For Amanda Stevenson, helping people find homes is a family affair. Growing up with a real estate agent/mortgage broker father, Amanda knew what an LTV was by age 10 and had her own real estate license by 20. Now, her daughter is her assistant. Amanda attributes her success to two major actions; leaning into her specialty, VA home loans, and her ability to trust her team. Both took time to nurture and grow, but once she decided to become intentional in her actions, everything started to fall into place. 

While referrals weren’t extremely hard to find with a nurse, doctor, teacher, policeman, detective, and firefighter in the family, it wasn’t the number of loans that Amanda attributes to her success. It’s her hard work and dedication, her constant training and trying to stay on top of constantly changing guidelines, especially for VA loans. Sometimes, simply doing your job well can be better than any marketing campaign. While working with such tight knit communities, it only takes trust and the power of word of mouth for referrals to follow. Amanda uses these referrals to do right by those that put their life at risk for all of us. 

Amanda also talks about the power of reading. Guideline books are big, they’re wordy and not necessarily a thrilling New York Times best-seller, however, they can make you a better broker. You don’t have to memorize every single page but a healthy and consistent skim will make you more knowledgeable about the latest regulations. Also, with knowledge comes confidence, and the ability to better control your pipeline. The better you know your guidelines, the less surprised you will be when you get everything back from your underwriter. And in certain situations, as Amanda shares, you might even be able to successfully challenge certain conditions, not just saving yourself time, but saving the borrower money as well. 

One of the biggest roadblocks in Amanda's wholesale career was her ability to grow. With her pipeline full, she knew that growing her team was the only way to move forward, but she just didn’t trust other people with her loans. She was scared of allowing anyone else to communicate with her clients. Her biggest advice to stepping over this obstacle? “...Get over yourself.” You’re not the be all and end all in mortgage, and you’re only one person, so you can only do so much. But by bringing in other people, you’ll be able to expand your reach and help more families find their forever homes. A bigger team will also improve your work/life balance, which helps everyone. 

Overnight successes worked their entire lives to reach their dreams. It’s not about doing everything all at once. Take small, but intentional and consistent steps, and success will follow.  

Show Notes: 

* Broker Beginnings (1:38)* Being The True Local Expert (3:39)* Advice For First Time Brokers (9:32)* Building The Ideal Team (18:45)* Stepping Stone To Success (27:40)