ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Shaun Utterson loved coaching college soccer. The problem was never the job, it was the math. Climbing the ladder meant uprooting his family every two or three years, and staying put meant waiting a decade or more for someone else's chair to open. Either way, an athletic director he did not control was holding his family's future.
So he and his wife Katy picked Wilmington first and worked backward from there. Real estate investing came before the career change and made the jump survivable, and he walked into lending in July 2021, right as rates climbed and originations fell for the next three years. Six months into building a branch at Garden City Mortgage, he is hiring for mentality over production, teaching clients a tax strategy most high earners have never heard of, and keeping the operation lean on purpose. Today's Margin Maker is Shaun Utterson.
In this episode:
- Why he passes on the 20-goal scorer, in soccer and in hiring
- The tax strategy that made his wife's salary optional
- What a stranger told him at a golf tournament that changed his career
- Why starting in the worst mortgage market in 30 years was lucky
- What he says when he is not the right lender for the deal
- The kind of loan officer he decided in year one he would never be
"We need to find a way to get it done now, and if market conditions change and it becomes easier, then that's just gravy on top." - Shaun Utterson (During Covid)
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:36) - Team Sport To Solo
(03:14) - Real Estate First
(04:23) - The Fifteen Year Question
(08:23) - Starting In 2021
(10:28) - The Hard Part
(12:06) - Beyond The First House
(13:17) - Cost Segregation Explained
(15:18) - Why His Wife Stopped Working
(18:03) - Hiring For Mentality
(25:03) - AI In Mortgages
(30:38) - Increasing Your Margin
Connect with Shaun Utterson:
Website: https://www.loanswithshaun.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-utterson-8a0904211
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_mortgage_lad/
About the Show
Margin Makers is hosted by Bennie Sheally, entrepreneur and insurance agency founder, and co-host Danny Reynolds. The podcast features conversations with founders and operators across the trades, property management, insurance, and service industries who are building real businesses and learning through experience. Each episode focuses on practical lessons around leadership, operations, profitability, growth, and the challenges that come with scaling a business while staying grounded in the work.
Connect with Bennie Sheally:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennie-sheally-1240b340/
Connect with Danny Reynolds:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyreynolds1/
Find Margin Makers Here:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Margin_makers
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/margin-makers/id1887598203
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0VlwVmNIppKpOTsnqBhYRe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marginmakerspodcast/
Produced by UNFLTR
