Despite projections from the Mortgage Bankers Association that the industry will face a difficult 2011, LeaderOne Financial is hopeful to have success this year similar to its accomplishments in 2010. The company is forecasting a 25% increase in mortgage production for 2011. The Mortgage Bankers Association expects the mortgage market to see a 36% decline in 2011, from $1.5 trillion in 2010 to an expected $996 billion this year, which would be the smallest national market for mortgages since 1997.
LeaderOne Financial, a mortgage banking firm specializing in conventional, Federal Housing Administration and other government-backed residential mortgages based in Overland Park, Kan., grew volume by 200% in 2010 with only an additional 17% headcount.
A.W. Pickel III, chief executive officer and founder of LeaderOne Financial, said in a report from the company the first reason why he expects success is that there are fewer originators and origination companies in the market than a few years ago.
According to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, loans are available for those who remain committed to the business.
Second, Pickel said leveraging technologies gives LeaderOne Financial opportunities it didn’t have before.
LeaderOne Financial uses the Internet and “cloud” technology as a recruiting tool to have fast and responsive communication with people.
The third reason Pickel attributes his company’s success is the business decisions that are made.
He said the company is only growing where it can identify good people through the personal networks of established professionals on its team.
Pickel sees the importance of advertising, but considers referrals from people who have been customers the best way to market the company.
Lenders exiting the market often leave behind highly qualified and well-regarded loan origination staffers, Brent Duhaime, LeaderOne chief production officer and a 20-year mortgage veteran, said in the company’s report.
Those originators can often contact other people they know in the industry and this has been a recruiting method at LeaderOne.
LeaderOne Financial said it expects to continue to utilize its current selection of government loan programs, which represent 63% of the company’s $500 million of production in 2010.
That percentage will likely decrease a bit as the company grows in areas that are traditionally stronger in conventional categories, said Pickel, a past president of the National Association of Mortgage Bankers.
The company has always been an FHA, USDA and other government program lender, and that won’t change, he said.
Duhaime said the opportunistic growth is not only allowing the Kansas office to flourish, but there has been increased presence in Texas, Iowa and Illinois.
The company also opened other offices in Colorado, Washington, Pennsylvania and Maryland in 2010 and Duhaime anticipates starting new teams in Georgia, Alabama and the Washington, D.C., metro area in 2011.
