Her Story
About Tina
My journey in the financial and title industry spans over two decades, beginning in 2000 when I entered the mortgage industry doing cold calling for refinances. What drove me into this field was a deeply personal experience - when I bought my first home at a young age with three kids, I was taken advantage of with fraudulent documents and fake W-2s that made it look like I could afford more than I actually could. That experience ignited my passion to prevent others from going through the same thing. I worked as a loan processor and loan officer, always focused on making sure people weren't 'mortgage broke.' After the 2007 economic crash, I transitioned to loan servicing at a bank where I spent 10 years learning every aspect of how mortgages work, from processing to credit impact. I then moved to Fidelity in the title business for 5 years, doing closings and coordination. During COVID, despite the financial success, the stress became unbearable - I was working constantly, gained significant weight, and experienced what I thought was a heart attack but turned out to be severe anxiety. That's when I made the life-changing decision to join Proper Title 4 years ago as the lead of the scheduling department. Now I work from home, maintain a healthy 40-hour work week, and use my extensive knowledge to mentor and support my team. I love putting puzzles together with complex scheduling challenges and creating a positive, encouraging environment. The culture at Proper Title is like family - our COO knows my name, asks about my kids, and makes everyone feel valued. I'm passionate about sharing my knowledge rather than hoarding it, always looking to train my replacement and help others thrive and move up in their careers.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to wanting to give my kids the very best. It's not just about financial things, but having a decent job helps create certain memories with the kids, whether it's a little vacation, a mini trip to Great America, or a nice dinner. For me, every day I wake up and I thank God that I have another day, and I can do everything I can for my family, because making them smile is the most important for me, every day. My kids are my motivation - whatever my kids need, my adrenaline goes, it's like my dopamine. When they ask for help, even though they're adults now, I'm like, when, where, what do you need, I'll be right there. That drive to provide for and support my family has pushed me to work hard and succeed in my career.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was to always look for your replacement, because that could help you move up. A lady who trained me when I first got into the mortgage industry taught me to always be a leader and share my knowledge, not hide it. She told me knowledge is power - don't hide your knowledge because you're worried someone will go above you. You're not going to be at this job forever, right? If someone is better at something than you and can use it to go somewhere else, then that's what they should do. I love sharing my knowledge with people who want to learn and thrive. I've taken this advice to heart with my team, especially with one young woman who had no experience but now, after just one year, is my backup person and knows so much. She thrives on learning and I love watching her become my shooting star. I tell her she needs this knowledge so when she goes out into sales, she can talk the talk and walk the walk with confidence.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just give it a try and see if you like it. Don't ever be scared to try something, and if it's not you, then it's okay to say this isn't fitting. Don't ever say this is scary, because life is scary in itself. You know what I mean? Just try it, give it a try. Don't let fear hold you back from exploring opportunities in this industry.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Keeping customers happy is honestly the biggest challenge right now. Sometimes when you get on the phone with somebody and they start off their conversation with 'you people,' it kind of sets me off because I'm like, you know who you're calling, you know what company you're calling. I've had people F-bombing me and yelling in my face. I had this gentleman come into the bank who was literally just effing me like nobody's business across the desk because he thought we sold his mortgage, but Fannie Mae owned it. But I will never stoop to someone's level. If they continue talking to me like that, I'll say I'm so sorry that this conversation isn't going this way, but I'm not going to entertain this anymore, and I hang up. Giving the best customer service today is so hard, but when you're doing it and somebody recognizes that, it feels amazing. I always maintain the same calm tone even when people are yelling at me, because that's just who I am.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Just being a good person and doing whatever I can to be there for my family and my work family is most important to me. I have a hard time saying no. That's the biggest value to me - just being there for somebody, even if it's just to listen. Everybody has a bad day, right? And sometimes we're like, how do we leave that at the door? Everybody goes through something, and it's important that you own it. If you make a mistake, own it. How are you gonna learn if you don't own it? If you brush it off going 'I didn't know,' then you didn't really learn from that mistake, did you? That's my biggest pet peeve - when people can't own their mistakes and then they don't learn from them. I want to spread love, be encouraging, and help turn people's frowns upside down. I'm that type of person - maybe I could have been a hippie or something. I'm always like, what can I do for you, I love you. Some people think I'm weird and cheesy, but I can go in a room and I'm like, let's go, how do we turn those frowns upside down?
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