He educates families to prevent the trauma of foreclosure
Joseph Dio (pictured) was motivated to pursue a career in the mortgage industry for the most personal of reasons. The Philippines native described witnessing his parents lose their home to foreclosure when he was a child, prompting him to learn the business thoroughly to prevent such an occurrence in the future.
During an interview with Mortgage Professional America, Dio said a foreclosure of the family home during the Great Recession led to his mother’s depression, which ultimately caused her premature death. “When the market crashed, they got an interest-only loan, so that’s why it got foreclosed,” he said. “That was my motivation to learn real estate. I started off as a realtor first so that I could educate my clients in buying a house. I told myself that I don’t want anyone to go through the same challenges my parents did when they lost their home because of a lack of information.”
He began his career in earnest in 2012, starting off as a real estate agent focused on land sales. “But nothing is closer to my heart than helping people get homes,” he said, prompting him to start in the mortgage industry six years later. He took jobs at mortgage brokerages to learn the business but found himself disenchanted – people were just files in a cabinet, he described, and rejected mortgage applications didn’t seem to faze his co-workers.
Setting out on his own
“It bothered me,” he said. “I thought if only I could have my own brokerage company.” He set out to do just that, obtaining his broker’s license in 2015 before opening Cerritos, Calif.-based Dio Real Estate in 2020. “I firmly believe everyone has the opportunity to impact people with what we do,” he said. “A loan represents a family, it is a home that a person will put their family in for the rest of their lives. It becomes a legacy to them. I’m motivated by that.”
Since then, Dio has taken his advocacy penchant to higher levels. As a member of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), he is one of two so-called state captains representing his home state of California. The recently launched AIME initiative recruits members to serve in advocacy roles for their state in giving voice to mulled legislation and policies affecting the broker industry.
“It allows me to have a broader platform regarding home affordability, for veterans and down payment assistance,” he said. In terms of the latter, he said the cap placed on such assistance often bars a great part of the intended recipients. “It’s kind of mishandled,” he said. “They give down payment assistance but then they put a cap where not even the target market qualifies! That’s why I’m passionate and excited to be a part of AIME. Finally, there is someone from the traditional mortgage industry that really knows what’s going on in the trenches, talking to regular people not just in a cubicle formulating laws.”
In addition to his original Southern California brokerage, he recently launched a second office in the southern part of California. Since becoming a broker in 2018, he places his career volume at nearly $100 million.
The cultural diversity found in California enables him to cater to a broad swath of clients, he said. “I don’t have a niche. I believe it doesn’t matter where you come from and that my mission is to help everyone to be able to get a loan to buy a house. But my specialties are first-time homebuyers because that’s my passion, and veterans.”
Like the personal motivation that inspired him to enter the mortgage industry, his focus on veterans is also rooted in family ties. “My grandfather was a veteran,” he said with palpable pride. “He’s the reason we’re here,” he said, describing how his grandfather petitioned to have his family move to the US from the Philippines. “My heart goes out to the people who serve us well like my grandpa.”
Dio said he attempted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps by applying for service in the Navy before being rejected for not meeting height and weight standards. “I was kind of in the fat arena,” he said with a chuckle, but added he feels his focus on veterans allows him to support the military in his way.
Buy now, refinance later
His passion for educating also manifests itself in monthly seminars in his community where he advises would-be homebuyers. He advises those who are waiting on the sidelines for rates to go down to act if they otherwise qualify for a home.
“By waiting, it’s costing you more,” he said, referring to advice he imparts at his homebuying seminars. “Rates are rates, we don’t know what they will be like. However, while waiting for the rates to go down, you have the opportunity to have equity appreciation over time, and that’s something a lot of people are missing out on. Not to mention the tax incentives that you’re losing while waiting.”
He invoked the example of a physician client who had his eyes on a home priced at $520,000, less than the median value of around $570,000 for the area. The doctor decided to wait until a recession emerged, envisioning swooping down to buy the property at a much lower cost. “The same $520,000 home he canceled out the escrow on after two years is now $800,000.”
Bottom-line advice, even amid the mercurial market: “Buy now, refinance later when the rates are low.” In other words, don’t make the same mistake the good doctor made.
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