Robert Mulligan couldn’t have been too surprised that he was recently recognized as HarborOne Credit Union’s Mortgage Originator of the Year for 2009 – he’s won the title eight out of the past nine years. Meant to draw in new business, it’s a competition among the credit union’s 14 originators to see how much dollar volume they can bring in. Mulligan says there’s no great secret to it: If you treat borrowers right, they’re going to tell their friends and family, and before you know it, the customers are coming to you.

Robert Mulligan

Title: Mortgage Originator,

HarborOne Credit Union; Brockton

Age: 50

Experience: 24 years

You started your banking career at the now-defunct Abington Savings Bank. How’d you get that job?

Honestly, my old college roommate was the CFO of Abington Savings Bank. I had been living in Colorado, I came back and he said, “Mully, what are you doing?” They just went public and they were hiring so I jumped on board.

I had been working in Fidelity Investments when I got back, and working in Boston was great and then I said, ‘OK, well, this is an opportunity, could make more money,’ so I went for it.

You took the job without knowing anything about originating mortgages?

There’s training provided, and it’s really a sales position. It’s really how you treat the customer that gets you your business.

Why’d you leave Abington?

At the time, it was kind of a mini-recession, a bump in the road, and the management of that company decided to focus on commercial lending and they shut down the mortgage division, so everyone was let go.

[Choosing to go to HarborOne] was pretty much an easy choice …. There wasn’t an extensive search, I knew this is where I wanted to be.

Looks like you’ve done pretty well here, being the top originator for so many years. How do you do it?

It’s just like anything anybody does, if people treat you well and you get good service and you’re happy with the product, you’re going to tell their friends about it, so that’s going to get more people.

Last year was pretty good for originations for HarborOne [Ed. Note: The credit union saw a 101 percent increase in dollar volume from 2008 to 2009, for mortgages and refinances combined, according to data from Banker & Tradesman parent The Warren Group]. What do you expect for this year, especially with the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit winding down?

Well, it’s the old crystal ball. It’s hard to know. Right now, volume is great, I hope for that to continue. It’s a great time to buy if rates can stay reasonable. Even if the credit expires, it’s a good time to get out there and own a home. 

Where are most of your borrowers moving? New homes, foreclosed properties?

New developments, not so much. Foreclosed properties, yes, people are buying. Sometimes it’s an issue, especially when you’re dealing with out-of-state lenders that own the property, as far as making it a smooth and quick transaction. You have delays in the process.

People are going for the deals right now, under [$400,000] I would say for the most part. We’re starting to get builders saying, ‘OK, I’m going to start my subdivision now,’ since they’ve been on the sidelines.

So, I would say it’s the first-time buyer, looking for under $400,000, probably under $300,000, picking up the foreclosed properties, especially in Brockton. We have a great program, “Buy Brockton,” with benefits for people buying bank-owned or short-sale properties here.

Most of your current customers are first-timers to the home-buying process?

Yeah, and they’re one of my favorite customers because nowadays, as you know, if you don’t get pre-approved, no one’s going to talk to you. So you have that initial contact and you pre-approve them, and you give them the chronology of how this is going to work, and you explain everything to them, it helps relax them so they can get to the fun point of owning a house.

Why are they your favorite?

 Because they’re the happiest. They bought the first home, it’s a high point in life.

Top Five perks of the "Buy Brockton" lender-partnership program:

• Sponsored by MassHousing and the city, the program partners with eight Brockton-area lenders, including HarborOne.
• Open to homebuyers purchasing bank-owned, foreclosed or short-sold properties.
• Provides 100 percent financing and no down payment to borrowers.
• Intended to promote homebuying in areas hard-hit by foreclosure crisis.
• HarborOne says it’s meant more business for participating mortgage lenders.