Gloria Stivender and A.J. Baltozer work as mortgage loan officer partners at Proficio Mortgage in Southside. They’ve been a team since August 2007.
WHAT MADE THEM DECIDE TO BECOME PARTNERS?
When Stivender started at Proficio Mortgage in August 2007, they partnered up.
STIVENDER’S HISTORY?
Stivender has 18 years of lending experience in the mortgage industry. She started out with Ponte Vedra National Bank for two years. Then went to SunTrust for six years before moving to GMAC Mortgage for four years. Her most recent stint was with NetBank for six years.
BALTOZER’S HISTORY?
Baltozer has been mainly in finances. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Florida. After college he worked for Merrill Lynch in the financial back office for four years. He then became a financial planner for Lincoln Financial Advisors in Ft. Lauderdale for two and a half years. His financial venture then took him to the Grand Cayman Islands where he did fixed income trading for Dresdner Bank Latin America for two years. He missed home, and moved back to Florida and went to work for Merrill Lynch until he got his mortgage broker’s license and real estate license and then went to work at Proficio Mortgage where’s been for almost two years.
STRENGTHS THEY EACH BRING TO PARTNERSHIP?
“I think A.J. strength’s are product knowledge and being able to pull the
customer’s information together to tailor it to their needs,” said Stivender.
“Gloria’s strength’s are her marketing skills and her strong customer service skills,” said Baltozer.
WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT SELLING AS A TEAM INSTEAD OF ALONE?
“It’s the fact of always having the other person’s best interest at heart,” said Stivender. “When he’s on his honeymoon or whatever I’ll have his best interest at heart and he always has my best interest at heart. I know that he’s going to handle my customers exactly like I handle them. And that means a lot. If I was out for a week for an emergency or whatever I could shoot him an email and ask him to do whatever and I know he would do it to the best of his ability at 100 percent.”
BEST PROFESSIONAL ADVICE THEY’VE EVER RECEIVED?
“Always focus on the big picture instead of the little issues that might pop up during the process,” said Baltozer.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” said Stivender. “It is what it is, you can’t change some things, so you have to roll with the changes and really know that change isn’t always bad.”
HOW ARE THEY COMPETING IN THIS MARKET?
Stivender and Baltozer do a lot of relocation business. They are trying to align themselves with real estate professionals who are producing and who are looking for a partnership with a loan officer.
“We are setting ourselves apart,” said Baltozer. “Attention to detail is imperative right now. If you don’t follow up or get back to a client or a Realtor when you were supposed to there are five other loan officers who could take the deal from you right there.”
“We’ve never seen it the way it is right now,” said Stivender. “None of us have ever experienced this before, so it’s going take pulling that person through and walking with them and making every deal matter.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT EACH OTHER?
“He’s good looking and I’m smart,” said Stivender.
“She’s a very energetic person and always picks me up in the morning,” said Baltozer. “It takes me a while to wake up.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
Baltozer said that the products change very quickly in this market.
“You have to be more creative with your products as far as what you can offer the borrower,” said Stivender. “Because with the time and the changing of all of the products in the market with each borrower you have to have a niche product and be able to put them in it because the products keep changing so much. One product might be here for an hour and then gone, so you need to be able to offer them several different options.”
ADVICE FOR REALTORS WHEN DEALING WITH LOAN OFFICERS?
“Keep me informed of the client’s situation,” said Baltozer.
ADVICE FOR NEW LOAN OFFICERS?
“It’s a great business to get in and it’s a great time to get into the business,” said Stivender. “Follow-up and pay attention to detail.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?
Stivender is active in the Jacksonville Women’s Council of Realtors and Baltozer is an ambassador in the Ponte Vedra Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Young Advocates for Cultural Awareness.
- by Michele Newbern Gillis