When Ron Liu entered the mortgage business in 2015, he didn’t have a referral network, a clear business plan, or even strong English skills. What he did have was a willingness to specialize — building relationships with Mandarin-speaking real estate investors and steadily growing a production pipeline that now includes millions in annual loan volume.
Liu, whose legal name is Yusheng Liu, graduated from New York University with a master’s degree in sports business. He never planned on pursuing a career in mortgage lending. The opportunity arose during a chance encounter with two industry professionals, a Chase lending manager and a top producer at GuardHill Financial, who convinced him to join the business. Within a decade, he built a production pipeline centered on referral relationships, investor clients, and a broker model designed for scalability.
After working for various retail lenders, including GuardHill Financial, loanDepot, and CrossCountry Mortgage, Liu joined Brooklyn-based brokerage platform Go Rascal Inc., in February 2025.
His career path reflects that of many mid-tier mortgage originators who rely heavily on referral networks, investor relationships, and niche borrower segments to maintain production in a competitive purchase-driven market.
Production Built On Purchases And Investors
Purchase transactions accounted for the majority of his business, about 57% of volume, while refinances represented 43%.
Most of Liu’s production comes from conventional loans, which made up roughly 69% of his total volume, though he also works with a range of other lending programs.
Property types in his pipeline reflect a strong investor focus. Multifamily properties accounted for roughly 44.5% of his loans, followed by single-family homes (31%) and condominiums (15%).
The bulk of his deals are brokered through wholesale lenders — about 92% of his volume — highlighting the flexibility he sees in the broker channel.
Turning A Language Barrier Into A Niche
When Liu entered the mortgage industry, he said one of his biggest early obstacles was communication.
“My spoken English was very bad,” Liu said.
Rather than competing immediately for local borrowers, Liu leaned into a niche where he had an advantage: Mandarin-speaking foreign national clients.
At the time, many Chinese investors were actively purchasing property in New York City, particularly condominium units.
“I deal with a lot of foreign national clients who speak Mandarin,” Liu said.
The niche helped Liu establish early production while gaining experience with complex investor transactions.
Lessons From Athletics
Before moving to the United States, Liu competed as a national-level track and field athlete in China, specializing in the 100-meter sprint and long jump.
He said the mindset from sports still shapes how he approaches mortgage origination.
“In the mortgage business, it’s all about spirit,” Liu said.
He pointed to the industry’s challenging rate environment in recent years, particularly 2023, when mortgage rates climbed above 8% — as an example of why resilience matters.
“When you run 100 meters, you know who is ahead of you,” Liu said. “In this business, it’s the same. You see the top producers, and you want to chase them.”
Transition From Retail To Broker Channel
Last year, Liu transitioned from CrossCountry Mortgage — one of the nation’s largest retail lenders — to Go Rascal, a broker platform that provides access to multiple wholesale lenders.
The move, he said, was about control and entrepreneurship.
“I want to establish my own team,” Liu said.
The broker model also allows originators to access dozens of lenders and loan programs rather than relying on a single institution’s guidelines.
“We have tons of programs and tons of lenders,” Liu said. “You just have to train yourself to understand each program and how it fits the client.”
Referral-Driven Business Development
As a purchase-focused originator, Liu centers his strategy around relationship building. That strategy has already benefitted his career, considering many originators were forced to switch from doing mostly refinance business to mostly purchase business following the sharp decline in refinance volume in 2022 as interest rates climbed.
He regularly attends real estate events, maintains close connections with agents and developers, and works closely with repeat clients who refer business to him.
“I sponsor some condos. I’m the preferred lender for some buildings,” Liu said.
Interestingly, Liu said he rarely asks clients directly for referrals. Instead, he described many of those relationships developing organically over time.
“They just come,” he said.
Scaling With Support Staff
Like many successful originators, Liu credits operational support with helping him maintain production.
He works with a processor and an assistant and holds structured pipeline meetings twice a week.
His advice to newer loan officers: hire earlier than you think.
“As early as possible,” Liu said. “As a loan officer, we should focus on sales-driven activities.”
AI And The Future Of Origination
Liu has also started incorporating artificial intelligence tools into his workflow.
He uses ChatGPT to help prepare borrower proposals, presentations, and document reviews, and he works with internal technology designed to match loan scenarios with wholesale lender guidelines.
“I think AI is huge,” Liu said.
He believes automation will impact processing and underwriting roles faster than it will replace loan originators themselves.
“Real estate is a relationship business,” Liu said. “It’s about trust.”
Advice For New Originators
For loan officers entering the industry today, Liu said one of the most effective ways to build a business is by leaning into a niche that others may overlook. Early in his career, he focused on Mandarin-speaking borrowers and foreign national investors, allowing him to serve clients who often struggled to find loan officers able to guide them through the U.S. mortgage process.
By concentrating on that segment, Liu said he was able to build trust, generate repeat clients, and develop a steady stream of referrals.
“You have to know the guidelines and the programs,” Liu said. “If you understand how to structure the loan, you can help clients that other people cannot.”
