I help people grow wealth with home equity.
I am Brad Brondt, mortgage loan officer and branch manager at Acre Mortgage and Financial. I have been in the business since 2009 and I do things a little differently around here. I lead with education, not a pre-approval letter, because buying a home is a financial decision, not a sales transaction.
My Story
How I ended up in mortgages.
I graduated from Rowan University with a finance degree in 2009 right into the worst housing crisis in modern history. My plan was to chase a Wall Street career and pursue a master's degree at NYU or Wharton. Nobody was hiring. So I took a job to start making money, fully intending to come back to that plan later.
That job was at Acre Mortgage. I never left. What started as a stopgap turned into a career I genuinely love, and I am still at the same company today as a branch manager. I do not know what it is like to work anywhere else, and I do not plan to.
Along the way I fell in love with helping people achieve home ownership. Not flipping loans, not chasing commissions, but actually walking with families through one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. I treat every borrower like a doctor treats a patient. I look at the full picture, I diagnose what is really going on, and I tell the truth about what needs to happen next, even when the answer is "not yet."
I am also the kind of person who would rather build a system than do the same task twice. That is why I run two software companies on the side that serve the mortgage and real estate industry. It keeps me sharp, it keeps my process tight, and it gives my clients and partners an experience that most loan officers cannot match. More on that further down.
The Framework
Home Ownership Readiness Score.
Most loan officers and most agents push you straight to a pre-approval. A pre-approval pulls your credit, takes commitment off the table, and is great for them. It is not always great for you. Before I ever recommend pulling credit, I walk you through five pillars that determine whether you are actually ready to buy. If any pillar is off, we fix it first.
Is your income reliable and documentable? Are you W-2, self-employed, commissioned, or recently changed jobs? Each story changes which programs fit.
Where does your DTI land before and after the new payment? Sometimes one small move on a credit card balance unlocks an entirely different price range.
Do you have what you actually need for down payment, closing costs, and reserves? We look at it after accounting for any grants or seller credits you qualify for.
Soft-pulled first, never hard-pulled until you are ready. If your score is not where it needs to be for the best terms, I build a plan to fix it before we apply.
Are you in the right season of life to own this home? The market is always going to be the market. The right time to buy is when it is right for you, not when a headline says so.
See where you stand before we pull credit.
I will pre-qualify you with a soft credit pull, run real monthly payment and out-of-pocket numbers, and tell you honestly whether you are ready right now, 30 to 90 days out, or further. No pressure to apply, no hard inquiry until you say go.
What I Believe
Education first. Funding second.
Home ownership is a privilege, not a right. It is not for everyone, and it is not for every moment in life. My job is to help you figure out whether right now is your moment, and if it is, to get you to the closing table with the right loan, the right terms, and your eyes wide open.
That means I will sometimes tell you to wait. I will sometimes recommend a home equity loan over the refinance you came in asking for. I will sometimes tell you the truth about a credit issue you did not want to hear. And I will sometimes spend two months helping you fix something at no charge before we ever talk numbers again.
I will not, ever, help someone commit mortgage fraud. If you come to me trying to call an investment property a primary residence, I will call it. That is not me being difficult. That is me protecting you, your family, and the integrity of a system I have worked in for over 15 years.
Pre-qualification comes first. I do not pull credit until you and I have agreed you are ready right now.
Weekly updates from contract to close, and again every 90 days after. Even when the news is bad. Especially when the news is bad.
When something goes sideways, the listing agent, the buyer's agent, and the client all get the same phone call from me. No one finds out from somebody else.
I do not force a square peg into a round hole. As a correspondent lender we have access to a wide menu of programs. We pick the one that fits your situation, not the one that pays best.
Who I Work With
My ideal client and my ideal scenario.
I work with just about anybody who is willing to work with me. But here is who I am at my best with.
People at the start of the journey who want to do this right. I love walking through the readiness pillars, mapping out the path, and getting you across the line with grants and assistance when they fit.
Pay off high-interest debt, fund college, take on an addition, or invest. In today's rate environment I will usually recommend a home equity loan over a cash-out refinance roughly 80% of the time.
DSCR loans qualify on rental income, not personal income. Bank statement and P&L loans for self-employed borrowers whose tax returns do not tell the real story. Foreign national programs available.
Scenarios most loan officers would walk away from
Subpar credit. Income that does not look like income on paper. A weird job history. A property that does not appraise the way everyone expected. A borrower who needs four months of credit work before they can apply. I have closed all of these. The only thing I will not touch is someone trying to misrepresent the deal, because at that point the only person I am putting at risk is them.
Hyper-Local
South Jersey is home.
I grew up in Burlington City and live in Medford Lakes with my wife Kristen and our two daughters. I know these towns. I know which streets have which school districts, which Burlington County zip codes still qualify for USDA 100 percent financing, and which downtowns are worth driving twenty extra minutes to live near.
I am licensed in every county and every municipality across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But the towns below are where I spend most of my time and where I have the deepest expertise.
More rural footprint means more USDA eligibility. 100 percent financing and the ability to roll closing costs into the loan when the appraisal supports it.
Dense, walkable suburbs feeding Philly. Our Cherry Hill office sits here, in the heart of one of the strongest mortgage corridors in South Jersey.
What Working With Me Looks Like
From hello to clients-for-life.
We talk goals first, not numbers. What are you trying to do, why, and where are you in life right now? No credit pull yet.
Soft-pull credit through Finlocker. Full picture of income, assets, debt, and the realistic price band that fits your life.
Only when all five readiness pillars are green. You get a dynamic pre-approval letter you can re-generate per property, with live payment math.
30 to 45 days standard. Weekly check-ins from me, plus a separate processor touchpoint. Then a 90-day check-in cadence for life.
Outside of Work
Family, the lakes, and a little less sleep.
I live in Medford Lakes, New Jersey with my wife Kristen and our two daughters, Lennyn and Presley. We moved here before we had kids because the community pulled us in, and we have not looked back. There are still kids riding bikes around town. There are still summer events and beach volleyball and camping nights. It is the kind of place where neighbors actually know your name.
I grew up racing BMX, then motocross, then skateboarding, then snowboarding. I played baseball and football. I still snowboard when life lets me, and I am slowly making time to get back on a surfboard. My daughters will be on a snowboard the moment they are old enough to ask for one.
Lately I have been intentional about taking care of myself the way I take care of my business. I stopped drinking. I focus on fitness and nutrition. I listen to a lot of podcasts. I work on being the best version of me, not because anything dramatic happened, but because I want my mind, body, and spirit fully optimized so I can show up at 150 percent for my family, my team, and the people who trust me with their financial lives.
Frequently Asked
Questions I hear the most.
Who is Brad Brondt?
I am a mortgage loan officer and branch manager at Acre Mortgage and Financial, Inc., operating under the DBA Brondt Cook Group. My personal NMLS is 242550 and the company NMLS is 13988. I have been originating loans since 2009 and have been at the same company my entire career.
What states are you licensed in?
Personally I am licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. My business partner Craig Cook is also licensed in Delaware and Virginia, so our team can originate in those states as well through Acre Mortgage.
What is the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval?
Pre-qualification is a soft credit pull that reviews your income, assets, and credit so you can see where you stand without affecting your score. Pre-approval is a hard pull with full documentation that produces a formal lender letter. I start with pre-qualification on every client. Pre-approval comes only when all five Home Ownership Readiness pillars are green.
How long does it take to close?
30 to 45 days is the standard. I have closed in as little as a week and a half when a deal required it. I generally advise against rushing, especially for first-time buyers. There is nothing wrong with taking the time to do it right.
Do you work with first-time homebuyers and assistance programs?
Yes. First-time buyers are one of my primary focuses. I offer the full NJHMFA program including the first-generation buyer benefit, the PHFA program in Pennsylvania, USDA 100 percent financing in eligible Burlington County areas, FHA loans, conventional HomeReady and Home Possible, and county and employer-based assistance when applicable.
Will you work with me if my credit is rough?
Yes, as long as you are willing to work with me. I have helped many borrowers raise scores, pay down strategic debts, and qualify for loans they were told they could not get. I treat credit work like a doctor approaches a diagnosis. The only thing I will not do is help anyone misrepresent the deal.