Full Transcript is Below:
– Welcome in to NFM TV, I’m your host Greg Sher. It’s Top Producer Series time for the month of May, and we’re going all the way out to Long Beach, California from our corporate headquarters in Linthicum, Maryland to welcome in Hans Stone. He’s the Executive Vice President of BluPrint Home Loans, which is a division of NFM Lending. He also happens to be a $55 million-a-year producer. Hans, great to see you, how are you?
– Hey, Greg, doing great, thank you.
– It’s great to see you. So you’re in California, let’s just talk about how things have changed out there since the pandemic and the outbreak of coronavirus. Of course, California, one of the hardest-hit states and earliest-hit states. What’s it been like trying to navigate that and continue to originate loans?
– Well, obviously a lot of the purchases slowed down quite a bit. It’s been a transition over to refinance, supporting our client database that we’ve worked with for many, many years. So, we’re extremely busy, and grateful to be able to take care and service all of our clients.
– So, what did you do initially? Take us back to the unknown time, where the headlines were moving fast and furious, the governor claimed that he believed at least half the state would be infected. It turns out, now, that it wasn’t that bad, and you guys are on the other side of this. But what was it like during those times, those moments? Did your business completely freeze, or did it continue to move at some speed?
– You know, the purchase, obviously, pulled back quite a bit. But that was replaced with more refinances than we would have thought, initially. I think the opportunity really was to get out in front of this and educate our clients, and help them understand that, yeah, we’re going through a crisis, but really, they were really looking for information to understand how to navigate through this. And so we really stepped up to be able to communicate on the front lines with our clients, but also our referral partners, and really be a voice in the community to educate and support their concerns.
– So has there been a silver lining or two that you can touch on, through this?
– I’d say, getting out there and really communicating. It’s nice to see that we’re doing the right thing when we have clients that, you know, we probably haven’t spoken with in a number of years, maybe by CRM, but not directly. And to see those clients come back, look back to us for the resource and the education, it felt really great to be able to connect with a lot of folks and be able to give them support through these times.
– That’s great. Let’s look at your personal production, because it’s definitely heading north. Last couple of years, you bounced around between 35 and 45 million, until last year, when you got above that $50 million threshold, and closed around $55 million in volume. And I know you continue to head north of that. Was there a moment, or a catalyst to get you to that next tier of volume?
– It was adding a key player to the team. It was restructuring a few players, just to find their highest and best use. And then it really was just trusting the team, to allow them to do what they do best. I mean, we always are looking for the best, the talented in our industry, and it’s important to remember that we bring them together to do a job. Let them do the job that they’re supposed to do, and it’s amazing how we all come together and things just get a lot easier.
– Now I wanna talk about your particular setup, because loan officers, they kind of mix and match and experiment until things work for them. I know you’ve got somebody on the front end of your loan transactions and the back end. What are just some of the high-level functions of both individuals?
– Yeah, absolutely. So on the front end, it’s really just teeing everything up to make sure that we have a complete file to look at, to review. Understand what’s the best product for them. And then, the end process, which is the production manager, brought in a very strong key player to really review, manage that pipeline, understand it, follow the dates to make sure that we hit every single closing. It’s important for us, for our clients and referral partners that we hit our dates, we say we’re gonna do something, we’re gonna do it, and that just takes time, it takes somebody watching and managing that pipeline.
– That’s great, so what’s your goal? You’re heading north, obviously. Is there a stopping point, or an area you’ll get to, where you say, “You know what, I’m comfortable. I’m gonna work on other facets of my business or leadership or bringing up others.”
– You know, my goal at this point is really, I’d say, 60, I’m content there, because as of the last six months, my role, my responsibility is moving more-so over into the leadership position. And so I will take time to help the team BluPrint, grow, expand, help others. I think I can still manage a decent pipeline and still be able to have that time, now that we have that solid team in place to be able to manage everything, I can start moving most of my time and help and support our fellow colleagues.
– And you’ve got so many exciting things going on at BluPrint. All you have to do is follow you on social media, and you can see that, man, this is just, it flies off the page, it pops, it’s cutting edge. What went into the name BluPrint, and the fact that you dropped the E in most cases, so it’s B-L-U Print, kinda edgy.
– Yeah, that’s kinda the idea, to be edgy, to be fresh, to be clean. We wanna be that young, coming-up company. You know, we wanna, and that was part of dropping the E, the lowercase, things like that. You know, there’s a key word here that we look at, and that is to have fun. You know, in this industry, it can be challenging. It can be, it can be difficult at times, let’s be honest. But there’s something we love about this industry if you’re in it, and we have to remember to have fun. And to take care of our clients.
– Yeah, and in your role as Executive Vice President, you’re obviously wearing multiple hats, as you just mentioned, so what is the culture like there? What’s the environment like for those people that might wanna get back to having fun?
– Yeah, that’s a great point. So, it really is. Remember to have fun. It’s teamwork, camaraderie, stick together. You know, if you raise your hand, ask questions, we’re all working together for the same solution. So we just really come together as a family to be able to work through this and support our clients and referral partners.
– Before I let you go, Hans, I wanna hear your story. Everyone’s got a unique one as to how they landed in the mortgage business. No one sets out to do it. What’s behind your story, and how long have you been in the game?
– I started this about 15 years ago, and the story was I was in production, having a very successful career. But it came a point, we’re looking for a little something different. My CPA, who’s also a broker, back in 2005, I think there’s a lot of those, thought that I’d be great at this, in this industry. And through a transition, I decided to give it 30 days. And to be honest with you, I never looked back. It was that perfect fit for me and one of the best decisions I’ve made.
– Wow, 30-day trial turns into 15 years later. Congratulations on your great success. We look forward to following the path and progress of BluPrint Home Loans. So excited to have you as part of the NFM Lending family. Hans Stone, thank you very much for joining us on NFM TV.
– Truly appreciate it, thanks, Greg.
– All right, so that’s our Top Producer Series for the month of May. We look forward to bringing you June, and hope everyone stays safe out there. Until then, I’m Greg Sher, so long.