Written by: Grant LaViale

Change is the word I chose to focus on as my word of the year coming into 2021. It’s proving to be the right choice as I can proudly report I am already embracing change in my life and my business in this New Year. One of the ways in which I have started enacting change is by eliminating tasks and habits I found had taken away from my productivity. I have also hired an additional branch administrator for support, and re-aligned processors with the team. These are proactive and important changes made to ensure continued smooth operations and success. These changes were also in full alignment with my vision when I chose change as my word for the year.

Never in my wildest imagination, however, did I expect another change to suddenly hit and without warning. It’s easy to mentally prepare for planned upcoming changes, but when change hits you in the face, it feels like, and it truly is, a whole different ball game. I’m sure every one of us can relate to this in some way.

One of the cornerstones in my business for the past six years was having my friend and regional manager to rely on. In fact, coming into this year, he was about to be promoted to divisional manager. Suddenly, with no discussion, he resigned. I was shocked, devastated, hurt, sad, and never saw it coming. It felt like having a bomb thrown into my living room.

This was not what I expected or had in mind when I declared change to be my one word for 2021.

After four days of digesting reality and brushing off the dust from this unexpected bomb, here is what I would like to share by way of my takeaways and perspective:

1. This incident confirmed change is constant, as constant as the changing seasons in a year.
2. It’s not what happens to you, but how you handle it is what’s truly important.
3. It’s not healthy to worry about what you can’t control.
4. He who adapts first to change wins.
5. Most importantly, stay true to who you are. Not others, but yourself. Staying true to yourself allows you to adapt and align to the changes that ultimately define you.

There you have it. Change in all it encompasses. Whether expected, planned, or not, we must be fluid in how we address changes. We must be open to changing and growing and exploring new territories and unforeseen factors within our lives.

The year 2021 will unavoidably be one to include change for all of us. Let us welcome it, no matter what it may look like. If change wants to hit you in the face, then roll with the punch and brush it off. Your response will lead to a better, brighter future. Change will lead to benefits and bonuses we cannot see or understand right now. Have faith it will be better, eventually.

It’s true what they say: “When one door closes, another one opens,” and we know from our experience the new door is always a better one. I am sure more change is coming to me for 2021. I promise I will continue to embrace it. My hope is you will as well.

Everyone has a why: our purpose, cause, or belief drives us all. The question is, do you feel everyone in the mortgage business believes their why is helping families through the mortgage process? Well, this month I had the pleasure of interviewing Naz Wood, the processing manager at United Wholesale Lending, and I can confidently say her why is perfectly in line with what she does every day.

Tell me, how did you decide to join the mortgage business?

“I joined the industry almost 15 years ago. I knew I wanted to do something within the mortgage industry, but I didn’t have much knowledge of the different roles. I remember seeing a newspaper advertisement looking for loan processors. I thought why not let me see if they are willing to train for the role. When I went in for the interview, I thought there was no way I would land the job but I didn’t let it stop me, I knew I wanted to work in the industry and I had nothing to lose. I’m going to get this job! I went through multiple interviews and I was so excited when I landed the job. I felt so fortunate because I had found my calling while I was in my twenties.

I started at Ameriquest during the height of sub-prime lending when they were rapidly expanding. The office was in Sacramento and they were growing so fast they needed a lot of operations staff to help process the loans. I knew immediately this was my passion, I loved working with the loan officers and the more families I helped the more I loved my job. The mortgage industry wasn’t like other industries with a structured 9-to-5 job where you were doing the same tasks every day. This role allowed me to learn and problem solve while feeling a sense of fulfillment. I also loved how I was surrounded by a team around the same age as me.

Ameriquest’s training was pretty structured. I shadowed a few experienced processors followed by a few weeks of classroom training. Within a few months I learned basic Mortgage 101 all the way to funding. It didn’t take me long to realize I was doing the same tasks on every loan with the additives of a unique situation here and there.”

What one event in your career stands out the most?

“I was at Ameriquest and life was good. Shelby Elias was also at Ameriquest. He was brand new to the industry and I had already been working there for a few years. I became his processor and we instantly had a great working relationship, and our personalities meshed well together. About 3-½ years into Ameriquest there were rumors the industry was shifting. Things were happening and businesses were closing, but the whole time I was thinking we are okay because we are a big company and we will be fine. I remember the day when our Southern California office called and said they could not fund loans; they were shut down. As I was hanging up the phone, I looked out my window and I saw seven men in black suits walking past my window into the building. It’s hard to even explain the feeling I had at the time. We were called into a room with management and the men in black suits came in and said you are being shut down.

I remember walking out of the room thinking, what about the families that needed to close and fund? But we were told to go back to our desks, pack our stuff, and exit the building as soon as possible. To this day the event was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced because I was in this job in an industry I love and it was taken away from me.

For me being so young and naive I did not know exactly what happened. What would I do now? Is it all gone? I remember walking out of the building in a state of shock and there were recruiters in the parking lot asking us if we wanted to come and work for their companies? Shortly after Ameriquest went under, we started to see the ripple effect affecting other sub-prime lenders and once it started there weren’t many mortgage jobs available.

I started to realize I was traumatized by the whole experience so I decided I needed to step away from the industry completely because I needed something stable.”

What did you do after Ameriquest was shut down?

“I did some serious soul searching and I decided I needed to find something more stable where I wasn’t going to be laid off and the benefits would be excellent. The first thing that came to my mind was healthcare. I thought to myself healthcare isn’t going to go away so I decided to make the change to a whole new industry.

Although healthcare is a great industry, after a couple of years I realized I missed the hustle and bustle of the mortgage business. Thanks to social media I was still in contact with my loan officers and former associates. Shelby Elias stayed in the industry; he tried different things and we followed each other’s journey throughout the years.

So, after four years I was sitting at my desk one day not feeling fulfilled, and I messaged Shelby on Facebook and told him I thought it was time for me to return to the mortgage industry because nothing energized or fulfilled me like helping families through the mortgage process and guiding them home. He and I were talking and he offered me a position. I started with Shelby the next week and we were back together like nothing had ever changed.”

How do you keep the passion for our industry and what advice would you give for people to feel fulfilled in our industry?

“I think I have kept my fire going because I’ve gone through multiple cycles. I came in young with no money, then grew and obtained wealth, but then I lost it and had to rebuild. My mentality was totally different after I lost everything. People are motivated by different things. Personally, I am motivated by results and seeing people reach their goal of homeownership and seeing them happy. If your goal is to buy a house, I’m going to lead you there; the families are never a transaction, they are a relationship. If you come into the mortgage industry for the wrong reasons you are going to burn out because it just becomes a number and another month, but if you have the passion and fire, your light will never fade.”

Tell me about being a mom working in the mortgage business?

“I have the joy of being the mom of 8-year-old twin girls. My girls are so proud of me. They hear me on the phone helping families and they say, my mom is the boss. They see what I do and how I am on the phone helping families. They see how important it is for me to help our clients and at this age, it’s especially important because they listen and watch everything. I love being a role model for my girls and it is great they can see how much I care about others. Cherishing each moment we share together helps me balance our routines.”

What do you think are some vital things to have in your process flow to be able to handle growth?

“I highly recommend having strong systems in place like a CRM., CRMs provide an effective way to manage and easily track leads. There are so many sources such as text messages, Facebook, emails, and phone calls, you must have a way to track and follow up with them so you can stay connected and continue to evaluate your best lead sources. We have a system lead tracker to make sure we connect with the prospect within 24 hours. We work as a team to reach out and set up calls and videos so we can take an application ASAP. I think a lot of times what happens with loan officers is they get so many leads and between loans in progress and new leads it’s easy to forget to follow up with agents we have spent years building relationships with so it’s important for us to balance new clients with the existing partners.

We have a system in place where once a loan goes from lead to pre-approved, we have gifts we send out. I then call them weekly to check to see how things are going, and I check in with the agent to see if I can help with any other offers they are working on at the time.

Once the family goes under contract, our special team becomes involved with every detail. They will call the agents and I do spot checks with clients to make sure everyone is happy. We have our system built out to be able to track movement and we have automated e-mails throughout the process. With the help of technology, myself, and the team, we make sure customer service is at the highest level possible.”

What do you think the most important piece of customer service is for the borrower? When working with the borrower what is the biggest piece you need to provide?

“I think personal communication really matters throughout the entire process. It is very easy for us to call someone and say hey, “your closing disclosure is out, just sign it.” What is a
closing disclosure? Having a casual conversation with our clients and letting them know what a closing disclosure is and the importance of it and not being in just a routine using the
standard language we use, for example, it’s a three-day cooling off period, blah, blah, blah. We explain the why and the importance of it and we review it with them. It’s very important we review it together and it’s all about effectively communicating with clients like a normal conversation and really connecting with them depending on what their personalities are and meeting their level of comprehension. If it’s somebody who’s younger and maybe never bought a house before they are probably scared, but I can probably explain to people who are experienced and are possibly buying their second or third house I am sending some disclosures and you know the process. I alter my conversation based on their experience level.”

Naz, what’s on the horizon for you and United Wholesale Lending?

“It is such a crazy time in our industry right now. We are so busy and there’s so many families to help. A few months ago, we were named the 7th broker in the nation. I am so proud of Shelby, Peter, and the whole team. When I see our logo or talk to our agents, I am so honored to be part of the team; it’s just so exciting, it literally makes you want to work harder because we are building something together.”

Naz, if you were going to give one piece of advice to someone coming into our industry what would it be?

“I would tell them this is an amazing industry and you can have a great career but understand our industry has ups and downs so be HUMBLE. When you initially come in, you’re going to realize there is an opportunity to make a good living but you don’t want your financial success to change you or your lifestyle because sometimes as fast as you make it the market can turn and you may need to adjust your spending. If you stay true to the joy of helping people the business will always be there for you and you can have a long, successful, and rewarding career.

I am so blessed because I truly enjoy helping people who like me now and have the joy of being a homeowner. I enjoy holding our borrowers’ hands as we explain what is going to happen step by step. I think the mortgage process is very emotional for our families, the unknown can be scary, and if we take control and responsibility for walking them through it, they will be confident and excited the whole way through. I am so grateful I can make them comfortable and it kind of gives me chills because I am making a difference in their lives. Every transaction is very personal to me.”