After three years as a trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Bruce Bufe was ready for a new direction. “I have always been very entrepreneurial and passionate about finance,” Bufe says. “I loved the activity level of trading, but I wanted a career with more stability.”
After 27 years in the industry, Bufe is now a senior vice president of residential lending at Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp., where he serves Chicagoland and beyond from the lender’s Northbrook branch. With over $1 billion in career loan origination volume, Bufe has been a consistent member of the company’s President’s Club for top-producing loan officers.
“Problem solving is my expertise,” Bufe says. “Being able to turn one of the biggest purchases of clients’ lives into a smooth, comfortable transaction is extremely important to me.” His reviews from past clients confirm this, with many praising his professionalism, availability and responsiveness.
From first-time homebuyers to multimillion-dollar borrowers to homeowners seeking reverse mortgages, Bufe works with all kinds of clients. “I have helped clients buy their first condos, starter homes, family homes, lake homes and finally multimillion-dollar homes,” he says. Bufe is also an important resource for real estate agents and financial planners, serving as a reliable source of home financing and offering co-marketing support to grow their businesses.
Bufe believes in being a positive influence on others, from his family to the world’s needy. “I sincerely enjoy helping my kids succeed as well as being there for them when things don’t work out,” he says. With his sister, Bufe co-founded and helps lead the Indian Children’s Angel Network, a not-for-profit organization that serves the children and orphans of exploited women in India.
As Bufe looks ahead, he foresees a continuing need for seasoned loan officers like himself. “As much as we would like to be able to press a button and get a mortgage, it will never really happen like that,” he says. “People still need to talk to an expert, and I’m here to be that expert.”
