[New] Why Do Immigrants Gravitate To The Mortgage Industry?

There’s an appeal to being rewarded for a strong work ethic

BY SARAH WOLAK, STAFF WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

The American workforce, especially the mortgage industry, is finally starting to reflect the melting pot that is this country. With immigrants making up nearly 17% of today’s labor force, more are flocking toward sales and business-related jobs, which are abundantly available in the mortgage industry.

Many efforts have been dedicated to diversifying the industry as a whole, such as Fannie Mae’s Future Housing Lenders (FHL) program, the Asian Real Estate Association of America’s homeownership efforts, and the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America’s initiatives.

Within the mortgage industry, there is a pool of first-generation immigrants who have found sustainable, successful careers.

Inspired By Personal Challenges

Shashank Shekhar is one of these industry superstars who has found not only success but confidence as well. Shekhar immigrated to the United States from New Delhi, India, in the early 2000s, just before the 2008 financial crisis. His father worked in financial services and encouraged Shekhar to pursue a business degree in India. Shekhar worked handling loans for what was formerly known as GE Consumer Finance. In early 2007, Shekhar was transferred from a small startup to Mountain View, Calif., as director of product management. The company soon shut down just as the housing market came to a crash.

Similar to Shekhar, Thuan Nguyen got his first taste of the industry during the tumultuous early 2000s. Nguyen immigrated to the United States from

Vietnam at the age of 19 unable to speak English and no plans of being a part of the mortgage industry. After buying his first home in 2004, Nguyen said that the experience of buying a home and the smooth transaction interested him in the market.

He recalled that his broker earned a hefty commission, which enticed him as well. “It got me curious about what is this kind of job,” he said. “I realized the potential of this career and saw that I could help people I know buy homes, too.”

Nguyen started as a data analyst at Morgan Stanley, but quit due to what he describes as a difficult and strict work environment. Following that, he became a mortgage broker in 2006.

“I studied online and did it all myself,” Nguyen said. “I didn’t ask anyone for help. It’s crazy that I didn’t have guidance from anyone. I didn’t have any experience or clients. When I became a broker, it was a bad time [in the market]. I was discouraged from even joining the industry because of the competition. I believed that I could be successful, though.”

Nguyen said that at the start, he didn’t know any mortgage terminology. He operated as a solo broker for a few years, founding Himark Loans — now known as Loan Factory — in 2006.

Like Nguyen, Andres Munar had no plans of pursuing a mortgage-related career. After immigrating to Miami, Fla., from Bogota, Colombia, at the age of 4, Munar says that he grew up living in a single-wide trailer for most of his childhood. When he was 12, his parents bought their first home.

“I never forgot that feeling of ‘oh wow, I have a home’ as an immigrant,” he said.

“In middle school, I grew up around middle-class to upper-class people and so I’d always be embarrassed to have my friends come over because we lived in a trailer. I finally felt that feeling of ‘we made it.’”

Munar says that his parents ended up losing the house when he turned 16. Being the only English speaker in his household, Munar said that he was the main contact with his family’s real estate agent. That relationship gave Munar a glimpse of what it would be like to pursue work in real estate.

But instead of gravitating to the housing industry, Munar became a server at a local restaurant and described becoming “obsessed” with the hustle and bustle of his job. Following