The office is located at 4475 US Hwy. 1 South in St. Augustine.
HOW LONG HAS THE OFFICE BEEN OPEN?
Since last December. The company has three other locations including Palm Coast, Jacksonville and Debary.
WHO RUNS THE OFFICE?
Myra Vazquez is the correspondent mortgage lender and office manager.
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
“I train new brokers and oversee them until they can do things on their own.”
WHAT DOES THE OFFICE DO?
Mostly residential purchase loans, they also do commercial loans. They also do construction perm and construction take-out loans.
WHAT TYPE OF CUSTOMERS DO YOU HAVE IN ST. AUGUSTINE?
“We have a lot of people relocating here, second homes and vacation homes.”
BAD CREDIT NO PROBLEM?
“We can do wonders with bad credit. It’s rare that we couldn’t help someone. We have so many different products that it is unbelievable.” They also help people clean up their credit if there is an error or even it is their own doing, they guide them in the right direction on how to fix it. “In about three or four months we will try again.”
HOW DOES EVERYONE GET ALONG?
“It’s a very tight organization. They are very close. Everyone recently went on a cruise together and we had a blast.”
HOW MANY IN THE OFFICE?
Seven brokers and two processors.
WHO IS IN THE OFFICE?
Luke Stefanowicz, Jim Campo, Ron Gelinas, Tiffany Ogden, Ryan Wendler and Arthur Converse III are brokers. Sonya Goriki is an assistant processor and Mary Converse is a processor.
WHAT PART OF THE LOAN PROCESS IS MOST DIFFICULT FOR THE CLIENT AND HOW WOULD YOU ADVISE REALTORS TO HELP?
“The most difficult part is usually the credit issues. We advise the Realtor to get their people pre-approved before shopping for homes. It is a simple quick process to find out how much their client qualifies for. If they start the pre-approval process after they have started shopping sometimes they run into surprises on their credit that they didn’t even know about.”
HOW ARE REALTORS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“Very important. Our main staple is the purchases. Because we deal with purchases, that’s where the Realtors come in. It goes hand in hand.”
WHAT IS ONE BEST THING THAT YOU COULD TELL A REALTOR?
“When a Realtor is holding an open house and has a parade of people coming through, it would be beneficial to them if they were to allow us to take all these names and pre-qualify them [if they are interested in that]. This way, we would work that lead for them and give it back to them.”
WHAT IS GOING ON IN ST. AUGUSTINE?
“It’s booming. It’s unbelievable. The rates have gone up, but we are just so spoiled with what has happened with the rates this last year. It has slowed down a little bit, but I think that has to do a little bit with timing. There is a lot of new construction going on. We see it all here.”
GROWING IN SIZE?
Yes, they are still hiring new brokers. “We want them out there in force. We would like to get as many as we can handle in this building. I would rather have experienced brokers, but if I can see the potential in someone new, I would take the time out to train them.”
ASSOCIATION INVOLVEMENT?
They are members of The St. Augustine/St. Johns County Board of Realtors and its International Council, St. Augustine Chamber of Commerce and St. Augustine Women’s Council of Realtors.
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR OFFICE?
“We have a lot of experience. One of my brokers has 20 years experience. The other ones are newer, but they are still good at what they do. The other unique thing is the vast array of products that we have. Another thing that is unique is that they also help each other out if I am busy.”
WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING A SMALL OFFICE?
“It gives them a lot of individual help. That’s the advantage here because they can have a lot more attention than if we were larger.”
- by Michele Newbern Gillis