Preparation and willingness to change key for broker survival
Even in a challenging mortgage market, there are opportunities for growth in the lending profession. With new technology popping up daily, one industry leader believes that embracing changes and thorough preparation can help the new guard of mortgage brokers lead the industry.
Eddy Perez (pictured top) is the founder and CEO of Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) in Atlanta, Georgia. He spoke to brokers at EPM’s The American Gift (TAG) event last week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Perez stressed that brokers are the ones who can embrace the changes coming in the industry to make things better.
“Brokers aren’t the cavalry, they are the new guard,” Perez said. “They’re the ones with the most flexibility. They’re the ones with the most options. They’re the ones that can do the most with different types of loans.”
He stressed that the mindset of the old guard is holding back many brokers, and they need to shed it if they want to continue to grow.
“The old guard divides, they confuse,” he said. “The shift already happened, but how many of you guys have actually shifted? How many of you guys are in the same boat or saying the same things?”
Critical to diversify
At a time when rates remain elevated, and with no sign of Federal Reserve rate cuts anytime soon, Perez encouraged brokers to rate-proof their future business.
“You've got to diversify your capital sources,” Perez said. “And what I mean by that, realtors, builders, divorce attorneys. Yes, over a million divorces a year, and over half of them have property, and that's not rate sensitive. How do you really kind of rate proof yourself? CPAs, business owners, there’s so many opportunities out there.
“But there's a common problem. There's a villain in the room, and the villain is simple. It's the old guard. It's what you leave inside of yourself. It's all the work that you're not doing.”
In addition to diversifying income sources, Perez noted that the new guard would be able to bring both a younger perspective, as well as the point of view of people with different backgrounds.
“I remember my first board meeting,” he said. “There were two people in their 40s in the room. I happened to be one of them. And they said to me, ‘Eddy, do you know why you're here?’ I mean, you guys voted and put me on here, but you know, I didn't know. And he said, ‘When we talk about the old guard and what needs to change, this industry is too pale, male, stale and frail, and you're only male.’”
He said the concept of the old guard has less to do with a specific age and more to do with a mindset that isn’t willing to change with the times.
“That mindset hangs on, that stays on, that holds people back,” Perez said. “I’ll see at certain events how people are really, really down or they won’t come out at the last second. That’s the villain. The old guard aren’t bad people. It’s just a mindset. It has nothing to do with age. It has to do with, did you evolve?
“Are you staying Blockbuster and not becoming Netflix? And I think a lot of you guys are still Blockbuster.”
Still time for change
While some in the industry might more closely represent the largely defunct video rental giant Blockbuster than the surviving Netflix, Perez notes that there is time to change that.
“I don’t know if you all really poured into yourself or really understand what you’re up against,” he said. “And that’s perfectly okay. That’s why we’re here. But, the solution really starts with you guys. It starts with your mindset.”
Perez gave the brokers three suggestions to help begin making changes in the way they conduct business. The first one is the use of videos for your customers.
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— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) June 7, 2025
“There’s three things to separate yourself to be different,” Perez said. “Because here’s the great thing: A lot of people won’t do the work. Video marketing: I don’t care if you do it on your cell phone. I don’t care how (bad) it is. Do it every day and post it and give something that the audience wants.”
The second thing he stressed to the audience was the need to study and to do it consistently.
“A lot of people don’t read books,” he said. “You’ve got to study if you want to be a professional. You’ve got to spend six to 10 hours a week working on your craft. And I know that sounds like a lot. It’s about an hour a day, but it’s going to generate results.”
His final step for brokers to elevate themselves is to be independent.
“There’s no reason there isn’t a loan you can’t close out there,” Perez said. “You have the capital sources. There’s something like 200 wholesale lenders. And even to the people on the retail side, they can broker loans, too. So, there’s no reason not to be able to do something about it.
“The old guard talks about the American dream. The new guard talks about the American gift. The opportunity is boundless, especially if you follow those three things. The new guard needs everybody to go to that level.”
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