Top LO Tim Potempa joins E Mortgage Capital

On By Vaseline

U.S. lending officer Timothy Potempa has left the Dallas-based multichannel lender OneTrust Home Loans participate E Mortgage capitalbringing his team of approximately 40 people and annual production of more than $300 million to the California-headquartered company.

“I’ve been in the industry since I was 18, so this year will be 22 years, and I’ve only worked at five companies,” Potempa said in an interview. “The transition just matched the team’s ability to have a product suite and technology in place.”

According to Scottish guidePotempa was the No. 7 loan officer in the country last year with mortgage production volume of $326.5 million. Its portfolio focuses on purchase loans (98% of the total volume in 2023) for starters in the housing market. Potempa focuses mainly on government credit space, which represents 60% of its total volume, he said.

Potempa had a joint venture with OneTrust from March 2022 to March 2024. But he says the company has invested in new construction, land and apartments in a challenging mortgage market.

A representative at OneTrust declined to comment on Potempa’s departure.

OneTrust has undergone some recent leadership changes. In February, it announced the hiring of James Hecht, former head of manufacturing and executive vice president of national retail lending at Nieuwrez, as CEO. Co-founders Josh Erskine and Shane Erskine served as CEO and president respectively Warp speed positions.

Potempa brought its team of 38 professionals – including processors, business development staff, support staff and approximately 15 loan officers – to E Mortgage on March 25. He expects the group to originate about $400 million in mortgages this year, representing about 15% of total mortgage costs. total of the company.

“The beginning of the year started a little slower, and that is only because we are moving to a new company,” Potempa said. “The goal is $400 million this year and $500 million next year.”

E Mortgage charges Potempa’s team an upfront fee of $595 per funded loan, and he is responsible for marketing, lead generation and other costs. Migrating to the new company will allow him to explore the wholesale side of the industry for the first time.

Before OneTrust, he worked as an assistant Wells Fargo, Nova Home Loans And Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.

“In retail you are under a mortgage banker; you know the product range because you have everything in-house,” he said. “In wholesale you can shop and sell the loan to a large number of investors. We currently have 200 different investors.”

Turning to the macro landscape, Potempa said higher mortgage rates and higher costs associated with homeownership are impacting affordability. On Wednesday, his team’s 30-year rate was set at a The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loan for borrowers with no points and a credit score of 660 was 6.25%, while conventional mortgages had a rate of 6.75%.

In this context, borrowers getting a mortgage are “someone in their mid-30s who has saved, or who is moving up for work, divorce or whatever reason,” Potempa said. His team “is still getting 300 to 400 leads a day from people raising their hands and wanting to inquire about buying a home,” he added.