Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Tamez.
Hi Michele, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
So, my journey starts as a young teenager running errands with my mom in A small city in Venezuela, South America. My mom was, and still is, a business woman. She managed to build a career, and own multiple stores. From being an associated business partner, to bringing family member on board. Teaching them the ins and outs managing and owning a business. Growing up I would see my mom managing different parts of her business, like: employees, payroll and sales. She would do this all on her own. She would usually bring me to the stores and let me in her office until she officially hired me when I was around 15 years old. This background and upbringing set the tone for how I’ve developed my entrepreneurship and business, in the present, here in the States, with totally different language and culture.
I arrived in Atlanta, Georgia a week before my 22nd birthday. I was young and ready to chase the American Dream. I had God in my life and a bag full of education, managing skills and a backbone of entrepreneurship. I was ready! Of course, being an immigrant in a country with a completely different language, culture, and away from my entire life took a toll on my emotional and physical health. Although I maneuvered through different jobs, I eventually found myself some stability. I started looking into real estate in hopes of making some extra money. I knew there was “money” in the industry, but I didn’t quite exactly know what it was about or even know how to start. I reached out to a friend of mine that had plenty of experience in the industry. She directed me in the right path, and also gave me a few tips (praise God for the people in your life.) She hired me for a few months to help her with her marketing. At that time, she was working with a Mortgage Loan Officer that was looking for an assistant She thought my personality would fit the profile and referred me to this company for a job interview. I was hired on the spot! By this time, I already had my Real Estate license and I thought that the Mortgage Industry would be a great starting point towards getting familiar with the industry. Little did I know that’s making the decision would be an absolute game changer!
As I grew and learned more about Real Estate on the Mortgage side, and I fell in love with it. As my boss’s business started to pick up I came to the realization that I joined the industry at a very good time,despite the pandemic. The Company was a great fit to my personality. It turned out that all my sales and clerical skills were extremely useful when applied to a mortgage loan process. My boss saw potential in me and started to develop me as a junior loan officer. This opened the door to the next level for me, a fully Licensed Mortgage Loan Officer.
It’s been an incredible journey that I’m still writing about. I’ve grown so much over the past two years and I am very passionate about the financial aspect of Real Estate that I’ve found in Mortgage side of the world. It is a very fulfilling feeling to be able to see families purchasing their own house by obtaining a mortgage loan, and thus accomplishing their own version of the American Dream. My clientele is 98% Hispanic and it is my honor and privilege to help each family in their home buying process. Buying a home can be so difficult and even different for us immigrants. Most of my clients grew up with little to no financial education in their own countries, and when they approach me to have a mortgage consultation, they are facing something completely new and even hard to understand at first. I am so grateful to be able to do this for a living and get my clients to the closing table, see them signing papers and officially buying a house!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. It took me two years to find stability for myself before even looking into the mortgage industry. I immigrated by myself, no family or friends. I started a whole new life on my own in a foreign land and culture. It took me a few years to find a healthy pace of life and a stable job. I praise God for putting amazing people in my path that helped me, supported me, loved me like family and hired me even with no experience. Nonetheless they took the chance on me and gave me a shot at this tough industry.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The company that I work for , First Option Mortgage, is a nationwide Mortgage Company dedicated on helping homebuyers and homeowners around the country to have the best home buying experience possible, through great customer service and mortgage knowledge. In other words, we are about culture, customer service and mortgage services. We serve different communities and ethnicities in different areas of The United Stated.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Immigrating on my own was taking a huge risk on its own that equipped me for what I do every day. Also, before I became a full-time loan officer, transitioning from a comfortable salary job to a full-time commission job was a pretty significant risk, but at the end of the day; that’s what it takes sometimes: a little risk and a lot of faith!
Contact Info:
- Email: mtamez@myfirstoption.com
- Website: https://mtamez.myfirstoption.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loansby_michele/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Michele-Tamez-107702891793382/?ref=pages_you_manage
