Shannon Rachal has been a home loan consultant with Countrywide Home Loans for three years.
What does she do?
“I take loan applications and provide mortgages to customers through Realtors.”
For how long?
She has been in lending for the past 15 years. She started while in college when she worked on a volunteer project for affordable housing. “I started in the affordable housing lending industry and developed and implemented housing counseling and education for some of the different non-profits in Jacksonville. I then went on to manage an actual loan department for a non-profit until I decided I wanted to go into the for-profit lending so I came with Countrywide.”
Before lending?
Rachal was in the Marine Corps as an administrative clerk for four years.
Non-profit work
Jacksonville Housing Partnership and Consumer Credit Counseling Services.
How did you use your previous experience?
“Yes and a lot of times I refer customers back to the agencies I worked for when I am not able to help them.”
Favorite thing?
“Rates are great. I like having the strong feeling that I have done something to help someone. Also, that I put someone into home ownership that may not otherwise have been able to get into home ownership or may not have known how to go about it. It gives me a great sense of reward to help people accomplish buying a home.”
How are Realtors improtant to you?
“Without Realtors I wouldn’t have the business because I work directly with Realtors and site agents to give me business. All of my business is directly generated by me, so I call on Realtors and rely on them to send me the leads for the loans that I do.”
What area?
Her office is on San Jose in Mandarin, but she works in the Clay County and west Duval County area.
Advice?
“We are in a really good market right now and people see the dollar signs. Coming from where the rates were higher and knowing that it will happen again. Business will slow down and will not always be as great a feast as it is now. Provide fast, friendly service, but, most of all, be consistent, It’s difficult because there is so much competition right now in the lending field. There are so many different types of lenders, but when it shakes out, we really have all the same products, we just market them differently. Consistency and developing relationships is the best advice I can give.”
College
She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Jacksonville University.
Birthplace?
Annapolis, Md.
Moved here
In 1988.
Family
She has been married to Gregory for 10 years. They have two children.
Hobbies
She spends a lot of time shuttling her children to sporting events and practices and she enjoys reading and riding bikes.
Associations
She is very involved in the Southwest Council and attends Northeast Florida Sales and Marketing Council’s Sales and Marketing Council.
Favorites
She cites her favorite movies as “My Dog Skip” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” A book she recommends is “The Power to Be Your Best,” by Todd Duncan. “It has really inspired me and helped me get my life on track.” Her favorite place to visit is San Francisco and she likes to frequent most of the restaurants in the Riverside/Ortega area. She said there are too many good ones there to pick a favorite.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis