“Everybody is a bit doom and gloom right now,” said Senko, the president of ACC (All Credit Considered) Mortgage in Rockville, Maryland. “We’re coming off this high from late 2020. 2021 was a banner year. The early part of 2022 was great, but now it’s been a tough six months plus for a lot of firms out there. So I think it’s important to create some positive perspective.”
He has seen the layoffs, loan officers leaving the industry, consolidations. But in the non-QM (qualified mortgage) side, he still sees hope.
“We’ve opened the box and the ability for more people to get financing to get homed,” he said. Whether rates are up or down, “people still need homes to live in, they still need to pull equity from their homes, they still need mortgage financing.”
Staffing reality
Which is not to say he’s blind to how things look at the moment.
“The harsh reality is, there’s more people than the industry needs,” he said. “That’s a tough decision when you have some great, loyal, hard-working employees. The industry needs to find that equilibrium to support the volume. It’s brutal but it’s honest, and eventually they will find that you’ll find the right number of employees in the industry. Capitalism is about finding that balance between supply and demand.”