Egyptian-born broker helps those who don’t speak English as a first language
The language of mortgage lending can be difficult to understand, especially for first-time homebuyers. But it becomes even more complicated for customers for whom English isn’t their first language. One broker hopes to simplify things for those borrowers.
George Missiha (pictured top) is a mortgage broker for GM Brokerage Home Loans. He immigrated from Egypt in 1997 and now helps those in and around his home market of Los Angeles, including those who came to America speaking Arabic as a first language.
He credits Kevin DeLory, former chief lending officer and partner at Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM), who passed away April 8 after battling cancer. DeLory told him to embrace who he was and really get to know his market. It’s allowed him to help customers who use English as a second language (ESL).
“Me and Kevin, we clicked,” Missiha told Mortgage Professional America. “He told me to lean into my market. So I speak English and I speak Arabic. He said to lean into my market, and I took it to heart.”
Leaning into his market meant creating video content for Arabic-speaking customers. Over the last six months, his videos have reached over 5 million views on YouTube.
“They gave me the confidence to be on camera, to talk and make it happen,” Missiha said. “I’m getting views, and hopefully it translates to business. I’m doing education videos for my own people in my language.”
Important to reach ESL borrowers
Missiha noted that many brokers speak a second language to serve local customers or even family members. He’s hoping that more will make the effort to learn another language.
“America is a land of opportunity, and a lot of people are coming in and they speak a different language,” he said. “A lot of people in our industry, they need to learn a second language. We have parents who don’t know anything about (English). They sign and sign and that’s it. English is a second language.”
He said that even though he primarily works in southern California, people from around the country have contacted him to try to help ESL and foreign customers.
“Someone told me what it means to be in business,” Missiha said. “Business is helping find a solution for someone. And a lot of people don’t know where they can find help. I’m here to help my community. For example, I’m licensed in California, but I get a lot of calls from the Midwest. I still take those calls because the help I got, I help them.
“It’s the circle of life. I believe in the idea of helping. If you give, God will give you help back.”
Mortgage broker Thomas Sloan with GoRascal believes professionals in the wholesale channel are uniquely positioned to help borrowers rejected by the retail channel, especially with elevated rates and market turmoil. https://t.co/lU0DQjxWfd
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) June 9, 2025
In addition to the challenge of speaking another language, there is the language of mortgage lending. This can be challenging regardless of whether English is your first language or not.
“The industry has an opportunity to educate people,” Misshia said. “Every industry has a lingual. I come from a telecommunications background, and the IT people speak a different language. Programmers have a different language. One of my mentors in college, I told him I have a heavy accent. He said that I need to translate my knowledge. Use simple English so you can translate from the industry language for the regular person.”
People who made a difference
Missiha was quick to credit DeLory, whom EPM honored at the organization’s The American Gift (TAG) event last week in Atlanta.
“He changed my life,” Missiha said. “He’s going to talk with you, heart to heart. He believed in you. He understood you and believed in you.”
He also credits EPM’s Eddy G. Perez Jr. with supporting him during his mortgage career. Missiha is also a big believer in the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME).
“AIME also changed my life,” he said. “It’s not about the place, it’s about the people inside the place. They have a culture. They want to introduce you to people, and they want to help. That’s why I feel like John (AIME Chairman/CEO Jonathon Haddad) is successful, because he continues the culture.”
He said AIME hosts daily calls on both East and West Coast time to allow as many brokers as possible to get the help they need. Missiha has even hosted calls, teaching other brokers how to use videos to reach more clients.
He credits the willingness of brokers to help each other as a major factor in the broker channel's continued growth.
“I like the idea that we want to continue helping each other to grow,” Missiha said. “Because in the end, people are buying from people. It’s also saying you’re not taking any of my business, and I’m not going to take your business. If they don’t like me for some reason, they might like you. This is God’s plan. So that’s why we’re trying to help each other.”
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