Thanks for participating in Boss Babes, Azlee! Tell us what you do.

I’m a mortgage loan originator (MLO). That’s a person or institution that helps a prospective borrower get the right mortgage for a real estate transaction. The MLO is the original lender for the mortgage and works with the borrower from application and approval through the closing process. At Crosscountry Mortgage, we offer Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, and Down Payment Assistance Loans for borrowers in all 50 states.

The mortgage industry is highly regulated and ever-changing. How do you stay up-to-date with the latest trends?

Over the years the mortgage industry has gone through some massive changes, and we have had to learn from a lot of mistakes that have been made. Being in the industry for the last 22 years I have seen many ups and downs and watched lots of people leave the business due to the changes. My background is in operations, and I started in Processing and Underwriting and moved into the sales side of things in 2010.

To keep up with the changes, I always stay in the trenches, so to speak, with my co-workers and employees. I still do all of the setup on my files as well as process them. This keeps me up to date with all of the industry changes and ensures I stay humble and remember how much work goes into getting a transaction done.

What’s your benchmark for success?

I measure my success by my children. If my Children are well-rounded and happy successful people, then I have been successful. When I was younger I judged my success by money and material items. As you grow and adapt you realize that all of the money in the world and material items can be taken from you in the blink of an eye. My success is now measured by my happiness and what I can give back.

You’ve had a long career, spanning two decades, in the mortgage industry. What is the legacy that you hope to leave for the next generation of female mortgage professionals?

My goal would be to leave a trail of knowledge, common sense, honesty, integrity, and fairness to the future leaders of this industry. And I hope that they would continue to pass on their knowledge the same way the leaders before them have. Homeownership changes the trajectory of someone’s life and I hope they keep that in the forefront of their perspective.

What has been the most important lessons you've learned in business?

The most important lessons I have learned in my business is to always stay humble and remember that everyone is replaceable. Follow your passion. Working hard is easy when you’re doing what you love. Learning must be continuous. Expect failure. Build a great team. The people you surround yourself with will influence your career trajectory.

What are some of the key competitive advantages that you offer? And why do your customers choose you over another business?

In my business, it’s normal for operations and sales to be separated. But in my world, I actually do it all from start to finish and this ensures no details get missed. Your loan never gets passed off to another party and you never speak to anyone other than myself.

Through service to my clients, I’ve built an amazing network and all of my business comes 100% from referrals. My ultimate goal with each client is to build a lifelong relationship. I want to be their lender for life not their lender for the transaction. This means I focus heavily on service. I keep all parties in the transaction involved and send them Tuesday and Friday status updates. I have a 100% pull-through rate on all of my transactions. Before I issue a pre-approval letter for any client I verify their credit, income and assets. I do not give them a Lender Letter unless I am 100% confident that their loan is approvable.

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Azlee Miles is a mortgage loan originator for New American Funding and can be reached at https://www.newamericanfunding.com/mortgage-loans/azleemiles

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