Executive chef to mortgage hero: How working in a world-famous kitchen was a recipe for success

When Alex Mysinek (pictured) first started out in the mortgage space, it seemed like a world away from his background in the culinary arts. However, he soon found out that whether you’re working in a world-famous kitchen or helping clients choose the best loan for them, there’s one overriding similarity – that consistency is key.

“I worked my way up from dishwasher to line cook to sous chef to executive chef,” he told MPA. “And then I was a regional executive chef for Nordstrom for five years too. It’s all had a huge impact on how I run my business now. With Nordstrom, for instance, I was overlooking a region of restaurants. And number one thing for me was making sure that the dish that you order in Minnesota is the same as the one in Chicago.”

For Mysinek, delivering this high level of cuisine hinged on several processes being executed to perfection – from sourcing the ingredients to cooking the dishes to serving the guests in a particular way.

“It’s the same exact thing for mortgage,” he said. “I set up my systems and standard operating procedures super detailed. I have timelines for every aspect of the mortgage process so my team actually can print off a timeline and see exactly what they should be doing at every step of the loan process.”

And this is an approach that Mysinek has used throughout his mortgage career, especially when it comes to strategies that ease the financial burden for first-time homebuyers and foster long-term wealth. Because, according to Mysinek, understanding the client's ability to manage monthly payments is more crucial than focusing solely on interest rates.

Minnesota state offerings on top

"It's obviously the monthly payment,” he told MPA. “What you're going to be paying each month is really what you can afford... Interest rate doesn't really mean anything at the end of the day. I come from a position of talking to them about their monthly payment and their monthly payment goals – I really focus on that. [Because] once I start going through all my questions and I find out what they have in savings to bring to the table, if I have a client that's struggling a [there], to me that's one of the easier things to combat.”

While it may seem like a lack of down payment fund or closing cost budgets are huge obstacles for home buyers, Mysinek is adamant that a good broker can navigate these pitfalls with ease.

"We have a bunch of programs [here],” he added. “Minnesota has, in our state and most all the states, some kind of state-funded down payment assistance programs that you can use. Those ones typically have the best interest rates. The only downside of those is that you do have to pay the money back – but it's a 0% loan, which is nice for the borrower.”

Another core aspect of Mysinek’s practice involves educating and empowering first time buyers on the importance of generational wealth through ownership.

“The two forms of appreciation, or gaining equity in your home, is the most powerful... you are paying more interest at the beginning of your loan than you are principal, but as you get farther into that loan program, that has a powerful effect as well.”

While refinancing can lower interest rates, Mysinek warned that it can also extend a loan’s timeline, delaying full ownership.

“If you don’t come to a lender that really is looking out for your best interest, they’re going to put you back on a 30-year loan,” he said. “Yes, you’re lowering your interest rate a whole percent, and you think that’s all fine and dandy … but you just reset your clock back to 30 years from 22 years left on your mortgage.”

To avoid this, he advised homeowners to seek lenders who can offer customized loan terms. And for families looking to pass down wealth through real estate, a “gift of equity” can be a powerful tool.

“Maybe the parents don’t want to give them, you know, the entirety of the property,” Mysinek said. “Maybe they’re going into retirement, but they don’t want to give their, you know, son or daughter some money for them to buy a home. What we do – and I’m actually doing one right now – is a gift of equity.”

A recipe for success

This strategy allows parents to sell their home to their children at a lower price while using the built-up equity to fund the purchase. Perhaps they don’t have a mortgage balance in their home, it’s worth $500,000, and the parents only want to net $400,000 when they go to sell it.

“There’s $100,000 of equity that’s lost over – well, we do a gift of equity and sell that home to their daughter or son and use that $100,000 to fund the entirety of the down payment, closing costs, everything like that.”

When gifting equity, however, tax implications can be a big concern. And while Mysinek isn’t a tax professional, he told MPA that if it’s a parent offering the gift there shouldn’t be any major tax on it. The deciding factor, however, is how long the parents have lived in the home.

“If the parents have lived in that home for the last five years and they don’t have any type of capital gains on that money, no, I don’t think there is any tax implications. … [It’s] a five-year look-back on your occupancy of your property. If you’ve lived in it two of the last five years as a primary residence and you go sell it, if you’re a single person, you’re not taxed up to $250,000 of that equity or the, you know, the profits. And if you’re a married couple, it’s $500,000.”

And, as the housing market continues to evolve with fluctuating mortgage rates and affordability challenges, Mysinek is firm in his belief in the importance of fostering a collaborative relationship with clients. 

"Educating and connecting with people that are wanting to buy their first home is obviously one of the big challenges," he said. “My number-one focus is to make sure that they are 100% informed of every single aspect of the loan. The biggest [issues] that I get is that they were under contract or they just got a pre-approval … and then when they first saw the initial disclosures come through with that first loan estimate on there, they were absolutely shocked at how much the closing costs were and the payments were. They weren’t set up for success. When they got those first numbers, they kind of got cold feet and backed out.”

Mysinek believes that transparency from the start can prevent these issues. And Mysinek’s commitment to his clients doesn’t end when they close on their home. He continues to guide them through their homeownership journey.

“After the loan closes, staying in front of my clients and making sure that I’m checking in with them every six months, doing yearly, you know, mortgage reviews,” he said. “[It’s about] making sure that they have a financial advisor that they’re using. If they don’t, connect them with the best one for them.”

And that’s a recipe for success.