Leading rookies in California in 2026 so far, ranked by loan count. Powered by ChatMMI — the only fully conversational AI experience for mortgage and real estate data.
As of August 23, 2026, the top 3 include DAE CHOI (JSB Mortgage Corporation, NMLS #2764547), Daniel Curtis (PennyMac Loan Services, LLC, NMLS #2737709), and Jessica Dye (OPTIMUM FIRST INC., NMLS #2803052).
Updated · Recorded mortgage transactions typically appear in this dataset approximately 22 days after the recording date.
| Rank | Loan officer | LO NMLS | Current Lender / Broker | Lender NMLS | Location | YTD Volume | YTD Loans | Avg Loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | DAE CHOI | 2764547 | JSB Mortgage Corporation | 1558084 | Monterey Park, CA | $23.4M | 33 | $708K |
| #2 | Daniel Curtis | 2737709 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | — | $4.0M | 15 | $267K |
| #3 | Jessica Dye | 2803052 | OPTIMUM FIRST INC. | 240415 | Huntington Beach, CA | $7.5M | 14 | $537K |
| #3 | Ketch Gannon | 2757756 | OPTIMUM FIRST INC. | 240415 | Huntington Beach, CA | $9.2M | 14 | $654K |
| #5 | Jake Parker | 2763475 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Roseville, CA | $6.8M | 13 | $520K |
| #6 | Wayne Kim | 2786861 | JSB Mortgage Corporation | 1558084 | Monterey Park, CA | $12.0M | 12 | $1.0M |
| #6 | Erickson Bondoc | 2831354 | Water and Power Community Credit Union | 525600 | Los Angeles, CA | $9.1M | 12 | $762K |
| #8 | Cody Hess | 2802793 | Onity Mortgage Corporation | 2726 | Plano, TX | $3.9M | 11 | $351K |
| #8 | Eric Grollman | 2786401 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Pasadena, CA | $3.7M | 11 | $335K |
| #8 | Sandy Jacob | 2812001 | Rocket Mortgage, LLC | 3030 | Phoenix, AZ | $1.5M | 11 | $133K |
| #11 | Daniel Denham | 2770436 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Carrollton, TX | $3.2M | 10 | $318K |
| #12 | Ramy Labib | 2162320 | JR PRIME INC | 2724050 | Bellflower, CA | $6.4M | 9 | $708K |
| #12 | Jose Cerrato | 1203665 | Golden Empire Mortgage, Inc. | 2427 | Escondido, CA | $3.5M | 9 | $392K |
| #12 | Cristian Godina | 2802847 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 399798 | Jacksonville, FL | $541K | 9 | $60K |
| #12 | Lee Garoutte | 360998 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Roseville, CA | $2.4M | 9 | $263K |
| #16 | Cedric Gray | 2799393 | loanDepot.com, LLC | 174457 | Scottsdale, AZ | $3.7M | 8 | $468K |
| #16 | Bobby Le | 2837928 | SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union | 405503 | Long Beach, CA | $599K | 8 | $75K |
| #16 | Arianna Avila | 1369402 | JPS Lenders, LTD. | 1206623 | Clovis, CA | $2.4M | 8 | $302K |
| #19 | Natalie Cortez | 2776422 | HILLHURST MORTGAGE, INC. | 248170 | Los Angeles, CA | $5.5M | 7 | $791K |
| #19 | Jesus Cruz | 2775718 | E Mortgage Capital, Inc. | 1416824 | Santa Ana, CA | $2.2M | 7 | $318K |
| #19 | Joseph Romero | 2756861 | AdvantageFirst Lending Inc. | 1209177 | Lake Forest, CA | $3.3M | 7 | $477K |
| #19 | Sean Dibsy | 2236623 | OPTIMUM FIRST INC. | 240415 | Huntington Beach, CA | $3.6M | 7 | $513K |
| #19 | Jonathan Nguyen | 2784835 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Roseville, CA | $2.2M | 7 | $321K |
| #19 | John Wei | 1132996 | NEXA Mortgage, LLC | 1660690 | Mesa, AZ | $7.2M | 7 | $1.0M |
| #25 | Shawn Gavin | 2781239 | The Ciucevich Group LLC | 2481808 | Sanford, NC | $1.2M | 6 | $198K |
| #25 | Alejandro Antonio Gonzalez | 2590298 | CMR FINANCIAL SERVICES INC | 1947091 | West Covina, CA | $3.7M | 6 | $618K |
| #25 | Tyvan Lindbeck | 2806981 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Tampa, FL | $676K | 6 | $113K |
| #25 | Ali Midlij | 2811811 | Rocket Mortgage, LLC | 3030 | Detroit, MI | $942K | 6 | $157K |
| #25 | Kathryn Feldman | 2847544 | Third Federal Savings & Loan Association | 449401 | Cleveland, OH | $969K | 6 | $161K |
| #25 | Janora Fisher | 2796779 | Amerisave Mortgage Corporation | 1168 | Sandy Springs, GA | $800K | 6 | $133K |
| #25 | Yavuz Gorgulu | 2769426 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | — | $2.8M | 6 | $471K |
| #25 | Jose Fuentes | 2811992 | Rocket Mortgage, LLC | 3030 | Phoenix, AZ | $853K | 6 | $142K |
| #25 | MUHAMMAD BAGRHIAY | 474501 | Xpert Home Lending Inc. | 2179191 | Braselton, GA | $2.4M | 6 | $395K |
| #25 | Edgar Ramirez | 2833640 | Pentagon Federal Credit Union | 401822 | San Antonio, TX | $1.1M | 6 | $187K |
| #25 | Michael Gunderson | 2801442 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Tampa, FL | $1.0M | 6 | $173K |
| #36 | Michael Davis | 2329505 | C & C FINANCIAL, CORP | 1054224 | Anaheim, CA | $3.4M | 5 | $671K |
| #36 | Chelysia Young | 2784864 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | — | $1.5M | 5 | $304K |
| #36 | Edward Weber | 41763 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 399798 | Jacksonville, FL | $465K | 5 | $93K |
| #36 | Taylor Hargate | 2773308 | CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC | 3029 | Cleveland, OH | $780K | 5 | $156K |
| #36 | Dimitri Jackson | 2559332 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Carrollton, TX | $1.3M | 5 | $269K |
| #36 | Rachel Pepin | 2784838 | Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation | 2289 | Pensacola, FL | $1.5M | 5 | $307K |
| #36 | Derick Benitez | 2734285 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Carrollton, TX | $1.3M | 5 | $268K |
| #36 | Bryan McCarthy | 2769344 | AdvantageFirst Lending Inc. | 1209177 | Lake Forest, CA | $2.6M | 5 | $519K |
| #36 | Taylor Bills | 2785218 | Amerisave Mortgage Corporation | 1168 | Sandy Springs, GA | $763K | 5 | $153K |
| #36 | Cristian Mendoza | 2802740 | Onity Mortgage Corporation | 2726 | Plano, TX | $2.4M | 5 | $485K |
| #36 | Brandon Perriatt | 2705799 | Guaranteed Rate, Inc. | 2611 | Turlock, CA | $2.3M | 5 | $467K |
| #36 | Matthew Hall | 2839991 | Rocket Mortgage, LLC | 3030 | Detroit, MI | $415K | 5 | $83K |
| #36 | Roger Martin | 2817636 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Tampa, FL | $600K | 5 | $120K |
| #36 | Javier Torres | 2817770 | PennyMac Loan Services, LLC | 35953 | Roseville, CA | $1.7M | 5 | $339K |
| #36 | Jagdish Singh | 2734008 | Loan Factory, Inc. | 320841 | Stockton, CA | $3.0M | 5 | $596K |
These rankings are powered by MMI's nationwide residential mortgage public record dataset. MMI collects mortgage transaction data from recording jurisdictions across the United States, with an average data latency of approximately 22 days from the recording date.
Transactions are matched to NMLS identifiers for loan officers, lenders, and brokers where applicable. MMI then deduplicates, normalizes, and validates this data to create an authoritative mortgage production dataset that powers MMI's analytics, recruiting, marketing, and intelligence products.
Rankings reflect recorded mortgage transactions available to MMI at the time of the last data refresh. Recent activity may continue to update as additional transactions are recorded and processed.
TopMortgageOriginators.com. Leading Rookies by Loan Count — California. Powered by MMI public record mortgage production data, accessed August 23, 2026. https://topmortgageoriginators.com/lo-leaderboard/california/top-rookie-by-units
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