Her Story
About Monique
I started my career in lending in 2008 at a credit union, where I began in consumer lending handling car loans, signature loans, and credit cards. By 2013, I had moved into the commercial and residential lending department. After taking a year off to have my daughter, I came back to the mortgage industry in 2014, this time on the lender side, which required me to obtain my NMLS license since credit unions didn't require licensing. I worked as a lender from 2014 to 2025, and during that time, I also served as regional operations manager for about 6 years until 2023, when I stepped down to spend quality time with my oldest son during his senior year of high school while he played baseball. In 2025, I finally took the leap to become a mortgage broker, something I had been scared to do but now absolutely love and wish I had done sooner. As a broker, I have access to 126 different lenders, which gives me so many more options for my borrowers compared to working for just one lender. I specialize in refinances and investor portfolio loans, and I love helping people grow their investment portfolios. On the investor side, I can now qualify borrowers based on the rental property income rather than just their W-2 or self-employment income, which opens up opportunities I couldn't offer before. I start my day around 4 AM, reviewing all my files in process, working with my amazing processor who is in Florida on Eastern Time, and then handling my applications and marketing in the afternoon. Right now, I'm learning to develop my own brand, which is new for me since I always worked under a lender's brand before. I'm currently licensed in Texas and Louisiana and working on obtaining my Florida license.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Monique
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my OCD-ness and being really organized. You have to be really organized in this business so things don't fall through the cracks. No one wants their loan to not close on time because you forgot to do something. I have different milestone steps in place and know exactly what I need to do on a file. I have checklists, I have Excel spreadsheets, just making sure everyone's always on the same page and making sure you don't miss anything. That attention to detail and organization is what keeps everything running smoothly.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If you're starting out and getting your license, study, study, study, study, study. That test is the hardest test I think I have ever taken in my entire life. Usually people don't pass it on the first try. It's a really, really hard test. It's not really a lot of math, but it's a lot of history and a lot of laws. It's a lot of stuff that I've never had to deal with on a daily basis. It's kind of crazy because you would think the questions would be related to how borrowers qualify and the guidelines, but it's not. Not at all.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I'm obviously in the business to make money, but I'm also in the business to serve others. I think that's most important. In order for me to be able to serve others, I have to work on both the business and the brand. Serving others is really at the heart of what I do.
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