Meet Tami Matthews | Owner, 3rd party processing and Mortgage Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tami Matthews and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tami, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I wanted to break away from the corporate world. I have worked in mortgage financing since 2001. I have worked for both retail and wholesale lenders, small family owned brokerages and large corporations. I found a better fit with smaller family owned companies. When the company I was working at was bought out by a corporation I made the decision to step out on my own.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I started in the mortgage industry as a telemarketer; making calls and bothering people during dinnertime. I was in college in Cincinnati so this part time job allowed me to focus on school during the day and part time work that paid the bills pretty well for a 19 year old kid. I learned fast and was quickly offered a job as a loan officer. I got licensed and moved into a full time position with a local lender. Helping a couple buy their dream home or assisting a new single mom how to refinance and eliminate debt felt great. It was a new challenge and a profession I never imagined for myself. It seemed easy at first and then the Mortgage Meltdown of 2008 happened. I moved to Arizona and went back to school.

In 2009 I found a loan processing assistant position for a small mortgage broker in Scottsdale. I put my knowledge to use there, and moved into a fulltime loan processing position. I left there in 2011 and began working for a correspondent lender in Phoenix. This was a challenging position: learning new software, different guidelines, rules for various investors, managing a much bigger pipeline. I left there and then I was hired by a third party processing company.

This was very challenging. It made me rethink the way processing is handled for loan transactions. Having to organize not just the process of mortgage loans but using multiple different lender systems, different loan officers systems and keep up with constant guidelines changes made me rethink the way we approach loan processing. I began approaching the process as more of a project manager, developed a pipeline platform from a free app online and helped a start-up company generate over 1MIL in revenue their first year. After that I felt like I found my niche.

During all this I was paired up with some real heavy hitting producers and real estate agents. I definitely had to step up my game, get better, be better. Real Estate and Mortgage Finance is one of the most demanding, high paced work environments because every step of the process is so time sensitive for the borrowers. They have their livelihoods on the line. Purchasing a home is one of the most stressful things to go through. It is important to have a very knowledgeable person in your corner, that really cares about seeing the transaction to the finish line with as little chaos as possible.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favorite things about the valley is no one can ever say there is nothing to do. It is hard to just pick a few places. Definitely a hike on Camelback Mountain in the early am. You can’t beat that sunrise. Hit up LIT Brunch in Scottsdale; so much fun and the drinks and food are great. Obviously we would have to get in a round of golf at Troon North or Verrado depending on if were visiting friends in Scottsdale or the westside. I love Sumo Maya for dinner on Scottsdale Rd; the Asian/Mexican fusion twist on their menu is amazing. Oh! and the Kemuri is my favorite cocktail. Downtown is also a fun vibe, great art galleries and speakeasys like the Grey Hen, located in the Century Grande. I’m also a huge sports fan so a Suns game or Diamondbacks game would probably be included as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I couldn’t do any of this without my ride-or-die staff. Alyshea Henson, Dustin Cardwell, and Dee Featherston have been such valuable teammates. They each bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and mind power that help us overcome daily challenges and weather this ever shifting real estate market.

I have learned so much during this journey. There have been many growing pains, ups and downs in the market, guideline and program changes. All of these different things just make us work harder, be more diligent, stay on top of our game and develop my team and I into quick problem solvers and SME’s in our field.

Website: www.onepathprocessing.com

Instagram: one_path_processing_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnePathPro