Leinan treats college as an individual decision tied to the field a person wants to enter. His son attended and may pursue graduate school, but Leinan points to plumbing and electrical work as strong alternatives for driven people who do not fit an academic route.

The right education path depends on the individual and intended field
Some careers genuinely benefit from university and graduate study
Skilled trades can out-earn many graduate roles
Drive and good advice matter outside the college route

“I think it's an individual choice to be honest with you”
Jeff Leinan · 29:00

“if school's not for you then you know there's certainly a lot of places that you can do really well if you're driven”
Jeff Leinan · 29:30

#college#skilled trades#career choice#education

Hot Take· 1

Hot Take13:30

Mortgage Technology Will Grow, but Borrowers Still Want a Human Guide

Leinan expects technology to reshape borrower sourcing and mortgage workflows without eliminating advisers. He argues that homebuyers still value trust, security, expertise, and coaching through a stressful transaction even when online tools can help them find properties independently.

Technology will change how lenders source borrowers
Homebuyers can search online without completing the whole process alone
Trust and security remain important in consequential purchases
Human coaching reduces stress and helps borrowers navigate complexity

“technology will continue to play a big role”
Jeff Leinan · 14:00

“borrowers still want to connect with people they want that trust Factor”
Jeff Leinan · 14:00

#mortgage technology#human trust#home buying#advice

Explainer· 3

Explainer06:30

Why Mortgage Careers Swing Between Feast and Famine

Leinan describes unusually extreme peaks and valleys in mortgage lending. Busy markets create capacity and turnaround problems, while slow markets require professionals to stimulate demand and source business; those swings also draw workers into the industry and push them out.

High-volume markets create operational bottlenecks
Slow markets shift the challenge toward finding business
Extreme cycles change the industry's workforce size
Leinan expects further right-sizing after the 2020 and 2021 highs

“it's feast or famine as you know”
Jeff Leinan · 06:30

“the Peaks and valleys are really extreme so it causes people to come in and people to leave”
Jeff Leinan · 07:30

#market cycles#mortgage lending#business development#workforce

Explainer11:30

Remote Work Did Not Remove Relationships—It Changed Where They Start

Leinan says mortgage professionals can no longer expect to find several prospects together in an office. People still need connection and problem-solving, but relationship building now happens through social media, phone calls, coffee meetings, and other distributed channels.

Remote work reduced access to traditional office-based prospecting
Workers may miss social rituals while still refusing an office return
Clients continue to value relationships and solutions
Professionals must adapt how and where they establish trust

“you can't walk into an office and find six or seven people anymore you have to go find the people”
Jeff Leinan · 12:00

“people still need to solve problems and they still want connections and relationships it's just how you go about establishing those relationships has changed”
Jeff Leinan · 12:30

#remote work#relationships#social media#mortgage sales

Explainer18:30

The FHA Bot That Replaced a Manual Data-Entry Workflow

Leinan gives FHA case-number requests as a concrete example of Plaza's automation. A task that once required an employee to type fields now runs through a bot that enters the data, receives the case, uploads it, and sends it to the client.

The original workflow depended on repetitive human data entry
The bot completes several connected stages rather than one isolated keystroke
The automated flow ends by returning the result to the client
Leinan says Plaza has placed bots wherever practical

“when you order an FHA case number that request used to come over and somebody would type in all those fields how a bot does…”
Jeff Leinan · 18:30

“then takes the case and uploads it sends to the client all automated”
Jeff Leinan · 19:00

#bots#fha#workflow automation#data entry

Story· 3

Story02:30

The RX-7 That Pulled Jeff Leinan Into Mortgage Lending

Leinan did not plan on a mortgage career while studying finance and marketing. Seeing a recent graduate driving an expensive RX-7 led him to ask about loan origination, and within roughly a year to eighteen months he had entered the industry himself.

Leinan says people often fall into mortgage work rather than plan for it
A loan officer's visible financial success caught his attention
The role combined his interests in sales, marketing, and finance
The ability to influence his own earnings made the field attractive

“I was driven financially into the industry”
Jeff Leinan · 03:00

“this is a great job it's a great combination of sales marketing and finance”
Jeff Leinan · 03:30

#career path#mortgage industry#sales#finance

Story05:00

Why Leinan Chose an Independent Lender During the 2008 Crisis

After a career with large banks including Washington Mutual, Leinan concluded during the financial crisis that banks would retreat from mortgages. He sought an independent mortgage banker with suitable technology and opportunity, contacted Plaza co-founder Kevin Par, and joined Plaza in October 2008.

Washington Mutual closed during the financial crisis
Leinan expected banks to reduce their role in mortgage lending
He prioritised technology and opportunity in selecting his next company
He joined Plaza near the worst point of the crisis

“the banks are not going to want to be in the space for a lot of reasons”
Jeff Leinan · 06:00

“we knew he had to be I had to work for an independent mortgage Banker”
Jeff Leinan · 06:00

#financial crisis#career decision#independent lenders#plaza home mortgage

Story08:00

From $50 and a Hot Dog Cart to Building 100 Homes a Year

Leinan recounts how his wife's father left Cuba in 1962 with $50, two children, and furniture-making skills. He built a hot dog cart, expanded into ice-cream trucks, entered construction, and eventually built 80 to 100 homes per year before retiring from daily work in his eighties.

He used an existing making skill immediately after arriving
The first business was a handmade hot dog cart
He expanded through several businesses before entering construction
Leinan presents the story as a model of work ethic and opportunity

“he came over with $50 in his pocket left his home left everything came over $50 in his pocket two kids”
Jeff Leinan · 08:30

“when he retired about 5 or 6 years ago he was building 80 to 100 homes a year”
Jeff Leinan · 09:00

#immigration#entrepreneurship#work ethic#construction

Tool· 1

Tool17:30

Plaza's AI Plan Starts With Internal Information Work

At the time of the interview, Plaza was still formulating its AI plan and expected to begin with internal information sourcing. Leinan says the company had not yet committed to AI underwriting decisions, but it had already deployed software bots across repetitive administrative workflows.

Plaza planned to begin AI adoption with internal use
The company was still deciding where client-facing AI belonged
AI was not yet being used for underwriting decisions
Existing automation had already reduced manual administrative work

“we're actually formulating our AI plan right now”
Jeff Leinan · 18:00

“we'll probably use a lot of it internally first just to Source information”
Jeff Leinan · 18:00

#artificial intelligence#automation#mortgage operations#underwriting

Takeaway· 3

Takeaway19:30

Why Talent Development Needs Two-Way One-on-Ones

Leinan frames talent development as helping associates achieve their own goals while ensuring their work moves the company forward. Regular one-on-ones provide the communication channel for both sides to clarify expectations and track whether that alignment is happening.

Development starts with the associate's goals
One-on-ones support clear two-way communication
The company should help employees achieve their ambitions
Employees also need to understand how they move company goals forward

“talent's always about development it's about you know helping them achieve their goals”
Jeff Leinan · 19:30

“meetings one-on ones is super important for both sides”
Jeff Leinan · 19:30

#talent development#one-on-ones#leadership#goal alignment

Takeaway27:30

Leinan's Wealth Advice: Buy Property, Hold It, and Act in Downturns

Asked what he would tell his twenty-year-old self, Leinan says to keep buying real estate and avoid selling it. He also stresses acting when market dislocations create value, while doing the homework required to understand what is being purchased.

Leinan favours long-term accumulation over frequent selling
The 2008 to 2010 period created notable property opportunities
Market stress can reveal unusually good deals
Buyers still need research and a clear view of value

“buy real estate and just keep buying and don't ever sell hold on to it keep it cumulating”
Jeff Leinan · 28:00

“do your homework right don't buy anything in everything but do your homework find the value”
Jeff Leinan · 28:30

#real estate#wealth building#market downturns#investing

Takeaway32:30

The Two Standards Leinan Hopes Define His Life

At the close, Leinan says he hopes God will judge him by two standards: whether he consistently did what was right and whether he tried his best to help as many people as possible. The answer ties his stated purpose to both ethical conduct and service.

Leinan places doing what is right ahead of status
He measures service by an effort to help many people
The standards connect his business motivation with his personal faith

“you always did what was right and you did your best to help as many people as you could”
Jeff Leinan · 33:00

#purpose#ethics#service#faith

Frameworks in this episode

The Bad News First Rule

The Daily Progress Priorities

The Expertise-Backed Risk Assessment

The Five-Way Explanation Method

Insights & moments

⚡Myth Buster· 1

College Is Not Automatically the Best Economic Path

◆Hot Take· 1