The Private Capital Group

Atlanta Business Chronicle Article

Mortgage broker takes risks for the rich

May 28-June 3, 1999
Reprinted with permission of Atlanta Business Chronicle
By Jim Molis
staff writer

When it comes to getting financing for a house, it isn't always easy being rich. Wealthy individuals are often self-employed without any predictable revenue stream. Their wealth also may be tied up in investments and not readily accessible.

Mark Dodson doesn't worry about whether his clients can afford the homes they want to buy. He sees his job as financing purchases, not telling customers what they should or should not do. Borrowers who cannot demonstrate means to repay a loan under traditional underwriting measurements often go to specialists who secure so-called "jumbo" loans for wealthy applicants. That's Dodson's department. He has been in mortgage banking for eight years, and a year ago he founded a Buckhead company, The Private Capital Group LLC. Among his competitors here are First Mortgage Solutions and Southeast Lending Services. Dodson has financed homes that cost as much as $3.2 million by working with a small group of lenders. Private investor Arthur Weiss met Dodson a few years ago when Weiss sold luxury condominium units to performer Elton John. Dodson financed John's purchase of two units in the Park Place high-rise condominiums on Peachtree Street in Buckhead, said Weiss, who declined to disclose the sale price. Weiss was so impressed with Dodson's handling of the transaction that he later hired Dodson to secure financing for his purchase of a Park Place shell unit next to John's. Dodson helped Weiss get a construction loan to finance the building out of the unit. Dodson secured a permanent loan and then a home equity loan on Weiss' behalf. "He flat knows what he's doing," Weiss said of Dodson.

Including his stint at another company, Dodson, 37, worked on 60 to 70 loans worth a total of $25 million to $50 million in 1998. He declined to disclose exact figures, except to say that his average loan amount is $420,000. He enjoys closing loans that others have turned down. Dodson helped one customer refinance a $750,000 mortgage after the client had been turned down by four or five other lenders because he owed $225,000 in lines of credit, revolving debt and car loans. With Dodson's help, the customer refinanced it as a $1 million mortgage that paid off the first mortgage and the other existing debt. In doing so, he saved the customer several hundred dollars monthly.

Dodson uses an array of loan types, including 100 percent loan-to-value mortgages, which forego down payments as long as the home buyer has enough money to cover the full purchase amount before and after the closing to demonstrate security. One of Dodson's most popular products is the stated income 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Unlike traditional full documentation mortgages, these do not require borrowers to furnish income tax returns. Stated income loans are convenient for borrowers who do not want to take the time to track down income tax returns and other forms of documentation, Dodson said. For example, one customer used a stated income loan so that he did not have to produce the income tax returns for the 28 companies that he owned. In return for less paperwork, stated income loans carry interest rates that are about half of a percent higher than those on full-documentation mortgages, Dodson said. He still tries to secure rates that are closer to those of traditional mortgages. Dodson said that he tries to get the best deal for customers. For example, a stockbroker with a new company in Atlanta asked Dodson to get him a stated income loan to cover the purchase of a $642,500 home. The customer did not think he would qualify for a full-documentation loan and was looking instead at a stated income loan for $500,000, Dodson said. Yet, Dodson reviewed the client's materials and recommended that he go for a full-documentation loan anyway. The client agreed, and Dodson called the underwriter four or five times to structure such a loan. By going with a full-documentation loan for $514,000, the client saved half of a percent in interest and got an additional $14,000 through a higher loan-to-value ratio.

It takes more than financial prowess to work with jumbo loan applicants, attorneys and Realtors said. Wealthy clients often demand a high level of service. It is all about pleasing the customer, Dodson said. "That customer has to be happy when they walk away from that closing table," he said. Dodson's strategy is to do much of the legwork himself. He picks up documents that he needs rather than having busy customers bring them to him, for example. Dodson also keeps customers and Realtors informed during the interval between when a loan application is filed and the closing, said RoseAnne Wager, a sales associate with Northside Realty's office in the Park Place luxury condominiums.

Many of Dodson's deals come through repeat business and referrals. Dodson started his career as a mortgage banker in May 1991 after about nine years in banking. He left Barnett Bank of Atlanta to join Norwest Mortgage Inc.'s Atlanta operations. He had entered mortgage banking amid a refinancing boom. Still, he could not find his niche and was not enjoying his new career. He almost quit mortgage banking after a year. But, the late Rev. Frank Harrington of Peachtree Presbyterian Church persuaded Dodson that things would improve. Dodson switched to another mortgage company soon after his conversation with Harrington. There, he began working on jumbo loans and enjoyed his job again.

He now aspires to make The Private Capital Group one of the top mortgage banking firms in Atlanta. The Private Capital Group hired another loan officer two months ago. Dodson hopes to eventually have five or six loan officers. He also may open an office in Destin, Fla., where many of his clients have vacation homes.


Atlanta Business Chronicle Article Mortgage broker takes risks for the rich May 28-June 3, 1999 Reprinted with permission of Atlanta Business Chronicle By Jim Molis staff writer When it comes to getting financing for a house, it isn't always easy being rich. Wealthy individuals are often self-employed without any predictable revenue stream. Their wealth also may be tied up in investments and not readily accessible. Mark Dodson doesn't worry about whether his clients can afford the homes they want to buy. He sees his job as financing purchases, not telling customers what they should or should not do. Borrowers who cannot demonstrate means to repay a loan under traditional underwriting measurements often go to specialists who secure so-called "jumbo" loans for wealthy applicants. That's Dodson's department. He has been in mortgage banking for eight years, and a year ago he founded a Buckhead company, The Private Capital Group LLC. Among his competitors here are First Mortgage Solutions and Southeast Lending Services. Dodson has financed homes that cost as much as $3.2 million by working with a small group of lenders. Private investor Arthur Weiss met Dodson a few years ago when Weiss sold luxury condominium units to performer Elton John. Dodson financed John's purchase of two units in the Park Place high-rise condominiums on Peachtree Street in Buckhead, said Weiss, who declined to disclose the sale price. Weiss was so impressed with Dodson's handling of the transaction that he later hired Dodson to secure financing for his purchase of a Park Place shell unit next to John's. Dodson helped Weiss get a construction loan to finance the building out of the unit. Dodson secured a permanent loan and then a home equity loan on Weiss' behalf. "He flat knows what he's doing," Weiss said of Dodson. Including his stint at another company, Dodson, 37, worked on 60 to 70 loans worth a total of $25 million to $50 million in 1998. He declined to disclose exact figures, except to say that his average loan amount is $420,000. He enjoys closing loans that others have turned down. Dodson helped one customer refinance a $750,000 mortgage after the client had been turned down by four or five other lenders because he owed $225,000 in lines of credit, revolving debt and car loans. With Dodson's help, the customer refinanced it as a $1 million mortgage that paid off the first mortgage and the other existing debt. In doing so, he saved the customer several hundred dollars monthly. Dodson uses an array of loan types, including 100 percent loan-to-value mortgages, which forego down payments as long as the home buyer has enough money to cover the full purchase amount before and after the closing to demonstrate security. One of Dodson's most popular products is the stated income 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Unlike traditional full documentation mortgages, these do not require borrowers to furnish income tax returns. Stated income loans are convenient for borrowers who do not want to take the time to track down income tax returns and other forms of documentation, Dodson said. For example, one customer used a stated income loan so that he did not have to produce the income tax returns for the 28 companies that he owned. In return for less paperwork, stated income loans carry interest rates that are about half of a percent higher than those on full-documentation mortgages, Dodson said. He still tries to secure rates that are closer to those of traditional mortgages. Dodson said that he tries to get the best deal for customers. For example, a stockbroker with a new company in Atlanta asked Dodson to get him a stated income loan to cover the purchase of a $642,500 home. The customer did not think he would qualify for a full-documentation loan and was looking instead at a stated income loan for $500,000, Dodson said. Yet, Dodson reviewed the client's materials and recommended that he go for a full-documentation loan anyway. The client agreed, and Dodson called the underwriter four or five times to structure such a loan. By going with a full-documentation loan for $514,000, the client saved half of a percent in interest and got an additional $14,000 through a higher loan-to-value ratio. It takes more than financial prowess to work with jumbo loan applicants, attorneys and Realtors said. Wealthy clients often demand a high level of service. It is all about pleasing the customer, Dodson said. "That customer has to be happy when they walk away from that closing table," he said. Dodson's strategy is to do much of the legwork himself. He picks up documents that he needs rather than having busy customers bring them to him, for example. Dodson also keeps customers and Realtors informed during the interval between when a loan application is filed and the closing, said RoseAnne Wager, a sales associate with Northside Realty's office in the Park Place luxury condominiums. Many of Dodson's deals come through repeat business and referrals. Dodson started his career as a mortgage banker in May 1991 after about nine years in banking. He left Barnett Bank of Atlanta to join Norwest Mortgage Inc.'s Atlanta operations. He had entered mortgage banking amid a refinancing boom. Still, he could not find his niche and was not enjoying his new career. He almost quit mortgage banking after a year. But, the late Rev. Frank Harrington of Peachtree Presbyterian Church persuaded Dodson that things would improve. Dodson switched to another mortgage company soon after his conversation with Harrington. There, he began working on jumbo loans and enjoyed his job again. He now aspires to make The Private Capital Group one of the top mortgage banking firms in Atlanta. The Private Capital Group hired another loan officer two months ago. Dodson hopes to eventually have five or six loan officers. He also may open an office in Destin, Fla., where many of his clients have vacation homes.		The Private Capital Group One Buckhead Plaza 3060 Peachtree Road NW, Suite 1020 Atlanta, GA 30305 Office: (404) 240 4067 Toll Free: (866) 301 0918 Fax: (404) 240 4073 Email: information@theprivatecapitalgroup.com Florida and Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee, #244472 and #13499