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Nelson Oyadomari

Borrowing with a Conscience

Nelson Oyadomari Builds a Mortgage Industry Leader

Nelson Oyadomari knows success is not an entitlement: it comes from working hard and doing the right thing. He learned this lesson as a boy watching his mother. She worked full-time as a clerk and cheerfully gave up extras like travel to take care of Nelson’s sister, who was born with Down’s Syndrome.

“My mom taught me the meaning of responsibility,” says Nelson. “She taught us that actions have consequences. At the same time, she was my biggest cheerleader and supporter whenever I tried something new.”

She cheered her son on when he helped start a tour van operation at age 19, and again when he started an office technology company called Progressive Business Systems, and still again when he found his way into the mortgage business.

Nelson taught himself the loan origination side of mortgages while working as the facilities manager for Honolulu Mortgage Co. He got his first job as a mortgage loan officer in 1996, and watched the market boom in 2003. But good times don’t last forever. Anticipating a downturn, Oyadomari decided that gaining expertise in reverse mortgages would be crucial to surviving.

By this time he was Honolulu branch manager for Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. He invested some of his branch’s earnings into teaching his staff the ins and outs of reverse mortgages. They researched the field for a full year before offering reverse mortgage products to clients.

“As I matured in this industry, it became clear that I have a responsibility to my borrowers, staff and parent company,” says Nelson. “The litmus test for any decision has to be, ‘Is this the right thing to do?’ Something may be OK legally, but is it ethical?”

Under Nelson’s leadership, Primary Residential Mortgage continues to stress training, continuing education, and ethics and community service for his entire staff of loan officers and support personnel—a distinguishing strategy in an industry recently flooded with untrained loan officers. PRMI’s mortgage professionals take pride in helping homebuyers and teaching seniors about the benefits (and drawbacks) of a reverse mortgage.

“We’re developing a trust relationship,” says Nelson, “and understanding the short-, medium- and long-term goals of the homebuyer is key to providing proper guidance. This is especially true for our senior homeowners.”

“I am passionate about our industry. I enjoy helping young buyers with their first home, saving people money by correctly restructuring their mortgages and helping seniors enjoy their golden years. I tell my staff that we have the best job in the world: we make a living helping people.”