He went from snow removal to broker
Since his youth, Rami Daood (pictured) has always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit – taking to shoveling snow for neighbors in Sterling Heights, Mich., when not working at a liquor store that was his full-time gig.
“Whenever it would snow outside, I would do all the neighbors’ snow removal,” he recalled. “I started off with just a shovel and then upgraded when I made a little money to a little snowblower and eventually ended up getting a four-wheeler with a plow on it. Anytime it would snow, I wouldn’t work at the liquor store but work at people’s houses because I knew I’d make more money.”
After a while, though, it dawned on him how hard he was working to make no more than $4,000 monthly removing snow. “I just kind of got sick and tired of going to the same doors all the time. I was always making the same thing – in the range of $3,000 to $4,000 a month.”
Then 23, he went online to research more lucrative jobs, and came across Quicken Loans, which has since been rebranded to Rocket Mortgage. “That’s where I started and got my foot in the door on the retail side,” he said. “I was one of the top originators, and my first commission check was $15,000. Ever since then, it just kept accumulating. I wasn’t used to making that much money. I was working really hard making $4,000, and all I did was sit down and talk to people and made so much more money helping families.”
After 10 years, his early enthusiasm started to melt away just like the snow he once plowed throughout his neighborhood. “I was so caught up in the mix, drinking the Kool Aid, not knowing what else was out there. And that’s when I made a leap of faith and opened up my own brokerage. That’s how I am here now.”
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Today, at 33, he has run Rightway Lending since its opening September 2021. Family life figured prominently in his decision to open up his own shop he said. “I always had a goal that once I got married, I would find a new avenue because you just can’t work those types of hours and have a wife,” he said.
Now married, his wife is due in two months – right on schedule with his nascent independence in the corporate world. He has two people working under him, and just hired a loan originator to join the team. Between his former stint at Rocket and at Rightway Lending, he posted $140 million in volume across 440 units last year.
Aside from the profit motive, Daood said he derives fulfillment in knowing his clients are saving money working with him rather than his former stint at a big box lender. “It’s icing on the cake for me, and it’s being passed on to my clients as far as the savings go. It’s a win-win for both parties, and I’m not tied down to the hours either.”
Yet the dynamics have changed dramatically even in the brief time he’s been an independent broker-owner. “These are absolutely challenging times right now because things aren’t what they used to be with the housing market being as high as it is and as hard as it is to have an inventory in place to have people get where they want, and with interest rates being as high as they are.”
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To counter that, Daood is realistic with his clients as it relates to expectations: “You have to set the right expectations right up front versus letting them know a month from now that rate is no longer available, and their loan amount can no longer be $400,000 but $360,000 or $300,000. Proper expectations are the key right now, and follow-up is another big thing. And referrals are huge.”
His advice to others in the industry now having to pivot to other areas such as the purchase market or non-QM. “It’s a combination of doing all the right things, it’s not just one specific thing,” he said. “It’s dialing at exact 8am, being ready to go, and not clocking out at 5pm and leaving at 8pm or whenever the job is done. Even if you haven’t found a house for them [clients], following up and checking up on them.”
Now comfortably ensconced in the industry, Daood said he derives much support from the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts of which he is a member. His association with the group has yielded the opportunity to become comfortable speaking to crowds of 1,000-plus people as he did at last year’s “Hall of AIME” event in Miami, he said. Additionally, he benefits from “phenomenal” discounts AIME gives members when pulling credit reports – which can really add up when posting the level of volume he does. Daood said he also gains invaluable insight from AIME’s broker-to-broker podcasts.
Snow accumulation is hardly the only hardship Daood has faced in his young life. He recalled the Great Recession of the late 2000s, when he witnessed his Iraqi immigrant parents endure the indignity of having their home foreclosed after his father was laid off from his job. Aside from himself, his parents have two other children – his younger brother and an older sister.
Yet it was that same work ethic developed at an early age shoveling snow that helped Daood come to the rescue for his family. “I ended up renting out a house in my name for my family at that point.”
The knowledge gained as a broker has further helped him assist his family and ensure they’re housed since those dark days of the recession. “Honestly, ever since then, my family has lived with me,” he said. “I’ve taken care of my family, and right now, they still live with my wife and me. I have a house that I bought five, six years ago for $300,000 that I’m going to move them into when our baby is due. I’m going to still cover the note for that house which is $2,800 a month and all the expenses there, and make sure they’re taken care of at the end of the day.”
Clearly, Daood has come a long way from snow plowing with a path ahead that is clear and unencumbered.
