Aaron Duez (pronounced Duey) was recently promoted to manager of the Wells Fargo branch in Ponte Vedra Beach.
PRIOR TO HIS PROMOTION?
He was a home mortgage consultant for three years. “Joe Reynolds was promoted to condominium development for our region, so they promoted me into this position.”
WHAT DOES HE DO IN HIS NEW POSITION?
He still originates loans, oversees what is happening in the office and helps the office to get new accounts in the area.
SPECIALTY?
Condominiums and new construction.
HOW WILL HE BALANCE ORIGINATING AND NEW POSITION?
“Time management is the key. Some days are better than others, but the benefit here is that we really have a great staff that has been in place for some time. So, there really isn’t a lot of supervision needed from the management side, other than to help them with their marketing efforts.”
GOALS IN NEW POSITION?
Duez said his personal goals are to continue to produce $30 million a year as he has done in the past three years. “Our branch goal is to keep our customer scores above 95 percent.”
PRIOR TO WELLS FARGO?
He worked with Eastern Mortgage for five and a half years. Before that, he was in national sales for a parking facility.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO MORTGAGES?
“Purely by accident. I bumped into an old friend whose husband was in the mortgage business and she said I should try it. I had just moved back to Jacksonville and was looking for something new and different.”
LENDING A GOOD CHOICE?
“I’m very excited. There are options that people are always going to need - they are always going to need money and food. So, I’m in one of those two industries.”
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A GOOD MANAGER?
“Patience is always key. Leadership by example is important. My philosophy of management is that I am not your manager until the situation arises for me to have to be the manager. Otherwise, we are working on an even playing field side by side because we can cover more ground in Ponte Vedra Beach and Jacksonville. With that attitude, we are trying to help people be leaders in their own right as well.”
HOW ARE REALTORS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“Without Realtors we don’t have the builder business, because they are the ones who bring it to the Realtors.”
He said they also make sure that they keep the client and the Realtor both informed of the progress of the loan.
ADVICE FOR REALTORS?
“Everyone has their specialty and that we are all working towards the same goal.”
HOW CAN
THEY HELP YOU?
“By making the call to me direct compared to trying to get second-hand information from the buyer. We are going to give the buyers options and if they’d like to know the options, we will certainly make them aware of them. But, we are not necessarily go with a suggestion that they gave the borrower because every financial situation is different.”
ADVICE FOR NEW
LOAN OFFICERS?
“Patience is a virtue, to say the least. You typically are not able to come into this business and automatically be successful. You have to be able to have the patience to develop the relationships which will create opportunities.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
Duez said to make sure you have a full savings account to help you through the first few months. “I’ve also learned that every loan is different, there is not one loan that is exactly the same.”
PET PEEVES
“Whenever you tell a customer not to increase to their debt and they go out and buy a new car.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?
The Northeast Florida Builders Association and its Sales and Marketing Council, Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and its Ponte Vedra and Beaches Councils. “One of my goals is to work toward being on the board of SMC and NEFBA. I think involvement is important.”
PERSONAL SIDE
He has been married to Tracie for four years. They have two children, Kylie, 8 and Cassidie, 3. When he is not working, he enjoys boating on his 28-foot Regal, playing soccer and golf and spending time with his children. His favorite movie of all time is “The Great Santini.” A book he would recommend is “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki. When dining out, he enjoys Morton’s Steakhouse. For a little weekend get-a-way, he enjoys visiting St. Augustine and Fernandina.
-by Michele Newbern Gillis