A Veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, Ricky Khamis has devoted his life to helping others. Following his accomplished career as an Infantry Soldier in the military, he was tapped to manage Bally Total Fitness in Mesa Arizona where he was the top General Manager out of 330 clubs. While business management proved successful for him, Ricky still yearned for a career that would allow him to give back to his community while setting aside time for his family. At the recommendation of a close friend, he decided to explore the mortgage industry in November 1991. After spending a year working as an Assistant and learning the nuances of the business, Ricky went on his own and developed his book of business. Ricky’s tenacious ability to create relationships launched him into the top 1% of loan officers nationally where he spent much of his career. To serve his clients and referral partners at the highest level he earned his Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist Certification where he can train Certified Financial Planners in their credit hours to renew their licenses as well as his Certified Mortgage Advisor and Certified Veteran Lending Specialist. When assisting clients, Ricky and his team prefer a disciplined approach that recalls his time in the military. He extends that same attention to detail to his borrowers and partners, ensuring that their transactions run as smoothly as possible. “Everything I do has its place and order,” he says. “I coach my group a lot and hold them accountable to our metrics as a team. That way, our partners know exactly what they can expect and the time it will take to get things done.”
A lifelong student of the mortgage industry, Ricky maintains open channels of communication with his clients throughout the transaction and even keeps in touch with them well after the deals are done. For his expertise and depth of experience, he has earned a tremendous reputation in the industry, with most of his volume coming from referrals by partners, builders, and clients. “When I get into something, I go all in and learn every aspect of what I’m doing,” he says. “This has been true throughout my life—whether I was earning training certifications at my gym or staying on the cutting edge of the real estate market. Today, that’s why I’m a turndown lender for three different builders in my area; they know they can come to me after nobody else can figure it out.”
Ricky is a Certified Instructor for the Arizona Academy of Real Estate and has taught hundreds of Real Estate professionals their required CE hours, to classes with as many as 300 at an event. Ricky has taught classes in Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado, and Texas to thousands of Realtors to date. Outside his career, Ricky is a father of five, enjoys traveling with his family, training Jiu Jitsu with his sons, and making sure his beautiful wife is living her dream. In the future, he intends on building on his momentum and team, with a goal of servicing the largest region of any mortgage company in the country. “There’s no ceiling of achievement in this industry,” he says. “You can go as high as you want to go, and I thrive on that. At the end of the day, everything boils down to getting the deal done for that special family who was told no multiple times by multiple lenders.”
