Welcome to the December episode of Learning With A Lender with Joel Schaub!
For our final Learning With A Lender episode of 2018 Joel Schaub, Vice President at Guaranteed Rate, talks about how real estate brokers are gearing up for 2019 and how to partner with lenders to help sponsor marketing efforts for the coming year. Whether you’re looking for help with printed materials, seminars, or digital marketing, now is the time to put your team in place for the new year!
Joel Schaub can be reached at joel@rate.com or 773.654.2049.
Transcript
D.J. Paris 0:16
Welcome to another episode of Keeping it real. The only podcast made by Chicago real estate brokers for Chicago real estate brokers. My name is DJ Parris. I am your host, and today is our monthly episode learning with a lender with Joel Schaub from guaranteed rate a little bit about Joel Joel is a vice president of lending at guaranteed rate. He’s been doing loans at a high level since 2003. He’s gotten to that level because of what he does directly for agents hint it’s giving back. He gives part of his commission back to the buyer on every transaction last year alone, Joe gave back over 244,000 in closing costs to buyers who worked with him and that put Joe’s volume in the top 1/10 of 1% of all lenders nationwide. This year alone, Joel has given back over 281,002 borrowers out of the 380,000 loan officers in the country Joel is ranked. And this is actually probably an old number, but probably spring higher now. But he was right 181 a year to date. He has closed 192 transactions for just under and this is an old number two is probably higher 61 million and closings, and he is here with us today. We’re so thrilled that he is on the podcast. Welcome, Joel.
Joel Schaub 1:30
DJ, thanks so much for having me. I can’t believe it’s already December now. Right? How long have we been doing this? It’s crazy.
D.J. Paris 1:36
I know it’s another another year gone? Or ending and a new year starting which so yeah, so tell us what’s going on in the in the lending market these days.
Joel Schaub 1:48
My thing is all about staying positive, right? And growing your business through gratitude, and helping agents grow their business. And I was telling you a story. Just before we got on right how agents that are doing a few transactions a month, I’d be really happy if they got to 234 transactions a month, right? They’re building their business. And that’s the bread and butter. Those are the people that I really like to help grow. And so if you’re doing, let’s say you’re doing five deals a month, people will some people would aspire to them. Some people in the past. Well, I built the business now where I’m doing about 20 transactions a month, and it’s all about giving back and helping those agents grow their own business by helping the buyers cover closing costs, and just helping them through the process.
D.J. Paris 2:37
Yeah, and you know, it’s funny to be Joel and I are really we’re simpatico on this idea of giving back and this whole podcast. And Joel’s involvement in it is a real symbol of how much he gives back. Joel is too busy to do this, but he makes the time. And we greatly appreciate it. And, you know, this podcast is also something that that I do as a way to hopefully help the broker community learn. We invited Joel on some time ago, he’s got an amazing response the audience loves, loves it when you’re on because he gives great information he lives eats and breathes, lending, and probably knows more about it than just about anyone. And his successes is obviously evident as a result. But Joe’s main message has always been giving back. And I think that’s a great focus for the talk today. And so tell us a little bit about you know, because so we at our firm, we’ve got 600 brokers and one of the biggest concerns, not complaints, I won’t say it’s not a complaint, one of the biggest questions is always how do I build my team? Meaning I’m a broker, you know, but I need to have a good lender, I need a good attorney, I need a title company, etc. You tell us a little bit about that. You know, do you have any thoughts about how someone should find a lender and a partner in that and what partners can do to help someone broker business?
Joel Schaub 3:57
Exactly. When you’re trying to grow the business, it may seem daunting to be able to get from just a transaction or two a month up to five deals and you really want you want friends, this is really what the business is about is literally the more friends you have the connections, and how do you do this. It’s about giving back. It’s truly helping. If you really think that it’s just about a commission, you’re in the wrong business, you need to always approach it from the more people that I help, the more people will hear about me, the more people that hear about me, it’s that natural growth of the business and that’s how I’ve done it over 14 or 15 years at the same company. People come to me all the time and they think what, what’s this guy secret, he’s closing 20 transactions a month, he must buy a bunch of leads or he must you know, it’s it’s not that it’s slow and steady with people that know like and trust you. Okay, and so, I always bring back this point about partnering with a mortgage guy, whether it’s me or not, call your mortgage guy on a Saturday or Sunday and to see if it picks up. Right, right. It’s amazing to me how many of these mortgage guys say, Hey, I’m, send me all your deals, I’m really great. Well, we’re all great. But I’m gonna, we’re good. Okay, but what you need is an actual partner, somebody that will actually be there at 7pm on a Saturday that will actually take your phone call. And so that’s part of it is actually vetting your team and finding out these people that you work well with, so that you can, in good faith, refer clients to these people, as a trusted friend, not just somebody you don’t know, here. I know you’re talking to somebody, but just called Joel that’s kind of how that phrase all began years ago, was that I would always be available, whether it’s Saturday, Sunday, night at night. So agents work with somebody, whether it’s me just find somebody that will actually walk the walk and actually, not just talk the talk, be there and help them grow.
D.J. Paris 6:00
Agreed. And I think brokers to you know, as you’re starting to think about your 2019 business plan, and what goals you may have, and it may be, how many people you’re willing, you want to you want to help by the end of the year, is having this team is so critical. And I think to Joel’s point about call call a lender partner that you’re working with, and you know, see how available they are. Also bring them your marketing plan and say, Hey, here’s what I’m planning on doing in this see this upcoming year. You know, maybe here’s what I did last year, here are some of the marketing initiatives that I’m looking to do, for example, you can pass with a lender and attorney, lots of other ancillary people that are, you know, essential to a real estate transaction and say, hey, I want to do a mailer to everyone, you know, in this particular area, for this reason, bring that to your lending partner and say, Would you co sponsor that with me,
and we’ll write, of course, also, if
you’re somebody that works with first time homebuyers and you want to start doing first time homebuyer seminars or, you know, any type of seminar, it doesn’t have to be that could be change of life seminars or divorce seminars or whatever it may be. These are perfect examples to find somebody who’s willing to, to partner with you and share some, some of the cost help with some of the presentation. And a good partner, you know, does this but you know, waiting for those partners to come to the broker is probably not the best move is proactively reached out see who you know, who’s got the resources to help.
Joel Schaub 7:29
See who’s got money, okay, and honestly, realtors listening, find somebody, once you start getting deals that are coming in, mortgage guys are gonna flock to you, and they’re gonna say, Send me your deals, find somebody that’s willing to put up a few bucks, and actually help you grow the business every month, I spent 1000s of dollars with my realtor partners, and it’s all RESPA compliant, right? We are doing it by the books and splitting, marketing costs for mailers. For first time homebuyer seminars for client appreciation parties. For housewarming parties, how great is it to be at a housewarming party for a client you just closed, you’re sponsoring the bar, you’re spending 100 or $200 on food and drink. And then you get to meet all of the people that come into the house, you get to add them to your database, it’s a really great thing. You want to be focused on having such a great relationship with the client that you’re invited to the housewarming party, not just a transaction. Be friends with these people. Okay, and grow that business. I love the idea of going to the housewarming party as a sponsor. Just a few $100. But you literally are there and you’re helping. Wow, who did the bar? Oh, that was my realtor, did you meet him, he helped me. He or she helped me get through this process and got this great house. So all these small, real things that can help grow the business, that if you have a good partner, whether it’s on the mortgage side or somebody else to help you grow it, then you’re aligning your interests so that your business is tied to somebody else’s success, and you can grow it together.
D.J. Paris 9:08
Yeah, and here’s here’s a few examples of other types of partners aside from lending, obviously, attorney, you have financial advisor, insurance agent, and these are all people that you want to vet, find people that are willing to invest in your business and you know, you’re able to accumulate and grow this team that is all sharing client information to each other whenever needs come up. And boy having a team is so critical. i That’s I think maybe that could be one of the biggest differentiators between brokers that are successful and brokers that are struggling is having a supportive team that they can, you know, send a client to whenever there’s a particular you know, need.
Joel Schaub 9:51
You’re so right. You’re so right, these agents that are just barely scraping by getting one or two deals once they said okay, I’m actually going to partner with a mortgage guy that will actually Make me look better, that will actually help me close more deals, and more importantly, help me focus on the buyers that I shouldn’t put in my car. Okay? How often when you’re one of these newer agents, are you so eager to go show somebody a property, even before they have a pre approval letter, it happens still, okay. And some of the best conversations I’ve ever had with a realtor where I unfortunately could not get that person approved. What I did was I told him, day one, instead of three weeks into the process, and that’s saved so many relationships, where instead of a mortgage guy from some other bank saying, oh, we’ll try to figure it out. And then you go under contract, and it gets to underwriting and they decline it, be upfront with people educate them, there’s a lot of clients to go around. So why spend your time spinning wheels on somebody that may not be able to close now, let’s get them ready to close in 2019, put them back into the pipeline. And that’s what a good partner will do for you.
D.J. Paris 11:01
Yeah, so I guess our tech takeaway from today’s as we’ve brought up this, this point, throughout the episode was really, you know, build your team, find your team. And that probably means interviewing, you know, several different people, for each one of these positions, you know, you should have a list of partners. And you know, maybe the first attorney you contact is not the right fit, right. So, so contact me, and, you know, contact lenders contact, all sorts of different providers, financial advisors, all sorts of these are people that, you know, can actually help your, your clients. And when you find people in these positions, which again, these are oftentimes sales positions, but find people who aren’t sales oriented and are more helping oriented. Boy, it just makes the brokers life so much easier. Because just like you were saying that just called Joel, you know, I mean, I have set clients to you, and I just, I literally have just said, Oh, Joel, take good care of you. And there’s been times where, in fact, one of my friends ended up not working with Joel, for any other reason, then she had a close relationship with someone else. And she ended up going with someone else. And, and but she said, Man, that Joel guy was amazing. He gave me so much great information. Ultimately, I had to go with my friend who was but and I think he even had a lower rate too. But it just didn’t right that time as as sometimes it doesn’t. But it she only had really wonderful things to say about jewel, which again, makes will make me want to refer all of my anytime I have somebody that needs lending help. I’m just, I’m just sending them to Joel, it’s that simple. And I never have to think about it again. That’s the best part.
Joel Schaub 12:42
You’re so right. What most people find is that no matter what the bank is, most of these banks have about the same rate. Right? There’s not somebody that’s going to be drastically different. Okay, so what you’re really looking for is, will the person be able to win the client and educate them and help them in a way where that buyer refers more business back to the real estate agent, that’s my whole focus is when a client comes over. Right away, we’re calling and helping by saying, Oh, you came over from KL Realty. Right away, let let it be known that I’m going to give a $1,500 closing cost credit to you. Last year, I gave over $244,000 in commissions back. But my focus is helping you find what you’re comfortable with paying. And let’s go through some of the numbers. So once you go down that path, it’s such a different conversation when they just call their normal, paying like their PNC, your Chase, or one of those guys. There’s nothing wrong with any of them. But it’s a whole other conversation than somebody who actually is trying to help the agent grow their business. And so that’s the number one thing if you can give back,
D.J. Paris 13:48
and I want to focus that I want to I want to surprise Joe, and tell him tell him something I have not told him I was well, I was I mentioned the software. But I didn’t tell you the actual story. This this, I think this would be a great way to end the episode and hopefully not embarrass you too much. But we will add I was my mother had her 70th birthday. We threw a party for her down in Peoria, which is where my parents live. And one of Joel’s colleagues a guaranteed rate guy, his name’s Brad. And he’s been working there forever. And he’s known Joe for a long time. And I don’t think they you don’t work directly with Brad, but you know who he is. And, and so we were talking about you. I said, Oh, Joe’s on my podcast, and he knew that. But he was saying we were joking because Brad has a nine to five job which you do not have a nine to five job. And we were joking and I go, I go you know, Joel is like we were saying like Jozo really, really doing really well. And I was saying this to Brad he goes, I would keep Brad in the best possible way at complementing way he goes, I could never do that job. He goes, I love my nights and weekends. And he’s not he’s like on the operation side of it. But he goes, Yeah, he goes, I couldn’t do what Joel does. He goes I would I go crazy. He goes, That guy never is not working. And that’s actually I’m sure that’s not Technically through because you have you have a very balanced life, but that is how dedicated he was, like completely blown away. He’s like, I could never do it. Because he’s always he’s always available for his clients. And we were laughing about it. And I was like, I couldn’t do that either. But we admire. Yeah, it was like the best possible compliment you could have received. But we were sort of laughing going, we just don’t have it in us to do that. But Joel does, so anyway. Too much.
Joel Schaub 15:29
It doesn’t. And I’ll leave you with this on that note, DJ, when it comes to the mortgage side of things. Isn’t this funny? 80% of real estate happens at night. And on the weekend. Of course, it happens on Saturdays and Sundays. And yet, what do 90% of mortgage professionals do for a job? They are nine to five, right? Most of the brick and mortar banks. They literally are nine to five. Okay, so partner with somebody who’s not nine to five work with an actual private mortgage banker, somebody that will actually answer the phone calls and work to earn that business. So Saturday, Sundays, I mean, that’s when things are actually happening. You need somebody that will do it. So
D.J. Paris 16:09
well. On that note, we’ll wrap up 2018 If if there is anyone who is listening who wants was looking for a partner and thinks Joel might be Joel may be a good fit, which he will be a good fit. What’s the best way they should reach out to
Joel Schaub 16:24
you? Easy, guys joel@rate.com It’s j o el at ra t.com. And on Facebook, just cultural.
D.J. Paris 16:33
And yes, so do that. And then you can always you can Yeah, what’s the best phone number to reach out as well?
Joel Schaub 16:42
Phone? Let me think about it. Let’s just call Joel. I’m kidding. Of course. Just call Joel directly. And I always take phone calls. It’s true. 773-654-2049
D.J. Paris 16:59
And, and I just wanted to say thank you to Joel for doing this podcast. He you know, it’s not like we have we, we you know, we only allow one lender on the show. We chose Joel or Joel actually, actually that’s not true. Joel chose us. Joel came up to me at a at a party and said I need to be on your podcast. And I was like well, thank you. This is perfect. And so I know the audience loves it. And so we’re just wanted to say thank you for taking time out of your incredibly busy day job has already done 20 mortgages this month or close to 20 That is incredible. And obviously you know, well deserved. So anyway, if you’re not working with a lender and you’re a broker and you want to partner Joel is your guy. If you’re a buyer or seller Joel is also your guy. So definitely a buyer in particular. Definitely reach out to Joel and he he can assist so thank you. We will see you guys on our next learn with the lender episode which will be in January and happy holidays on behalf of Joel and myself to all the listeners and Thank you Joel for being on the show.
Joel Schaub 18:05
It’s my pleasure guys never stopped growing and remember givers gain
D.J. Paris 18:10
Thank you very much
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