We recently connected with Karen Buelterman and have shared our conversation below.
Karen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?
I record videos of properties for real estate agents’ listings. I video the property but instead of videoing the inside of the property, I video the outside of the property and then the neighborhood it’s in. I show street scenes, historical sites, parks, shopping and dining sites and other areas of interest that a buyer might be interested in. This way, the real estate agent can focus on the property while I show potential buyers what the area or neighborhood has to offer. I have completed many of these throughout San Diego and have them posted on YouTube. I have had real success with agents as they know I am their partner who they can trust to help sell their listings and this service is free of charge to them.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I was a travel representative (representing destinations to travel agents) prior to doing mortgage loans. When 9/11 hit my income dropped 95% and I knew that it was time to look into another career. I called a friend of mine who’s husband owned a mortgage brokerage and asked if they were looking for someone- to do anything, really! She said to come on in and speak to some loan officers and see if this would be something I would be interested in, so I did. I liked what I saw and heard so I got a desk and a phone and taught myself the business. The only requirement at the time was to obtain a real estate license. There weren’t very many loan officers free to spend much time with me so I spoke to those who didn’t mind a shadow following them and learned the hard way how best to structure a loan that would benefit the client. During this time, there were a lot of cowboy activities with the products available at the time with subprime lenders. I didn’t use many of those lenders as I knew that most of the borrowers fit into regular loans and didn’t need most of the products offered, thankfully. I worked there until the mortgage meltdown in 2008 and then worked at Bank of America and learned how to do loans all over again since the structure and the mortgage business was so much different after the mortgage crisis. It was required to obtain an NMLS (National Mortgage Licensing System) license, where they pulled credit, and passed an extensive exam. This took many of the unscrupulous loan officers out of the picture. I then worked at a couple different direct lenders and then went back to a brokerage house, where I am currently. Since the mortgage crisis, brokerages cleaned up their act – by design. As a broker, I must have an NMLS license that is renewed annually and a real estate license that is renewed every four years. There are continuing education requirements that must be met and constant learning, for which I am a proponent. The industry is constantly changing and each lender has their own guidelines, A mortgage broker is an intermediary who can help you choose the best direct lender for clients and get the loan application through the process. Arbor works with over 150 different lenders which allows me to be able to help almost everyone which is important to me. The lending process can be cumbersome and confusing so it’s my job to act as a financial bridge that helps families achieve stability and security through home ownership. I do that through an educational approach that guides people through the home loan process and empowers them to confidently choose the mortgage program that is best for them. I want the client to feel comfortable with me and the product (payment) whether they are buying a $3M home or a $100K property.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Many loan officers have their clients complete a loan application online. I feel that this is missed opportunity as this is the time to really get to know the client and make sure that all of their questions are answered while getting to know that client well enough to know what they really want- or don’t want. This is the best opportunity to formulate not only a great relationship with the client but the structure of the loan as well. All of my questions are answered too during this time as well as being a time saver -I don’t have to go back to fill in the blanks later. There are also loan officers who hand off a loan application to someone else to structure the loan while they take more applications. To me, this is not a true loan officer as the structuring of the loan is one of the most important jobs a loan officer can do. Trusting someone else (usually a junior) to put together the loan package can easily blow up the loan when in underwriting. Of course there are some teams where their processes is a well-oiled machine and it works great, but for most it is not. Lastly, being available in the evenings, weekends and holidays for pre-approvals (when do most people look for homes to buy?) is paramount.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Working with real estate agents was my main source of referrals but I realized after several of my best agents retired or moved that there has to be another way to network. I researched networking groups and found a few groups that had the same philosophy as I did such as not getting referrals as a requirement to be in the group, but because the referrer trusted me to help their contact or client. I had never really joined networking groups before so this definitely took me out of my comfort zone but it was the best thing I did- to put myself out there in the unknown. This gave me the confidence to join groups outside of my industry such as the Lawyers Club of San Diego. I sponsor their events and activities and got involved with a whole new set of professionals that brought me to another level.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.arborfinancialgroup.net/mortgage-brokers/lo/karen-buelterman
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loanswithkaren/<https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/cMsPClYM8pSRZj41s9omdR?domain=facebook.com>
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-buelterman-27352724/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcFgVhTkR6MUGV-7dtG3ZkQ
Image Credits
Photos by Elsa