Eric Magee leaped to second on our list of top producers from the No. 10 spot for 2010. The Union Bank, Irvine, Calif., loan officer did $234 million, up from $165 million the year before.
While low interest rates helped to drive some refinancings his way last year, approximately 60% of his business is purchases and that market is starting to recover.
“My client base is high net worth individuals and professionals, so they are well-qualified, which helps out with today’s underwriting standards being as stringent as they are,” Magee said.
He has also developed a “pretty extensive” client base and they provide referrals, not only for primary residences but also for second homes as well as non-owner-occupied one-to-four family properties.
While the bank lends all over the west coast, his business primarily comes from Southern California.
All of his business consists of portfolio loans, as the bank looks to develop products to meet the needs of those high net worth individuals. One of the products that got a lot of demand from this group is the interest only loan. “Despite a lot of the negative press they’ve received, in our bank that is not the case. We still have a lot of our clients pursuing those loans for the flexibility they provide,” Magee said.
Union Bank has consistent underwriting criteria for these loans, and it kept its loan-to-value ratios in check, so it didn’t go wild on the product during the boom years, he continued.
Magee has had a strong first quarter to 2012, with his volume running a pace that would be a slight increase over 2011.
“We’re in spring here, and I am seeing trends and activity levels quite high from homebuyers. Inventories are starting to get a little strained. Rates are still at attractive levels,” he said.
This combination of buyers starting to return and a lower inventory of properties to buy could have a stabilizing condition on home prices in the marketplace, he continued.
“On the high end, we are certainly seeing a lot of activity.”
Magee reaches out to his clients with an annual letter on the anniversary of their loan. Some of his clients have been with him for as long as 15 years, “so we’ve become friends and they have enough real estate holdings so that we’re talking on a fairly regular basis.” In turn, these clients refer Magee to their friends and other professionals they work with.
Then, being a part of a commercial bank, he works with the people in private banking and corporate banking. When their clients might need residential loans, he is able to take care of those needs.
