Recognition is nice, he says, but the real reward is in the work
As a boy growing up in India, Chinmay Deshpande (pictured) assimilated a strong work ethic by watching his father toil in the insurance business. That sense of professionalism has not only helped propel his career but earn him a spot among Rocket Pro TPO’s list of top broker partners.
Founder of Troy, MI-based C4D Mortgage Co. LLC, Deshpande is one of only 10 wholesale partners earning a Rocket Award by the lender, an annual recognition of top partners based on loan count achieved last year. The company honors an equal number of correspondent brokers as well.
In an interview with Mortgage Professional America, Deshpande expressed gratification over being so honored – a sense of satisfaction tempered only by indecision on where he might display the hefty trophy. Moreover, he noted, the true reward is in the work itself.
“It’s a heavy crystal thing,” he told MPA in a resigned tone. “I don’t know what to do with it. For me, I just want to do loans, loans, loans and they keep sending all these awards and stuff.”
Still, he suggested, it’s nice to be recognized – especially in knowing where he stands among his peers in terms of performance.
It’s the work itself where the reward lies
“I really love the whole mortgage process from start to finish,” Deshpande said. Growing up in a middle-class household in India, his family was unable to buy a home, he added. “For my clientele, I’m part of their dream of owning a home in America. I give them the best, lowest rate possible, and my job is to make sure they get a smooth closing.”
His previous work as a loan processor gives him added insight into any loan challenges along the way, helping him prepare for a smooth process by anticipating each step, he said.
Some 80% of his clientele are folks from India, the country from which he emigrated in 2003. As a result, his name is well known in area Indian communities, giving him the freedom of plying his trade without the need for marketing or cold calling. His business is all referral-based given his renown.
“They say ‘if you want a mortgage, this is your guy’,” he said. “I encourage them not to wait five years before buying a home,” he said, describing how he is able to demystify the loan process for members of the diaspora. “Every Friday, they have a get-together,” he said of community members. “Indians always have these get-togethers. And by Monday, I start getting a lot of calls.”
But it’s not just the immigrant class that sometimes lack a grasp of the mortgage process – a misconception that eludes their reach of the American dream of homeownership, he noted. “Many people have a lack of knowledge,” he said. “They keep thinking that you need so much money and all that. But if they just sit down with any mortgage professional, they will tell them ‘all you need is 3%. And if you are a low income borrower, Rocket is giving 2%. So, all you need is 1%’.”
Indeed, the lender’s ONE+ offering enables certain borrowers to get into a home with as little as 1% down, bolstered with a 2% grant toward the purchase price from Rocket Mortgage. The offer is available for both first-time and repeat homebuyers with no restrictions on where they can live or where they move from. Those making higher than 80% of the median income in the area they’re looking to buy don’t qualify. Deshpande gave an example from his business base, where the median income in Macomb County is $90,800.
Looking toward the future
For all his success, Deshpande acknowledged being hit by last year’s tough and mercurial market. “It did impact me,” he said. “The numbers went down a little bit.”
“We’re building a lot of relationships with realtors,” he said in highlighting one way he’s helping to ensure healthy volume. Being licensed in 12 states doesn’t hurt either, he suggested. “Somewhere, somebody is buying,” he said. “I’m lucky.”
Signs are pointing to a better housing market this year, with inflation tamed and the Fed poised to make interest rate cuts – moves expected to trickle down in the form of lowered mortgage rates. But Deshpande isn’t one to rest on such laurels.
“I don’t want to keep thinking great things are going to happen and end up disappointed,” he said. “Last year, even though the market was down, we had good numbers. In my culture, we just keep working without expecting reward. I’ll just keep doing that.”
More than a gut feeling, it’s something inculcated in him from a young age. “That’s what I learned from my dad,” he said. “He’d say, ‘keep working, you’ll be fine.’”
In Deshpande’s case, that’s something of a foregone conclusion. All that’s left is where to keep that clunky, crystal trophy.
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