I was the 269th top producer in the country in 2012 for mortgage loan officers, ranked by Scotsman Guide Media. My mom always told me not to worry about coming in first place and just to do my best. In all seriousness I think one of the measures of a successful mortgage loan officer is how much business they do.
It is not just about sales and who sells the most. That sounds sleazy and makes it sound like sales is only about who is a fast talker and who can be the most convincing. It is really about who has put in place stable systems, high-technology, good communications, a functional website, and takes care of their clients. The people that run a good business do the most business.
There are roughly 275,000 loan officers in the country according to the chart below, so coming in 269th place is actually pretty good. It puts me in the top 1/10th of 1% of all loan officers in the country.
Picking a loan officer is difficult and should be based on many metrics. It should NOT be a decision based solely on price. It is astonishing to me how many people will pick a service provider for the most expensive transaction in their life based solely on price. I don’t think many people pick their doctor based on price, nor their lawyer for an expensive legal issue. For the most expensive purchase in our life why do we get so cheap? There should be many things that we measure a loan officer by; most of these should be based on service, execution, technology, and experience.
Most loan officers won’t tell you about their excellent website, because they don’t have one.
Most loan officers won’t tell you how much business they do, because it isn’t much.
Most loan officers won’t tell you about the latest security software that they are using to protect your documents and keep your identity safe, because they don’t use any.
Most loan officers won’t give you a public and transparent way to track your loan progress and hold themselves accountable, because they don’t have any.
Most loan officers won’t tell you what they do to educate the mortgage consumer, because they don’t do any education. I do in many, many, many ways.
Make sure you make an intelligent business decision the next time you pick a mortgage loan officer, and work with someone who does a lot of volume and has the systems in place to support that volume. Chances are high that you will have the best transactions with those people.
Brian Martucci is a loan officer for Capital Bank Home Loans, a division of Capital Bank, N.A. He has been in the mortgage industry since 1986 and has served in a number of roles, including loan processor, loan officer, mortgage broker, branch manager, and vice president. Brian Martucci – NMLS# 185421. His opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Capital Bank Home Loans or Capital Bank. Capital Bank, N.A.- NMLS# 401599. Click here for the Capital Bank, N.A. “Privacy Policy”.
