Mortgage guy is what I do. It's not who I am.
I grew up around this business. My mom was a Realtor for over 30 years. My dad was a builder, architect and developer most of his life. And I hated finance class in college — which makes what happened next pretty funny.
The $108,000 house that taught me everything.
In 1998, I bought my first house. I was pre-approved for $200,000 — but my wife and I didn't want the payment that came with a $200,000 house. So I asked our Realtor to show us homes under $150,000.
She took us out and showed us four or five homes. Every one of them was right around $200,000.
When she asked if we liked what we'd seen, I told her the truth: they were beautiful homes — for someone else. They didn't fit our budget, and I couldn't figure out why we were looking at houses that far above what I'd asked for.
Then I understood. The more expensive the house, the bigger her commission. She wasn't looking out for what we needed.
We ended up finding a home on our own. We bought it for $108,000.
The loan side wasn't much better. My best friend from high school was a loan officer and handled my mortgage. We're still great friends — he's actually the guy who got me into this business three years later — but he messed that loan up, and we closed three days late. And like a lot of loan officers who make mistakes, the blame rolled downhill to the processor and the underwriter.
I've never forgotten what it felt like to be on the client side of both of those experiences. Twenty-plus years and thousands of families later, they're still the two rules I run this business on.
"My advice works for you — even when it costs me."
The advisor showing you $200,000 houses when you asked for $150,000 isn't advising you. If the right answer for you is spending less, waiting a year, or structuring things differently than you expected, that's the advice you'll get. I was the client who got upsold. I don't do that to people.
"If a mistake happens on the lending side, it's mine."
We never blame the underwriter. We never blame the processor. Truly — it's never their fault. When you work with Martin Mortgage Group, one person is accountable for your experience, and you're looking at him. That standard is why our team sweats details other teams let slide.
Markets change constantly. The job doesn't.
Since I started, mortgage markets have boomed, crashed, refinanced, recovered and reinvented themselves more times than I can count. Rates have been shockingly low and stubbornly high. Every version of the market convinces people it's the wrong time to make a move.
Listen first. Tell people the truth. Explain their options. Solve problems. Sweat the details. And help people make decisions they feel good about.
That's the job. It was the job in 1998 and it'll be the job in ten years. The people who do it well aren't the ones with a crystal ball — they're the ones who help you understand your own numbers well enough to decide with confidence.
Raleigh is home. Has been for a long time.
Married to Tonya, and thoroughly outnumbered by his daughter Finley, who runs the household and knows it.
Scrambles, destination trips, and an ongoing negotiation with his short game.
Cooking, entertaining, good wine, better bourbon, and long dinners with people worth talking to.
Carolina Hurricanes, through thick and thin. Mostly thick lately.
Host of Beyond the Closing Table — conversations with the people who make real estate in the Triangle actually work.
RRAR events, local causes, and the occasional fundraiser where he talks too much on the microphone.
Nobody does this alone.
Martin Mortgage Group is built so that every part of your experience has an owner. Meet the people who make the Confidence Chain real.
The $108,000 house
The 1998 purchase that became the two rules Michael has run his business on ever since.
Come tell me what you're trying to do.
Twenty-plus years in, the first conversation is still my favorite part of the job. No pressure, no pitch — just your situation and your options, in plain English.