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SHINING A LIGHT ON WOMEN IN WHOLESALE LENDING

In an industry that has traditionally been dominated by males, there are some trailblazing women looking to forge their own path. Odysa and Yariela joined forces in wholesale mortgage lending after deciding to leave retail lending, and not only are they delivering a better experience for their clients, they’re also opening doors for other women in the business.

GETTING SHOPPED, GETTING OUT

Odysa left her job as a retail mortgage loan officer in 2018 after she’d lost over a million dollars in loan volume due to rate shopping. Although she had never met Yariela in person, they were connected on social media, so she knew Yariela was still working as a retail loan officer, in Miami. Odysa recognized their shared experiences and saw an opportunity for a partnership, so she scheduled a lunch date to meet Yariela and discuss the differences she was seeing working as an independent mortgage broker.

“Honestly, I had no idea why I was going,” said Yariela. “I made it very clear to her – I like where I am. I'm not leaving. And she's like, ‘Okay, that's fine.’ She started talking to me about it and then 2 days later, I'm like, ‘Hey, can you price a loan for me’?”

After realizing that rates were significantly lower in wholesale lending, Yariela decided to leave retail as well. Not only that, she and Odysa decided to open their own mortgage brokerage together.

“IT’S EMPOWERING”

Yariela immediately began seeing the benefits of operating as an independent mortgage broker in wholesale, just as Odysa did when she made the switch. Instead of worrying about losing deals because of price, she went into every client meeting with confidence that she had better pricing.

“It's exciting, it's empowering. I feel like I'm going to win the deal no matter what,” said Yariela. “So, I encourage my buyers to shop me. I'm like, ‘Go ahead, get a loan estimate and bring it back to me and I'll be able to beat that’.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Odysa, who has found a sweet spot in being able to maneuver her compensation level if needed to win a loan over her retail competitors.

“I have full control over how much I can make, how little to make, and I'll never lose a deal again,” said Odysa. “I've never lost a deal since coming to the broker world.”

CREATING OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN

Odysa and Yariela have also discovered how much more effective they are when working as a team. While Odysa focuses on compliance and licensing, Yariela leads the company’s marketing efforts.

“I feel like we're in sync,” said Yariela. “We know each other's weaknesses and strengths. It's been very seamless.”

“Having her as a partner has made all the difference,” said Odysa. “We just divide and conquer. We each take on different roles and it just works.”

Odysa and Yariela have been very intentional in making their broker shop a place that’s empowering for women. Having worked for mortgage companies that were male-dominated, they both take pride in recognizing their employees, who are all women.

“We wanted to open a place where women feel like they can shine, where women don't feel less than anyone else,” said Yariela. “It's empowering to be a woman in this industry.”