After being introduced to real estate at a young age, Benaisha Poole-Watson continues to dominate in the industry, not only for herself but for the Black community. During her journey from real estate investor to realtor, Watson was able to sell 200 homes in her first year and 350 in her second. To educate more realtors on how she was able to sell that many homes at such a scale, the CEO decided to launch her own brokerage called The Bailey Watson Real Estate Group. Watson is now listed as a top 1 percent realtor in the nation.
The businesswoman did not stop there. After a few years in the game and a ton of success, Watson was approached at a conference and asked if she would be interested in owning a bank. Given her portfolio, the real estate mogul was vetted and became the proprietor of her very own federally chartered, nondepository bank called Prime One Home Loans. Prime One is a direct lender, Fannie Mae-approved mortgage company that services commercial and residential transactions. Since stepping into another part of the home-buying experience, Watson has learned that when you are purchasing a home, there is more than meets the eye.
“It was definitely not easy making that transition. Essentially, as a real estate professional, you deal with a lender. You either work with a broker — someone who is going to gather your information and shop around to connect you with a bank — or you deal directly with a bank. Once you talk to the bank, that is all you know. A lot of people do not know that there are so many moving parts happening behind the scenes. That is how a mortgage company works. Mortgage companies are a very integral part of the homebuying process,” said Watson.
Generally, when you are purchasing a property, there is a surface level idea on how the entire process works. Once a potential buyer passes the first step, they later realize there are a lot more that need to be taken in order to be considered when making such an investment. One of those steps is being preapproved for a loan. That is where Prime One Home Loans comes into play.
“How it usually works is I put my loan process in, it goes through the processor, the processor packages it and with that package, they are required to read everything line by line. They do that because when they send it to the underwriter, the underwriter can go through with a fine tooth comb. After that, we can get to the finish line. If there are any mistakes, the package is just kicked back to the processor or the client, and then you have to go through the process all over again,” stated Watson.
She continued, “It doesn’t matter if you are purchasing a $200,000 home or a $1 million home. You have to go through the same process.”
Since becoming a bank owner, Watson hopes that the Black community learns more about the real estate process and the key elements that go into it. The mogul expressed, “We don’t come from a space of banking. We do not sit at the dinner table and talk to our families about bank policies or anything. So a lot of consumers and real estate professionals do not know about the process prior to applying for a loan.”
Due to building such a great rapport through The Bailey Watson Real Estate Group, the CEO was able to leverage her own network and resources to create a cohesive business ecosystem.
“Because my firm has 250 employees, I was able to leverage my own agents. Most banks do not have that. Most banks have to go out and build those relationships with real estate agents to build that trust. Banks even pay real estate half of their commission just to try and do business with them. I didn’t have to do that. Thank God (laughs). I was able to go back to my team, my tribe, tell them what I was doing and how it was going to get done,” she told REVOLT.
Watson was also able to utilize an unexpected network that scaled her business to great lengths within her first year of opening Prime One Home Loans. That unexpected network was her social media following.
“Unbeknownst to me, it was actually my social media following that was putting money in the pipeline. The first month I launched Prime One, I had over 300 loan applications. My average was 250-300 loans a month during my first year. All of the people didn’t close, but 80 percent of those applicants actually went through a transaction. So the first year, I was able to fund over $1 billion in transactions, which is huge!” noted Watson.
Mortgage banks are essentially institutions that specialize in originating and/or servicing mortgage loans to customers directly. While collectively, these banks may have the same goals, they are not created equal. Banks can vary with the different programs they offer to customers, and there’s also a certain amount of money most banks can lend. Watson made sure that she stood out from the rest when she created Prime One Home Loans.
“What’s unique about my company is that it is nationwide. I offer 1,000 loan programs, and I can go up to $650 million in loans. The average bank only has around seven to 10 loan programs and not going up that high in loan dollars. When I do something, especially when it is Black, I don’t want to create anything halfway. If someone comes to me, they are going to be able to get serviced,” Watson explained.
Furthermore, mortgage banks make sure there are certain rules put in place that others may not be aware of. Some of these rules can restrict certain people from purchasing in certain areas. Such regulations are things to look out for when choosing to work with a mortgage company. Watson was able to shed some light on the matter. She expressed, “With certain mortgage loan companies, they create an overlay. An overlay is when they add on different things to mitigate risk for them. It is not to benefit you. The reason they do that is to lower the chance for people who look like us to buy. The goal is to eliminate and only serve ‘the best fit candidate’ and the cream of the crop. With my mortgage company, I did not create an overlay. You can buy property from anywhere.”
With the mission to narrow the gap of what ownership looks like for the Black community, Benaisha Poole-Watson still encourages young entrepreneurs to chase after their dreams despite what obstacles they may face. The trailblazer wants people to be inspired and take that leap of faith by betting on themselves.
Watson shared, “My best advice is to know that if you have a vision, follow it. I remember a lot of people used to ask me why am I doing this or why am I doing that? These same people are living in two-bedroom homes and they never prospered. They never did anything extraordinary. They were just naysayers. So for other entrepreneurs, elevate yourself. Focus on yourself and eliminate the noise. Be mindful of the people clapping for you and also be mindful of those who are not. The real ones will show up.”
She continued, “I will also say get a mentor. You want to copy the right cat. Nothing in this world doesn’t exist — we just don’t know that it exists. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Just tap into people that have experience in that area, make a connection, and learn from them.”