Mortgage Professional America: Can you tell us about your mortgage journey? How did you come into the industry?
Mark Smith: I was previously in the golf business, and with the golf business, you worked when everyone else was off, so over time, I began to get burned out. I had a friend that was in the mortgage business and said, “Hey, why don’t you come work for me?” I took a leap of faith and got into the mortgage business. So here we are, 27 years later, still in the mortgage business.
MPA: What are the threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them? Have you ever been so discouraged you wanted to quit?
MS: We are currently in a very tough market with the unstable economy both domestically and globally, so we have had to shift focus a little to become more educators to help people understand the challenges of the market when it comes to rising interest rates and affordability of homes. Luckily, all the mortgage tools and products that we had pre-COVID have all come back, so there are several mortgage options again for buyers. Even in-touch markets like 2007–2009, we were able to grow our market share by just keeping to the basics and being available for people to help them through the mortgage process. I have never wanted to quit, as even in challenging markets, it is still a special moment when you make someone’s dream of home ownership come true.
MPA: How do you encourage mortgage professionals not to give up?
Source: mpamag.com