Top Producer Pro Tips: Northeast Notables
May 26, 2015 3:30 PM
Learn how the some of the industry's most successful loan originators get it done with these tricks of the trade from the 2015 Top Producers rankings' top 12 loan officers of the Northeast.
No 12 Michael Dunsky, Guaranteed Rate (No. 86 overall)
Tell us about an unusual or difficult loan scenario and what you did to ensure a successful closing. Helped a single, working mother buy her first home when the home she was renting was being sold. She is a full-time caregiver to her two-year-old child, guardian for her teenage younger sister (their parents are deceased), and also takes care of her grandmother. This woman was nothing short of inspiring to me with her resolve and I am so thankful for being a part of helping her buy a home for her and her family.
No. 11 Vincent Diorio, Academy Mortgage (No. 84 overall)
What do you know about the mortgage business now that you wished you knew when you started out? I wish I knew how to screen employees as well as I do now.
No. 10 Jamie Tyndall, Mortgage Master (No. 69 overall)
Tell us about your most creative or successful marketing strategy. I do monthly mixers the last Thursday of every month. I invite a select group of top Realtors from different firms to visit different local businesses. That setting allows them to talk freely about what's going on. It's been very successful in bringing people together and has resulted in a lot of goodwill and more business for me. Plus I'm supporting local businesses.
No. 9 Stephen Campbell, Mortgage Master (No. 61 overall)
Who is someone in your life, personally or professionally, who helps contribute to your success? My assistant, Tanner Johnson. His weaknesses are my strengths, and my weaknesses are his strengths. It works really well. We've learned from each other. We think of unique solutions to get deals done. I'll be thinking of one solution and he comes up with a solution I haven't even been thinking about.
No. 8 Scott Hemsworth, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Overall No. 54)
What do you know about the mortgage business now that you wished you knew when you started out? The business has changed so much in 20 years. The change is unbelievable. It is just night and day from what I'm used to.
No. 7 Michael Borodinsky, Caliber Home Loans (No. 27 overall)
What do you know about the mortgage business now that you wished you knew when you started out? How technology has affected the industry, for better and for worse.
No. 6 Allyson Kreycik, Guaranteed Rate (No. 25 overall)
Tell us about your most creative or successful marketing strategy. I focus on new construction condominium developments and newly built single family home subdivisons.
No. 5 Joseph Smith, Guaranteed Rate (No. 22 overall)
Tell us about your most creative or successful marketing strategy. We did a great event where we invited Realtors and an Apple Genius from our local Apple store to answer everyone's questions and maximize their usage of their iPhones and iPads. Everyone loved it.
No. 4 Jason Shannon, Contour Mortgage (No.12 overall)
What's unique about the local market you serve and what do you do to address those needs? There are a lot of clients that are just looking for someone they can trust and building trust will take you a long way.
No. 3 Baret Kechian, Mortgage Master (No. 11 overall)
What's unique about the local market you serve and what do you do to address those needs? Hoboken, N.J., is highly concentrated with condos. It's also a very competitive market. You have to know everything possible about condos in order to succeed in this market and have programs and workarounds and things like that. I am an expert in the condo market; there's nothing about a condo that I don't know. You have to in order to be successful here.
No. 2 Julie Long, Commonwealth Mortgage (No. 6 overall)
Tell us about an unusual or difficult loan scenario and what you did to ensure a successful closing. I think my most difficult was a musician who travels with bands like Sheryl Crow and Dave Matthews. Because he earns his income in an unconventional way and has a lot of gaps in employment, we went back and looked at his income over the past seven years to document the fact that this is normal for him. Had we only looked at the last two years, he wouldn't have qualified.
No.1 Brian Scott Cohen, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (No. 2 overall)
Who is someone in your life, personally or professionally, who helps contribute to your success? It is important to surround yourself with people who are positive influences. There are a lot of negative people out there and people who give up too easily. My wife has always been a shoulder to lean on. She is very well-rounded and very smart. My parents and brother, who are not in this business at all, but they are good people to bounce things off of.
