Paulette Walker has been a loan officer with Synovus Mortgage Corp. since April 2004.
COMPANY NEW TO JACKSONVILLE?
Synovus, the Columbus, Ga. based financial services company, opened the Synovus Bank of Jacksonville in April 2004. Synovus Mortgage Corp is affiliated with the Synovus Bank of Jacksonville. “We are the first bank to carry the actual Synovus name.”
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
She originates residential loans.
HISTORY?
She has been in the banking and finance industry for the past 12 years. Eight of those years were as a mortgage broker.
WHY DID YOU WANT TO BE A LOAN OFFICER?
“This is a new twist for me because as a broker, I really didn’t get out there and beat the streets. Everything came from word of mouth. Now I try to get out and meet and greet Realtors and builders and try to build a relationship. I’ve done everything else in banking including as a loan officer (except origination), underwriter and broker. Since I have the brokerage experience, I decided to branch out and try it.”
HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?
“I like meeting people. I’m a people person, so I enjoy getting out and meeting people. It is a challenge because I haven’t done it before. It has also been somewhat of a challenge since we are new to Jacksonville. But, I am very optimistic about what our future looks like.”
BEFORE LENDING?
She was in the Army in the transportation division. “That is how I got into the finance business. I was transferred up to the battalion level in the Finance office and got into lending.” Prior to that, she was in the Army Reserves.
PREVIOUS LENDING EXPERIENCE?
She worked at American Express in their credit card division.
FAVORITE THING ABOUT LENDING?
“That the loan closes. It makes me feel good if the process goes smoothly for the buyer.”
HOW ARE REALTORS AND BUILDERS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“They are very important to me. I’ve found that it has been difficult to connect with Realtors and builders with us being a new bank in town, because they already have relationships with other people and that is who they prefer to work with because it has worked very well for them. They have no reason to change. That relationship is very important because when they get someone and need to see if they are qualified, hopefully after they find a house, they will send them back to us to do the loan.”
PET PEEVES
“Doing all the pre-qualifications for someone and never getting any of the business.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
ONE BEST THING THAT YOU COULD TELL A REALTOR?
“If you don’t know anything about finance, don’t try and quote anything to a customer about finance because that confuses them.”
HOMETOWN?
Jacksonville.
RESIDES?
She lives off of Greenland Road south of Jacksonville.
MARITAL STATUS?
She is single. She has one son.
PERSONAL SIDE?
Her favorite getaway place is Disney World in Orlando. When dining out, she enjoys shrimp or anything hot and spicy. She spends a lot of time doing things with her church, Southside Church of God in Christ. “That takes up a lot of my spare time.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Women’s Council of Realtors, Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and the Northeast Florida Builder’s Association.
- by Michele Newbern Gillis