By the time Josh Hayden’s 3-month-old daughter turns 6 months, he jokes, she’ll probably be able to originate a mortgage. That’s how often she hears him speaking to clients on the phone.
Making himself available to customers 24/7 has helped Hayden, 34, a loan officer with Movement Mortgage in Chicago, achieve 2024 President’s Club status. “This job isn’t easy,” says Hayden, who ranks among the top loan officers companywide based on volume. “You don’t sit around and land deals that fall from the sky. It’s hard work.”
Hayden has been up to the challenge since he moved to Chicago from Madison, Wisconsin, in 2012 and took a job in the operations department at Wintrust Mortgage.
“I was on the post-closing team, which gave me a good understanding of mortgage documents, the process and what’s required on the back end,” he recalls. “More importantly, it gave me insight into operations folks because most salespeople have never worked an operations job. It’s important to have those relationships, so deals move quickly and smoothly.”
Three years later, Hayden’s career changed course after meeting a Wintrust top producer, Daryn Peterson, at a Habitat for Humanity volunteer day build. “Did you ever think about getting into the sales side?” Peterson asked him. “Probably not,” Hayden, then 25, recalls telling him. “I don’t like most salespeople.” But as he got to know Peterson, he became excited about the opportunity and joined his team.
“The team really focused on relationship building and long-term growth, not just short- term lead generation,” Hayden explains. “It’s what I considered my runway.”
After four years on the team in late 2018, a newly married Hayden realized to achieve his mentor’s level of success by 40, he needed to go out on his own. In 2019, he became a sole originator with Blueleaf Lending, after helping his team move the team there.
Despite COVID, Hayden did fine sales-wise the first year on his own by being purchase business-centered. “I’d have five different scenarios where I was refinancing someone and helped refinance their parents at the same time,” he says. “But I was still closing more purchase volume year over year. That’s how you build a business for years to come. Everyone is always going to have to buy houses. But you cannot always refinance.”
In 2023, Hayden joined Movement Mortgage for its “super competitive ability to do a lot of deals that other lenders can’t do” and its mission-driven values. Movement Mortgage gives back 48% of its profits to the Movement Foundation, a non-profit that helps build charter schools and provide housing education in underserved communities.
Hayden primarily serves clients in Chicagoland and a majority of the Midwest. He also lends Nationwide in California, Florida, the Pacific Northwest and Texas, along with many other states — a direct result of pandemic era relocation business. Hayden is based in the Chicago area with his wife, Shelly, who works in marketing, and their daughter Cora.
Chicago Agent: What is your value proposition?
Josh Hayden: My business is built on communication, transparency and education. I always answer my phone and break down the work to a level the client can understand. Whether they’re a first-time buyer, repeat buyer or investor, I meet them where they’re at, and I’m transparent. I lay out the facts in an easy-to-understand way and put my best foot forward right out of the gate.
CA: What is your strategy for growth?
JH: It’s 100% the referral piece, continuing to build worthwhile, long-term relationships.
CA: What are the greatest lessons you’ve learned in business?
JH: Integrity pays off over time and bad news only gets worse with time. In regard to integrity, I’ve had clients I was working with start talking to another lender, someone giving them what seemed like a better option. I explained, “I cannot tell you who to work with, that’s up to you.” More than a few times, people came back and said, “Hey, that person we were talking to was too good to be true. We want to work with you because you told us what to expect.”
Concerning bad news, real estate deals are messy. It doesn’t matter how good you are at your job. It’s about attacking the bad news. Not only saying, “Here’s the bad news,” but also telling people a solution for it.
CA: Describe a major turning point in your career?
JH: Understanding long-term versus short-term success and wins. I learned it from Daryn. It takes time to build a business. That realization was important.
CA: What do you like most about lending?
JH: It’s fun to help people. Every single client, person, file and house is different. It’s like putting together a puzzle every time.