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We are so excited for TOM Talk Episode Ten! Our President, Michael Kuentz, interviews one of our expert Loan Advisors – Joe Savala. Watch below. We hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and tune in to learn more about our company and employees!

Transcript (Speakers: Michael Kuentz – President, Joe Savala – Loan Advisor) COMING SOON

Here at Trinity Oaks Mortgage, our mission is to help you find your way Home! When dealing with your home financing, we are not only working with one of your largest personal financial investments; we also are handling one of your biggest dreams. Since we work with matters so close to the heart, we serve you from ours. Contact one of our loan advisors today – click here.

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube.

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We are so excited for TOM Talk Episode Nine! Our President, Michael Kuentz, interviews one of our expert Bilingual Loan Advisors – Catalina Irizarry. Watch below – transcript added for ADA. We hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and tune in to learn more about our company and employees!

Transcript (Speakers: Michael Kuentz – President, Catalina Irizarry – Bilingual Loan Advisor)

Words on screen; TOM TALK – POWERED BY TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE

Michael Kuentz: So the question is donde te ves dentro de cinco anos? (Translation: So the question is, where do you see yourself in five years?)

Catalina Irizarry: Bueno, dentro de cinco anos en esta compania me veo Segundo los pasas de military branch me encataria se una manager de un branch algundia. Pero eso poco a poco. Primero ahora estoy conociendo, aprendendo. Pero aje quiero haga un futuro. (Translation: Well, in five years in this company, I see myself second to the military branch passes. I would love to be a manager of a branch somewhere. But that little by little. First, now I am knowing, learning. But here, I want to make a future.)

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Let’s talk with… Catalina Irizarry

Michael Kuentz: Hey, TOM family. Thank you so much for joining us for another edition of TOM Talk. It’s been a little while since we’ve had an opportunity to talk, but I’m so blessed to be joined by Catalina today. Catalina is one of our loan officers out in our Frisco branch. And if you have not had the opportunity to meet this young lady, I strongly encourage you to do so. She is a joy to be around. And just you know, just, she has a heart for this business, a heart for the Lord, and we’re blessed to have her on this team. So Catalina, welcome to TOM Talk.

Catalina Irizarry: Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Mike, for having me. It’s an honor to be here with you guys.

Michael Kuentz: Of course. Yeah. So I know what you do. But tell us what is it you do here and how long have you been with it?

Catalina Irizarry: Well, I’m, I’m on loan advice, a bilingual loan advisor here, the Frisco branch. And I’ve been with the company only for four months. This is actually my fourth month. So, and I’ve been, I’m learning a lot of things and meeting a lot of people and it’s just, I just love what I do. I love, I love to serve people, and that’s, that’s what we focus on.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah. Well, I could tell that you know, Catalina and I had a chance to take the Frisco branch to lunch a couple of months back, I guess it’s been now maybe a few months and I had the chance to get to know her a little bit and she has a warm and inviting personality, and I think she’s going to do some amazing things in this business. And so you’re in month four, but I can tell you that you’ve got a lot of great runway ahead of you. So I’m excited for you. So tell me how you got started in this business.

Catalina Irizarry: Well before joining the military, I was a commercial property manager down in Florida, and I’ve always been fascinated by the real estate market. So I felt God was calling me back to it. So I started like kind of doing some research on what the requirements were to be a loan officer. And one day I was having lunch with a good friend and I was sharing with him, you know this calling to go back to work. And all of a sudden he said it, talk to me about a faith-based amazing mortgage company that he works for. And I was just, I just, at that moment, I just felt I wanted to be part of it and then I just asked him, can you please get me an interview with the Frisco Branch Manager? Even though it wasn’t holding a license at that time, I just really wanted to talk to the manager. And just to make the story short. I went from my interview two weeks before taking the license test. I passed the test and I got hired. So it seems to God’s plans and timings are always perfect.

Michael Kuentz: I’ve said that a thousand times and I’ll say it a hundred thousand more, you know, God’s timing is perfect. And that is a God story. What you just told. You know, we, our timing is so imperfect, but His is so perfect. And the fact that you had the interview, you took the test, you got hired. That is a perfect plan. And I got to tell you, passing that test is quite an accomplishment in itself, so well done. And then now it’s about starting to build that business, right. It’s starting to get to build those relationships. So let’s fast forward a little bit. Let’s go deep, deep, deep into the future. And I’m going to ask you a question. How would you like to be remembered?

Catalina Irizarry: I would like to be remembered as a person that like always likes to serve others, as someone that listens to people’s needs and went that extra mile to fulfill those needs. I want my clients to say Catalina not only sold me an interest rate or a loan, she listened to me. She advised. And she helped me achieve the dream of homeownership. That’s how I would like to be remembered.

Michael Kuentz: That’s good. Well, cause that’s it. And I, believe that you know, the mortgage business can be very transactional and that is not what we’re about at Trinity Oaks Mortgage. Catalina, you personify by your answer exactly what we are, and that is we’re you know, we’re life-giving people. That’s what we want to do. We want to provide a life-giving opportunity for people to help them realize some of their own financial goals and in most cases their biggest financial goals. So it’s great. It’s great that your heart’s in that place. Thank you. So how has – now I know this, but the world doesn’t know this. Well, I’m sure some people do, but how has your previous military experience helped you in the mortgage industry? And thank you for your service.

Catalina Irizarry: Thank you, Michael. I think teamwork is one of the fundamental skills in the military. And since I got to join the Frisco team a few months ago there were all these great ideas coming from our Sales Concierge, George. He wanted to find a way for the community up here, up north to know who Trinity Oaks Mortgage was. So so I immediately say, okay, let’s do it. We’re a team. So we just started gathering our ideas, and getting everything, you know, all the ideas together. And that’s when we started engaging in social media, we started creating videos. And just trying to keep like on social media, like posting like daily stuff pictures, things like that. And that we just wanted the community to know who Trinity Oaks Mortgage is and that is what we are doing right now. And I believe every loan officer has their own clients, but we really all work together with the same mission in vision. and there are not individuals in the Trinity Oaks Frisco, but I think there’s a team and that’s who we are and what we have in, in our brnch.

Michael Kuentz: Well, I feel that. I’ve visited your page and I’ve seen the great work and yes, I have seen George’s touch on it, so that’s good. I love what Frisco’s building. I really do. Brent’s leadership and the team that he’s building and you guys. You guys are a family within the broad family. And it’s great to see because you are, uh, you’re planting the seeds and that’s the most important thing is you’re getting your name out there. You’re planting the seeds. And Trinity Oaks is going to be a staple in the Frisco market. I’m sure of it. So, so do you have a mentor?

Catalina Irizarry: I do. I think, I think for many of us, our great leader Brent Freeman is our mentor. It is truly a blessing to be part of his team. Uh, but I think, uh, I have to say that here in the Frisco branch, we all try to mentor each other. We all have different skills, different strengths. We have former teachers, we have former real estate agents, bankers, army veterans. So, we really work together to accomplish the mission of helping people find their way Home. And we always make ourselves available for each other. No matter the time of day. Brent is truly a blessing for all the wise, but we, we kind of help each other out.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah. You lean on each other. That’s good because, you know, no matter God blesses us with different skillsets and, uh, uh, it’s nice to be able to pull all of those blessings together and all those skillsets together because the end product is a good one. Uh, so that’s great. Now, Brent is certainly one of my favorites. I can’t tell you, I wish we could clone him because he, uh, does so much for, he does so much for the broad business. Uh, but I know he’s helping you all collectively grow every day. So it’s great to, uh, great to hear that. So, success is always something we like to talk about, right. Every, you know, there’s, it’s easy to talk about the good things, but what about maybe your biggest failure and what did you learn from your biggest failure?

Catalina Irizarry: Well, I think we all have had many failures in life. But one, my biggest failure was, I think hoping to start an IT career right after I got out of the military. I’ve always been fascinated by technology computers. So I completed my associate’s and bachelors degree in such a short period of time in computer technology. And I was just going to interview after interviews and applying for jobs and I never got hired in an IT job. So that was a failure for me. But, you know, Isaiah 55:8 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” And so I learned to put all my plans into God’s hands, I learned that even when we don’t understand why things are not happening our way, we have to know there’s a bigger plan for us. And we have to let God be God and let Him fulfill His plans in my life. I mean, I honestly think that his plan was to get me into the mortgage industry, uh, to join this amazing company, not only to work, uh, selling loans, uh, but also to be able to serve and impact people with my faith in Christ.

Michael Kuentz: That’s good. Yes. So here’s the good news though, about your, your quest for technology and to be in that side of the business, guess what mortgage is fast becoming? And they’ve always taught mortgage has always talked about being a technology industry, but I firmly believe that where this business continues to go to, uh, is a very tech-centric, tech-savvy type business. Yeah. I don’t think it will ever necessarily replace relationships. I think that’s something that, uh, independent mortgage bankers, like Trinity Oaks Mortgage have a competitive advantage around because we have great people like you being able to build relationships, but you utilize the technology that, that exists out there to make that customer experience so much better. So I think the roots that you were planting will serve you very well because you understand how technology must play a part in this financial decision. So, and I can’t wait cause I’m so excited about the things we’re doing here to create a better customer experience, because we’re going to be able to meet customers no matter where they are. If they’re a baby boomer, if they’re a millennial, it doesn’t matter. We’re going to find a buying experience. That, uh, that background’s going to serve you?

Catalina Irizarry: I got a few customers, a few clients, not from the Dallas area. I have a customer who’s closing next month. He’s in Killeen, he’s on active duty. And when I first talked to him, he was like, okay. So do I have to go to Dallas to do all the paperwork for that application? I was like, no, we have an app. You can upload everything to the app. See the status of your loan. Like there is a lot of technology that is in our hands. And at the same time, I’ve had, uh, people that they don’t want to know anything about technology. It’s just, okay, now I’ll just meet you. We’ll meet be halfway. You gave me the paperwork, but we’ll make copies. That’s not an issue, you know, but when we have to take advantage of that technology,

Michael Kuentz: No, that’s great. Yeah. Meet them where they are. That’s what we are here to do. We’re here to meet them where they are. All right. So I got, uh, one final question and I’m going to do my very best and asking this question, and then I want you to do what you do best in terms of meeting our bilingual customers. So the question is donde te ves dentro de cinco anos? (Translation: Where do you see yourself in five years?)

Catalina Irizarry: Bueno, Dentro de cinco anos en esta compania me veo Segundo los pasas de military branch me encataria se una manager de un branch algundia. Pero eso poco a poco. Primero ahora estoy conociendo, aprendendo. Pero aje quiero gar un futuro. (Translation: Well, in five years in this company I see myself second to the military branch passes I would love to be a manager of a branch somewhere. But that little by little. First, now I am knowing, learning. But here I want to create a future.)

Michael Kuentz: We want to help you grow and develop into that. And we want to help you continue to learn and, and educate yourself through this business. We’re just so blessed to have you, uh, I know everybody on the other end of this today is blessed to hear your story. And so, Catalina, we appreciate you so much. Thank you for being a part of our team.

Catalina Irizarry: Muchas gracias ustedes. Thank you very much.

Michael Kuentz: Thank you. Have a great day.

Catalina Irizarry: You too.

Michael Kuentz: Bye

Catalina Irizarry: Bye.

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Thanks for watching!

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

Here at Trinity Oaks Mortgage, our mission is to help you find your way Home! When dealing with your home financing, we are not only working with one of your largest personal financial investments; we also are handling one of your biggest dreams. Since we work with matters so close to the heart, we serve you from ours. Contact one of our loan advisors today – click here.

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube.

The post TOM Talk Episode Nine appeared first on Trinity Oaks Mortgage.

We are so excited for TOM Talk Episode Eight! Our President, Michael Kuentz interviews one of our expert Loan Advisors – Sharon Kane. Watch below – transcript added for ADA. We hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and tune in to learn more about our company and employees!

Transcript (Speakers: Michael Kuentz – President, Sharon Kane – Loan Advisor)

Words on screen; TOM TALK – POWERED BY TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE

Michael Kuentz: Yeah. They say to forgive is to set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner was you.

Sharon Kane: Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: It is a freeing and it, you know, it doesn’t mean you forget you, you that’s not it, but to forgive is, is something that is so. Freeing and a release from you in a weight lifted. And so I’m so glad you discovered that. I think it’s all, it’s a great reminder for us all and that daily, we should be forgiving those around us.

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Let’s talk with… Sharon Kane

Michael Kuentz: Hey, TOM family, welcome to another edition of TOM Talk. You know, we’re excited. To be able to welcome Sharon Kane into the TOM Talk seat this week. It’s exciting because yeah, I haven’t had the chance to personally meet Sharon. And so to be able to talk to Sharon like this through Teams it feels really good. It’s been a, been a long time since we’ve talked. So Sharon, welcome to the TOM Talk.

Sharon Kane: Well, thank you for having me truly.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah, of course. Well, so let’s do some of the quick tactical questions. What do you do for us? How long have you been here and where do you reside in the state of Texas?

Sharon Kane: So, first answer is I’m a loan advisor. Which, those in the industry would wonder what a loan advisor is in comparison to a loan officer. And to me, I think there’s a drastic difference.

Michael Kuentz: Tell us. Yeah, please.

Sharon Kane: Gosh, a loan advisor as a counselor is a partner with the client. And the thing that I love about Trinity Oaks is we bring them into the fold of the family. I mean, we literally guide them as if they were a family member and as if it were something that we would want for ourselves. Right. I mean, it’s just, it’s all about. Cause we, we know, we know we all know others in the industry and the pace is so fast and many times the client is forgotten and they become another number right in the process.

The biggest thing that, and I’m, gosh, I know for a fact I work with the best people in the industry. I know it. I know it, I know it.. Yeah, I really do. Whether it’s my fellow brothers and sisters, or it’s the processors or the underwriters, because we, when there’s a calling and there’s a special need on a file or a client, everybody rallies it’s with heart. And many times, because of that, I have realtors. I have clients calling for family members that, you know, and just need us to take it over and fix it and get them Home, you know, it’s just.

Michael Kuentz: Terrific.

Sharon Kane: It’s something that’s just amazing. You know, it’s just, it’s a gift.

Michael Kuentz: It is. And I’m so glad you brought that distinction because Loan Advising versus just simply being a Loan Officer. And this is that we’re not trying to be disparaging towards the titling of these things, but I think we, within our industry, are moving into a new world where we’re helping people create wealth. And when you help people create wealth you’re not just simply a transactional person anymore. You are, you are advising. You’re a part of the future of their wealth creation. And so I think that is it’s paramount that we really draw that distinction. But through the process, like you talked about make them feel like they’re a part of something new and different and special because number one, we want them to come back to us the next time they think about home financing or the next time that they want to refer somebody. But we want to be that counselor, that special advisor throughout the process to where it makes it seamless and less stressful. So that’s good.

Sharon Kane: Most definitely because many come, whether it’s just filling out the initial application or they’ve been to somebody else regardless, there is a fear factor and an anxiety factor, and I don’t care who they are. They could be the fifth time home buying. It’s just, there is so much fear-based there will it all go through? Will it, you know, whether it’s a new build or a refinance or, you know, existing home, regardless of the process, there is a fear-based and we are the calm in that, we are the calm when they’re at the dinner table and they start to think about things and worry. They reach out because we’re not eight to five, we’re there as a partner.

Michael Kuentz: That’s good. Yeah. And you know, you talk about the stress when you have a supply and demand issue. Like we have right now in our marketplace and you’ve got, you know, Not just 10,000 over asking the 25 and 50 and upwards of a hundred thousand dollars. In some cases over asking, it can be extremely stressful for that pre-qualified buyer. That’s trying to go out on the market. And make a winning offer on a home, right?

Sharon Kane: Oh my gosh, absolutely. It’s painful. And some just don’t have that equity to offer that much. So they have to go down the road and it just, yes, it’s heartbreaking, but that’s where we’re the encouragers because God has a plan and that perfect home is there for them. They have to just be patient. And if it happens and I could give you a list of people that it’s happened to. So it’s all in believing God has a plan and he will deliver.

Michael Kuentz: Amen on that. So you’ve been with us for how long now?

Sharon Kane: I’m excited to say one year and five months as of yesterday!

Michael Kuentz: Congratulations. That’s awesome. Okay. Where do you live?

Sharon Kane: So I’m outside, I’m in the Austin area, but I service all of Texas. I mean, I was just in Houston and I was in Dallas. Yeah, it doesn’t matter.

Michael Kuentz: You do some loans up in Colorado as well.

Sharon Kane: I do, I do. And I actually have one at the end of the month that I’m flying in for. So, Oh, my first time, home buyers and nurtured them every step of the way don’t spend, don’t spend, you know, it’s young couples, so we’re, they’re calling me, but we really want this couch. Wait

Michael Kuentz: Just wait.

Sharon Kane: Wait. I know you said that but it’s only, I know, but it’ll look prettier when you’re closed because you won’t have enough. So, you know, it’s all about that. Just getting them there

Michael Kuentz: That’s awesome.

Sharon Kane: I love what we do. I mean, it’s just the thrill of the fight sometimes. Then we get them there.

Michael Kuentz: What a difference-maker to that. You’re going to be on an airplane to go see them. And I can, I could probably answer this next question, but what makes you feel inspired or like your best self?

Sharon Kane: You could, because hands down it’s God the gift of giving, but you know what, Michael, it’s not just, it’s not just loans. And I, I know I echo a lot of my brothers and sisters within TOM because we all think the same way. I don’t care if we’re at the grocery store and someone needs help. There is not something more soul-fulfilling than helping. The gift of being able to help. Right. I mean, it just is, I don’t know. It just, to me, it hits me the soul and that we get we’re on the giving side and we get the gifts.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah.

Sharon Kane: And return. I mean, it’s just, it’s magic.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah. You know, it’s interesting. Cause I love how you put that. It, you know, our mission is to reach people for Christ and give to the kingdom, whether you do a loan with us or not mission is to reach people for Christ and give to the kingdom. And I think that is what makes it special. I hear more and more stories around the company. About people that may or may not do a loan with us. And in some cases they can’t do a loan with us. Cause they’re there, they’re not at that qualification stage, but somehow we’ve helped them. Or maybe people we just pass on the street, but I hear a special story. That’s the story is when we want to raise up, because our mission is further than a transaction. It’s further than just a home it’s, it’s truly helping them find their way to their eternal home. And that’s a big fundamental difference in our heart and how we serve people.

Sharon Kane: Yes, that’s, that’s absolutely huge. Huge.

Michael Kuentz: So I could probably answer this question. What drew you to start working for Trinity Oaks Mortgage?

Sharon Kane: Well, you know what I have to say? It was just an incredibly pinnacle time. It just, it happened overnight. I don’t know that, but I was starting to feel with my current company and I come from corporate America. So I know how it works on the world is big enough for all the mortgage companies. And but the company I was working for was actually changing their structure. And to me, it was not in the favor of the client. So that’s where I felt, gosh, I’m not fulfilling my heart’s desire, which is to truly make an impact and help. And that’s when I just happened to talk to somebody, a branch manager that was working for TOM that actually called me and said cause she too had worked for the prior company and said, gosh, you know, I know blah, blah.

So I, you know, I thought about and started asking questions. And then when I went, Oh my gosh, faith-based. Yeah, that was divine intervention, even though, you know, there was another company that, you know, I just didn’t, I didn’t even look back. I was so confused it’s to the point. I mean, you’re going to think this is silly, many did, but I hit the President’s Club with my prior company and I left like literally a day before the trip to The Bahamas and all this stuff, but I didn’t even look back that didn’t matter to me what matters. I mean, what fills the soul at the end of the day is that, so yeah, there, I have not looked back. I have not regretted a second of it. I mean, I just love it.

Michael Kuentz: That’s good stuff, hearing that you burned the boats is that say, you know, there’s a book that I, I try to go back and read every few years, it’s called Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. And it talks about there’s. The second chapter of the book is a, is a chapter on faith and, and certainly, you know, faith in our, and our Lord and Savior, but also faith in yourself as making the decision to be able to say, This is where my path is now. It’s no longer here. So thank you for being a part of TOM, because that, you know, you truly burned the boats to be here. So we appreciate that. And I hope to see you on President’s Club for next year. I’m sure you got the video and all that.

Sharon Kane: I did.

Michael Kuentz: So we look forward to having you on that trip once you hit the qualification. So. What is the best compliment you have ever received?

Sharon Kane: So mom, mom, mom, and you’re going to think that’s silly, but you know, not only just from my kids, let me call mom, wait, I’m going to call mom, wait, I’m going to call, you know, I have three adult kids and you know, that’s a compliment because usually, they know everything right.

Michael Kuentz: Right.

Sharon Kane: But aside from that, what, even in the industry, I became the mortgage mom. I mean, at a very early time and you know, my. Career. And there were people calling me mortgage mom, and I’m like, I’m not old enough to be your mother, but I also didn’t want to be in a box so those that were older than me. I said, you know, I know you’ve heard I’m called the mortgage mom, but I mom your file. I mother your file. I won’t mother, you, you know.

Michael Kuentz: That’s good.

Sharon Kane: But I said, all it means is that I’m going to nurture this every step of the way. I’ll keep it posted, et cetera. And it was so funny because I’ve been called, you know, mortgage mom, my My God gifted mom. I, you know that and yesterday a new one came up because of course, it’s how pinnacle mother’s day. And a new one came up my second mama, which I thought, and that was a client that closed last month, you know, so I thought.

Michael Kuentz: Oh, how touching.

Sharon Kane: But yeah, so I tried to not go into a box of mortgage mom because I don’t want to exclude those that wouldn’t fit that, but many do come as you know, for, for the mortgage mom.

Michael Kuentz: Wow. So and. Happy post Mother’s Day to you. I hope you have a great day yesterday. And we celebrate moms. The sacrifice that moms make is something that dads couldn’t hold a candle to not to say that dads aren’t important, but moms truly are the nurturing, loving, toughest people. I know. So thank you for being a mom. We appreciate you.

Sharon Kane: It’s an honor to be a mom.

Michael Kuentz: Absolutely. So what’s the most important thing that you’ve learned in your life? You know, something that what was your life like before learning it? And then what is your life like now after learning it?

Sharon Kane: Really the most profound is forgiveness. And that is probably the most difficult, you know, there’s so many measurables of forgiveness, right. If there was a very devastating time in my life and my young adult life and, you know, I just, yeah, I was having trouble forgiving but knew that for my soul. And that God wanted me to forgive. And it just, it’s amazing how God did step in, but I was struggling with it. I will tell you I was struggling terribly with it. And what was amazing back then when I was in the corporate world and I was flying a bit. I’m telling ya the most emit it was divine intervention because every time, I mean, it had to have been three different flights all within this period of time that I kept going “Father in heaven, show me, you know, the way, show me a path where I can be at peace with this.”And. Right two-seater plane, you know, charter flights or whatever, you know, just connecting flights. And there’s a pastor of one denomination. There’s, you know, I mean, it was just one after another three different denominations and then they strike up the conversation and I went into it and boy, it was like, okay if there’s not a bigger sign and I was just at peace. So you can see that from that, I took it into a very complex piece, but a piece meaning P I E C E, which moved to peace of heart. And while many think that in, in forgiving that you can’t forgive the other person or, you know, everybody has their different pieces, but I was able to forgive that other person, not that I’m condoning that behavior or anything along those lines, but I was able to forgive and continue on, you know, and soul fulfilled.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah, they say to forgive. Is to set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner was you.

Sharon Kane: Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: It is a freeing and it, you know, it doesn’t mean you forget you, you, that’s not it, but to forgive is, is something that is so. Freeing and a release from you in a weight lifted. And so I’m so glad you discovered that. I think it’s all, it’s a great reminder for us all and that daily, we should be forgiving those around us.

Sharon Kane: So, and see, that’s the key, my goal. Once you learn it on the big thing, little things that forgiveness truly prevails. You just start to go. Ah, I forgive them. You can tell they’re in a bad mood or whatever the case may be, whether it’s at the car wash, you know, regardless, wherever it is.

Michael Kuentz: It’s good. It’s wisdom. Well, Sharon, I have thoroughly enjoyed this time with you. And I hope and pray that you continue to do great things for us here and that if there’s anything we can do for you, you know where we’re at, but it was so good getting to know you. And most importantly team, I hope you have enjoyed getting to know Sharon. So, Sharon, have a great day. Happy post-Mothers Day to you, and I wish you all the best.

Sharon Kane: Thank you. A pleasure, Michael. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule. I know. Appreciate it. Bye now.

Michael Kuentz: Bye.

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Thanks for watching!

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

Here at Trinity Oaks Mortgage we love being your lender! When dealing with your home financing, we are not only working with one of your largest personal financial investments; we also are handling one of your biggest dreams. Since we work with matters so close to the heart, we serve you from ours. Contact one of our loan advisors today – click here.

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube.

The post TOM Talk Episode Eight appeared first on Trinity Oaks Mortgage.

We are so excited for TOM Talk Episode Seven! Our President, Michael Kuentz interviews our Head of Secondary & Capital Markets – Aaron Bunn. Watch below – transcript added for ADA. We hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and tune in to learn more about our company and employees!

Transcript (Speakers: Michael Kuentz – President, Aaron Bunn – Head of Secondary & Capital Markets)

Words on screen; TOM TALK – POWERED BY TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE

Aaron Bunn: Man, probably the biggest thing that motivates me is just this company. And one of the biggest things that I love the most is knowing that I’m not just adding to a bottom line. I mean it, and I know it might be cliche, but you really don’t understand how much of this company is helping and reaching other people because of that bottom line.

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Let’s talk with… Aaron Bunn

Michael Kuentz: Hey, TOM family. Welcome to another edition of TOM talk. And we’re very blessed today to be joined by one of our leaders in the company. Aaron Bunn. Aaron is going to tell us all about what he does within the company. But he’s going to tell us certainly a lot about him as an individual. And I kind of think of Aaron as the wizard. You know, and Wizard of Oz because he’s the guy behind the curtain that is probably talking to every single person in the company, but you never get to see him. So, now you get to see his face. Here’s Aaron Bunn. Aaron. Welcome.

Aaron Bunn: Thank you so much. I’m so excited to talk with you and get through this together.

Michael Kuentz: You got it. Well, so tell us, what do you do here at Trinity Oaks Mortgage?

Aaron Bunn: Oh, man, what do I not do? Now I’m the Head of Secondary and Capital Markets. So, and in normal people’s terms, I sell all of our loans to our investors. It’s very, very fun. It’s very exciting. But it also very stressful at times. As we know that that kinda, that role and responsibility adds a little bit of pressure, especially towards the end of each month. But, really what I love about it. It’s just the challenge. It never stops changing. The challenge is great. It’s, I’ve always been a mathematician. Math has always been my favorite and easiest subject. So, working with the market and the numbers and, and hedging, our pipeline is something that when I first got into it and it was first presented to me as an option I naturally gravitated towards it. I got super excited, but it’s one of those things that it keeps me on my toes day in, day out. The market keeps me on my toes. As we know, the market can change in a blink of an eye. So that is something that’s really exciting to me. I enjoy the challenge, but when it comes to pressure, the severity of the role is really just controlling our cash and our margins and preserving the value of each one of our loans. So we can hit our goals, our profitability goals. Month in – month out, quarter in – quarter out, and obviously the end of the year. So, there is a lot of pressure, but I’m very, very humbled and grateful to have the opportunity to be entrusted with it as well. So, thank you for that.

Michael Kuentz: Absolutely. Well, you know it’s like it’s its own additional part of the business, the secondary market, and everybody understands the loan side or for the most part, anyways, you know, there’s loan officers and there’s real estate agents and there’s borrowers and there’s processing and underwriting. But, but when that loan is funded, it takes on a whole new, a whole new angle.

Aaron Bunn: Oh it does.

Michael Kuentz: And that’s an important one. Yeah, for sure.

Aaron Bunn: Yeah. It’s like a whole second side that nobody really sees from the origination and operations side of it. Operation gets a glimpse from helping us clear conditions to get them purchased. But yeah, it’s a, it’s a whole nother manufacturing per se process on the back end to get these things off of our lines so we can fund more loans.

Michael Kuentz:  That’s great. That’s great. So tell me, how long have you been with the company? Cause I’ve heard, you know, back when the company started, it was like a few tables, so I believe you were one of the originals.

Aaron Bunn: Yeah. So looking back at our old Christmas. I was looking back at photos of my phone and I came across one of the ones from our very first Christmas party. I think it was the second one that we had. So we opened the doors may of 2016 and I didn’t start until August. But yeah, this August 29th will be five years with the company, and I started out as a, we were so small, I started out as a Lock Desk coordinator/Post-Closing coordinator. And then once, obviously we grew to where those departments had to be separated. I was kind of that’s when I was presented with which route do you want to go? And when I didn’t know, a secondary was, all I knew was lock desk. Lock stuff with our investors didn’t know this whole second side of it. I actually turned it down twice. I said I wanted to go to post-closing cause that’s what I had the most experience in. So, I am so grateful that he did not let me go that route because they knew I would one be not really that anybody, he knew that my talent, so it wouldn’t be yeah. So he said your potential is in secondary. I trust you there. I know what your talents are. I need you there. And so I took a shot in the dark and James Hinton came on board and he was really my mentor who got me into secondary. And I think that’s about two and a half, almost three years now. Yeah, that I’ve been in secondary. So, I still dabble in post-closing quite a bit, but just to help out and train and give those pushes at the end of the month. But. Yeah, it has been something that has been very, very exciting to learn.

Michael Kuentz: Well, it’s been fun too. First of all, speaking of somebody, you mentioned James Hinton, I kind of call him the father of mortgage and James, if you listened to this out there, we thank you for all that you’ve done for Trinity Oaks. But he is, he, as they say, he’s forgotten more about mortgage than I’ll ever learn. But I can, I can attribute you know, James’ mentoring of you it’s paid off in spades because you have, you’ve really grown into quite , quite a leader in the company. We lean on you pretty heavily every day, so we appreciate you very much. Yeah. So, so yeah, that’s a work side for a second, but tell us something about you that most people familiar with you may not know.

Aaron Bunn: Oh man, there’s quite a bit, but I would have to say one of my biggest hobbies and things that a lot of people who don’t really know my personal life is playing the guitar. I’ve got this daily reminder, that’s my therapy per se. I’ve got my guitar hanging there and I just sit here and play it and I sing it. And that is something that gets me through. I mean, yeah, I’m definitely guilty as everybody else can probably attest to, to turning your volume up very high and everybody’s in American Idol in their vehicle. I’m pretty sure that both of my neighbors on each side of me can attest that I’m the same way inside my apartment. So, poor things. There’s actually a cool little fun fact. There have actually been some times where the woman who lives right behind my back actually. She’s saying she has a very, very renounced gospel voice. She has started singing on a couple of occasions. I’ve been singing and playing in here and she starts singing the harmony to the songs that she knows. So it’s, it’s just, it’s really cool. Music is one of those things that just brings everybody together. I know you’re familiar with it and it’s a way to really be able to communicate to people through song. And it’s really helped me through. It’s always been the backbone of my life, through all of my ups and downs.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah, I miss our days of being in the office a hundred percent of the time when I had my guitar up there and you and I stress relief together.

Aaron Bunn: Well, I’m looking forward to being in a hotel lobby with you, with a guitar. Maybe I get to relive one of those old stories.

Michael Kuentz: You’ve heard that story. Well, so you know, you’ve learned a lot, you’ve come a long way in your career as an individual contributor as a leader. What motivates you to get up every morning and go to work?

Aaron Bunn: Man, probably the biggest thing that motivates me is just this company in a whole, one of the biggest things that I love the most is knowing that I’m not just adding to a bottom line. I mean it, and I know it might be cliche, but you really don’t understand how much of this company is helping and reaching other people because of that bottom line. And I actually got the pleasure of knowing that at the leadership, I’m sorry, the president’s club trip in Florida to know that number was just outstanding and it was so funny. I was talking to Heather about it and we had a really deep conversation and she said, I just don’t. I can’t believe it. She was like the fact that you have somebody not just from John Houston and the executive team, but it filters down to all the executives and every employee that’s, there is totally on board. Totally understands. It, it brings a whole new meaning because as somebody who has been on that opposite side that has needed that type of help. And to be able to reach people I have just a greater sense of, of gratefulness and admiration for John and this company and everybody that’s a part of it.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah, it’s you know, I’m, I’m constantly reminded because I live in the world of, we need to do our job and execute, but John is such a great reminder to me in my leadership growth. Is that remember, it’s not just about the. You know, the giving to the kingdom. It’s the reaching people too. And you know, we did a great job as a company last year, we’re going to continue to do more. God wants us to be amazing stewards of this gift of being able to guide this ship. I mean, he ultimately guides us, but he gives us the capabilities and the abilities, and we want to reach more people. We’ve got some pretty fun goals as a company over the next three years and the number we’re going to reach, and I’m excited about what, what doors God’s going to continue to open. So, let me ask you kind of a question that I think we’d all try to answer to ourselves sometimes, but if you could go back and talk to your old 16-year-old self, what advice would you give to your 16-year-old self? And what, what would that be?

Aaron Bunn: Man always be kind, always be caring. I would say to always look at the glass half full because I’ve been the negative Nancy before, but through everything that I’ve been through from age 16 to today which I won’t give that number away. But, one of the biggest things is what I always fall back on in terms of what I try to teach my boys what I try to teach people that I’m in contact with. And what I try to teach people who work for me and with me is to always choose love. I mean, quick, quick, the story back when I worked in the financial industry, we would have customers come in all the time that would get so angry and take it out on them. And then it would affect the rest of their day. That’d be talking about that customer all day long. And I finally just got to the point where I’d tell people, just choose love. You love people. It’s one of the greatest commandments. We are called to love people as God has loved us. And I mean, that’s, if you don’t choose love your, your day is going to be ruined. There’s so much joy. There’s so much wasted emotion. The joy that’s stolen from it. I spent a lot of years. It took me a long time to learn that. But I’ll tell you it has helped me not lose moments, not ruin my joy and let it be stolen. So, I’d say be kind, be caring, be positive and always choose love.

Michael Kuentz: Well, Aaron you know, you’re a constant reminder that you’re always telling those stories. You’re, you’re, you’re you live our core values. I appreciate you so much. And you’ve done amazing things. You’re going to continue to do amazing things for our company. I see. I see a lot of runway ahead for you and it’s been a pleasure getting to talk to you today for TOM Talk. And group, I hope you get to know Aaron like I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him and certainly world out there meet Aaron. We love him here at Trinity Oaks Mortgage. Aaron, Thank you, buddy. Appreciate you.

Aaron Bunn: Michael. Thank you seriously for everything you’ve done for me and continue to do for this company. It’s much appreciated.

Michael Kuentz: Take care guys.

Aaron Bunn: Bye.

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Thanks for watching!

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

Here at Trinity Oaks Mortgage we love being your lender! When dealing with your home financing, we are not only working with one of your largest personal financial investments; we also are handling one of your biggest dreams. Since we work with matters so close to the heart, we serve you from ours. Contact one of our loan advisors today – click here.

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube.

The post TOM Talk Episode Seven appeared first on Trinity Oaks Mortgage.

We are so excited for TOM Talk Episode Six! Our President, Michael Kuentz interviews one of our Loan Processors – Ericka Thompson. Watch below – transcript added for ADA. We hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and tune in to learn more about our company and employees!

Transcript (Speakers: Michael Kuentz – President, Ericka Thompson- Loan Processor)

Words on screen; TOM TALK – POWERED BY TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE

Michael Kuentz: Ultimately what I want to, what I’m, what I want to gain out of all of this is a more transparent, a healthier, you know, we, we were blessed to be named the number one place to work, but that’s a survey, right. I want to continue to see. It in action, not just on paper. I want to continue to see, you know, Ericka growing and developing in her career and, and then telling other people about this cause it’s truly the best game in town type thing.

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Let’s talk with… Ericka Thompson

Michael Kuentz: Hey, TOM family. Welcome yet again to another edition of TOM talk. And as I’m always excited each and every time I get to do this, I’m super excited because I haven’t seen Ericka in far too long. I feel like you know, when Ericka joined us, gosh, last year then COVID hit us. Right. And so it’s great to see her face and just get to talk with her.

But team we’re, we’re blessed to talk with Ericka Thompson today. Ericka is part of our operations team. And I’ve just enjoyed getting to know her, although it was short-lived when, when when we got to talk face-to-face and I learned about she’s like me, coffee is like you know, coffee has to be a certain way for us to drink it just right. Then you have your coffee the way you like it. Tell me about it. Tell us about your coffee.

Ericka Thompson: Well, I’ve changed now to a different. It’s I’m a woman and I’m allowed to change my routine. So, now I am taking it’s called elevate and it helps you with focus and to get started. And I add a little bit of dairy-free hazelnut to it.

And so it’s kind of, it’s really helped me. I’m not a morning person at all. So, it helps me to get going and to have more of a positive outlook.

Michael Kuentz: Good for you. That’s awesome. I know, I know that was a bit of a curveball, but I just recall that story of you and I meeting at the coffee.

Ericka Thompson: Yes. Seems like every morning.

Michael Kuentz: One of your first days, so, well, Hey tell us what you do for us.

Ericka Thompson: I am a loan processor for one of the greatest teams that I’ve ever worked with our leader, Kelly is awesome. And I think we have a great team of mature ladies. It makes a difference and no, not to younger people, but it just really makes a difference to work with more mature staff and you know, more understanding and we’re able to, you know, buckle down and know that we have a job to do so it’s been great.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah. That’s awesome. And you know you’re, you said it best right. Maturity in this industry is important. You know, you’ve got kind of the, been there, done that. You’ve seen it all. There are not many things that. That you haven’t been able to work through before and businesses that are growing need that type of maturity. But at the same time, what I love about it too, Ericka is when we do go and bring in. You know, folks that, you know, don’t understand that mortgage has two G’s in it, you become almost an immediate mentor because you’ve, you’ve been able, to work through all of those hurdles over the course of your career.

But I agree with you. We’ve got a tremendous, tremendous operations team in general and I was talking to Christine this morning about that as I. I feel like, you know, capacity where we’re looking good. Tenure, we’re looking good. Even folks that are growing up in the organization, they’re getting more confident and we’re starting to build some real stability and scalability too.

So. Yeah. So you’ve been with us for a year. And what a year that you joined, right. Had, I mean.

Ericka Thompson: I know.

Michael Kuentz: I mean here one, one minute, we’re in the coffee room and the next minute we’re remote. What have you experienced over the course of this last year?

Ericka Thompson: Well, I think the year has really taught me a lot.  As far as. The unknown and what you can and can’t handle. And then I’ve met a few new boyfriends along the way with the Amazon guy, the FedEx guy. Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: We know him by name don’t we?

Ericka Thompson: Yeah, I know him by name. Hey! The trucks that go down this street and during the beginning, my neighbor. On either side, one of us was getting a visit from one of those three companies every day, maybe from all three in a day. But yeah, it’s just really taught me of the unknown. And I’ve had so many friends who lost their jobs and to know that our business kept going was really a blessing because you think about the things that you were doing before that you could really do without.

You know, and it’s just really been a blessing. And so many lives were lost during that time. I’ve had friends in the beginning, it was kind of almost like, eh, it’s not real, it’s not going to happen. But then as time going around on Facebook, it would be, do you really know anybody who’s actually had COVID it took a few months.

I mean by the summer. And then surely by September, everybody knew somebody who had been affected by COVID in one way or another, whether there was a death or just being, you know, having tested positive from it. So it just really was an eye-opener and it taught us a lot of ways that we can do things whoever would have thought that so many things can be done via zoom or via video. There are so many adjustments that have been made.

Michael Kuentz: I agree. I, you know, it was we had to kind of trial by fire, right. Overnight. We go from a place where we liked coming into the office to now we need to make sure that we’re set up we’re secure. We’re able to do our jobs remotely, you know, in some respects.

I mean, I love the human interaction and I miss that on a more consistent basis. But in some respects, I think it forced our hand. To, to be ready for what the mortgage industry you know, is gonna move to, you know, more remote, more technology, more leaning on that, making our people better through the investment of technology.

And so I think in some respects, but you’re right, it was such a blessing to be. And essential business because there are so many folks who still to this day are trying to pick up the pieces. And so we can, we can thank our father for that. No doubt about it. Yeah.

Ericka Thompson: I think if this pandemic had happened 10 years ago, nobody would have been able to survive it. I don’t think technology just was not there. So I think God has his timing and everything. Even with this, you know, 10 years ago. It just would have wiped everything out. So everything is in his perfect time and I believe

Michael Kuentz: That’s good. I love it. So what is the, what’s the one thing that you wish you had known when you began your career?

Ericka Thompson: Oh, my gosh. I think, I mean, I started, I don’t want to date myself, but Kelly and I laugh about old things that we remember back in the beginning, but I think the main thing is to know that you can impact someone’s life either way, whether it’s, you know, getting them in that dream home. Or not being able to where you get, you know, halfway through the process or even at the end of the process.

And then something happens to where you’re not able to do that loan. And that’s happened to me several times, whether it’s a mistake on my end, companies end, or on the borrowers and where they go at the last minute and buy a home full of furniture and you don’t even have the house yet, or you, you know, you have a 30 day late and it just ruins the whole thing.

So, to know that you have someone’s life in balance and to have in the very beginning, I didn’t understand because I was not a homeowner, but having gone through the process yourself, it’s a whole different ball game you have. So your life is in limbo. You’re just waiting. You had your kids here, you got your husband.

You have movers, you have all this stuff, just laying in the balance, depending on this one transaction and you’re, their lives are in your hands and to not to be nonchalant about it is you just can’t be, it just can’t be. You have to put yourself in their shoes.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah, really it couldn’t be once again with our perfect timing of our Lord and savior. It’s you know, we just went through a rebranding, right? Trinity Oaks and, JHH went through a rebranding and our brand vision. Right. What you just talked about. It’s so critical that we’re joyful. We’re a hope-filled, loving guide throughout that because we’re in this business. We know it, we do it every day.

And sometimes, you know, we’re doing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these. But that one family on the other end is doing it one time, maybe three times in their life who knows. And we’ve got to remember that and we’ve got to be that joyful, hopeful, loving guide.

Ericka Thompson: And it takes a little bit of learning to get something out of a customer that you need. We want to hit our numbers.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah.

Ericka Thompson: They have their lives that they’re living and it may not be that important to them, but they still want to close. But they don’t realize, we need this, we need this. You know, you “Lady send me, what I need or you will not close,” but you gotta find better words to say it, you know, to get them to know the importance of it.

Because if you send it at the last minute and then we won’t meet your closing, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem that important to them.

Michael Kuentz: Who says you’re not in sales, right. You’re also, you’re making sure to keep the transaction moving and absolutely. And you’ve got to do it with balance and grace, all of that. So that’s good. So, what advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue a career in mortgage similar to what you’re doing?

Ericka Thompson: I think it takes a lot of organization and balance because you have to be able to have so many different things going on in your head. Oh, and one thing for sure, for sure. I learned the hard way you have to be able to turn it off.

At the end of the day, when it’s over, it’s over. I would find myself early on in my career laying in bed in the middle of the night and waking up, going ah! Did I do this? Did I do that? I mean, I would constantly be thinking about it and thinking about and thinking about it, but it took time for me to say, no, I can’t. I have to cut this off and now live my life over here. Not saying that you don’t still think about it.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah.

Ericka Thompson: But you have to, you’ve gotta be able to divide that up. Be organized enough in your day. And when you’re closing out your day, make a list of what you have to do that next morning, but then once you close it up, you’re on with your family.

Yeah. You have to make that time, your family, your, your husband, or your kids, or whomever. And if you don’t have that just for your life, you have to be able to make that separation. So that’s what I would tell somebody. Don’t get too caught up in. You know, the number of files that you’re doing, just so you make a bonus or whatever, you have to still be able to balance your life.

What good is making the money, if you’re not going to be able to enjoy it with your family?

Michael Kuentz: Amen. A hundred percent.

Ericka Thompson: Yeah. Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: So, what, what are some of the best resources that you have found or that helped you along the way while you’ve been in this business?

Ericka Thompson: I think staying in contact with. All the employees or managers that I’ve worked with to see how different companies are doing things, or they may have heard something new that’s coming down the line, or you may have had a scenario at a previous company 10 years ago, but you still have the contacts and you can call them and say, Hey, do you remember when XYZ happened?

How did we handle that? Or what would you do if this situation came about? So, it’s really helpful to keep those good contacts from past companies to fall back on or just to go back and, you know, see how they would handle a situation. Or even if you have a difficult situation with an underwriter on making a decision, it’s good to bounce an idea off of another underwriter with a different company to see how they would look at it. So, a lot of underwriting is based on their opinion of the situation. Anyway.

Michael Kuentz: Yeah, no, that’s, I, I love that because and that’s anything in life right. We want to, we want to learn from experiences. We want to take our history with us and be able to then build networks around that and be able to, I call it my bat phone.

You know, I’ve got five or six people that I, you know, that I can get on speed dial. And my hope is I add value to them, but I know they add value to me. But you got to build that network. It’s so critical, so important because it can help you grow and develop. It can help us get deals across the finish line.

Maybe we didn’t think we could and help that family that we weren’t quite sure or not. So that’s really good, Ericka. That’s good. Well, I have to tell you, I’ve enjoyed this. I really, really have enjoyed seeing you. It’s been too long.

Ericka Thompson: Yes.

Michael Kuentz: And I look forward to the day that we can get at least maybe a few days in the office here again. But it’s a, it’s a real pleasure having you on this team. It really means the world to me to have you guys and you’re doing a great job obviously, and I look forward to just great things, for you and your time here. And great things for Trinity Oaks Mortgage.

Ericka Thompson: Thank you. I really enjoyed my time here and the people that I work with, most of all.

Michael Kuentz: Amen to that.

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Thanks for watching!

Words on screen; TOM TALK – Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

Here at Trinity Oaks Mortgage we love being your lender! When dealing with your home financing, we are not only working with one of your largest personal financial investments; we also are handling one of your biggest dreams. Since we work with matters so close to the heart, we serve you from ours. Contact one of our loan advisors today – click here.

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube.

The post TOM Talk Episode Six appeared first on Trinity Oaks Mortgage.

We are so excited for TOM Talk Episode Four! Our President, Michael Kuentz interviews our NRH Client Concierge – Kharis Hagen. Watch below – transcript added for ADA. We hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and tune in to learn more about our company and employees!

Transcript (Speakers: Michael Kuentz – President, Kharis Hagen – NRH Client Concierge)

(00:00-00:05): Words on screen; TOM TALK – POWERED BY TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE

Michael Kuentz: [00:00:05] What I want every employee to know is what you get to do every day. We should always be looking for an opportunity. To meet somebody where they’re at, you know, what’s happening on the other end of the phone can be stressful. It can be overwhelming, you know, they’re, they don’t understand this process as well as we all understand it. And so to have that calming voice that you bring, but then also to, to be looking for opportunities to just make that experience better. I just love what we’re doing here.

[00:00:38]: Words on screen; TOM TALK – Let’s Talk With… Kharis Hagen

Michael Kuentz: [00:00:43]Welcome to another edition of a, of TOM talk, where we get to meet some of the folks that are within our organization. And I’m really, really excited today. I have the pleasure of interviewing Kharis Hagan and Kharis is relatively new to the organization and someone that I haven’t had the pleasure of getting to know well enough. So. As you’re getting to know her out there in, in in the field. I’m going to get to know her a little bit today too. So Kharis, welcome to TOM Talk.

Kharis Hagen: [00:01:15] Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Michael Kuentz: [00:01:18] Of course. We’re glad to have you, so you got to, got to tell me a little bit about yourself. So let’s start with, you’ve been with us for how long now?

Kharis Hagen: [00:01:26] Five months.

Michael Kuentz: [00:01:28] Okay

Kharis Hagen: [00:01:28] Yeah, since September.

Michael Kuentz: [00:01:30] And you were out of the North Richland Hills location, is that correct? Yes.  It’s crazy. Todd just keeps hiring all these great people. So I love seeing Matt tell us about what you do for us here at Trinity Oak.

Kharis Hagen: [00:01:45] So my title is Client Concierge. And so really I think the heart of the position is to be that middleman, I think for the clients, at least when it comes to like little questions that they may have or if they don’t know exactly who to get in touch with, or, you know I just. Really reach out to them and see how they’re doing, how their experience has been how we can improve on things. If something didn’t go well or, you know so that’s been kind of a, a fun and interesting position. So yeah, I mean, we’re kind of just building on it as we go and figuring out what works and what doesn’t and it’s been fun.

Michael Kuentz: [00:02:25] I love it. No, I think it’s whenever I talked to Todd about this role, cause as soon as he shared just kind of the framework of it, I went, this is brilliant. This is a great idea. Because it just makes us better. It makes us better through the process. And I love concierge because to me, when I think of concierge, I think of a great experience at a great hotel walk in and it’s like, what can I do for you? And so it’s just so encouraging, and I will tell you you know, you were the first of our client concierge roles, and then we’ve taken that and expanded it even to our corporate location and other branches. We’ve got, we’ve got one of our folks out in Frisco now doing it. And I will tell you, I’m hearing nothing but positive from this. And I think we’re just going to continue to build on it. I’m a big white glove, you know, red carpet, customer service type person.

Kharis Hagen: [00:03:23] Totally.

Michael Kuentz: [00:03:24] And I think, you know, in this day and age, customer service is more of a cliché than a practice. And so I love, love, love to see and hear this from you.

Kharis Hagen: [00:03:35] Mhmm.

Michael Kuentz: [00:03:35] So that’s awesome. So have you, so have you Are there any stories that you’d come away with just experiences and customers you’ve dealt with? Good news, bad news, a little bit of everything.

Kharis Hagen: [00:03:45] Yeah. I thankfully have not had really any negative experiences so far. But I will say, and this was actually when I was out of town a few weeks ago. Amber had reached out and asked me to send a client something. I think his wife was having surgery and we try to find, and little things like that to just, you know, get in touch with the client it’s and stuff. And so I just ordered Tiff’s treats and had it delivered to their place. And I gave him a call ahead of time when I was like, Hey, just letting you know, expect something at your door. And I got a text maybe an hour later and he was like, How did you know that this was her favorite thing? It made her day all the better, like, Oh my gosh, thank you so much. And so sometimes it’s hard. Like when you’re reaching out to a customer you’ve never talked to you before. Like you never really know how it’s going to go and getting interactions. Like that was just, Oh my gosh. Like

Michael Kuentz: [00:04:41] It’s pretty rewarding. Yeah, no, I, I just, yeah. This is. Yeah, I think back about my time here at Trinity Oaks and you know, what I want every employee to know is what you get to do every day. We should always be looking for an opportunity. To meet somebody where they’re at, you know, what’s happening on the other end of the phone can be stressful.

Kharis Hagen: [00:05:07] Mhmm.

Michael Kuentz: [00:05:07] It can be overwhelming, you know, they’re, they don’t understand this process as well as we all understand it. And so to have that calming voice that you bring, but then also to, to be looking for opportunities to just make that experience better I just love what we’re doing here. So that’s great to hear. So Tell me about something that you do better than most people?

Kharis Hagen: [00:05:36] You know, I, I don’t know if I necessarily do it better than most people, but over the last few years in the different jobs that I’ve had, like. When things get really, really stressful, which, you know, it happens. I just feel like that is kind of my time to shine. I don’t know what it is, but it just, like, I put my nose to the grindstone and I like hunker down and I try to stay as level-headed, as I can. And I feel like that really works in my favor. You know, it’s inevitable and but yeah, I feel like I’m more motivated to work harder when things aren’t maybe going as great.

Michael Kuentz: [00:06:16] Wow. That’s, that’s a great attribute. And in the role you’re in, obviously you haven’t, you haven’t seen the other side of the coin yet. You’ve seen a lot of positive things, but as we always know, there’s. There’s going to you can’t please, everybody, even though our goal is to try to do that. So when those times come, you’re going to be very well equipped to to handle them. So that’s, that’s great to hear. I think it takes that kind of mentality to be in the service world. So that’s, that’s terrific. As, as my mentor said, when everybody else goes high, you go low with your voice. Calming, you go more under control. That’s great. So. What is the last goal that you achieved?

Kharis Hagen: [00:06:57] So over like the last few years, especially after college I just, you know, when you’re left on your own to kind of fend for yourself and figure things out I just kind of got on this path of really trying to improve on myself and take care of myself. And so over the last year, really, like I have. Falling in love with fitness. And so that has been a really fun journey. I’ve seen a lot of improvement, not just like physically, but mentally, like I’m just, yeah, it makes all the difference. So obviously it’s still a journey forever a goal really, but yeah, that’s kinda my bigger thing.

Michael Kuentz: [00:07:39] That’s great. Well you know, they say it’s 30 days, I think to break a habit, good, bad or indifferent, but that is really something I think we can all take stock and inventory, especially in a year where, you know, a virus that’s come through, like it has, and you start to think about the people it impacts the most. So health and wellness is so critical and I encourage just myself, our team, everybody to take inventory of that because. Yeah. Are we, are we going out to try to look like, you know, Adonis? No, but what we are trying to do is have a better internal feeling and a better, better mental experience because you’re right it sharpens your saw. And I think that is one of the greatest attributes of, of staying in shape. I did my Peloton this morning as a matter of fact.

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:25] Oh, very nice!

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:26] Very proud of myself. So, yeah.

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:29] That’s awesome!

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:30] So what was the last thing you were really excited about?

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:34] Well recently as of just a few weeks ago, I actually got to go skiing in Colorado.

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:41] Oh, nice.

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:42] And it’s been about 10 years since I’ve skied and I was not great back then, but I actually was pretty impressed at how well I could remember a few things. But yeah, I mean a blast of a trip. So it was. It was loads of fun.

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:56] Where about Colorado?

Kharis Hagen: [00:08:57] Pagosa Springs.

Michael Kuentz: [00:08:59] Oh yeah. Mr. Reynolds just got back from that general area. So that’s great. I gotta, I gotta take the family out there. I keep hearing good things. So that’s awesome.

Kharis Hagen: [00:09:10] Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: [00:09:10] So kind of moving back into the everyday realm of, of the client concierge role. What are some common misconceptions about your job?

Kharis Hagen: [00:09:22] I think, and I, it’s probably due to the fact that it is so new, so people really don’t know. I mean, you hear the name and you could probably think of a few things, but I think a lot of people kind of see me as more of a personal assistant.

Michael Kuentz: [00:09:38] Ok.

Kharis Hagen: [00:09:39] And that, you know, like I said, I think just comes with a lot of newness and not really knowing, but the, I mean, as we’ve talked about, the goal is really to like, love and reach out to clients and make sure that they’re doing well. And that’s really what it’s focused around, you know, just the client experience. And I may do a few things on the side. That’s not.

Michael Kuentz: [00:10:00] Yeah for sure.

Kharis Hagen: [00:10:01] That’s not, you know, The whole job.

Michael Kuentz: [00:10:04] That’s not the entirety. Yeah. Well, Hey, and, and that’s, you know, as I think about the service world, and I think about the business that we’re in, we compete against other independent mortgage bankers. We compete against big banks. We compete against big lenders. Is that our goal to try to. To, to beat or or, you know, win against them. Not necessarily our goal is to provide a great customer experience

Kharis Hagen: [00:10:31] Yep.

Michael Kuentz: [00:10:31] And something that differentiates us from everybody else. And whether it’s how we brand a product in the marketplace or it’s how we just hold their hand throughout the process and love on them because that’s it. We want from the first phone call, whether they come to us or we go to them or it’s through KLTY or, it’s through other lead sources that we’re able to pick that opportunity up and that customer relationship up. We want it to be a good one. And so what I believe you provide. Is you provide certainly the white glove service, but you provide where we can improve too, because you’re able to hear the things that maybe the customers are experiencing, identify that, bring it to Todd, bring it to me and go, Hey, this is a trend that we’re seeing. Let’s do better here or let’s expand on this because it’s really. Doing great things for the customer. So I, I think that that’s right. You were, you were more than a personal assistant. I can certainly speak to that. So that’s great.

Kharis Hagen: [00:11:32] And I, I have a friend who recently bought a house and I was telling her a little bit about what I was doing. And she’s like, man, I just wish so badly that we had somebody like you going through the process. Cause they have tons of questions and they, you know, so. Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: [00:11:49] And if I, if I, my assumption’s, correct. You’re not a mortgage banker, right. You didn’t come from the mortgage industry.

Kharis Hagen: [00:11:56] Right. Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: [00:11:58] And I think there’s some good in that too. And my mentor always talks about there’s no learning in knowing. And so sometimes because you don’t necessarily have 25 years of mortgage banking experience, but you have just a good heart and a willingness to help people being able to take that information in and say, I’ll go find an answer for you.

Kharis Hagen: [00:12:18] Mhmm.

Michael Kuentz: [00:12:20] That means the world to people in a lot of cases. So that’s great to hear.

Kharis Hagen: [00:12:23] Yeah.

Michael Kuentz: [00:12:24] So what’s something you’re looking forward to?

Kharis Hagen: [00:12:28] Something I’m looking forward to spring weather, certainly, which I think we’ve had a little bit of a taste of the last few days, Snowmageddon. So yeah, that’s been, that’s been awesome. And the same time I’ve, I’ve got a couple of weekend getaways. I’m planning with some college friends later on in the year, which is really exciting. And I’m excited about this year, so.

Michael Kuentz: [00:12:52] Good. Well, we’re we’re sure, excited about you and what you’re bringing to the team, what you’re bringing in North Richland Hills and. You know, we, we want to help you continue to grow and develop in your career here and and look forward to that growth and development too. So Kharis, thank you for being a part of TOM Talk today and we’ll we’ll talk soon.

Kharis Hagen: [00:13:11] Sounds good. Thanks for having me.

Michael Kuentz: [00:13:22] You bet. Take care.

[00:14:10]: Words on screen; TOM TALK – Thanks for watching!

[00:14:15] Words on screen; TOM TALK – Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

Here at Trinity Oaks Mortgage we love being your lender! When dealing with your home financing, we are not only working with one of your largest personal financial investments; we also are handling one of your biggest dreams. Since we work with matters so close to the heart, we serve you from ours. Contact one of our loan advisors today – click here.

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube.

The post TOM Talk Episode Four appeared first on Trinity Oaks Mortgage.

We are so excited for TOM Talk Episode Three! Our President, Michael Kuentz interviews our Crowley Branch Manager – Amanda Benton. Watch below – transcript added for ADA. We hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and tune in to learn more about our company and employees!

Transcript (Speakers: [MK] Michael Kuentz, [AB] Amanda Benton)

(00:00-00:05): Words on screen; TOM TALK – POWERED BY TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE

(00:05-00:23): AB – For me, it’s, you know, it’s the crowns. It is the legacy. What am I leaving behind? With you know, you know, every morning I pray that the Lord leads me to his people and he aligns me for his assignment.

(00:23-00:28): Words on screen; TOM TALK – Let’s Talk with… Amanda Benton

(00:28-01:05): MK – Hey, TOM family, happy Friday to all! I’m excited today because I get the opportunity to speak with Amanda Benton. For some of you who have not had the privilege of meeting Amanda, she is our branch manager in Crowley, and, just a few short miles away from me over here in Aledo. And unfortunately, we don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like, but, she continues to just do wonderful things out in the Crowley community and serving that community and her and her husband serving the Lord. And we’re just blessed to have Amanda. Amanda. Welcome.

(01:04-01:07): AB – Woo! Thank you for having me!

(01:07-01:13): MK – You’re welcome. You’re welcome. So how long have you been with, Trinity Oaks Mortgage?

(01:13-01:19): Almost three years. My anniversary is actually coming up on the 26th.

(01:20-01:27): MK – Good. I’ll make sure, and, I’ll make sure and send out a great, a great big celebration.

(01:27-01:27): AB – Thank you.

(01:27-01:44): MK – You’re welcome. So, let’s kind of bounce around a little bit. I want to learn all about you, but most importantly, I want the Tom family and the community to learn about Amanda. So, what is your greatest career accomplishment?

(01:46-03:18): AB – And that that’s a really hard question. Because there are so many that it’s like, what’s the greatest, it, it’s really hard to pick just one. I feel like it for me, like, probably it’s coming here. It was really, that was when my world changed. I’ve been, I’ve done this for 21 years, maybe 22. And everywhere I’ve been, you know, I’ve always worked for all the big banks. You know, I’ve worked for Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, Bank of America, Capital One, Citi Bank. But I was never able to, it was like living a double life. You know, compare, you know, when you went to work, you know, it was almost politically correct. And then you go home and then you have a home life. And since I’ve been here, my world is just, it is like night and day. It is like family here, within my own space, but also with the company as well, you know, it’s just, it was really starting TOM. And I used to actually pray every time I would pass the John Houston sign that is at the end of my street of my house. Every time I would pass it, I was like, man, I’m going to work with that guy one day. And the Lord literally brought me right here.

(03:18-04:20): MK – Yeah. I always, I try to. Every chance I get, because people ask the same thing is, you know, what brought you there? And obviously God brought me here, but for the first time in my life where, cause I worked for some of those big places, right. Those big brand names and, you know, having an equally yoked personal and business life is so unheard of, for a Christian walk and, you know, John and Tracy afford that opportunity for us to be safe in our walk with Christ. And, so it’s just an honor. I agree with you. This is a, an amazing place both professionally and personally. So, so tell me about. So that’s, that’s how you got here. That’s, that’s you being a part of this family, but tell me about a big mistake. That you know, has occurred in your life, how you dealt with it and really what you learned from that experience?

(04:20-07:08): AB – Well, I’ve made a lot of them and I think I’ve learned. I think I’ve learned more from my mistakes than I do from, you know, from not, probably one of the big ones that stands out was last year. We have a lot of people that are always coming in and trying to bring cookies or lunch or whatever. Right. You know, cause I got a big real estate team around me also.  and our title company brought in lunch one day and. I was like the last one to get in there and eat. So, they were already eaten. We had a room full of people and, and I ran in there, hurried up and grabbed me a plate. And then my phone rang as soon as, and I’ve been waiting for this call and expecting this call, but it rang like as soon as I put some food in my mouth. Right. And, I tried to hurry up and swallow and get the call. Cause I didn’t want to miss this guy. And I like choked so bad. Like they had to do Heimlich maneuver on me. Like I turned blue, like it, it was like a scary experience too. And, and you know, that was the scary part with it. But, you know, obviously I’ve made it through or whatever. And then, I called my husband, like as soon as it happened and I’m like, babe, I almost died today. I just want to tell you, I love you. He does like kind of thing. And he’s like, you know, he’s not like, how are you? Are you okay? You know, I didn’t get any of that kind of response. You know, his initial response was – who prayed over the food? And I was like, I was the last one in to eat. I, I really, it hadn’t crossed my mind yet. You know, I’m still getting over with the experience of choking. Right. And he’s like, who prayed over the food. And then he literally makes me put him on speaker and like do a video call and he makes me go around and ask who prayed over the food. And. Everybody, you know, like we just had the rah rah, the title company introduced them. No one had actually prayed over the food and he immediately went into prayer. And rebuked, you know, the experience and all this stuff, and thank you for our meal. And, and I was like, I was just repenting right then. And then, you know, my husband, “I have an irritating way of being right.” And I’m like, of course you do?

(07:08-07:13): MK – So, I love your husband. He’s a good man of God.

(07:13-07:15): AB – I pray now, for sure.

(07:16-07:40): MK – That was good stuff. So, Yeah, I believe we can all learn something there. God is good to us, not just for a few minutes in the morning and a few minutes before we go to bed. He’s good throughout the day and we need to be thanking him, especially when it comes to sitting down and having a meal. So that’s great. How do you evaluate success in your life?

(01:27-09:05): AB – Man. For me, it’s, you know, it’s the crowns. It is the legacy. What am I leaving behind with? You know, you know, every morning I pray that the Lord leads me to his people, and he aligns me for his assignment. And. You know, every day, you know, like I walked into this office two days ago and I had so many things planned for my day. And I had three people in the waiting room that I was not expecting. It was the whole day like that. I had people come in to see me that were not planned from nine o’clock in the morning until 9:30 that night, I was all day long. And it’s just. You know, what kind of legacy am I leaving with every person, you know, for me success, you know, the money with this career, you know, a lot of people measure their success by money. And I just feel like that is, like a bonus. It’s a side effect to what we get to do, and we get to bless others, you know, through our walk. But for me it truly is, It’s it. What kind of impact am I making?

(09:05-09:44): MK – Yeah. You know, that’s a good reminder because, you know, I, I know we never liked to have to go to funerals and, and, and, but when you start to hear about the legacy that people left, I always take inventory at that point, start to see, okay, how am I making a difference in people’s lives? What value am I injecting into their lives? Versus, you know, life giving versus life taking. And so, it’s good, Amanda, that’s a good way to, to think about it. So, tell me about a time where you went over and above the call of duty to get the job done.

(09:44-01:44): AB – Well, I, I, I do it every day. I would have to say.

(09:52-09:52): MK – That’s right.

(09:52-01:44): AB – Probably the one, you know, one that sticks out. His last month at month end, which feels like it was yesterday. Cause our time goes by so fast in this career. Last month, like the day before closing. I always call him pre-close all my buyers and make sure that they know all the important stuff that. They should know before they ever walk in the door, called pre closer, you know, pump her up, get her excited, you know, never know if the title company is going to let you go to a closing anymore. So, you know, I get ’em all cheered up and ready to go, get off the phone. Everything’s good. And she’s an executive at a large company. Hour later, this is the day before the last day of the month to close later, we get a hit that they opened up a new account.

(10:48-10:48): MK – Yep.

(01:27-11:22): AB – And I’m like, Oh, that’s nice. Okay. And I call and ask about it and she did not know anything about it. And she calls her husband on three-way and puts him into the call. And he was like, I only called to, to. Be ready to buy the fridge for after the closing, but not, I didn’t do anything wrong, Amanda. I was like, Oh, I wish it was that easy. Hahaha. So.

(11:22-011:22): MK – Yep.

(11:22-11:32): AB – You know, we go, we actually, you know, this is the beautiful part of our, our job here in our career here that we, we went into prayer immediately.

(11:32-11:32): MK – Good for you.

(11:32-11:40): AB – Lord make a way, you know, it. You know, her house was already going to be rented. Like she was already in temporary housing.

(11:40-01:44): MK – Wheels were in motion. Yep.

(01:27-12:18): AB – A U-Haul. The whole bit. And, she, three hours later, she’s on the phone trying to get an account number so we can get a credit supplement to get her credit updated and no bueno. And you know, she calls me back in tears. Doesn’t know what she’s going to do. You know, it’s, it’s, it’s working on one, two o’clock in the afternoon at this point. And I’m like, this is not looking so good. And I just, the Lord hit me. I used to work for that bank. And I know a guy.

(12:18-12:22): MK – Wow. Not what you know, not what you know.

(12:22-13:14): AB – Okay. But she could not get her own account number. I was like, I just need the account number. And so, I called my friend and I got what I needed and we were able to get her credit updated with all three agencies. Get it back, get it signed off on, you know, our. Our underwriting team and my processor. I mean, Laura Glenn and Erica. I mean, it, it just couldn’t have worked out any better. It, we didn’t skip a beat. We didn’t change our closing time. I mean, we all looked like rock stars and. It was showing up and showing off is exactly what just happened. It was just, I think it was one of the moments where the Lord winks at you and says, yeah, I still got it.

(13:14-13:31): MK – I love those moments, those are some of the best. So, that’s, that’s actually a really good segue to my final question for you. You could write a book about your life.  what would the title be and why?

(13:31-14:18): AB – Hmm. You know, it’s funny that, you’re asking that we, you know, did my office, and even at my church, we always do, kind of goals for the year. And that was one of the things that we had said this year is like, if you had a book, what would it be? And I’ve actually added a little bit to mind since then.  but I started this year with, treat them with honor. And you know, as the years went on, it’s in, don’t give up, never give up. Because sometimes you do have to keep treating them with honor. Even whenever your mind, your flesh tells you, you know, even when you have to fight it.

(14:19-14:19): MK – That’s good.

(14:20-14:41): AB – But, you know, everything we go through is, is our, you know, our history is really his story. And it’s, you know, treating them with honor. Like, I remember that every day, because it’s every day, it’s just a, what do you got in store for me today? Lord.

(14:42-14:50): MK – That’s a good way to live life right there. I would love for that to spread like wildfire and.

(14:50-14:52): AB – It’s actually my shirt. You see?

(14:52-14:55): MK – Love it! Yes. Not on my watch.

(14:55-14:56): AB – Not on my watch buddy.

(14:56-14:58): MK – That’s great. Well.

(14:58-14:59): AB – It’s actually a ministry.

(15:00-15:01): MK – Is it really? That’s awesome.

(15:01-15:16): AB – Yeah. That’s, that’s what we do. We, we give with every loan that I do, we give to The Answer International.  And it’s, you know, we are the answer.

(15:16-15:17): MK – The hands and feet.

(15:18-15:20): AB – Mhmm. Yeah. Good stuff.

(15:21-15:29): MK – Well, I see that you have, a little Valentine’s Day there. It looks like so happy early Valentine’s day.

(15:29-15:29): AB – Yeah.

(15:30-15:50): MK – At least that’s what it looks like. So, you and John enjoy that time together and Amanda, thank you. Thank you for doing this with me, but also just thank you for loving the Lord. Thank you for loving the TOM family, the JH Family of Companies, and I’m just excited for what God has in store for you and what God has in store for this company.

(15:50-15:50): AB – Yeah.

(15:50-15:55): MK – Yeah, we just need to keep trusting in everything He’s got in store and everything will just be fine.

(15:55-15:56): AB – Everyday, man.

(15:56-15:58): MK – All right. Thank you, Amanda. Take care.

(01:27-01:44): AB – Happy Valentines to you too. And the team.

(16:03-16:03): MK – Thank you.

(16:03-16:06): AB – Y’all come out to Crowley. Anytime.

(16:06-16:08): MK – Come on. Come West.

(16:08-16:08): AB – Yes.

(16:09-16:09): MK – Take care.

(16:10-16:13): Words on screen; TOM TALK – POWERED BY TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE

(16:13-16:17): Words on screen; Thanks for watching! Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

Here at Trinity Oaks Mortgage we love being your lender! When dealing with your home financing, we are not only working with one of your largest personal financial investments; we also are handling one of your biggest dreams. Since we work with matters so close to the heart, we serve you from ours. Contact one of our loan advisors today – click here.

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube.

The post TOM Talk Episode Three appeared first on Trinity Oaks Mortgage.

We are so excited for TOM Talk Episode Two! Our President, Michael Kuentz interviews our General Manager – Marci Webb. Watch below – transcript added for ADA. We hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and tune in to learn more about our company and employees!

Transcript (Speakers: [MK] Michael Kuentz – President, [MW] Marci Webb)

(00:00-00:05): Words on screen; TOM TALK – POWERED BY TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE

(00:05-00:46): MK – You know, I want to spend so much more time this year, getting back to reaching people and through reaching people, this business we’ll keep doing what we know God has intended for it to do.  I do feel like we, we got busy being busy again and in the virtual world that we’re in now.  we can still, God can still do amazing things and he can,  not only reach our employees, reach vendors, reach people that show up on LinkedIn and go, who is this company again? What are they doing?

(00:46-00:51): Words on screen; TOM TALK – Let’s Talk with… Marci Webb

(00:52-01:38): MK – Hey, TOM (Trinity Oaks Mortgage) Family.  Welcome to our second edition of  TOM Talk. And today, we all have the privilege of getting to know Marci Webb just a little bit better. I have had the pleasure and joy of being able to work with Marci now for almost two years. And I can tell you, there are special people in this company. But she is definitely at the top of my list in terms of special people. Her heart is just as big as gold and, she wants nothing but success for Trinity Oaks, for the JH Family of Companies and really her heart is to reach people. And so we’re just blessed to have Marci today on the call. Marci. Welcome.

(01:39-01:43): MW – Thank you so much, Michael. It’s a joy to be here.

(01:43-01:56): MK – Terrific. So. Yeah, we’ll just kind of go all over the map a little bit.

(01:48-01:48): MW – Sure.

(01:49-01:55): MK – And, but let’s start with a real easy one. How long have you been with Trinity Oaks Mortgage?

(01:56-02:15): MW – Four and a half years.  Trinity Oaks Mortgage opened its doors in March. Five years ago. And I came along the following August. So, we were brand spanking new when I came in the door and, have been working for the kingdom ever since.

(02:16-02:46): MK – Yeah. So, you got to see it when it was itsy bitsy. And now, now we look at us,  gosh, it’ll be five years, I guess, coming up here soon. And we are, gosh, we did, you know, almost $400 million last year in production. You know, our giving to the kingdom was just, through the roof. God’s blessing there, come a long way in a very short amount of time. Haven’t we?

(02:46-04:33): MW – It’s amazing to think. It’s such a God story. How I landed at Trinity Oaks to begin with. I was brought on board with absolutely no mortgage experience whatsoever.
35 plus years in human resources. And, I’m very good friends with Christine Walton and then even better friends with her parents. And I remember being at her parents’ house for dinner, and she was telling me about this brand new company that she was thinking about going to work for. And they were really Christ centered and I specifically remember her saying, “and they even give bibles after the closing.” And so fast forward, she reached out to me and said, we’re looking for the compliance person. And I said, well, Christine, you realize, you know, I have no mortgage experience at all. And she said, we’re looking for the right kind of people and we’re going to train you. And so after several more disclaimers, I came on board without ever interviewing with anybody and there were about 12 of us. And of the 12 of us, six were sitting in one room, almost literally shoulder to shoulder. And I remember the first month that I was there, I believe we sent out 21 Bibles to our customers, and fast forward to now, it’s been absolutely a joy to watch. Trinity Oaks just thrives as we continue to be obedient, as we continue to all do whatever it takes. And I’m kind of one of those, whatever, do whatever it takes kind of people. So I’ve done everything. Including emptying the trash. I mean, you know, whatever needs to happen to make this company grow is why I get up in the morning.

(04:33-05:17): MK – Yeah. And I can, I’m a witness to that. I have seen you roll up your sleeves, you know, I call you the get it done, girl, cause you really can. You find a way, no matter what the task is and you truly try to learn it. And so that, that we, as a company are protected. I can’t thank you enough because through this growth period, you know, as the general manager, but then also as a part of our compliance team,  you’ve had to wear many hats. You’ve had to do many things from licensing to ordering stuff for the office to handling, you know, some of our credit card charges too.

(05:17-05:17): MW – Yeah.

(05:17-05:31): MK – To talking with our compliance attorney. So you really do a little bit of everything. What is, what is one thing that you are currently trying to make a habit out of?

(05:37-06:39): MW – On a personal level? I’m trying to, redouble my efforts to memorize scripture. I have kind of fallen by the wayside on that habit, to be honest with you. And then I realized that, that was not where I wanted to be. So, I’ve been making an effort to memorize scripture, not just, Oh, I know that’s somewhere Philippians, but to actually know where it is and the context of it and then commit it to memory.  It’s kind of arrows in my quiver for throughout the day. If I lose my focus or lose my joy, I can pull one of those out and say it to myself and contemplate on it. And, that’s really something that I strive to do regularly. It’s not, not always easy. I find myself I’m getting the gist of it, but not necessarily all the words, but I’m on the right track.

(06:39-07:11): MK – Yeah. And, and that’s the great thing about our relationship with God too. Is,  you know, when we, as a company have a mission to reach people for Christ,  because of your faithfulness to that, wanting to commit yourself to that, when those opportunities present themselves, where you can share your heart or share the good news of Christ. He’ll provide you with the exact scripture and you’ll be prepared. So that’s an awesome habit, that I pray for you on this year.

(07:11-07:11): MW – Thank you.

(07:11-07:15): MK – So what energizes you outside of work?

(07:16-08:53): MW – Well, several things. Primarily my, focus in life, if you will, is to try to bring joy. Whether that be by helping somebody, whether that be by making them smile, giving them a helping hand.  I would love to know that when my time on earth comes to an end, that people associate me with, with joy. So that’s the overall mission. And, on a personal level, I have a weekly virtual Bible study with my ladies at church, and that energizes me just to keep me connected and focused. I’ve also started, this has kind of been interrupted by COVID. But, once a week, I have dinner with someone in my life with whom I don’t want to lose contact. Whether it be a college roommate, a childhood friend, a brother-in-law, my sister’s widowed husband. Whoever it is, I just rotate, and just try to keep in contact with those people, just so that I don’t lose them in my life and that I’m able to spread joy to them. And of course, lastly, but certainly, certainly not at least is my family.  They are, you know, the fact that I’m a mom, is the reason I’m here on earth. My husband and I have been married 33 years, so we have a wonderful loving family home. And that also energizes me.

(08:53-09:14): MK – Awesome. So good. So, you’ve worn many hats inside the organization. I know that you have goals and desires to really start to narrow that focus. So, talk to me about some professional goals this year.

(07:16-10:06): MW – Right now, I am, deeply in the midst of obtaining my mortgage compliance professional level one. And, that is something that I’d like to finish in 2021, so that I can then begin level two. It’s something that benefits the company, certainly, but it also benefits me because it gives me a greater context of what I’m doing for compliance. It’s giving me a lot of background education that I didn’t come with, and it makes me feel accomplished to get through those modules and move on to the next one. So I’m trying to narrow my focus to compliance. Although, I will always be the person that does whatever. But, I would like to improve my skills in the compliance field.

(10:06-10:33): MK – Well, that is an, I think that is, news and noteworthy for everybody that, that will hear this message is you’re investing in yourself. You’re sharpening your saw if you will. I think that’s great. I think, I think we need to be constantly looking at our trade and the skills that is required to be better at that trade. So what drives you?

(10:37-11:36): MW – I want to be a part of a team that is doing the right things. At all times. And I found that in Trinity Oaks. I want nothing more than to see this company succeed. I’ve literally  put, blood, sweat and tears into it, like many, many people. So, every day that I come to work, I want to learn how to do something better. Learn how to do something more efficiently.  You know, reach out to someone. I’m kind of a behind the scenes person. So, I don’t often interact with customers, but when I do have the chance to do that, I want them to have a great experience. So, that’s what drives me on a professional level. And of course, on a personal level, it’s to do what we do professionally, and that is to reach people for Christ and give to the kingdom. Whether that, that pretty much sums it up both personally and professionally.

(11:36-11:43): MK – That’s good. Good stuff. So, if you could snap your fingers and become an expert in something, what would it be?

(11:48-12:24): MW – The obvious answer is the Bible. But that’s actually more of a quest that I’m enjoying learning about. If I could snap my fingers and be an expert, it would definitely be mortgage law. Because, oh my goodness, there is so much to learn and it’s ever changing and which is what keeps it interesting. But, it would benefit everyone if I could snap my fingers and be a mortgage law expert. But, short of that, that’s why I keep striving. But, yeah, that’s, that would be wonderful to be able to do that.

(12:24-12:41): MK – Yeah. I think everybody that’s in this business and you as someone who, you know, didn’t know mortgage at all to now four and a half years later, you’ve been in this business.
I’ve been in this business for 22 – 23 years, if not a day, that I’m not learning something.

(12:41-12:41): MW – Right.

(12:42-13:41): MK – And I think that’s the joy of this industry is that it’s ever changing. But, you know, at the end of it all, we’re serving a pretty great purpose and that is helping people realize their American dream. So, Marci. You’re a joy to work with. You’re a joy to have on this team. I know that there’s so many people on this call that know that to be true. And hopefully those that haven’t had the pleasure of, of, getting to know you personally, feel a little bit more of what we all get to feel on a regular basis. So, I want to thank you for everything you do for Trinity Oaks, the (JH) Family of Companies, for individuals within the four walls of this company every day. And even though you don’t necessarily talk to customers, because you are such a great partner, throughout the organization that love is felt then by the customer for what you show to people internally. So, thank you.

(13:41-13:52): MW – Thank you Michael. It is my honor and privilege to be here. And, I just look forward to every day where we get the chance to work together and it’s a blessing to be led by you. So thank you very much.

(13:52-13:54): MK –Awesome. All right. Thanks Marci.

(13:54-13:55): MW – You bet.

(13:55-14:00): Words on screen; Thanks for watching! Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

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