Top 11 Reasons To Be A Mortgage Broker

Today, I’m going to be listing for you my top 11 reasons for why you should be in the mortgage business. Whether you’re a mortgage broker or a mortgage banker, and you do residential or commercial, I think my reasons crossover.

The reason I’m sharing this list is that I’ve been in this business for 35 years, and it’s been fantastic for me! Maybe it’ll be the same for you.

So, let’s jump right in, and you can tell me what you think. We’re counting down from 11.

11. No Formal Education Needed

You don’t need any degree or any specific education to get into this business. You can jump into it without any college degree or any formal education at all. I was dyslexic. Well, I’m still dyslexic, which was why going to college was out of the question.

So, for people who don’t want to go to college, the good news is, you don’t need to. I know plenty of people who are lawyers who passed the bar exam…and who also operate in the mortgage business. And they do good.

Again, the reason for me getting into this business was no formal education. No formal training. Now, don’t get me wrong. You do need a lot of training for this business, and you do need a lot of education, but you can learn it on the job.

10. There’s Always Business Out There

Business is everywhere. I’ve seen it. When I started, rates were 15.75 percent. Now, rates are in the twos and threes. There’s always business. It’s a big country.

There are always people who need capital or want capital and need financing. So, it’s never slow. Yes, certain times are slower than others, but you can always do deals. There’s never a shortage of people who want your services.

In fact, some days you come home, and you might think to yourself that things are slow, but I say, are you telling me you can’t find someone who wants to borrow money? There are millions of people who always want to borrow money.

So, you’re always able to find opportunities. Your services are always needed. It’s a never-ending stream of customers who need financing. And you can help them get it. 

9. It’s Always Challenging

This might sound like a funny reason to get into this business, but who wants to live a boring life? This job is always challenging. Things are not easy. If they seem easy, you’re not looking at the right picture.

There are always challenging things that happen, and things are always changing in this business. I don’t look at these things as negative at all. I look at it all in a tremendously positive way, whether I’m working on a specific deal or trying to handle an issue with a specific borrower or maybe tackling an industry-wide problem.

8. High-Income Potential

This job has high-income potential. No one puts a limit on what you make. It comes down to what your goals are, what your desires are, and what your appetite is. How smart and hard you work.

If you want to make $50,000 a year, you can make $50,000 a year. If you want to make $350,000 a year, you can make $350,000 a year.

The reality is a lot of people don’t make it in the mortgage business, but the potential is there. And there’s nothing that’s going to hold you back, except what’s in your head.

That’s the biggest limitation…what’s in your mind.

If you come into this and say, “I want to earn $100,000 or $200,000,” or whatever it may be, you’ll earn it. No limitation on earning potential. It has to do with how hard you work and how smart you are.

7. You Control Your Earning Potential

This reason is an extension of reason 8. You control your earning potential because there’s not some big company or a big boss who sets a limit. Nobody controls your limit except you.

Now, there are certain limits. You have to follow certain guidelines that determine how much you make per deal, but I mean overall, nobody’s going to control your wages or something like that. It’s up to you how many great deals you get and how much you get from them.

Whether you succeed or fail is based on your ability, your skills, your dedication, and your hard work.

You know, throughout human history, we haven’t had too many freedoms like this. There have been limitations on our freedoms. But in the mortgage business, whether you’re a broker or a banker doing residential or commercial, there’s no limit.

6. Things Are Always Changing

I love this aspect of the game. It keeps things fresh because you have to reinvent yourself all the time.

As an example, my company, Gelt Financial, started in 1989, which means we’ve now been around 32 years, give or take. And we’ve had to change every three to five years. So, we’re always learning.

I never thought years ago that, for example, I would know what PPC is (pay-per-click marketing) or know about keywords, search engine optimization, and so on.

But today, internet marketing is a part of the business. You have to know as much about that as you know about qualifying someone for a mortgage.

The thing about this business is that those who don’t change wind up going out of business. And the reality is that there aren’t a lot of people who have been in the business for 20 years or more.

Because what happens so often is that there is a major gyration in the market, and then the broker gets overwhelmed or stops loving the game and leaves the business, which is fine for them.

But to me, the change is a big positive.

5. You’re Helping People Meet Their Goals And Their Needs

Helping people is one of the most rewarding things to me. I can’t tell you how nice it is to get positive feedback from borrowers. It’s a warm feeling.

And at this point, because we’ve been in business so long, we get feedback almost every day of the week.

I just read this online as an example:

“Gelt financial and Jack Miller helped me get a loan 10 years ago when no one would lend me money. I got my first investment financing through Gelt. They helped me.”

Even when we can’t work with you directly, we still want to help. We got an email the other day, somewhat out of the blue, but we had to turn them down.

But we told them that just because we can’t do it, don’t be discouraged, go out there and get it done. And they got it done through somebody else. They made money on an investment property.

So, we have an impact, and we help people. And that’s a tremendous feeling to be able to lift somebody up and help them as we do.

We bring light to peoples’ lives by providing them the capital they want or need at a time when they need it.

4. You Create Your Own Schedule

Being a mortgage broker is not a nine-to-five job. Some people do it part-time. I know a guy who does it like that. He has a full-time job somewhere else, and then he brokers deals during the evening and at night. He does very well.

You create your own schedule in this business, which is a huge perk. No one is telling you what to do and when to do it. You find your own rhythm. I know for me, sometimes Saturday evenings or Sunday evenings are very effective.

Again, you create your own schedule. You can do it whenever you want. If you have kids in school and you want to pick them up, you can. You want to go see them in a play. You want to take a day off. You want to learn karate during the day or a foreign language or whatever. You can do it!

3. You Are Your Own Boss

Not only do you make your own schedule, but you’re your own boss too. When you are the breadwinner, and you bring in the bacon, and you are the rainmaker…ultimately, the rainmaker makes the rules.

So, if you are the rainmaker, and you bring in deals, you become your own boss. You don’t have to answer to anyone except for yourself.

Some people view that as a negative. But for me, it was always positive because I’m motivated. I love what I do. I wake up every morning. As soon as my eyes open up, I can’t wait to get out of bed and get to work and start being productive.

2. This Business Give You Freedom To Do What You Want

Whether you want to go on vacation or take time off, whatever your personality is, being a mortgage broker lets you do it. You have the freedom to do it within this business.

Very few other professions give you the same amount of freedom. You could work two minutes a day and be as successful as someone who works 10 hours a day if you are super smart and know what you’re doing. Work smart, and you will be successful.

1. You Control Your Own Destiny

Nobody else controls your destiny. Yes. Things change. The economy changes. Whatever worked for you in life a year ago might not work now.

I’m hosting this talk in the middle of Covid. Things have changed! But things are always changing. You have to go with the flow. It’s up to you.

The person looking at this. The person who is reading this or watching…you control your own destiny.

And that is a tremendous bonus to me. I can do anything I want here. I can spend my time on hobbies or with family or other things that interest me. Very few careers allow this.

Work With A Mortgage Broker With Decades of Experience

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my top 11 reasons for why you should jump into the mortgage business. Whether you’re a mortgage broker or a mortgage banker for residential or commercial, these 11 great reasons apply to you.

It’s been a fantastic career for me. I’ve been going at it for 30-something years. I still feel I have another 60 years ahead of me. I’ll keep going until I drop. I love it.

It’s challenging. It’s hard. Most people don’t make it, but it gives you things that very few other careers give you. God bless you. I hope you have a great day, and I wish you a lot of success with whatever you’re doing.

Remember to check us out on our Home Page, and if we can do anything for you, call us anytime at 562-221-0900.

When your bank says NO, we say YES!