Are you ready to make the life-changing switch to a career as an independent mortgage broker or loan officer? Our team at BeAMortgageBroker.com is here to help you every step of the way.

FINDING A BETTER WAY TO WORK IN THE WHOLESALE MORTGAGE INDUSTRY

As anyone working in sales knows, the customer experience is essential to earning referrals and growing your business. In the mortgage industry, there are factors that you can control and those that are out of your hands. That’s what has led many mortgage loan originators to make the switch from retail lending to wholesale, including Cory B.

Wearing All the Hats

A 25-year veteran of the mortgage industry, Cory has held different positions throughout her career, including stints in secondary capital markets, operations and underwriting. She fashions herself as a problem solver, always looking to improve processes. However, working in retail mortgage lending, she found it increasingly difficult to implement meaningful change.

 “When I would ask those challenging questions, the answer that would always come back to me – ‘well that’s just how we do it,’” said Cory.

When she moved into a sales role, her eyes were opened even wider to the inefficiencies associated with the retail model of mortgage lending.

“One of my main questions was, ‘why do I have to submit a file, then it goes to setup, then it goes to a loan officer assistant, then it goes to processing and then it finally gets to an underwriter?’,” she said. “At that point, I’ve lost a week and a half to two weeks, and my client has also lost that time.”

Switching and Scaling

In an effort to better serve her clients and position herself for the future, Cory decided to become an independent mortgage loan officer. Almost immediately, she began to see the major differences of originating loans in the wholesale mortgage industry.

“I get to set the pricing, I get to push out my own docs, I get to talk to the title agent and balance everything for closing, so it was such a tidy little package tied in a bow,” she said of the loan process on the independent mortgage broker side.

In her first year as an independent mortgage loan officer, she was able to help 75 families.

“Now they’re referring people. And then their daughter’s cousin’s niece is coming to me because they’ve heard how it genuinely helps them. So the way I found success is just keeping true to my values.”

Getting and Giving Support

The more time she spends working in the wholesale mortgage industry, the more she knows made the right decision. The dynamic of her lending relationships has completely changed for the better.

“As an independent mortgage broker, the lenders want my business,” said Cory. “I’m their client, so I’m the number one priority. I can make a phone call and I can have someone on the line in 5 seconds. I can get my answer like that instead of waiting days.”

Cory has also enjoyed being part of the nationwide broker community. She’s active in the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) and loves being able to advise newer loan officers on best practices.

“We are there to support each other, and there’s something so satisfying when you’re helping somebody’s career go up to that next level,” said Cory.

She also has a message for loan officers who are still working in retail banking.

“If you haven’t done wholesale, you need to look at it because when the market gets harder, you need to be smarter. You need to have better control over everything you’re touching, but more importantly, you need to have control over everything that’s happening for your client and for your referral partners. So if there was ever a time to be in wholesale, this is the time.”