How One Mortgage Broker’s Dedication To Relationships Over Transactions Is Fueling An Empire Of People-First Philosophies

“You’re more likely to do business with someone you know, and you’re even more likely to do business with somebody you like.”

Mike Maddux’s kindness shines through the screen, a welcome reprieve to the neutral-toned landscape, suit-and-tie mediocrity, and stuffy environments of overpriced support, subpar service, and antiquated wait times financial organizations are sometimes set on commemorating, obsessed with cycles of turn table transactions and rapidly increasing their own profit margins.

And as a loyalist to the name behind the number, as someone obsessed with removing barriers and overcoming impossible hurdles – it’s easy to see how Maddux has found success within the mortgage space.

With a people-first mentality, it just makes sense.

In a world of impersonal transactions, money over matter prioritization has bled the mortgage space dry. Aggressive, sales-driven strategies void of personalization and solely centered on the bottom line have left many homebuyers dissatisfied.

According to mortgage marketplace OwnUp, 78% of people found the process of shopping for a mortgage to be moderately to very challenging. And even once a lender is chosen, the stats don’t improve much. 27% still found it very challenging to actually take that last step to secure financing.

So why the uphill battle? Why the multilayered conspiracy of complexities to simply buy a home?

Disillusioned by the lack of support he saw clients receiving, Maddux ventured out on his own, launching Maddux Mortgage in 2021, deeply rooted in the fundamental principle of fostering enduring relationships and an unwavering commitment to the client-for-life philosophy.

And with that, Mike Maddux is changing the game.

Relationship-based business isn’t dead. In fact, it may be just what Maddux needs to launch an empire of client-first support systems across all fifty states.

Backed By Service. Fueled By Loyalty

“So it’s very simple. I’m a Marine Corps veteran,” he notes, turning the sleeve of his sweatshirt to show the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem stitched into the fabric – a steadfast testimonial of unwavering dedication.

“The Marine motto is Semper Fidelis – or always faithful. So I took that loyalty and commitment to the core and transferred that to my client.”

And with a mortgage business now spanning Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Florida, and Texas – it seems Maddux’s approach is the breath of fresh air the industry needs.

“It’s not just a transaction to me, it’s a relationship. And I wanna be there for them for the rest of their life.”

Explaining that every single person he does business with has his personal cell number and his commitment to meet them 100% of the time at the closing table, Maddux’s dedication to being the opposite of those who just take the money and run shines a spotlight on the gaps within the current mortgage space.

“To me, that’s disingenuous,” he notes. “I wanna build an empire, and how you do that is by building long-term relationships with people who then refer you their friends, family, coworkers…everybody under the sun. And so I just try to live that way and build my business that way.”

However, the client-for-life philosophy that Maddux employs with his team and his clients hasn’t always been his experience.

People-first philosophies aren’t always common in the mortgage world.

First-Hand Experience Showed Opportunity To Do Better

Maddux’s mortgage beginnings began at a bank – where he, unfortunately, had a front-row seat to business that was “really slow” with “really high fees, really high rates, [and] not the greatest service.”

Aka, the ultimate motivation to get out there and create something better.

However, when he transitioned to a retail lender and bad experiences followed, Maddux finally had enough and decided to pivot.

“I registered my company name and then slowly started putting the pieces together.”

Now wholly dedicated to demystifying the mortgage process and providing comprehensive guidance to empower his clients to make informed choices, Maddux is paving the way to better homeownership journeys, one financial decision at a time.

And for the many who struggle with this complex mazework of property funding, Maddux isn’t here to capitalize on the confusion. He’s here to clear it.

This also means giving a second chance to those who may not have had a shot at homeownership elsewhere – a healthy proportion of applicants, given the fact that the denial rate for purchase applications was 9.1% in 2022 alone, an increase from the 8.3% of 2021, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

"It's just an unstable market," Maddux confirms, explaining that he recently swooped in to save homebuyers who were initially pre-approved, got under contract, and suddenly were not cleared to move forward.

There are the staggeringly high mortgage rates we’ve seen in recent months (including the record-breaking 7.79% for 30-year fixed and 7.03% for 15-year fixed we saw in October 2023), inflation, economic instability, and a whole lot of unease around the housing market in general.

Simply put – with the struggles within the mortgage industry, it’s no wonder we’ve seen the cycle of purchasing slow.

The number of homes sold across the U.S. has dropped over 9.5% year-over-year, according to Redfin, while the median sale price has climbed nearly 5% to land at $420,321 ($570,000 in Maddux’s native Oregon).

But Maddux doesn’t seem scared by the circumstances. In fact, he’s here to change them.

Especially for a group that means so much to him.

Maddux’s Service Continues Off The Frontlines

“There are so many veterans that aren’t aware of their benefits,” notes Maddux. “They don’t know how to access them, they don’t know how to get them."

"I try to provide the same level of service to everybody. But for veterans, I will push a little harder.”

“I’m a vet, and I would like it if somebody helped me out.”

And how exactly does he make it happen?

“I don’t take no for an answer,” he laughs. “I get told no all the time. And I’m like ‘Nah, that’s wrong’…I’ll call the FHA, I’ll pull guidelines, selling guides…and that’s the transaction versus relationship.”

“I wanna know that if I tell somebody no, it’s not gonna happen.”

And in an era where we’re still seeing VA loans regularly denied (with an average rate of nearly 13% in 2022, according to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act), relationship-based, committed support is needed now more than ever.

“If you don’t know how to overcome obscure hurdles, you’re not gonna be able to get [mortgages] closed,” he explains. “I’ve invested a little more time and a little more energy and a little more feeling into this.”

So, with an unrelenting passion for making the hard happen for his clients and a vision to spread his people-first mindset nationwide, Maddux was eager to grow.

Lead generation and outbound outreach were his next move.

Maddux X PropertyRadar, The Unlock Needed To Scale

In speaking to where he wants to expand his business next, Maddux notes he’s working on California, New Mexico, and Arizona. “And then Manifest Destiny the other way – East,” he laughs.

The key to helping him get there?

It’s packed with rich, unparalleled data, incomparable insights, and the ability to effectively target hyperspecific segments of individuals – removing barriers from reaching who he needs to.

“I just sent out 1700 mailers just to people in the state of Oregon that have interest rates over 7%,” he notes. “Those are gold because my margins are tight.”

While he is confident he can get these clients refinanced to rates in the 5-6% range, he can also do so much more now that he’s harnessing the power of public records data with the multifaceted lead generation platform PropertyRadar.

“I can help change their lives because, depending on how we structure it, they can have two months without a payment, they can skip a beat, but either way, they’re gonna save a bunch of money.”

And PropertyRadar made it happen.

Referred by United Wholesale Mortgage, all it took was a quick look before Maddux started his trial.

“Two days in, I just paid for it…this functionality is crazy.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Boasting expansive information on over 150 million properties and 250 million people, PropertyRadar is the world’s most powerful property and property owner database, dedicated to providing data-driven strategies and big business information solutions in order to empower the real estate professionals and small businesses that keep our country running.

And with its best-in-class ability to find and target specific segments of individuals (boasting more search possibilities, filters, and parameters than any other product on the market), it’s a perfect match to a relationship-based model, effectively providing the personalized solutions Maddux is known for.

Plus, the outbound strategies built into the platform allow Maddux to not only effortlessly create his own lead lists but also send direct mail straight through PropertyRadar’s marketplace and follow up across phone and email to create a high-visibility approach.

An end-to-end dynamic marketing solution that goes far and beyond Maddux’s previous methods.

“Success before was just running stupid videos on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube. A lot of workout videos and then sprinkling in mortgage videos because nobody wants to talk about a house, but everybody wants to know how to work out.”

Maddux notes that these methods would spark conversations that could move the ball forward.

Something the new era of PropertyRadar drastically amplifies.

And while Maddux is newer to the property platform – he’s not wasting any time in pushing forward.

“If I can get 10%...5% of those mailers to refinance, I mean, that’s huge because, you know, every little bit is more referral opportunity, more relationship opportunity, growth expansion opportunity.”

In An Industry With Thin Margins, Maddux's Approach Gives Hope

You could say that Maddux is driving forward a revolution toward relationship-driven business – championing a growth mindset while placing power where it belongs, with the people on the other end of the transaction.

He’s doubled down on the necessity of relationships so successfully, those who depend on him extend far outside his client base.

“One of the realtors I work with, she got into a car accident when we had an ice storm a few years back, and I was the person she called to come pick her up.”

A transaction is what it is – a temporary exchange.

But the foundation of the future, the core of Maddux’s business, lies with the people who depend on him and the currency of care, kindness, and reliability that he ensures is an end-to-end experience within his organization.

Blend that with multi-sourced, back-tested, and back-filled data with high-functioning algorithms and a full-time expert research team – suddenly, Maddux has the accuracy, timeliness, and ultimate unlock to take his business to the next level.

And PropertyRadar is here to help him get to the finish line.

“I have never liked the word sales. I feel like it has a very negative connotation to it. And so I like to think of what I do is provide a service – which I do. I don’t sell anything. I show people their options.”

“I want to help as many people as I can make the best decisions that they can.”

“When you’re offering something of value without demanding something in return…they’re gonna like you, and they’re gonna wanna do business with you, and they’re gonna wanna keep you around.”

So What's Next? A Whole Lot Of Growth

“Five years from now, when I’m in all fifty states, someone will get declined [for a mortgage], and then their friend, or a friend-of-a-friend…they’ll see something on Facebook. They’ll go, ‘Oh, Maddux Mortgage, they can do it. I know they can do it; they do everything.”

And that expert blend of knowledge, trust, and dedication to building enduring relationships is what sets Mike Maddux apart.

It’s something he’s aware of and something he hopes rubs off on other aspects of his client’s lives.

“I just hope that they can see that there is a right and wrong way to do things and there’s a right and wrong way to conduct yourself.”

“Buying a home is the largest transaction most people have in their lives,” he notes. “Hopefully, they would hold the rest of the stuff in their life to that same standard.”

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