Niemiec believes brokers are ‘small business at its finest’
In the mortgage space, when it comes to loan origination volume, two giants dominate the market. It’s United Wholesale Mortgage and Rocket at the top, with everyone else competing to be number three.
That means there’s a good chance that if you are an independent mortgage broker, you have brokered loans to one of the two at some point during your career.
There has been an intense rivalry between the two, which has provided significant tension in the industry. Many brokers hope that tension can ease in the future.
Brendan McKay, chief advocacy officer and co-founder of the Broker Action Coalition (BAC), told Mortgage Professional America in December that it was time for that tension to end. He said, “There are going to be some things that we’re going to be doing to try to get the wholesale channel in the broker community to move in that direction. I’m really excited about it.”
Austin Niemiec (pictured top), Rocket Pro CRO, said that hearing from a mortgage outsider really drove this point home to him.
“We have a different philosophy,” Niemiec told Mortgage Professional America. “We believe in true partnership, and we believe in freedom. Varun Krishna, our CEO, taught me this. When he came, he wasn't part of the mortgage industry. He came from outside when he came in as the CEO. And one of his first observations is, ‘Why is everybody so uptight and cutthroat?’”
'Small business at its finest'
One thing that attracted Niemiec back to Rocket Pro from the retail side of the business was the opportunity to continue to build relationships with mortgage brokers. He knows the importance of building those relationships to keep the wholesale channel strong.
“What I love the most about the broker business, and this is why I'm so excited to be back, is this is small business at its finest,” Niemiec said. “Some of these are big businesses, but a broker puts their blood, sweat, and tears into building their business, whether they're a broker/owner or an LO at a brokerage.”
As Rocket unveiled new technology last week, it told brokers that even though they were welcome to use the software, it didn’t lock them into sending loans to Rocket.
“It's their business, and they should choose who they get to work with, what they do with their clients, what they do with their information,” Niemiec said. “They can use it to send loans to us, but they have the ability to send their loans anywhere they want. Their data is their data, and it's protected.”
Adopting an infinite mindset
The move to return and take the reins of Rocket Pro after the departure of Dan Sogorka was something that excited Niemiec. It’s a chance to see the growth of Rocket’s direct-to-broker channel and the growth of the broker community in general.
“It gives me so much energy,” he said. “I have always loved and always will love Rocket Pro and the broker business. I love the people, first of all, and just to see our people, our partners, grow and thrive. I'm here in California, and I just hung out with a broker who now has nearly 2,000 loan officers, and they just purchased a beautiful building with technology.
“I remember, five years ago, they had just started their company, and they're close friends of mine now. There are so many examples of that, of brokers that just had a little dream and connected with us, and we helped get them rolling. And through their grit and their grind, they build beautiful businesses. That’s what energizes me about this business.”
One thing that he believes successful brokers share is an abundant mindset: the idea that there are plenty of opportunities available for everyone to win.
“Every winner that I've been around, a genuine winner has an infinite mindset, not a finite mindset,” he said. “A person with an infinite mindset is somebody who believes there's just so much opportunity for everybody to win. We've shown that that is our mentality over the last few years, and the best brokers in America have that same mentality. That's the community we're building, and those are the type of businesses and brokers we want to attract here.”
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This article is part of our Monthly Spotlight series, which in March focuses on broker/lender relationships. Full coverage can be found here.
