As the owner of The Mortgage Source, Inc., Karen Saunders wants to make sure her clients understand the loan process before they think about buying a home. “It’s our job to help educate them so they know what they’re getting into,” said Saunders, president and loan originator of The Mortgage Source in Laramie, Wyo. “It’s developing a relationship so they understand that I work with them and for them to help them achieve their homeownership goals.”
The Mortgage Source, a member of the BBB for about 25 years, is a mortgage broker that offers residential financing for clients wanting to purchase or refinance a home at a lower interest rate. The brokerage currently serves all of Wyoming and may eventually expand to Colorado. “We start by building relationships and educating people; that’s what makes us different,” Saunders said.
Working with a staff of four, Saunders helps borrowers define their homeownership goals, including what they’re looking for in a home and what they can afford, from both a lending and budgetary perspective. As a loan originator, she helps them navigate the lending process, find suitable loan products and get through the application and prequalification processes. She educates them about various loan products, including FHA- and VA-backed, conventional, and first-time homebuyer loans, reviewing the benefits and drawbacks of each one.
“The fact we’ve been here for almost 30 years as a small business in an industry that’s difficult to navigate speaks to the reputational value of doing business the right way,” Saunders said, adding that she wants to be able to run into clients who say they love their new home and want to come back as repeat customers. “The only way to get there is one loan, one person, at a time, being consistent and always doing the next right thing.”
Saunders and her staff work with 300 clients in an average year, closing for half that number, she said.
“I love what I do; that’s why I keep doing it,” Saunders said. “What I do for a living involves numbers. I’m a numbers gal, and I get to play with numbers.” Saunders, who needs to know about the different loan products, mortgage guidelines and industry changes, also loves being able to work with people every day.
“I get to sit down with all walks of life,” Saunders said. “Every client is new, and so it’s a lot of fun to get to work with them.” Mortgage lending can be a challenge, however, since clients are making large, sometimes anxiety-inducing, purchases, Saunders said.
“You have to have a level of trust with the clients,” Saunders said. “They have to tell me all about their finances and their jobs, what may go right or wrong with their credit, and their ability to make their payments on time.” Saunders spent her entire career in the mortgage industry. In 1981, she joined WestAmerica Mortgage Co., where she held different positions, starting out as a loan assistant and moving up to a loan processor, loan closer and loan originator. She purchased WestAmerica from her longtime mentor in 1993 and changed the name to The Home Loan Center. After three years of co-ownership, she sold the business to her partner and created her own company, The Mortgage Source, which opened in 1996. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in French, both from the University of Wyoming. “After I split with my partner, I began again. I started with basically nothing,” Saunders said.
Saunders originally rented an office building in downtown Laramie and had one employee, later moving to another rental on the north side of town. In 2002, she purchased a building at 414 E. Lewis St., where she’s been since. “It’s a really cool log building,” Saunders said. “It fits the vibe of The Mortgage Source, since the exterior looks like a residential home.”
Saunders joined the BBB in 1999, needing a resource to go to as a small business owner. She is also a founding member of the BBB board of directors for Albany County. “As a small business owner, you need information and resources and some place to turn to when you have questions,” Saunders said.
Saunders values BBB’s business and nonprofit reviews, she said. Several rating systems also provide reviews, but those coming through the BBB are vetted and the information is “real and valid,” she said. “The ratings and reviews that are given through the BBB actually mean something,” Saunders said. “It’s not somebody clicking 5 stars; you have to earn your A rating.” Getting an A rating is important for a mortgage company when the industry faces a lack of trust, Saunders said.
“Sometimes you run into rather unethical folks in the industry, and I believe that clients—Realtors and other bankers—do check to see if they are BBB-associated,” Saunders said. “They know if you’re a member of the BBB that you’re working hard, doing business properly and ethically, and being transparent in what you do.” Saunders also knows that as a BBB member, she’s aiming toward a higher level of ethics and professionalism, she said.
“The consumer, the client, they know that as an accredited business, The Mortgage Source has been vetted, that we’re trustworthy and transparent, and we’re ethical. If not, we wouldn’t maintain our rating and accreditation,” Saunders said.