2. Copyright Top Agent Magazine
When Capital Bank’s Brad Cohen
wasjust13yearsold,hehadstarteda
door to door auto detailing business
in the Bethesda Palisades. By 16,
he had saved $8,000 and bought
a 1984 Toyota Celica GTS, which
allowed him to expand his business
into other areas. When most kids
were earning spending money by
working at local fast food spots,
Brad had earned enough to pay for
half of his college education.
Eventually, he had over 100 regular
standing clients, a roster that included
the CEO of Discovery Channel and
some other high net worth executives.
By 25, he had sold his client list and
van for $40,000, which he turned into
$400,000 in the stock market. When
he bought the wrong stock on margin,
he lost it all.
The stock snafu didn’t stop Brad from
reachingsuccess.Aftersellingtheauto
detailing business in July 1997, he was
looking for a job in sales when he was
introduced to four mortgage business
owners who encouraged him to give
the mortgage business a try.
When he first got into the mortgage
business, having no experience, one
of the owners asked him how he was
Bradley Cohen
Capital Bank
3. Copyright Top Agent Magazine
going to get business? Brad told him
he would pass out fliers, just as he had
done with the auto detailing business.
That owner looked at him like he had
three heads. His first year, he closed
155loans,148ofwhichwererefinance
loans and he earned $131,000. By
2010, he was ranked #8 in the country
for loan volume in Scotsman Guide,
a leading trade magazine for the
mortgage industry. In the past three
years since he joined Capital Bank,
he’s closed over $600 million in real
estate loans and well over $2 billion in
loans since getting into the business.
This was against his mother’s advice
who thought he should stick with
washing cars and become the “Car
Wash King of America.”
Brad shares, “I’ve always been goal-
oriented. When I was 35, I utilized the
servicesofmyfather,acustombuilder,
and built my dream house that went
$441,000 over budget. I was initially
panicked tying to figure out how to
just make the interest only payments.
When the rates dropped after the
financial crisis in 2008, a refinance
boom ensued allowing me to pay off
more each year and I became obsessed
with getting rid of the mortgage as fast
as possible!”
He says, “It was a very humbling mo-
ment to think you are giving advice
to others and yet you have this enor-
mous payment on a home you re-
fused to cut back on when building.
It took me back to the day when I
lost the $400K in the stock market.
It was a great life lesson that I have
told hundreds of times and used to
help my clients not make the same
4. Copyright Top Agent Magazine
mistake I did. There were just too
many sleepless nights.”
Within five years, as his 40th birthday
present to himself, he wrote his last
check to pay off the mortgage, a
tactic he recommends to homebuyers,
despite common advice to stretch out
mortgagepaymentsaslongaspossible
for the tax benefits. “I would rather
have no mortgage payment than a tax
deduction that doesn’t make that much
of a difference. Most buyers want
a 30 year amortized loan but when
refinancing, I always recommend a
shorter term,” he adds.
WhattipsdoesBradhaveformortgage
brokers who are new in the industry?
“You’ve got to be a self-starter. You
alsoneedtotreatpeoplethewayyou’d
like to be treated. When I was washing
cars, I’d treat the car as if it were my
own and I treat clients’ money the
same way,” he says.
“Everybody has the same tools and is
offering the same interest rates. What
matters is your ability to get the loan
done and how effective you are.”
For more information on Brad Cohen,
visit www.0points.com. Contact Brad Cohen at
BCohen@capitalbankmd.com or (240) 601-7556.
