Lori, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

It has been my mission in my career to educate and empower. This stems from how I felt business people treated me as a young woman in my twenties. When my husband and I bought our first home at 21. I was working full time as a bank teller. When we met with a mortgage lender for our loan. He treated us like children and that we were wasting his time. He even asked if I was a part time employee. when I gave him my annual salary. Through out the process he was condescending. No one at closing took the time to explain the process or the documents we were signing. I decided right then that as my career progressed. I would be an educator and advocate for all my customers. Regardless of status, finances, job or point in life.

Lori, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into the financial services industry as the best way to use my natural affinity for numbers and my love of working with the public. In this current phase of my career. I have chosen to focus on mortgage lending. I love the challenge of finding the best product fit for my customers. No two customers are alike. Thus it takes expertise and persistence to make sure the borrower gets into their new home with the mortgage that best suits their needs. I pride myself in carrying the stress of financing for my borrower. That way they can focus on other aspects of their home purchase.

I use my longevity in the mortgage and financial arena to be a professional asset to my borrowers and referral partners. It’s important to work with someone who is educated on financial markets, products , guidelines and trends. Also to work with a professional who has been successful through different market conditions especially volatile market conditions. Similar to what we have currently.

I pride myself that over 96% of my customer and realtor surveys are a perfect 5 from Social Survey. This is why I do this. Recently I received a picture with a family in front of the fireplace in their new home. The caption read “thank you Lori, you made this happen”. This came from a borrower who was originally with another lender. She did not feel that lender cared about her or had time for her. The greatest compliment I recently received from a borrower was, “you are the Chik-Fil-a of lenders everyone else is McDonalds.” This is exactly what I strive to deliver.

I work on a more personal level than most lenders. I stay with my borrowers from start to finish. They will not be passed to mutiple people in the process. They also will never be directed right to my website. I want to have a conversation first. I want to know their story and situation. That way I know the best solution for them. Also I can anticipate road blocks and knock them down before they are a problem.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My reputation is and always will be built on “do the right thing”. As a banker ethics has been everything in my career. I will always be honest and do what’s right for my customer, my company and myself. My name and reputation is everything. My goal is always to be building clients for life. I never look at a loan as a transaction. I want all my clients to trust in me with future business and referring friends and family.

Have you ever had to pivot?

10 years ago due to health issues I had to leave my career in retail banking management. When my health was restored and I was ready to restart my career. I did not want to go back to the high stress of corporate banking. It was a pivotal moment when I decided health and happiness was more important then work and status. The opportunity as a mortgage lender came unexpectedly. I had no book of business or referral partners. What I did have was determination, product and process knowledge. It has been such a blessing to be able to do what I love. While also having work, life balance. Sometimes God uses something that seems like a negative to bring us to the place we can receive his blessings.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.homeownersfg.com/lorisutphin
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lori-sutphin-a27921a
• Other: Lori Sutphin NMLS 591370 Homeowners Financial LLC 770-757-7845 [email protected]