Broker didn't know what to do post-college until seeing dad work hard
It’s one thing to speak to seasoned brokers/loan originators to gauge how they’re navigating this difficult mortgage market. It’s another to encounter a newcomer with a handful of years in the industry under his belt, having entered wide-eyed and eager when things were flying, only to see the market suddenly deteriorate under the weight of inflation and high interest rates.
Is there a tone of resentment to be detected? Regret? Anxiety? Fear?
Not Spencer Harward (pictured), of United American Mortgage Corp. in Phoenix, whose poise and confidence belies his youth and nascent, three-year stint in the mortgage industry. But then again, he has a secret weapon in the form of his dad, Scott Harward – a 30-year veteran who’s the Phoenix branch manager for California-based United American Mortgage, which operates in 11 states.
His dad is his boss
In addition to being his dad, the elder Harward is the young loan originator’s boss: “I came in as his assistant and loan officer, and I’m still doing that,” Harward told MPA during a telephone interview. “So we work as a team. He’s been in the business for 30 years, so pretty much my entire life,” the 27-year-old loan originator said.
Armed with a finance degree from San Diego State in 2020, he saw himself as a financial advisor or in trading. “Initially, I wasn’t sure what to do,” he recalled. “I was interested in stocks but was struggling to find an entry-level position. It was harder than I anticipated to find a job in finance.”
Then he witnessed how hard his dad was working. “He’d start work at six or seven in the morning and work until eight or nine at night,” he said. “Rates were really, really low and at the time he needed lots of help.”
Working for his father is a win-win situation
In the end, it was his need to find steady work and a desire to help his father that propelled him into the industry. “I thought of my dad and he was so busy,” he recalled. “I saw he could use some help, so I convinced him to let me join him. I think it was really good for both of us. I was able to take a lot off his plate.”
It’s not a shabby living either, and with a work flexibility not found in other careers, he agreed. But he soon discerned other rewards beyond financial when a young couple approached him and his dad for help securing a home.
“They were a younger couple just getting married and looking to buy their first home from a builder but they couldn’t get approved through the builder’s lender because I guess they had some overlays,” he said of the early transaction. “They came to us and we were able to get them into their first home with another lender when other lenders couldn’t do that. As a broker, we had many lenders to choose from,” he added.
Despite having entered the market just ahead of a downturn, he expressed optimism for a turnaround. Working for his dad – who’s seen every conceivable industry cycle, including the Great Recession – has given him valuable perspective, he suggested: “It’s a lot different than when I came in,” he acknowledged, recalling the refi wave that flourished as he entered the industry that has since ebbed.
In spite of the downturn, he said he’s in it for the long term: “You have to stay the course and focus on what we’re doing. Business is going to pick up again when rates come back down, and people get out there again. We definitely rode out most of the storm, and I’m in it for the long haul.”
His branch has amassed a long list of people waiting for refis once rates go down again, he said.
For now, an abundance of referrals has allowed the father-son Phoenix branch to continue flourishing: “We have a long list of people waiting for refis,” he said. “That’s really the main source of our business - from realtors and past clients. We don’t do much advertising. We try to do a good job so people refer their friends and family.”
Between he and his father, he said the United American Mortgage branch closed on about 100 loans last year. Volume is considerably less this year, with about 30-40 closed loans, he said.
With or without robust volume, however, it sounds like the Harward boys are going to be just fine once the tide turns.
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