It's not the easiest time to jump in, but the career is replete with rewards
One would be hard-pressed to encourage people to enter the mortgage industry currently given the sluggish housing market weighed down by higher rates. And yet, a career in the field remains appealing given the rewards – both personal and financial – that can be derived in better times.
In interviewing loan officers, Mortgage Professional America is never at a loss to find those succeeding– even as they navigate through choppy waters.
Paige Hernandez of Heritage MTG, for example. Despite having faced her own challenges in the industry – including surviving the Great Recession – she has managed to thrive. Now at her family’s company, she did not hesitate to offer advice to those just entering the field.
“Play games you can win,” she said during a recent interview with MPA. “A lot of times people will ask: ‘How do you compete with new-build lenders?’ I don’t compete with them. I’m not going to sit here trying to figure out how to beat the best jumbo rate on the block if I don’t have a good jumbo rate. I’m going to find a niche I can win. So play games you can win.”
Her career as a case study
She used her current experience in suggesting how others can navigate around a shifting landscape. “I think what has really helped – especially during this time – is I don’t do a lot of traditional lending,” Hernandez said. “Before, when rates were good, I did some when you’re buying your personal property and it’s vanilla Fannie, Freddie stuff.”
She cited a personal property as an example: “We own a short-term rental in Georgia,” she said. “We have family there. Most of the lending that I do right now is very investor-centric product. When rates go up, these are business decisions. If it still works, we’re still lending on them. So mainly a lot of debt service, fix-and-flip, private money and being able to be malleable and move as the market shifts and embracing that. That’s where I like to be.”
Widening the net
As an added shield from an unforgiving market, she dabbles in some commercial products - although the lion’s share of her work is focused on single-family, she said. “It’s mostly still residential, but hints of commercial as far as the debt service,” she said. “I do a lot of short-term rentals,” she added.
It’s also important to focus on what feels right and not force oneself to do work that’s more of a chore. “I’m really big on staying in the activity that feels good for me,” she said. “Somebody asked the other day about cold calling. If you like cold calling, do that all day long if you love it. But for me, I don’t like that. If I don’t like something enough, I’m not going to do it enough to have success.”
Instead, she finds areas in which she’s more comfortable: “I find things that I like to do,” she said. “I love to educate. I’ll go on social media. All my referrals come from social media and word of mouth – I don’t do any other kind of marketing. I get on social media and educate and that feels really good.”
It’s no mystery why some don’t find success, she added. “People sometimes wonder why they don’t have success. You have to do something long enough to have success, and cold calling isn’t for me.”
She knows of what she speaks, revealing that she spent a good 10 years focused on personal development – reading a series of books and listening to tapes on personal growth. This is when she gets philosophical in her approach.
She spoke of industry rivalries in the mortgage industry and the setting of alliances formed. “I’m not going to get involved in that energy because I think it’s too toxic,” she said. “I don’t care what they choose to do – that’s their business model, and they can’t compete with me. My clients resonate with me, and you can’t take them away from me. I am of abundant mindset, and always believe there’s enough business for everybody. Those are foundational belief systems. And from having those foundational belief systems, then you get a chance to practice them in whatever you choose to do. So I practice almost like a spiritual belief in my mortgage business.”
Amen to that.
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