"If you want a long career in this industry, you can't take the bait of booms"
After nearly two decades in the business and three major financial crises, Mark Maimon (pictured) is confident in saying that not much can phase him at this point.
Maimon, team lead at RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing, started his mortgage journey in 2002 as an apprehensive fresh college grad. His uncle, a real estate agent in Seattle at that time, warned him that entering the real estate world was a big mistake due to the industry’s volatility.
“He had been through his own ups and downs and was concerned that I may experience the same,” Maimon told MPA. “I will never forget when he called me to say that I should reconsider my decision to become a loan originator. Now that I’ve come a long way in my career, we laugh about that conversation often and refer to it as probably the worst advice I ever got – and fortunately ignored.”
For the most part of his career, Maimon has been practicing the art of pivoting. He has adapted to any challenge that has come his way – rising interest rates, cut-throat competition, and reduced refinance volume, to name a few. But more than that, Maimon has learned to stop trying to be everything to everyone and concentrate on where he’s better than his competitors.
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“I have always made a living off of doing non-traditional transactions and being a master of being able to find ways to successfully close complicated transactions,” he said. “I know precisely what types of deals I’m right for and which ones I’m not. When a client is calling five banks, and the first question out of their mouth is ‘what’s your rate?’, I won’t spend a lot of time with them because that’s a losing proposition and one you’ll never feel confident in even if the client decides initially to apply with you.”
Maimon made it a point to set himself apart from originators whose value propositions are tied to being the cheapest or lowest rate option.
“When you do things that other lenders can’t do, you don’t have to worry about competing with them. My team and I have carved out a nice niche for ourselves by building a reputation for being a mortgage provider that agents, advisors and other financial professionals need for their clients to successfully close,” Maimon said.
Positioning himself as an ultra-reliable expert in his field has not only downplayed the rising-rate discussion but also paid dividends for Maimon and his team, even when refis continued to trail off and competition got tighter. Last year, they closed $174 million in team production and are currently on pace for $210 million.
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“I’ve never been a believer that your volume has to float with the market and that when rates increase and refinances dry up that it should be used as an excuse to allow your volume to fall off,” Maimon said. “It should be used as motivation to rise up and find new ways to adapt and attract more referrals and closings. There are no excuses allowed on our team when it comes to meeting our goals. Blaming the market as a scapegoat just means that you haven’t gotten creative enough to find ways to replace that refi business and exceed your prior production.”
The top originator said another key to overcoming market volatility is never shifting your focus away from purchase business. Take advantage of refinances when they come, but don’t lose contact with your referral partners. Maimon said he would gladly sacrifice two refi loans for one purchase loan. He’s also not afraid to let others outperform him and take his spot at the top while he’s looking the other way.
“If you want a long career in this industry, you can’t take the bait of refinance booms to an extreme degree, but that’s a common mistake that loan originators make – sacrificing long-term relationships (which are annuity that pays indefinitely) for short-term commissions,” he said. “In my opinion, those who over-focus on refinances are the ones that exit the business when rates rise and enter when there are easy pickings. That’s indicative of someone who has a job, not a career. If you want a career in this industry, then stay focused on building relationships that will drive purchase referrals.”
