This young mother was 'broke, busted and disgusted' before finding her calling in the mortgage industry – and she hasn't looked back since
Times were tough for Ashlin Endter (pictured above) when the young mother decided to drop out of college and bid farewell to a career in nursing. By her own admission, she was “broke, busted and disgusted”, a welfare recipient with no idea where to turn next – but when a career in mortgages presented itself, it was an opportunity she didn’t pass up, and a move that would prove a life-changing one.
Endter’s start in the mortgage business arrived just before the COVID-19 pandemic, working as a processor and then a business development rep for a few years before getting licensed in October 2022, flitting between the retail and broker spaces for a while, and finally launching her own company as a broker-owner in May of last year, 4MG Mortgage Co.
“Mortgages actually saved me,” Endter told Mortgage Professional America as she looked back over the rollercoaster of recent years. “It fell into my lap – but it was exactly what I needed. It allowed me the flexibility to be a mom, but also to make enough money to protect the kids.”
Of course, starting out from scratch in the industry meant Endter faced a steep learning curve, but she threw herself into her job with the resolve and steel of someone who knows they have to make it count. “I used to sleep in the office and just do everything that I could to make sure that I was getting loans closed,” she said. “It was the only way that I was going to make money for my kids.
“I was a mom, struggling to make ends meet. I dropped out of school – it just didn’t spark joy anymore. I hated the idea of having to be away from my kids. And I took every single loan that I thought could work, and I learned how to make it work within the guidelines.”
Thinking outside the box pays off
The mortgage market has presented its fair share of challenges in recent years, not least for borrowers faced with mounting affordability struggles, bidding wars and climbing interest rates since 2022. But Endter said that market turbulence – and the fact that it was now make or break for her career – only strengthened her determination to get deals over the line.
“I learned that sometimes you just need to think outside of the box – within the guidelines, of course – and put in a little bit of extra work,” she said. “I think the one thing that helped me become successful was I was willing to do the loans that were really, really hard.
“That’s what helped me make it in the business, because I didn’t have an option B. I really didn’t have anything to supplement my income, except loans. It made me think outside of the box and made me push myself to my limits. It made me look at things from the outside perspective. I think sometimes we’re originators first and we look at why it can’t work – and I think the reality is that you need to look at people first.”
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— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) February 20, 2025
That willingness to grind and seek out every possible option for hopeful buyers, even those who’ve been turned away by most lenders, has helped Endter chisel out deals that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible, she said.
“If there’s income and there’s money and there’s a will, and [the borrower] understands what they’re getting into and it’s not predatory – we’re not selling them something they shouldn’t be getting into – then there’s a need for people to get into homes,” she said. “So I really just pushed my limits in every sense of the word.”
AIME proves a guiding light
Joining an industry association and learning from fellow members is often cited as a key step for new brokers – and aligning with the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) proved a pivotal move for Endter, who highlighted the help it had given her, not just in the early days, but throughout her career in mortgages to date.
She said the association had “empowered” her and its other members. “It’s been an online community that has brought me a lot of friendships, and I’ve learned a lot of things about ownership in that group itself. It really gives that edge,” she said. “A lot of people talk about brokers not being united, but AIME has shown me that there is unity in our business, on the broker channel, and it’s really what we need. On the broker channel there’s lots of collaboration, there’s a lot of work.
“I’ve met some of my best friends in that group and had tons of support, anywhere from opening up the brokerage to loan scenarios to hopping on a call to see how I can improve my business. It’s just one of those places that’s a home away from home: this business is hard enough doing it alone, but if you ever need anyone or anything, you can turn to the online group and find the support that you need. And I think everybody needs to know that that avenue is there for them.”
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