Today is a special day for Alex Naumovych, loan officer at Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corporation, one where all of his hard work quite literally pays off: it's closing day.
The LO, who has been with the company since 2020, has a chatty and friendly disposition, one that befits a person who has been in sales since the early 2000's.
He and an agent from Crown Title Corporation sit alongside a newlywed couple as they sign a seemingly endless stack of paper in the LO's office located in Rockville, Maryland.
The hybrid closing lasts for 30 minutes, thanks to the majority of documents having been signed via a phone app beforehand.
Congratulations are sung and the borrowers are officially homeowners. They leave the office towing a basket of Draper and Kramer merchandise and the keys to their new home.
Business has been slow, a far cry from previous years, Naumovych says. But curiosity among buyers is starting to increase.
"More inventory has entered the market and buyers want to see what they can afford despite the elevated interest rates," he said.
Naumovych has closed 11 loans in the past three months with seven more likely to close in April.
This compares to 65 loans in last March alone, which contributed to getting the loan officer into the company's presidents club and an all-inclusive vacation to the Dominican Republic.
After months of temperate interest from homebuyers, the loan officer's phone has started ringing more. New clients that call Naumovych reiterate their concerns about elevated prices and high interest rates.
"I expect a delayed homebuying season this year, which will likely start in late April and last until September," said Naumovych. "My busiest time will probably be from July to August and maybe even September because some borrowers get extensions on taxes."
Undeterred by the slow origination activity, Naumovych has a few tricks up his sleeve on how he plans to capture business this spring.
The LO's game plan includes making inroads with accountants, divorce attorneys and attending Eastern-European festivals. Interestingly, what Naumovych is not concentrating on is building more relationships with real estate agents.
Game plan for the spring homebuying season
As the cherry blossoms start to bloom, coloring the streets of Washington D.C. and its suburbs, so do the many activities that bring together the Russian-speaking diaspora. Originally from Ukraine, Naumovych emigrated when he was 23- years-old from Ternopil to Rockville, Maryland.
Going into the spring homebuying season, Naumovych is prioritizing outreach to Russian-speakers by advertising at Eastern European festivals, which typically happen throughout the spring and summer. His first stop this spring is a festival in North Carolina in late-March.
"I'll have my own marketing stand there, like I do at most festivals, and it allows me to branch out my services and meet new agents," he said. "You cannot be shy, especially right now, you have to be a people person to find business."
Naumovych has found clients through these types of events and he hopes this strategy will help him in the spring buying season.
The LO also makes his presence known in part by visiting Eastern European grocery stores that dot the Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia area to drop off his business cards and pick up those left behind. He adds these connections on Facebook to grow his network.
In 2019, Naumovych decided to get into the mortgage lending space because he realized that there were ample clients from former Soviet countries and a lack of Russian-speaking LOs. This is what has led to his success, he said, with more than 90% of his clientele coming from Eastern Europe.
The discussion of politics with homebuyers is always off the table.
"My clients and I never talk about politics, and I never ask which former Soviet country they are from. Though there were some instances where I've stopped collaborating with real estate agents that have spoken out in support of Russia's invasion."
CPAs, divorce attorneys and property management companies are also on Naumovych's mind this spring buying season. The LO has increased his efforts in connecting with all three.
"For me it's preferable to work with CPAs and a lot of them invite me to company parties, so that works in my favor because I get to network," he said. "I also work with a property management company and their investors eventually want to buy a new house, so that business gets sent my way."
Working for a retail lender, according to Naumovych, gives him an upper hand in attracting these clients.
"A lot of CPAs, attorneys and some good real estate agents want to work with me because I work for a retail lender and we do our own processing and underwriting," he said. "They can call me at any time and I address any issues. These problems get fixed much slower when you work with a broker."
Gray areas of lending
The usual advice for newbie LOs is to make connections with local real estate agents. That is the key to building a good book of business.
And while Naumovych agrees that this is an option, he is wary of solely relying on agents. In the past, the loan officer has run into situations where some real estate agents teeter-totter on the illegal side.
"I have encountered uncomfortable situations where a real estate agent approaches me and asks if I'd be interested in doing business together and proceeds to demand that I pay over a thousand dollars to advertise their services," he said. "There have also been instances where agents blatantly ask for cash under the table in return for referrals."
Kickback schemes have been around for decades and federal entities such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have attempted to put a stop to it by hitting perpetrators with heavy fines.
In 2015,
Despite active litigation against such actors, Naumovych notes that kickbacks are common in the industry. Because of this, the loan officer is picky with whom he does business and only has eight trusted agents in his rolodex. He is not actively looking for more.
"Of course if you're starting out, forming relationships with agents is important, but I would urge loan officers entering the business to build other relationships as well," he said. "Reaching out to CPAs, property management companies and attorneys can be fruitful, and at the end of the day, they will ask for your help for the benefit of their clients, not for themselves."
