Bill McCue has run his family's mortgage banking shop for 35 years, but he says the best days are yet to come.
“We are going to be slow coming out of this recession,” he said in an interview. And it's not going to happen overnight or by Christmas.
But he is optimistic economic conditions will improve along with the housing market.
“When those things come together and drive the economy, you will see a long period of great opportunities for people buying homes and therefore mortgage bankers,” he said.
For now the focus should be on creating jobs and keeping people in their homes. “If we can do that, we can have a bright future,” McCue said.
His father, the late William D. McCue, started McCue Mortgage Co. in 1947. And now his daughter, Katherine McCue, is on track to become the company's chief executive in three years.
“There's a lot to learn with all the challenges of mortgage lending and servicing,” he said in the interview. “I learned a lot about the business at the dinner table.” He also spent five years as a commercial banker before joining his father's company.
Based in New Britain, Conn., the independent mortgage banking firm closes $600 million in loans annually and services 11,000 mortgages.
The company is geared toward serving first-time homebuyers, which makes up about 70% of its business.
“It is a great symbiotic relationship,” McCue said. “The first-time homebuyer needs us the most and we need the business.”
He stresses that McCue Mortgage provides the level of service that gets the first-timer though the process and into a home.
This leads to referrals from their friends and repeat business.
“We have a very high satisfaction ratio that gets them coming back to us. That makes us successful,” he said.
While running the family business since 1977, McCue has not been very active in the Mortgage Bankers Association. But he recently was appointed to the MBA's residential board of directors.
At the MBA annual, he will attend his first board meeting.
He's “excited” that David Stevens is the new president and chief executive of the association.
“He brings a spark that will really turn this organization into one that builds opportunities for success for independent mortgage bankers.”
McCue expects there is going to be more opportunities for small- and medium-size lenders as the big banks pull back from the mortgage business.
“Stevens sees where things are going. He is going to be in a position to help independent mortgage bankers,” McCue said.
