Today we’d like to introduce you to Lacy Foltz.
Hi Lacy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started my career in the financial industry right out of high school in 2009. I knew a couple of people that worked at a local family-owned bank and I was hired as a teller. I had no idea at that point what I wanted my career to be in or really what my passion was. However, I quickly discovered how much I enjoyed the financial industry and building relationships in a professional environment.
Quite frankly, I surprised myself with my ability to build these relationships. I was promoted a year later to be a personal banker where I learned how to open accounts and take loan applications – then my passion for building relationships and the impact I could have with customers began to skyrocket.
After about a year of doing that, a fellow co-worker recruited me to work for a local credit union they went to work for and had a lot of opportunities for growth. Within 2 months of getting hired at the credit union, I was promoted to Assistant Branch Manager. Now here I was, 20 years old, managing people in the branch that had helped train ME and many of which were older and more experienced than I was. It turned out to be just the opportunity and challenge I needed and was a turning point in my early career.
I worked as an Assistant Branch Manager and Mortgage Loan Officer for 2 years until I was granted the privilege of running my own branch. I performed as a Branch Manager, Consumer Underwriter, and Mortgage Loan Officer all at the same time. I continued to do that for a little over 4 years. The company was great to recognize their employees and I was honored to receive several awards for my sales performance and work ethic.
The bank I worked for previously approached me to come back and work for them in the business department. It was a tough decision because I felt so loyal to my employees and the clients I had served for the past 6 years. However, it was an opportunity to focus solely on relationship building and sales without a lot of the additional responsibility I was currently managing. I accepted the position and went on to work alongside some amazing people in that department and build even more relationships, this time focused specifically on the commercial side with business owners. My boss had built a great team there and I was promoted to Vice President and moved to a branch in the Kansas City area from our headquarters in Topeka.
In 2021, my husband and I were FINALLY able to get married on a beach in Mexico after 3 wedding dates due to COVID. We faced many roadblocks while planning and re-planning the wedding and like everyone else, trying to navigate what life was like facing what was going on in the world. Low and behold, after many, many, obstacles during our wedding planning, a hurricane hit the day of our wedding and changed all of our plans!!
Thankfully, we’re both “glass-half-full” kind of people. We made the best of it and had the most incredible day with our closest family and friends! One month after our wedding is when we made the move to Kansas City. I had been feeling for quite some time that my heart was pulling me back to mortgage lending but it never felt like the time was right. I missed the excitement on my borrower’s faces when they told me they got the house and signed on the dotted line before getting the keys. I missed being able to offer advice and suggestions that would set them up for future financial success.
Overall, I just missed being a part of one of the biggest decisions a person makes in life! Buying a new house, especially for the first time, is a very exciting but scary, anxious, and stressful time. When I worked as a mortgage lender, I prided myself in making the entire process a joyous occasion and celebrating along with them. I MISSED THAT. I knew I needed to get back to my passion sooner rather than later. If I kept putting it off, I would keep making excuses for why it wasn’t the right time.
So, I bit the bullet and contacted a recruiter at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation about a job they had just posted. About 5 years ago I had discovered Fairway and did some extensive research into their culture, their values, and what their employees had to say about their experience there. I began following them on social media and keeping an eye on Glassdoor reviews and was truly blown away by what I saw.
It was definitely one of those “This is too good to be true” thoughts in my head. But, through the years, the message remained consistent and I loved what I was seeing. When I made the decision to shift my career back to focus solely on this part of the financial industry, I knew there was no other place I wanted to be than at Fairway.
From my first conversation with them, everything fell into place perfectly. The people were incredible. I met the Branch Manager (my new boss) and again thought “wow, this is just to be too good to be true”. He was one of the kindest, most patient, and most informative people I had ever met. Even though I had a solid 6 years in mortgage lending previously, I knew this would still be a huge learning curve and I would need a good mentor.
He brought me in to meet the rest of the team and they were all just like him – enthusiastic, caring and SO easy to talk to. I walked out of that meeting never wanting to leave! I am so happy to say that I am now doing what makes me tick, what makes me wake up every single morning looking forward to my day and eager to help my clients meet their goals. I love problem-solving and this industry gives us plenty of problems to solve on a daily basis!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been more obstacles than I can possibly count.
From personal to professional, my road thus far has been anything but perfect. I’ve had to navigate learning how to manage people at a very young age while helping them reach their highest potential, how to be responsible with other people’s finances (which takes much time and care), and how to navigate extremely difficult situations in a professional manner. I’ve dealt with a lot of challenges in my personal life that left me on my own to figure out.
But those challenges have only made me stronger and have made me the person I am today. I’m grateful to have the most supportive husband that has always encouraged me to follow my dreams and ALWAYS believes in me. I’ve gained great friendships and mentors throughout my career that had a big impact on propelling me in my journey.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
When I made the decision to shift my career back to mortgage lending, I knew I didn’t want to just work for any company, I wanted to work for a company that shared my values and would offer the support and environment to allow me to perform at my highest potential.. When I reached out to Fairway, I interviewed them as much as they interviewed me.
The culture of this company and the team I get to work alongside is not to get out there and “sell” to clients and just make money. It’s about earning their trust and respect by having their best interests at heart and offering education on what we can do to set them up for success. It’s focused on establishing strong relationships with referral partners such as realtors who send their clients to us with full confidence that we will represent them well.
In mortgage transactions, each piece of the process is a reflection of the other parties involved. How we treat our clients directly impacts the overall experience and impression they have of their realtor and vice-versa. We have an INCREDIBLE marketing team that allows us to offer customized tools and resources for the realtors we work with.
My background as an Underwriter and having spent 13 years in the financial industry allowed me to gain the experience and knowledge to best serve those I work with. This isn’t a mortgage transaction. This is a life-long partnership we create with clients that impacts them so drastically that they never have a desire to go to anyone else.
If we have a client that’s buying a $90,000 home or a $900,000 home, they’re treated alike. They feel valued and confident that we will get them to the finish line. Just as importantly, our realtor partners feel the same. Communication is the most important aspect of the transaction. Our clients and realtor partners are informed each step of the way.
As you can probably tell by now, it feels impossible to convey through a few short paragraphs just how passionate I am about helping others through the mortgage industry. I’m so grateful to have developed all the partnerships I have over the course of my career and am so dang excited about all the people I have yet to meet and help!!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
This is always a fascinating question for me to ponder on, because, I constantly think to myself how lucky I am to live the life I’ve led and have the opportunities both professionally and personally that I’ve had; the people in my life, the jobs that I’ve held, the experiences life has brought me. But at the end of the day, my belief is this – if you do good, good will come to you. In fact, I even have a sign next to my desk that says this to remind me when I’m feeling defeated.
I do my best to start and end every day with positive energy and grateful thoughts. My morning routine consists of waking up early, listening to a good podcast or book, drinking my coffee, and hitting a hard workout before I do anything else. I end my day with meditation and positive affirmations before I go to sleep. I make sure I tell my husband every day how much I love him.
I recount at least 3 things in my life I’m grateful for before I close my eyes at night and hope to wake up the next morning with the same level of enthusiasm. There’s a sign in our bedroom that says “your life is as good as your mindset”. No one can ever convince me otherwise. I believe that our lives are what we make them and how we react to the bad or good things that happen to us.
Contact Info:
- Email: lacy.foltz@fairwaymc.com
- Website: https://therometeam.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lacyfoltzfairway/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LacyFoltzFairway/
Image Credits
Arturo Aguilar Photography
