What does it really take to make homeownership possible for millions of Americans—especially Gen Z, first-time buyers, and families often overlooked by the traditional system? This week, we’re joined by two of the industry’s most passionate voices: Dave Savage and Kristin Messerli, co-founders of FirstHome IQ, a nonprofit on a mission to deliver financial education and empower five million young adults with the tools to become homeowners.

Dave is a legend in mortgage education, known for founding Mortgage Coach and now serving as Chief Innovation Officer at TrustEngine. Over the course of his career, Dave has:

• Conducted over 1,000 interviews with top industry leaders

• Built the Mortgage Coach YouTube channel into a leading training platform for loan officers

• Championed financial literacy as a core mission, believing loan officers are on the frontlines of helping families make smarter financial decisions

• Co-founded FirstHome IQ to tackle the financial literacy gap for Gen Z and first-time buyers

His mantra is simple: Technology won’t replace loan officers—but loan officers who master technology will replace those who don’t.

Kristin’s journey began in social work, where she specialized in serving immigrant and unhoused communities. From there, she launched Cultural Outreach, a groundbreaking multicultural marketing agency, later acquired by NAMMBA. Today, as co-founder of FirstHome IQ, she’s using her voice to bridge the trust gap many consumers feel when it comes to money and financial institutions.

Kristin brings her TRUST Framework and personal experience with financial anxiety into her work, creating tools and strategies that resonate with modern consumers. She believes in radical acceptance, authentic education, and turning complex financial decisions into approachable, confidence-building steps.

• The real state of financial literacy among Gen Z and first-time homebuyers

• Why 5 million young adults are at the center of Dave & Kristin’s vision

• How FirstHome IQ is rewriting the playbook on financial education

• The role of technology, storytelling, and trust in shaping tomorrow’s mortgage industry

• Why relationships—not just rates—will define the future of lending

• The personal stories and leadership philosophies that drive Dave and Kristin

This episode is part education, part inspiration, and all about the mission: building a generation of confident, informed homeowners.

• Mortgage Connect delivers a full suite of innovative mortgage services designed to help lenders and servicers exceed borrower expectations. Learn more at https://www.mortgageconnectlp.com

• Aidium helps mortgage professionals manage leads and relationships with a powerful CRM built for the modern loan officer. Learn more at https://www.thinkaidium.com

• Floify streamlines the loan process with intuitive digital tools for borrowers, lenders, and Realtors—making the mortgage journey faster and easier. Learn more at https://www.floify.com

This episode welcomes an industry original—Khash Saghafi, founder and CEO of Liberty Home Mortgage—to unpack why, even after 25 years in lending, he still believes “It is always a great day.”

Khash isn’t just known for his longevity—he’s built a reputation as the problem solver for homebuyers, whether they have perfect credit or have been turned away elsewhere. His direct-lender model specializes in conventional, VA, FHA, and USDA purchase loans across 45 states, plus rehab, debt consolidation, and options for hard-to-document borrowers.Liberty's core values reflect Khash’s leadership philosophy: Empowering People First. The company fosters a workplace built on open communication, adaptability, initiative, collaboration, and work–life balance—all designed to keep innovation alive while prioritizing well-being.

Khash’s reach extends beyond transactions. With over 800 videos and a loyal YouTube following, he’s created a home-buying headquarters that educates and inspires a broad audience—making the market smarter, one video at a time.

• Why mornings still matter, even in a career that has spanned decades.
  What does “It is always a great day” mean to someone who’s built from the ground up?

• How Liberty handles the toughest cases.
  Conventional, VA, FHA, USDA, debt consolidation—Khash’s team makes the near-impossible happen.

• Culture over everything.
  Liberty’s values aren’t just words—they guide decision-making, innovation, and trust across the organization.

• Why Khash built his brand on education.
  He shares how his YouTube channel became an authentic outreach tool—not just for leads, but for clarity, learning, and connection.

• Advice for emerging leaders.
  From navigating tough deals to building a culture of empowerment, Khash lays out actionable insights for anyone building or scaling in mortgage.

Whether you’re a borrower, originator, or industry leader, this episode gives you practical wisdom from someone who’s still excited to get started each day—NO matter how long he’s been doing it.

• Mortgage Connect delivers a full suite of mortgage services built on innovation and customer focus. Visit https://www.mortgageconnectlp.com

• Aidium powers mortgage professionals with smart CRM solutions that simplify lead management and drive more business. Visit https://www.thinkaidium.com

• Floify streamlines the loan process end-to-end with digital tools that boost efficiency for Realtors, borrowers, and lenders. Visit https://www.floify.com

In this inspiring and refreshingly candid conversation, we step into the shoes of Mariana Martinez, a student-athlete turned mortgage industry insider, whose career journey began as an intern at Easy Mortgage App and evolved into a pivotal role managing operations for the Mike’d Up Show. Born in Mexico and thriving at Texas Christian University, Mariana didn’t follow the typical corporate ladder — she leapt into the deep end of a bootstrap tech startup and learned to swim fast.

From navigating the uncertainty of her first internship to balancing athletics, academics, and professional responsibilities, Mariana shares the real, unfiltered experiences of a Gen Z professional entering an industry often associated with older generations. She opens up about the cultural adjustments, mindset shifts, and personal growth moments that shaped her journey — from overcoming a devastating athletic injury to learning how to thrive under the leadership of driven, unconventional mentors.

Listeners will hear Mariana’s perspective on:

• Taking risks early — saying “yes” before you’re ready and growing into the role.

• The pros and cons of working in a fast-moving, high-expectation startup vs. a traditional internship.

• Lessons from athletics that translate to mortgage teams — teamwork, resilience, and handling change.

• Communicating with industry titans as a young professional without letting the titles intimidate you.

• What Gen Z looks for in mortgage companies — and how leaders can make their organizations attractive to the next wave of high performers.

• Leveraging internships as a launchpad for confidence, career clarity, and even graduate school.

This episode is more than a career story — it’s a guide for leaders who want to connect with young talent, for students wondering how to break into competitive industries, and for anyone who believes fresh perspectives are the fuel for innovation.

Mortgage Connect – A national mortgage services provider offering a full suite of solutions for the mortgage, finance, and real estate industries. Learn more: https://www.mortgageconnectlp.com

Aidium – A next-generation CRM platform built for mortgage professionals, designed to streamline workflows, nurture leads, and close more loans. Learn more: https://www.thinkaidium.com

Floify – The leading point-of-sale solution that simplifies the mortgage process for lenders, borrowers, and real estate agents through secure document management and automated workflows. Learn more: https://www.floify.com

This week on the podcast, we welcome Kate Amor, Senior Vice President and Head of Enterprise Products at Guaranteed Rate, to talk about leadership, trust, and building connection in an industry where relationships are everything.

Kate’s career started right out of college as a mortgage loan officer—a role that gave her firsthand experience in understanding the challenges borrowers face and the deep importance of earning trust at every step. Over time, she advanced into operations, risk, credit, and capital markets, eventually landing in product strategy and development. Today, she leads Guaranteed Rate’s loan product strategy nationwide, shaping the offerings that thousands of loan officers use to serve their clients every day.

But Kate’s story is about more than just products and processes—it’s about building trust that lasts. She shares how she uses authentic leadership, resilience, and energy as her professional “superpower” to inspire those around her and rally teams behind big initiatives. Her bright spark, as she calls it, creates momentum and helps transform obstacles into opportunities for growth and connection.

In this episode, we dive into:

• How trust and authenticity form the foundation of meaningful client and team relationships.

• The power of resilience and mindset in navigating change and evolving housing market cycles.

• Kate’s three pillars for women in mortgage: know yourself, find your tribe, and take inspired action.

• Why leadership isn’t about hierarchy—it’s about empowering others and leaving lasting impact.

• How Guaranteed Rate’s approach to innovation and enterprise products helps create a better experience for both borrowers and loan originators.

Kate also opens up about pivotal moments in her career, from early days of learning the business on the front lines to stepping into executive leadership. She talks about how to show up as your authentic self, the importance of surrounding yourself with people who lift you up, and why success is ultimately about empowering others to improve their lives, their communities, and the ecosystems we serve.

If you’re looking for inspiration on how to grow your career, lead with authenticity, and build relationships that stand the test of time, this episode is one you don’t want to miss.

• Mortgage Connect: Delivering customized solutions across the mortgage lifecycle with best-in-class service and innovative technology. Visit https://www.mortgageconnectlp.com

• Aidium: Helping mortgage professionals thrive with intuitive, modern CRM tools built to manage leads, nurture relationships, and close more deals. Visit https://www.thinkaidium.com

• Floify: A leading point-of-sale platform designed to streamline the mortgage process, from application to closing, making lending faster and easier for everyone. Visit https://www.floify.com

This week on the show, we’re diving into a conversation that connects leadership, capital markets, and representation in mortgage finance. Our guest, Deborah (Deb) Jones, Senior Vice President and Director of Mortgage Secondary and Capital Markets at Citizens, brings over 21 years of experience guiding clients and organizations through one of the most dynamic industries in financial services.

Deb’s career spans multiple housing and economic cycles, giving her unique insight into how mortgage markets shift with interest rates, housing inventory, and national economic trends. As the Head of the Mortgage Bankers Association Secondary and Capital Markets Committee, Deb has been a voice for balanced growth, informed policy, and inclusion in an industry that directly affects millions of homeowners.

In this episode, we cover:

• Where mortgage capital markets are headed in 2024 and beyond – including what rising and falling interest rates could mean for borrowers and lenders alike.

• How inventory shortages and affordability challenges are reshaping mortgage strategies and why underserved markets face unique pressures.

• Why representation matters in leadership and capital markets, and how diversity of thought and experience leads to stronger, more resilient organizations.

• Deb’s professional journey – from building a referral-based client business to leading at the executive level.

• Lessons learned from past market cycles and what today’s professionals can take from them.

Deb also shares why she believes 2024 will be a transition year for the industry and why we may see strategic refinancing for recent high-rate loan vintages. She explains how she and her peers view opportunities for borrowers, lenders, and investors as the market adjusts, and why 2025 might look like a “new normal” for purchase markets.

This conversation is not just about numbers and forecasts – it’s about people, opportunity, and inclusion in one of the most important sectors of the economy. Whether you’re a loan officer, capital markets professional, mortgage leader, or someone simply curious about what drives home financing in America, this episode gives you insights you can put to work right now.

About Our Sponsors

• Mortgage Connect: Delivering customized solutions across the mortgage lifecycle with best-in-class service and technology. Visit https://www.mortgageconnectlp.com

• Aidium: Helping mortgage professionals thrive with intuitive, modern CRM tools built to manage leads, nurture relationships, and close more deals. Visit https://www.thinkaidium.com

• Floify: A leading point-of-sale platform designed to streamline the mortgage process, from applicatio...

This week, we sit down with Andrew Panagos, President of GO Mortgage, for a no-fluff, high-insight conversation on what it really takes to lead a modern mortgage company in today’s shifting landscape. With a career that spans powerhouse brands like Fairway, PHH, Deutsche Bank, and H&R Block Mortgage, Andrew brings over two decades of cross-channel experience—retail, wholesale, direct-to-consumer—and a deep operational mindset grounded in systems, scale, and strategic precision.

As the head of GO Mortgage, Andrew is steering a lean, performance-focused machine. But what sets him apart isn’t just his resume—it’s his ability to zoom in on execution without losing sight of people and vision. From managing billion-dollar pipelines to shaping sales, fulfillment, and servicing workflows, Andrew has lived the grind and seen what separates the good from the great.

In this episode, we get into:

• ️ How Andrew built and scaled multi-billion-dollar lending operations without sacrificing speed or service.

• Why compliance isn’t just a checkbox—but a strategic lever for innovation and market trust.

• Leadership lessons learned from a career leading massive teams and navigating changing markets.

• Tech adoption in mortgage: where it works, where it fails, and how to keep it practical.

• Recruiting the next generation of mortgage talent and building a team that outperforms.

• The case for process, systems, and a “no heroics” culture in high-volume lending.

• What the future of the mortgage industry looks like through Andrew’s lens.

With his background as a Six Sigma Black Belt and Harvard Business School alum, Andrew offers a unique blend of performance engineering and leadership wisdom. Whether you're in the trenches of originations or making executive decisions about growth and tech stack, this episode gives you an inside look at what operational excellence looks like at the top.

About Andrew Panagos:
President of GO Mortgage. Former leadership roles at Fairway, PHH, NOIC, Deutsche Bank, Servion Group, and more. Specializes in building scalable mortgage platforms, managing $4B+ pipelines, and leading with precision and people-first execution.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors:

• Mortgage Connect: A national mortgage services provider offering end-to-end solutions with a focus on compliance, innovation, and customer service.

• Aidium: The all-in-one CRM built exclusively for mortgage professionals. Automate workflows, boost productivity, and close more loans—with less chaos.

• Floify: A leading point-of-sale platform that streamlines the loan process for LOs, borrowers, and real estate agents. From application to closing, it’s mortgage simplified.

On this episode, we sit down with Steve Thomas — a veteran mortgage executive, Navy officer, and now the visionary behind FutureWave Finance, a newly launched minority-owned national correspondent lender. With nearly 30 years in residential mortgage, capital markets, and inclusive financial leadership, Steve brings a perspective rooted in innovation, community empowerment, and bold transformation.

From his early days at Fannie Mae and Countrywide to leading roles at CastleOak Securities and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, Steve’s journey is a masterclass in leadership through changing market tides. Now, as CEO and President of FutureWave, he’s building a company aimed at addressing the next great shift in lending: from a rate-driven market to a product-driven one.

In this episode, we explore:

• How FutureWave Finance is designing the next-gen correspondent model

• What it takes to lead during market shifts, downturns, and reinvention

• The lasting impact of capital markets experience in retail innovation

• Steve’s take on DEI, supplier diversity, and what real inclusion means in lending

• Lessons from a career that spans Wall Street, government-backed institutions, and the Navy

• The strategic shift toward product-focused lending, and why it matters more now than ever

With deep insights into liquidity strategy, pricing execution, and economic change, Steve outlines what lenders need to thrive — not just survive — in today’s mortgage environment.

Meet the Guest:
Steve Thomas is the President & CEO of FutureWave Finance, a new national correspondent lender. Previously, he served as Senior Managing Director at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, where he led mortgage capital markets and co-directed the bank’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. He has held senior roles at CastleOak Securities, Fannie Mae, and Countrywide, and began his professional journey as a Naval Officer. Steve is also a Board Member and Treasurer of Mercy Housing Lakefront, advancing affordable housing and economic equity.

Episode Sponsors

• Mortgage Connect: A leading national mortgage services provider delivering customized solutions that elevate the consumer experience across the mortgage life cycle. mortgageconnectlp.com

• Aidium: Modern CRM and mortgage growth platform helping lenders close more deals by turning pipeline chaos into clarity. thinkaidium.com

• Floify: The industry's leading point-of-sale system, helping loan officers streamline workflows and elevate borrower satisfaction. floify.com

Subscribe now to get every insight, every strategy, and every guest dropping knowledge to move the industry forward.

This week on the show, we sit down with three of the most compelling voices in the mortgage industry—Rick Roque, Brock Cassidy, and Jeremy Potter—who together host the influential weekly show REALFridays. In this dynamic conversation, we unpack the intersection of leadership, media, and strategy, diving into the insights that only come from three decades of combined mortgage, fintech, and proptech experience.

Jeremy Potter, founder of Next Belt Strategies, brings a legal and regulatory edge to the table, shaped by years working in compliance, policy, and strategic leadership roles across the lending ecosystem. His experience spans Norcom Mortgage, Rocket Companies, and now his own firm, where he advises on regulatory clarity, strategic transformation, and housing opportunity through thought leadership and advisory work.

Brock Cassidy, currently Chief Revenue Officer at Newzip, shares his journey from Rocket Mortgage to the cutting edge of referral and agent matching platforms. With deep knowledge of fintech integrations and lender partnerships, Brock outlines how Newzip helps mortgage professionals grow purchase business through high-quality real estate relationships in all 50 states—without competition from portals.

Dr. Rick Roque is a respected banker, technologist, and strategic advisor, bringing decades of leadership in M&A, growth strategy, and industry education. With speaking credits from over 50 mortgage conferences and a prolific publishing career, Rick shares how his vision for consumer-focused innovation has helped hundreds of lenders scale profitably.

We explore the challenges and opportunities of building a relevant media presence in lending, how a weekly show like REALFridays shapes influence and opens doors, and why staying consistent with your message, voice, and content is key to long-term credibility.

You’ll hear:

• What it takes to sustain a podcast and build brand authority

• How to convert a content platform into real business opportunities

• Why YouTube is the most underutilized channel in the mortgage world

• Advice for originators and lenders looking to use media for growth

• Behind-the-scenes of REALFridays: how the trio collaborates and stays real

This episode is more than just podcast talk—it’s about leadership, authenticity, and finding your place in a rapidly evolving industry. Whether you're a loan officer, broker, executive, or aspiring thought leader, this conversation will give you real strategies to stand out.

Thank you to our sponsors:

• Mortgage Connect – A leading national mortgage services provider delivering a full suite of solutions to support the entire mortgage lifecycle. Visit www.mortgageconnectlp.com

• Aidium – CRM built for high-performance mortgage teams. Simplify workflows, connect with leads, and drive more business. Visit thinkaidium.com

• Floify – A powerful point-of-sale platform built to streamline the loan process for borrowers and LOs alike. Learn more at www.floify.com