Credit unions continue to make inroads in the mortgage lending arena with the help of loan warriors like Air Academy FCU's Debi Bazzo, the first credit union employee awarded Rookie Superstar by Mortgage Originator Magazine.
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The award is in recognition of Bazzo's almost $23 million in loans originated for AAFCU and its CUSO, Air Academy Service Corp., from July 2000 to June 2001. Bazzo, who is on track to better last year's amount, told The Credit Union Journal that her key to success is keeping in touch through the lending process and beyond. Not that her Australian accent hurts.
"Probably 90% of the time the conversation always comes up and we spend 10 minutes talking about Australia," Bazzo said. "It certainly doesn't hurt if you are doing a loan to try to get some personal talk in there. It comes up naturally for me because of my accent, but if you can find something you have of interest to the borrower and you get on a personal side for a while it helps a lot."
Originally a loan processor, Bazzo moved into originating when the head of mortgage lending took Air Academy FCU's mortgage staff to a rival bank literally overnight. The $216-million AAFCU responded by redirecting the department to sell loans on the secondary market and put staff on commission.
"We're strictly 100% commission," Bazzo said. "We still get all the benefits of a regular employee. For people who aren't as motivated, a salary is a great idea but if you are pretty motivated you'll earn a lot more money than you would with a salary and a small commission."
Bazzo maintains a database of clients and potential clients. She said her success comes from maintaining contact with realtors and customers-even when she is on vacation. "I just went to Australia, and before I went, I visited everyone and took my assistant who was going to be working for me while I was gone," Bazzo explained. "While I was gone I sent everybody a postcard. The day I got back I called everybody."
When a loan is in process, Bazzo calls the borrower and the real estate agent for both the seller and buyer regularly with loan progress updates. It's about spending time with all parties involved in the transaction, she observed.
"That is probably the most important thing," Bazzo said of the constant communication. "They don't want to be wondering over the weekend what is happening with their loan. That is how I pick up new (real estate agents), because they've not had that sort of treatment and they get impressed by it."
Taking it one step further, Bazzo attends closings at title companies, even for refinances. It's part of building and maintaining the relationship, she said, adding that finding a mentor early on in her career made the difference for her. "When people come looking for a loan they are looking for advice too," Bazzo related. "They're not telling you what they want, they're asking you what they should do. Having somebody that you can turn to all the time to help you out is very important. You do need somebody."
Maintaining contact not only through the loan process but well afterwards serves Bazzo well. She calls to congratulate clients when they get married or to console them when they are sick.
"Word of mouth is really important," Bazzo said. "If they get a letter from me today and then tomorrow they run into a friend who is thinking about buying a house, my name is fresh in her mind."
