CrossCountry Mortgage’s Non-QM philosophy is about finding a solution even when others say no. Pete Fickeisen is a megaphone for that message. In this episode of CCM Talks, he shares why he loves the CCM portfolio model, how to get started and where he sees Non-QM going next.

Welcome back to CCM Talks. I am Bridget Linton, and today I have the honor of being joined by Non-QM Sales Director Pete Fickeisen. Pete, It's so good to see you as always.

Pete: Good to see you too. What's happening?

Bridget: Well, I'm really appreciative of you sitting down and have a nice little chat with me. I mean, you've literally built your reputation on creative solutions. So tell me, what makes Non-QM so exciting?

Non-QM’s so exciting. Because every day it's like the refi boom. Everything is, it's just so busy. We've got about 50% of the loan officers here at CrossCountry utilizing the products. So we've got 50% of people not using it. So we're teaching them every day, which makes it super exciting because everyone's trying it.

Bridget: I love that. And specifically with CCM, what makes them uniquely positioned when it comes to the Non-QM space?

Yeah, it's a great question. We're really different because it's like a portfolio product. Everyone else is taking their Non-QM and selling it to somebody. We're actually creating our own guidelines, funding our own loans, sending it to our servicer, and with that portfolio mentality, we're really, really, you know, pushing the envelope on getting our loan officers every deal with the closing table.

And obviously the Non-QM space, it takes some education to understand what it is. So how do you educate borrowers and agents on some of the products that maybe sound complex?

Yeah. Another great question. So we're educating people by word of mouth, you know, whether the loan officers are using social media, whether they're teaching their real estate agents, their partners, like their CPAs, financial advisors, Non-QM is about everything people don't know that they can get done in the mortgage world. Right? So I think it's, you know, the education out there from the loan officers to their sphere of influence really drives the product.

And I always love hearing about the personal stories and the success that you can find in the Non-QM space. So do you have a specific story that you could share that made a huge difference?

Well, yeah, I had a loan officer literally call me that said, hey, I don't have any deals in my pipeline. I messed up, I didn't go out and market to my agents after Covid. And he said, you know, what do I do? I got to get into this. Everyone’s selling the same thing. And the loan officer went out and I said, go seek fallout, go to other banks, try to find deals where no one can do the product, but we can.

And, this loan officer, his wife baked cookies, and he went bank to bank to bank in his hometown. And sure enough, week in week out, he kept on getting a little bit of fallout from stuff that the banks couldn't do, whether it was a bank statement loan or self-employed mortgage, or it was someone with a, you know, credit problem or an investor that just wanted something simpler. This loan officer got out and ended up funding almost $15 million just last month.

Bridget: That is incredible.

The problem is his wife has to keep baking cookies every week because they keep asking for them.

Bridget: I know I was going to ask, like, are they here? They bringing cookies to us?

Pete: I told them I could use a tin of cookies.

Yeah, right. Well, I don't know where it's at. I guess she forgot to bring it to this chat. It's okay. So when it comes to the Non-QM space, what do you think is the next big frontier for Non-QM lending?

The next big frontier? I think we're going to see some lower documentation options. Technology is a huge part. We're introducing AI to everything that we do, hopefully underwriting soon and processing, reading bank statements. So I think the next frontier is really going to be technology and, you know, embracing it so we can get these loans closing just as fast as every other type of loan out there.

I mean, the world of technology just continues to grow. I'm like amazed what we're able to do in this day and age. But something about you that I always admire and it's traditional, it's giving back and you do it so much. How does that tie into leadership?

So, you know, I try to let the loan officers know that it's really, really important to embrace these products because it really helps people. You know, again, people don't know that they can get stuff done. They hear know from a local bank. Next thing you know, we can do it.

And I think part of that giving back, some of the loan officers work with Veterans. And one of the things that we really we came up with for one branch was that we were able to offer first-time investor seminars to Veterans so Veterans could invest together to buy housing and rent to other people on a base, for instance, or near a base. So kind of that current cycle of trying to build wealth through properties and then the Veterans doing it together. So really great option for them.

I mean, I know when you sleep, you're working all the time. You continue to give back. No, it really is. It's inspiring to see. So for any loan officers that may be watching, what advice would you give them if they're maybe a little hesitant and branching out outside of the traditional loans?

Yeah. Just, you know, again, half the loan officers here at CCM know the product, half of them don't, which is a big piece that we'll be reviewing with them. And, you know, I would just say, you know, just do it, you know, market it, bring in the loans. You know, we've built out the support system here at CCM that so you can not know anything about Non-QM and still originate alone because they're awesome sales staff to help you out.

So you know just go for it. Market it. You know step outside your comfort zone, get a success story from your branch, market that. Let people know, you know, what's available. Because again, it's the unknown. People think they can't get a loan. Next thing you know, it comes to our space and we figure something out.

Well, I guarantee as they continue to educate like you are, they'll become passionate about it as well. I really appreciate you taking the time to chat and educate us a little bit more in the Non-QM space.

Pete: Thanks so much.

Bridget: Once again, Pete Fickeisen. And, and if you would like to learn more about careers at CrossCountry Mortgage, be sure to visit CCM.com.