Learning From the Best

My Recent Interview With VanDyk Mortgage CEO Tom VanDyk

It’s not every day that the president of a national company, in charge of 93 branch locations scattered across 40 states, will sit down with you and have a chat. But a few weeks back, that’s exactly what Tom VanDyk, founder and CEO of VanDyk Mortgage at large, did for me. In our interview series on “Ask an Expert,” Tom had a ton of insight for both myself and my readers.

Tom’s been in the mortgage business since 1976, beginning his career as a loan originator. After 11 years in that job, he started VanDyk Mortgage in 1987 with two of his associates and never looked back. “We just went out on the street, originating loans, doing pretty much exactly what we’re doing now, calling on real estate agents, attorneys, and financial planners to provide the business,” he says. In ‘91, they got Fannie Mae approval, granting them underwriting authority, and grew from there.

Tom’s seen it all in the industry, from Black Friday shortly after he started the company in 1987 to the brutal financial collapse of ‘07 and ‘08. Honestly, the fact that he and VanDyk Mortgage were able to weather the storm of the recession is pretty amazing — and Tom will tell you he’s all the stronger for it, though we wouldn’t ever want to return to those days. Lucky for him, subprime loans weren’t a massive chunk of the business, so when those went up in smoke, they still lost millions of millions of dollars but managed to survive, and then thrive in the following years.

Over all those years in business, he’s learned a thing or two about leadership. “Always listen to both sides of the story when there’s an issue,” he says. And steer clear of “short-term relationships” when recruiting your team. “Do everything you can to help everybody reach their goals and be successful … do a lot of listening.” After all, he says, if your team is successful, then the company’s going to be successful too.

Wise words from a guy who definitely knows what he’s talking about. To watch or listen to the whole interview, check out my YouTube channel at “Tim Hart,” my Facebook page at “Tim Hart- Loan Officer,” or my podcast, “The HartBeat Show,” wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to Tom VanDyk for taking the time — it really means a lot!