{"id":49177,"date":"2026-04-22T21:19:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/housingwire-mortgage-rankings-3-los-who-set-the-tone-for-the-broker-channel\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T21:19:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:19:29","slug":"housingwire-mortgage-rankings-3-los-who-set-the-tone-for-the-broker-channel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/housingwire-mortgage-rankings-3-los-who-set-the-tone-for-the-broker-channel\/","title":{"rendered":"HousingWire Mortgage Rankings: 3 LOs who set the tone for the broker channel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brian Cooke wants his company to become the nation\u2019s No. 1 mortgage brokerage for veterans and servicemembers who utilize U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 (VA) loan programs. Less than a year after launching World Home Loans<\/strong>, he\u2019s well on his way to achieving that goal.<\/p>\n

Cooke \u2014 who\u2019s based in Southern California and licensed in 18 states \u2014 has been in the mortgage industry for more than 20 years, including stops at Provident Funding<\/strong> and Movement Mortgage<\/strong>. In 2018, he co-founded SunnyHill Financial<\/strong>, where he became one of the top brokers in the country across multiple loan products.<\/p>\n

About three years ago, he began to chart a new course.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Memorial Day 2023 when I had my all-in declaration that I would direct all my energy, efforts, marketing spend, to help make an impact for vets in America, because a lot of people out there complain that they get taken advantage of. But I wanted to actually do something about it,\u201d Cooke said in an interview with HousingWire<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In his first year of business with World Home Loans, Cooke continues to be a beacon of success. The HousingWire Mortgage Rankings<\/a> show that he ranked No. 7 nationally among the Top Brokerage Originators<\/a> with $252.6 million in volume across 668 loans. The list focuses exclusively on brokered loan production, isolating performance within the broker channel regardless of other origination channels.<\/p>\n

Cooke said his team now has 14 people, including eight processors, and most of their business is tied to purchase lending.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re small, but we do a decent amount of volume \u2014 probably about $500 million a year in VA business,\u201d he said. \u201cFor 90% to 95% of lenders out there, it\u2019s just another box, another program to offer. Who dives into actually training their originators, training their processors on the VA product? Very few.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooke says that World Home Loans currently offers 30-year fixed-rate VA purchase loans at 5.125% with no points, adding that this figure isn\u2019t much higher than recent low points before the conflict in Iran sent rates higher<\/a>. The company also has five-year adjustable-rate VA mortgages at 4.75% with no points \u2014 a product he claims many major lenders don\u2019t offer and many veterans don\u2019t know exists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And the company expects to build more brand awareness in the near future through a pilot commercial partnership with Military.com<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re probably the most authoritative web domain for the military with the amount of traffic they get,\u201d Cooke said. \u201cWe\u2019re working with them to kind of perfect their algorithms for generating leads<\/a>. They want to build a mortgage and insurance marketplace on their website for vets. They selected us for that, which is a milestone for us as we\u2019re going through the ebbs and flows of the commercial partnership and perfecting performance on both ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Successful career transition<\/h2>\n

Vipul Hapani was a client at Vema Mortgage<\/strong> when he realized he could help others in his situation \u2014 first-generation immigrants<\/a> aspiring to live the American dream and own a home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very thankful to my broker for getting me the loan. It struck me: This person is giving happy moments to all his clients. Why can\u2019t I try that?\u201d Hapani said. \u201cThe more I helped people, the more referrals I received. In almost six years in the industry, I have not spent a single dollar on marketing. It\u2019s just word of mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previously a physical therapist, Hapani brought a personalized approach and multitasking skills to his new career. He scaled rapidly at Vema, securing state licenses and recruiting loan officers<\/a> before eventually becoming an equity partner.<\/p>\n

His rapid growth propelled him to become one of the top brokerage originators in the country in 2025. Hapani ranked No. 3 with $351.5 million in volume across 739 loans, according to HousingWire\u2019s rankings.<\/p>\n

Hapani considers purchase loans his bread and butter, noting that refinances ebb and flow with industry cyclicality. That means maintaining close relationships with real estate agents<\/a> \u2014 the partners who \u201cwill feed you when the market slows down.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he focuses heavily on conventional loans, Hapani has also started originating home equity and non-QM<\/a> products.<\/p>\n

His borrowers are primarily within the Asian community, with an average home price of $600,000 to $700,000 in the mid-tier housing market. Based in Charlotte<\/a>, Hapani noted that supply issues in North Carolina\u2019s largest market eased significantly in 2025 compared to previous years.<\/p>\n

Builders came into the market with a lot of inventory they couldn\u2019t move, so they threw in plenty of incentives<\/a> for borrowers. \u201cThe Charlotte and Raleigh markets are currently oversupplied. There are more sellers on the market compared to buyers right now,\u201d Hapani said.<\/p>\n

His service doesn\u2019t end at the closing table. He follows up with clients three weeks after closing to ensure their payment accounts are set up, checks in every six months and conducts annual reviews. For example, he\u2019ll go over their home value, calculate how much equity<\/a> they have and determine if they need further financial help.<\/p>\n

To close loans efficiently, Hapani employs a processing team of nine but relies heavily on lender underwriting teams, who reduce his workload by an estimated 60%. \u201cMy main focus is looking at the client\u2019s profile to see if they qualify and what options I can offer them,\u201d Hapani said.<\/p>\n

Carving out a niche<\/h2>\n

Similar to Hapani, top loan officer Thuan Nguyen<\/a> \u2014 the founder and CEO of California-based Loan Factory<\/strong> \u2014 leads a production machine powered by roughly 10 loan officers. Each of them are supported by an assistant and a processor, with about 30 people focused on the company\u2019s pipeline alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nguyen told HousingWire that he\u2019s able to spend most of his time on marketing<\/a> and building systems rather than on direct client contact, relying on his licensed team to handle day-to-day borrower interactions. Automated email campaigns under his name keep his brand in front of past and prospective clients so that when they\u2019re ready for a mortgage, they come back to him.<\/p>\n

As an immigrant from Vietnam, Nguyen says that while his clientele is diverse in terms of borrower type, ranging from first-time buyers<\/a> to real estate investors<\/a>, about 50% of his clients are Vietnamese.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been so strong in the Vietnamese community after so many years \u2014 a lot of people know me, so that is my strength,\u201d he said. \u201cMost of my clients are conventional loans, and I need to expand that to FHA, VA and jumbo loans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nguyen has been recognized as a top loan officer for several years running. His motivation comes from what he describes as a \u201cpassion\u201d for building better systems and better technology to help people. In HousingWire\u2019s broker rankings, he placed No. 4 with a volume of $304.6 million across 958 loans in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe competition is very tough out there, and we need to work harder to grow our business,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we stop, if we slow down, our business will slow down. In this market, it is not easy to be successful, and I know that, so that is why I\u2019m not hesitating to build up the right team.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brian Cooke wants his company to become the nation\u2019s No. 1 mortgage brokerage for veterans and servicemembers who utilize U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 (VA) loan programs. Less than a year after launching World Home Loans, he\u2019s well on his way to achieving that goal. Cooke \u2014 who\u2019s based in Southern California and licensed in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49177\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}