Mack Franklin Blankenship, Jr., aka MortgageMack, believes homeownership is the first step to building financial and housing security. “And the sooner a person starts building equity in a home, the better their financial prospects are for the future,” he says. It’s his motivation for empowering buyers to make confident decisions about the home they purchase, and the financing they choose. 

Blankenship, vice president of mortgage lending with Rate, has experienced a variety of housing market ups and downs in his 30-plus years in lending and, as a result, has developed superior problem-solving skills.

He switched to a career in lending from newspaper ad sales to best support his family in the summer of 1993 and quickly became passionate about the industry. Despite industry-wide challenges in 2024, his business substantially increased from the previous year because his team focused their messaging on the high-level service they provide to both Realtors and buyers. 

“We call it e³:  Educate, Empower and Execute,” Blankenship says. “With over 160 5-star reviews online, it’s clear with the Rate platform and my 30-plus years’ experience that TeamMortgageMack is setting a new standard for the mortgage loan experience.”

Blankenship and his team meet with every buyer for an interview to learn about their goals, build trust and educate and empower them about the process. “My team and I care about families becoming homeowners,” he says. “It’s our passion and we believe it shows.” 

Thanks to the concierge-level service MortgageMack and his team provide — always answering the phone unless they’re with another client — new referrals come quickly and consistently after closing.

A lifelong learner, Blankenship read more than a dozen books in 2024. His current reading list includes “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” by Friedrich Nietzsche and “This is Marketing” by Seth Godin.

Rate, inc. is a private corporation organized under the laws of the state of Delaware. It has no affiliation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture or any other government agency.