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Experience Many people wonder how much experience I have in the business. This section will cover what I feel are some of the highlights of my career in and out of the mortgage business and how I feel they prepared me for what I do today
My First Job was as a paper delivery boy. I was given the route by a friend of mine who could not handle getting up that early in the morning. The route had about 20 customers. Over the next several months I took over 3 of the neighboring routes from other people and wound up with a route that had over 150 customers. This was my first taste of being an entrepreneur.
I quit that job to work and a more illustrious career. I was hired as a cook for McDonald’s. I enjoyed the steady pay and better hours but I also got my first taste of Corporate America. I learned about office politics, I became the manager’s best friend and eventually got the best paying job in the restaurant without actually being a manager. I became the night janitor.
As night janitor at McDonald’s I figured out how to finish my job within about 3 hours, I took the rest of the time reading the corporate training manuals that the managers are required to know. I knew then that I was going to become a corporate executive at McDonald’s in just a few short years.
While I was working nights I was told about a job opening at Traveler’s Insurance Company in Yonkers, N.Y. (20 minutes north of the Bronx) I applied and was hired for the job as a Rater. I gave up my goals with McDonald’s because well….. it was a better paying job and the hours were great 9-5. I was on my way!!
I was one of three that made it out of the “Raters” boot camp that started with about 20 people. It was here I realized I had a knack for retention when learning new things.
During my stay in Traveler’s my supervisor suggested that I go to the “College of Insurance” in Manhattan, NY (5 minutes from the World Trade Center) so I could get my degree in Risk Management and get promoted. I took her advice and began going to college at night. The traveling from Yonkers to Manhattan took its toll and I started looking for jobs in Manhattan. I worked for several different companies and wound up being a Commercial Underwriter for “Church Pension Fund”.
I went to buy a home while I was working at the Church Pension Fund. While I was buying the home I was told by the mortgage broker that “If the lender feels you can afford the payments, trust me you can afford them” This was my first experience with a mortgage broker that was stretching the truth. I knew I could not afford the payment but I believed the broker and I was going to go through with it.
Unfortunately I got laid off at the “Church Pension Fund” and of course now couldn’t qualify. I decided to move to Orlando, Fl. The problem was that there were no insurance companies in Orlando Florida, they were all located in Tallahassee. I had now an education in Risk Management and over 10 years experience in commercial insurance and all that was available was claims adjuster jobs which I wasn’t qualified for.
I was at the time a computer hobbyist and landed a minimum wage job as a data entry person for Sears in their maintenance department. I continued to read and learn about computers and before long I became a self proclaimed expert. I somehow used that expertise to become the systems manager in Sears telemarketing department. I had to learn all about their telemarketing computers and auto dialers. When compared to the statistics of other Sears systems managers I became the number one department within 6 months. Once the systems department was running pretty much on its own I took over a team of telemarketers and while training them I learned about the telemarketing strategies and techniques that some of the biggest companies in the country use. I decided that telemarketing wasn’t for me, but I liked the sales aspect and decided to combine my sales skill with my computer skills and went to work for a website developer selling websites. I did not like telemarketing and now I realized I did not like knocking on business doors without an invitation. I soon grew tired of outside sales.
I applied and received a Job at Sprint. I was going to be an inside sales representative selling phone systems, DSL lines, Long Distance and whatever other products Sprint decided they wanted us to sell. I went through another boot camp and left there 6 weeks later running. I wound up being number one from my class and number 3 in the country my first year. (I started in April, and the #1 and #2 have been there all year). It was here that I figured out that customers just want to be helped. No need to telemarket or knock on doors.
I made very good money at Sprint and it was here where things started changing. The commission schedule changed for the worse. Office politics were running rampant. I had started investing in properties and was comfortable with real estate so I decided I would start investing.
While I was investing I met a few mortgage brokers. One of whom suggested that I get into the mortgage business. I looked around his office and saw how busy he was. I also saw how badly he treated his customers. He made the customers feel like they needed him. I always thought that it was the business that needed the customer.
I figured that if he can make a good living while ripping people off and treating them bad, I could do even better by treating them as family (This is right after the time I got saved, see the Philosophy section fore more details)
I went and completed the requirements needed to get my mortgage brokers license and put my license with a couple of local companies. I was quite disappointed with these companies because it was their policy not to call people back that were turned down and they had a system in place that effectively raised the cost of third party fees to their clients that did close the loan. They also hid a lot of their earnings so as to not have to split it with the loan officer.
It was at this time I decided to open up my own shop, shortly after I to helping those clients that weren’t being properly served by the rest of the industry. Particularly the people with bad credit and Investors as these are the two groups of people that seem to be taken advantage of the most.
I have been doing mortgages since about August of 2001, I started working on Investor Mortgages in about February, 2002.
My experience in the past from my newspaper route that showed me I can be successful as an entrepreneur, my insurance underwriting and risk management background that gives me an idea what the lenders underwriters are trying to do. To my computer skills that allow me to use technology to reduce expenses and increase efficiency. To the most recent sales and telemarketing experiences that showed me that if you offer a product that the customer wants and market it properly you would never have to do telemarketing.
I am a consummate researcher; I know how to use technology to find programs that my customers need. I am always reading and expanding my knowledge. I am using this knowledge to help my customers understand the basics of investing and the advanced techniques. I do this while keeping up with the ever-changing laws and underwriting guidelines so that my customers can be comfortable that I am doing everything in their best interests.
Thank you and God Bless
Danny
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