Many of us spend our whole lives searching for a career that makes us eager to get up in the morning and look forward to going to work. Born and raised in the Pacific Palisades, Patrick McKenna is a mortgage banker with CS Financial who found just that over 20 years ago.
With a passion for people and a knack for finance, he sat down with the Palisadian-Post to talk about his family’s deep roots in the Palisades, the current state of the real estate market and most importantly, how much he enjoys interacting with his clients and helping their dream of homeownership become a reality.
Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
Jacqueline Primo: Tell us about your upbringing. Where did you grow up? What was your family life like?
Patrick McKenna: I grew up here in the Palisades and my parents still live here. I went to Corpus Christi School for grade school and then Loyola High School. My family life was typical of the Palisades: three boys, lots of sports, and good weather. My dad was a doctor and my mom was a homemaker involved in everything to do with the school. My family is very entrenched in the community here.
Primo: Did you have a mind for finance from an early age?
McKenna: Not necessarily for finance, but I was always good at math. I was top of my class at Corpus Christi and Loyola. A childhood friend of mine got me into finance, and we have both been very good at it ever since.
Primo: What was your first paid job? First job out of college?
McKenna: My first job was at a pharmacy in the building where the Post is now. I ran the cash register. The pharmacist was a friend of my dad’s so my brothers and I all worked there. My first job out of college was as a loan officer in a call center at a mortgage bank called USA Loan.
Primo: What do you like most about working in this industry?
McKenna: I enjoy talking to the clients and meeting them, especially the ones here in the Palisades. Basically I wake up each day, and I have fun doing what I do. There are a lot of hours, but it’s not really work to me. This is fun.
Primo: What’s the market like now for mortgages?
McKenna: Here in the Palisades, purchases are red hot. Houses are going on the market and they’re getting multiple offers over listing price. It’s definitely a seller’s market, but if you want to buy a house the competition is there. It’s very rewarding to see when a client gets the house they want.
Primo: What can a homebuyer or homeowner do to improve their chances of getting a loan or refinancing?
McKenna: Keep your credit clean. Keep all of your tax returns. If you’re self-employed, then just be willing and able to explain your income. We are creative and there are a lot of people in the Palisades who thought they couldn’t get either a purchase or refinancing and were surprised to find out they could.
Primo: What’s the most exciting thing happening in the mortgage/home lending business in the Palisades right now?
McKenna: It’s summertime and that’s when people want to move because their kids are out of school. The products we have come up with at Banc of California allow the clientele in the Palisades to make these purchases and refinances. It’s our own funds so it’s pretty exciting. It might not get you all excited but it’s for dorks like me.
Primo: Can you tell us about your life in the Palisades? How long have you lived here? What are some of the things you and your family enjoy doing in the Palisades?
McKenna: I was born and raised here and left for college. I’ve been back three and a half years and am expecting a child with my wife, Dana Olsick. I like to stand-up paddleboard, and I’m involved with the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation. Between the people Dana knows and the people I know having grown up here, it’s like we know half the Village. The other half I’m looking forward to meeting.
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