I'm Brad Cohen, and I have worked for Mason Dixon Funding in Rockville, Maryland since July 1997. I created this biography to share a bit of my personal background with you, and to explain my philosophy towards my mortgage business.  Purchasing a mortgage can be quite an emotional and stressful process (I’m sure you’ve heard the horror stories), but I hope the below gives you an understanding of who I am, my passion for this business, and what you can expect when we work together.

I have lived in Montgomery County for 34 years, and graduated from Walter Johnson High School in 1990. I then went on to study business management and marketing at Ithaca College in upstate New York.

During high school, college, and upon graduation, I ran a very successful auto detailing business called “The Last Detail.” I started this business at 13 years old, carrying two buckets up and down the streets of my neighborhood, knocking on neighbors’ doors to see if they needed their cars washed. 

At 16, I had saved enough money and paid for my first car with cash. I was then able to advertise The Last Detail as an “on-site” detailing service. My van was equipped with 250 gallons of water because I wanted to be able wash and detail cars anywhere at any time. 

Overall, I capitalized on my business maintaining over 100 clients.  Being an extremely detail-oriented person and a perfectionist, my business was very successful.  But even though I loved what I was doing, I wanted more. I decided to sell the business after 12 years and try something new, but I knew I wanted to be in a business that involved interacting with and helping people on a daily basis.

After selling The Last Detail, I realized the opportunities of the real-estate industry. I had grown up in a real-estate family with a custom homebuilder for a father and a real-estate agent for a mother. I thought there was the potential to earn more money, and having been raised in the home buying business,  I knew I had a leg up on the competition.

In July 1997, I met Hal Magruder, Cary Reines, Kenny Kasnett, and Rich Guber, four men who had founded a mortgage company known as Mason Dixon Funding, and who were looking for talented, business-minded professionals to join their team. We all immediately took to one another, and they offered me a job offering mortgages.

My mother, Pam Goldberg, a seasoned realtor in Annapolis, would not send me one deal until I had a year of experience under my belt. This only made me more determined to be successful.  I took on the position with the same tenacity that I did when I ran The Last Detail, and I passed out flyers to neighborhoods twice a week. Even without my mom's help, I closed 155 loans my first year for $21 million dollars in volume. I became number one in the company instantly and have remained in the top for the past eleven years. As a result of my production record, and my ability to train and motivate my co- workers, I was promoted to Vice Presidency status in 2004.

In the beginning, I had no idea how successful I or Mason Dixon would become, but within months I had found my niche and had started outselling my co-workers.  My secret: To offer my clients the lowest possible mortage rate, while providing exceptional service.  Let me explain.    

a.       Offering the Lowest Rates (e.g., “King of the Singles”)

On a regular basis, other mortgage originators ask me, “Brad, what’s your secret?  How do you get so much repeat business?”  My response:  “I don’t try to hit homeruns - I love the singles.”  

What does this mean?  In the mortgage business, a “single” is a mortgage at a low, competitive rate.  A “homerun” is where the broker charges a very high rate and is periodically lucky that an uninformed customer actually purchases it.  Homeruns always leave the customer with a bad taste when they find out they are getting overcharged (or, worse, at closing they find out that they overpaid). 

It is far more productive for me to earn less on each deal (while earning referrals) instead of earning more on each deal (and losing referrals because people are not satisfied when they find out they did not receive the best rate possible). 

For me, doing “well” means getting my clients the most competitive rates.  I absolutely thrive on hearing clients say, “Brad, your rate was the best.”  For me, this is success. 

I’ve become the 94^th-ranked mortgage originator in the United States (see below) by being the “King of Singles.”  If you think about it, this is really the smartest way to develop a loyal following over the long-term (and I’m not going anywhere).  My clients are so happy with the rates and service that I provide that about 60% of my business is referrals and past borrowers.

b.       Free Future Refinancing

What happens if you close a loan and the mortgage rates drop a few months later?  No worries.  I offer my clients no closing cost refinancing for life.  This means you pay absolutely nothing to refinance in the future.  No closing fees, no attorneys fees, no points, no nothing.  You simply enjoy the lower rate (and piece of mind).

c.      Customer Service

You don’t want to worry about your loan closing on time or being left out of the loop.  The benefit of having a team is that I and my assistant are able to handle all of the administrative aspects of your mortgage in a streamlined and efficient matter.  As detail-oriented as I was in my auto detailing business, I am the same way with my mortgages.  We provide constant updates on the status of your loan, and I am always available in either the office or on my cell phone.  Lastly, I pride myself on being able to explain the complicated mortgage process in an easy-to-understand manner, in “plain English.”  For whatever reason (I still can’t quite figure it out), I have an ability to explain this stuff in a way that people understand.

It’s this type of customer service that has earned the public’s attention.  For example, Channel 9’s “Mind over Money” invites me appear monthly as a mortgage expert to share insight on different types of products with callers and to offer advice on the current mortgage market.  Channel 4 News recently had me on as well to talk about today's current market conditions.  I also have been ranked # 49 by Mortgage Originator Magazine for their list of top mortgage originators in the country for 2008 which is up from #94 in 2007 and # 125 in 2006. 

I love my job at Mason Dixon Funding, and look forward to coming into the office every morning.  I pride myself on customer service and I treat everyone as I would want to be treated!  To see what other satisfied clients have said about working together, click on satisfied customers on the home page.   

I currently live in Montgomery County with my beautiful wife Adrienne and our pride and joy, our 3 year old daughter Sedona and the newest member of the family our son Ashton Max born June 23rd, 2009. I love being a dad and coming home to them everyday is the greatest feeling!  Each day just gets better and better!

To find our more, please contact me directly.