Why a Successful Mortgage Team Chose to Change Its Model Matt Prizzi wasn't looking to rebuild his business. After 22 years in mortgage lending, he had already evolved from an individual producer into the leader of an experienced, referral-driven team. He understood technology, tracked performance closely, and had spent much of his career operating within P&L models. But successful doesn't mean optimized. Before joining Princeton Mortgage, Matt saw limitations in the way technology, pricing, and expenses were structured. His team had worked across multiple systems, pricing autonomy was limited, and even with years of experience analyzing his business, he realized there were costs he didn't fully understand. A Different Conversation What stood out about PowerPro wasn't simply a compensation pitch. Matt describes his early conversations with Princeton CEO Rich Weidel as an education in the true expenses and cost of originating a loan. Understanding those costs changed the conversation. Lower operating costs could create greater pricing flexibility, which could help the team compete more effectively for borrowers and ultimately generate more opportunities. For Matt, PowerPro offered something especially valuable: transparency and control. Competing in Real Time That control matters most when a deal is happening. Instead of requesting pricing exceptions through multiple levels of management, PowerPro gives trained loan officers the autonomy to make competitive pricing decisions in real time. As Matt explains: “You can get aggressive in live time, on the phone, with a client, without manager approval.” For a team built around relationships and referrals, being able to respond immediately can make a meaningful difference. Improving an Already Strong Operation Matt's team was already operating efficiently before Princeton. At their previous organization, they averaged roughly six to seven days clear to close before settlement. At Princeton, that average has improved to approximately eight days before settlement. Matt credits Princeton's experienced operations, underwriting, and closing teams with helping his team become even more efficient. Technology + Leadership Technology was also central to Matt's decision. Having seen firsthand how important strong systems are to scaling a mortgage team, Princeton's focus on technology and AI aligned with where he believes the industry is headed. But one of the biggest differences has been leadership. Matt now has direct access to experienced leaders for conversations about pricing, products, operations, technology and sales strategy. More importantly, he says that support extends beyond him as the branch leader to the individual loan officers on his team. There's Always Another Level Matt's story isn't about fixing a failing mortgage business. It's about taking an already successful one and asking a harder question: Could we be doing this better? For the Garden State team, greater transparency, pricing autonomy, technology, operational efficiency, and hands-on leadership showed them the answer was yes.