Recruiting great talent into the mortgage space is somewhat problematic, to say the least.
In order to access the massive, potential Millennial homebuyer market, it makes sense to top up your teams with Millennial mortgage brokers.
While the industry is slow to adopt sexier elements, such as tech advancements and digital processing (way behind the banking and insurance industries, here), there is one way to lure great talent — tell them how much money they can make if they work hard.
However, being a commission-based business, it takes time before those first paychecks start to roll in. But how long? And how much money should you have in savings before becoming a mortgage broker?
According to a popular “Ask Me Anything” thread on Reddit right now, the verified and anonymous mortgage broker, cdn_mortgage_guru, lays out the best way to get started in the business. Notably, before getting started, the AMA expert is not getting criticism by those who think mortgage brokers always try to rip off homeowners, instead, “I am getting a lot of hate mail from other mortgage brokers. This is too bad.”
So, you know it’s going to be good when the haters keep weighing in.
Here’s the advice:
“The best tip I got from someone when I started was to have at least one years worth of savings because that is how long it could take until you get a [sic] paycheque. Hopefully not but I believe it took me 6 months to get my first one.”
So you need a year’s worth of living expenses to be safe. And there are other techniques once you get started to increase your market potential, cdn_mortgage_guru said.
“A good way to start off is to work as an assistant for a busy mortgage broker so you learn how to submit files and take applications and how to qualify a borrower. Another option is to start as a mobile advisor for a bank. This is a great way to build a book of business and learn a bit about credit and qualifying.
The way I started doing business with some realtors was to get a mortgage done their regular broker couldn't get done. If they are happy with their current referral source they will not need to use someone new but if that person screws up a deal (remember real estate agents earn a lot more than mortgage brokers do) they will move on. I also found that realtors started referring me to other realtors as well once I got established. It took me about 3 years until I had a good number of agents referring business to me.”
So, one way to attract more mortgage brokers is to tell them how much money they can make. After all, what’s sexier that making mad bank? Nothing, that’s what.
According to the AMA, mortgage brokers can pull in six-figures per year and then some; “some of us can make in excess of $300,000 per year. I did 3 years ago and then decided it was time to go on my own.”
And it doesn’t take much prerequisite knowledge to get started. The mortgage guru said they have “an irrelevant Liberal Arts Degree and worked in car sales prior to this.”
But it can start slow.
“This is a great business to get into if you can go 2-4 years without making more than $30-40,000 per year. In your first year you will probably not make money for 6-9 months at earliest. Also you will find that people don't want to talk to you about mortgages as much as you think they will.”
After more than 2 decades, this broker now gets clients returning in a steady stream, so one does need to care about the wants and needs of homebuyers in order to be greatly successful.
"If [brokers] do not want to put the effort in to doing an application that takes 15 minutes I guess they aren't really interested in doing your mortgage," the Reddit broker said.
