Jarod Mathiason was recently recognized by Scotsman Guide magazine as a Top Originator 2021 in the Most Loans Closed category.

FAIRMONT — According to information provided by Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation,

local Loan Officer, Jarod Mathiason has been recognized by Scotsman Guide magazine as a Top Originator 2021 in the Most Loans Closed category.

This recognition is given to the top mortgage originators from across the nation and is based on the mortgage loan originator’s number of loans closed in 2020. According to Scotsman Guide, Mathiason closed a total of 130 loans and had a total volume of $19,569,962 for the year.

“I am so proud to be named one of the top originators in the nation, especially since we live and operate right here in rural America,” said Mathiason. “I couldn’t have gotten here without my amazing teammates and the support from a company like Fairway.

“I got a call from my boss on April 1, and she said “you’ve made the top originator’s list,” and I was just very pleased. I knew it was going to be close but I didn’t realize I had made it.”

Mathiason has been in the mortgage industry for the past seven years and is licensed in both Minnesota and Iowa. He said that his success over 2020, and that of others in the industry, came as a surprise considering the pandemic.

“Most people in the mortgage industry have done really well through the pandemic,” he said. “That’s because the importance of home became so much more important.

“So many people weren’t able to go out and about and do the things that they normally did. So we saw more people staying home. Because of that there became more value in a home, so a lot of people decided to buy, and that made us very busy” he said.

He also said that the ability to give something back to the communities in his home area is a key component of his happiness.

“I graduated from Granada in 2002, and then I went to college in Mankato. I moved to the South Metro for about a decade, and I think the thing that made me happiest about moving home was not just moving back to the area, but being able to bring something of value back to the area.

“We hear all the time from people who say they don’t have 20 percent down, they don’t have that kind of down payment, and they think they’ll never be able to buy a house. Now, sometimes we’ll hear from those same people being able to buy a house with zero down. So just being able to give something of value has been very rewarding.”