Ricardo Carrillo is the #1 BiggerPockets Mortgage Lender, and he is also part of the top 100 mortgage brokers in the United States.
From San Lorenzo, California, which is located 15 minutes from Oakland, Carrillo played a lot of video games in high school, to the point that he was president of the video game club at school.
“I had all the consoles and all the video games,” the Bay Area native admits, but when he wasn’t gaming, he was putting money in his pockets.
At age fifteen, Carrillo got a job working at the same retirement home where his mom was a CNA.
“I wanted to start making money so I could buy whatever I wanted,” Carrillo lists as the reason for getting a job when most of his peers were spending time with friends or watching Netflix.
Carrillo didn’t last long at the retirement home, soon taking a job at Whole Foods before securing a position at the Oakland airport.
That gig at the airport began at 3 A.M., but the entrepreneurial-minded Carrillo also earned additional income selling blankets on Amazon, and so while most of America was asleep, he was balancing his airport job with making calls to a blanket supplier in China.
“China was 12 hours ahead of us, so I was on the phone very early,” Carrillo recalls with a laugh, reminiscing on a time that offered numerous lessons, while also instilling discipline.
Seeking more, Carrillo went to work at Chase Bank as a teller.
He eventually got licensed and was promoted to personal banker.
“My goal was to become a financial advisor,” Carrillo says, but that aspiration was derailed when he, along with several coworkers, were unceremoniously fired when their superior stole $150,000 from the banking entity and jetted to Australia.
Undeterred, Carrillo sought to land another job with a major bank, but every time he made it to the final round of interviews, the past incident at Chase Bank kept popping up on his record.
“I got to the last round of interviews with Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, but then, during the last interview, they would ask me about what was on my record, and not hire me,” Carrillo shares.
As a result of someone else’s misconduct, Carrillo was in a precarious position, but as he continued to peruse an array of employment options, he was introduced to the Bigger Pockets podcast, which focuses on helping people realize their real estate dreams.
At the time, the show’s co-host, David Greene, was looking to build out a team for his mortgage company.
Intrigued by the prospect of becoming a mortgage loan officer and helping people get financing for properties, Carrillo took action.
“I left my résumé on his desk, and two months later, I got a random text message from him [Greene],” notes Carrillo, who didn’t have any background knowledge of the mortgage industry.
Still, Greene saw the hunger Carrillo exhibited and offered him an unpaid intern role.
For nine months, Carrillo soaked up information and learned about mortgages and property financing, and then, the company grew massively.
“That’s when David asked me if I wanted to be a mortgage loan officer,” Carrillo says.
From the jump, Carrillo was working sixteen-hour days, fielding calls from clients and doing all he could to help people secure financing on properties.
This daunting schedule continued for the next eighteen months, but by that point, Carrillo became an ace mortgage loan officer.
“Now I run about half of our company’s volume,” he humbly reveals, and for a company that has 70 employees, that figure is undeniably impressive.
At the same time, Carrillo is not content with his progress, simultaneously acknowledging that there is still much he can learn about the mortgage industry, even though he already has proven to extend himself far beyond what other mortgage brokers are willing to do for their clients.
“Most loan officers think that their job is to just get the loan through to closing and get the client financing for the house,” Carrillo says, but he sees his role as much more than that.
“My team and I treat our role as more like that of an advisor. Anyone can work with a loan officer, but to work with someone who can be an advisor and understands what your goals are, that’s what makes what we do unique.”
Carrillo’s approach works, as evidenced by his clients who are building sizable real estate portfolios.
Some of Carrillo’s clients currently possess thirteen properties under their name, their mission being to acquire and cashflow as many properties as possible in order to create passive income that will allow them to leave their traditional W-2 job.
But to secure financing for so many properties, individuals need either a substantial amount of disposable income, or a creative strategy that a mortgage loan savant like Carrrillo can help orchestrate.
As one of the top mortgage loan officers in the entire country, every day Carrillo is searching for clever ways to help his clients take massive action with their real estate endeavors.
But his job also consists of attracting and generating new business, and to do that, a few years back Carrillo took to social media to disseminate his knowledge and expertise.
“This was back in 2020, and no one was catering to young professionals, which is strange, because I knew those people were going to buy houses in the coming years,” Carrillo begins.
“I initially started posting on social media because I wanted to share information and put a face to my name. It was more geared towards creating a brand, and while it has taken a few years to see that work reap dividends, marketing what I do online has certainly been a worthwhile endeavor.”
For prospective homeowners and others looking to acquire more property, Carrillo says that right now is when they should be looking to make a move, despite the impending economic doom that the mainstream media is purporting.
“When clients ask for guidance, I’m not advising them based on what the market is doing,” Carrillo says.
“It’s more a matter of determining at what point the client is ready to purchase, and if the numbers align with that desire.”
For context, Carrillo does not obsess over the current interest rates.
Instead, he determines if his clients can afford a down payment and monthly mortgage expenditure, and if those two things are feasible, that’s when he encourages his clientele to take action.
“That’s because real estate is a long-term play,” the San Lorenzo product remarks.
“If you can comfortably make the monthly payment on your mortgage, then the most prudent thing to do would be to buy the home, live in it, and eventually turn it into an investment property.”
Some of Carrillo’s detractors believe that timing the market is a better approach, that waiting until interest rates decrease is a more effective strategy, to which Carrillo objects.
“The interest rates have already slowly started to come down, and as they continue to come down, that’s going to lead to more buyers entering the market,” he explains.
“With more buyers in the market, the cost of homes will then increase, and so while it will depend on each specific property, for the people who think that a lower interest rate automatically means they’ll be getting a better deal, that’s not true, because home prices will increase, and that might offset any money you save on interest.”
For his part, Carrillo is not claiming to know what the future entails, nor how each specific individual’s narrative will unfold, but what he has learned is that often once people buy their first home or property, then they will begin to set themselves up to have leverage over their financial future.
Again, it’s a long-term tactic employed by Carrillo, but considering that he has helped countless people begin to accomplish their real estate dreams, it’s indisputable that Carrillo has his clients’ best interest at the forefront of everything he does.
“As a mortgage professional, you can make a good living, and that attracts people to the industry, but it also attracts people whose primary concern is not helping clients reach their goals, but instead earn income for themselves,” Carrillo says.
“I’m of the belief that if a mortgage professional takes that approach, they won’t last long in this industry. For me, I always prioritize my clients and what they want. As a byproduct, I’ve been able to find some success, but I can assure you that, as soon as I stop servicing other people and make what I do about me, I will begin to fail, and I don’t want that to happen.”
As someone who is licensed in 44 states and has also facilitated deals for buyers in a bevy of international markets, Carrillo appears poised to maintain his standing as a premier mortgage broker in the United States.
He also has ambitions of one day helping other mortgage brokers navigate the mercurial landscape that is the mortgage industry,
“I want to teach people the same skills that allowed me to do the volume that I’ve done,” Carrillo says.
“Right now, I own four properties, and that would not have happened if I didn’t bet on myself and take a leap into this industry. Therefore, if I can show other people how they too can take control of their financial future, then that will bring me joy and make me feel fulfilled.” QS
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