Mark Hammond, Broker/Owner

• After graduating from Brigham Young University with a degree in International Economics, Mark started as a loan officer in 1994 and within 2 years was a branch manager and continued in that position for 4 more years. 
• The company he worked for specialized in, shall we say, “Alternative Lending.”  Back then, very few people in the business knew what to do with a client that had late payments on their credit or were self-employed or had income that was difficult to verify.  No matter what the client’s challenges, being a broker, Mark could find the best loan for their situation through a wide web of wholesale lenders that competed for his business. 
• He became an expert in all types of financing, and was a popular “alternative” outlet for many high producing loan officers throughout Utah.  His strength was not only finding the best lender, but also creatively structuring the loan to achieve a better result for the client.  Many times he would receive a referral from another broker, structure it differently, and get it approved with the same lender that had turned it down initially.
• One of the loan officers that referred him clients became the head of a very large bank’s mortgage division over Utah.  That bank wanted to tap into the large market of alternative lending in Utah, and Mark was the first choice to head up the division.
  Mark headed the Alternative Lending Division over Utah for that bank for several years through its merger with another large mortgage company and even larger bank.  The leadership from all of these merged companies grew to trust his experience and his word as he found “homes” for all of the loans the bank couldn’t do. 
• Although he worked to train and develop trustworthy loan officers, he continued to service his clients and developed many more loyal clients.  He worked closely with many bank branches and also with the bank’s “Private Banking” division.  There, he specialized in obtaining “jumbo” and “super jumbo” loans for the bank’s high-net-worth customers.

Brokers vs. Banks

• Mark knows first hand the difference between getting a mortgage from a Bank and getting a mortgage from a Mortgage Broker.  While the bank allowed him to broker loans to other lenders, they began to require him to use their “in house” programs, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEIR RATES WERE BETTER OR NOT.  This did not sit well with Mark.  He had worked hard to gain the trust of his clients, and he refused to offer a higher rate when he knew a lower rate existed outside the bank. 
• Also, he began to realize that banks take advantage of the sometimes blind faith that their clients have in them by marking up their rates to their retail customers, while offering lower rates to their wholesale customers (mortgage brokers).  He heard things from management like, “if we had the lowest rates, we wouldn’t need loan officers.”  Mark could attain better rates for his clients by returning to be a broker than by staying at the bank. 
  Most people don’t realize that a good broker can beat banks’ rates.
• His whole career had been spent researching and “combing the countryside” for the best lenders and programs to meet the needs of his clients, and in January of 2003 he left the bank and started a mortgage brokerage firm of his own, Legend Financial Services, Inc., so he could be uninhibited in this pursuit.  Today Mark still offers personalized service, and you can deal directly with him for your loan today. 

Send him an email or fill out your application right now on this website and join a long list of super satisfied clients.

Apply NOW through the website or call or email to apply 

801-808-MARK (6275)

Mark@LegendFinancialServices.com