Today we’d like to introduce you to Ken Fogel.
Hi Ken, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story will be different than most everyone’s in that I had spent 21 years working in Minor League Baseball front offices all over the United States and even spent a year in Australia with Baseball Australia.
My last season in baseball was 2019 as there does come a time when the long, long hours and mediocre pay have taken their toll and a change is advisable. We were living in California at the time having moved there from West Virginia where we had spent five years after moving from Copley, Ohio. After much conversation and consideration, it was decided that we would move back to Copley. Which we did in August of 2020. In the middle of a global pandemic.
Once we had settled in, I had the opportunity to have lunch with a good friend of mine, Daniel Helm (a fellow MiLB alum) who told me he was considering going to work for a friend of his that owned a mortgage brokerage in Kansas City but wanted to expand their business to Ohio. Daniel asked me if I was interested in joining them to which my response was, “Why not?”.
After working for that company for several months, both Daniel and I had the opportunity to move to Cardinal Financial, a nationwide company that provided us with better opportunities. So, we made the switch in April of 2022 and have been happy with the change.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest transition for me has been moving from a profession that was unique and challenging and quite interesting on every level to one that simply isn’t. While it does provide its own challenges, they are nothing compared to what one would face in sports.
The other challenge is trying to build a business and reputation in a field that is simply flooded with people doing what we do. They tell you to “differentiate yourself” but the truth is there really isn’t a significant difference in what one mortgage company does compared to another. I reckon about 95% of what we do all other mainstream mortgage companies do. Where we differ is on the margins of some of our products versus theirs and vice versa.
The more successful realtors tend to be inundated with calls and emails from people like me, so I have tried to be very judicious in who I call and what kind of introduction I make. My preference is that it not be cold call but rather a “So and So told me to give you a call” in an attempt to have some commonality to start. That has made it a longer process but one that I believe has created better relationships.
Then, of course, interest rates have doubled, and inventory has shrunk in the last year which creates challenges–to understate things.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a mortgage company and we, like all others, help people buy a home. Be it their primary residence, second home, investment property, or whatever. We provide qualified buyers with the financing necessary to attain whatever goal they have at that moment with residential dwelling.
As I previously stated, differentiation comes in the form of the person offering the product. In my case, nothing that comes my way in this field will ever be too difficult or too time-consuming compared with my previous career. Nothing will faze me. I might get a bit jostled when there are some conditions that the buyer has to meet, but nothing will be too difficult to handle.
Contact Info:
- Website: cardinalfinancial.com/loan-originator/ken-fogel
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/KenFogel2108469
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ken-fogel
Image Credits
Ken Fogel
