Broker honored among Rocket TPO’s best

“They say ‘if you want a mortgage, this is your guy’,” he said. “I encourage them not to wait five years before buying a home,” he said, describing how he is able to demystify the loan process for members of the diaspora. “Every Friday, they have a get-together,” he said of community members. “Indians always have these get-togethers. And by Monday, I start getting a lot of calls.”

But it’s not just the immigrant class that sometimes lack a grasp of the mortgage process – a misconception that eludes their reach of the American dream of homeownership, he noted. “Many people have a lack of knowledge,” he said. “They keep thinking that you need so much money and all that. But if they just sit down with any mortgage professional, they will tell them ‘all you need is 3%. And if you are a low income borrower, Rocket is giving 2%. So, all you need is 1%’.”

Indeed, the lender’s ONE+ offering enables certain borrowers to get into a home with as little as 1% down, bolstered with a 2% grant toward the purchase price from Rocket Mortgage. The offer is available for both first-time and repeat homebuyers with no restrictions on where they can live or where they move from. Those making higher than 80% of the median income in the area they’re looking to buy don’t qualify. Deshpande gave an example from his business base, where the median income in Macomb County is $90,800.

Looking toward the future

For all his success, Deshpande acknowledged being hit by last year’s tough and mercurial market. “It did impact me,” he said. “The numbers went down a little bit.”

“We’re building a lot of relationships with realtors,” he said in highlighting one way he’s helping to ensure healthy volume. Being licensed in 12 states doesn’t hurt either, he suggested. “Somewhere, somebody is buying,” he said. “I’m lucky.”