How to Grow Your Mortgage Loan Officer Salary: A Comprehensive Guide to Quit Your Mortgage Loan Officer Jobs
Logistics. It’s the only thing standing between you and your desire to increase your mortgage loan officer salary. Well, maybe it’s not the only thing standing in the way. However, logistics is usually one of the biggest obstacles to leaving a stable mortgage loan officer job and striking out on your own.
You’re good at what you do, but earning caps and institutional policies keep you and your staff from growing the business to its full potential. You know you can close loans and balance the books. You just don’t quite know where to start.
What happens to your current clients when you start a mortgage company? What about your staff? How many extra loans do you need to close to make rent? Can you find an institution with the right product mix and a funding source with reasonable rates on your own?
Good news: MortgageRight partners with successful lenders to give them the tech stack, product mix, marketing, underwriting, and back-office support they need to grow their branches. Plus MortgageRight lenders have complete control over their branch’s P&L and their mortgage loan officer salary.
Taking the first step is hard, but MortgageRight’s leadership team helps its lenders make the jump, establish their new business, and start closing loans on day one.
Is it time to quit, and if so, how do you take the steps to start a mortgage company on your own?
Making the Decision: Is it Time to Quit Your Mortgage Loan Officer Job?
Before you decide to leave, consider what it means to stay. Sometimes, the grass only seems greener on the other side. Lots of lenders have great mortgage loan officer jobs that fit their lifestyle perfectly. So evaluate your current situation compared with what you would experience if you started a mortgage company yourself.
Does your current bank or branch give you the tools, resources, and freedom to reach your full earning and closing potential?
Lending within an institution comes with plenty of red tape and middle management. Still, the trade-off usually involves access to a more extensive pipeline of clients, processing and underwriting support, and good products.
In today’s lending landscape, institutions are finding it harder to hold up their end of the bargain, leaving many successful lenders wondering, “Would I be better off if I start a mortgage company myself?”
It’s no wonder mortgage lenders are jumping institutions — even leaving the industry — at higher rates than ever.
Consider how your current institution stacks up in the following areas:
- Product Mix
- Earning Caps
- Back office support
- Technology
- Marketing
- P&L transparency
- Freedom
- Direct and open communication
Product Mix
When the housing market is slow, you need a product mix that allows you to close every loan that comes across your desk. And in a wide-open market, you need lending products that will give your clients a competitive offer.
Successful lenders build their business off of reputation, and you get a good reputation from helping people when others can’t. A good product mix makes that possible.
MortgageRight’s leadership team always looks for ways to evolve the product mix. We add niche products as they become available so our lenders can offer clients better solutions and capitalize on new markets.
- FHA, VA & USDA
- Conforming
- 3% Down Affordable
- Jumbo
- High Balance
- Construction to Perm
- HECM Reverse
- Non-QM
- DSCR & Asset Depletion
- Renovation
- Down Payment Assistance
- Rate Buy Down
MortgageRight’s mission is to have every product available to our lenders so they can close every loan that hits their desk and never have to refer a deal out.
Earning Caps
Many institutions cap earnings for lenders, which may make sense for that institution’s business model, but it doesn’t make sense for MortgageRight.
MortgageRight’s business operates off a flat $995-per-loan fee because we want our lenders to close as many loans as possible. We don’t think caps incentivize growth.
Back-Office Support
It’s hard to find the balance between a big bank’s resources and a small bank’s personalization. National banks give you plenty of resources to be competitive, but you don’t have a lot of flexibility or cache when navigating the process. You may have that freedom but not the resources at a smaller institution.
MortgageRight offers that institutional support without the red tape. We pride ourselves on providing all of the following for a flat per-loan fee:
- Transparent pricing
- Access to low rates
- 24-hour underwriting and 4-hour turn times
- Hiring and training support
- Full benefits package
A Modern Tech Stack
Having the best technology is crucial for competing with national online lenders in the modern marketplace. Giving clients access to modern, easy-to-use portals is as much a competitive edge as being personable and easy to work with. But you can have the best of both worlds.
MortgageRight has an always-evolving tech stack and an on-call IT team to support your business. Our intranet and CRM integrate with Encompass, so our lenders have access to everything in one place.
The MortgageRight mobile apps give you (and your clients) easy access to all the information you need. You can take instant applications and pre-approvals, review leads, access calendar events, and view CRM data from your phone.
MortgageRight branches have access to a full tech stack from day one, including:
- nCino Digital Mortgage App (formerly SimpleNexus)
- Encompass360 – Bankers Version LOS
- Optimal Blue Pricing Engine
- Fully integrated CRM with milestone updates
- DiscoverRight intranet system
- Automated 2-way text, email, and voicemail
Marketing
When it comes to marketing, does your institution serve your brand, or do you serve the larger brand?
Some institutions promote their lenders like rockstars. Others stamp their lenders’ names on the bottom of a business card that looks the same as everyone else’s.
MortgageRight’s on-staff marketing team is available to all MortgageRight lenders free of charge. They build websites, social media campaigns, and brand materials that put your brand at the center.
Our done-for-you marketing system and dedicated in-house creative team handle the following:
- Online Digital Marketing
- Print and Web Design
- Direct Mail Marketing
- Social Media Branding
- Local SEO Development
- Client Retention Program
- Lead Management System
- Personal Website Design
You can be as involved as you want (or completely hands-off). But you’ll never have to do it alone, and the services are already included in the flat fee.
P&L Transparency
Few things are more frustrating than suspecting you could be making more money for your institution with no way to prove it.
It’s one thing for your institution to tell you whether or not you’re profitable, but can they show you?
MortageRight gives lenders real-time P&L transparency so they can make adjustments as they see fit.
Freedom
Policies and procedures are in place for a reason, especially at larger institutions. They help keep everyone on the same page and ensure everyone is playing fairly. They protect borrowers and lenders.
Trust is the opposite of micromanagement. Does your organization trust you to maintain compliance and best practices while capitalizing on your personality, skillset, and way of doing business?
That’s why MortgageRight spends a lot of time with lenders before inviting them to join. We need to trust that they treat their clients and employees well and that they run a compliant business.
- Assemble your own lending team.
- Control branch operations.
- Set compensation structures.
- Establish your origination process.
- Set your own marketing strategy.
MortgageRight only works with lenders we trust, so we let them set their own rules and run their own branches.
Direct and open communication
Knowing that “yes” means yes and “no” means no frees up a lot of brain power to do your job and help more clients.
Does your organization communicate directly and diplomatically, or is it more of a passive-aggressive political culture?
Success goes beyond logistics. Lenders who know they can communicate honestly and who expect honest feedback feel supported. And they know when they need to do better.
Every member of MortgageRight’s team is accessible by phone and ready to help.
Should you stay or should you go?
How did your institution stack up? Are you getting the support you need to reach your full earning potential? Do you have the resources you need to build a healthy work culture for you and your staff?
Does MortgageRight’s vision better align with your career goals and ambitions? If so, let’s talk about what a transition looks like.
The First Steps: Transitioning Your Business
Still curious? Good, let’s answer some of those scary transition questions.
- What happens to my current business pipeline?
- How quickly can I start?
- What about my killer team?
- What do I say to my boss?
What happens to my clients? Taking care of your pipeline.
Let’s start with the pipeline. You don’t want to risk your livelihood or negatively impact someone’s homeownership prospects by abandoning your in-process clients.
Don’t worry. Our transition team will help you explain the situation to your clients and give you the tools you need to close any loans during the licensing phase of the transition. And we’re not going to ask you to abandon a current client on their closing date. The reputation of MortgageRight lenders is essential to our success.
Our team’s goal is to find the best outcome for you, your clients, and even the institution you’re leaving.
Meanwhile, our marketing team will be working to build your new website and print your new cards. Our IT team will set up your system so you can start lending on day one.
How quickly can I start? Preparing for Success
MortgageRight is run by lenders, so we know that a day without closing leaves a queasy feeling in your stomach.
MortgageRight transfers licenses and sets lenders up to originate on their start date, but it doesn’t throw its lenders to the wolves.
New lenders have training calls with the transition team for the first week and continue until they are comfortable. These calls teach new lenders how to leverage the DiscoverRight intranet, customer relationship management software, marketing tools, pricing and underwriting systems, and anything else the new lender wants more specific help with.
What about my killer team? Applications, Background Checks, and Start Dates
MortgageRight doesn’t expect any lender to leave their team behind, especially not if you’re leaving due to a bad company culture.
Once a lender decides to onboard with MortgageRight, they can share the transition plan with their employees and offer them a chance to also move.
When a new lender sets their start date, the MortgageRight team reviews applications and background checks for any of your team members who want to join you. Then, we set start dates and begin training calls, just like with our lenders.
Processors are trained on the entire MortgageRight closing process, start to finish. Business managers tour the intranet and back-office tools. Everyone is given the tools they need to support your new venture. In the meantime, the MortgageRight team will help you continue running your business while everyone onboards.
What do I say to my boss? How to Navigate the Process
If you’re making the transition to MortgageRight, you’re a good lender. And if you’re a good lender, your institution is going to be sad to see you go. And since financial institutions have so many compliance and security concerns, they’ll probably boot you from their systems as soon as you give notice.
That’s okay.
First and foremost, be transparent with your referral partners. Show your favorite real estate agents how the Upfront Approval Guarantee can help waive the financing contingency and strengthen their clients’ offers.
Show your attorneys how quickly and reliably you will be able to close loans.
Be honest with your employer. Tell them why you’re leaving and what MortgageRight can offer that they can’t. Maybe they’ll make some changes. But know that business is business, and you will likely be asked to leave immediately once you give your notice.
If they take it well, then you’ve maintained a professional relationship. If they get mad, then you can leave with confidence.
Are You Ready to Grow Your Mortgage Loan Officer Salary?
- Do you have what it takes to run a profitable mortgage P&L?
- Do you want to create a better workplace environment for your team?
- Are you tired of micromanagement and office politics?
- Do you just want the resources to close loans and be left alone?
MortgageRight gives successful lenders the tools they need to take control of their mortgage loan officer salary and break through earnings caps. And we know that they can only be successful if they’re given the freedom to do so. Are you ready to make a decision you’ll wish you made sooner? MortgageRight values transparency, so you can schedule a live demo of the platform today. See how this tech-forward solution can free you up to run your business and make home buying easier for your clients, staff, and referral partners.