Franchise giant RE/MAX Holdings has hired mortgage industry veteran Vic Lombardo away from Guaranteed Rate Affinity to rebuild RE/MAX’s shrinking home lending division, Motto Mortgage.
Lombardo succeeds Ward Morrison, who retired in June after presiding over the franchise brand’s growth for nearly a decade following its 2016 launch.
Lombardo “is a phenomenal addition to the team,” RE/MAX Holdings CEO Erik Carlson said in a statement. “His background, skills and customer-first mindset will benefit our mortgage operations.”
Motto Mortgage doesn’t make loans but provides technology, training and marketing tools for mortgage brokers who work with wholesale lenders. Each Motto Mortgage franchise is independently owned, operated and licensed.
RE/MAX also provides third-party loan processing services to mortgage brokers through another subsidiary, wemlo, which it acquired in 2020.
Vic Lombardo
A former PHH Mortgage executive, Lombardo most recently served as chief operating officer at Guaranteed Rate Affinity, a joint venture between Chicago-based nonbank lender Guaranteed Rate and franchisor Anywhere Real Estate.
In his new role as RE/MAX’s president of mortgage services, Lombardo will oversee the growth and operations of Motto Mortgage and wemlo.
“I’ve admired Motto since its launch in 2016, and I’m excited to help scale its growth alongside wemlo,” Lombardo said in a statement. “Together, we can deliver more innovative solutions and exceptional experiences for brokers, loan originators and their customers.”
Motto Mortgage had enjoyed years of steady growth, with a long-term goal of operating 1,000 locations nationwide. In February, Motto Mortgage was named to the 2025 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 List for the sixth consecutive year, ranking 494th.
Motto Mortgage offices down 11% from peak
Source: RE/MAX earnings reports.
But since peaking at 246 at the end of 2023, the number of open Motto Mortgage offices has declined by 11 percent to 219 as of June 30.
Rising mortgage rates have slowed the pace at which Motto Mortgage signs new franchise agreements, and some existing franchises have gone out of business or not been renewed. Franchisees sign seven-year agreements directly with Motto Franchising, and 2024 was the first full year Motto has had offices come up for renewal.
Erik Carlson
Carlson said Lombardo is “focused on finding innovative ways to increase opportunities for Motto Mortgage brokerage owners and loan originators, which in turn will help strengthen offices and build market share.”
Lombardo also “has excellent ideas on maximizing the potential of wemlo,” Carlson said.
Mortgage has been a money-losing business for RE/MAX in recent years, generating a $3.2 million adjusted loss in the first half of 2025, up from a $2.8 million loss during the same period in 2024 (as measured by adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA).
At $6.8 million, H1 2025 mortgage revenue was down 7 percent from a year ago, outpacing the 2 percent reduction in adjusted EBITDA expenses to $9.9 million, RE/MAX said in reporting second quarter earnings.
RE/MAX turned a $4.7 million Q2 profit across all of its businesses by trimming expenses by 6 percent to $58.7 million.
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