Loan officers are unsung heroes of the mortgage business. They excel in multiple areas, from organization, to tracking trends, to building trust and cultivating relationships. If you are a loan officer, your hard work and talents benefit many other people: your clients, your coworkers, and—let’s be honest—the higher-ups you work for. Wouldn’t it be great if all that hard work benefited you a little more? It can. You could double your income by managing your own branch and earning a mortgage branch manager salary.
Let’s take a closer look at the different hats loan officers wear, considering how they get paid for all that work, then compare loan officers’ jobs to mortgage branch manager jobs. If you’re an experienced loan officer asking yourself what’s next for your career, the work you’re doing today has already prepared you for future success as a mortgage branch manager.
What Do Loan Officers Do?
Originate loans
Applying for a mortgage loan can be a stressful financial experience, but loan officers help clients navigate the complex process successfully, minimizing the headaches and hiccups along the way. Loan officers guide clients through every step, starting with applications, credit checks, and approvals, all the way to fund dispersal and closing.
Pre-qualify clients
Loan officers gather financial information, evaluate a client’s financial status, and run credit checks. Officers’ thorough work on the front end sets clients up to win as they make significant financial decisions and life-changing investments.
Nurture customer relationships
Clients rely on loan officers to hold their hands through every step of the mortgage application process. Loan officers lead clients through complex paperwork, keeping them on track with deadlines and informed about the underwriting process.
Ensure compliance with industry standards
Loan officers stay up-to-date with regulations, requirements, interest rates, and industry changes. When laws or lending standards change, loan officers keep their clients informed and compliant.
Maintain communication with all parties
Clear communication is one of a mortgage loan officer’s greatest strengths. Loan officers bridge the communication gap between borrowers and underwriters, explaining any complex or unusual aspects of loan applications. The end goal? A smooth process that helps borrowers get the best loans possible.
Negotiate terms
Debating terms and rates can be a sensitive business, but successful loan officers excel at negotiation. They work with lenders, advocating for excellent terms and rates for each client.
Build industry relationships
A motivated loan officer networks extensively, cultivating positive relationships with real estate agents, builders, appraisers, lenders, potential first-time homebuyers, and more. Investing in all these relationships keeps loan officers informed about industry changes, local developments, and best practices—and yields excellent outcomes for their clients.
Solve problems
Complications can arise throughout the loan application process, but an experienced loan officer knows how to cope with the unexpected, where to turn for help, and how to creatively address obstacles or difficulties to help clients achieve their goals.
How Do Loan Officers Get Paid for All This Work?
Most loan officers are paid a combination of base salary, commissions, and bonuses, along with other incentives. Take-home pay has a wide range depending on how productive the loan officer is—compensation may range from as low as $40,000 a year to upwards of $200,000. However, many motivated loan officers working for larger companies reach a point where they feel stymied by their pay structure.
If you’re a successful loan officer, you may be familiar with this feeling: You bust your tail cultivating relationships, managing paperwork, overcoming problems, closing deals, and producing income—but a lot of the money you make ends up going to other people. You may face frustrations like these:
- You have to pad your rates to cover bloated company costs.
- Your company charges “success fees” on loans you close.
- Your company caps your compensation.
- Your work is often slowed down by red tape.
- Your closings get delayed by cumbersome company processes and policies.
- You answer to people who don’t prioritize your clients the way you do.
- You give away big chunks of the money you bring in.
If you’re a loan officer ready to take charge of your career, enjoy more freedom, and make more money, it may be time to look into mortgage branch manager jobs, and perhaps start your own branch.
How Are Mortgage Branch Manager Jobs Different?
As a motivated loan officer, it may encourage you to realize that mortgage branch manager jobs aren’t all that different from the work you’re already doing. Consider these similarities:
- A branch manager’s primary goal is loan origination. You already excel at that job.
- A branch manager problem-solves and negotiates between parties. You do those things daily.
- A branch manager has great communication and networking skills. You have those skills too.
But a few things are different. Branch managers have an additional responsibility that may excite you: building and motivating a team of people. Mortgage branch manager jobs require leadership and team-building skills, and if you start your own net branch, you’ll have the freedom to hire and inspire your own team.
Branch managers also run their branch’s finances. If you feel intimidated by the idea of taking on new responsibilities like HR, marketing, payroll, and P & L statements, consider this: When you set up your branch through Mortgage Right, our company handles these administrative tasks for you. Our work sets you free to do the work you do best: originate loans. This is a tremendous benefit compared to other companies that ask branch managers to run all their administration, too.
As the owner of a mortgage branch, you eliminate the red tape and fees, choose your own pay structure, and keep the money you make.
Double Your Income with MortgageRight
If you’re ready to become a net branch manager, MortgageRight offers powerful tools and advantages. Here are a few of the freedoms and benefits you’ll enjoy:
Set your own pay
MortgageRight doesn’t cap your compensation or charge hidden fees. As a net branch manager, you’ll get to decide how much you get paid and choose your own pay structure.
Keep the money you make
Stop donating your hard-earned money to middle management and an inflated corporate structure. No more “success fees” on your closed deals, and no more padded rates. You can keep your rates straightforward and simple because that’s what MortgageRight does for you. Our fees are transparent: We charge a $995 underwriting fee on each loan—and that’s it.
Let us handle your P&L statements
Many loan officers looking to step into mortgage branch manager jobs feel hesitant to take on the new responsibility of accounting and P & L statements, but Mortgage Right makes that transition simple. Our cutting-edge P & L software tracks and reports your expenses to facilitate easy accounting and fast lending.
Offer a wide range of products
Company policies won’t limit your offerings anymore, so you won’t lose clients to competitors. You’ll have the ability to offer all the product options your clients need.
Make your own choices
MortgageRight gives you the freedom to be your own boss. You get to choose:
- your employees
- your administrators
- your processors
- your loan officers
- the markets where you want to work
If you’re ready to take charge of your work and maximize your pay, becoming a branch manager is an empowering and lucrative career move. Why not get started today?
