Bricks and Clicks: Home Mortgages Online

A conversation with LoanTek.com mortgage CEO Craig Goebbel

By Dana Greenlee, Co-Host WebTalkGuys Radio

May 2003 - The first thing you notice about Craig Goebbel, President & CEO of LoanTek.com, is his resonant voice.

Last fall, Goebbel launched and hosts Real Estate Radio, a one-hour talk radio show devoted exclusively to the subject of real estate purchases, sales and mortgage financing. Real Estate Radio is heard on KVI AM 570 in Seattle every Sunday from noon to 2 p.m.

Besides being President and CEO of LoanTek, headquartered in University Place, and hosting the radio show, Goebbel also is on the board of several charitable organizations.

The online mortgage business is starting to heat up. Just this week, the research firm TowerGroup announced that mortgages originated via the Internet will make up more than 12 percent of all mortgages in 2005 from the expected 3 percent share in 2002. Online mortgages will grow to $180 billion in 2005 from $45 billion this year. The overall lending volume should hit $1.538 trillion in 2002.

Goebbel jokes that, even with increased loan business, writing and radio hosting, he only “works part-time – 12 hours out of 24!” He managed to spare 10 minutes for 10 questions on doing financial transactions on the web and how the Internet is helping homebuyers and his mortgage business at the same time.

Q: What is LoanTek?

Goebbel: LoanTek is a mortgage broker, as opposed to a mortgage banker. We have access to virtually all the mortgage money available in any given market. It allows us to offer a homebuyer the best terms they qualify for. More choices mean more opportunities for success.

Q: How long have you been involved in the real estate industry?

Goebbel: I started 28 years ago. I was in the title insurance business in 1974 in Flagstaff, AZ. I moved over to lending in 1981 and been there ever sense. Going way back, my German immigrant grandfather was a realtor, had his own brokerage all through the depression until he passed away. My mother was also a realtor, so it’s in my blood.

Q: Other than LoanTek, what stands out as highlights in your career?

Goebbel: I was successful as a mortgage loan officer. I learned early on that I really loved helping people get into a home. One of the most enjoyable jobs I had was when I was a Senior Vice President with Capitol Savings. I set up their secondary market department. I was part of the management team that was part of a turn-around effort. Capitol was what we call in the industry a ‘zombie thrift’. It was dead but looked alive because the doors were still open. We turned it around and merged into Great American Bank. While at Great American I was a Senior VP in charge of loan production in three states. The prior year Capitol Savings had ranked 54th out of 60 in the market overall. And in one years time we went from 54th to 17th in the market. I really enjoyed that! Last but not least, I loved starting and running Columbia Mortgage Capitol.

Q: Tell us about the transition of changing your name from Columbia Mortgage Capitol to LoanTek.

Goebbel: In 1992, I discovered something that had been around a long time but was new to me – the bulletin board system, an online way for people to communicate with each other. I was fascinated and thought ‘I think we can do mortgages online.’ We started Mortgage Capitol Network, then changed its name to ShelterNet. In 1994 I heard about a program called Mosaic, which grew into Netscape. I realized what that graphical user interface would do and migrated my content from the BBS platform to the World Wide Web. I then created and trademarked the name LoanTek in 1996.

Q: So you went from being a localized mortgage company to a national company since you started focusing on the Internet?

Goebbel: We saw the potential of the Internet. One of the things I tried to accomplish early on is to do business in all fifty states, which we do now.

Q: What’s your overall perspective on how the Internet was going to help grow your business?

Goebbel: Initially, going back to 1995, I believed there was going to be a gold rush to Internet originations because, theoretically, it was going to be extremely convenient and extremely efficient. Six years later and we’re not there yet. We won’t be there for a few more years. It’s going to take the current generation, the Gen-X’ers, to embrace Internet for mortgages.

Q: What can a home shopper do at your website?

Goebbel: It’s one more way to access us 24/7. You can pick your rates, check out fees and mortgage origination, apply online. Anybody with a loan on our system can find out what his or her loan status is. It’s an adjunct. It’s just one more arrow in our quiver.

Q: People trying to get a loan want to have a personal contact. Sounds like you’re trying to marry the power of the web with a real world presence.

Goebbel: Exactly. We’re taking appropriate technology, which is exchanging information, and melding that with personal attention. We can’t always meet a person face to face. So shortly we’ll add live video conferencing to our system as well. That will enhance our relationship with our clients.

Q: What’s your thought on hosting Real Estate Radio every week. How is that adding to your business and what are you trying to accomplish with that?

Goebbel: Real Estate Radio is fun to do for us. It’s a way to get the word out about us. One of the things LoanTek does well with our clients is give them good, reliable information. So we see the radio show as one more component of that. Cut through the baloney that you can run in to, get straight to what makes sense and give the consumer really good information. Part of that is also supporting and being part of the realtor community, because realtors really drive the industry in every major market in the country. My co-host is George Pilant, a partner at Sterling Real Estate.

Q: You’re painting your company as an alternative to the ‘big bank’. That’s kind of a competitive tool against the bigger mortgage companies. Is working with a smaller mortgage company better than working with a big bank?

Goebbel: Well, it depends. Right now we’re small by design. We have five people who are directly associated with mortgage organization processing and closing. Our management team is also five individuals.
We have this boutique and we intend to replicate this boutique in many more markets. We believe that being small is better when it comes to personal attention and taking care of business. Obviously, when we reach our goal, we will be big. But how we behave and operate is more of a corporate culture, a point of view on how we treat our clients. You can get hold of the management team directly. We tell people that if you have a problem, call this number and you can talk to Craig.

Goebbel’s websites are http://www.loantek.com and http://www.realestateradio.net. You can listen to Real Estate Radio on the radio on Seattle’s KVI AM 570 every Sunday from Noon - 2pm. LoanTek's Phone is 1-888-562-6835.

(Editor's note: Dana Greenlee, co-host of the WebTalkGuys Radio Show, writes about technology every Friday in the Index. WebTalkGuys, which features technology news and interviews, can be heard Saturdays from 11 a.m. to noon on KLAY 1180 AM in the Tacoma/Seattle area. Past show and interviews are also webcast via the Internet at http://www.webtalkguys.com).