American Bancshares Mortgage is celebrating 30 years as a lender to aspiring homeowners, a business that has expanded from an office in Hialeah to its national headquarters in Miami Lakes.
The owners, President and Chief Executive Officer John Cosculluela, 59, and Vice President Gina Cosculluela, 55, embody the concept of hometown bankers.
During three decades, they have helped an estimated 60,000 buyers get their first homes, refinance their mortgage or do a reverse mortgage.
The company has survived the 2008 housing market crash as well as threats from brazen fraudsters.
The Cosculluelas grew up in town, met at Dade Christian School and married in their 20s, a union that has lasted 34 years.
After studying premed at the University of Miami, John graduated and got into the mortgage lending business with his father, Juan “Tony” Cosculluela.
Gina joined the firm in 1990, after graduating from St. Thomas University and earning a master’s degree in finance from Barry University.
“We not only work here but we live here too,” she said. “So we have that really big sense of community as well.”
Said John, “In a transient society, we’re stable.”
The company is licensed and lends in 29 states, they said. Their goals for the next 30 years: getting licenses to sell mortgages in the rest of the United States and putting more people in homes.
“We want to continue to expand, and it’s multigenerational,” John said, adding that their firm is one of the oldest independent mortgage bankers in the country.
“Being the number one independent mortgage banker would be pretty cool to put on our list of accomplishments,” Gina said.
They are keeping the business in the family: Son John Cosculluela III is an attorney and is the firm’s general counsel. Their daughter Jewelles Cosculluela, a health coach, is a part of three generations of the family who live in the Loch Lomond neighborhood.
“Our typical client is the first-time homebuyer and they need to be handled [with care],” John said. “It’s a lot of work.
“The type of loans we put them into is fixed rate loans, it’s the most stable for a wage earner,” he said. “They may be coming into the home with minimal savings, sometimes as little as $100.”
The company works to get their clients into government loans that are issued by the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“That’s the bedrock of the national lending system, these government sponsored programs, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans,” John said.
After taking clients from loan origination to closing, American Bancshares will continue the relationship and service many of the mortgages, too.
“Once we securitize them in the secondary markets, we’ll retain the servicing so that the borrower will continue to pay us,” Gina said.
The company also has a wholesale business, where it purchases loans from brokers.
“If there is a [real estate] broker shop down the street or anywhere, really, they can come and bring us that loan and we’ll do all of the underwriting and funding here as well,” Gina said.
Florida is ground zero for financial fraud of all forms, and that includes the mortgage business.
“The biggest threat right now is cyber theft,” John said. “Specifically identity theft. They not only call, they will show up as someone else. … It is alarming how they are able to replicate documents.”
Technology can help prevent theft and allows his team to verify personal information.
“A long time ago we used to ask you for your bank statement,” he said. “So a person with basic skills could modify the bank statement and bring it in. Now we pull it directly from the institution, which removes that gap. Employment can be verified electronically. We don’t rely on paper as much anymore.”
Technology also helps applicants who can apply online for a mortgage and may never need to go into the company’s offices. And if their credit score is high and they can make a 20% down payment, they may be approved for a mortgage in a week.
“You can go right from a closing, fund your home and theoretically have a 30-year relationship with your servicer and never meet anyone,” John said.
He said since he’s been in the business, the economy is potentially facing a fourth recession or down cycle.
His tips for coping?
“Save for a rainy day,” he said. “You have got to have controlled growth, a conservative outlook and you have to be consistent and understand that all cycles have an end.
“No panic moves,” he said. “And lead with a long-term outlook, not a short- term outlook. You can’t be chasing money all the time.
“You need to have a passion for what you do so that you work at perfecting it,” he said. “And in the process, you make money.”
A free service they are providing to the real estate community is a brand-new studio at their headquarters where Realtors and agents can record their podcasts.
“They can open a YouTube account and come in and make their videos,” Gina said.