Why are mortgage firms going bust?

Given such a damning indictment, it’s perhaps not surprising that he saw a “target rich environment” where he could “elevate the professionalism of the industry” and raise the bar.

After working for a couple of different companies, he settled with a business partner. The business flourished for a time until Hensling decided to “go off on my own” after the two fell out and, and together with his sister, founded United American Mortgage in 1993.

The firm, which now employs around 100 people, is “a very sizable mortgage banking and mortgage brokerage platform” in a highly competitive environment, but with most economists now accepting there will be some form of recession, Hensling is determined to adopt a more aggressive approach this time around, even as rates edge ever higher and mortgage demand shrinks.

“Although we didn’t anticipate to what degree the market was going to change, we started to embark on expanding our product set quite significantly and getting into non-QM products as well as adjustable-rate mortgages, and actually establishing relationships with credit unions and some of the other players in the marketplace,” he said.