Today we’d like to introduce you to David Krebs.
Hi David, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a Miami native, born in Baptist Hospital and raised in Kendall. Although I went to college in North Carolina and worked in cities like Philadelphia and Manhattan, my roots are here in Florida. Finance has always been in my blood, having worked at various banks and financial institutions since 1999. In 2018, I took the plunge and switched from employed to self-employed life. Specifically, I opened my mortgage brokerage, DAK Mortgage, based in Brickell, where I’ve been living and working for several years now.
Brickell is such a vibrant, exciting neighborhood. Having my office based there enables me to help clients, not just in Florida, but all over the world, get mortgage loans to meet their U.S. real estate investment goals. So far, entrepreneurship has been treating me well. I’ve always been an early riser (my father, a Navy Vietnam veteran, instilled in me a deep sense of self-discipline), and I’m usually at my computer with a cup of coffee before sunrise.
In between calls and emails with clients, you can find me on Brickell taking walks with my Boxer dog Kendall, named after my hometown as well as my favorite character on Succession.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Although I thoroughly enjoy self-employed life (I’ll never go back to corporate America!), entrepreneurship comes with its challenges, namely stress and long hours.
In 2019, my partner, a former BigLaw attorney, joined me, which has helped with the workload. However, it’s still just the two of us (with some freelancers here and there), so we’ve been running DAK Mortgage lean and mean.
Our typical workweek is like being on a mental StairMaster. We personally handle each and every mortgage loan file in our current pipeline. At the same time, to keep new deals coming in, we update our website, social media, and e-mail drip campaigns daily, and I attend BNI networking meetings every week.
We’re working longer hours than before (our brains never switch off regarding new marketing ideas). But the tradeoff of being our boss is worth it.
We’ve been impressed with DAK Mortgage, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
DAK Mortgage provides mortgage loans. If you need a loan to purchase or refinance any kind of real estate (residential or commercial), we can help. As a mortgage broker, we act as middle-person between the lender and the borrower. Our client is the borrower, and our job is to match them with the best lender for their unique situation.
What sets me apart from other mortgage brokers is that I used to be an underwriter for major banks for over a decade. In other words, I used to be on the other side of the curtain, so I know what it takes to get a loan application approved.
We, therefore, specialize in deals that have a lot of hair on them. The hairier the better! Specifically, we’ve carved out a niche for helping borrowers with the following tricky scenarios:
– Nonwarrantable condo loans (which is a big issue in Brickell, where several condo projects have active lawsuits regarding construction defects).
– Home loans for foreign nationals and other non-US citizens (we have many clients who are citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the U.K., and even countries like Venezuela).
– Jumbo loans (above the jumbo loan limit in Florida, currently $726,200).
– Super jumbo loans ($3M to $15M).
– Home loans without tax returns and no income verification mortgages (Miami is a gig economy, so these types of loans are ideal for self-employed borrowers).
– DSCR loans and other investment property loans, including short-term rental financing and construction loans for investment properties (given that Florida is a popular vacation destination, many investors are keen on getting into this market).
– Small-balance commercial loans (besides the residential loan programs mentioned above, we also offer commercial loans for multi-family, office, industrial, mixed-use properties, and special-purpose properties).
– Bridge loans (short-term hard money loans are sometimes necessary to compete in South Florida’s hot market).
– Foreclosure bailout loans and debtor in possession (DIP) financing (Florida has long been the epicenter of the foreclosure and bankruptcy activity).
No loan scenario is too tricky for us, and we have creative and outside-the-box loan programs that we can custom-tailor for all borrowers.
What does success mean to you?
Quite simply, I define success as closing a loan for my client because I take pride in solving whatever problems they had.
For example, our client (a self-employed doctor) was under contract to purchase a new home for his family for $6.2M and he was looking to put down the smallest down payment possible. He had previously gone to his bank, but they capped his loan amount at $3M. We introduced him to a private bank with a healthy appetite for higher-leverage super jumbo loans. Our client got his desired $4.96M at 80% loan-to-value and the deal was saved for his family and the realtors.
As another example, our client (an employee of Amazon) was under contract to purchase a high-rise luxury condo in Brickell. His income was fine, but he had been denied by two other lenders due to construction defect litigation by the association against the developer. We placed him with a lender that had the risk tolerance to lend in the building. We got his loan clear to close in only 12 business days, much to the relief of my client and the realtors.
In fact, before coming to us, many of our clients typically had their application for a mortgage denied by another lender, simply because they went to the wrong lender with the wrong risk appetite for their deal.
It brings me great satisfaction to help our clients, who were close to giving up hope, get to the closing table.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://davidakrebs.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dakmortgage
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/David-A-Krebs-155817218603358/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidakrebs/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidakrebs
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-cWbFzPXgj7RKwQ2t3Y8Q
- Other: https://calendly.com/davidakrebs
