Before opening his own brokerage in New York, Shah Tehrany was in the real estate business. Tired of never hearing back from his mortgage broker connections, he decided that if you want things done right, you do them yourself. Now a Broker/Owner in New York, Shah’s main goal is simple; Be honorable and do the right thing. This is equally true for both his borrowers and his staff. Building his business around five pillars of core values; Authenticity, Training, Accountability, Patience, and most importantly, the “why”, Shah has been able to consistently grow a successful brokerage in the strictest state on Mortgage Brokers. 

Many of these are self explanatory. Authenticity; be who you are, a real human being. Training; better your mind, stay up to date on guidelines, be ready to learn every day. Accountability: Take responsibility for your own actions. As Shah calls it: “Be a thumb pointer, not a finger pointer.” Be patient: The mortgage process is complicated and long, don’t stray from your path and you will eventually reach your goals. And then Finally, there’s the “why.” Yes the mortgage process is complicated and long, but that’s because it’s incredibly important. For most borrowers, this is their biggest financial decision they’ll ever make. Be their true mortgage advisor. Be their guide and keep them informed. Let them know why you need certain things, or why certain parts of the process are taking as long as they are. As long as everyone involved understands why things are happening, they will not just appreciate your guidance, they will not just walk away with a brand new home, they’ll be walking away with a real relationship with you and your company. 

With his foundation paved, and all five pillars steadily in place, Shah determined it was time to grow. He found that the focus had to be on generating a solid operations staff. You can hire as many Loan Officers and Loan Officer Assistants as you can, but if they have no support staff, everything will crumble. The other side of the equation is letting go of origination. It is simply too much work for a single person to do both. It wasn’t easy for Shah, but by promoting certain leaders and putting certain procedures in place he was then able to step away and see his brokerage from an entirely new perspective. He was instantly flooded with ideas, reaching for  greater goals. Instead of focusing on every new loan as it comes in, he saw the bigger picture, and in turn, improved his processes and systems not just for his clients, but for his staff as well. Take a step back, set goals, and stick to them. It’s hard and time consuming, but fairly simple. 

For Shah, in the end, above all else, it’s about the relationship. “Regardless of where rates are and how big the market is at the time…If you have good relationships, and a good reputation for doing the right thing…you’ll always do well in the mortgage business.”

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