Michigan fans will be happy with the results of a ranking of individual loan originators — though there was plenty of action in Illinois.
Originators are the salespeople of mortgage lending. Without them, entire teams of production personnel wouldn’t be needed, closing service providers would be out of business and mortgage servicers would eventually run out of loans to service.
So who is the biggest originator?
According to Scotsman Guide, that person is Daniel Milstein.
The trade publication released its ranking of the top 200 originators on Thursday. In order to qualify for the ranking, loan officers needed to close at least $30 million in mortgages or 100 loans during 2010. Scotsman said it received 700 entries.
Milstein works for Gold Star Mortgage Financial group in Michigan and has a staff of five. He operates as both a mortgage broker and a mortgage banker.
Last year, he closed 1,209 loans for $385 million, according to Scotsman. He managed a more than $10 million increase over 2009.
Next was mortgage broker Thomas Lavalle, who with 1,399 units closed more loans than any other originator. Lavallee, whose company is Mortgage Bancorp Service in Illinois, saw originations climb to $330 million from $297 million a year earlier.
Also in Illinois was Suren Sampat, who closed 876 mortgages for $228 million in 2010 through 1st Advantage Mortgage. Operating as both a broker and a banker, Sampat’s volume was $219 million in 2009.
Shimmy Braun at Guaranteed Rate Inc. in Illinois came in fourth with 722 loan closings for $226 million last year, up from $209 million the previous year. Braun operates as a mortgage banker and a broker.
No. 5 Kevin Lyons originates from Anchor Funding Inc. in California. His volume last year was $221 million, up from the prior year’s $202 million. Last year’s units were 677. Lyons closed his production as a mortgage banker with a staff of two.
