Retail lenders are in search of top-performing loan originators to recoup losses from 2022. Many lenders lost 50% of their 2021 loan volume and value loan originators with personal databases. JVM Lending, a California-based retail lender, has a different approach to boosting business. Instead of relying on loan officers, JVM operates with a “no-loan-officer” model, where all 45 employees hold licenses and handle specific tasks in loan closing.

JVM adopted a new strategy after the 2008 mortgage crisis, releasing all its loan originators and training employees to focus on the jumbo loan market in the San Francisco Bay region. Co-founder Jay Voorhees shared in an interview with HousingWire that during the 2007-2009 crisis, JVM had loan officers but they lacked the expertise to complete the full documentation deals.

In JVM’s new model, business development officers cultivate relationships with real estate agents to generate leads, while client advisors handle leads from borrowers. Mortgage analysts pre-approve buyers, contract desk employees manage incoming contracts and send them to the underwriting team, and closing specialists handle loan processing, communicating with escrow, real estate agents, and buyers to close loans.

According to Voorhees, JVM’s location in the Bay area’s jumbo loan market and its specialized expertise in complex loans differentiate it from others.

JVM, with a 2022 production volume of $624.6 million, experienced a 51% decrease from the previous year’s $1.28 billion, largely due to aggressive price cuts by banks that resulted in a 70% loss of jumbo loan business.

According to Voorhees, the banks undercut JVM by 75 basis points on every product, causing JVM to lose borrowers. However, a recent increase in bank rates, likely due to increased cost of funds, has been observed.

JVM Lending aims to diversify its business in 2023 by focusing on closing loans for investment properties, reducing its dependence on jumbo loans. The goal is to increase investment property production volume to 50% this year, up from its current 10 to 15%. JVM, with a presence in Texas since 2017, sees potential in the growing investment property market and plans to take advantage of it.

JVM Lending aims to diversify its business from relying heavily on jumbo loans by focusing on investment properties. The lender aims to generate half of its production volume from investment properties in 2023, an increase from the current 10 to 15%.

Co-founder Heejin Kim stated that JVM plans to pursue the investor niche by targeting realtors who specialize in investment properties. With increased lead requests in December, up 10% compared to the same period in 2021, JVM is optimistic about reaching its sales goal of $1 billion in 2023.

Voorhees reported a recent upsurge in business in late January and said they are “extremely optimistic” about reaching their sales goal this year.