The Million Dollar Mortgage Experience Podcast

John Lloyd is the President and Co-Founder of Fidelis Private Fund, a direct portfolio lender specializing in commercial and residential investment real estate loans in California. Fidelis offers investors the opportunity to invest in a pool of real estate-secured loans generating a competitive rate of return with moderate risk and reasonable liquidity. Topics include how Fidelis operates, how John's never lost money for investors, key benefits for long-term investors, the profile of a typical investor, where the market is headed, missed opportunities in the mortgage industry, as well as non-QM loans and bank statement seconds.

Michael McAllister is the President of Empower LO, a mortgage marketing company that equips loan officers and mortgage brokers with the technology, skills, and team that they need to get more deals using consumer direct internet lead generation tactics. During this episode of the Million Dollar Mortgage Experience, Michael McAllister and FundLoans CEO Jon Maddux discuss Google ads for mortgage marketing, how automated workflows can nurture leads, how to target borrowers for a bank statement 2nd mortgage, how to convert internet leads, why real estate agents get homebuyer leads first, missed opportunities in the mortgage industry.

Alejandro Szita is a mortgage broker who’s been involved with real estate and loans since 2006. He specializes in serving artists and entrepreneurs as he expertly maneuvers the ins and outs of mortgages for self-employed borrowers.
During this episode Jon and Alejandro discuss how why it's important to have a niche, how to help self-employed clients with the challenges they face as borrowers, crazy loan stories, and opinions on non-QM loans and bank statement 2nds.

Daniel Shkolnik is an entrepreneur, developer, and founder & CEO of Atlas West Group — a privately held full-service development and investment firm in San Diego. Daniel has more than a dozen years of experience in multifamily and commercial real estate and has completed more than $250 million in transactions throughout his career. Jon Maddux and Daniel Shkolnik discuss working on Wall Street, how Daniel's company identifies opportunistic investments and builds multi-family affordable housing, advice for mortgage brokers to get business, how to get started in investing, and the war in Ukraine.

Masud Sarwary tells his captivating story of escaping Afghanistan as a young child to eventually having a successful career in the mortgage industry before building his company, Foundation Escrow. Jon and Masud discuss the difference between the 2008 recession and today's environment, the value Foundation Escrow brings, wire fraud, escrow technology, how to get more business as a mortgage broker, market predictions, standalone 2nds vs HELOCs, smart investments, Masud's philanthropic involvements, cold plunges, and spending quality time with the people you love. To connect with Masud, find him on instagram @sarwarymasud or check out his website foundationescrow.com.

Jon Maddux interviews Aron Jimenez, top producing mortgage broker at Secure Choice Lending. Aron specializes in helping first-time homebuyers as well as other types of buyers with his smart approach to building relationships. They discuss Aron's path from Wells Fargo personal banker to mortgage broker, building rapport, the benefit of a strong CRM, adopting social media in, purchasing an AirBnB to build wealth, the "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" philosophy, how to use the 1003 to build relationships with your borrowers, and non-QM loans. Find Aron on instagram or securechoicelending.com.

Rocco Cortese is the CEO and Co-Founder of Intersection, a full-service commercial real estate management and capital markets firm based in San Diego. Jon and Rocco discuss the real estate market in Iceland, Rocco's start in the real estate industry, navigating difficult economic cycles, the labor market in the U.S., the return to the office (or lack thereof) from a commercial real estate perspective, productivity at home vs. in the office, building wealth with real estate investments, tips for mortgage brokers to build their business in difficult times, and how to use debt as a tool to build wealth.

Brandon Boyd is a social media director, marketing expert, and loan originator at Secure Choice Lending, a Riverside-based mortgage lender. Brandon has over 7 years of originating experience and a keen eye for creative marketing tactics to help his company close more loans.  During this conversation, Jon Maddux and Brandon discuss how Brandon went from Calvin Klein store manager to the mortgage industry, the importance of personal branding on social media, finding leads on social media, how to stand out and differentiate yourself, keeping updated headshots, and why you should send out a weekly market update.

Jon Maddux interviews Phillip Baltazar, whose expertise is driving growth and developing affinity partnerships across direct-to-consumer mortgage platforms. He's an Executive Advisor for Culture Index, a strategic advisory firm that works with visionary entrepreneurs, business leaders, and management to scale and transform organizations using applied analytics. Jon and Phillip discuss Phillip's path from ballet to the mortgage industry, his rise to #1 broker at Lending Tree, how Culture Index helps companies maximize efficiency and company culture, and one of Phillip's favorite quotes: "Chop wood, carry water." Try the Culture Index survey and free team diagnostics.

Joey Roquet is a vice president and top producer at Secure Choice Lending, a Riverside-based mortgage brokerage. Despite most of the industry struggling in 2022, Joey led Secure Choice Lending through significant growth. During this episode, Joey and MDME host Jon Maddux discuss Joey's path through the mortgage industry, what makes his company stand out, how to grow a company during tough times, the importance of culture and hiring right people, how to build relationships by getting back to the basics, how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect the future of mortgage lending, the benefits and drawbacks of non-QM, tips for mortgage brokers, and their optimistic predictions for 2023.

Michelle Berman is an Instagram coach, speaker, and author. She created the Instagram Power Method Course specifically for realtors and loan officers to level up from the basic Instagram 101 courses. In this episode, Jon and Michelle discuss why mortgage brokers should be using social media, why Instagram is the best social media platform, how to write captions, how to come up with ideas for content & the specific steps for creating content, how to attract engaging followers & have meaningful conversations on Instagram, and the different types of posts ( like stories, highlights, feed, reels).

Matthew Cox is a former mortgage broker who became a secret service most wanted con man. Sentenced to 26 years in Federal prison, he served 12.5 years and is now on parole. He avoided capture for 3 years while he was hunted by the FBI and US Marshalls, and It all started by whiting out a VOR 30-day late. In this episode, Jon Maddux and Matthew Cox discuss Matt's start in the mortgage industry, the first time he committed fraud & how that lead to more, an FBI sting operation, creating fake people & IDs and stealing social security numbers, spending time in prison, the fact that fraud is still prevalent, and Matt's advice to avoid mortgage fraud.

Clinton Selfridge is a luxury real estate agent at Pacific Sotheby’s with over thirty years of experience. He's one of the top-rated real estate agents in San Diego County and last year alone, he did over $50MM in home sales.

Jon and Michael discuss selling a $7MM home as a 25-year-old, what Clinton’s high-end luxury clients are like, how to get referral relationships from Clinton, tips for mortgage brokers, cash buyers, and self-employed buyers.