Cover Top 50
a generous man B.C. mortgage broker and franchise owner Jack Oyhenart was beloved in the industry. Making CMP’s Top 50 Brokers list, he died suddenly in late May. Heather Li explores the family man’s path from banking to mortgage broker
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n the back of his mind, becoming a mortgage broker was something Jack Oyhenart always wanted to do as he spent 31 years in banking. “He always enjoyed the mortgage aspect of banking,” says Kevyn, Oyhenart’s 33-year-old son, also a mortgage broker. “He worked with Royal Bank for 31 years, and in his 31st year, they came to a mutual separation and decided to part ways. He took three months to himself and started up his own mortgage company back in 2002.” Oyhenart was drawn to the mortgage business because he loved helping people, and eventually, through tireless networking, he established himself as an admirable and generous force within the industry. His eight years in brokering came to a sudden end, when he unexpectedly passed away on May 31, 2010, in Richmond, B.C. where he lived and worked. The 56-year-old Oyhenart was hospitalized on May 25 for a persistent cough and died unexpectedly from a stroke. Doctors later concluded his cough was caused by double pneumonia in his lungs. “I think what’s going to be remembered most about Dad,” begins Chad, Oyhenart’s 28-year-old son, also a practising mortgage professional, “is that he was never too busy to help anyone, to offer an opinion and he was never above anybody in that capacity. He was always ready to jump in and help
whether it was a client or a broker, or whoever. That’s going to be what’s missed about him.” This selfless attitude was part of Oyhenart’s character even as a teenager. When he was 16, he kicked over a rock while playing ball hockey with a friend and found $900, which had been dropped following a robbery at the local Royal Bank branch. He returned the money to the bank. As a reward, Oyhenart received $150 and the promise that they would hire him when he was ready to get a job. In 1971, he accepted Royal Bank’s offer and worked his way through the system in various roles, including branch manager at several locations. In October 2002, Oyhenart moved into mortgage brokering with MCI Mortgage Consultants and, admits his wife of 35 years, Grace, “It was scary at first.” In his first year, Oyhenart earned $14,000 from nine deals, but in his second year, he brought in $153,000. “That first year, Dad was out meeting people, giving out business cards, talking to people and following up,” says Chad. “He never chased anyone for business but he made sure every influential relationship he had in life knew that he was now a mortgage broker.” From Oyhenart’s simple tactic of making himself known as a mortgage broker, his business exploded in one year through referrals and word of mouth. In December 2008, Oyhenart started his own mortgage franchise with Dominion Lending
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