She Helped A Broken Family Find A New Normal

She Helped A Broken Family Find A New Normal

Name: Kristi France

Job Title: Loan Officer

Business: Thrive Mortgage, Georgetown, Texas

How much was your best deal?

My best deal was not a big money maker. The loan amount was only $120,000 so the money isn’t what made this my best deal. This was my best deal because it made me feel so good to be a part of a new chapter in my borrowers’ lives.

What made it your best deal?

I worked to help a couple buy a home in 2018 using down payment assistance. Little did I know that closing day was the one-year anniversary of them getting their then 5-year-old daughter back after Child Protective Services had taken her. They lost custody when she was about 2 and they had gotten her back about six months before I started working with them.

The couple had both been drug addicts who eventually became homeless and could not care for their daughter properly. Once she was taken away, they got sober to get her back. Being able to buy a home and just be a normal family meant so much more to them. It was validation that they were no longer broken people.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen bigger smiles at the closing table than that day. Oh, and it was also the wife’s birthday! So, there’s the cherry on top.

I’ve spoken to the wife once or twice since we closed the loan. Everyone seems to be doing well and still very happy that they own their own home!

What else?

In our profession, we can get lost in the guides, goals and numbers pretty easily. And if that’s all this business was, I would have left long ago because the stress can be overwhelming at times. Listening to the borrowers’ life stories is what motivates me to be the best I can be. When I’m able to get a borrower a home loan who has been told NO by other lenders, there is no better satisfaction than that! The story about the couple is just one of many that keeps me going. People truly need me to be their advocate sometimes and it gives me great satisfaction to fill that role.

Have a great story about your best deal?We’re not talking about your biggest deal. We want to hear about your best deal – the one that resonates with you personally, the one that became the story you’ve told again and again about why you’re in this business. Head over to bit.ly/MyBestDeal and tell us the details. You can win a $100 Amazon gift card if your story is selected for publication.