November 24, 2025 • 21 mins
Buying a home shouldn’t require a translator. We sat down with mortgage pro Conor Bodaken to turn industry jargon into plain English and give you a practical roadmap for buying, refinancing, or scaling an investment portfolio. Conor came up through private banking, entered lending during the rate boom, and learned the deeper lesson fast: long-term success comes from relationships, not headlines. He shares how a discovery-first approach, clear expectations, and honest trade-offs help clients move from uncertainty to confident action.
We dig into the myth that every loan is complicated and show how smart planning makes most files straightforward. Conor walks through the steps that matter—credit readiness, document prep, timeline alignment, and when a rate buydown or refinance actually makes sense. For investors and self-employed borrowers, he outlines flexible product strategies that respect real income patterns and cash flow goals. For first-time buyers, he maps out attainable paths to ownership, from down payment tactics to credit habits that improve pricing. The goal is consistent: educate, guide, and advise so decisions feel doable.
Technology shows up as a force multiplier, not a replacement for human judgment. Conor explains how an AI-powered CRM re-engages past clients and warm leads with timely, respectful outreach, freeing him to focus on strategy conversations when they matter most. He also makes a case for early financial education, arguing that the basics of credit, saving, and interest should be taught long before someone applies for a mortgage. The message that frames everything: you are worth it, and with the right plan and team, real estate can be a powerful engine for building wealth.
If this conversation helps clarify your next step, share it with someone who needs a boost. Subscribe for more grounded, local business stories, and leave a quick review to help neighbors find us.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.
SPEAKER_02 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today I have the great pleasureof introducing your good
neighbor, Connor Bodakin, ofConnor Bodoken Mortgage Broking,
or brokering, excuse me.
I've never made that mistakebefore.
How's your day going, Connor?
I'm doing great.
SPEAKER_01 (00:28):
I'm doing great.
Thanks for asking, Nick.
SPEAKER_02 (00:29):
How about yourself?
Doing wonderful.
Uh tell us all about mortgagebrokering.
SPEAKER_01 (00:34):
Well, let me tell you, it's uh there's never two
days that are the same.
I mean, we're we're doing allsorts of things, whether it's
you know, purchasing, uh,refinancing, uh reverse
mortgages.
But I think really what it'smore about, Nick, is it's it's
helping people.
It's genuinely helping peoplewith one of the biggest, if not
the biggest, decision of theirlives buying a home, uh
(00:55):
refinancing it.
And of course, that representsnot only one of the biggest
assets they'll ever buy, butalso one of the biggest loans
they'll ever take out in theirlives.
So a lot of moving parts,definitely all sorts of
different options, layers to thestory, uh, strategy, that sort
of thing.
So that's that's really where Iget to uh get to get my hands on
(01:17):
it.
And I enjoy it genuinely,genuinely helping people through
again, one of the biggest thingsin their lives.
SPEAKER_02 (01:24):
Awesome.
How did you get into um becominga mortgage lender?
SPEAKER_01 (01:29):
So it all started just about five years ago, a
little less.
Um, I I've been in financialservices uh for probably about
12, 13 years now in total.
You know, I used to be inprivate banking and now uh being
in the mortgage broker world, uhI'll be honest, this is
definitely not a a uh a routethat I thought I was gonna go.
(01:49):
Uh it really, it all I was kindof doing some, I had left my
previous job, I was doing somenetworking, and I had the
blessing of meeting uh agentleman who already worked for
the company I work for, uh AslanHome Lending is the name of it.
And and uh luckily he was he,you know, when I kind of told
him a little bit about my storyand and what I was really
(02:10):
looking to do, and and really weconnected on my why, you know,
what the why was behind it,because not so much what I do
for a living, but why I do it.
And and I also write about thesame time as I read the book
Find Your Why by Simon Sinek.
And that was a great guide forme to really look more at,
again, not what the job title isor you know, whether it's
(02:32):
mortgages or finance or whateverthe thing is, but what is it
that drives me and what is thatwhy?
And that why for me was, youknow, finding something where I
was genuinely having a win onboth sides of the table.
So both, you know, helping aclient go through something and
achieve a great goal, and at thesame time having benefit for
both of us uh when it comes tothe finish line.
(02:55):
But then having it to alsosomething tied to the financial
side.
I've always been morefinancially minded.
Uh, I've always been reallyinterested in those different
types of topics in the financialworld.
And so taking that mindset, Iwas uh found myself in a blessed
position where I was connectedwith our CEO and co-founder,
Carrie Gusmus.
(03:16):
We were supposed to jump on formaybe like a 15, 20 minute kind
of meet and greet, kind of see,you know, what is this like?
What's going on?
Uh 45 minutes later, it was itwas a done deal, pretty much.
I I said, we have to make thishappen, let's figure it out.
And and uh I've been off andrunning ever since.
And that was that was about theend of 2020, beginning of 2021,
(03:38):
and uh been up and running eversince.
SPEAKER_02 (03:41):
Uh, would you say that was still the good times?
SPEAKER_01 (03:43):
Oh, yeah.
That was, you know, admittedly,I I will always be the first to
admit uh when I first got intothe industry, and of course,
rates were what they were.
You know, I didn't need to sellthe interest rate or or sell
this or sell that.
(04:03):
It was just as easy as callingfolks and saying, hey, this is
what I do now.
Um, you know, is there have yourefinanced already or do you
need to refinance again?
And and I'll I'll be the firstto admit, Nick, that was not
there was no big skill in that.
But again, I was blessed to bein a company that emphasized
this is not going to besustainable.
(04:25):
We we already know that this isnot something that is gonna last
forever.
And to really develop a truepresence and impact in this
industry, you need to develop apurchase business.
You need to developrelationships with people who
can not only send business, butsome also ways that you can give
back to them and making it moreof a reciprocal relationship.
(04:47):
Where and that's that's luckilythat focus was put into me early
on, uh, even though I could haveeasily not focused on that and
still would have been uhsuccessful from a financial
standpoint, but of course, itwould have just led to uh would
I should say would have led toburnout and probably not even it
(05:08):
lasting in the industry.
SPEAKER_02 (05:11):
Wow.
Yeah.
So what are some myths ormisconceptions in uh lending
people money for homes?
SPEAKER_01 (05:19):
Boy, um, such a great question, but definitely a
loaded question.
I mean, there's I I think reallythe thing that we struggle with
the most, and and you know,myself included sometimes, but
really taking a what appears tobe a complex situation and
making it simple.
I think that's really, you know,there there are definitely,
(05:42):
don't get me wrong, there'sabsolutely certain complexities
to a mortgage loan.
Uh, every, you know, one of ourchief credit officer and chief
compliance officer her her, uh,one of my favorite quotes from
her is in every loan, there isan education.
Sometimes it's just a quicklittle, you know, two-year
junior college, uh, easyprerequisite education.
(06:02):
Sometimes it's a Harvard lawdegree.
So there is absolutely, don'tget me wrong, this can get
complex.
But I think if, you know, one ofthe misconceptions is that every
one of them, every singleopportunity or every single loan
is complex.
And that's not the case, youknow, and and that's on uh
myself, uh as well as just theloan officer to community, to
(06:25):
really deliver a clear andsimple plan to a client that
makes them feel confident, makesthem feel assured that they're
moving forward and they're doingthe right thing, and and
frankly, just making it just alittle less scary, uh,
hopefully, throughout theprocess.
SPEAKER_02 (06:40):
So how are you reaching people in the digital
world today, other than word ofmouth?
Um, what's your strategy for forgetting yourself out there?
Um, not just social media, butmaybe what other outside the box
things, if any, have you haveyou come up with?
You know, right now it and whois your target client?
(07:00):
That's a great question.
SPEAKER_01 (07:02):
Sorry.
Okay, good.
No, good question.
Good question.
And and um, you know, we're kindof in this intersection where
obviously AI is coming into,well, not coming into, it's
here, you know, it's in themarketplace.
It is 100% something that we asa company are diving head into,
uh full on into.
So there's actually literally uhone of the things we're working
(07:25):
on right now, or I'm personallyworking on with our director of
strategy, is uh we're developinga uh basically an AI kind of CRM
engine that is uh interactingwith whether it's past clients
or clients that we've talked toin the past, but it didn't
result in any sort of a loan,actively reaching out to them
and connecting with them, butit's all being done digitally,
(07:47):
it's all being doneelectronically.
And the only time I get uhbasically pinged to come back
into it is if they want to bookan appointment.
I mean, that's the goal, is ofcourse we want to reconnect with
them, get back in front of them.
And same thing, we can do thiswith you know other partners in
our industry that do offerintroductions to us, you know,
like financial planners,realtors, uh CPAs, tax advisors,
(08:11):
certain types of attorneys.
So anyone that can influencethat mortgage decision or that
mortgage transaction, we can usethat same technology to try to
connect with them again viawhether it's email, text, phone.
And you know, here's the thingis as as old school as as a as a
phone call is, that's somethingthat I still very much enjoy
(08:32):
doing.
I will call people.
And I, you know, almost at thispoint in my career, I don't make
any cold calls.
They're all some you know warmconnections from whether it's I
I received your information fromso and so, and they suggested I
give you a call, or again, we'remeeting you know face to face at
some sort of networking event.
SPEAKER_02 (08:50):
So Connor, Connor.
Um, one thing, sorry.
Yeah, I just noticed, and Idon't know how this happened,
but it our live stream wasdisconnected.
Oh no.
And um the good news is is mostpeople don't get to do a
do-over.
Okay, but uh we've got 15 moreminutes at least.
So unless you've got somethingpressing, if if you don't mind,
(09:13):
I'd like to start recordingagain and do this over.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (09:18):
So sorry.
I mean, do we want to do likethe whole thing over or just do
some different questions, orwhat are you what are you
thinking?
SPEAKER_02 (09:24):
Well, I can ask you I can ask you the same questions
and you can answer themdifferently or more concisely if
you like.
Um now that you're you're maybenot be not as nervous as people
are on their first one.
Sure.
But what I don't want is to notdo an interview, which looks
like was about to happen.
And I'm sorry, I've never seenthat happen before.
I don't know if that's becauseof this new Mars format that
(09:46):
StreamYard's using, but I'vedone 130 of these and I've never
had that happen before.
So I just was noticing that it'sstill I'm still looking at a go
live button when I already wentlive.
Yeah.
And there was a glitch whereyour voice went out for a second
and you came back.
And I think that's where we lostthe feed.
Not sure why.
SPEAKER_01 (10:05):
Yeah, I was gonna say it says we're live, at least
on my Facebook, but I don't knowif that's on the same thing.
SPEAKER_02 (10:12):
But let's just for for just in case, and and if you
want to abbreviate this, youcan.
Uh yeah, but I'm gonna go backthrough it again.
SPEAKER_01 (10:21):
Go for it.
Use sorry, throw it in and we'llwe'll figure it out.
SPEAKER_00 (10:33):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.
SPEAKER_02 (10:44):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today I have the great pleasureof introducing your good
neighbor, Connor Bodakin, withConnor Bodakin mortgage,
brokering or lending.
Gosh, I still can't say thatright.
We just did a recording, but forsome reason it got lost.
So if there's a piece of it outthere, sorry, guys.
I just want to make sure thatthis takes.
Um, Connor, tell us all aboutmortgage lending.
(11:07):
And I know you just did this, souh sorry that we're fighting
through it again.
SPEAKER_01 (11:11):
That's that's all right.
Well, we got to get it right,whether it's the first time, the
second time, the third time.
I mean, of course, get it rightat some point in time.
But um, no, we it's uh so again,I'm my name's Connor Bodoc and
I'm with Aslan Home Lending, isthe name of our company.
Uh, but yes, I am a mortgagebroker, mortgage lender, uh,
doing everything from purchases,refinances, reverse mortgages,
(11:34):
you know, really anything in thereal estate financing space.
And that's something that uhI've had the blessing to be able
to do for almost five years now,coming up on five years in
January, uh, was the officialstart day, was January of 21.
Um, and I'll tell you what, uhNick, there's there's no two
days that are the same.
Um, it's it's been a blast.
(11:55):
And really, I think the biggestthing is being in a position to
genuinely help people.
Um, you know, regardless ofproducts and pricing and
interest rates and all this, oror you know, whatever.
I I think my favorite part of itis I get to sit down and have
those initial what I calldiscovery conversations where
I'm getting to know someone, butalso learning about their
(12:18):
overall financial picture.
And really, you know, I've beenin the financial uh industry now
for almost 13 years.
So I've served in some differentroles.
You know, I used to be inprivate banking prior to being
in the mortgage lending space.
And a lot of it is, you know,there's a lot of translatable
skills there that really it justcomes down to having a genuine
(12:39):
care for someone and learningabout them and their story and
their history, but then alsosetting up a great strategy
that's going to make sense forthem.
And that's something that, youknow, uh on the mortgage side, I
really enjoy doing.
I've had the, like I said, thepleasure of doing it for almost
five years now and just been offand running ever since.
SPEAKER_02 (12:58):
In this particular market, um, is there a is there
a is there a transaction thatyou're targeting that that you
maybe you weren't targeting fiveyears ago when you got into the
market?
Um, and as sometimes people areyou're mainly going for refines,
right?
Because interest rates justlowered.
Sure.
Um, or but when interest ratesare higher, uh, you're doing
(13:18):
something different.
And in interim times, whenthey're starting to lower again,
maybe their strategy isdifferent again.
Can you tell us a little bitabout that?
SPEAKER_01 (13:26):
So, you know, here's the thing.
When I when it comes to themarket, Nick, I I really try to
rely less on what's going on inthe market.
And of course, you know, I willalways adapt and find ways to
uh, and I would say our companydoes an amazing job of this of,
you know, adapting andovercoming whatever obstacles
are there.
Good market, bad market, mediummarket, it really is as long as
(13:50):
I'm doing the the next rightthing and I have the correct
activity in place, there is nodoubt in my mind I can still
remain successful, I can stilldo great work for my clients,
and we can put them in asituation that is going to be
financially beneficial to them.
So, in terms of strategy,absolutely, there's always going
to be different strategiesdepending on the specifics of
(14:12):
the market.
But I I was very I was coachedearly on, and thank God I was,
uh, that you know, when I camein and I got my license
officially in January of 21,obviously it, you know, I'll be
the first to admit it didn'ttake a whole ton of skill to
simply just pick up the phone,tell you know, my friends and
family and you know, anyone inmy sphere, I would tell them
(14:34):
what I did for a living, andthat and I would just simply
say, if you own a home, have youalready refinanced?
And if not, are you are youlooking to purchase one?
I'll be the first to admitthere's not a ton of skill in
that.
Um, it's work, but it's notnecessarily skill.
Now, what I again, I was I wasvery, very blessed to be coached
to really build a relationshipbusiness.
(14:57):
And that a relationship businessis based on not only people who
can uh influence that mortgagedecision, you know, such people
such as financial planners,advisors, uh realtors, CPAs, tax
advisors, certain types ofattorneys, you know, develop
those relationships, deepenthose relationships, and and and
hopefully we create a what Ilike to call a client ecosystem
(15:21):
together, where if I have aclient that's presenting a need
for them, I can easily pass thatoff and introduce them just as
much as if they present a needfor me, you know, everything
works vice versa.
So that's really where that canhappen in any market.
Great, again, great interestrates, bad interest rates, uh,
high prices, low prices, youknow.
(15:42):
So that to me is is I would saythe sustainable uh way of going
about it.
But then there's of course alsolittle uh nuances and little
things like utilizing AI and allthe technology that we have at
our fingertips now today to uhstay connected and stay in front
of clients.
So, of course, I would say thoseare the things that we
definitely uh will adapt andagain tweak depending upon what
(16:05):
we're looking at.
But I would say the ideal clientexperience that I'm looking to
create is again working withclients who have a genuine
desire to purchase a home,whether it's for the first time,
or you know, we also have a uh agreat suite of products for
folks like investors, uhself-employed clients that
typically have had uh strugglesin the past getting loans from
(16:29):
elsewhere.
So working with some of thoseniche clients as well.
But uh yeah, that's that's kindof the long and short of it.
SPEAKER_02 (16:38):
Speaking of uh struggles in the past, is there
a hardship or something thathappened in your life that made
you the financial um the focusthat you are today that that
you'd like to share with us?
SPEAKER_01 (16:52):
You know, it's one of those where I grew up in a
very financially blessedsituation, but I think the
biggest thing that I realizedand I was taught early on by uh
by my parents in particular wasthe you know financial
education, which that's one ofmy big passions, Nick, is the
the financial education in ourcountry is really um I'll I'll
(17:15):
just come out and say it, it'svery poor.
Uh, we really don't emphasizeearly enough in life the you
know how to do certain thingslike how just operating a bank
account.
What is credit?
What's a responsible way to usecredit?
We really don't have theselessons early on in life.
I thought, you know, when I wasgoing into college, I thought
(17:37):
everybody kind of just knewthese things.
And when I, you know, as I mademy way and grew up, I realized,
wow, these are the, you know, Iwas in a blessed position where
my parents taught me thesethings.
And I I and don't get me wrong,I learned lessons the hard way.
There was that, I wasn't, I was,I was no saint.
Uh, I had to, you know, bump upagainst some guardrails.
And again, thank God I was in ablessed situation where I didn't
(17:59):
go too far off the rails.
I I get, you know, hit somebumper lanes.
Um, but again, these are thelessons that I learned that I
would like to now pass on tofolks.
Um, frankly, as early on as youknow, ages 12 to 14 is really
where I feel like we should beemphasizing these financial
principles.
So that's you know, really, Ithink where I where I got that
(18:21):
passion and that drive from, anduh what kind of led me to to my
why today.
SPEAKER_02 (18:26):
Connor, what is the big takeaway that you would like
for people that find find you umin a Google search or just
listening to our show?
What do you want them to takeaway from this?
And and con Connor Bodakin homelending.
SPEAKER_01 (18:40):
So, my my big thing is, you know, number one, you
are worth it.
Whether you are scared to buy ahome for the first time and then
have never done it, or maybeyou're getting into the
investment space for the firsttime and have never done it.
Um, one of the things that Ireally like to emphasize is I
come at it from the angle of Iwant to educate, I want to
(19:03):
guide, and I want to advise.
And I and I do that from theheart.
Uh, we really do this in a waythat not only will I ask some
deeper questions and probablysome bigger questions than
you're used to hearing from amortgage broker or a mortgage
lender, but again, it comes fromI want to help with the overall
just holistic financial picture,but also really show uh clients
(19:26):
that this is possible.
You can do this.
And that's I think the biggestthing, one of the things that I
preach uh on frankly, any stageis you can build substantial
wealth through the use of realestate.
And that's really where, again,just even buying, like I said,
buying a home for the first timeor buying your 20th home, there
(19:47):
are all sorts of ways to dothis.
And that's really where I'd saythe biggest takeaway is I would
love an opportunity to help, oreven if you just had a
conversation with me but endedup doing a loan elsewhere.
My hope is that you gainedsomething and I was able to give
you some value along thoselines.
SPEAKER_02 (20:06):
Connor, what is the best way for people to find you
in social media and on yourwebsite and by phone?
SPEAKER_01 (20:12):
So my uh so my information is uh again, Aslan
Home Lending is the name of ourcompany.
You can look us up.
It's aslanhlc.com uh backslashcbodoken.
Um, or you could just go to ourwebsite, you'll find me right on
there.
Um, I also, you know, you canfollow me on Instagram at
ConnorThemortgeguy, or again, myFacebook is just Connor.bodoken.
(20:34):
So first name dot last name.
Uh, but usually the easiest wayto get a hold of me is, you
know, I I get calls and texts.
That's really the biggest way toget a hold of me.
My number, area code415-250-8753.
Please don't hesitate to reachout anytime.
SPEAKER_02 (20:52):
Well, Connor, we really appreciate you being on
the show, and we wish you andyour brokerage the very best
moving forward.
SPEAKER_01 (20:58):
Sincerely, thank you so much for just the invite and
thank you so much for connectingwith me.
I really appreciate you reachingout, Nick.
Um, and again, it's all the bestto you and yours as well.
Sincerely appreciate it.
Thank you so much for theopportunity, and again, thank
you very much for uh inviting meon today.
SPEAKER_00 (21:18):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to gmpfortcollins.com.
That's gmpfortcollins.com orcall nine seven zero four three
eight zero eight two five.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.
SPEAKER_02 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today I have the great pleasureof introducing your good
neighbor, Connor Bodakin, ofConnor Bodoken Mortgage Broking,
or brokering, excuse me.
I've never made that mistakebefore.
How's your day going, Connor?
I'm doing great.
SPEAKER_01 (00:28):
I'm doing great.
Thanks for asking, Nick.
SPEAKER_02 (00:29):
How about yourself?
Doing wonderful.
Uh tell us all about mortgagebrokering.
SPEAKER_01 (00:34):
Well, let me tell you, it's uh there's never two
days that are the same.
I mean, we're we're doing allsorts of things, whether it's
you know, purchasing, uh,refinancing, uh reverse
mortgages.
But I think really what it'smore about, Nick, is it's it's
helping people.
It's genuinely helping peoplewith one of the biggest, if not
the biggest, decision of theirlives buying a home, uh
(00:55):
refinancing it.
And of course, that representsnot only one of the biggest
assets they'll ever buy, butalso one of the biggest loans
they'll ever take out in theirlives.
So a lot of moving parts,definitely all sorts of
different options, layers to thestory, uh, strategy, that sort
of thing.
So that's that's really where Iget to uh get to get my hands on
(01:17):
it.
And I enjoy it genuinely,genuinely helping people through
again, one of the biggest thingsin their lives.
SPEAKER_02 (01:24):
Awesome.
How did you get into um becominga mortgage lender?
SPEAKER_01 (01:29):
So it all started just about five years ago, a
little less.
Um, I I've been in financialservices uh for probably about
12, 13 years now in total.
You know, I used to be inprivate banking and now uh being
in the mortgage broker world, uhI'll be honest, this is
definitely not a a uh a routethat I thought I was gonna go.
(01:49):
Uh it really, it all I was kindof doing some, I had left my
previous job, I was doing somenetworking, and I had the
blessing of meeting uh agentleman who already worked for
the company I work for, uh AslanHome Lending is the name of it.
And and uh luckily he was he,you know, when I kind of told
him a little bit about my storyand and what I was really
(02:10):
looking to do, and and really weconnected on my why, you know,
what the why was behind it,because not so much what I do
for a living, but why I do it.
And and I also write about thesame time as I read the book
Find Your Why by Simon Sinek.
And that was a great guide forme to really look more at,
again, not what the job title isor you know, whether it's
(02:32):
mortgages or finance or whateverthe thing is, but what is it
that drives me and what is thatwhy?
And that why for me was, youknow, finding something where I
was genuinely having a win onboth sides of the table.
So both, you know, helping aclient go through something and
achieve a great goal, and at thesame time having benefit for
both of us uh when it comes tothe finish line.
(02:55):
But then having it to alsosomething tied to the financial
side.
I've always been morefinancially minded.
Uh, I've always been reallyinterested in those different
types of topics in the financialworld.
And so taking that mindset, Iwas uh found myself in a blessed
position where I was connectedwith our CEO and co-founder,
Carrie Gusmus.
(03:16):
We were supposed to jump on formaybe like a 15, 20 minute kind
of meet and greet, kind of see,you know, what is this like?
What's going on?
Uh 45 minutes later, it was itwas a done deal, pretty much.
I I said, we have to make thishappen, let's figure it out.
And and uh I've been off andrunning ever since.
And that was that was about theend of 2020, beginning of 2021,
(03:38):
and uh been up and running eversince.
SPEAKER_02 (03:41):
Uh, would you say that was still the good times?
SPEAKER_01 (03:43):
Oh, yeah.
That was, you know, admittedly,I I will always be the first to
admit uh when I first got intothe industry, and of course,
rates were what they were.
You know, I didn't need to sellthe interest rate or or sell
this or sell that.
(04:03):
It was just as easy as callingfolks and saying, hey, this is
what I do now.
Um, you know, is there have yourefinanced already or do you
need to refinance again?
And and I'll I'll be the firstto admit, Nick, that was not
there was no big skill in that.
But again, I was blessed to bein a company that emphasized
this is not going to besustainable.
(04:25):
We we already know that this isnot something that is gonna last
forever.
And to really develop a truepresence and impact in this
industry, you need to develop apurchase business.
You need to developrelationships with people who
can not only send business, butsome also ways that you can give
back to them and making it moreof a reciprocal relationship.
(04:47):
Where and that's that's luckilythat focus was put into me early
on, uh, even though I could haveeasily not focused on that and
still would have been uhsuccessful from a financial
standpoint, but of course, itwould have just led to uh would
I should say would have led toburnout and probably not even it
(05:08):
lasting in the industry.
SPEAKER_02 (05:11):
Wow.
Yeah.
So what are some myths ormisconceptions in uh lending
people money for homes?
SPEAKER_01 (05:19):
Boy, um, such a great question, but definitely a
loaded question.
I mean, there's I I think reallythe thing that we struggle with
the most, and and you know,myself included sometimes, but
really taking a what appears tobe a complex situation and
making it simple.
I think that's really, you know,there there are definitely,
(05:42):
don't get me wrong, there'sabsolutely certain complexities
to a mortgage loan.
Uh, every, you know, one of ourchief credit officer and chief
compliance officer her her, uh,one of my favorite quotes from
her is in every loan, there isan education.
Sometimes it's just a quicklittle, you know, two-year
junior college, uh, easyprerequisite education.
(06:02):
Sometimes it's a Harvard lawdegree.
So there is absolutely, don'tget me wrong, this can get
complex.
But I think if, you know, one ofthe misconceptions is that every
one of them, every singleopportunity or every single loan
is complex.
And that's not the case, youknow, and and that's on uh
myself, uh as well as just theloan officer to community, to
(06:25):
really deliver a clear andsimple plan to a client that
makes them feel confident, makesthem feel assured that they're
moving forward and they're doingthe right thing, and and
frankly, just making it just alittle less scary, uh,
hopefully, throughout theprocess.
SPEAKER_02 (06:40):
So how are you reaching people in the digital
world today, other than word ofmouth?
Um, what's your strategy for forgetting yourself out there?
Um, not just social media, butmaybe what other outside the box
things, if any, have you haveyou come up with?
You know, right now it and whois your target client?
(07:00):
That's a great question.
SPEAKER_01 (07:02):
Sorry.
Okay, good.
No, good question.
Good question.
And and um, you know, we're kindof in this intersection where
obviously AI is coming into,well, not coming into, it's
here, you know, it's in themarketplace.
It is 100% something that we asa company are diving head into,
uh full on into.
So there's actually literally uhone of the things we're working
(07:25):
on right now, or I'm personallyworking on with our director of
strategy, is uh we're developinga uh basically an AI kind of CRM
engine that is uh interactingwith whether it's past clients
or clients that we've talked toin the past, but it didn't
result in any sort of a loan,actively reaching out to them
and connecting with them, butit's all being done digitally,
(07:47):
it's all being doneelectronically.
And the only time I get uhbasically pinged to come back
into it is if they want to bookan appointment.
I mean, that's the goal, is ofcourse we want to reconnect with
them, get back in front of them.
And same thing, we can do thiswith you know other partners in
our industry that do offerintroductions to us, you know,
like financial planners,realtors, uh CPAs, tax advisors,
(08:11):
certain types of attorneys.
So anyone that can influencethat mortgage decision or that
mortgage transaction, we can usethat same technology to try to
connect with them again viawhether it's email, text, phone.
And you know, here's the thingis as as old school as as a as a
phone call is, that's somethingthat I still very much enjoy
(08:32):
doing.
I will call people.
And I, you know, almost at thispoint in my career, I don't make
any cold calls.
They're all some you know warmconnections from whether it's I
I received your information fromso and so, and they suggested I
give you a call, or again, we'remeeting you know face to face at
some sort of networking event.
SPEAKER_02 (08:50):
So Connor, Connor.
Um, one thing, sorry.
Yeah, I just noticed, and Idon't know how this happened,
but it our live stream wasdisconnected.
Oh no.
And um the good news is is mostpeople don't get to do a
do-over.
Okay, but uh we've got 15 moreminutes at least.
So unless you've got somethingpressing, if if you don't mind,
(09:13):
I'd like to start recordingagain and do this over.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (09:18):
So sorry.
I mean, do we want to do likethe whole thing over or just do
some different questions, orwhat are you what are you
thinking?
SPEAKER_02 (09:24):
Well, I can ask you I can ask you the same questions
and you can answer themdifferently or more concisely if
you like.
Um now that you're you're maybenot be not as nervous as people
are on their first one.
Sure.
But what I don't want is to notdo an interview, which looks
like was about to happen.
And I'm sorry, I've never seenthat happen before.
I don't know if that's becauseof this new Mars format that
(09:46):
StreamYard's using, but I'vedone 130 of these and I've never
had that happen before.
So I just was noticing that it'sstill I'm still looking at a go
live button when I already wentlive.
Yeah.
And there was a glitch whereyour voice went out for a second
and you came back.
And I think that's where we lostthe feed.
Not sure why.
SPEAKER_01 (10:05):
Yeah, I was gonna say it says we're live, at least
on my Facebook, but I don't knowif that's on the same thing.
SPEAKER_02 (10:12):
But let's just for for just in case, and and if you
want to abbreviate this, youcan.
Uh yeah, but I'm gonna go backthrough it again.
SPEAKER_01 (10:21):
Go for it.
Use sorry, throw it in and we'llwe'll figure it out.
SPEAKER_00 (10:33):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.
SPEAKER_02 (10:44):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today I have the great pleasureof introducing your good
neighbor, Connor Bodakin, withConnor Bodakin mortgage,
brokering or lending.
Gosh, I still can't say thatright.
We just did a recording, but forsome reason it got lost.
So if there's a piece of it outthere, sorry, guys.
I just want to make sure thatthis takes.
Um, Connor, tell us all aboutmortgage lending.
(11:07):
And I know you just did this, souh sorry that we're fighting
through it again.
SPEAKER_01 (11:11):
That's that's all right.
Well, we got to get it right,whether it's the first time, the
second time, the third time.
I mean, of course, get it rightat some point in time.
But um, no, we it's uh so again,I'm my name's Connor Bodoc and
I'm with Aslan Home Lending, isthe name of our company.
Uh, but yes, I am a mortgagebroker, mortgage lender, uh,
doing everything from purchases,refinances, reverse mortgages,
(11:34):
you know, really anything in thereal estate financing space.
And that's something that uhI've had the blessing to be able
to do for almost five years now,coming up on five years in
January, uh, was the officialstart day, was January of 21.
Um, and I'll tell you what, uhNick, there's there's no two
days that are the same.
Um, it's it's been a blast.
(11:55):
And really, I think the biggestthing is being in a position to
genuinely help people.
Um, you know, regardless ofproducts and pricing and
interest rates and all this, oror you know, whatever.
I I think my favorite part of itis I get to sit down and have
those initial what I calldiscovery conversations where
I'm getting to know someone, butalso learning about their
(12:18):
overall financial picture.
And really, you know, I've beenin the financial uh industry now
for almost 13 years.
So I've served in some differentroles.
You know, I used to be inprivate banking prior to being
in the mortgage lending space.
And a lot of it is, you know,there's a lot of translatable
skills there that really it justcomes down to having a genuine
(12:39):
care for someone and learningabout them and their story and
their history, but then alsosetting up a great strategy
that's going to make sense forthem.
And that's something that, youknow, uh on the mortgage side, I
really enjoy doing.
I've had the, like I said, thepleasure of doing it for almost
five years now and just been offand running ever since.
SPEAKER_02 (12:58):
In this particular market, um, is there a is there
a is there a transaction thatyou're targeting that that you
maybe you weren't targeting fiveyears ago when you got into the
market?
Um, and as sometimes people areyou're mainly going for refines,
right?
Because interest rates justlowered.
Sure.
Um, or but when interest ratesare higher, uh, you're doing
(13:18):
something different.
And in interim times, whenthey're starting to lower again,
maybe their strategy isdifferent again.
Can you tell us a little bitabout that?
SPEAKER_01 (13:26):
So, you know, here's the thing.
When I when it comes to themarket, Nick, I I really try to
rely less on what's going on inthe market.
And of course, you know, I willalways adapt and find ways to
uh, and I would say our companydoes an amazing job of this of,
you know, adapting andovercoming whatever obstacles
are there.
Good market, bad market, mediummarket, it really is as long as
(13:50):
I'm doing the the next rightthing and I have the correct
activity in place, there is nodoubt in my mind I can still
remain successful, I can stilldo great work for my clients,
and we can put them in asituation that is going to be
financially beneficial to them.
So, in terms of strategy,absolutely, there's always going
to be different strategiesdepending on the specifics of
(14:12):
the market.
But I I was very I was coachedearly on, and thank God I was,
uh, that you know, when I camein and I got my license
officially in January of 21,obviously it, you know, I'll be
the first to admit it didn'ttake a whole ton of skill to
simply just pick up the phone,tell you know, my friends and
family and you know, anyone inmy sphere, I would tell them
(14:34):
what I did for a living, andthat and I would just simply
say, if you own a home, have youalready refinanced?
And if not, are you are youlooking to purchase one?
I'll be the first to admitthere's not a ton of skill in
that.
Um, it's work, but it's notnecessarily skill.
Now, what I again, I was I wasvery, very blessed to be coached
to really build a relationshipbusiness.
(14:57):
And that a relationship businessis based on not only people who
can uh influence that mortgagedecision, you know, such people
such as financial planners,advisors, uh realtors, CPAs, tax
advisors, certain types ofattorneys, you know, develop
those relationships, deepenthose relationships, and and and
hopefully we create a what Ilike to call a client ecosystem
(15:21):
together, where if I have aclient that's presenting a need
for them, I can easily pass thatoff and introduce them just as
much as if they present a needfor me, you know, everything
works vice versa.
So that's really where that canhappen in any market.
Great, again, great interestrates, bad interest rates, uh,
high prices, low prices, youknow.
(15:42):
So that to me is is I would saythe sustainable uh way of going
about it.
But then there's of course alsolittle uh nuances and little
things like utilizing AI and allthe technology that we have at
our fingertips now today to uhstay connected and stay in front
of clients.
So, of course, I would say thoseare the things that we
definitely uh will adapt andagain tweak depending upon what
(16:05):
we're looking at.
But I would say the ideal clientexperience that I'm looking to
create is again working withclients who have a genuine
desire to purchase a home,whether it's for the first time,
or you know, we also have a uh agreat suite of products for
folks like investors, uhself-employed clients that
typically have had uh strugglesin the past getting loans from
(16:29):
elsewhere.
So working with some of thoseniche clients as well.
But uh yeah, that's that's kindof the long and short of it.
SPEAKER_02 (16:38):
Speaking of uh struggles in the past, is there
a hardship or something thathappened in your life that made
you the financial um the focusthat you are today that that
you'd like to share with us?
SPEAKER_01 (16:52):
You know, it's one of those where I grew up in a
very financially blessedsituation, but I think the
biggest thing that I realizedand I was taught early on by uh
by my parents in particular wasthe you know financial
education, which that's one ofmy big passions, Nick, is the
the financial education in ourcountry is really um I'll I'll
(17:15):
just come out and say it, it'svery poor.
Uh, we really don't emphasizeearly enough in life the you
know how to do certain thingslike how just operating a bank
account.
What is credit?
What's a responsible way to usecredit?
We really don't have theselessons early on in life.
I thought, you know, when I wasgoing into college, I thought
(17:37):
everybody kind of just knewthese things.
And when I, you know, as I mademy way and grew up, I realized,
wow, these are the, you know, Iwas in a blessed position where
my parents taught me thesethings.
And I I and don't get me wrong,I learned lessons the hard way.
There was that, I wasn't, I was,I was no saint.
Uh, I had to, you know, bump upagainst some guardrails.
And again, thank God I was in ablessed situation where I didn't
(17:59):
go too far off the rails.
I I get, you know, hit somebumper lanes.
Um, but again, these are thelessons that I learned that I
would like to now pass on tofolks.
Um, frankly, as early on as youknow, ages 12 to 14 is really
where I feel like we should beemphasizing these financial
principles.
So that's you know, really, Ithink where I where I got that
(18:21):
passion and that drive from, anduh what kind of led me to to my
why today.
SPEAKER_02 (18:26):
Connor, what is the big takeaway that you would like
for people that find find you umin a Google search or just
listening to our show?
What do you want them to takeaway from this?
And and con Connor Bodakin homelending.
SPEAKER_01 (18:40):
So, my my big thing is, you know, number one, you
are worth it.
Whether you are scared to buy ahome for the first time and then
have never done it, or maybeyou're getting into the
investment space for the firsttime and have never done it.
Um, one of the things that Ireally like to emphasize is I
come at it from the angle of Iwant to educate, I want to
(19:03):
guide, and I want to advise.
And I and I do that from theheart.
Uh, we really do this in a waythat not only will I ask some
deeper questions and probablysome bigger questions than
you're used to hearing from amortgage broker or a mortgage
lender, but again, it comes fromI want to help with the overall
just holistic financial picture,but also really show uh clients
(19:26):
that this is possible.
You can do this.
And that's I think the biggestthing, one of the things that I
preach uh on frankly, any stageis you can build substantial
wealth through the use of realestate.
And that's really where, again,just even buying, like I said,
buying a home for the first timeor buying your 20th home, there
(19:47):
are all sorts of ways to dothis.
And that's really where I'd saythe biggest takeaway is I would
love an opportunity to help, oreven if you just had a
conversation with me but endedup doing a loan elsewhere.
My hope is that you gainedsomething and I was able to give
you some value along thoselines.
SPEAKER_02 (20:06):
Connor, what is the best way for people to find you
in social media and on yourwebsite and by phone?
SPEAKER_01 (20:12):
So my uh so my information is uh again, Aslan
Home Lending is the name of ourcompany.
You can look us up.
It's aslanhlc.com uh backslashcbodoken.
Um, or you could just go to ourwebsite, you'll find me right on
there.
Um, I also, you know, you canfollow me on Instagram at
ConnorThemortgeguy, or again, myFacebook is just Connor.bodoken.
(20:34):
So first name dot last name.
Uh, but usually the easiest wayto get a hold of me is, you
know, I I get calls and texts.
That's really the biggest way toget a hold of me.
My number, area code415-250-8753.
Please don't hesitate to reachout anytime.
SPEAKER_02 (20:52):
Well, Connor, we really appreciate you being on
the show, and we wish you andyour brokerage the very best
moving forward.
SPEAKER_01 (20:58):
Sincerely, thank you so much for just the invite and
thank you so much for connectingwith me.
I really appreciate you reachingout, Nick.
Um, and again, it's all the bestto you and yours as well.
Sincerely appreciate it.
Thank you so much for theopportunity, and again, thank
you very much for uh inviting meon today.
SPEAKER_00 (21:18):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to gmpfortcollins.com.
That's gmpfortcollins.com orcall nine seven zero four three
eight zero eight two five.
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