SitusAMC Power Pro: Maximilian Schnurrenberger

Name: Maximilian Schnurrenberger 
Title: Senior Analyst 
Office: Denver, Colorado  

Day-to-day: I work on our Residential Brokerage team. We market loans to sellers and buyers in our industry and try to get a trade on between them. Some sellers are very sophisticated and their data is very organized, so we are pretty hands-off until a trade is on. We then help both parties push for a smooth and efficient funding. Other times, there will be a larger lift on our side and clients will lean on us for pricing guidance, pool optimization and ensuring the data they are providing is accurate and complete enough for a bidder to price a loan. So whether it's pricing, reviewing diligence findings or preparing funding schedules, we try to provide value whenever we can throughout the trade based on our client’s individual needs.  

Before SitusAMC: I started at SitusAMC in 2020. Before then, I was in a totally different role. I was working at a startup with only about 25 employees – mostly engineers and software developers. I was our Chief of Staff, but my role was highly operations focused. I managed our investor relations and patent portfolio with our attorneys, and our financials, working with a bookkeeper and our tax accountant. I also worked with our HR and other miscellaneous hats. The operations focus bleeds well into this role – especially the transaction advisory side, where you are wearing many hats – going from advisor to mediator to project manager, trying to keep both parties happy and focused on the trade.  

Getting started: I could sing the praises of my team every day. They’ve been responsible for getting me up to speed on pricing, trading mortgages and just gaining a general understanding of the market. I didn’t come from a mortgage background and there wasn’t much of a formal onboarding process for my role. It was a very fast-paced environment, so when they could, my teammates would teach me something new and I would take that on, and we would add more and more over time. And here I am now. As my colleague says, “Every day is a school day.” That very much has been the case and continues to be. 

Home is: I was born in Germany but my parents were both professors, so we bounced around a lot. We moved briefly to Minnesota, then to New Mexico and then back to Minnesota, and that's where I’d say I grew up – in an awesome little community in St. Paul. I grew up playing hockey and football in the street. It was that stereotypical gone-in-the-morning, back-at-night upbringing, which I think is pretty special. It’s not something as common as it used to be, so I feel really lucky to have grown up there.  

A passion takes flight: As a kid, I was super passionate about aviation. I loved anything flying-related. My high school had an internship program where we could leave early and work for education credits. I chose the airport to be around planes. I would spend a couple hours there every week, mopping the floors and sweeping airplane hangars. After a few months, my manager at the airport noticed my commitment and hard work and let me try other things. I learned how to tie down planes, drive the fuel truck, fuel planes and all the other things that need to get done at a small airport. They also had a flight school and rented planes out, so I got to know the pilots and the instructors and they’d take me flying here and there. Then, when one of my co-workers finished his instructor license, he taught me to fly without charging me anything as his “guinea pig” and first student. The owners of the flight school also let me rent planes for free as long as I covered the cost of fuel. It was an incredible opportunity! 

A valuable life lesson: After working at the flight school, I learned that if you show a great attitude, work hard and prove that you're responsible, it pays dividends. That's how I got into that role at the startup as well. I was employee number five when I joined. I started as, essentially, a project manager and worked my way up, taking on more responsibility with each step. It’s just that attitude of doing whatever needs to be done to move the ball down the field.  

My hobbies: I love the outdoors! I commute to work – five miles each way – so I’m on my bike almost every day. I also go out on weekends. I like to hike with my wife Mackenzie and my dog Cooper whenever I get the chance. I also play hockey, which I’ve played since I was a kid. 

Favorite childhood memory: My parents were geologists and archaeologists, so I got to go to Jordan when I was around four years old. Some of my coolest memories were visiting dig sites, watching “The Lion King” for the first time in Arabic and playing with other kids.  

Recommended reading: I've been reading a lot of Russian literature lately. I just picked up a collection of works by Pushkin. There’s a short story called “The Captain’s Daughter” that covers a lot of different themes like class and morality. I love that vein in literature a lot because it's so different from our world. I read before bed, so it’s nice to read about tsars and counts and fall into another world. 

Dream travel destination: I like to travel, but I don’t get to do it as much as I used to. I’ve been able to visit France and Amsterdam fairly recently, but I hadn’t planned any big trips while I was saving up for my wedding. Now that we’re on the other side of it, I’m looking at the honeymoon and finally going to Greece.