Seeing the smile on clients’ faces when they get their keys always reminds Michael Felish why he chose a career in mortgage lending.
Felish, a senior loan consultant with New American Funding, joined the mortgage industry in 2020, when rates were at an all-time low, and demand an all-time high. “I rose through the ranks quickly from an entry-level position all the way to a licensed loan officer,” he recounts. Still, he came into the job with extensive sales experience, pitching products ranging from Red Bull to freight and copiers. “Each job taught me a valuable lesson, from understanding the clients’ true needs to finding specific pain points, talking through motivation and directly addressing any concerns, to finally putting it all together,” he says.
He moved from Rate, where he worked under a top-producing branch manager, to New American Funding this past year to grow his own brand. Felish spends most of his weekends visiting open houses to meet hardworking Realtors, stopping by with survival kits. To date, Felish has visited over 1,000 open houses. “Some of my top partners today, I met years ago while visiting their open houses,” he says. “This old school boots-on-the-ground marketing has translated into millions of dollars in closed business.”
Clients appreciate his rapid response time, direct communication and transparent approach. “My mindset when writing a loan is that I eat last,” he remarks. “I want to be able to set the table for not only my clients to succeed, but also my processing team who works the file. If everyone is on the same page, the result is always going to end in favor of the client.”
Felish lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife, Melissa, and son, Maverick, whom he enjoys introducing to the world of sales.
