About John
What stands out about me? I actually care. I care about your financial goals, I care about your experience, and I care about how you feel once it’s all said and done. That also means being easy to reach, even if it’s 9 at night.
I’m a problem solver at heart. When a file gets complicated, I get more interested, because I want to figure out how to make it work. You’ll find me lighthearted, quick with a joke, deeply knowledgeable, and always around to answer questions. My favorite moment is when someone walks away with their keys and says, “That was way easier than I thought it would be. I’m sending everyone I know your way.”
The vast majority of my clients come to me through referrals from past clients, and I know that says more about me than anything else.
A little backstory
In 2004, I was a broke 24 year old from a single parent home just getting started in this industry. Every dollar mattered. People told me not to waste my time on tough deals and to chase the quick, easy ones instead. But telling someone I couldn’t help them after they’d already been turned away everywhere else was never going to sit right with me.
So I took the tough ones. In less than a month, I learned the niche guidelines of more than 50 partner banks, and pretty soon a reputation followed: “Before you kill that deal, let Marino look at it.” People with years of experience started sending me the deals they couldn’t do, or thought couldn’t be done.
Today I close an average of $100 million a year, and I still take on the tough deals. Funny, the stuff you remember.