Owning a mortgage company can be a rewarding experience. You’d be helping families, business owners, and renters close deals on their dream real estate properties. On average, mortgage brokers earn up to $80,000 per year, which is only possible when the business is handled correctly with the right balance of risks and investment. In other words, your success is a mixture of various ingredients. These include your compliance, your relationships with the industry and your clients, and your willingness to learn and improve.
Growing your mortgage business doesn’t have to require a major brand makeover or complete change in processes. There are a variety of small steps that you can take now to improve your current workflow and larger initiatives that you can implement long term as you look to grow your business and bring in additional borrowers.
What does a mortgage company do?
A mortgage is basically a type of debt that is specifically taken out to purchase real estate property. The role of a mortgage company is to act as the middle man between the prospective property buyer and the financial institution providing the loan.
Kindel Media/ Pexels | Mortgage loans are used to buy a home or to borrow money against the value of a home
The company can also purchase the mortgages or loans from the original mortgage lender and then later broker them to serious homebuyers. In any case, owning a mortgage brokerage business is not so different from owning any other type of small business. As long as you know what you’re doing and have the right entrepreneurial mindset, you should be able to launch and grow your own mortgage lending company in no time.
Best strategies for browning mortgage business
Here are some best practices and marketing tips for loan officers looking to win business and stand out from the competition in 2022.
Keep your website up to date
The digital space is competitive, and an outdated website can set you back. Review your website and analyze what might need to be changed or updated. Some items to take a look at include reviews, product content, statistics, and company contact information. If a potential borrower sees that your website information hasn’t been recently updated, they’ll be far less likely to consider you as a reliable source for timely information and service.
Karolina Grabowska/ Pexels | When you have a mortgage, you're paying interest on it
Connect with real estate agents
When you’re figuring out how to get realtor referrals as a loan officer, try to avoid agents with a lot of listings. More than likely, they have an experienced lender they already rely on. Instead, select agents with around three to four listings. These agents know how to get business and may be open to spending more time with you. Once you’ve established the relationship, it’s essential to stay top-of-mind with all of your real estate agents. Consider sending short weekly or biweekly market update videos.
Think about what you’d want as a borrower
Andrea Piacquadio/ Pexels | Monthly mortgage costs averaged $1,297 in 2019, with a median payment of $975
It's easy to get so focused on efficiency and productivity that you forget that the borrowers on the other end of the mortgage transaction are real humans. Sit down and take a few minutes to put yourself in the shoes of a first-time homebuyer. If you’re a homeowner, think back to the process of buying your first home. If you’re not already a homeowner, imagine how you might feel the first time you purchase a house. Sharing the same thoughts and mindset as a borrower helps you easily connect with your future and potential clients.