Deanna Auger: 42 Years in Mortgage, Old School Tactics & Broker vs. Lender | Mortgage Daddies

00:00:00:01 – 00:00:09:02
Craig Snell
Welcome back to Mortgage Daddies. Today we have one of our originators here, Deanna Auger. Deanna, you joined our team a little over a year? Yeah, 2 years. 2 years now, right?

00:00:09:03 – 00:00:11:13
Deanna Auger
Yeah, February 2024.

00:00:11:14 – 00:00:12:17
Vernon Miles
Time flies when you’re having fun.

00:00:12:19 – 00:00:16:24
Deanna Auger
That’s for sure. Really does, so. Yeah, especially when you’re my age, it really flies.

00:00:17:01 – 00:00:18:07
Vernon Miles
How long have you been doing this?

00:00:18:08 – 00:00:19:18
Deanna Auger
42 years.

00:00:19:18 – 00:00:21:08
Deanna Auger
Holy moly. But who’s counting?

00:00:21:10 – 00:00:29:01
Deanna Auger
I am. I’m only, I’m on— I’m only—

00:00:29:03 – 00:00:45:16
Vernon Miles
I’m Vern. I run a top mortgage brokerage in Massachusetts with over 20 years of experience.

00:00:33:58 – 00:00:44:56
Craig Snell
I’m Craig. I’ve done $100 million consistently since my second full year in the business, and I’m Massachusetts’ top mortgage broker. We’re the Mortgage Daddies, with real advice, real stories, and real results. Let’s get rolling.

00:00:45:17 – 00:00:49:00
Deanna Auger
I’m only 46, so I don’t know how that math works, but— it only feels like 10 years in the business at this point.

00:00:49:01 – 00:00:51:03
Vernon Miles
Yeah.

00:00:51:05 – 00:00:59:04
Deanna Auger
No, it does. It feels like 4 decades. 100%. So I’ve seen a lot of stuff in 40 years, that’s for sure. So.

00:00:59:05 – 00:01:01:14
Craig Snell
You’ve done just about everything on this side of the business, huh?

00:01:01:17 – 00:01:05:07
Deanna Auger
I definitely have. Absolutely. Just makes me well-rounded.

00:01:05:09 – 00:01:10:19
Craig Snell
Yeah. I mean, I, I wish every loan officer had that kind of a background. You started in banking?

00:01:10:20 – 00:01:41:22
Deanna Auger
Yep. I started at Plymouth Home National Bank, was my first job. And then I went to, um, start a mortgage company with 2 real estate owners in the area, and ran that for 10 years, and then after, you know, doing everything from processing to underwriting, running the company. I did everything. Post-close, whatever was needed. Um, I decided that I’d be better as a loan officer, ’cause I already had all the connections and the skills. So I’ll never forget it, I got this job at People’s Mortgage, and I got a draw of $600 a week. This is back in 1990.

00:01:41:22 – 00:02:04:02
Deanna Auger
And then I closed in my first quarter, and I walked away with a check for $11,000 and I thought, “This is good. I like this.” After 3 months, 11 grand, that wasn’t too bad. And I was the only woman there for many, many years, and all the gentlemen laughed at me until I kicked their ass and wiped them off the board. And then, uh, yeah, so the rest was history, and I was a top producer there for many years.

00:02:14:22 – 00:02:18:22
Craig Snell
What’s your favorite part of originating?

00:02:18:24 – 00:02:47:24
Deanna Auger
I think the s— the relationships, the successful relationships, and the connections of getting to know, whether it’s the agents, the attorneys, the buyers, ’cause i— it’s all a matter of hand-holding and being warm and confident. So if you can, you know, develop that relationship and that connection with each one of those parties, that’s where the confidence comes into, ’cause you say what you do and do what you say.

00:02:48:05 – 00:03:12:13
Deanna Auger
Yeah. So once you’re successful and you h— have proven that— yeah— you know, you can accomplish this and carry those relationships, sustain them, and be, you know, communicative and detailed, that’s all you need to, you know, win over realtor partners and borrowers for life. I mean, I’ve done somebody’s mortgage 20 times in my 42 years of doing loans, so yeah, that’s— and remind the rest of the family members you’ve probably helped along the way.

00:03:12:15 – 00:03:14:14
Vernon Miles
Yeah, exactly.

00:03:14:15 – 00:03:22:17
Deanna Auger
You get passed around, and I love it. That’s, you know— yeah— they’re like, “Do you mind if we refer you?” “Mind?” That’s the best compliment ever, is when you get a personal referral, so.

00:03:22:18 – 00:03:41:12
Vernon Miles
That’s one of the things I think a lot of loan officers miss out, is the referrals from the closings, or from the interactions and building that initial relationship, but you have to ask for the referral. Yes. A lot of people, and I didn’t pick up on this until probably 5 or 10 years ago, when people kept texting me. They said, “Okay if I share your number?” I’m like, “Yeah.” “Share my number everywhere.” “Shout it from the rooftops.”

00:03:41:12 – 00:03:54:21
Vernon Miles
But a lot of people don’t wanna give that out, because they think it might be private or it might not be something you wanna share. So, you know, I think that’s, that’s a big thing. I, I just tell loan officers, even to this day, I’m like, “Do they know that they can share your contact info?” And they’re like, “Yeah, of course.” I’m like, “You know that.” Right. But I bet you they don’t know. They don’t know that.

00:03:54:21 – 00:03:59:04
Vernon Miles
If you called 10 people, 7 of them didn’t know that they could share your contact info.

00:03:59:05 – 00:04:17:05
Deanna Auger
That’s so true, Vern. You, you definitely have to be proactive and, you know, verbalize that, “Yeah, that’s what I’m here for. I’d love to help anybody out, whether they’re at this stage of the game or the end stage of the game. Whatever, you know, their needs are.” Absolutely, so. That’s the best part.

00:04:17:07 – 00:04:33:14
Craig Snell
Oh, go ahead. I was gonna say, you know, we had you on in one of the company calls not too long ago, and we were kinda just talking about how you go about your business and how you, you know, generate business. And it’s funny, because I was sitting there listening to it, and I’m like, it’s so similar to how I operate.

00:04:33:14 – 00:04:55:17
Craig Snell
And you know, so many people are always trying to reinvent the wheel or gotta try this, gotta do this, and like, talking about all these crazy plans that have no follow-through on them, and they don’t focus on the basics, which I feel like is so important. That’s it. Like, you spend a, I spend a lot of time with my clients, and I know you do too. Yeah. Helping them. Yes. Educating them. Yes. Teaching them. Right. Making sure they’re comfortable. That’s it. Holding their hand throughout the process. That’s right. Communicating with their pro— yeah.

00:04:55:23 – 00:05:13:01
Craig Snell
That’s all you have to do. That’s it. It, it’s not that difficult. Right. Right. And people are, they skip that step. I see it all the time. They, they completely skip that. It’s like, “Oh, uh, yeah, I sent over a preapproval.” I’m like, “Did you talk to them? Did you educate them? Do they know their options?” No, you just, it’s so transactional at that point. You don’t build that relationship.

00:05:13:02 – 00:05:38:12
Deanna Auger
That’s it, exactly. You know, the other day on the call when you were talking about the credit report thing, and they were talking about people just sending out loan application links. Oh my God. That, the most important thing is that initial contact and conversation with that— 100%— customer, ’cause you’re gonna find out everything about them, and that helps you to d— determine what questions you need to ask and what documents you need to make it a smooth transaction, and that you’ve covered everything.

00:05:38:12 – 00:05:55:18
Deanna Auger
So to send out a link, I’ve never once sent out a link, by the way. Never gonna happen. I’m gonna handwrite everything. I’m gonna do the loan application. I sent, do everything, and then I just send it to the borrower to e-sign. There’s, you lose so many borrowers from that initial, “I’m gonna send you a link. Fill it out.” Well, you haven’t established any relationship or rapport at that point.

00:05:59:02 – 00:06:03:06
Vernon Miles
What’s the sense of urgency on their side to actually follow through— none— and fill it out?

00:06:03:09 – 00:06:04:19
Deanna Auger
That’s the big thing.

00:06:04:20 – 00:06:21:23
Vernon Miles
Yeah. When, when Craig started in 2019, we started the company in March— I don’t think I even knew what an application link was. We, we had to— I had to— yeah— do it on a piece of paper— yeah— like I’d always done it. Yeah. My old assistant, uh, my little sister at the, uh, she would yell at me all the time because we’d joke around.

00:06:21:23 – 00:06:42:00
Vernon Miles
If you’ve been in the business for more than 20 years, you 100% have taken an application on the back of a napkin or a Post-It note that’s this big— yes— and you filled out— right— all the critical information. That’s right. You know, name, date of birth, Social Security number— yeah, yeah, yeah— and address. Just enough to pull the credit. Yep. But I, I really think, and I, I’m now coaching 12 or 14 loan officers.

00:06:42:00 – 00:07:01:13
Vernon Miles
Today was one of the first days I, I started that. And now talking to you on this podcast, I’m like, “Do I just shut down their online link?” Right? Like, I, it makes me wonder, because the best people I’ve ever coached, that’s how I trained them. And now we have all this technology, and I feel like they struggle with it because they don’t have that upfront conversation so much, right?

00:07:01:14 – 00:07:10:13
Vernon Miles
So they’re not learning how to build a relationship and talk to somebody on the phone. It’s like, “Here’s my link. Fill it out. Here’s my link. Fill it out.” Right. Then you’re chasing the link.

00:07:10:15 – 00:07:11:06
Deanna Auger
Yeah, that’s ridiculous.

00:07:11:06 – 00:07:31:04
Vernon Miles
You already have them. Right. They, they already wanna talk to you. You can take notes on the, on the application, fill the whole thing out, put it in the system. I see him all the time, start to finish, preapproval out in 90 minutes. 30 minutes on the phone, 30 minutes waiting for docs. He’s putting everything in— yes— putting it together. Yeah. Waiting for docs while he’s doing it. Cleaning up the file, making sure it works, sending it for those files. And guess what? You got that customer now.

00:07:31:07 – 00:07:33:23
Deanna Auger
And guess what? You got that customer now so much.

00:07:34:01 – 00:07:49:23
Craig Snell
Um, and, and as an originator, like, I don’t have the time to do it every single time anymore, so I do send an application out, but I have a call. I know what they do for work. I know, you know, where the money’s coming from. So when that file comes in, it’s easier.

00:07:49:23 – 00:08:03:13
Craig Snell
There’s nothing harder, and this is where errors happen and things get missed. When you don’t know, you’re just looking at an application that comes in— right— for what somebody. There’s a point, like, if I’m asking you about your employment and you’re hesitant on telling me the dates, not meaning you’re trying to lie, but just— right— you’re not sure, right? Right. Well, now I’m gonna dig a little—

00:08:03:13 – 00:08:04:05
Deanna Auger
Deeper.

00:08:04:07 – 00:08:20:23
Craig Snell
Or, or how you get paid, right? I can dig a little deeper because too many loan officers just take what the application says, and then it gets into underwriting, and they’re like, “They haven’t been at this job for 2 years,” or, “They’re not full-time.” And now these are when problems happen. And I’m— right— the application just makes life so much easier because you know the whole story.

00:08:20:24 – 00:08:26:21
Deanna Auger
Exactly. And you know, when you, when you get a link and you get all that information, you’re starting from scratch. You don’t know all the dirty details.

00:08:26:21 – 00:08:28:05
Craig Snell
No, it’s not easy to go through.

00:08:28:06 – 00:08:41:00
Deanna Auger
No, it’s not. And then you’re starting, you know, way back because you didn’t. And then when you call them, it’s not the same conversation as you would’ve had in the beginning. And honestly, not all borrowers are gonna be honest and don’t know— yeah, mo— yeah.

00:08:41:00 – 00:08:55:12
Craig Snell
Yeah, yeah. Most of the time it’s like— right— they don’t know, and they don’t realize the importance of it, I think. So, you know, and then you’re looking at it and you’re trying to piece it together, and sometimes you spend more time trying to piece it together to figure out if it makes sense. Because you’re like, “Do I call them and ask them this?”

00:08:55:12 – 00:08:58:00
Craig Snell
Or, you know, “Is this— maybe this is what it is.”

00:08:58:00 – 00:09:03:09
Deanna Auger
And if you would— yeah. And then you get a list of, like, 25 things— yeah— that you could’ve just covered in the initial conversation.

00:09:03:11 – 00:09:11:11
Craig Snell
I, I didn’t, we didn’t use an online application for the longest time. And, you know, depending on the client and the urgency of it, I’ll take that information right over the phone and note it.

00:09:11:12 – 00:09:31:03
Deanna Auger
Listen, back in the olden days, we’d have this bin, and it had 12 forms in it. So you’d pull a 1003, a good faith estimate, a borrower’s authorization, and a couple other bullshit, a TILDA form, all this stuff. Excuse my French. And, um, you know, you’d pull it out, and then you’d sit there with the borrower and you’d fill it out.

00:09:31:03 – 00:09:50:24
Deanna Auger
Everything handwritten. We didn’t have computers that we were putting stuff into at that point. And you’d copy the file 3 times, you’d send it to the main office. It would get underwritten, or maybe there was an underwriter on site. And that’s how, you know, when you mailed out a verification of employment, you mailed out a VOD. Like, these are, you know, a verification of landlord.

00:09:50:24 – 00:10:15:08
Deanna Auger
And that’s how you did business back then. Everything was originals. You know, there was none of this technology of e-sign and, you know, uploading docs. N— everything was old-fashioned, on foot, in the office, going to real estate agents. You know, it was a, a lot harder time, but simpler. We didn’t have IRS transcripts. We didn’t have, you know, triple merge credit reports. So a lot, a whole different— it was, you know, a big fraud pool back then because of the documents, how easy it was.

00:10:15:08 – 00:10:44:24
Deanna Auger
But now that everything’s streamlined and online, it’s easier, but people lose that original connection touch of, you know, being with that borrower face to face or even having that conversation, which is harder now, because most loans aren’t taken face to face like the olden days, but.

00:10:44:24 – 00:11:16:09
Vernon Miles
But I think that’s a compliment to you, that you’ve been able to change with the times over 40 plus years in this business, talking about pre-fax machines where you’re still mailing documents, to the point now we have trainings on AI and, and computer systems reading your income docs. My hat’s off to you that you’ve been able to evolve years over year, over year, and still stay relevant to the point where you came out of nowhere, kind of. I’ll be honest with you guys, right?

00:11:16:10 – 00:11:26:23
Vernon Miles
Like, for everybody watching this, I get a phone call from one of our dear friends and business partners, Tim Sherman— yep— which your daughter, uh— works there. I’ve got Jamie— amazing daughter, Jamie, works there.

00:11:26:24 – 00:11:29:17
Craig Snell
I always forget that, by the way. I know that, but I always forget that.

00:11:29:17 – 00:11:30:08
Deanna Auger
My little mini-me.

00:11:30:10 – 00:11:30:23
Craig Snell
Need that.

00:11:31:01 – 00:11:35:22
Vernon Miles
And Tim goes, “You interested in, uh, taking on Jamie’s mom?”

00:11:35:24 – 00:11:37:09
Deanna Auger
Who the hell’s Jamie’s mom?

00:11:37:10 – 00:11:58:09
Vernon Miles
I’m gonna say yes, because it doesn’t matter who Jamie’s mom is. Jamie’s really cool. She’s amazing at what she does. She works for one of the best title companies, probably in Massachusetts. You know, gets stuff done. Super ethical. Yep. And I’m like, “Yeah, sure, let’s, let’s have a conversation.” Then she tells me she’s been in the business at the time, probably 38 or 40 years.

00:11:58:10 – 00:12:21:03
Vernon Miles
And I’m like, “Okay, well, I know where I’m going with this one,” right? And then, and you can, you can talk a little bit more about this. I’m up in New Hampshire with my family last August, September, and I walk into a restaurant, and here’s Deanna and her family. She’s like, pulls me aside, she’s like, “Get ready. I’m making that President’s Club.”

00:12:21:04 – 00:12:30:09
Vernon Miles
At the time, I, I— you weren’t, you weren’t— I wasn’t even close. Let’s say you were in Sep— we were in September. You were like 50% of the way there. And I’m like, “Okay, well, if 50%’s January, halfway through the year, she’s a little bit be—”

00:12:30:10 – 00:12:32:01
Deanna Auger
You’re trying to not laugh in my face, isn’t it?

00:12:32:02 – 00:12:44:05
Vernon Miles
She’s a little bit behind on the eight ball, but I’m like, “Deanna, best of luck to you.” I’m already thinking you’re doing a great job, right? Like, you’re doing a great job. It was a, it was a rough year for a lot of people and a lot of originators, and then you came back from that, like, you didn’t come back.

00:12:44:05 – 00:12:53:10
Vernon Miles
I came back from that trip, and I just saw your numbers going like this. Bee bee bee. And they haven’t slowed down. Right? Like, after 40-something years, being able to just—

00:12:53:12 – 00:12:53:22
Deanna Auger
Stay relevant.

00:12:54:03 – 00:13:13:17
Vernon Miles
Stay up with the times and stay hungry, I think is, is the crazy part. And I, I know I’ve told Craig this, uh, you know, you know, behind the scenes and stuff when I’m just have a couple minutes to talk to him. Deanna’s one of the only loan officers who will call me at 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, 9:00 at night and not have a dire problem, right?

00:13:13:18 – 00:13:30:10
Vernon Miles
Like, I already know, most people are calling me at 8:30 at night, there’s a disaster on the other end. And that’s fine. Keep calling me. That’s what I’m here for. Deanna’s always— she’ll call— her story— “Hey, I have no one else to talk to about this.” “But I just landed this big real estate office. I just had a closing that I never thought I’d close.

00:13:30:10 – 00:13:35:09
Vernon Miles
I just, I didn’t have anybody else to share it with. I, I figured you’d get a kick out of it.” I’m like, “Dude, Deanna, that’s awesome. It’s— you’re killing it.”

00:13:35:10 – 00:13:59:20
Craig Snell
It’s awesome, and you will tell me things or call me or text me or email me, and it’s, it’s funny to me how excited you still get and still have that passion, which— I do— I think a lot of people who have been in this business for as long as you have, that fades over time. It’s in any industry. Yeah. To continue that passion, and I think it’s just a testament to when you do something that you love— yes— and you really love helping people, it’s not hard.

00:13:59:21 – 00:14:06:13
Deanna Auger
That’s it, Craig. It’s you gotta love what you do, and y— I am passionate and I’m very competitive. I love the leaderboard.

00:14:06:14 – 00:14:07:18
Craig Snell
I know.

00:14:07:20 – 00:14:15:11
Deanna Auger
It’s, uh, every conversation we have in our meetings, I get footy and surf and tell me, “I’m coming. I’m coming for you.” And I go, “All right.”

00:14:15:13 – 00:14:18:06
Vernon Miles
Pack a lunch, boys and girls. Deanna’s taking over.

00:14:18:10 – 00:14:23:04
Deanna Auger
I don’t know about you guys, but I got 4 million in for me, so good luck.

00:14:23:06 – 00:14:24:06
Vernon Miles
Catch me if you can.

00:14:24:07 – 00:14:29:13
Deanna Auger
That’s right. Go ahead. Look at my ass on the way out. No. But don’t look at it. You don’t want to.

00:14:29:15 – 00:14:30:24
Vernon Miles
But—

00:14:32:12 – 00:14:54:08
Deanna Auger
But, yeah, no, but that, I love that. That’s, uh, awesome, and I just, I still am invigorated by the thrill of the, you know, just the volume, the helping people, the closing deals. I love it when I get deals from XYZ mortgage company that screws up every other week— yeah— and all my realtors call me and say, “Hey, can you save me?” And then I save them. That’s the best feeling in the world. It is. It definitely is.

00:14:54:08 – 00:14:59:09
Deanna Auger
And, you know— you look like a superhero—

00:14:59:13 – 00:15:00:12
Craig Snell
You look like a superhero.

00:15:00:13 – 00:15:18:12
Deanna Auger
Oh, and you close in 7 days, and they’re all like, “What? What? How do you do this?” You know, I just got a question from an attorney. I said, “May 19th closing date.” I go, “Oh, my God, why are you waiting so long?” And he’s like, “The 19th? We’re not signing the P&S till the 11th.” I go, “That’ll be the last condition I clear.”

00:15:18:12 – 00:15:40:22
Deanna Auger
So, but yeah, no, it’s, it’s great, and I love this company. I’ve worked for a lot of companies in my years, and I was in the lender world before I came here. For 10 years, I worked for Prime Lending, and my last year there, I lost, like, 7 deals, like, the 3 months before I left because of rates, and I had no— control— nothing.

00:15:40:23 – 00:15:56:23
Deanna Auger
It was, the rates and what they are, you had to get an exception, and there was no exceptions. So I lost, like, 7 deals, and finally I said, “That, that’s it. I just can’t be successful here anymore.” And I had this person for the last 10 years trying to get me to come over to the broker world, and I always poo-pooed on.

00:15:56:23 – 00:16:16:14
Deanna Auger
I’m like, “The lender’s so much better than a broker,” and boy, I regret that. I waited all these years to make the change, but it’s, it’s just awesome. The flexibility of the timing, the pricing, the teamwork. Like, everything is just so much better on this side than the lender side.

00:16:16:15 – 00:16:30:03
Vernon Miles
I remember talking to you that first time, and I’m like, “She sounds like she’s just beat up.” She was worried about it. Like, that— I was— and I talk to a lot of recruits that I, I’m talking to that are thinking about transitioning from the lender side. I’m like, “You just have to give it 90 days.” Like, I remember talking to you.

00:16:30:05 – 00:16:47:19
Vernon Miles
And I’m like, “Well, she’s either gonna come over and do what you’ve been doing”— I never imagined that, by the way. Kudos to you. You’ve, you’ve taken it in stride. All the technology, like, you just adapted. Yeah. You’ve never said, “I’m not doing this,” and when you have, we’re like, “Great, Deanna.” Yeah, you’re like, “Okay.” “You just keep doing what you’re doing. Like, it’s fine.

00:16:47:20 – 00:16:58:22
Vernon Miles
Whatever you want.” You got 40 plus years into the business. But I think that’s, that’s a big misconception. Like, you had, like, “I’m at the lender. It’s better this way. I’m, I’m here. This is better.” It’s like, is it?

00:16:58:23 – 00:17:19:07
Deanna Auger
No. I’ve been successful, I thought, but not even close to, you know, th— this, this realm. This is so much better, being a broker. I just feel like I’m self-employed with free rein to do whatever, but I’m good at everything I do. So it’s a lot easier to, you know, coordinate it all, and, you know, you gotta give credit to the team, too.

00:17:19:07 – 00:17:26:11
Deanna Auger
I have a great team behind me that— but I’m all by myself. Yeah. I don’t have loan officer assistants, stuff like that, and I’m a control freak when it comes to—

00:17:26:13 – 00:17:30:13
Craig Snell
I don’t think you’d do well with one, to be honest with you.

00:17:30:14 – 00:17:31:24
Deanna Auger
No. I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t.

00:17:31:24 – 00:17:33:11
Vernon Miles
It would last about 2 weeks.

00:17:33:13 – 00:17:35:11
Deanna Auger
No, exactly. I’m, I’m way too—

00:17:35:12 – 00:17:38:06
Vernon Miles
You’re super detailed. You’re an underwriter, a processor.

00:17:38:07 – 00:17:40:02
Craig Snell
You don’t, you don’t need one if you want. Which is—

00:17:40:04 – 00:18:16:16
Deanna Auger
I like everything. That way I know it’s all getting done, it’s being communicated, you know, efficiently, correctly, in a timely manner. I’m not worried about anybody not doing it, and then I don’t have to yell at anybody. So, but yeah, I’m a big organized list person, so, um, everything’s, you know, the same regimen on each loan, so I make sure that I’m covering everything, you know, from the, the fine details to the documents, reviewing everything, so that when I say I can do something, that I can 100% do it. ‘Cause there’s nothing worse than not being able to do a deal that you said you could do.

00:18:16:22 – 00:18:28:01
Vernon Miles
What do you, what do you attribute to your success on building your business directly with real estate agents? Like, just over the short period of time, you’ve been here 2 years, right? So I didn’t get to see the first 40.

00:18:28:01 – 00:18:28:15
Deanna Auger
Yeah.

00:18:28:16 – 00:18:47:22
Vernon Miles
But I’ve really seen you grow into your own here, and really build your relationship base up, right? So I talk to a lot of new loan officers who are coming in, like, “How do I build my business? How do I get out there with real estate agents?” And you have some great stories of agents, maybe you’ve done a transaction here or there over the last 20 years with them, but now they’re sending you all their business.

00:18:47:23 – 00:18:50:07
Vernon Miles
Like, how do you, how do you go about that?

00:18:50:12 – 00:19:13:07
Deanna Auger
Well, it first starts with the contact and the communication, and doing what you say you can do. So, and then the word of mouth spreads. And I’d already had a previous relationship with my big company. When that, that owner started 25 years ago, I worked with him, and he didn’t— you know, he worked for a company. And so I worked with him for years.

00:19:13:07 – 00:19:37:02
Deanna Auger
And then he went and partnered with this other mortgage company. So for the past 5 years he was with them, and so I wasn’t getting any of their business, ’cause they had an in-house lender. So when I, I started, in the beginning, I don’t know if you guys remember, but I would go more on Facebook and just share— oh, yeah— share, share, share, share. And I know people are laughing at me, but I’m like, “Hey, then you’re in people’s memories.”

00:19:37:07 – 00:19:55:22
Deanna Auger
You know, they’re like, “Oh, I know her name because—” top of mind— right, exactly. So then I, he had a problem, and he’s very vocal, my top broker. He’s very vocal on Facebook. So I saw that he was having a problem with his in-house lender. So I hit him up. I’m like, “Hey, let’s just go out for coffee. Let’s—” he goes, “Come over to the office.”

00:19:55:22 – 00:20:13:01
Deanna Auger
I go, “When?” He goes, “Now.” So I was like, I knew there was something going on. So we sat down. Long story short, he had me come into his meeting. I talked to everybody. I already knew, out of his, like, 18 agents, I already knew probably 12 of them, and had worked with them. Awesome. But hadn’t been in, with them for a while.

00:20:13:01 – 00:20:32:20
Deanna Auger
So, um, after a couple of deals, and I saved some deals from that other mortgage company, then, you know, the word of mouth started spreading. And then every Thursday I’d be there for his meeting. I’d be dropping off goodies. I’d be bringing lunch. I’d do this. I’d be in their face. Follow up with them. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.

00:20:32:22 – 00:20:36:03
Vernon Miles
All old school techniques. That’s what we learn on day 1 that we forget about.

00:20:36:04 – 00:21:06:01
Deanna Auger
That’s right. Hit the ground running, follow up, and food and treats. That’s what, you know, they remember. So. But once you do, you’re successful at one closing, they’re all gonna talk about you. The same way as if you’re not successful, they’re gonna talk about you. So after the past year, being in that office, now I’m in with the majority of them, and, uh, I’m so busy, and then had that nice happy hour, and that just brought on even more business.

00:21:06:01 – 00:21:09:06
Deanna Auger
So now I’m planning another one to probably May or June.

00:21:09:07 – 00:21:18:09
Vernon Miles
It’s just amazing. All that’s all common sense in our business. Like, sales 101, mortgage 101. I just don’t understand why not everybody does it.

00:21:18:09 – 00:21:23:23
Deanna Auger
And listen, I don’t do any marketing. None. No marketing at all.

00:21:23:23 – 00:21:25:11
Vernon Miles
It’s Facebook.

00:21:25:13 – 00:21:47:12
Deanna Auger
But I don’t do marketing on Facebook. I just share. Yeah. And if you look at my Facebook, no, it’s just sharing all the open houses and that’s all I do. That’s awesome. And I just do, it’s very old school, and just communicate, and just con— one of my realtors— excuse me— he goes, “You know, I was working with that other mortgage company before you came over.”

00:21:47:12 – 00:21:50:18
Deanna Auger
And he goes, “And every time the phone rang, I’d be, oh, shit, a bad mood.”

00:21:50:18 – 00:21:51:14
Craig Snell
Mood, right?

00:21:51:19 – 00:22:00:16
Deanna Auger
And he goes, “And now every time you call, you’re like, ‘I got a loan commitment. The appraisal’s in. We’re clear to close.’” And he goes, “And now I’m like,” he goes, “Now I don’t have that PTSD.”

00:22:00:17 – 00:22:20:17
Craig Snell
The difference is, right— about, right— there’s too many people in this business that do not know how to be good originators, and all they focus on is trying to get business. Yeah. Which is fine. It’s a part of it. But if you just do this piece well, that snowballs, and they talk, you know. If you do bad, they talk— I think— oh, yeah— 10 times more about it, right?

00:22:20:18 – 00:22:40:10
Craig Snell
So that’s really important. You’re only as good as your last loan. So if you don’t do what you need to do, check your stuff— yeah— know exactly what works, what doesn’t work— you mess up one time— that’s it— you can kiss that whole office goodbye. That’s right. Maybe once. But if you mess up multiple times, now you can do a good job 10 times. Yeah, it’ll start to snowball slowly.

00:22:40:13 – 00:22:41:07
Craig Snell
But one bad—

00:22:41:08 – 00:22:41:19
Deanna Auger
That one thing—

00:22:41:19 – 00:22:42:06
Craig Snell
It kills—

00:22:42:06 – 00:22:58:19
Deanna Auger
It all. That’s right. And that’s another thing too, is I’m a big hand holder. So the client, you know, they refer a client over. If I’m not doing a preapproval, I’m giving them a plan to get in mortgage-ready shape. So I call it the piece of the puzzle. I’m gonna talk to you about your credit, your income, your assets.

00:22:58:19 – 00:23:14:18
Deanna Auger
And I’m gonna lay it all out for you so that, you know, here’s where you are, here’s where you need to be, here’s what you gotta do. There’s never a no. It’s, “Here’s the plan.” And then I put them in my calendar. And whatever amount of time I said, I’m gonna follow up with them if they haven’t followed up with me.

00:23:14:18 – 00:23:32:23
Deanna Auger
And then when you get that, you know, client pre-approved at that timeframe and you send them back to that real estate agent, they’ve already forgotten about them. So now you went full circle, and you worked that client and helped them to be in the best financial shape, and now they’re ready to buy a house. They’re gonna be your client for life once you did that.

00:23:32:24 – 00:23:33:15
Deanna Auger
Once you did.

00:23:33:15 – 00:23:36:15
Vernon Miles
And refer you to all their family, friends, and colleagues.

00:23:36:17 – 00:24:07:17
Deanna Auger
Exactly. But that’s— everybody needs that kind of help. And so many people just, you know, just, “No, I can’t help you. No, because of this. No, because of that.” But when you hold their hand and you give them that guidance, they don’t know what they don’t know. So when you give them all that information, it’s so valuable to help them, you know, to be in the right mortgage-ready shape for when they’re ready to buy a house, ’cause that’s one of your biggest decisions you’re gonna make in your life, other than who you’re gonna be married to, that your house is the next big one.

00:24:07:17 – 00:24:26:17
Deanna Auger
So yeah, so I, I just thoroughly enjoy every aspect of that, and being the control freak that I am, making sure that every step of the way, everybody knows what’s going on. ‘Cause you know, that’s a lot, a big complaint. “I don’t know what’s going on.” You know, how do you not— you know, when you’re so excited, you get a commitment?

00:24:26:18 – 00:24:44:21
Deanna Auger
I’m calling the listing agent, I’m calling the buyer’s agent, the buyers, you know, the closing attorney. I’m on a group email. I got commitment. Everybody’s like, “Wow,” like, “it’s only been 3 days,” you know? So that’s exciting to do it that quick and that efficiently and have that routine down, you know what I mean? So I don’t like long processes.

00:24:44:23 – 00:24:49:11
Vernon Miles
And, uh, you bought everybody lunch today, so you’re, you’re preaching what you— you’re doing what you preach.

00:24:49:11 – 00:24:51:09
Deanna Auger
You gotta appreciate the people around you. Even, you know, it might—

00:24:51:14 – 00:24:53:11
Vernon Miles
We appreciate you, Deanna.

00:24:53:13 – 00:25:02:01
Deanna Auger
I— we honestly do— I love it. I love you guys. I love working here. It’s a, it’s a great place. I feel very supported here. And I’ve worked at some places where you don’t get that support.

00:25:02:01 – 00:25:09:08
Vernon Miles
But what do you do for fun, right? So you’re control freak in your business, always working. What do you do for fun?

00:25:09:10 – 00:25:32:09
Deanna Auger
2 things. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Just 2. Is my husband listening? My grandkids. Yeah. I have 2 grandkids. They’re 4 and 2, Logan and Olivia, and I get to babysit them 2 days a week, which is hard with my schedule, but I make it work. And then reggae. Me and my husband go to reggae concerts all over the country, and that’s what we do for fun.

00:25:32:09 – 00:25:44:20
Deanna Auger
So we’ve been following a reggae artist for probably 5 or 6 years, and we go see him everywhere and every kind of reggae fun there is. We’re actually having a reggae concert at my house— end of the month— yeah, end of May— in May.

00:25:45:00 – 00:25:46:00
Vernon Miles
Yeah.

00:25:46:02 – 00:25:58:12
Deanna Auger
So we did it last year for our 35th wedding anniversary, and it was a huge success. We had like 100 people show up, and now this year we expect 200. So luckily I got a big backyard.

00:25:58:14 – 00:26:02:21
Vernon Miles
Luckily I got an invite this year, Javi. If you wanna join, you can be my plus one.

00:26:03:02 – 00:26:06:15
Deanna Auger
I invited Craig, but he told me, “No freaking way I’m coming.”

00:26:06:16 – 00:26:16:00
Vernon Miles
Craig, Craig doesn’t like to leave Dartmouth, Massachusetts. So it’s like getting him— he drives an electric vehicle. I think it only gets like 40 miles total on a full charge.

00:26:16:01 – 00:26:18:16
Deanna Auger
Oh, then Craig, this won’t be your vibe.

00:26:18:18 – 00:26:22:18
Craig Snell
No, I have an electric truck, first of all.

00:26:22:20 – 00:26:23:15
Vernon Miles
So there we go.

00:26:23:16 – 00:26:26:08
Craig Snell
But no, my son has a baseball tournament that weekend.

00:26:26:09 – 00:26:27:18
Deanna Auger
Yeah. That’s. Yeah, okay.

00:26:27:18 – 00:26:30:22
Craig Snell
No, I’ll show you the schedule. God.

00:26:30:24 – 00:26:33:06
Deanna Auger
Well, you’re gonna miss out and we’ll send pictures.

00:26:33:07 – 00:26:37:12
Craig Snell
Yeah, I know. So— I can’t wait to see Vernon in some dreadlocks.

00:26:37:14 – 00:26:39:03
Vernon Miles
It’s— I might have to get a whole new getup.

00:26:39:07 – 00:26:55:16
Deanna Auger
Yeah, there you go. But no, that’s— I, I definitely have fun, and I have a very supportive husband with what I do. You have to. You gotta. If you don’t have a supportive family, and at this point it’s just me and him at home, so, but he loves it. And he’s so funny, ’cause my office is in the dining room, and he’ll be— oh, yeah, I always see him walking by when we’re on our Zoom calls.

00:26:55:22 – 00:26:58:15
Craig Snell
Yeah, you see him in the meeting, right?

00:26:58:17 – 00:27:06:18
Deanna Auger
And so he’s sitting and he’s listening to my conversations, and I hate it, ’cause I’ll hang up the phone, he goes, “No, that one’s not gonna work.” And I’m like, “Oh—”

00:27:06:20 – 00:27:11:10
Craig Snell
Get him a job. 90%— I was just gonna say that. Oh. He probably knows more about loans than— he does.

00:27:11:12 – 00:27:14:06
Deanna Auger
Oh, he does. And 90% of the time he’s right, and I’m like—

00:27:14:06 – 00:27:15:17
Deanna Auger
Goddamnit.

00:27:15:19 – 00:27:17:19
Vernon Miles
He’s like, “You filed your LOA.” Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:27:17:20 – 00:27:26:08
Deanna Auger
He’s like, “You’re not gonna get that deal.” I go, “Yes, I am. I’m 99% sure.” And then when I, you know, something falls through or I didn’t get the offer accepted, he’s like, “I told you.”

00:27:26:08 – 00:27:28:01
Deanna Auger
So yeah, no, that’s—

00:27:28:02 – 00:27:44:16
Deanna Auger
It’s definitely having that, you know, support. And just at this stage in my life, it’s all about just enjoying my life. You know, when you’re s— over 60, you know, you’re thinking about retirement. I’m not thinking about retirement anymore.

00:27:44:17 – 00:27:45:03
Vernon Miles
You better not be.

00:27:45:03 – 00:27:48:20
Deanna Auger
When I first started, you know, that last year in 2023, I was—

00:27:48:20 – 00:27:51:14
Vernon Miles
You were talking about it when I talked to you. You said, “I only have a couple years left.”

00:27:51:19 – 00:28:01:15
Deanna Auger
Yeah, ’cause I was so discouraged, but then I got reinvigorated and I’m like, “Thank God I didn’t, you know— end up— retire to take care of my grandkids.” That would’ve sucked.

00:28:01:17 – 00:28:05:05
Vernon Miles
Except for your, except for your daughter who wanted you to retire— oh, listen, she still— to take care of the grandkids.

00:28:05:07 – 00:28:25:15
Deanna Auger
Yeah, she still acts like I’m retired and can take care of them all the time. But yeah, so, so life’s just good and, you know, I’m just me. Like, I don’t have to worry about any of the bullshit in life. It’s just, you know, whatever I like doing. And I love what I do for work, and I love my husband, and I love my grandkids and my kids and my life.

00:28:25:15 – 00:28:30:01
Deanna Auger
So— yeah— life is good. No complaints. Yeah, exactly.

00:28:30:03 – 00:28:31:17
Craig Snell
Well, it’s always a pleasure talking to you.

00:28:31:18 – 00:28:32:02
Deanna Auger
Thank you very much.

00:28:32:02 – 00:28:39:20
Vernon Miles
I always get excited. Not a lot of people have the same kind of mentality that I’ve always had, and I think everybody should have in this business.

00:28:39:21 – 00:28:39:23
Deanna Auger
Yeah.

00:28:39:24 – 00:28:59:02
Craig Snell
It’s hard. It’s— so it’s always fun— yeah— to talk to you, and it’s awesome to see your success and— thank you— kind of that, uh, drive that I think Milestone played in that. And your energy here really fires people up, so— yeah, well— fires me up, to be honest with you. He’s always— he’s like, “You’re not gonna believe this.” Everybody, everybody knows, you’re, you’re not—

00:28:59:03 – 00:29:02:22
Vernon Miles
You’re almost never in the office. Never. Maybe once a month she comes down to visit. No. I’ll be— not even that. I’ll be— me— yeah.

00:29:02:24 – 00:29:04:07
Deanna Auger
Not even that.

00:29:04:09 – 00:29:23:17
Vernon Miles
I was just paying attention to the cameras. Once a quarter. Uh, you know, I, I’ll be talking on a, on a coaching call or a company call, and I’ll get really pissed off, right? Like, I have 23 to 35-year-old originators telling me they’re working really hard and they got 2 applications they took in a week, or they’re closing one deal and they’re like, “What can I do?”

00:29:23:18 – 00:29:45:02
Vernon Miles
I’m like, how is Deanna possibly able to do what she’s doing? She works from home. So people that, “I need people around me, I need to learn this, I need to do that.” Call Deanna. What is she doing? Like, the fact that you keep creeping on that, that scoreboard, and then you started off the conversation saying you love the scoreboard, and “Hey, yeah, boys— try to catch me if you can,” that makes me super pumped, because I go out and I use that.

00:29:45:04 – 00:30:00:11
Vernon Miles
‘Cause I know now, you keep telling me, “I’m gonna come. I’m coming.” Yeah. “You’re not catching me.” And I use that to motivate them. Yeah. And I’m like, “Guys, how are we letting somebody who has—” You’re not gonna adopt, uh, AI. I’m probably not ever gonna adopt a— I—

00:30:00:11 – 00:30:03:19
Deanna Auger
No, I use it all the time. Use it, but like— I do. Yeah.

00:30:03:21 – 00:30:06:09
Vernon Miles
Jesus. I’m really the old guy now in the, in the company.

00:30:06:09 – 00:30:07:07
Deanna Auger
No, I love— yeah.

00:30:07:08 – 00:30:07:18
Vernon Miles
But—

00:30:07:23 – 00:30:11:19
Deanna Auger
Gemini, ChatGPT. I don’t use your one, though. Yeah. No.

00:30:11:20 – 00:30:37:10
Vernon Miles
Claude. That’s what I love, Claude. Once you start playing with that, that’ll be a whole different ballgame. But— yeah— it’s just, it’s really fun from my seat to have you part of the team, and that we communicate very well with each other. And, um, I use, I use your story twice a week. I’m like, “Guys, if I was in your position and I needed to go close loans, and I looked at Deanna on the scoreboard, I would have a target on her back.”

00:30:37:10 – 00:31:01:03
Vernon Miles
So I, I have about 60 loan officers that are chasing you on that. So I need you to keep going, keep pushing. So whatever you’re doing, it’s, it, it’s amazing. I, I just don’t know how you stay energized. Like, passionate about what you do. I think that’s, that’s the real key to your success, is how passionate you are, how much you care about the, the buyers and the sellers, and everybody in the transaction, how you communicate with everybody. And we— I feel like we just talk to people, coach them, we have meetings about it. How do we do that?

00:31:07:05 – 00:31:09:00
Deanna Auger
But it’s simple. Like, yes. It’s simple.

00:31:09:01 – 00:31:10:13
Vernon Miles
That’s the— simple for you.

00:31:10:14 – 00:31:10:22
Deanna Auger
Right.

00:31:10:23 – 00:31:12:11
Vernon Miles
I wish it was simple for everybody else.

00:31:12:12 – 00:31:25:02
Deanna Auger
Well, after you’ve been doing it 42 years, it better be fluent— yeah— at this point. But, uh, you know, it, during my career, obviously I’ve had my struggles, but I’ve always been this way. Always been competitive. Positive. Yeah, absolutely.

00:31:25:03 – 00:31:26:14
Vernon Miles
You have to keep the glass half full.

00:31:26:15 – 00:31:46:10
Deanna Auger
I’ll tell you this one story. So when I started my first week as a loan officer, when you go into the company, it was all men, and they all laughed at me. And then they had this white chalkboard, and you’d write down, you get a loan, you put the loan amount on the board. So there’s one board. So then I was there that first quarter, and then starting the next quarter, I brought in 51 loans in 2 weeks.

00:31:50:12 – 00:31:51:14
Craig Snell
They had to get another chalkboard.

00:31:51:15 – 00:31:57:22
Deanna Auger
They had to get a new chalkboard. So I go, “You guys laughed at me. You’re on that chalkboard now, so don’t laugh at me anymore.”

00:31:57:22 – 00:32:00:18
Vernon Miles
You stick on your, that other chalkboard for everybody. I got my own.

00:32:00:19 – 00:32:10:12
Deanna Auger
That’s right. So I was just— I love that. They, they were making fun of me, ’cause I came in with my suit and my little briefcase and stuff. And then I’m like, “Who’s laughing now, bitch?”

00:32:10:14 – 00:32:12:01
Vernon Miles
I love Deanna.

00:32:12:03 – 00:32:17:04
Deanna Auger
So anyway, so I, I still love it. Love working with you guys, so I appreciate you having me in.

00:32:17:05 – 00:32:19:18
Vernon Miles
Oh, thank you. Love you too. Till next time, guys.

00:32:19:20 – 00:32:20:07
Deanna Auger
All right. See you, guys.