Thursday, March 6, 2014

Informational Interview ( FIN 180 Blog Post #1)





Where do you work at? And what is your title with that company?

“ I work for Wells Fargo, and I am a Home Mortgage Consultant.”


How did you get started in this field?  What was your educational background?  

“ Well I was always interested in the business of real estate. But how I started in this field was when I was going for loan for myself and I was introduced to lending.  The loan officer guided me to what steps to take in order to be licensed. As for my education I have an AA degree from College of the Sequoias, and have completed courses through Fresno Pacific University, I also have taken course material to complete my license as a loan consultant.”


What is a “typical” day like for you?

“  It really depends on the day, there are office days and there days when I am in the bank helping clients that come in and are inquiring about a mortgage loan.  Well office days are where most of my job takes place.  So the day for me starts early in the morning at home, I look over any emails that I have received through the night, through my Blackberry of course, so I know what to look for when I get to the office. I would say its kind of a preparation in the morning. When I actually get to my office I listen to any voice mails, look again at the emails that I have to respond to and check all files that are in process. I then plan my day with any meetings with management and with clients for the day. On top of that I have required training I have to complete for my company.”  


What obligations does your work put on you outside of the actual job?

“ Well I would believe is self networking trying to put ourselves out there in the community so there is a face to the company.  I venture not to say obligations but rather that there are some expectations that we have to do that are a part of the job we have to do. For example we do lunch meeting, we do relator visits, we are at open houses and we are always prospecting with our referral partners.”


What is the most rewarding aspect of your job, least rewarding?  What might you change?  


“ I think that the most rewarding part of the job is being able to help clients with a loan so they are able to purchase their home.  Most peoples dream is to own a home and it’s a big accomplishment for me to be part of that transaction for them to obtain home ownership. I would change is the regulations there are so many regulations.  I might want to change how often the guidelines change or how many guidelines there are.  The guidelines are always changing making difficult at times to keep track of the new processes.”



How high is the turnover?  How does one move from position to position or other areas of the organization?   


“ The turnover rate is high with an organization such as Wells Fargo, not many loan officers can deal with a typical loan officer job but they have to adhere to the processes of Wells Fargo.  That aspect is pretty hard, and just to kind of put into perspective six months ago there were fifteen loan consultants and now we are down to nine.  Because Wells Fargo has goals they evaluate you by a production standard, you have to bring in so much volume, application, and units.  And in order to continue to work in a high level company they expect a return as for production.”



What types of training do companies offer those who enter this field?


“ When entering the field of a home mortgage consultant for Wells Fargo you have an extensive amount of training.  At first you go through training process in Southern California called Sales Essentials, where they teach how to use the company system, which is pretty complicated in it self. You learn how to originate a loan document, and submit files.  There is continuous trainings, this year alone we have twenty-four required training sessions, some which includes RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act), ADA (American with Disabilities Act), and DOJ (Department of Justice). Wells Fargo is a huge company and it wants its loan officers to follow policies and regulation to the tee.”     


Has the company made any recent changes to improve its business practices and profitability?
“ Nothing has really changed but implementations and regulations have a strong hold on how we do business.  Referral partnerships are affected by some regulations that allow me to be referred by a potential partner, such as real estate officers.” 


What sacrifices have you had to make to succeed in this field, and do you feel the sacrifices were worth it?
“ The main sacrifice would be time away from home and time that I use at home for work.  You really got to find that balance. A lot of loan officers “the old timers” who have been in business for many years would say, “ you have to learn how to manage your time.”

What is the best educational preparation for a career in this filed?  Which classes and experiences would be most helpful to obtain while still in college?

“ I would definitely focus of course on business classes to prepare you for an professional environment.  In a position such as a mortgage consultant I believe communication classes would be helpful because you are always talking to people.” 


What is the most important thing that someone planning to enter this career should know?


“ The most important thing for someone planning to enter this type of career should know how to manage your time.  I guess I would continue to reinforce that fact that time management has a lot to do with this job and you have to be good at it. The other ting would be that there are ups and downs, some months can be really good and there are those that can be really down. If you go in with this mentality and you are aware of what to expect, you will successful.”  


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