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

Becoming an independent mortgage broker brings a level of career freedom that’s hard to find in other areas of the industry. However, being “independent” doesn’t mean being on your own. Having partners who support you and your business is essential to success. That partnership is what led Fannie Mae back to where her mortgage career started.

A NAME MADE FOR MORTGAGES

Fannie Mae got her start in the industry as an investor. She was up late one night and saw an infomercial about making money through real estate. After investing in a couple of properties, she felt like she wasn’t receiving the service she deserved from her real estate agent or her mortgage lender.

“Because of the bad experience I had, I wanted to make the homebuying process great for other people,” said Fannie Mae.

With a name like Fannie Mae, you might think she was destined to work in the mortgage business. However, it wasn’t until an independent mortgage broker she was working with made the connection. “He said, ‘You know, you have the perfect name for the business’,” said Fannie Mae, who would go on to work for that independent mortgage broker, who also became her mentor.

Unfortunately, when the housing market shifted, the broker shut down his business. For a while thereafter, Fannie Mae then bounced around at a few different jobs before landing at a bank. Then came the pandemic and, with it, a new set of challenges.

FRUSTRATIONS IN RETAIL LENDING

Like many mortgage lenders, the bank where Fannie Mae was working halted some of their loan products and added overlays when the pandemic hit. Things also moved a lot slower.

“A file that would take maybe 3 to 4 weeks ended up taking 90 days,” she said. She also had other reasons to explore a change. As a mortgage loan officer, she had always emphasized great communication and efficiency, but she wasn’t getting either in retail lending.

“Once the file left my hands, I had no control,” said Fannie Mae of her experience as a retail loan officer. “And sometimes I couldn't even talk to the underwriter or the underwriter wouldn’t even call me back. I just couldn't take it anymore.”

RETURNING TO A COMMUNITY

Even before Fannie Mae got her license as an independent mortgage broker to open her own brokerage, she knew it would be different than the first time around. The biggest change was that a broker community now existed, the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), that welcomed her with open arms.

“People who had no vested interest in me at all, they just helped,” said Fannie Mae.  “They really want to see this community grow and they really believe in it. And that made me believe in it even more.”

Her loan production also took off. She did more volume in her first year back in wholesale than previously.

“I had a lot of repeat business. Then I was able to build even more business through efficiency working with great lenders,” said Fannie Mae.

Her full circle back to independence in the wholesale channel has far exceeded Fannie Mae’s expectations. It’s also put her in a position to encourage other retail loan officers to make the same move that she did.

“Being a broker just does not compare,” said Fannie Mae. “If this is something you really want to do, take the leap and do it.”