[New] THE KEY TO GROWTH FOR LOAN OFFICERS IN 2023

By Marco Zamudio, CEO, Z Loans Funding

When I started in the industry with Lehman Brothers many years ago, I knew our industry had a problem relating to the immigrants and second generation Americans that made up what was then referred to as emerging markets. I knew that eventually this problem would become very serious for the industry.

With the end of the historically long refinance boom, that time has come. Solving this problem is the key for loan officers who want to grow their businesses in 2023 and beyond.

It’s not that Wall Street didn’t have plenty of front line sales people who could speak Spanish — or German or Armenian. They had those people. The problem was that they didn’t understand the cultures they were selling into.

Creating A Company That Can Succeed In The New Mortgage Business

When I founded Z Loans Funding with my wife Patricia, we set out to build a company filled with professional loan officers who understood that, “Every Story Matters in Lending.”

These stories are being told by a new generation of borrowers, many of whom have been traditionally underserved. You don’t have to look far to see how fast these communities are

Every one of them deserves the chance to achieve the American Dream of home ownership. We knew that the lender who could provide the education, guidance and loan products to lead these borrowers to that goal would be incredibly successful.

How could we build a company that would support loan officers who shared this passion?

It starts with Culture at Z Loans Funding

Most lenders understand the power of culture, but few realize it’s not just the culture the founders embrace, but also that of the professional loan officers their company attracts. Virtually everyone work- ing in our company today is a second or third generation American. They come from Armenia, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Germany and Spain.

We don’t try to change who they are, we empower them to use what they know in service to borrowers. This is critically important because borrowers can tell if a loan officer really understands their families needs. This is why so many lenders fail in these communities.

Helping these borrowers understand home financing without losing touch with their own culture’s key values is what our loan officers do every day.

A frictionless mortgage operation

You can’t ask a good loan officer to take the lead in helping people achieve home ownership and then make it difficult for them to get that job done. A culture of operational efficiency is very important.

As a mid-sized company, there is nothing standing between our LOs and our CEO. There is no bureaucracy to add friction to the process. This means problems are solved quickly, loans move through the process smoothly and turn times are better, leading to better borrower satisfaction.

The proof is in our high referral rate. Sure, these communities tend to be better at sharing good solutions with their family, friends and neighbors, but a better experience is a vital requirement.

The key to that, and it’s something every LO in our company understands, is always putting the relationship over the short term sale. The relationship is paramount.

Transparency and Vision

Every employee in the company and every borrower the lender serves deserves the answer to any question they ask. Too many companies just push LOs out the door to fend for themselves in the search for new business or pile complicated paperwork on borrowers with limited English proficiency without sufficient guidance. There is no transparency. The short term dollars that may result from these actions cost the company much more in the long run.

Some lenders promise full transparency, but when loan officers ask about the company’s vision they don’t have much of a story to tell. We have a great story about a company with a mission to serve the fastest growing home buying demographic in the country and a vision to guide us there.

While most lenders are telling stories now about a down market, layoffs and cutbacks, Z Loans Funding is growing. We’re planning, hiring, training, and getting ready for the next wave of home purchases. This is serious business, but it’s also a game we are prepared to win. Are you ready to join a team that will continue to grow in 2023? Then grow with us! Let the games begin!