Why Agents Choose Ken · Maryland & Virginia

More Than Your Loan Officer. A Partner Invested in Your Success.

Real estate has never been just a career for me. It has been a way to help people build wealth, create opportunities, and change lives. Before becoming a mortgage loan officer with Fairway Home Mortgage, I spent more than 10 years as a Realtor helping buyers, sellers, investors, and veterans navigate one of the biggest financial decisions they will ever make. For the last five years of that career, I also served as a Mentorship Coordinator, coaching new agents as they built their businesses. When you refer a client to me, you are trusting me with your reputation. I do not take that lightly.

Talk to Ken Send Ken a Referral

Former Realtor, 10+ years Fairway Cash Guarantee Candor AI underwriting Retired U.S. Navy veteran

Ken Powell

Mortgage Loan Officer · Fairway Home Mortgage

NMLS #2656628 · Direct: (240) 237-7855

I Understand What Realtors Need

I've Been in Your Shoes.

I know what it is like to have a lender disappear after the contract is ratified. I know the stress of wondering whether financing will actually close. I know the frustration of not receiving updates while your client calls asking questions you cannot answer. That is why I built my business differently.

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want."

Zig Ziglar. The philosophy that still guides every relationship I build.

The Kind of Agents I Want to Work With

I am selective about the partnerships I build. I am looking for agents who:

Put their clients' interests ahead of their commission
Believe honesty is more important than making a quick sale
Want to build a long-term business instead of chasing shortcuts
Value communication and professionalism
Care about creating clients for life

If that is how you do business, we will probably work well together.

I'm an Introvert. That's Actually an Advantage.

I am a stoic by nature. I am not the loudest person in the room, and I do not believe relationships are built through constant lunches, happy hours, or sales pitches. They are built through consistency. Keeping my word. Answering my phone. Solving problems. Closing loans.

You do not have to become my best friend. You simply need to know that when you send me a client, I will treat them as if they were my own family.

What You Can Expect From Me

Communication You Never Have to Chase.

Every transaction deserves proactive communication. You will always know where we stand, and you will receive updates throughout the loan process so you are never left wondering what is happening. Because surprises belong at birthday parties, not at the closing table.

I Want to Help You Grow

This may be the part that makes me different. I do not just want to close your next loan. I want to help you build a better business. Whether you are a brand-new agent or an experienced producer, I am happy to share what I have learned over the past decade: marketing ideas, lead generation, investor financing, VA expertise, business planning, Non-QM opportunities, open house strategies, and client consultations. The more successful you become, the stronger our partnership becomes. That is how I believe business should work.

My Promise to Every Agent

When you refer a client to me:

I will answer the phone
I will communicate honestly
I will solve problems instead of creating them
I will protect your reputation
I will treat your client with respect
I will work tirelessly to get them to the closing table

Why Agents Choose Ken

Five Reasons Agents Bring Their Buyers to Ken Powell.

Working with the right lender protects your reputation, your clients, and your time.

Speed

At Fairway, speed is built into the process, not bolted on. Our in-house delegated underwriting means files are processed, underwritten, and closed by Fairway team members. No brokering files to third parties. No waiting on another institution. All parties can rest easy well in advance of the closing date.

No Funding Conditions

Fairway authorizes the title company to disburse all funds for the seller, buyer, and real estate agents at the time of closing, without waiting for funding approval. That means your commission is not held up. The closing happens when it is supposed to happen.

Consistent, Honest Communication

Buyers and agents get updates at every key milestone, processing, underwriting, appraisal, conditional approval, and clear to close. When your buyer's offer is submitted, I call the listing agent to reinforce the buyer's qualification and help get the offer accepted. You will never be left guessing where a file stands.

Dedicated Personnel

Every file has a unique team assigned to it, a single transaction director and processor. Every time you or your client speaks with someone about the file, that person truly knows the file. No call centers. No transfers. No repeating yourself.

Team Focused

Everyone involved in a Fairway transaction has one goal, get to the closing table as smoothly and as quickly as possible. That means working with the agent, the title company, and every other party to remove obstacles before they become problems. Your clients win. You win.

Fairway Cash Guarantee

Your Buyers Can Compete with Cash Offers.

The Fairway Cash Guarantee gives sellers the confidence that the sale will close, even if the buyer encounters a financing issue. In a competitive market, this changes everything.

What the Cash Guarantee does

If a buyer with a Fairway Cash Guarantee cannot qualify for financing by the closing date, Fairway will either:

→Purchase the property in cash at the appraised value or sale amount, whichever is less, or
→Pay the seller $10,000 if they do not wish to sell to Fairway

There is no fee to use this program. Costs are covered by Fairway corporate.

Requirements

✓Buyer must have a Fairway Advantage Pre-Approval (fully underwritten)
✓FHA, VA, or Conventional loan programs
✓Sales price limit of $1,000,000
✓Single-family home, townhome, or warrantable condo
✓No home sale contingency. The buyer cannot be relying on proceeds from another property
✓Primary residence, second home, and investment purchases are all eligible
✓Addendum issued in 1-2 hours once conditions are cleared

Why this matters for your listings

When you are the listing agent, a buyer presenting a Fairway Cash Guarantee addendum alongside their offer signals something no standard pre-qualification letter can: this buyer has already cleared underwriting. The financing is as certain as it can be before a property is identified.

That is a different conversation with a seller than "I have a pre-approval letter." It can win a deal in a multiple-offer situation.

The addendum can be used on multiple offers

A signed Cash Guarantee addendum is valid until the Fairway Advantage Pre-Approval expires and can be submitted with offers on multiple properties. Your buyer does not need a new addendum for each home they make an offer on. Fairway signs the addendum before the other parties and before a property is tied to the file, so buyers can include it with their offers. Note that an addendum will not be issued with less than 30 days remaining on the pre-approval.

Fine print agents ask about

✓Both agents still get paid per the original purchase agreement if the guarantee triggers and Fairway buys the home
✓No changes to your sales contract language are needed. The addendum is simply an addition
✓The guarantee triggers only on financing failure, not on inspection disputes, cold feet, or other contingencies
✓If an appraisal gap the buyer cannot cover kills the financing, Fairway buys at the appraised value or the contract price, whichever is less, or pays the seller $10,000
✓New construction qualifies only if the Certificate of Occupancy was issued before contract and addendum are executed
✓Buyer's agents: consider adding earnest money protection language to the contract in case the guarantee triggers. Ken can share the suggested wording

Candor Technology

Faster Closings. Intelligent Data. Precision Decisions.

Fairway uses Candor, an AI-powered underwriting technology that moves the heavy lifting of underwriting to the very beginning of the loan process.

Near-Instant Approvals

Candor delivers a fully underwritten conditional approval in as little as 90 seconds. Your buyers get certainty faster than any traditional approval process allows.

Faster Closings

Average cycle times are reduced by 6 to 10 days. That means you close sooner, get paid sooner, and your clients move in on schedule.

Cash-Like Certainty

By applying underwriter-level expertise at the point of sale, buyers can make offers with a level of confidence that rivals cash. Fewer walkways. Less fear. More deals closed.

Loan Programs

A Loan for Every Buyer You Send.

Every client deserves an option, not a rejection. In addition to Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA financing, I help agents serve clients who do not fit inside the traditional lending box: bank statement loans, 1099 loans, DSCR investor loans, P&L loans, reverse mortgages, ITIN loans, non-warrantable condominiums, interest-only options, and asset utilization loans. More solutions mean more contracts that actually close.

Self-Employed Borrowers

Bank statement, 1099, and Profit and Loss loan programs qualify buyers on actual cash flow rather than adjusted gross income. Tax write-offs do not have to disqualify a strong borrower.

Real Estate Investors

DSCR loans qualify on the property's rental income. Low-doc qualifying. LLC ownership accepted. No cap on financed properties. Ideal for portfolio builders in Southern Maryland and Virginia.

Veterans and Active-Duty Military

VA loans with $0 down and no PMI. VA jumbo loans above $806,500. VA loans for 1 to 4 unit multifamily properties. Ken Powell is a retired Navy veteran who used this benefit personally.

Zero Down Options

USDA loans for eligible rural and suburban properties across Southern Maryland. VA loans for eligible veterans. Both offer $0 down with no PMI requirements.

ITIN and Non-Traditional Credit

ITIN loans for non-resident buyers without a Social Security number. Programs for buyers with past derogatory credit events including bankruptcies, foreclosures, and short sales.

High Value Properties

Jumbo loans above $806,500 including bank statement jumbo for self-employed buyers and VA jumbo for veterans. Over 200 active listings above conforming limits in Southern Maryland.

Faster Closings. Intelligent Data. Precision Decisions.

We Use AI to Simplify the Buying Process for Your Clients.

Two pieces of technology do the heavy lifting on Ken's files. SOLO, the loan application app, makes it easy for clients to provide their information and reduces the number of documents they have to upload. Candor, Fairway's AI underwriting technology, then analyzes those documents quickly and precisely, putting the expertise of an underwriter at the point of sale. The result for your client is a pre-approval letter that carries cash-like certainty, and the result for you is a stronger offer and a faster path to the closing table.

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Near-Instant Approvals

With Candor, the heavy lifting of underwriting happens at the very beginning of the loan process. Buyers can receive a fully underwritten conditional approval in as little as 90 seconds.

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Closings 6 to 10 Days Faster

Candor reduces average cycle times by 6 to 10 days compared to the competition. Your client gets keys sooner, your listing closes sooner, and you get paid sooner.

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Cash-Like Certainty

Underwriter expertise applied at the point of sale means buyers make offers with confidence that rivals cash: no waiting, near-instant decisions, less fear and uncertainty, and fewer walkaways. Pair it with the Cash Guarantee and the offer is corporate-backed too.

Let's Build Something Bigger Than Transactions

What Working with Ken Looks Like.

I understand what agents need from a lending partner because I have spent years on the other side of the transaction. Before becoming a loan officer, I was a licensed Realtor with over $22 million in closed real estate sales across Southern Maryland and the surrounding region. I know how a deal feels from where you are standing.

When you send me a buyer, I will call your client promptly, have a real conversation about their situation and their goals, and come back to you with a clear picture of what they qualify for and what loan makes the most sense. I do not push products. I ask questions and find solutions.

And when we are under contract, I keep you informed at every step so you are never in a position of not knowing where your deal stands.

Send Ken a Referral

📞 (240) 237-7855 ✉️ ken.powell@fairwaymc.com Schedule a Partner Consultation Today

NMLS #2656628 · 9375 Chesapeake Street, Suite 203, La Plata, MD 20646