Thuan Nguyen had another great year. In 2021, he once again shattered Scotsman Guide’s record for Top Dollar Volume with $2.47 billion in mortgage originations — a 23% increase from the $2.01 billion he closed in 2020. Reflecting on the year behind him, Nguyen said that there were a few reasons he was able to grow his loan volume even further in 2021. A strong market with low interest rates was good for refinance borrowers, which accounted for about 85% of his business last year.
“2021 was the record year for everyone,” Nguyen said. “Not only for me but other brokers as well. People refinanced like crazy and I benefited from it.”
The company he founded, Loan Factory Inc., expanded from 10 states to 41, with two more — New York and Nevada — on the horizon in 2022. By the end of this year, Loan Factory will be available to 98% of the U.S. population. The rapid expansion of Nguyen’s business was largely due to his advanced technology and focus on customer experience.
“In a good time, everyone grows, but we grow faster because we value the customer and we provide a good experience,” Nguyen said.
His proprietary self-service loan origination software puts buyers in charge of their loans, allowing them to get instant rate quotes, upload documents and lock in rates at any time. “They are in control; they can do almost everything,” he said. “We’re there to make sure they have help and they’re happy. And we receive 100% customer satisfaction.”
This technology doesn’t only aid the buyer — he also built software to help Loan Factory with lead generation, marketing, client service and human resources. He’s looking to push his technology even further in the coming year with the development of artificial intelligence, he said. The AI tech can do the work of 10 underwriters at once by identifying problems with loans and even filling out applications for borrowers.
“I have been focusing on building a smart system to allow me to compete. … The software is getting better every day,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen’s new sales volume record will be hard for other originators to beat as the mortgage industry heads into 2022, due to an anticipated decline in refinance originations tied to climbing interest rates. Nguyen said he knows his business will “suffer badly” in 2022 as refinance numbers drop. He said he’s started several initiatives at Loan Factory to help the company survive, including a client referral program and an initiative to build relationships with Realtors.
In a good time, everyone grows, but we grow faster because we value the customer and we provide a good experience.
The biggest change? Nguyen will be scaling back his own sales activities in 2022 to train the new loan originators at Loan Factory, in the hopes of keeping them afloat during what could be a tough year. “I will not be on top of the Scotsman Guide rankings anymore, but I hope five to 10 of the Loan Factory LOs will be on top,” Nguyen said. “I’m letting them go out and build their business.”
Nguyen said he wants to have more time for his family, to expand Loan Factory, and to focus on marketing and making big-picture decisions. He’s also working to grow his software company, Moso, which makes the software he uses at Loan Factory, and make it available to other brokers. “Hopefully one day I won’t have to originate loans anymore — that is my goal,” he said. ●
