Top Producers Pro Tips: Best of the West 2016
March 24, 2016 12:00 PM
West Regional Rankings
Learn how the some of the industry's most successful loan originators get it done with these tricks of the trade from the 2016 Top Producers top 20 loan officers of the West.
No. 20 Rosalie Rains, Capital Financial Advisors<br>Malibu, Calif. (No. 50 overall)
Who is someone in your life, either personally or professionally, who helps contribute to your success?My fiance Walter Tharp. He ran wholesale at a national lender prior to the crash and his credit experience has been invaluable to my business. He shows up everyday and runs the credit piece of my business and adds a corporate swagger to my business that it never had.
No. 19 Tim Taylor, Prospect Mortgage<br>Santa Barbara, Calif. (No. 49 overall)
Tell us about an unusual or difficult loan scenario and what you did to ensure a successful closing.I had a difficult loan scenario that involved a client whose only income was from mineral rights. I was able to find an investor who would allow it and I saved the day on a $2 million purchase.
No. 18 Mark Johnson, Prospect Mortgage<br>Calabasas, Calif. (No. 48 overall)
What's unique about the local market that you serve and what do you do to address those needs?My loan amounts range from $100,000 to over $3 million. Many times we end up going with a jumbo loan, and jumbo guidelines require planning and packaging to make sure the transaction is smooth. Attention to detail and asking all the right questions are key to anticipating and planning for the purchase in the jumbo market.
No. 17 Tony Adkins, Alliance Home Loans<br>Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (No. 40 overall)
Who is someone in your life, either personally or professionally, who helps contribute to your success?My wife of 27 years has been my partner. We have been working together in the mortgage industry for over 16 years. (Tracy Adkins is ranked 240th in the survey.) Obviously, I could not have achieved the success that I have experienced over the years without her being by my side. We make a good team I would say. She does most of the work and I get a lot of the credit, just being truthful!
No. 16 Andrew Soss, Guaranteed Rate<br>Newport Beach, Calif. (No. 34 overall)
What do you know about the mortgage business now that you wished you knew when you started out?In some ways, I'm glad I didn't know the things I know now. I may not have pursued this line of work had I known how difficult it is. Secondly, there is nothing like failing to make you learn a lesson. If I told someone just starting out all of the pitfalls, they wouldn't know the feeling of messing up and having to tell a client that they aren't getting their dream home. Do that once or twice early in your career and it will never happen again.
No. 15 Dianne Crosby, Guaranteed Rate<br>Oakland, Calif. (No. 33 overall)
Tell us about your most creative or successful marketing strategy. How did you come up with the idea? What were the results?I use public libraries to host homebuyer classes and for a meetup for lenders, real estate brokers and clients called Gaining Access to Great Loans. The neutral location and ability to network adds credibility to my own purpose. I enjoy preparing the presentation, inviting guest speakers and facilitating the discussion that follows each program.
No. 14 Brian Decker, Guaranteed Rate<br>Temecula, Calif. (No. 32 overall)
Tell us about an unusual or difficult loan scenario and what you did to ensure a successful closing.I had a VA client who had saved up $3,000 cash for closing costs and deposited it in the bank the day after we opened escrow. None of this could be sourced since they had saved it over three years being overseas. Without these funds they were short to close and we could not increase the rate. In order to save the deal I did it for no compensation and was able to provide them the additional $2,800 needed for closing without any increase in the rate.
No. 13 Eric Rotner, Commerce Home Mortgage<br>Walnut Creek, Calif. (No. 31 overall)
Who is someone in your life, either personally or professionally, who helps contribute to your success?The ownership group and executive staff at my company provide excellent support along with the freedom to conduct my business in my own unique way. They have created a very loan-officer-driven environment and have put excellent support staff from origination to underwriting to closing in place to ensure I can deliver on the service levels needed to compete.
No. 12 Kelly Marsh, Broadview Mortgage<br>Santa Barbara, Calif. (No. 30 overall)
Tell us about your most creative or successful marketing strategy. How did you come up with the idea? What were the results?I sponsored foster children at Christmastime and gave them gifts from Santa and a free trolley ride to view Christmas lights throughout Santa Barbara with their foster families. Getting your name out in the community is a powerful thing. The feeling I get from giving is the best reward and it comes back around always through my business.
No. 11 Houtan Hormozian, Crestico Funding<br>Woodland Hills, Calif. (No. 29 overall)
Tell us about your most creative or successful marketing strategy. How did you come up with the idea? What were the results?Being an active community member and serving the public helps me with my business. As a first-time homebuyer before I entered the mortgage industry I didn't like how I was being treated and always being kept in the dark about the process, I promised myself to be an exceptional mortgage originator and provide the best possible service for my clients.
No. 10 David Jaffe, On Q Financial<br>Westlake Village, Calif. (No. 26 overall)
Tell us about an unusual or difficult loan scenario and what you did to ensure a successful closing.Our client wanted to downsize and wanted to purchase the new one prior to selling the existing house so they could do improvements. They were retired with a large amount of assets invested in retirement funds. The monthly retirement draws the clients were taking were not enough to qualify for the carrying costs on two homes. We were able to use an "asset dissipation" loan which allowed us to annuitize their retirement assets over 15 years and gave us a much higher income stream to qualify. On top of this we also did an interest-only loan so their payments would be very low until they sold the prior home.
No. 9 Amanda Sessa, SWBC Mortgage<br>Boulder, Colo. (No. 22 overall)
What's unique about the local market that you serve and what do you do to address those needs?We have many mountain properties and condo complexes. It is important to understand how to make all of the loans associated with these properties work. We need to know our stuff. It is also a small town. We must perform!
No. 8 Damon Germanides, Insignia Mortgage<br>Beverly Hills, Calif. (No. 18 overall)
Tell us about your most creative or successful marketing strategy. How did you come up with the idea? What were the results?Since Insignia Mortgage specializes in more complex jumbo loans, it took a leap of faith to commit to advertising these niche products for foreign nationals, retirees and self-employed real estate investors. What I learned is that you must be willing to repeat your message many times for your referral sources to remember who you are and what you excel at.
No. 7 Ben Anderson, Guaranteed Rate<br>Irvine, Calif. (No. 16 overall)
What's unique about the local market that you serve and what do you do to address those needs?My local market is the tough-to-qualify, self-employed borrower. We have a method of following up with borrowers at the right time. If the debt ratio is too high, we'll put them in a call back bucket when next year's taxes are due. If they don't qualify but have a non-occupying co-borrower we'll explore that route. We think creatively.
No. 6 Danny Horanyi, Caliber Home Loans<br>San Diego, Calif. (No. 14 overall)
What do you know about the mortgage business now that you wished you knew when you started out?The mortgage business has gotten extremely hard since the economic meltdown. The good news is the barrier of entry into our industry is very difficult and there is less competition. Our ability to execute has made our team one of the best in the country.
No. 5 Chris Furie, Insignia Mortgage<br>Beverly Hills, Calif. (No. 11 overall)
Tell us about an unusual or difficult loan scenario and what you did to ensure a successful closing.I recently was able to make a loan to a foreign national for over $5 million into a limited liability corporation with the borrowers living abroad. This was a high-profile purchase for a business manager so we needed to coordinate closely with the borrower and the business manager to close the loan on time.
No. 4 Risha Kilaru, Prospect Mortgage<br>Fremont, Calif. (No. 10 overall)
What's unique about the local market that you serve and what do you do to address those needs?My market is predominantly Asian with a massive mix of Indians and Chinese. I am Indian and can relate very well to this demographic, understand their needs, and communicate effectively. This helps them to trust me. Also, many of them are engineers. They like numbers so you have to be good at explaining their numbers to them.
No. 3 Anthony Musante, Citibank<br>La Jolla, Calif. (No. 5 overall)
What do you know about the mortgage business now that you wished you knew when you started out?I used to think that my volume was capped by the number of hours in a day. I remember when I first had 10 loans in my pipeline and thought that there was no way I could handle one more loan. I was tapped out. I was managing my pipe reactively vs. proactively. Once I learn to work proactively, I could leverage my time much more effectively and my volume increased accordingly.
No. 2 Brian Minkow, Prospect Mortgage<br>Westlake Village, Calif. (No. 2 overall)
Tell us about your most creative or successful marketing strategy. How did you come up with the idea? What were the results?When I started in the mortgage industry 18 years ago, I came up with a print ad that basically offered customers nothing at all no fees, no costs and no points. At the time, I was one of the first loan officers in the country to offer and advertise no-cost refinance. Results from the ad were incredible. In fact, 18 years later I still use the same ad.
No. 1 Mark Cohen, Cohen Financial Group<br>Beverly Hills, Calif. (No. 1 overall)
Who is someone in your life, either personally or professionally, who helps contribute to your success?In 1981, my mother, Gloria Shulman, had started a mortgage company, Crestview Financial. It was really interesting to me and it was a brand-new field. She took me by the hand so to speak. She is still in the business; she is sharp and very knowledgeable. I learned from her to a large degree. Additionally, I am extremely grateful to my clients, who have provided me with the personal and professional satisfaction of playing a small role in helping them to achieve their dream of homeownership.
