Veteran boasts 30 years' worth of mortgage experience
Joe Dunn, a veteran in the mortgage industry with a remarkable 30-years’ worth of experience, shares his valuable insights as an executive at George Mason Mortgage. He sheds light on the significance of building strong relationships, community engagement, and staying adaptable in this ever-changing field.
“Throughout my three-decade journey in the mortgage business, I’ve witnessed its evolution firsthand,” said Dunn. “As one of the executives at George Mason Mortgage, I take immense pride in the relationships we build and maintain with our clients and partners.
“We’re owned by United Bank, but I got into the business in 1993,” he told MPA, detailing his entry into the mortgage world. Today, as an executive at George Mason Mortgage, he emphasizes the importance of relationship-based strategies over platforms like Zillow or extensive advertising.
“All of ours are relationship referral-based,” he added, emphasizing the company’s focus on cultivating genuine connections. Dunn’s dedication to face-to-face interactions and attending real estate closings ensures clients receive personalized attention.
“I feel like I’m very good at developing relationships with people. For me, it’s much more relational, but it is a lot of hard work,” he said.
Attracting and retaining talent
As the mortgage industry continues to evolve attracting, retaining, and developing talent becomes an increasing challenge. Something that Dunn knows all too well.
“A future goal is to grow,” he said. “However, the challenge right now is that a lot of our younger loan officers haven’t been in the business that long - so they don’t have a lot of relationships. As such, they’re really struggling trying to find business with the lack of inventory and with rates as they are.”
Their limited experience and relationships pose significant obstacles in finding business, exacerbated by inventory shortages and fluctuating rates. And, according to Dunn, this is something he’s spending a lot of focus on solving right now.
“A lot of my time and efforts are spent on training them, recruiting them, but also trying to help them develop these relationships and referral sources,” he said, “so that they will be in the business long term.”
When asked about the challenges of retaining and recruiting talent, Dunn acknowledged the impact layoffs have had on the industry. He noted that the support side of the business fared better than the commission-based loan officer side in terms of retention.
“We are as, an industry overall, losing lots of people in that space,” he explained. “The volume is 60% less than it was.”
As the mortgage market experiences fluctuations, talent seeks opportunities in other industries that offer more stability and growth potential. Regarding the paths taken by departing talent, Dunn said that two of his guys went into medical device sales - the allure of stable salaries and diverse industries attracting sector talent.
As the mortgage business grapples with the challenges of retaining skilled professionals, mortgage professionals must work strategically to compete effectively.
Joe Dunn’s advice for those wanting to thrive in these challenging times? Pay attention to the figures.
“It’s hard to compete until interest rates and inventory changes,” he explained.
