Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Mendez.
Hi Jose, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began my mortgage career back when I was working at Wells Fargo in 2020. It really just started with a conversation with my oldest brother David one night after our softball game. It was very intriguing on what he did and I really like how passionate he was about his career. I continued to pick his brain about being a Loan Officer and asked about what he liked most about it and why did he continue to do what he does. Shortly afterward I started picking Matt’s brain (who is now the President of the company of who I work for – Mortgage Matters) on how to go about getting licensed and what steps I should take on becoming a Loan Officer. The next steps I took were to pursue being a Loan Officer at Wells Fargo. I submitted an application when I could and if I would have received an offer, I would have relocated to San Antonio. Unfortunately, I did not get past the assessment for the job and that opportunity ended there. As I continued to go to David and Matt for guidance, they advised me that I should pursue to get licensed on my own. That meant I would have to start studying on my own time outside of working at Wells Fargo and other activities in my life. I started off strong! I wrote down that would I get licensed in October and even took a 20-hour prep class. Shortly after that, I started to stall. I would not get around to taking the license exam; while continuing to working at Wells Fargo. I knew working there wasn’t something I wanted to continue to do. There was no drive or motivation for that job field anymore. I kept thinking about being a Loan Officer and switching career fields as I continued talking to my friends about it. Then one day an opportunity came up for me to go work for, my now company, Mortgage Matters. It definitely was a blessing in disguise! I truly viewed it as a paid apprenticeship. I started off as processor/assistant. I quickly started to learn about the entire mortgage process. I took the NMLS test shortly after being with the company for two months. I failed the test. It was a bit of a setback and frustrating. I continued to work as processor/assistant for most of the remainder of the year. One of the great things about Mortgage Matters is that they really invest in your future as an employee there! September came around and I had the chance to just study for a whole month. When October came around, I was able to pass the NMLS test! Just like how I initially had it written down back in 2020. My licensee became active in January 2022; just one year after starting with Mortgage Matters. It definitely has been a journey and it has been a grind but I would not trade this journey and this process for anything! I really love what I do and I love helping people achieve one of their goals of becoming homeowners!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It’s been a journey with a few bumps along the road! A couple of struggles along the way started off failing the exam the first time. Even after obtaining my license, the struggles would continue. My days consisted of cold calling potential partners and leads every day, meeting up with partners, and also getting a lot of “No’s” along the way. One day, things started to fall in place. I never lost sight of my goals and knew if I just put this positive energy out in the world, it would come back to me. After the struggles that I have gone through, things are going a lot better than what I anticipated.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a licensed Loan Officer in the state of Texas. What I do is help potential homeowners get pre-approved for a mortgage loan and once under contract I help their loan gets finalized. Mortgage Matters is a local brokerage located in Arlington Texas. What sets us apart from others is that we are partnered up with about 15 wholesale lenders who directly work with the broker channel. What that does is we have the chance to help out clients who would get denied at your local bank due to low credit or clients who don’t earn traditional income. We range from as low as 500 credit score to your traditional lending options (conventional, FHA, VA) as well as bank statement loans and other investment loan options. We are also known on closing mortgage loans on average at 13 days! What I really am most proud of is just helping out those clients who don’t think they can qualify for a loan and are just applying “just to see” where they are at. Once applied they get approved for a lot more than what they expected and help achieve their goal on being a homeowner.
What are your plans for the future?
My plan is to continue to build on my knowledge in mortgages. I have been in the industry for a year and a half and I feel like there is still so much for me to learn. So right now, it would be continued to build on my expertise, continue to build a foundation, and eventually have my own team who I guide exactly how I been guided.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mortgagematters.us/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtgjosem/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mtgjosem
- Other: www.applywith.us/jose
