Hello, LOs!
Maryland has over a dozen Eastern European stores that sell products like caviar, pumpernickel bread and salo, a Ukrainian-style bacon. Apart from selling produce that is popular in former Soviet countries, these stores represent a marketing opportunity for Alex Naumovych, a loan officer at Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corporation.
Just before a customer buys a container of pre-made Borscht, they see Naumovych's business cards and flyers that lay neatly near the checkout area.
This advertising strategy, among a handful of others, has helped the LO connect with Russian-speaking real estate agents and win the business of borrowers from former Soviet countries.
"I have my business cards everywhere because the more people that see your cards and face, the better," Naumovych said. "Borrowers have called me from seeing my advertising in the stores and a couple of Realtors, too."
Mortgage Reporter Maria Volkova spoke to a number of LOs to learn their strategies for ginning up business now that the rate-term refis are gone.
Fahad Janvekar, an LO at Fairway Independent Mortgage, speaks Hindi and Urdu and relies on a "fixer" in his community to connect him with prospective borrowers.
"This guy is a fixer, and he fixes people's problems, whatever they are," said Janvekar. "He's great at recalling people and he directs me to talk to people that may be looking for a mortgage in the community."
Make sure to read Maria's HW+ piece here. And tell me LOs, what strategies have you adopted to find new borrowers outside of your immediate network? Email me at jkleimann@housingwire.com.
James Kleimann
Managing Editor, HousingWire
.jpg?width=1116&upscale=true&name=815236532-SLD-BannerAd-970x250-B%20(2).jpg)
EmoticonEmoticon