LO On The Go!

Bernbaum works as a senior loan officer for NEXA Mortgage. He’s been in the mortgage industry since December 2014 and with NEXA since 2018. Up until two years ago, he worked remotely from his apartment — about 30 miles from NEXA’s Chandler, Ariz., headquarters. Now, that’s not the case. “I always took a big trip annually in the fall and would visit a few countries, and I realized that I kept focusing on when the next trip would be,” he said. “While I was in Thailand, I met a group of freelancers who told me they traveled for months at a time and still worked, and that inspired me to ask my boss about [my] being able to keep doing loans and travel.”

After comparing his cost of living to would-be travel expenses, Bernbaum found that it was cheaper to live in other countries, including the costs of airfare. He approached his boss, NEXA CEO Mike Kortas, about exploring the option to work beyond Arizona’s borders. “I prepped for an hour-long presentation, and I was given the go-ahead in the first minute,” Bernbaum said.

Kortas was “beyond supportive” of Bernbaum’s decision. “NEXA Mortgage makes life abroad possible because of our massive support platform,” Kortas said. “From corporate support, lenders, and even to vendors used by mortgage professionals alike, everyone is online all the time to support LOs from any location around the globe. Living abroad? No problem. Traveling abroad on vacation? No problem.”

A Downshift From Afar

Bernbaum knows that he could have pursued other freelance gigs while living abroad, but he stuck with what he knew. “I don’t have a background in graphic design or teaching yoga or any of the typical freelance work that I was seeing out there,” he explained. “I wanted to make my job at NEXA work, even though I work weird hours to be congruent with U.S. time.”

Those weird hours to which Bernbaum referred are between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. Turkey time, which Bernbaum doesn’t mind. (When it’s 7 p.m. in Istanbul, it’s 9 a.m. in Arizona.)

“After my work day, I get to wake up after resting and am able to go out and explore whatever country I’m in. The schedule works, and it offers a lot of flexibility,” he said. “And, my wife also has a remote job based on the same hours, so we get to spend our entire days exploring together. It’s not hard to have a work-life balance.”

Bernbaum initially thought his biggest issue would be communicating effectively with clients in different time zones, especially without being able to meet them for coffee or at open houses. “I miss that aspect of being in the states, but, thankfully, my customers have been responsive and engaging over the phone just as much,” he said.

In hindsight, Bernbaum’s biggest challenge has been keeping track of market downshifts while not physically in the states. “I struggled at the tail end of 2022 when the [market] shift negatively started affecting referral leads and my work,” he said. “I took the last half of the year to make videos for social media, attract leads, and build up my knowledge. As of right now, I’m picking up business again. I’m part of [NEXA’s] business development team, and I’m able to take in national leads. And referrals have picked up again.”

In the downturn, Bernbaum says he’s been able to find a niche in the market: “golden visa” refinances. “The premise is that borrowers can sell their refinances in order to get their golden visas, which essentially means that [they] can shortcut their way into a second citizenship of a country if they invest a certain dollar amount into a property,” he explained. “For example, if you invest $500,000 cash — or equity — into a property in Spain, you fast-track Spanish citizenship regardless of whether you occupy that property or not.”

Origination Abroad

Of course, there are rules Bernbaum has to follow according to where he can practice as an LO. Bernbaum’s NMLS number is Arizona based and his LinkedIn profile advertises that he’s in the Greater Phoenix area, but as Bernbaum puts it, “It’s hard to write that I’m pretty much based everywhere.” Because of distance regulations and lack of a permanent address, Bernbaum had to drop state licenses in Washington and Oregon.

“Luckily, I do most of my business in Arizona and Colorado where it doesn’t matter my physical distance from where my customers live,” he explained. “But I wouldn’t be able to do loans in states with a distance requirement. I’m lucky that I was able to contact both Arizona and Colorado state regulators and get the go-ahead.”

Now that Bernbaum is on the road with his new wife and his business to boot, he’s become selective about where he moves. “Obviously, internet and privacy are super important for me to work, so if we stay in hostels it’s for a very short period of time,” he said. “Otherwise, we prefer Airbnbs with good internet, a kitchen, laundry, and ideally, a dedicated workspace.” As Bernbaum puts it, being abroad affects every aspect of his life and impacts which services he uses. “I use Dialpad and have a local Arizona phone number. I have a U.S-based VPN that I take with me and multiple sim cards to ensure that I’m always reachable,” he explained.