All Forum Posts by: Kambhampati Aswin

Get licensed before you leave your current role. The licensing course and test are a complete joke if youve ever been through anything even remotely academically rigorous and they wont teach you anything. I wouldnt count on many shops paying for your licensing/courses in this environment; most are laying off rather than hiring, and the ones that are hiring are looking for producers with volume/a book to bring over. 

Have AT LEAST a year's worth of a cash runway saved before making the jump. It takes a while to get off the ground. Unless youre in a call center like Rocket, nearly every serious MLO role in the industry will be commission only and self-generated files, meaning you eat what you kill; very few reputable places provide leads or base pay. 

If you've never worked in credit before, I'd recommend starting as an LOA, processor, or assistant to someone who's turning serious volume. This will give you a chance to get a lot of reps to learn the guidelines for conforming, govvy, and nonqm/hard money, as well as how the process and workflow operates and how to structure files. Taking apps and structuring loans is only one part; you also have to understand marketing, lead gen and prospecting, and day to day business management. If youve never been in a self-starter role before, all of this can be a lot to learn at once. You're basically a sole-prop. Expect to work at least 60+ hours a week for the first year and make little to nothing for 6-12 months.

You dont want to risk making mistakes due to inexperience or lack of knowledge by starting out on your own. Your clients will be trusting you with some of the most expensive transactions theyll ever make and an error on your part will likely cost them thousands. Get some experience in a learner role to mitigate this. 

I jumped straight into an MLO role when I started in the industry, but I had a background as an underwriter/UW manager at a private small business lender as well as a masters degree related to the field and formal credit training. I probably wrote north of $100m in loans similar to mortgages in addition to being an RE investor with several flips before starting out, so I knew the fundamentals, how to apply credit guidelines, structure files and analyze risk, the workflow, etc. It was still tough to get up to speed, but I had the framework and baseline knowledge to fill in the gaps quickly. If you dont have that, you're best bet is to start as an LOA to learn the basics by seeing a lot of files while spending every spare second on reading and training. 

Hey Aswin!

I might be biased, but I think you'll love it.  My background was in data science, statistics, and economics (mainly econometrics) and I couldn't have landed in a better place.  A lot of carry-overs that make it easier for us to understand the markets and pricing (the numbers tell a story).

You may want to work to find a company that will bring you on as an LOA for a short time while you're getting licensed (and maybe they can help sponsor your testing).  If not that works too, highly recommend MLO Study Buddy as a resource but any and all practice exams you can find will be helpful.  I'm up in Michigan, but we do have a few branches in your area I believe so if it's helpful to connect with someone local happy to make that connection.  

Biggest challenges: ...everything haha, even if you're a quick learner and can adapt on the fly building a book of business takes a lot of time and effort (still working on it).  Leverage your network and the knowledge you have now to set yourself apart in some way.  Once you get a basic understanding of the concepts, make sure you have a team who can support you and then hit the phones! 

You have to talk to @Tyler Hodgson. He's also in Texas and can give you great guidance on how to kick off your career as an MLO.