Joshua Kahn
Vice President of Lending
Molitor Financial Group
“I like being the guy who has my client’s back, holding their hand from the first conversation until we’re sitting at the closing table together.” More than just words, this statement affirms Joshua Kahn’s philosophy as Molitor Financial Group’s Vice President of Lending. “Most lenders don’t go to closings, but in my opinion, why not see your work all the way through to the end?” he goes on to ask. Kahn’s undeniable commitment to making homebuyers’ needs his top priority is why more than 75% of his business is referral-based. Furthermore, it serves as a testament to his ability to help people understand every aspect of structuring a mortgage as he guides them through it from start to finish.
Kahn’s approach is largely due to the challenges he himself encountered when looking to finance his first home. “My wife and I decided to purchase a home, but the deal was a complete nightmare,” he remembers. “My hard-earned money was put at risk due to an error that the loan officer made, and we ultimately lost $6,500 and the house,” he explains. Vowing to never fall victim to such a snafu again, as well as to protect family and friends from similar complications, Kahn made the transition from restaurant management to financial services and has never regretted the decision. “Sometimes the most positive things in life start out being devastating problems.”
His extensive experience as a steakhouse manager helped Kahn understand that the best customer service requires listening rather than simply selling. “Being good as a lender isn’t just about closing the deal; it’s about making sure that deal is in my client’s interest,” he comments. This is why he and his Molitor colleagues not only show clients the interest rate on their loan, but actually demonstrate how that rate is calculated. As he describes it, “If walking into your neighborhood retail bank is fast food, then consider Molitor fine dining!” This collaborative approach has yielded overwhelmingly positive results, as evidenced by the time a client told him that she and her friend were each referring one another to a “pretty amazing” mortgage broker only to later realize that they were both talking about Kahn!
Kahn credits Molitor President Craig Messman, his former college roommate, with introducing him to mortgage lending as a career. He strives diligently to make each client feel as if they matter, an approach he learned from Howard Katz, President of the Wildfire Division within the restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You, whom he met after graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. That allows his clients, who have ranged from firefighters to National Hockey League players, know that he cares about their perspective. Kahn adds that his role in the industry is multi-faceted; he is as much a motivated rookie who is an active learner as he is a team member, team leader and mentor. “I go to bed every night feeling like I’m making a difference in people’s lives,” he says. “These aren’t just deals I’m trying to close; these are families I’m trying to help.”