Before joining Lument predecessor Hunt Real Estate Capital in 2018, I spent years working as an underwriter. Eventually, though, I reached a stage where I was ready to take my career in a different direction, which meant taking a step towards the production side.
It’s a career turn that’s definitely been for the best, offering me great opportunities for professional growth. In my current job in FHA affordable multifamily production, I wear a few hats. I serve as an internal resource to Lument’s FHA originators, assisting with screening, structuring, and executing refinance and construction loans. I also work closely with the FHA multifamily analyst team on initial loan sizings to provide loan summaries for clients.
Another hat involves taking meetings and calls with originators and their clients, educating them on HUD programs; on some transactions, I stay involved through closing and construction. Finally, I support Lument’s FHA production platform with marketing efforts, with internal and external resources like underwriting models, and by being a company ambassador to HUD offices around the country.
There are many reasons I enjoy showing up for work. I love helping people. I also love solving problems, especially knotty math ones. And I have the good fortune to do plenty of both in my role. But what I probably enjoy most are the frequent, stimulating interactions that I have with Lument’s originators, underwriters, and their clients.
One way I add value to the company is by taking nuanced, complicated loan products and explaining them to colleagues in a way that they can quickly and easily digest. Over the past few years, I’ve also helped grow our FHA analyst support group to the point where it’s now well established. I’m proud of my team’s collective achievements: 2020 and 2021, in particular, were especially great years for our FHA business.
As for what it’s like to work at Lument, it’s a big company that nevertheless manages to be genuinely welcoming. I can also attest that Lument is filled with really good people who are truly fun to work with. And that makes coming to both my physical office in Washington, D.C., and to my virtual office a joy. This camaraderie manifests itself in other ways, including support for Lument’s DEI initiatives and engagement with nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity. It’s obvious from their actions that my colleagues care about each other, as well as the communities they work in.
My group is also extremely entrepreneurial. That’s because the more originators that we can assist in executing FHA transactions, the better we do. In fact, we operate like a small consulting team within the firm. Our mission is to continuously improve Lument’s FHA underwriting machine. And it’s on our shoulders to achieve it. Thankfully, leaders here at Lument are always very encouraging to people with new ideas.
