Danny DeGroat - From Auto Mechanic to Mortgage Strategist: Navigating Real Estate with Integrity
Apr 18, 2024
Alimond Studio
Embark on an insightful journey with Danny DeGroat of Integrity Home Mortgage as we explore the transformative power of shifting gears from a mechanical career to the strategic realm of mortgage loan origination. Danny brings over eight years of experience to the table, illustrating how his knack for troubleshooting in the automotive world seamlessly transitioned into customizing residential financing for hopeful homeowners. As we dissect the current market's trials – from fluctuating interest rates to the critical need for buyer and seller education – our conversation uncovers the tangible benefits and potential risks of the 'cost of waiting' in property investment, all against the vibrant backdrop of Northern Virginia's real estate scene.
Delving beyond the numbers, we reflect on the irreplaceable value of personal relationships in the industry, where my own conviction that real-life connections trump cold calls every time takes center stage. Danny and I open up about the delicate dance of personal branding, sharing how a blend of professional insight and genuine life moments on social media fosters trust and authenticity with clients. He also touches on the guiding influence of Christian ethics in business, offering a candid look at how faith informs not just personal values, but professional integrity and a commitment to service that transcends profit. Tune in for a heartfelt discussion that not only promises insights into smart real estate decisions but also the profound impact of combining purpose with practice in the world of business.
Embark on an insightful journey with Danny DeGroat of Integrity Home Mortgage as we explore the transformative power of shifting gears from a mechanical career to the strategic realm of mortgage loan origination. Danny brings over eight years of experience to the table, illustrating how his knack for troubleshooting in the automotive world seamlessly transitioned into customizing residential financing for hopeful homeowners. As we dissect the current market's trials – from fluctuating interest rates to the critical need for buyer and seller education – our conversation uncovers the tangible benefits and potential risks of the 'cost of waiting' in property investment, all against the vibrant backdrop of Northern Virginia's real estate scene.
Delving beyond the numbers, we reflect on the irreplaceable value of personal relationships in the industry, where my own conviction that real-life connections trump cold calls every time takes center stage. Danny and I open up about the delicate dance of personal branding, sharing how a blend of professional insight and genuine life moments on social media fosters trust and authenticity with clients. He also touches on the guiding influence of Christian ethics in business, offering a candid look at how faith informs not just personal values, but professional integrity and a commitment to service that transcends profit. Tune in for a heartfelt discussion that not only promises insights into smart real estate decisions but also the profound impact of combining purpose with practice in the world of business.
Speaker 1:
My name is Danny DeGroat and the business is Integrity Home Mortgage. I'm a mortgage loan originator and the major service I provide is kind of creative solutions for any sort of residential financing kind of buying houses for financing all that sort of stuff. So whatever kind of property you want to purchase for residential purposes, I can certainly help and advise there. So a lot of stuff that comes along with that, but that's kind of the major gist of it.
Speaker 2:
Major gist. How long have you been in business?
Speaker 1:
Just over eight years. Actually Just celebrated an anniversary last month.
Speaker 2:
Oh, congratulations.
Speaker 1:
March 2017. Yeah, or 16, 2016.
Speaker 2:
2016. And what brought you into this business?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, great question. So I actually started off doing nothing like it Very mechanical by nature and I worked on cars for about 10 years, uh, elevators for a year or two after that. And then I had a friend of mine who, uh, got me in the business. So, uh, it was very much. Uh. Uh, my hands have never been this clean. So I used to work on cars and grease under the fingernails, all that kind of stuff, so uh. But I had a friend who, uh, was expanding close to where I was, so so is that a big change.
Speaker 2:
How did you? Go from that to being a loan officer. That's a huge change, right.
Speaker 1:
It was a huge change and honestly I never thought that I would be in the position to have some sort of desk job or anything like that. I was used to working on cars and everything comes along with that, which is retail hours, and so there's flexibility in this that doesn't exist otherwise in the car business. But but I still really enjoy that stuff. But now I can do it for fun and not not not bust up my knuckles too much type on a keyboard and answer the phone.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it's a little bit different.
Speaker 1:
It is. Yeah, it's quite a bit different, yeah.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, what do you find? Do you find any of your skills from those days translate into the business you're doing now?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's a really good question too. I certainly do. I think a lot of it is being a mechanic. There's troubleshooting is is everything Anybody can kind of replace parts, as long as you know what it's called, where it goes, what it takes to to take it off and replace it Right. So that's kind of the basics of mechanics. However, getting to that point troubleshooting, figuring out the issue is where you really set yourself apart of being a good mechanic or a bad mechanic. They call the bad ones parts replacers, for good reason it or not. There's actually a good bit of strategy and troubleshooting when it comes to figuring out financing for folks who may have issues with credit or a unique income situation or maybe just other extenuating circumstances that lead to needing to be creative, and so the troubleshooting, the strategy behind it. I really like that, so I get to use some skills that I was able to develop.
Speaker 2:
Strategic thinking Right yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, speaking of challenges, what challenges are you guys facing in the loan industry these days and how are you overcoming them?
Speaker 1:
Yeah. So obviously the obvious right, interest rates are are always, always, always a concern and there's there's nothing we can do to control that. Of course the Fed is going to do what the Fed does. There's nothing we can do downstream where we are. But that's certainly a challenge in helping buyers to understand sellers as well, what's going on currently in the market and how to project what may happen in the near future and how we can kind of help mitigate or protect from interest rates rising or just trying to put them in the best position where they can use what they have available so they can really put themselves in a good spot. So a lot of it is information sharing and just really teaching them how to think about the process. You know, because there's a myriad of opinions out there and all kinds of good and bad information that gets mixed up.
Speaker 1:
So I guess, being very objective, this is what reality is. So what do you do with that? So, kind of connecting all those dots Right. Do you hold, do you buy? Right, what do you do?
Speaker 2:
And make sure you know everything. You're those dots Right? Do you hold? Do you buy Right? What do you do? And make sure you know, everything you're dealing with.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and something that we do have to help with that are tools that are available that not everybody has, frankly, to help To help understand the cost of waiting as well, which can really be a little eye-opening.
Speaker 2:
Cost of waiting. You mean just waiting to purchase, that's right.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so certainly where I am. My office is located in Fauquier County. I'm licensed in Virginia, west Virginia, maryland and even Florida. Be surprised how many people travel to and from Florida. There's quite a few.
Speaker 2:
Because they come up here for the summer and go down to Florida for the winter. Right a lot of second homes.
Speaker 1:
That's exactly right, but some tools that we have on our end that I'm sorry, I lost my train of thought.
Speaker 2:
Oh you're waiting. Oh, that's right, Trying to teach people the cost of waiting. Yeah, the cost of waiting.
Speaker 1:
Yeah. So some of the tools that we have really help with projecting that and the values where we are. There's some great historical data. There's actually, I think, only one year where there wasn't a return on investment. I can't remember that exactly at the moment, but there's a great historical record, certainly in Northern Virginia, which Falkirk County, where kind of my headquarters is, is certainly involved in or part of Northern Virginia.
Speaker 1:
So value is always going up. We can't say 100%, but near 100%. So the cost of waiting and projecting what the value will be in just a few short months if you wait it's going to cost you actually this much more. You miss out on this amount of equity, et cetera. So there's some good things you can do that have really proven historically accurate and really opened some eyes. Especially with competition's always part of that. You really want to wait until everybody else is competing as well and people paying over asking price we all know have heard some really funny stories with how much you know over they paid and all that sort of thing. So keeping them outside of some of that competition helps as well.
Speaker 2:
And just getting their mindset in the right place and managing their expectations.
Speaker 1:
That's right. That's right. Yeah, so are you. You have to have a house, right? The cost of living is certainly involves a home, right? Are you going to rent? Are you going to buy what's rent? Rent is that's another big part of that right. They just assume that rent may be cheaper Most of the time, that's not even the case.
Speaker 1:
If you can find something and then you can't control what the future looks like for that as well. So a lot of education that goes into that is very helpful and some tools that we have on our end really help kind of paint the whole picture.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, what do you find most rewarding about what you do?
Speaker 1:
Yeah. So if there's really get to shine, I would say in short timelines where the company that I work with, integrity Home Mortgage, we're based out of Winchester, we're very much local, we're kind of a midsize. We're not a brick and mortar that has certain restrictions, and then we're also not a massive rocket or something like that that you just kind of become a number. We're a very high-speed loader Rocket mortgage yeah, Right right.
Speaker 1:
So a very customizable service. What works best for you is kind of what we can do, and a lot of times that's hey, we had to go with a short timeline to make this deal happen. Can you do it? Absolutely, we had to go with a short timeline to make this deal happen. Can you do it? Absolutely, we can do it. So we have great support. Everybody in-house, everybody's on board to make the deal happen. So that helps. So when there's a short timeline or credit repair or something I help with I'm not certified in that, it's just something I get to do and again the troubleshooting comes in there. What kind of scenario can we work out to get you where you need to be, or even at a more ideal situation? So it's really rewarding getting to walk people through those steps to get in a good spot and then for them to look back on the whole process and say thank you. You know, like wow, it's actually. I thought it was going to be terrible, but it was actually great, pretty good, thank you, it was a great experience.
Speaker 2:
You guys made it easy, yeah right and to actually have a good process.
Speaker 1:
Quick little story my wife and I, the first house that we bought back in 2008,. We showed up on closing day and were told we had to pay an extra $5,000. I didn't know anything about mortgages. I was just working on cars at the time and just trying to work and make money to pay the mortgage.
Speaker 1:
I just kind of got dragged along the process and so in hindsight I remember thinking that I'm never going to let that happen to anybody any of my clients for sure. So anyway, that was a little bit of motivation as well. So I'm an over-communicator, I like to make sure that everybody has a good grasp on the situation. I do like teaching as well, so kind of meeting them where they are, and not everybody wants to learn the ins and outs of the mortgage business. Trust me, I get that, but there is a certain level of hey, it's good for you to understand what this is and to kind of go through those steps to educate. I really enjoy that when they say oh, I've heard that a thousand times. I never knew what it meant, so thanks for clearing that up.
Speaker 2:
So that's some rewarding things, so education, so people aren't surprised like you guys were Right, yeah, how did you feel when that happened?
Speaker 1:
Oh my goodness, I don't even know that. I was mad. We were just scared. We were young, didn't have that much money and that was emptying the bank, so but we knew we wanted to buy the house. So so, praise God, it did work out, but but it was a little scary at the time.
Speaker 2:
Are you guys still in that house?
Speaker 1:
No, we sold that house and we actually built a house about three years ago for our family. Bought some land, built a house out in.
Speaker 2:
Rixeyville, Virginia. Oh nice, Very nice. So you've got space.
Speaker 1:
Yes, lots of space. So we have a large family too, and it's great to have we have 10 acres and a little bit of water on it too, a pond and that sort of thing.
Speaker 2:
That sounds amazing. Where do you see the future of your business going? What do you see for yourself for the next five years?
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
So I think some expansion probably meaning some organic growth with others who might want to get in the mortgage business I actually have somebody starting within the next few days, which is great.
Speaker 1:
Then I'll be able to hopefully help train up a little bit in the business Somebody who's been involved with it a little bit before.
Speaker 1:
But I have a little bit more experience Plus the ins and outs of this company and things that I've found successful that hopefully I'll be able to pass on. So I'd say some expansion in that way and also the way I've been able to build referral partners, because in my business it's heavily, heavily referral partner based, meaning the real estate agents I get to work with are who kind of make it happen for me in a lot of ways. So giving them great service I have a vested interest to do that so they continue to trust me to see their clients to the finish line and therefore they get paid too, right, they don't. It's their paycheck as well. So bringing on people to kind of carry that vision forward and to provide better support for that to actually, you know, expand and be able to help more people in an organic way, right, not forced just grow for the sake of growth, but to be able to reach a little bit more and actually invest in those people that you're bringing on right.
Speaker 2:
What advice would you give? You said you had someone new starting. What advice would you give to anybody wanting to get into this business?
Speaker 1:
hmm, that's a good question. I would say you have to. You have to meet with individuals and get face-to-face. There's everybody most people in different lines of business get sales calls all the time to get recruited to sell you something. Again, in our business, real estate agents are our best friends. They're really our main client, I would say, and in serving their clients you really need to focus on that and you can't really get that across in a cold sales call. So I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time on that. I just don't think it's effective.
Speaker 1:
I get recruited just like everybody else in my business does and I understand where they're coming from. So I will probably hear them out a little bit more than most people will and say I really appreciate it, I'm just not interested, and that's just probably how real estate agents feel as well. So actually just trying to find a way to be that person in your sphere of influence, right. So how do you expand that in a non-patronizing, organic way of your influence, kind of spreading out to more people so that you can be that person in their circle? So I would say, thankfully for myself I was able to.
Speaker 1:
When I joined the business I had a friend who already had a good bit going on. So I was able to to do it a little bit slower than somebody who's getting in fresh has no connection. They're probably going to have a harder time because they have to make money to be able to stay in the business, to be able to reach more people. So I got a leg up for sure getting in the business and I was blessed with that.
Speaker 1:
The process to be able to, you know, to be able to do it a little bit slower and find people that I just get along with and try to arrange meeting, and probably a lot of confidence that's rubbed off me from my wife to myself. I have an idea of if I get to meet with them, I think if we get along, I think they'll, of course they'll want to work with me. Maybe that's a little bit naive, but the people I do work with I really enjoy working with them and just really build some good long-lasting relationships. So I'm a relationship builder, not really a sales guy, I guess in a lot of ways.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I can see that Absolutely. You said you get most of your business referrals from real estate agents. What are you guys doing for marketing and advertising these days to bring people in?
Speaker 1:
Sure. So as far as marketing, there's a little bit of advertising, different strategies there that, frankly, I haven't really done that great of a job with. There's a lot of people that do a lot better job about their marketing on Instagram and Facebook. So I like to stay relevant by reminding people that this is what I do. But again, the relationship aspect I think they're probably more interested in who I am right, what's going on at home, what's this person like, what are they like? And so there's probably more value in that and a lot of that is. I have eight children, so there's always stuff going on. That's amazing. Boys, girls so there's always stuff going on. That's amazing.
Speaker 2:
Boys, girls.
Speaker 1:
Five boys, three girls.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
And the amount of goings-on at my house every day could fill anybody's social media.
Speaker 2:
You'd have a long feed.
Speaker 1:
So picking and choosing plus having the time as well, but anyway. So I actually had a potential client call me today and she's somebody who I had spoken to a year ago. She's affiliated with the business, but not directly, she's not a real estate agent. But she said you know, I love seeing the pictures of your kids, your wife, your family and the things you do, and that's why I thought to call you. There's 1,000 people she could have called that are also local. She could have called that are also local. But she chose to call me because you know, she knows I'm a family man and all that kind of stuff that you can kind of glean as much as you can from social media, which certainly isn't the whole picture, it's not always and we do post some funny stuff too. That's not very glamorous.
Speaker 2:
She could see that you were a hardworking family man and that she trusted you.
Speaker 1:
Well, and two, I think there's you could consider that sort of an anchor right when this is what I have to go home to, this is what I have to provide for. I love them, I really enjoy them, so I want to go out and do well, I'm going to work hard for you because I love my children so much, right, and my wife, and want to provide for them well, so that's a big motivator.
Speaker 2:
I was going to say nothing like that would motivate you, right? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, absolutely. You can do whatever marketing strategy you want. I think that's a heck of a motivator.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that's good, that's honest and that's good and down to earth, I love it. Yeah, I appreciate it Are there any last parting words you'd like to leave us with, or our listeners with.
Speaker 1:
So I would say one, even above that right. So I'm a Christian and that's the lens through which I see everything. Right, I would say Jesus is Lord over all, and including my business, including myself, including my clients and my interactions. So how I'm held to a higher level of accountability mainly because of that. So whatever I do, I know, he knows and he sees, and I want to make him proud and I don't want to do it just for a buck. So there's a lot more at stake than just some business.