6 minute read
Partner Spotlight ~ Paul Basil, CrossCountry Mortgage
Partner Spotlight: PAUL BASIL, CrossCountry Mortgage
The Drive to Create
By Zachary Cohen
“I’m a builder. I like to build things, to create things, and business is one of them,” Paul Basil begins.
At each step along his professional journey, Paul has assembled teams and structures that make the organizations he’s worked for and the clients he’s served better off. This was true in his first career as a commodity trader, and it’s true in his current role as executive VP and regional branch manager of CrossCountry Mortgage.
The Path to Mortgage Lending
Paul was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After graduating from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, he landed a job with The Pillsbury Company.
“The Doughboy was my boss,” Paul says with a laugh. “I was recruited to be a commodity trader for the company, and I thrived in that industry for about 13 years. When I was a trader, I ended up as a division manager and ran a shop. I built something.”
After 13 years as a commodity trader, however, Paul was ready for a change. The business was stressful, he traveled often, and he was just starting a family. So, he decided to build a new business that would fit the needs and desires of his growing family.
At the recommendation of a friend, Paul began looking into mortgage lending. While the industry was new to him, he was up for the challenge.
“The thought of walking into an industry I knew nothing about, having a computer and a telephone and nothing else, was scary and appealing to me. I got in on the first day, picked up the phone, and started my career.”
Moving to Florida
Paul has now been thriving in the mortgage lending industry for 24 years. For the first 19 years of his career, he built his business out of Minneapolis. But Paul and his family always desired a move to Florida, and in 2017, that dream became a reality.
“In 2017, my family decided to accelerate the long-term goal of getting to Florida. My youngest was going into eighth grade, and it was time for a change of venue for him. We had some friends who had recently moved here and were encouraging us to come, and eventually, it turned into something.”
For the past five years, Paul has continued to run his business in Minneapolis while growing the business in Jacksonville. He travels back and forth between the two cities regularly and has boots on the ground in both locations.
Sue Basil, Paul, and Ryan Deuter
Leading With Relationships
Paul runs a relationship-first business. That’s one of the reasons he continues to travel back and forth between Jacksonville and Minneapolis.
“In our industry, at least the way I do business, I need to be with my people. I have to maintain a rhythm of relationship because we’re working together. My REALTOR® partners, my insurance partners, my title partners — we have to maintain a relationship, which for me, is being together. So I’m back and forth. When I’m here in Jacksonville, I am hanging out and helping with their businesses.”
When partnering with agents, Paul’s primary objective is to understand their needs and help them grow their business. If the relationship feels like a good fit, he wants to build a friendship first.
“My group has a ‘pay it forward’ mentality; Pay It Forward is a required movie if you join my group. All I want to do is help people, and the thing is, I’m really good at it. When I talk to most REALTORS®, I ask, ‘What is your biggest problem?’ I can offer solutions. Some people take me up on it, and they become partners. I like to step in to partner and help make their business more efficient and productive.
Back row: Paul Basil, Kelly Nelson Front row: Ryan Stafford, Josh Ubel
The Long View
Paul has been successful for so long in the industry because he’s been willing to change and evolve with the times. That’s also one of the reasons he’s had so much success growing his business in Jacksonville.
“The reason I’ve maintained my intensity is that I’ve learned how to completely reinvent myself over and over because the industry requires it. We’re not the same real estate professionals we were in 2006 or 2015.”
Paul does a Kannonball Rally a couple of times a year. His car is currently detailed from the Kannonball Rally that went from the Wisconsin Dells to the Indy 500 in the spring. The rally raises money for Northern Voices Oral School, a center for young children with hearing loss and their families that, through early individualized intervention, enables students to communicate through the use of listening and spoken language.
Paul recognizes some major differences between the lending markets in Jacksonville and Minneapolis. One of the most significant differences he sees is the pace. He says that while all real estate markets are moving fast, “Jacksonville moves fast in a different way.”
“Agents sometimes don’t have enough time to do everything they want to do; they are so busy. But I can help with this. The things that work are patience and identifying people with a team mindset. As soon as I identify people with a team mindset, it becomes a lot easier to develop a partnership.”
As the market transitions out of a low rate environment, many lenders are bracing for slower times, but not Paul. He’s doubling down on what has always worked for him — creating lasting, meaningful relationships.
Paul and his wife, Sue.
“Where this market is headed — I’m excited. Everyone is scared about this market, but I’m super excited because we focus on relationships.
This is an opportunity for us to take our relationships deeper — every one of them. There’s nothing like being in the trenches to bond people together.”
“So we are making sure our REALTORS® know we are there for them by proving it with our actions. This is going to be a lot of fun.”
For more information, please visit www.basilteam.com.
