Bruce’s Background
After prodding from a friends’ father, Bruce Brown took a leap and began his mortgage career in 1995 by starting his first mortgage company in St. Louis, MO. A professional background in sales management allowed Bruce, with no previous mortgage experience, to quickly grow and build a respected company in his market. In fact, in 1999, after only four years in business, his company was named the “Broker of the Year” by the Missouri Association of Mortgage Professionals.
Bruce is Different
Bruce has always approached his business differently than most mortgage originators. “Education, credibility, honesty, and trust with my clients are the keys to my success.” Bruce realized from the beginning that a mortgage is a significant financial tool that most consumers don’t think of as part of their larger financial plan. “Most consumers don’t realize there are a number of ways to structure a 30-year fixed rate loan and without proper consideration of their options they can easily cost themselves tens of thousands of dollars in just the first few years of their 30-year mortgage.”
His Education and Yours
The mortgage industry is rapidly changing. Bruce feels the education of both he and his clients are critical keys to his success. “One of the largest problems I see in the mortgage industry is the lack of thorough training and testing which I believe has played a role in the mortgage meltdown.” “Education at the origination level is critical; without it how can a mortgage professional educate the client to the greater financial issues their mortgage decisions make?”
Bruce holds the most prestigious designation in the industry, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist (CMPS). In fact, in the Kansas City market there are only a handful of mortgage professionals that have achieved the CMPS designation. CMPS professionals must demonstrate financial knowledge and expertise regarding the tax and financial planning implications of various mortgage and real estate investment strategies. “Once a consumer realizes that typically, their single largest debt is their mortgage, their single largest asset is real estate equity, and the critical component of life planning needs and goals is cash flow, the importance of the true professional becomes apparent.”
Bruce is Credible
With education as his foundation and years of satisfied clients using Bruce’s mortgage strategies as a track record, Bruce has earned credibility you won’t find elsewhere. Bruce has appeared as the “Purchase Pro” on the local Fox television affiliate and has media credentials in publications such as SmartMoney, Dow Jones’ MarketWatch, Forbes, Growing Wealth, and more. In April 2008, Bruce was named “Person of the Week” by MortgageOrb.com, a content website for real estate professionals. Bruce is also the Founder of The Mortgage Advice Forums (www.mortgageadviceforums.com), an industry first consumer website where over 200 CMPS certified mortgage professionals provide free advice on a variety of mortgage topics. His background and thorough knowledge of credit issues alone has saved clients untold thousands in lower interest rates and improved loan terms. Bruce is perhaps best known as host of Dollars and Homes, a weekly mortgage and real estate talk show that airs Sunday’s at noon on KCMO Talk Radio 710 in Kansas City.
Bruce is Trustworthy and Honest
In an industry where trust and honesty have taken a huge blow in the past several years, Bruce works extra hard to ensure that his good name and reputation go untarnished. You must be able to trust your mortgage professional. Building a foundation of trust with clients is critical. Bruce does this by going the extra mile to educate his clients; backing his advice with third-party references and utilizing the latest technology to make the mortgage process as smooth and easy as possible. Sound advice on float vs. lock strategies backed by real-time data is just one example of how Bruce accomplishes this. Passing on knowledge of upcoming economic data reports and how they may affect mortgage rates is another. But nothing speaks more to his relationship with clients better than their own words; so you can rely upon those which he has had a direct impact.
elizabeth SADY
why be in this crazy REAL ESTATE market?
To be completely honest, I absolutely love business but have always enjoyed and really excelled in the direct client relations aspects of my previous careers/jobs. The social side of things. I am a people person and a planner. When my husband Tim and I decided to start working towards starting a family, I need to find a new JOB. My current professional life consisted of boarding an airplane every Monday to travel to a different city and client site, returning Thursday evenings. Though I loved the challenges of the work I was doing, babies don’t really care for this lifestyle. My husband and I would often discuss businesses that would allow us to fulfill our entrepreneurial desires, after tossing around a few options, I was presented with real estate. It was a people person job, had opportunity for me to use my technology & consulting background and it would be flexible for when it was time for a family. With the kind words of support from friends and a threat of my husband being mad at me forever, I went for it. It did not take long to figure out that it was a great fit!
why Kansas City?
I was born and raised in Northland. I enjoy the growth of the area (it has changed tremendously!!) but love that there are still parts of north of the river that I could describe turn by turn as only a person that spent 16 years the first 4 years of their driving life can. J I attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence and lived in Overland Park, Lawrence & Olathe during those years. I had my fair share of exploring and enjoying the Kansas side of life as well. It was not until I started traveling after college that I realized how special Kansas City truly is. A place with wonderful kind people, amazing restaurants, culture in the arts and people, plus very reasonable real estate cost! Kansas City has all the flair of a big city but the home square footage and town charm of the Midwest.
what education is under my belt?
I graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. The business school had a number of courses that taught me about the nitty gritty of business and overcoming the impossible (e.g. Statistics). Back in the day, KU had concentrations for their business administration degrees. Through my work experiences at Citibank and love for math, I found that an information systems concentration was my concentration of choice. This was the start for my passion for the behind the scenes of technology. Which has always come in handy in understanding and questioning how and why technology works. As with many things, one concentration was not enough and I got a second in Psychology.
what was my profession prior to REALTOR?
No need to go back to the paper route days of my youth… after graduating from the University of Kansas I took a position with Deloitte Consulting. Deloitte Consulting is hired by large companies to assist with big changes (e.g. new computer program, acquiring a company). My time at Deloitte (and their clients) was intense, it required a great amount of attention to detail and understanding of the needs and wants of businesses. It was crucial to know how to ask the right questions to help clients succeed. Thinking outside the box was not an option but a requirement. I feel as though the 4 years I spent on the road, up late, under pressure and working nonstop was the best training and education I could have received. Holding the keys to a piece of a billion dollar company’s computer system easily translates to the seriousness of holding the keys to one of people’s largest investments in life.
how do I differentiate myself from other REALTORS?
Whether I am working a couple with young children sell their home quickly and buy their next dream home or an investor to find their next rental property, I bring the honesty and details to make sure they feel confident and comfortable in their purchase. I have taken in the history of how real estate traditionally worked and find ways to improve the process for my clients. It can be as simple as knowing what questions to ask and not being afraid to ask them, or as difficult as being completely honest about the coral paint color in the kitchen. An understanding of the importance and ability to communicate crucial messages that will get a buyer a deal on their dream home or a seller an offer is a quality that makes me different. I also understand when the professionals need to be called in and have built a strong team of professional stagers, photographers, marketing consultants and mortgage loan specialist. My personality and big heart are also features I must mention. I love to make people relax, laugh and be happy. I understand the stress and pressure a real estate transaction puts on a person or family. It is important to me to do all that I can to minimize it.
who do I work with?
In 2011, I sold 8 million dollars of real estate assisting a wide spectrum of clients. I enjoyed leading homeowners in selling their home to upgrade, downsize, or avoid foreclosure through the short sale process. It was also my pleasure to be trusted tour guide and maître ‘d for first time home buyers, repeat buyers, investors and buyers seeking a foreclosure deal.
What do I do besides real estate?
My favorite hobby is good food. I am grateful for the new slang word: foodie. It makes it seem cool. I also enjoy traveling, skiing, soaking up the sun, tending to my herb garden and spending quality time with my husband and two mini Goldendoodles (Cali and Roxi).
