Al Lance has been mortgage consultant for Wachovia for one year. Before that he was with SunTrust Mortgage for four years.
BEFORE MORTGAGES?
He was a computer programmer with Prudential Life Insurance for three years and most recently a Duval County School math teacher for one year.
HOW DID HE GET HIS START IN BANKING?
He was working on his college degree when a classmate of his said he should go into mortgages, so he went to work for SunTrust.
“He said that it would be a good fit where I could make money as well as have a lot of freedom to be creative with money.”
COLLEGE
He has a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT LENDING?
“It puts people in the position of home ownership where they purchase property and it helps them build equity. I work with a lot of first-time homebuyers so a lot of my work is educating the customer. I give mortgage seminars and really enjoy that part.”
Did You Know?
• Nearly two-thirds of investment property owners purchased their property for the purpose of generating rental income. Half also view their property as a way to diversify their investments. Owners reported their investment properties were a median of 10 miles from their primary residences. Thirty-five percent of those investment properties are located in a suburb, while more than one-quarter are in a central city or urban area. Half of investment properties are detached single-family homes, typically 1,520 square feet in size. (2006 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers)
• A 2005 National Association of Realtors survey of homebuyers found 15 percent of recent buyers owned two or more homes. Approximately 40 percent of home sales in 2005 – more than 3.3 million new- and existing-home sales – were second homes.
HOW DOES YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HELP?
His experience as a math teacher obviously helps when working with numbers in the mortgage business. “When working as a programmer, you are working with algorithms and trying to make sure that the programs work well. That helps in the mortgage business because you have fit certain clients with different products and make the right fit. That’s almost the same analogy you use when you are programming. You have to have the right algorithm for your program to work.”
BEST PROFESSIONAL ADVICE EVER RECEIVED?
“Look at every loan not as a transaction, but as a relationship.”
IN THIS BUYER’S MARKET WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO DRUM UP BUSINESS?
Lance said he is taking advantage of the slow market by using it as an opportunity to get out on the streets and network.
“I can do a lot more mailings, visit builders and Realtors.”
ADVICE FOR NEW LOAN OFFICERS?
“You have to be seen. You let them (Realtors/ builders) get to know you and trust you and then you will get the business.”
ADVICE FOR REALTORS WHEN DEALING WITH LOAN OFFICERS?
Lance said to let the mortgage loan officer do their job.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?
Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.
—by Michele Newbern Gillis