Lower sees recruiters as key part of its growth strategy

When Craig Montgomery, a seasoned mortgage industry professional, joined Lower in June to fill the role of chief strategy officer, he did so with the idea that the company needed to beef up its in-house recruiting team.

"To grow the Lower brand and share our value proposition, you have to have individuals that are committed to sourcing, prospecting and sharing that message and this national recruiting team will certainly contribute to our growth," Montgomery said.

In just 40 days, the former CrossCountry Mortgage executive added half a dozen recruiters to strengthen Lower's hiring capabilities. Although there is no specific headcount target, the recruiting team is expected to expand in the foreseeable future, Lower's CSO said.

The mortgage company is making a calculation that recruiters will be the main force that will help entice strong originating teams to come over to the company, thereby helping it, with time, to achieve a top-five ranking in the nation.More heavily relying on recruiters to grow seems to be a bit of a departure from the mortgage company's focus on expanding via acquisitions. The company took on three shops in the past two years, the most notable being the purchase of Thrive Mortgage.

Hand-out/Lower, LLC

Montgomery said the company is always looking for good opportunities, but growing organically is a priority.

"We will always consider M&A opportunities, but that's not our primary focus. We are not going to solely rely on those opportunities to increase production and build the Lower brand. We know that those opportunities come and go," he said. "Organic growth that is sourced and prospected by our national recruiting team will be our primary growth initiative."

Mortgage lenders use both in-house recruiters and third-party recruiters to attract originator talent. According to Mongomery, both are good, but having an in-house team means that "they are recruiting to the Lower platform only."

"We love working with outside recruiters and we will continue to use outside recruiting resources in the future, but we also know that they don't have a specific loyalty to Lower," he added.

One of the main selling points that recruiters are relying on to bring over LO talent is the company's technology platform, said Montgomery. The executive wouldn't provide much detail regarding the platform, but did note that Lower is also recruiting tech-related personnel to help build out its technology.

"We have a tremendous platform and we have a lot to offer to today's originators," he said. "We take great pride in our brand, and we want to educate today's originators on what is available to them and why Lower may be the best option for them."

Many mortgage lenders, including Union Home Mortgage and New American Funding, have commented that they offer sign-on bonuses as a way to recruit strong origination teams. Montgomery declined to comment on whether Lower is doing the same.

The mortgage lender is backed by companies including SoFi Technologies and Veritex Community Bank, which help fund Lower's growth endeavors. Montgomery said. 

In reflecting about his transition to Lower, the CSO noted that "bigger doesn't mean you're the best" and that sometimes transparency is what matters most.

"We're going to throw our hat in the ring and we're going to compete against any lender, because we know that our value proposition is a winning value proposition," he said.