Carla Green

People believing in me, supporting me, and trusting me. I didn't finish college because the mortgage business was so busy and I also had an ex-husband that didn't quite support me in my college pursuit. But if my little boss when I was 19 hadn't brought me into the mortgage business and basically taught me as we drove to and from work every day, I wouldn't be where I am today. Those were the days when you didn't have the computer to tell you everything - you had the calculator and the manuals and had to look it all up. She believed in me and invested in me, even co-signing for my student loan. I believe that every young person needs somebody to believe in them. Steve believes in me too - he'll email me words of encouragement. It's that support, that care, that love, that belief from people around me that has made all the difference.

Andy Andrews turned the page for me in 2014 when he spoke to us about The 7 Decisions. The biggest one is that the buck stops here - I have to take full responsibility for everything. It's not my processor's fault, it's mine. I need to seek wise counsel always. If I don't know something, I shouldn't just do it and ask for forgiveness later - we have a hotline for that. But I also have to be a person of action. I can't just stay frozen when I have a problem. I've literally called Steve on a Sunday or Saturday and gotten the head of underwriting on the line. I have to choose to be happy even in the middle of chaos, and unfortunately our business is constant chaos. I need to be forgiving when I screw up - the bosses are like, start over, reset. And Steve's way is to find a way when there is no way. We brainstorm together through Fairway at Night emails when we have a problem with a loan, and the whole team gives their input on tricks that might help.

You need a mentor. You need a mentor. I think every young girl needs a mentor, somebody to look up to, somebody to give them guidance. My mentor didn't have to drive me to work every day and teach me, but she invested in me. She would even bonus me and make me pay off my credit cards with it because she was teaching me to be wise with money. She believed in me so much that she co-signed for my student loan. Young women need to get involved - get involved with clubs, nonprofits, and organizations. I've been on the board with Mansfield Cares, done Leadership Mansfield, Keep Mansfield Beautiful. There are so many things you never know about until you get involved. Don't just accept the status quo - ask questions and continue learning. At Fairway, we have learning tutorials where if you don't know how to do something, you can watch video after video that walks you step-by-step. There's no excuse to fail - you only fail if you choose to fail. And remember, your circle matters. Really, your circle matters. The people you surround yourself with will make all the difference in your success.

Really, it's educating the borrower. My first house, rates were 14 percent, and I thought 12 and a half meant I had won the lottery. But the prices of houses were a lot cheaper then. We're trying to tell people to buy the house and date the rate - marry the house, date the rate. We need rates to come down. That's my biggest concern. We've also been fighting the battle with the credit bureaus selling borrowers' information to my competition. The credit bureaus sell your information immediately when I pull credit, and you don't get any say unless you opt out. I've had clients tell me they're spammed with like 50 phone calls from companies I've never even heard of. That's supposed to stop this month, we'll see. But to overcompensate, the credit bureaus now want to charge 200 to 300 dollars for a credit report instead of the 50 it used to be, because they're not making the money they were making selling information. The government really needs to step in and fix that because it's hurting everybody. As far as inventory, I've never seen houses less than 300 - I just did one at 305. We just haven't seen prices that low in our little Texas area. 2020 and 2021 blew it up when people were paying over list. I had one client pay 100,000 dollars over list coming from California.

On my Facebook page, it says Faith, Family, Fairway. That says everything. Those three values are what matter most to me, and they all intertwine together, so it works. It works well. They're not separate parts of my life - they're woven together into who I am and what I do every day.