After immigrating from India, Chirag Rachhadia (pictured) had his sights set on medical school. But a series of events prompted him to pivot to the mortgage industry, and he expresses no regrets for the career detour.

“I was a physical therapist back in India, and used to be in health care from 2006 to 2019,” he told Mortgage Professional America during a telephone interview. “I did staffing, consulting and was a health care manager for a home health company.”

After 10 years in Michigan, he abandoned the idea of medical school. It was while there that he secured the services of Sebastian George, manager of Vema Mortgage, toward buying a home. “He did my mortgage and a couple of refis,” he recalled. Watching George work planted the seeds in considering a new career: “I was intrigued,” Rachhadia said.

But first he tried his hand at real estate and secured a license to practice in 2015. “I wasn’t very active – a few transactions here and there,” he said of his real estate license. “But I don’t market myself as a realtor.”

Follow these steps on how to get your real estate license in Florida in this article.

Contemplating a career change

Moving in 2017 to North Carolina to support his wife’s career – in physical therapy, as it turned out – he realized he needed to find a new career path soon. He recalled his intrigue at the work of his Vema Mortgage broker and asked for a job. “He was a little hesitant at first, but then said he’d bring me in as a loan originator.”

To be sure, there was a learning curve at the beginning. Having started in September 2019, Rachhadia said he closed 10 loans. But by his second year in 2020, he closed more than 100. He said the refi boom at the time helped spur his nascent career along. “It really helped me,” he said of the refi wave. “The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.”

As it happened, George had expressed an interest in expanding Vema Mortgage. By virtue of his hiring Rachhadia, he was able to expand into North Carolina. “Flash forward three years later, and we’re now in nine states and have 13 loan officers,” Rachhadia said.

As soon as he was in the mortgage game in earnest, Rachhadia said he knew he had found his new vocation. “I’m the type of person that if I’m not into it 100%, then I’m not going to do it.”

Helping fellow immigrants achieve the American Dream

Today, he services a growing clientele – much of it comprising fellow immigrants, he said. He acknowledged there is a greater degree of upfront work with such clients – most of whom are first-time homebuyers – but the payoffs are big.

“I can relate more to this community, so I work with a lot of folks who are immigrants,” he said. “They have zero knowledge, and have a lot of questions: ‘What is earnest money? What is escrow? Why am I paying a year in insurance? And why am I paying another three months in escrow?’

Despite the questions, Rachhadia, more than most, understands the motivation of such clients: “They’re here for their future and for their kids and family,” the father of two young daughters said. “They’re tough to work with in terms of putting in a lot of time.”

On the plus side, his clients’ profiles all but ensure loan qualification, with an average credit score of 760, Rachhadia said. With average income in the six figures, most are able to put in $20,000 to $30,000 for a down payment, he added. “No bankruptcies,” he added. “They tend to stay pretty clean on their finances. They don’t have any credit card balances and stuff like that. It’s a much easier loan process once we get started.”

For good measure, Rachhadia said four out of five of his clients have sent referrals in the form of friends and family. All told, some 90% of his business is attributable to referrals, he said.

Fulfillment achieved in the second act

Yet not all his clients are well-qualified. Rachhadia recalled one client with three strikes – low credit score incomplete work history and a residency in the US of a mere nine months. Ultimately, he and a team at United Wholesale Mortgage worked to ensure the borrower’s dream of homeownership became a reality.

Recalling such moments reinforces Rachhadia’s view that he made the right choice in switching careers, knowing he is still able to help people as he had done in the medical field. “Back when I first moved here, I was dreading on a Sunday to go to work the next day. Now, I want to wake up - I can’t wait to go to work to see how many people I can help!”

That sense of fulfilment may be just what the doctor ordered.

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