Scott Patton is the president and owner of Patton Home Lending in Neptune Beach, which opened in July 2003.
WHAT DOES HE DO?
“We have three people here. Travis Gibbon is a loan officer and Kim Schaeffer is our processing manager. Travis and I both originate loans and I manage the business including the accounting, advertising and whatever else needs to be done.”
WHY OPEN YOUR OWN COMPANY?
“Every other place that I worked, it seemed as though the service was affected by the inefficiency of the processes. I am a former computer engineer so I am a very process oriented person. I firmly believe that if we have good processes in place for people to follow and pick good lenders that work well with us, we could service people better. It’s hard to get settlement statements to people. Our goal is to get them to everyone involved 48 hours ahead of time. So, if there are any problems or issues, they can be handled before the closing. We also keep everyone involved in the loop of what is happening during the entire process of the loan. Our business is 100 percent focused on purchases. Not that we won’t do refinances, but we don’t market to them. We want to be a part of the real estate market here.”
WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS?
“We have a lot of real estate agents. We work with pretty much any real estate company you can think of.”
BEFORE PATTON HOME LENDING?
He was a business consultant for nine years. Most recently he worked as director of Information Systems for Solantic. “I helped start that company. I helped with the design of the clinics.” He then worked at Priceline Mortgage for a year and then with a few brokers at the beach before opening his own company.
WHY LEAVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO GO INTO THE MORTGAGE BUSINESS?
“I had a friend who was in the mortgage business, Rod Chaplin of Banker’s Home Mortgage, and he was constantly trying to get me to come to work with him. He passed away suddenly and it really was a wake-up call to me. I wanted to start my own business for a long time and he had told me I had a great work ethic and thought that I was intelligent.” Patton decided to take the call and leave his current position to learn the mortgage business in order to open his own company.
COLLEGE
He has a bachelor’s degree in education and English from Stetson University.
HOW DID YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS HELP YOU NOW?
Patton said his background helps him now when dealing with lenders who allow them to use technology to make the processes much more efficient. “We have lenders that are very, very technology driven where someone can come in on Friday and say they need to close the next Friday. As long as we get the appraisal back, I tell them we can do it.”
WHAT IS THE TOUGHEST PART OF THE LOAN PROCESS AND HOW CAN REALTORS HELP?
“The hardest part is understanding the financing. They need to send them to us because our approach is to help them through the process. We see ourselves more as consultants than as mortgage brokers.”
AREA YOU WORK?
The beaches and all over Florida. They get a lot of business from their Web site, www.pattonhomelending.com.
ONE BEST THING YOU COULD TELL A REALTOR?
“One of the things that really helps people is that there is an ability to negotiate closing costs. Many people are very stressed out about the fact that they are going to spend everything that they have to get into a house and be house poor as soon as they get in there. I tell people there are a lot of things that you need to buy after you get into a house.” What he likes to do is to get the Realtors to negotiate on the closing costs so that the people can keep some money in the bank.
HOW ARE REALTORS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“They are very important. We get a lot of ‘for sale by owner’ and they are a nightmare to deal with. We end up acting as a real estate agent for them. I really enjoy working with the Realtors I work with. I’m lucky to have a good group of Realtors that send me business. The fact that they can manage the expectations of the client and negotiate things in the contract is very helpful.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“That I am not always right. You have to keep an open mind and there is never a wrong to do the right thing. I try to live by that daily.”
WHAT HAS HELPED YOU MOST TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
Patton said a strong work ethic has helped him most. “I believe if you can work hard enough, you can figure it out.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers, Northeast Florida Builders Association and its Sales and Marketing Council and the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce.
BIRTHPLACE
Mobile, Ala., but he was raised in Texas and California.
MOVED TO JACKSONVILLE?
In 1994, after college to work in information technology.
WHAT DOES HE DO WHEN HE IS NOT WORKING?
He competes in and sponsors several triathlons. “I’ve done the Iron man Florida triathlon twice.” He also reads and works on his house.
RESIDES
Neptune Beach.
FAVORITES
The last movie he saw and would recommend was “The Last Samuri.” A book he would recommend is “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown. His favorite place to visit is Costa Rica and El Salvador. When relaxing at home, he likes tuning into Home & Garden Television. When dining out, he enjoys Roy’s or Kevin’s Grille at the beach.
- by Michele Newbern Gillis