Your name & title at the company:
Your name & title at the company: Sam Sharp, Executive Vice President of Mortgage Lending
What does your company do?
Guaranteed Rate is one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the Company has more than 5,000 employees in over 700 offices across the U.S., and is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 2000, Guaranteed Rate has helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances and funded more than $37 billion in loans in 2019 alone. The Company has cemented itself as the Home Purchase Experts® by introducing innovative technology, such as the world’s first Digital Mortgage, by offering low rates and by delivering unparalleled customer service. Honors and awards include: “Top Lender for Online Service” for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report; No. 3 ranking in Scotsman Guide’s Top Retail Mortgage Lenders 2018; Top Lender 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Chicago Agent magazine; Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven consecutive years; and Best Overall Online Lender and Best Lender for FHA Refinance by NerdWallet in 2018. Visit rate.com for more information. NMLS # 2611
Tell us about your company’s journey.
Sam Sharp is a seasoned originator who has funded over a billion dollars in loans. He applies extraordinary customer service, constant communication and a relentless work ethic to and through the mortgage process. Sam and his team are a true full-service mortgage banker well equipped to handle your business seamlessly from start to finish while providing an elevated standard that clients have come to appreciate. Among his specialties are assisting those who go through the home-buying process for the first time and highlighting various strategies to ensure clients secure the best financing options, including down payment assistance programs and other effective incentives. Sam offers an impressive jumbo product selection, an in-depth financial understanding of the intricacies of self-employment income and real estate investment strategies, and the managerial savvy to execute any plan of action on behalf of your business. Sam’s personal touch has created lasting relationships that go above and beyond the mortgage process with much of his business generated via referrals from clients and professional partners. A regular among the country’s top producing home loan originators and a member of guaranteed rate’s elite chairman’s circle, he is supremely committed to providing the best experience possible for both the customer and referral partners.
What has been your company’s greatest success?
My greatest success has been the ability to revamp my opinion on what success is in our industry. I’ve been able to remove the ego from it and look at a team structure from a fairer level view. I’ve learned that in order to achieve the success you want you need to get out of your own way and get the help you need. Standing in your own way can only get so far.
How has the current pandemic affected your business? How have you adjusted?
The main way I’ve been able to adjust is by staying out in front of the guideline changes. While there are always changes happening it the mortgage industry, it’s been incredibly important to keep up with them now more than ever. With rates being this low, many people are acting fast to take advantage of the opportunity for homeownership and as well as refinancing. There are many factors that have changed and been impacted due to the pandemic, such as self-employed borrowers as well as those who already own a home and took forbearance.
What are your company’s goals for 2020?
My #1 goal was to continue to scale my business to where my team and I can expand. I wanted to create a process that allowed us to grow and expand in volume without sacrificing our method and service or diminishing our core values.
