With the ink still wet on his law school diploma, Michael J. Richards, Esq., founder and CEO of Commonwealth Mortgage, LLC, launched immediately into the legal field opening the doors to his private practice in January 1997 at the age of 26.
“I had no clients, no money, and no experience. What could go wrong?” Richards began knocking on doors of mortgage companies and quickly obtained several clients as the real estate bubble began its upward climb. Richards soon had a thriving conveyancing practice and developed an expertise with real estate closings and regulatory compliance.
After seeing so many different mortgage companies operate, thrive or fail, Richards knew what it would take to create a mortgage company that could withstand the pressures of a strict regulatory environment and compete with the smallest and largest lenders out there. The idea was to create a mortgage company different from any other, efficient, with cost savings for the customer.
“I decided to create Commonwealth Mortgage, LLC to be an affiliated company with my legal practice and provide not only low rates, but no-cost closings that nobody could compete with,” Richards says.
Any mortgage company can provide a no-cost closing by increasing the rate, but try doing it while keeping the rate low. With slim margins and a jointly owned conveyancing office for the closings, Commonwealth Mortgage, LLC can beat any broker or lender out there. Richards says, “we typically beat any competitor on the interest rate and do it without charging costs or fees of any kind. People are amazed at what we can do.”
Along the way, Richards transformed the company from a mortgage broker to a direct lender, and now closes loans in its own name and uses its own funds. Richards says this type of operating “cuts out the middleman and provides an even more competitive edge avoiding underwriting, processing and other fees.”
Commonwealth Mortgage, LLC has grown rapidly, notwithstanding transforming to a lender in what became the worst mortgage market in a century. It was first named to the Banker & Tradesman Fast 50 List as one of the 50 fastest growing mortgage lenders in Massachusetts in 2011. In 2012, the company more than doubled that growth, and so far 2013 is off to a similarly blistering start.
Richards may have put the machine together, having blended a mortgage company and law office in an effort to be the most efficient and competitive lender in the industry, but he will always credit his staff for his success. In fact, Richards speaks of one of his law office paralegals, Julie Long, who moved over to a loan officer position and achieved exceptional results. The Scotsman Guide Media recognized Long as number one in the nation for new loan officers and also credited her for being amongst the most successful loan officers in the nation when considering loan volume and number of loans closed during 2011. Long was also recognized by the same source for being amongst the best in 2012. Long and the Commonwealth team have just begun to break records.
Everything that Richards has accomplished began by knocking on doors in an industry that faces new challenges every year. Richards is the kind of guy who has no problem being creative to be the best out there.
