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Why I Chose Real Estate - How a Hurricane Changed My Life and My Mortgage Practice!

By
Mortgage and Lending with Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp Louisiana NMLS#2289 Equal Housing Lender NMLS 69996

Today, one of the branches of my mortgage practice is located approximately three miles from where I was born almost 6 decades ago! But.....it has been quite a journey to get from there to here.....Here's a portion of my story: 


My journey to  become one of the top VA loan officers in the nation started with when Hurricane Rita struck central Louisiana in September of 2005.  It was at that time I was praying that God would deliver me from the mortgage business!  But let me start at the beginning.....



My life began at an Army hospital at Camp Polk, Louisiana (now known as the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk Army Base, Fort Polk, Louisiana)


Because my parents divorced very shortly after my birth, I was not reared in the typical military family atmosphere.  At the age of three years old, my mother and stepfaather moved to Sabine Parish, Louisiana, where I have lived since that time. 


Many, Louisiana, is the parish seat and it is is where I worked for many years as a paralegal for a local attorney.  That office handled the majority of the real estate closings for most of the local banks for many years.  Operating with a Selectric© typewriter, I would prepare the mortgage, note, and other supporting documentation.   I remember one error would mean a total re-do because using any type of "white-out" was not allowed!   


After working in this position in Downtown Many, Louisiana, for almost 18 years, the pull of entrepreneurship drew me first into restaurant ownership (I was NOT cut out for Food World), and then to a position with a local bank as Senior Vice President of their mortgage division. 


When the bank shut down their mortgage department, I opening my own branch with Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation.  Business was good for a few years because I refinanced everyone in the parish!  After five years, though when interest rates took a hike, my business was down, and I just wanted OUT of the mortgage business!  Refinances were gone and there just weren't very many purchases in this small rural parish.......


And then Hurricane Rita changed everything.  She ripped through central Louisiana destroying one of my husband's businesses.  It was at this time that he said the infamous words to me "Can YOUR business make money until mine can be rebuilt?" How long for his to be rebuilt - one year! 


HUH???  I wanted OUT - O-U-T of the business - not IN! But after much prayer and soul searching, I realized that I need to discover my "why" - why was I working anyway?  And the answer came to me - For my husband and my family, I would do whatever it took to help.


I am a firm believer that if you want to change your life, you have to change your mind!  And that is what I did - I changed my mind - knowing that now more than ever before my family needed me to succeed.  I wrote out some HUGE goals in a notebook and a detailed vision of what I wanted my mortgage practice to look like.


Knowing that I would need to leave the small town I was in to succeed, I traveled south to another parish, to the military town, Fort Polk, Louisiana.  This was an unfamiliar town with an unfamiliar loan product - VA loans.  I had never worked in this parish - and the only association I really had with this town was - IT WAS THE PLACE OF MY BIRTH!


I began to study VA loans and to form relationships with the top real estate agents in that town.  I was energized and filled with passion to serve these soldiers.  I wrote a business plan and began to pursue excellence in all aspects of my practice.  I began to work with some of the top mortgage professionals in the nation and model their best practices. I attended conferences, listened to motivational tapes, and began the task of transforming my practice.


And what happened?  In 2005, I had only closed 74 transactions.  However, after "changing my mind", my production moved to 280 transactions in 2006- a 400% increase, and I was listed as one of the top 75 loan officers in the nation for FHA/VA loans.  By this time, I had fallen in love with my business by serving those who serve in this military town where I was born!


It's hard to believe that at one time I wanted out of this business I now love so much.  A business where I have the opportunity to work with military clients for whom I have so much respect and admiration. 


Since that time, I have become a writer and national speaker for the mortgage industry on how to transform your business with purpose, possibility, passion, planning and perseverance.  I was also blessed to be included as one of the women featured in the book "Reinventing the Heel" by Karen Deis, and I write regularly industry publications. 


And that's how everything changed six years ago when a storm blew into town, causing me to examine my "why" and move me to transform my business and thereby changing my life .....forever. 













 

 




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Louise Thaxton VA Military Suits in Boots 

Louise G. Thaxton NMLS #69996, VA Home Loan Expert

#14 in Nation for VA Loans (Scotsman Guide)

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp NMLS #2289

Phone: 866-960-9115  Email: lgthaxton@fairwaymc.com

www.MilitaryMortgages.org 

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Comments (12)

Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Excellent story Louise. Amazing how that storm changed EVERYTHING.

Aug 15, 2011 04:36 PM
Louise Thaxton NMLS 69996
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp Louisiana NMLS#2289 Equal Housing Lender - Leesville, LA
Military Mtg Specialist - 866-960-9115 VA FHA USDA

Yes, it did, Gary!  For many people ......

Aug 15, 2011 04:38 PM
Cindy Westfall
Premiere Property Group,LLC Portland Metro & Suburbs Oregon - Tualatin, OR
ABR,GRI Your Tualatin & Portland Metro Real Estate

Hi Louise, sometimes it takes something drastic to kick us in the pants and take a really good look. You could have gone in a whole different direction, but instead you paused long enough to think about where you wanted to go...and then went after it with gusto! I'm very impressed!

Aug 15, 2011 04:46 PM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

Louise-thanks for sharing your story and your success.  Sometimes life throws us curve balls and we can either hit  them out of the park or let them strike us out.  You chose to hit it out of the park and there are thousands of military families who can say "Thank-You" because you did.

Aug 16, 2011 12:32 AM
Louise Thaxton NMLS 69996
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp Louisiana NMLS#2289 Equal Housing Lender - Leesville, LA
Military Mtg Specialist - 866-960-9115 VA FHA USDA

Thanks to both Cindy's for your comments

To Cindy W - yes, I paused but not for long - my family needed me - and then God blessed my efforts.  Thanks for your comments.

To Cindy J - I have thought the same thing - that how God re-directed my life and as a result I have been able to serve those who serve - I have received more benefit from that service than any of the military could have.  It truly is a blessing to work with so many military families. Thank you so much for your comment and for the sacrifice of your family.

 

 

Aug 16, 2011 01:09 AM
Not a real person
San Diego, CA

A very interesting story, Louise. My mom evacuated New Orleans before Katrina and never went back. She lives in Ogden, Utah, with her brother. I have a brother, two sisters, and a niece who all lost their homes in Katrina, and another sister whose home survived but was filled with four feet of water.

Happy Tuesday!

Aug 16, 2011 07:29 AM
Louise Thaxton NMLS 69996
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp Louisiana NMLS#2289 Equal Housing Lender - Leesville, LA
Military Mtg Specialist - 866-960-9115 VA FHA USDA

Wow, Ray - I had no idea that you had so many Louisiana connections!  Katrina was bad, indeed, and then not even a month later - Rita hits.  Double whammy.  With us in Central Louisiana, we just did not expect it to come up so far - we EXPECT South Louisiana to be hit - but CENTRAL?  Thanks for your comments - love your posts!

Aug 16, 2011 09:20 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

LOVE your story!  Your childhood pic is adorable!  I used a Selectric for many years...oh those were the days, LOL!

Aug 16, 2011 11:35 AM
Deb Brooks
Brooks Prime Properties Wichita Falls Texas - Wichita Falls, TX

Louise, this is the perfect story of fortitude and the power of creating your own reality! I love it. Inspiring and a wonderful ending which turns out to be the beginning! Thank you,

deb

Aug 16, 2011 03:33 PM
Louise Thaxton NMLS 69996
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp Louisiana NMLS#2289 Equal Housing Lender - Leesville, LA
Military Mtg Specialist - 866-960-9115 VA FHA USDA

Thanks, Sharon - I typed many words on those old Selectrics!  My grandchildren still wonder how I can type so fast - they have no clue of how you had to "get it done" quickly on a typewriter.

Deb - thanks for your comments - and I had not thought of it that way - but that is right - the ending was only the beginning....I'll have to use that next time!

 

Aug 16, 2011 03:47 PM
Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Geez, Louise!

What a story. And you've transformed your business because you changed your mind only 6 years ago. How totally exciting and mind-boggling your journey was to be tops in your field. Congrats!

Aug 17, 2011 06:52 PM
Louise Thaxton NMLS 69996
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp Louisiana NMLS#2289 Equal Housing Lender - Leesville, LA
Military Mtg Specialist - 866-960-9115 VA FHA USDA

Pacita - "only" six years in the mortgage industry right now seems like DECADES with all of the "government intervention" we have had!  It has been quite a ride, for sure - and glad I made the trip.  Love your blog and thanks for your comment!

Aug 18, 2011 04:13 AM