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  • I Lost The Deal

    I lost a loan this week.
     
    Now this happens every now and then. You can’t avoid it. But this one wasn’t because of a bad inspection or a buyer who couldn’t qualify.
     
    I lost it because another lender quoted a much lower interest rate.
     
    Usually, when a client compares rates, we’re within a small margin of other lenders. If we weren’t competitive on rates and loan costs, we wouldn’t be in business very long.
     
    But this time, we weren’t even close.
     
    Now my client had been working with me for a while when he brought up a rate quoted by his business banker. I told him I’d look into it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come close to matching it.
     
    Things are very competitive in the mortgage business right now. People are putting off buying homes, and every deal matters because there just aren’t as many deals to go around.
     
    This one mattered even more to me because it was a jumbo loan, meaning a very large mortgage. Closing it would have been worth about as much to me as closing five other loans combined.
     
    I really wanted to keep it!
     
    But I didn’t.
     
    Over the years, I’ve seen lenders quote very attractive rates to win a deal, only for those rates to change as closing gets closer. I’m not saying that’s what will happen here. But I’ve seen it happen enough to know that a quote isn’t always the final story.
     
    But my approach is simple.
     
    I tell the truth. I want what’s best for my client, even when it doesn’t benefit me financially.
     
    And If another lender truly has a better deal and can show me an official Loan Estimate so I can verify the numbers, I’ll recommend that my client consider using that lender.
     
    You’d be surprised how many clients don’t expect to hear that from their current loan officer!
     
    Now I’ve lost my fair share of business and money by sticking to this principle. But I can sleep well at night knowing I did what I believed was right.
     
    A Real Christian Businessman understands that integrity isn’t just about doing the right thing when it benefits you. It’s about doing the right thing when it costs you something.

    “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.” Prov 12:22 (NIV)

    My responsibility isn’t just to close loans. It’s to serve people honestly and treat them the way I’d want to be treated.
     
    And so far, whether in the mortgage business or in other areas of my career, that approach has worked out pretty well.  I’ve never gone hungry or been unable to pay my bills because I chose to do the right thing.
     
    That doesn’t mean every decision has worked out financially. It means I’ve learned to trust that doing what’s right matters more than winning every deal.
     
    Our character is revealed not by what we do when integrity is easy, but by what we do when it costs us.  Because people may not always remember what we sold them or how much money we made.
     
    But they’ll remember whether they could trust us.

  • These Days

    “Be careful then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  Eph 4:15-16 (NIV)


     Life is short… and the days aren’t always filled with good things.

    And I’m not always as careful as I need to be when it comes to making wise decisions about how I live!

  • Embrace The Change

    AI is making a difference in just about every facet of life. Like any other major advancement I’ve seen in my lifetime, I’ve embraced it and looked for ways to learn more about it and use it to make my job easier.

    And it has definitely changed how I do business.

    It helps me find information faster, think through problems from multiple angles, and come up with ways to help clients that I might not have considered on my own.

    But I’m not the only one using it. My clients are too.

    I have a client who we are closing on her home next week.  About two weeks into the process of even getting her pre-approved, I realized that nearly everything we discussed was being run through ChatGPT afterward by her.

    Sometimes she’d come back with questions based on answers that were completely off or just plain wrong. We’d talk through them, and I’d explain what was actually happening.  Once I understood what she was doing, it changed how I approached our conversations.

    I could have said, “Stop using ChatGPT and just trust me.” But instead, I embraced it. I started thinking about what she might ask AI after our conversations and how I could help her ask better questions and understand the answers. I started asking ChatGPT questions before our conversations to anticipate what she might be asking me, and I would periodically provide her with specific prompts to use once our meetings were over.

    Rather than fighting the technology, I used it to help calm her concerns and guide her through the mortgage process.

    Then something else happened last week.

    I received a new lead and wasn’t sure where it came from. Usually, a real estate agent refers someone directly to me. But this lead was different. The email was incredibly thorough, asking for specific comparisons, detailed numbers, and information about a home they were already under contract to purchase.

    I was happy to help, but I was curious how they found me.

    Their answer?

    “We have ChatGPT to thank for connecting us.”

    That got my attention.

    People used to Google things like, “Who’s the best loan officer in Nashville?” Now, some are asking ChatGPT the same questions. And for whatever reason, I showed up on their list.

    AI was helping me do my job better, helping my client work through her questions, and now helping potential clients find me!

    A Real Christian Businessman understands that we can’t be afraid of change just because it’s unfamiliar. We should be willing to learn, adapt, and look for ways to use new tools to serve people better.

    Think about how much the world of work has changed over the years. New inventions have eliminated some jobs while creating others. The automobile replaced the horse and buggy as a normal way to get around, and entire industries grew up around it.

    AI will bring changes we can’t fully predict yet. Some will be difficult, yet some will create opportunities we haven’t even imagined.  Our job isn’t to run away from change. It’s to learn how to navigate it wisely.

     “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Cor 10:31 (NIV)

    That includes how we approach our work, how we treat our customers, and how we use the tools available to us.  We can embrace technology without putting our faith in it. We can use AI to find information, improve our work, and serve people better without assuming it always has the right answer.

    We should keep learning, keep adapting, and keep an open mind. But we must never confuse a powerful tool with the One who gives us wisdom.

    Use the tools. Embrace the change. And keep our trust in God.
     
    (Oh and one last thing: Jesus doesn’t need data centers to help Him answer any question we can think of. lol.)

  • Fruits!

    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Gal 5:22-23 (NIV)

    We taught our kids growing up the fruit of the spirit. 

    We even had a little song we used to sing with them about these!  

    But we called them “the fruits” of the spirit though  – not Fruit!

    Either way, I needed this reminder today to remember them all. 

    And I sang the song again that we learned!

  • The Sky Is Falling

    The home loan business is tough right now. Again.

    Interest rates are high. Inflation is up. Fuel prices are up because of the conflict in Iran. The job market is strong, which is bad for mortgage rates. The economy seems resilient, which is also bad for mortgage rates.

    There is plenty to complain about, and I hear it every day.

    Many of my colleagues walk around the office and talk about how bad the market is. How it’s affecting their business. How buyers have stopped looking. How their paychecks aren’t what they used to be.  And how there isn’t anything they can do about it.

    But I don’t.

    Of course I’m unhappy about where mortgage rates are. Higher rates cause people to reconsider buying a home or refinancing. They affect my business.

    But mortgage rates have nothing to do with me.

    I can’t control whether they go up, down or sideways. Neither can anyone else in my office.  So when I hear everyone talking about how bad things are, I walk back into my office and get back to work.

    I call my past customers.  I talk to the people who are already pre-approved and looking for homes. Inventory is high, and negotiations are happening regularly.  I call my referral partners and ask how I can help them with their business. 

    I’m focusing on the things I can actually do something about instead of worrying about the things I can’t change.

    “…Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Phil 4:8b (NLT)

    A Real Christian Businessman understands that there will always be things in business that are beyond our control.  A trucker strike might delay a shipment. A customer may have a family issue that causes them to miss an important sales pitch meeting. A deal may fall apart at the last minute. Market conditions can change overnight.

    That’s business.

    We don’t control the circumstances, but we do control how we respond to them.  The sky may be falling around us, but we don’t have to let it change our attitude, our effort or our faith.

    I can’t control the storm. But I can control how I walk through it.

    And when I do that, no matter what happens with the market, I know I’ve done what I can with what God has put in front of me.

    This week, let’s pay attention to how much time we spend talking about things we can’t control.

    Then stop.

    Let’s take that time and put it toward something we can control.

    Make the call. Help someone. Serve a customer. Encourage a referral partner. Do the work.

    Let’s not spend our day watching the sky fall. Let’s get back to work.

  • Poke

    “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”  Gal 6:26 (NIV)

    It’s very easy to look at what others have and be envious and poke holes at it!  

    We have to watch our attitude daily – me especially!

  • Take The High Road

    I have a loan I’m working on right now that is somewhat difficult.  We’re getting close to the closing date, and I don’t have everything completely worked out yet.  I will get there, but it’s hard.

    One thing I always try to do is keep the real estate agents and the buyer informed about what’s happening with the loan.

    I don’t want surprises.

    If something is going well, I tell them.  If something isn’t going well, I tell them that too.  I’ve found that people appreciate transparency and upfront communication, even when the news isn’t good.  And in the long run, it usually makes things better.

    This particular deal had a curveball thrown at us in the last 48 hours that could potentially cause us to miss the closing date (it is rare that I miss a closing date but it happens occasionally).

    So I asked the real estate agent a simple question:

    What happens if we have to extend the closing one or two days?

    Is the house occupied?
    Will the sellers have a problem?
    Will the buyers have somewhere to go?
    Is there something I need to know so I can figure out how to get this done?

    I wasn’t asking because I planned on delaying the closing – I was trying to understand my options.

    Instead of answering my question, the conversation instead turned into questions about the loan.

    How much more down payment would be needed?
    What changed?
    What happened?

    And the question I had originally asked went unanswered. 

    This was an agent who had told me he had closed “more than 1,000 transactions.”

    Yet he kept answering me with:

    “We’re known for closing deals on time.”

    I get it.  Nobody wants a closing delayed.  Neither do I.

    But when I pressed again about what would happen if we needed an extra day or two, the eventual answer was basically:

    “We might lose the deal. I’m not sure.”

    That was frustrating.

    I wanted to say, “I know what I’m doing. I’m asking you for information that will help me get this deal done.”

    But I didn’t.

    I took a breath, I kept my cool, and I went back to working on the problem.

    A Real Christian Businessman knows there are times when you have to take the high road.  Sometimes people will try to tell you how to do your job.  Sometimes they will be more concerned about their own interests than yours.  Sometimes you will want to tell them exactly what you think.

    But don’t!

    “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Phil 2:4 (ESV) 

    That doesn’t mean we let people walk all over us.  It means we don’t have to win every argument.  We don’t have to prove that we’re right.  We don’t have to make someone else look wrong just because they frustrated us.

    Sometimes we simply need to keep working toward the goal.

    And in this case, the goal is simple:  Get these people into their home.

    This is just a reminder that you may run across someone this week that frustrates you, questions how you do your job, or may even be more concerned about their own interests than yours.  

    Take the high road, bite your tongue and look for the solution.

    Because that’s ultimately what we are supposed to do.

  • Us or Him

    “But, Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”  2 Cor 10:17 (NIV)

    It’s not about all the things we have or have done or the accolades we get or telling everyone about them all. 

    No way!

    It’s about letting folks know how we got them in the first place!

  • Kindness Wins

    Dolly Parton died last week.

    We happened to be in downtown Nashville with some friends visiting from out of town when we heard the news. The band at the honky tonk we were in started telling stories about Dolly and then played one of her songs.

    That night, we went to see one of my favorite artists in concert, Jack Johnson.

    Even he played “9 to 5” off the cuff in tribute to her…  and the crowd erupted.

    That’s Dolly.

    She was loved by just about everybody.

    Why?

    I think a big part of it was simple.

    She was kind.

    To everybody.

    Everywhere.

    That didn’t mean she was a pushover. She stood for what she believed in. She was incredibly smart and successful!

    But she always treated people with kindness.

    I’ve been to Dollywood more than 20 times. We’ve even had season passes twice, despite it being a four-hour drive each way!  I’ve met some of her relatives who worked there, and they talked about her like she was just a regular person.  And maybe that’s what made her so special.  She really did seem like a regular person.

    One of the stories that came out this week really caught my attention, especially for my old music industry friends.

    After Eminem was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Dolly sent him a handwritten note congratulating him and telling him how special he was:

    Marshall (Eminem),

    Congratulations on your induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.  Your performance was amazing and everyone said so.  Even though I don’t know a lot about rap music, I’ve come to know you are the very best at it.  Aside from that I hope that what I have to say will not seem weird or strange to you but I have always felt some unexplained connection to you like I know you somehow.  I had hoped to meet you at the show but you know how nuts those things are, personally I hate ‘em and I missed my chance but maybe someday we’ll meet.  In the meantime, keep doing what you’re doing because you do it so well and no matter how complex your world may be just know you are very special and touch people in ways you don’t even know. 

    With love and respect,

    Dolly Parton

    Marshall’s response after he posted this note last week:

    I’m sorry we never got a chance to meet, but getting this note from Dolly really had an impact on me.  She definitely didn’t have to take the time to do it.  Even for a kid who mostly listened to rap music, she was an icon.  A superstar in every sense.  Rest easy Dolly, And thank you for the kind words. 

    Think about that.

    Dolly Parton didn’t need anything from Eminem.

    She didn’t need his business.

    She didn’t need his approval.

    She simply chose to be kind.

    A Real Christian Businessman understands that kindness isn’t something we do when it’s convenient or when we expect something in return.  It’s how we’re supposed to treat people.  Even when we disagree.  Even when they can’t do anything for us.  Even when nobody is watching.

    “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” — Eph 4:32 (ESV)

    Dolly wasn’t kind because she wanted something in return.

    She was kind because that’s who she was – and that’s who we’re called to be.

    This week, let’s try the Dolly Way.

    Be kind to someone who can’t do anything for us.

    Send the note, make the call, give the compliment, listen.

    Because Kindness Wins.

    And it’s the least we can do.

  • Look Up

    It’s easy to get caught up in what we see right now.

    The good times.  The success.  The struggles. The things we think will last forever.

    But they won’t.

    “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

    A Real Christian Businessman remembers that what we see is temporary!

    So we gotta keep our eyes on what we can’t see.

    That’s what keeps us moving forward!