Aleia Haney has been a mortgage consultant with Beckman Mortgage Company in Ponte Vedra Beach for a little over a year.
WHAT DOES SHE DO DIFFERENT?
“What we try to do here which is a little different is a lot of hand holding, explaining and teaching about the mortgage process to customers.” Haney helps customers make an informed decision about what they want to do as far as going through numerous programs to find what they need. “We try to find out if they looking for a low rate, a low monthly payment or an extended time in the home. We go through the numerous options with people and give them the benefit of what programs are out there.”
BEFORE BECKMAN?
Haney just moved here from Wilmington, N.C. where she worked for North Star Mortgage for about a year and a half. “It was time for change. I had been living in the same town for six years and I was just ready for a new place and new things.”
HOW DID YOU GET THIS JOB?
“When I first came here, part of the goal was to advertise. I just walked in the door and told them I wanted a job. They asked me what I was going to do different and I told them that I will double their business. I tried to show them that you could do that by outsourcing and advertising in different towns around Jacksonville as well doing the more personal business here. I did a lot of advertising in Tallahassee and Gainesville. It was a lot of mail-a-ways and phone conversations which is all I did at the previous mortgage company.”
HOW ARE REALTORS
IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“I am trying to build my clientele here and not use the outsource areas as much. I like to be more face-to-face with people and that’s something I can do here. Realtors now send me customers and supply me with a place to send my customers. All I am doing now are purchases and the biggest thing they ask is for me to give them a Realtor that I trust and like. They want to know why I trust them and why I like them.”
HOW DID SHE
GET INTO LENDING?
She took a temporary job at North Star Mortgage answering the phones. “While I was answering the phones, I really picked up on it and liked it. Within two weeks I was processing and in another two weeks I was originating.”
HOW DOES YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HELP YOU NOW?
“I definitely have seen all sides of it and what the loan process is. It helps me with my customers now because I know from the beginning as soon as they tell me something, I know that if I was processing that loan I’m going to need back-up for this, that and the other because they have a credit problem or inconsistent job time or whatever. I know up front what I am going to need from them and if they will or will not be approved for a loan.”
FAVORITE THING ABOUT LENDING?
“That it is always changing. I am always meeting someone new, I’m always learning about a new product and a better way to do something. That is my biggest thing. I always want to be learning something whether it be in my personal life or business.”
AREA SHE WORKS?
Beaches and all over Jacksonville.
WHAT HAS HELPED YOU MOST TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“Family, friends and persistence.
ADVICE TO OTHER
NEW LOAN OFFICERS?
“It’s all in the details and organization. So, work on those skills first and if you don’t have them, you may want to reconsider something else. It’s very hard to keep organized and to keep so many people and so many numbers organized. There is a lot going on.”
HOMETOWN?
Concord, N.C.
COLLEGE?
Haney has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
WHY ISN’T SHE DOING PSYCHOLOGY?
“I think I do. I think I have to read people to know what they are looking for and what they need from me to feel comfortable with me. Do they need someone to hold their hand or to explain it to them? I think you have to really know people and understand people to really be able to be there for them and know what they are looking for. Eventually, I would like to get back into psychology and do a little bit of both.”
CHURCH
Beaches United Methodist.
FAMILY
She lives in Atlantic Beach with her yellow Labrador Max and her cat, Mia.
WHAT DOES SHE LIKE TO DO WHEN NOT WORKING?
Traveling, camping, running, hiking and sailing. “I like basically anything to do with water or outdoors.” She is also a cheerleading coach for Pop Warner, a children’s athletic league.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis