Sacramento mortgage broker Matt Gougé is parlaying his informational YouTube home lending videos into making mortgages, and with a new affiliation, he’s about to go nationwide.
Gougé, 41, is a social media influencer whose main YouTube page has nearly 10,000 subscribers and 514 videos for his company, Matt the Mortgage Guy.
“Wherever the consumer goes for information, that’s where you want to be,” Gougé told the Business Journal.
Gougé, 41, has been posting Matt the Mortgage Guy YouTube videos since 2014.
“When I started, it was me wanting to educate people about mortgages,” he said. He also wanted to create an archive so he could easily share financial literacy information with people in an open format.
Gougé had been working with Answer Home Loans Inc. in Granite Bay, but he recently joined his independent firm Matt the Mortgage Guy with Philadelphia-based UMortgage, which is licensed to make mortgage loans in 46 states and Washington, D.C. Gougé is now UMortgage's Sacramento branch manager. He will eventually be able to lend into other states. He can lend statewide in California, but he said about 70% of his lending is local.
Gougé is currently the only broker at Matt the Mortgage Guy, but he has a support staff of five full-time employees. The company has made about $120 million in loans and refinances this year, he said.
He is ranked among the top 150 mortgage brokers nationwide in 2021, according to industry publication Scotsman Guide.
"At UMortgage, we're committed to providing accessible financial literacy as it pertains to homeownership, especially for underserved communities," said Anthony Casa, UMortgage president, in a news release. "Matt Gougé has built a reputation as a trusted mortgage advisor and his YouTube platform will be valuable in sharing financial literacy to a broader audience."
Not all his business comes from the YouTube videos, he said, but a lot of it does. Some people reach out to him and say they’ve been watching his videos for months before they connect, he said.
“It’s not all about marketing. It is also providing value and education,” Gougé said. He added that, demographically, social media builds a strong connection with potential customers, especially those under about 40 years old.
"People have a lot of questions about what will probably be the biggest investment decision of their lives," he said.
