Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Arciaga.
Rebecca, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was majoring in biochemistry when a close friend suggested I go into sales since I had a “mouthpiece”. I’ve always been passionate about helping people and after spending hours a day for months in a laboratory, biochemistry started to look less of a career path I wanted to continue in. It didn’t take long to convince me since all the jobs I’ve ever worked in were in marketing or customer service. So I took a job as a loan officer for a mortgage brokerage in 2006 and found that I loved talking to people to help them improve their finances. I learned that whether someone owned a home or was renting, they were paying a mortgage. And for most folks, their housing payment was a major source of their monthly budget. So, whether I was saving someone $100 a month or $1000, I became hooked on helping as many people as possible.
In 2007, I had the opportunity to get my real estate license and run an office for a real estate and mortgage brokerage. As a sales manager, I was responsible for growing my team. I had to recruit agents and generate leads.
The recruiting part of my job description came naturally for me as I had an easy time talking to people but marketing was a challenge. I love challenges! It took me a few months to learn how to generate leads but I learned how to generate a lot of leads for my small team of 5 sales agents. Even in a downturn market, we were able to stay in business because I figured out one of the most important aspects of our business which is marketing and lead generation.
I took a 5-year break from the mortgage industry when I moved from LA to Orange County. I went into business development in the recruiting industry. I was able to translate my sales and marketing skills in the recruiting industry and found some success. But after 5 years I felt the mortgage and real estate industry call me back in so I started taking action to get my license so I can get back in.
Today, I manage the LendPlus and HomeFinanceAdvantage.com powered by LendPlus website and my role with the company is evolving.
I started as a mortgage banker and worked my way into managing talent acquisition and marketing. Some days are spent recruiting for mortgage bankers, other days I’m educating realtors on mortgage products & guidelines and some days are focused on marketing & sales.
I’ve been able to connect the dots from all my past experiences and come full circle in everything I’ve gained in previous positions.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s never a smooth road. Even smooth roads need repaving at some point. When I was just getting in the industry the market was reaching the peak. Everyone was making money and it seemed like smooth sailing. But 2008 happened and a lot of lenders were going out of business. Banks were changing their lending guidelines. Some days I’d have a deal to submit but the bank I’d submit it to would contact me back to tell me either my borrowers no longer qualified OR that they were shutting their doors. So that was challenging but we had to keep pressing onward till we could find a lender or find a way for my borrowers to qualify for a loan.
Our industry is always changing. It might be agency finance guidelines that are changing, the application format, TRID, something is changing. But finding ways to adapt to the changes is what keep us competitive in the market place.
Please tell us about LendPlus.
We’re a correspondent direct lender specializing in residential home loans. Being a correspondent lender means we lend out of our own “pockets” but we have investors/lenders that we sell loan servicing to. One of the advantages of working with us is we have access to a wide range of mortgage products from other lenders so we remain competitive while also being flexible. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all mortgage so if you don’t fit criteria for one program we may be able to underwrite your loan to another program.
We also take care of everything in-house, from processing, underwriting and even funding happen in-house, all in the same office in Aliso Viejo, CA. This way we work very quickly. We aren’t losing any time waiting for a processor or underwriter, in another location or across the country, to give us an answer. Our clients and the realtors we work with appreciate how quick we work. This means our clients get to move into their new homes much sooner and realtors get paid sooner. If you’re refinancing, especially taking some cash out, this means you’ll have access to money much sooner.
We specialize in helping borrowers who don’t fit the typical finance agency guidelines. Most times they are borrowers who have been ignored or turned down elsewhere. Based on statisticbrain.com, there were 956,864 foreclosure filings last year and over 18 million since the financial crisis of 2008. There are 15 million self-employed borrowers in the U.S. and 50% of households have a credit score under 680 with a third of households having a credit score under 620! A lot of these people have a hard time qualifying but we specialize in lending to these borrowers!
What sets us apart in a competitive market is that we take the time to educate our borrowers on their finances and how the mortgage they get into will help improve their situation. I’m proud that we truly care about our clients. It’s not just about closing the deal and moving onto the next funding. We genuinely want the best for our clients and do our best to give them world-class service.
I’m most proud of LendPlus carrying out our slogan, which is Giving More, Doing More, Being More! We’re more than just a lending company. Our goal is to provide value to everyone in our ecosphere, our clients, vendors and referral partners. Our mission for 2018 is to provide 100 meals a week to the homeless so we’ve committed to making 100 sandwiches every week.
We’re licensed in California, Arizona, Alabama, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. We’re in the process of expanding across the US.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would delegate a lot of work much sooner so I could focus on what I’m really good at and things I love to do. DIY projects and crafts could be fun but in business when you’re doing everything yourself it’s easy to get side tracked, discouraged and burned out. Plus, when you’re a DIY entrepreneur/manager it’s hard to scale and grow your business because everything depends on you.
I would hire an admin assistant first to take care of the busy work, the work that’s not income producing but has to be done anyways. Then I’d hire another sales person to grow revenue. Those two positions are where I would start and assess as I’d go along.
Contact Info:
- Address: 85 Enterprise
Suite 150
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 - Website: https://lendplus.com
- Phone: 949-297-1216
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/lend_plus
- Facebook: facebook.com/lendplus
- Twitter: twitter.com/Lend_Plus
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