Mortgage lending powerhouse Jennifer Beeston is defying odds in a tight lending environment, a feat she credits to “protecting” the American dream and leaning into financial literacy education.
Beeston, the executive vice president of national sales at Rate, didn’t plan on a career in mortgage lending. She recalled becoming “house poor” as a young mother after purchasing a home that she and her now ex-husband ultimately couldn’t afford. That experience fueled her determination to ensure others don’t make the same mistakes.
As a part of her credo, Beeston is a self-reliant loan officer, preferring to dominate on social media for business rather than relying on referrals from other LOs. As a prominent figure on social media — Beeston has 102,000 YouTube subscribers — she said she’s concerned about how statistics are eroding the American dream.
“I’m very concerned about the attack on the American dream because I live in a social media world, and I see how when someone puts out a statistic — and usually it’s going to be Zillow or someone else that has data — and it gets twisted apart.
“I see my clients experiencing phishing and scam attempts. How do we stop this behavior?” Beeston said, addressing a crowded room at HousingWire’s The Gathering.
Part of reviving the dream, Beeston argued, is to add new and young blood to the mortgage industry.
“There is a great opportunity right now with Gen Z. … There’s so much talent that’s up and coming that could really reinvigorate this industry,” she said. “One thing that concerns me a lot, we’ve got the largest group of minority homeowners out there, and we are an aging industry.”
Misinformation is a driver of the “fear” surrounding homebuying, Beeston explained.
“We’ve got millennials being told they will never be able to buy a house, and the industry is not doing much to fight back,” she said.
To her, shifting the conversation around housing isn’t just about perception — it’s about survival.
“You know, every single day, if you look at the headlines, it’s something bad about housing. … It gets regurgitated on social media, and then our whole industry is trying to cost cut,” she said. “Whereas if we just started teaching people how to get home and we stood up the American dream, you would see business boom.”
First Time Home Buyer FAQs - Via HousingWire.com
