No. 8 VA Volume (2011)

Raymond Fleischmann, associate editor

As published in Scotsman Guide's Residential Edition, August 2012.

As a veteran, John Rodgers knows a thing or two about the military and its service members. As president of Prime Mortgage Lending, Rodgers also knows a thing or two about closing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, a niche that made up a significant portion of his business in 2011.

“A lot of loan officers shy away from doing VA loans, which is a big mistake,” Rodgers says. “Not only are they the easiest loan to do, they’re probably the most forgiving as far as credit requirements go — loan-to-value ratios, debt-to-income ratios, that kind of thing.”

Based in North Carolina, Rodgers closed 434 loans and more than $94.5 million in total volume this past year, both of which were sizeable increases from his figures in 2010. VA loans comprised more than $40 million of his 2011 total volume.

Rodgers says that much of his success can be traced back to his referrals, which are the result of business relationships that he’s developed throughout the past 10 years. Rodgers also has seen a recent surge in purchases, and he anticipates that his business this year may be shaping up to be even better than this past year.

“Right now, [my business] is about 66 percent refis, but I’ve got a huge number of purchases in the pipeline,” he says. “I don’t think you’re going to see a big change in that percentage, just because of the sheer number of refinances, but purchase volume is noticeably picking up.”

View Scotsman Guide’s Top Originators 2011 rankings at scotsmanguide.com/Top2011.