Most people in the mortgage world chase real estate agents and stop there. Sarah Biernbaum, Director of Growth and Business Development for Choice Mortgage Group in Boca Raton, built her entire referral engine by going after everyone else – builders, title reps, inspectors, insurance agents, CPAs, even divorce attorneys – and letting the agent relationships follow. Her rule is simple: walk in asking “how can I help you?” instead of “got any buyers for me?”
Sarah and Jeff get into why she hands CPA relationships off to loan officers who speak the same language, how Choice keeps every piece of the loan process in-house so a three-year LO and a twenty-five-year veteran deliver the identical experience, why she thinks every professional should start their career in hospitality, and what she learned running 65 episodes of her own podcast with her CEO.
About the host:
Jeff Hamm is a real estate broker with Ivester Jackson | Christie’s International Real Estate, serving Lake Norman & Charlotte, North Carolina and Banner Elk, North Carolina. He specializes in luxury, waterfront, mountain, and investment property, with a focus on buyer representation. He is also the founder and host of The Best of LKN and Banner Elk Living.
Learn more and contact Jeff:
LKNreal.com
BannerElkLiving.com
Jeff Hamm is a North Carolina real estate broker with Ivester Jackson | Christie’s International Real Estate, serving two of the state’s most sought-after markets: Lake Norman and Banner Elk and the greater High Country. He specializes in luxury and second-home property, from Lake Norman’s waterfront, golf, and lakefront communities to High Country communities including The Lodges at Eagles Nest, Elk River Club, Farm at Banner Elk, Diamond Creek, and Echota. He also works with buyers of condominiums, homes in active adult and family-friendly neighborhoods, and short-term rental and investment properties. His focus is buyer representation, where his relationships with each region’s top listing brokers, builders, and designers give his clients a measurable edge.
Jeff is also the founder and host of two local media platforms, The Best of LKN (since 2020) and Banner Elk Living. Each includes a podcast and newsletter that spotlight the area’s most admired small businesses, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs. He publishes the annual Lake Norman Visitors Guide and Banner Elk Guide, produces regular market reports for both regions, and hosts The Best of Lake Norman Business Network and the Banner Elk Business Network.