Pete Fickeisen Discusses CCM’s Rise to a Top Non-QM Lender

Bridget: Welcome to CCM Talks. I am Bridget Linton, and I am joined by Non-QM Sales Director Pete Fickeisen. Pete, first of all, I have to say congratulations. CrossCountry Mortgage is now the number one Non-QM Retail Lender in the United States. That is so amazing.

Pete: Yay.

Bridget: Let’s do a little round of applause here. What sets CCM apart from the competition when it comes to Non-QM products?

Pete: I mean, I really think what sets us apart today is the way that we execute the mortgages for the loan officers. Number one loan officers, top loan officers in America by far to work with. But what sets us apart is really the fact that we’re able to execute on exceptions at a higher level than any other company out there. Having the ability to execute on exceptions makes it almost like a portfolio product.

So we’re able to do more than, let’s say, a mortgage broker might be able to do, and we’re able to do it really quick. So the client enjoys, you know, so many benefits from working with a CrossCountry loan officer with the product line, compared to waiting for someone else to execute it.

Bridget: Can you talk about some of the most popular Non-QM products and programs that CCM offers?

Pete: Yeah, the number one Non-QM program in the country is our bank statement loan. It’s also, it’s 40% of everything that we do. Next would be our investor cash flow or DSCR loan, which is you know, investors are just waiting for rates to drop so they can go out there and, you know, buy more investment properties to put more people into rentals. So we do that product, which is great because we don’t have any income verification with that. We basically run the loans off the rental income only.

And the last part would be our ITIN products. You know, we are a big proponent of NAHREP, which is the Hispanic Realtor Association, and we are out there doing more ITIN loans than, you know, pretty much any other retail lender right now with that product.

Bridget: I love that. Now, you’ve recently hit some record months when it comes to Non-QM locks and fundings. What do you attribute to this?

Pete: You know, well again, having the top loan officers in the country. You know, my whole sales staff is built with previous loan officers. So when we’re able to execute quickly, get loan officers quick answers faster than, let’s say, competition or a broker would, we’re able to, you know, really know at a high level whether something will work or not upfront.

So instead of, you know, just hitting up our incredible scenario desk, you know, it’s, it’s that plus the marketing team. I mean, the marketing materials that we have to get out to our loan officers is incredible. We worked hand-in-hand for months to get those going, and it took a little while, but they came out awesome and they really stand out.

Bridget: You know, and you mentioned something that I love, and you said team, you know, you all work together. Can you talk a little bit more about your team specifically?

Pete: Yeah. So our team again is made up of loan officers and also the team I’ve been with for the past seven years – only CrossCountry for two of it. You know, we’ve worked together for a long time. So having that cohesiveness and, you know, almost like that family where we can call each other on a Saturday morning or late at night and say, hey, we got this to get done for X loan officer. It’s, you know, people understand that urgency. So I’m only going to call if I need something. I promise, right? But getting those answers again quickly is the whole part of the mortgage game. Speed to lead is the way we execute.

Bridget: And you, basically what you were just talking about, you always make yourself available to employees, which is so amazing and it makes you a great leader. Can you talk about some of the trainings and opportunities that you give?

Pete: Yeah. So every other Wednesday, during any given month, we do a 101 and/or a, you know, specific training on a product line that’s one hour long, hosted by myself and Katie Daum and Ashley Lamoreaux. And we really take our time to go through everything.

We also, to our loan officers out there, we actually execute at a high level for our realtor trainings as well out in the field. So if you’ve got 100 realtors, we’ll come to you, we’ll put on the whole show for you. You know, if you want to do it by Zoom, we can do that. So education, Bridget, with all of these different products is so key.

It’s what the people don’t know. That’s Non-QM. Yes. So. Oh, I didn’t know I could do that. I mean, it’s a very, you know, similar phrase. And, you know, a lot of the time we can do it, which is great.

Bridget: And you’re so helpful. You give great advice. So what piece of advice would you give to someone that’s new to Non-QM or they’re thinking about getting started?

Pete: Well, the one thing I always thought about Non-QM when I was originating was whoa, what’s this? I was afraid of it because it’s the unknown, right? I’m just going to execute easy deals. I should do my Fannie, Freddie, FHA stuff. It’s so easy. Then we started to market it as we came out of COVID and it was just like, wow, this is actually much easier than I thought.

And it wasn’t as rate sensitive to, you know, let’s say a normal mortgage out there in the marketplace. So don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid of these products. We have so much training and help here at CCM. I mean, The Landing itself is just an encyclopedia of how to do mortgages. Plus our staff is all LOs, the scenario desk and, you know, having the ability to market this to pretty much anyone, makes it just so smooth. And you know, we close on time, I mean it’s, it’s great.

Bridget: You talked about some of the tools that set CCM apart. Can you talk a little bit more about CCM’s culture?

Pete: Yeah. So I mean CCM’s culture is, you know, win the day, win today, we like to win every deal. We’re a little bit competitive. But, you know, at the end, the winning part isn’t actually for the loan officer or CCM staff, it’s for the client and the partner. Right? If the client, the partner can execute at a high level, that’s a partner for life. And that’s something I’ve always embraced when I was a loan officer.

And you know, people keep coming back when they have a great experience. If you choose to go another route with Non-QM and you broker it, it’s like flipping a quarter in the air whether it’s going to close or not. And if you can close and, you know, deliver a client a great experience, they’re going to come back.

Bridget: Yes, absolutely. And when coming to your team in the Non-QM, what are some goals that you have?

Pete: So some goals for us, well, let’s say there’s over 4,000 loan officers here, I can say that, so over 4,000 loan officers. If we had one, one deal for every loan officer per quarter, that’s 4,000 times, you know, 4. So you know, we would love that volume to come in the door. Right? If I could get, you know, 16,000 loans. Right now we’re averaging between 7 or 800 loans a month, so let’s call it, you know, a little less than 10,000 loans a year. If we could almost double, you know, or come close to doubling that volume.

I mean, the great thing here at CCM is with this product, it’s our products. No one else is really coming in and, you know, buying it. We’re not selling these loans or anything like that. So people are investing in us, which is really important to know. So, you know, having this product and having the ability to use this product to create other products is key.

I mean, this is the people’s product, Bridget. I mean, we just put in 105 guideline recommendations, which I think 95 got approved. And that’s all from the loan officers. That’s all from our underwriting team, our executive team, my team. So, you know, having this kind of be the CCM people’s product, it’s like, it’s, it’s awesome. I mean, it’s, we’re delivering what the LOs want and what the clients need.

Bridget: It really is incredible. And anyone that is thinking about joining CCM, just another great reason why would you not join this company?

Pete: Exactly. I mean, this is probably one of the top reasons to join. Besides, you know, our great leadership and support, but it’s like when you have this product line in-house, it’s a difference maker because brokering the loan, let’s, let’s face it, it’s not that easy. And in a marketplace where rates are starting to decline, we want to make sure that again, we can execute quickly for that client so we can get up and do it again if we have to down the road.

Bridget: You have been such a great cheerleader for CCM. To wrap this up, I want to know a little bit more about Pete, can you share a fun fact with me?

Pete: Oh boy. I played sports in college, and I was in a band.

Bridget: Oh, okay. Well, are you going to tell me what band?

Pete: I’m not going to tell you the band.

Bridget: Oh, okay.

Pete: It was a while ago and, did some singing, playing some guitar and, yep, played some football in college.

Bridget: Looks like we’re going to have to, like, Google this, see on YouTube if there’s anything.

Pete: I don’t think YouTube was around, thank God.

Bridget: Well, thank you so much. Such great information. We cannot wait to see what you and your team do next. If you want to learn more about CCM careers, make sure you visit CCM.com and we’ll see you on our next episode of CCM Talks.