mortgageprofessional N M P
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Eddy Perez President
Equity Loans BY DAVID J. COSTER n this month’s issue of National Mortgage Professional Magazine, we had a chance to speak with Eddy Perez, president of Equity Loans. The son of Cuban immigrants, Eddy has had a front row seat to the American Dream. Now balancing family obligations with the challenges of building a growing retail mortgage banking firm, Eddy is living out the lessons he learned in childhood. Here is Eddy’s story.
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How did you begin your career in the mortgage business? My father owned a residential construction company, so I have always been somewhat into residential real estate. After I graduated college, I got into stocks and financial advising. However, the crash of 2000 hit me really hard. My girlfriend at that time told me I should try mortgages because, as she said, her hairdresser’s brother had gotten into it and was doing pretty well for himself! I went online found a company that was hiring and was willing to train me.
“Homeownership builds unity, it builds family, and it builds memories that you can never take back. We, as a company, want to provide that to people.”
What was it about the mortgage business that attracted you? My parents moved to the United States from Cuba. It brought back childhood memories from being with my father and seeing how many homeowners bought his houses. It is truly what separates us from a lot of other countries. It’s very American to be a homeowner. I understand that your mother is a frequent visitor to the Equity Loans offices. Oh, my mom’s cakes are legendary here at Equity Loans! I mean the employees want to make up holidays sometimes just to get them. The good thing is my mom will bring them in for any holiday: Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, etc. Also, my mom’s cooking is phenomenal. People joke by saying they don’t know how I am not fat! I am like 5’10”, but am only 175 pounds. They don’t understand why I am not 100 pounds heavier! How did your mortgage career develop? I originated a lot of loans and started to
get licensed in a lot of states. My partner and I decided to open up our own office. We were mortgage brokers, and then in 2008, at the height of the U.S. housing crisis, we decided to become mortgage bankers. We were running an office of 21 employees and thought it was the right move for all of our futures to move into mortgage banking. It was very evident that the regulators wanted people to have more skin in game—more involvement and be held more accountable.
How do you balance family time with your business? I wake up early in the morning, and I go to the gym first to avoid traffic. I stay at the office until anywhere between 6:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Then, I spend a couple of hours with my children at night, and on the weekends, I am completely devoted there. I spend time with my kids whenever I can so that they don’t grow up with an absent father.
Do you travel a lot? We are licensed in 30 states, but we have offices in about 17 of those states. We like to go out and see the branch managers ourselves and shake their hands. We also go to all the major mortgage events. The industry has shrunk now and everybody knows each other on the national level. The consolidation of the industry was good, because it left the survivors and left those who are very committed and have passion for this business.