Throughout 2021, we are celebrating Dave and Rob’s 25^th year together in business. As their longest standing staff member, I’m reflecting on how our staff and office have changed over those years.

I started with the company in 2002. Our office was downtown Muskegon in the Noble Building on W. Western Avenue, which is now home to Pigeon Hill Brewery. Now, when you’re sitting the brewery enjoying a beer, that’s where our desks used to be. It’s a cool facility now, but back then it was…not as ideal.

We had a shared bathroom with the entire first floor, and the bathroom also served as our kitchen for washing dishes. When Dave’s long time processor Tiffanie started with us in 2003, we made an office space for her in what was previously a broom closet. The walls may have been moldy, but luckily, she stuck with us.

We moved into our current location on Harvey Street back in 2004, which I believe is the only full location change we’ve had. Our sign has changed a few times though, as we moved through a few different company names. We had some growing pains finding the right fit, but as Michigan Mortgage we have seen an incredible level of success and growth and are here to stay for many years to come.

Our staff has been the most notable area of growth. Back when I started, I was one of only two staff members. At the time we also had about five Loan Officers (plus Rob and Dave). You don’t always realize how much we’ve grown until we look at group photos. Getting a photo of the entire staff went from 4….to well over 24!

Rob and Dave realized early on that growing their teams with additional support staff was a successful business model, versus attempting to add and support more loan officers. I say without a doubt that the staff we have now in 2021 is the best staff we have ever had. Our focus for each job position is laser sharp, our closing and marketing departments exists where they didn’t before, and the best part — we all genuinely enjoy each other and the work we do for our community.

We also have five staff members who have been with us for over 10 years (myself, Tiffanie, Joslyn, Ronda, and Hayley). When we talk about the growth of our staff, part of that means adding staff. But perhaps the best part is seeing the growth of the staff members themselves.

Joslyn started as a teenager, and now runs the entire office as our Operations Manager. Tiffanie and Ronda have perfected the loan process as part of Team Lehner, and their clients rave about them. And Hayley transitioned from a valued Loan Officer Assistant to an incredibly successful Loan Officer in Holland.

Opening an office in Holland was one of the biggest steps we made toward growth. Adding a location can be a risky decision: going into an unknown market, adding additional office expenses, transitioning two full time staff members to loan officers, etc.

From day one, there was no doubt Amy and Hayley were going to be successful in leading our Holland branch, and they certainly have been. They are both President’s Club members (loan officers who close at least 100 units each year) for two years running and have garnered many Best of the Best Awards in the Holland market.

It can be mind-boggling to imagine where Michigan Mortgage will be 25 years from today. I have no doubt that our trajectory will continue to upwards, and we’ll continue to serve the West Michigan community for a long time to come.

Reflecting back on technology sometimes shows our age more clearly than wrinkles themselves. To hear someone talk about tech from back in the day gives you more insight into their age than if you had a copy of their actual birth certificate (think Atari video game systems, televisions without remotes and rotary dial phones).

As we celebrate the 25^th year of Rob and Dave’s partnership in the mortgage business, let’s take a moment to reflect (and laugh) about how the changes in technology have impacted the mortgage industry.

Michigan Mortgage is currently a leader in cutting-edge technology in the mortgage industry.

One of our biggest strengths, especially with the pandemic we’re still surviving, is our mobility, both for clients and staff. When COVID hit, we didn’t miss a beat with getting our employees the tech to work remotely and changing to virtual appointments with clients and our teams via Zoom.

Our app, Pro Snap, has helped keep us connected with realtors wanting to run proposed housing payments, and clients being able to electronically sign application forms, and upload documents from their phones.

However, such conveniences have not always existed for us. I’ve been working for Rob and Dave for 19 years. When I started, our office was downtown Muskegon in the Noble Building. The tech set up we had there was already a vast improvement from the first few years Rob and Dave worked together, at which time they each had a home phone, a computer, and a fax machine in their basement home offices.

We each had a desktop computer, since back then laptops were a luxury item, and we worked with single monitors (which I shudder to think about). The monitors also took up more space on our desks than was reasonable — no flat screens back then!

The phone system…well, I don’t believe we can call three cordless handsets on one desk a phone ‘system’. To transfer calls to each other literally meant walking the phone down the hallway. There were no voicemails either. Messages were relayed via pink message pads, or after hours via a call-in pager number.

We thought we were so cool when we upgraded to Nextel cell phones. Ignore that they were each the size of a brick. And the constant two-way chirping did get old after a while.

Our many repeat clients have probably noticed improvements in our technology over the years as well. The biggest difference has been going paperless. Instead of having literally hundreds of pages to print for the clients to sign at application and closing, we’ve converted to almost all electronic signatures.

We’ve probably saved more than just a few trees by going paperless. We used to make physical copies of all signed documents, plus all of the borrower documents, appraisals, title commitments, etc. We then had to retain those records for years after closing, so we had a whole room that used to house just our closed files, that we later were able to convert into two office spaces.

Going paperless didn’t affect just us either — the entire industry shifted how we delivered documents to one another. When I started, we had an appraisal company we worked with regularly who had a staff member whose main job it was to drive his motorcycle around West Michigan and deliver physical copies of appraisal reports. Title companies would do the same-drop off copies of commitments to our office. And submitting files to underwriting back then meant we had to either overnight or fax 100+ page loan packages in for review.

All in all, the advances in technology these past two decades has translated to cost savings and more importantly, time savings. Instead of making copies, handwriting loan applications, and juggling up to five physical phones on one desk, we’re now able to focus more attention and service to our clients and realtors.

— Sarah Beahan, Loan Processor

2020 was a wild year. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we do business and forced our team to learn new skills.

Historically low interest rates, as well as increased home values, brought new challenges and opportunity. To meet the increased market demand, we added six incredible people to our team.

We’ve introduced them before, but want to make sure they get the recognition they deserve. All six have bright futures at Michigan Mortgage!

Molly Fazakerley

Molly joined Team Garrison as a Loan Officer Assistant and assists with purchase and refinance pre-approvals. She came to us with years of customer service experience and a personality that brings so much joy to our office.

Molly is very passionate about lending and helping families achieve their home-buying dreams. She lives for making people smile and laugh and feel loved. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends and being a mom to two of the sweetest boys!

Abbi McIntyre

Abbi joined our team as a Closing Assistant and hit the ground running! Her previous experience in customer service and real estate allowed for a smooth transition.

Abbi graduated from Indiana Wesleyan with a degree in Social Studies Education, but realized she loved helping people through some of the craziest times of their lives and started working with real estate and lending. She is so excited to call Michigan Mortgage home!

Rose Engel

Rose joined our Holland Team as a Loan Officer Assistant after purchasing a new home with one of our talented Loan Officers.

“Michigan Mortgage made the purchasing process so easy and seamless that I knew that joining this team was the perfect opportunity for me,” she said.

She’s brand new to the industry but is eager to learn and loves being able to help people and make sure that they have what they need to be successful.

Jason Horton

Jason joined Team Lehner as a Loan Officer Assistant and hopes to use his customer service skills to guide our customers home. He’s a go-getter!

Jason’s motivation is his incredible family (Kristie, Kennedy and Hudson). He loves playing sports and appreciates the friendships he’s gained through them. Jason has always enjoyed helping people achieve their goals.

“I look forward to helping as many people as possible achieve their home ownership needs,” he said.

David Onofrio

David joined Team Garrison as a Loan Officer Assistant and helps our customers achieve the American Dream. His previous experience, and finance degree from Hope College, brings a much-desired skill set to our team.

David’s greatest passion in life is helping and connecting with people. He enjoys spending time with family and friends and exploring the great outdoors.

“I am very excited to serve my community here at Michigan Mortgage,” David said.

Rose Orleskie

Rose joined Michigan Mortgage as a Processor in 2020.  She enjoys being part of Team Lehner and serving the community through building lasting relationships with clients while making their home-buying experiences enjoyable.

She is a West Michigan native who enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Hannah Moss

Hannah joined our Processing Team and works diligently to get our customers to the closing table.

She came to us with prior experience in banking and was excited to transition into the mortgage industry. Outside of work, Hannah and her fiancé, Zach, are huge hockey and baseball fans and enjoy traveling. Their goal is to travel to all 30 MLB stadiums. They’ve been to 12!

“I remember how exciting it was to be a first-time homebuyer so to be able to share that same excitement with borrowers is really cool,” she said.

We can’t wait to see what our team can accomplish in 2021!