Lessons from Local Leaders:

Zak Rhodes

More Than a Pre-Approval: How Zak Rhodes Is Changing the Way People Experience the Home Buying Process

He started in the car business, made the switch at 24, and got thrown into one of the biggest mortgage booms in recent history with almost no hand-holding. Seven years later, he’s built a reputation as the loan officer who actually takes the time.

Zak Rhodes didn’t grow up dreaming about mortgages. He came from the car business, loved helping people, and only made the switch after a friend in home building convinced him he’d be good at it. What followed was a deep dive into one of the most complex, deadline-driven, high-stakes processes most people will ever go through — and Zak found his footing by doing the opposite of what a lot of the industry does. Instead of focusing on the sale, he focused on the person.

That philosophy sits at the center of everything he does today at Veon Mortgage, where he works with clients across New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and beyond. He calls himself more of an educator than a loan officer, and after spending some time talking with him, that description fits.

Sink or Swim — and He Swam

Zak entered the mortgage business in late 2019, got about four months of onboarding under his belt, and then the pandemic hit. While the broader economy went sideways, the mortgage industry erupted. Refinance volume went through the roof almost overnight, and Zak’s introduction to the job was being handed dozens of clients with minimal coaching, fully remote, and told by his boss in no uncertain terms: figure it out.

He did. Working 12 to 18 hour days — some weeks topping a hundred hours — Zak learned the business in real time under real pressure. His boss’s point was that most loan officers starting out don’t see that kind of volume in their first year, let alone their first month. That trial by fire shaped how he runs things today: thorough, responsive, and genuinely invested in every file he touches.

The Home Buying Planning Process

Most lenders stop at the pre-approval. Zak sees that as just the starting point.

His home buying planning process begins with a Zoom call — not to collect documents, but to actually get to know the client. What are their goals? What are they comfortable with monthly? What does their timeline look like? From there, the online application takes 15 to 30 minutes, and then the real planning begins: figuring out not just what someone qualifies for, but what works for their actual life and budget.

He had a client call just before recording this episode — a couple who had shopped around with three different loan officers before landing with Zak. Their feedback was consistent with what he hears often: everyone pre-approved them, but nobody walked through the plan with them. Nobody asked what they were comfortable with. Within days of going through Zak’s process, they were putting in an offer on a house they weren’t even sure they’d be ready for within the next few months.

That shift from qualified to comfortable is the whole point. And when clients feel that settled going in, the rest of the process moves faster and smoother for everyone.

Credit Education That Actually Sticks

One of the pieces of Zak’s work that stands out is his genuine enthusiasm for credit education — something most people were never taught in school and most loan officers don’t take the time to cover.

He walks clients through how the credit bureaus actually work, what factors make up a credit score, and how everyday habits like timing credit card payoffs relative to reporting dates can make a real difference. He has a full guide he shares with clients and regularly coaches people through building credit long before they’re anywhere near buying a home.

The results show up in his own network: several friends he helped build credit plans for two years ago, all starting with scores in the mid 600s, are now sitting in the 800s. One of them just got his credit pulled last week in preparation for buying a home — 813.

For Zak, it goes back to the same core belief: people aren’t taught this stuff, and that gap costs them. He’d rather fill it.

What’s Happening in the Market Right Now

Zak is direct about the current landscape. Interest rates are fluctuating daily, shaped by inflation, global events, and the broader economic picture. The expectation in the industry is that rates could bottom out around 5% over the next two to three years, down from where they’re sitting now around 6.5%. That would meaningfully open up affordability for a lot of buyers.

He’s also watching an interesting shift in the first-time buyer market. Younger millennials and Gen Z buyers who had been sitting on the fence — convinced they’d be stuck renting for years — are starting to move. Inventory is slowly improving as homeowners who locked in low pandemic-era rates begin to accept the trade-off and list their homes. Zak sees the next few years as a real opportunity for first-time buyers who get their plan together now.

The Closing Table

One thing Zak does that surprises a lot of people in the industry: he shows up to closings. Not occasionally — almost always. Title companies regularly comment on it because it’s genuinely uncommon for a lender to be there in person on closing day.

For Zak, it’s the natural end of the relationship he built from that first Zoom call. He’s been the person running numbers, coordinating with agents and title companies, and making sure everything lines up behind the scenes. Showing up at the table is his way of closing the loop and being present for the moment that matters most to the people he worked with. He also credits his assistant Vicki, who plays a key role in keeping clients informed and comfortable throughout the process, as a major reason things run as well as they do.

Watching a family — kids and all — walk out of closing on their first home is, by his own account, the best part of the job.

Zak Rhodes is a mortgage loan officer with Veon Mortgage, serving clients across New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and the Northern Virginia/DC/Maryland area. Find him on Instagram and Facebook at Zak Rhodes Mortgage, online at zakrhodesmortgage.com, or reach him directly at (571) 830-2853.

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