Thanks for stopping by the “Loan Desk Truths.” I have set up this blog, along with our trusty marketing team, as a way to tell it like it is. I have had the fortune of working in the mortgage industry for more than 15 years. I have worked for banks, brokerages, ran a team, developed and trained new agents, and started several businesses in the real estate and mortgage space.
After 15 years, our fantastic team at LoanDesk.ca and I are embarking on the last frontier of the mortgage brokerage world. We are set to launch a truly transformational mortgage experience. It is not just for clients and lenders but also for the mortgage agents and brokers who are working hard each day to service their clients.
The “Loan Desk Truths” will be where you can ask questions about the mortgage industry, listen or read my opinions on what’s relevant to agents and brokers. I will also talk about #ExperienceTheDifference, #ChangeIsHere, #AutomationHasTakenOverTheMortgageIndustry and #We’reHiring.
There were many hashtags there, and in case you skipped them, I will reiterate “Automation Has Taken Over The Mortgage Industry.” All five major banks have the technology to automate the lending process, with the marketing dollars to cut out the middleman. Credit Unions are working with technology and automation firms to provide a more transparent borrower journey. All this while most of the big brokerages have been working on reinventing the wheel with outdated technology, that isn’t improving your daily job. Take a look at what your management teams are doing, do they spend most of their time at lunches with lenders, stroking the top 1% performers’ egos, or show up for a quarterly “Rah, Rah” session. Are they really working toward helping you make viable and competitive business in the future?
Now maybe they aren’t worried about what’s happening in the industry, but they don’t know how to address it, but these are quotes from actual industry executives. I will leave their names out for their own dignity…
- “I own a brokerage to have a job.” – What does that even mean?
- “Don’t worry about AI. It can’t replace what you do” – It may not replace you, but it’s going to change how you do it.
- “We’ve seen these trends in the past, and they didn’t last then, they won’t last now.” – To provide context to this statement, he was talking about Rocket Mortgage entering Canada. Look around the world to look at trends, Canada may be slow to adopt, but eventually, we catch up. These trends are coming!
The Loan Desk management team has a background in underwriting, mortgages, technology, capital markets, and private equities. This diverse experience has allowed us to approach the industry, with technology being the driving factor to augment our human intelligence. We are powered by industry leaders Capital Lending Center and FundMore.ai to ensure we are leading the change and driving a new way to develop relationships, prospect for clients, and provide our agents and brokers with successful careers for decades to come.
Feel free to reach out; I’m happy to share my insight, act as a sounding board, and give you my thoughts on mortgages, your career or your business.
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Chris Grimes
Chris Grimes is part of the ownership and management team and LoanDesk.ca and co-founder and CEO of FundMore.ai. He has worked under industry giants Scotia, TD and CIBC, brokerages such as TMG – The Mortgage Group and Mortgage Alliance, and a boutique firm. He started a Loan Desk with a vision to provide a complete digital experience for mortgage clients and brokers.He began by sourcing tools worldwide to help his team automate some of their day-to-day tasks and has since partnered with companies in Canada, Australia, United States and the UK. The goal was to provide a platform for mortgage brokers to serve their clients better. He realized that he could build an excellent aggregation tool that leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). He brought in a team of skilled AI engineers and developers to build out FundMore.ai. That made him look at using the platform across different verticles, including Loan Desk and has since started on the path to launching Releaf Financial. Chris Grimes has over 15 years in the mortgage and lending space – including more than 20 years in the financial services space.
