 

“I remember doing a lot of translation for my parents growing up, which has been so helpful in my mortgage career, helping potential home buyers understand the mortgage process in the Chinese language,” he explains. 

That’s invaluable to real estate agents with clients who don’t speak English, and Yuen is becoming accustomed to working with foreign nationals, investors, and borrowers with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). 

“Folks are working one to two jobs a day trying to support their family, whether it be at restaurants, casinos, the service industries…so I'm usually chatting with them during the evenings, sometimes late into the night,” he says. “Maybe they have some family members who are going to help with the gift fund so I'm making sure I adjust my time zones to those in Hong Kong, et cetera. Just being available for them – they can feel that.”

Industry jargon like escrow and title can be confusing to English-speaking people, never mind English-language learners. “Being that support system, being their advocate, has been very fulfilling. So I'm really grateful to have stumbled upon this career.”

HERE COMES THE SUN

Stout is still practicing speed of delivery with clear-to-close. Securing a client’s documents upfront and correctly setting up their file is key. 

“This way, when we have an accepted offer,” she explains, “I may not need any additional documentation, or if I do, it’s very minimal.”

The challenge is understanding every client’s unique needs while getting them the best possible deal to meet those needs. 

“I treat every loan as if it were my own, ensuring that the client, who I often consider a friend, is getting the best deal they can and is educated and empowered along the way.”

As Stout puts it, her one-year production goal of $15 million is “audacious.”

“A larger goal allows me to think differently about how I approach business and the decisions I must make to achieve it. I've been in the business for five full months and have closed $3.8 million, so I have quite a ways to go. However, I'm up for the challenge and learning every day how to better serve and add value to my clients and referral partners.”

This job takes a kind of grace that is learned with experience. Unlike Tom and more like Jerry, Yuen and Gonzalez quietly craft a plan of attack. They don’t jump in faces at an open house or another event where potential borrowers are on the loose. 

“I try to make sure that my real estate partners are the star of the show, which obviously they are, right? It's their listing, they're trying to meet more people, et cetera,” Yuen says. “Having the ability to read the room and understand when and where to talk about loans, finding those right moments, is critical.”

“I'm not here to make people attending the open house feel awkward as I bombard them with financing facts and business cards,” Gonzalez says. “I'm just hanging out and talking. And once there's a need for financing or questions, we start talking about it.”

He keeps in touch with five or six real estate agents on a regular basis.

“Now they haven't all given me deals, but I have one specific philosophy that I'm hoping I adhere to for the rest of my career: if I meet someone and I know for a fact somehow that they would never give me a deal, would I still talk to them and would I still be willing to hang out with them? If the answer is yes, then that's someone who I want to work with. Because if I get along with them on the level where it doesn't hinge on a deal, then how can a deal not happen eventually?”