Finding success as a mortgage lending professional is no easy feat. It takes a motivated leader willing to master their housing industry knowledge–as well as the willpower to ride out market factors outside your control–to get your clients the best lending options available when buying a new home.

At a certain point in your career, you may be wondering if you can achieve a competitive mortgage branch manager salary by starting your own branch.

With the right skill set and tools at your disposal, the fact is that many can achieve financial independence and a better life-work balance by setting off on their own. Starting your own mortgage lending branch and being your own boss gives you the freedom to build your career and earn a mortgage branch manager salary that meets your life goals.

Here’s how MortgageRight can help you achieve financial independence and build a better lending career.

Key Takeaways

• Starting your own mortgage lending branch can help you achieve the Financial Independence and Retirement movement (or FIRE).
• FIRE focuses on extreme savings (70% or more of your income), smart investing, and paying off debt as quickly as possible—so you can retire earlier.
• The mortgage industry saw a mass exodus of lending professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The MBA reports that between 2002 and 2020, turnover averaged 38%, and peaked during the 2007 recession at 51%.
• Lending professionals seeking to open their own branch must consider the market factors that impact turnover to better weather these adverse market conditions and internal factors such as company culture, product offerings, and pricing.
• MortgageRight offers complete financial freedom so you can take home 100% of your profits, choose your own markets and product placements, and build your own team, providing a true P&L model with non-padded rates.
• MortgageRight supports your business 24/7 with services like 24-hour underwriting, an upfront Approval Guarantee Program, medical, dental, and vision benefits, and an employer-matched 401k.

Financial Independence and Retirement

A major benefit of being your own boss as a successful lending professional is the ability to seek financial freedom and build success on your own terms.

The Financial Independence and Retirement movement, or FIRE, is more popular than ever among those seeking to maximize their financial health and retire earlier in life. In broad terms, those living the FIRE lifestyle are focused on extreme savings, minimal spending, and paying off high-interest debt as quickly as possible. Saving up to two-thirds or more of their income is the ultimate goal, as well as making smart investment decisions so that early retirement is achievable with the ability to live off of one’s savings.

Achieving your goals with the FIRE method takes a lot of planning, determination, and patience, but starting your lending firm with a program like MortgageRight can be an important first step for the seasoned professional.

If you’re an experienced mortgage lender who can generate business, you have a chance to achieve financial independence and guarantee the retirement you want.

According to MortgageRight Industry Expert Beth Kinnell, “We built this because we want to retire here. And we want our lenders to be able to retire here.”

Many mortgage professionals have found financial independence and success in starting their own branch with MortgageRight. After a multi-decade career working for major lending companies like Wells Fargo, Ben Phillips found success with MortgageRight.

“I have my unique traits and my niche—I make my money off of advertising and repeat business. Because it’s an actual profit-and-loss model, I have control of the decision-making,” Ben said of his experience as a MortgageRight lender. “I had aspirations and dreams and financial goals. I just had those dreams in my pocket, waiting, but it’s a reality now.”

Navigating the Trend of Turnover in the Mortgage Industry

After a peak of homebuying activity during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, professional lenders started dropping out of the mortgage industry en masse.

Even before this mass exodus, there is a marked history of turnover in the industry. For instance, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports that between 2002 and 2020, turnover averaged 38%, and peaked during the 2007 recession at 51%.

Turnover is an important consideration when seeking to go independent and grow your mortgage branch manager salary. Those with digital mortgage experience who can reliably generate business will have the most success opening their own P&L and weathering factors that typically generate turnover, which according to the MBA can include major market disruptions, weaker volume, management approach, company culture, product offering availability, and pricing.

Planning Your Career Trajectory and Mortgage Branch Manager Salary

MortgageRight puts you in control of your P&L. That means you’re in control of your mortgage branch manager salary, your team’s salary, and how you grow overall as a lending business.

Working as an employee for a lending company, you may end up stuck with unfavorable rules and conditions when it comes to what you’re paid and the benefits you receive. Some organizations will take a portion of your profits, charge a “success fee” on closed loans, or charge you for numerous other costs associated with a mortgage transaction.

However, MortgageRight gives you the freedom to set your own mortgage branch manager salary without caps on your compensation or earnings. You bring in 100% of your profits when you run your own lending branch with MortgageRight, with no surprise fees—just a flat underwriting fee of $995 on each completed loan.

Being your own branch manager offers financial freedom, but it’s also a pathway to total control over your destiny as a lending professional. MortgageRight gives you the ability to choose the markets you work in with the products you want to sell. You’ll pick your own staff, with total access to our underwriters, compliance team, and operations team.

MortgageRight also offers you a true P&L model, meaning your commissions and bonuses are based on non-padded rates and the number of loans closed, compared to the padded rates of most retail P&L companies.

The Benefits of Switching to MortgageRight

While MortgageRight gives you complete control over your own destiny as a branch manager, we also offer an extensive range of benefits, so you can work for yourself while also knowing your team is completely covered.

• We support you and your staff with benefits such as:
• Crystal clear pricing and some of the lowest rates in the industry
• 24-hour underwriting and 4-hour turn times on conditions
• An upfront Approval Guarantee Program
• Branch specific P&L, with full access to your actual P&L statement for your branch
• A full suite of medical, dental & vision benefits
• Life and disability insurance
• An employer-matched 401k program

Ensuring a Worry-Free Retirement

MortgageRight gives its lenders much more than financial freedom and early retirement—we offer the ability to run your branch with absolute freedom while offering a host of benefits and around-the-clock support.

You’re your own boss with MortgageRight, controlling not only how much you get paid and when, but also every business decision from the markets you work within to the products you offer—all while retaining 100% of your profits.

With MortgageRight, the big “R” will never be a worry again—because you’ll have the ability to build a solid financial future and a worry-free retirement.

Want to learn more about how MortgageRight can help you be your own boss and earn a competitive mortgage branch manager salary? Schedule a live demo of the MortgageRight platform today. 

The MortgageRight team is ready to help you navigate opening your own P&L branch so you can start the next chapter of your life. It’s our mission to maintain transparency so you understand each step. Our team has the experience and resources to help you build your team from the ground up and gain the financial freedom you deserve as a lending professional.