James Grantis, of Hosper Mortgage, shares his views on leadership and current market conditions
With its mission to be “the best alternative to a traditional bank,” Hosper Mortgage has assisted its clientele by providing flexible terms and fast approval of residential loans. Hosper’s director of investments, James Grantis, even won a place on the 2022 Mortgage Global 100 list that recognizes the leaders driving the industry’s growth and innovation.
Grantis, one of the 25 awardees from Canada, says in this interview with CMP that he does not take personal credit for this achievement and is rather proud of his team’s contributions. He also acknowledges Bharat Masrani of TD Bank and Benjamin Tal of CIBC, two previous Global 100 honorees whose work has influenced Grantis’s career.
Looking at the big picture, he emphasizes the difference between the past and present private lending markets, recalling that the situation six to 10 years ago was much less transparent and consistent.
“Overall, as companies like Hosper and others have sort of aggregated and become semi-institutional in the private space, it’s definitely led to more transparency and a better experience for borrowers,” he explained. Grantis is pleased that despite interest rate increases, the average cost of private mortgage is lower than the rate six years ago when he joined the firm.
To adapt to recent economic shifts, the company is taking on a lower risk by changing loan sizes and the maximum-loan-to-value ratio it sets for a given property or location. “We are realizing this might be the first year where growth is not important. The most important thing is adding defense and strengthening the business,” said Grantis.
As far as leadership is concerned, he believes in setting a good example for both clients and team members, staying humble, learning from mistakes and being accountable for them.
“We’re coming out of a pandemic. We have uncertain economic data, forecast data. It’s been a year where we’ve had to make many, many changes,” he said. “We’re not in a position to say that we have all the answers and we’re not in a position to pretend that we are not going to make any mistakes.”
Grantis also highlighted the need for constant communication internally and externally so both brokers and investors will know what to expect and will not be confused when changes occur.
“A simple email blast is not enough to propagate a change through a network of thousands of clients. So, overcommunication [is a] theme of leadership. And I think you’re much better served to overcommunicate than to under-communicate,” he said.
A similar perspective applies to his advice on how to succeed in the industry. Grantis said it is necessary to meet a lot of people while one is building a client base and to be comfortable seeking and offering help in order to develop reciprocal relationships.