Rebuilding your life in a new area can be very hard, especially if a natural disaster is the cause for relocating. Regions Bank mortgage loan originator Scott Mayfield has met the challenge head on, and that is what has made him a success in his new home in West Tennessee. Currently, he works out of the Dyersburg, Tenn., office.
Mayfield is paying it forward in a sense, by helping veterans of the U.S. military to obtain a mortgage and buy a home.
Mayfield and his family lived in Long Beach, Miss., which is located on the Gulf of Mexico between Pass Christian and Gulfport. On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina passed through the area and damaged, if not outright destroyed, many of the cities on the Gulf coast.
He and his family had evacuated the area before the storm hit but had not taken much, according to a video profile Regions did around the award. The storm had destroyed the family’s material possessions, but not his spirit, his manager Jimmy Harrison says in the video.
Mayfield was born and raised in Newbern, Tenn., which is in Dyer County. While living on the Gulf Coast, he worked in merchant services for a credit card company.
“Katrina changed my views quite a bit. The support and kindness of strangers was just unreal. It was a humbling experience to say the least.
“People who you didn’t know were going out of their way to help you or help your family. It was something that can’t help but change you,” he says.
After the storm, his family ended up staying in western Tennessee. After living there for nearly a year, he was contacted by someone at Regions regarding an opening in the mortgage unit and interview for the position.
At first he put it off but Regions called him again and finally came in for the interview. Mayfield got the position and the seven years he worked for the company has flown by, he says.
The reason he didn’t jump at the offer was because his life had been turned upside down by Katrina and he wasn’t sure what path to take. He was considering returning to the Gulf Coast region.
But after speaking with Regions and seeing what it had to offer for him in Dyersburg, it made the decision to stay easier.
Now, Regions Bank has given Mayfield its Better Life Award for October. The award honors company employees who best represent the company’s mission statement to put people first, do what is right, focus on the customer, reach higher and enjoy life.
The award came as a shock, he says, adding it was a surprise to win an award for what he does.
Mayfield’s business is built around working with veterans across western Tennessee. He interacts with the veterans centers in each of the counties in the region.
It is part of the bank’s mission to work with veterans, not just for mortgages, but other products as well, Mayfield notes. He is not a military veteran.
The Veterans Administration mortgage guarantee program offers benefits not seen in conforming or Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages, most prominent being that the borrower does not have to put any money down and does not have to obtain private mortgage insurance.
Making veterans and referral sources aware of the program’s benefits is part of what Mayfield does.
Many Vietnam-era veterans do not make use of the product, partially out of reluctance towards any ties to their past service. In addition, these veterans might not have had the same in-depth explanation of what benefits they are entitled to as those who are currently serving.
Currently, a lot of people who served or are serving in the National Guard or in the Reserves are not aware they likely qualify for a VA loan if they were called up for the Gulf War, he says. Some in the Guard have served as long as 12 years, don’t consider themselves to be veterans and didn’t know they were eligible when they come into his office to discuss a loan, he says.
The best part of the program is being able to help a veteran who is having financial difficulties and come into a Regions Bank branch refinance a vehicle or get a credit card to pay off some debt. His colleagues on the banking side know to ask someone if they are a veteran and do they own their own home. If the answer is yes to both, he might be able to structure a 100% refinance loan and help them reduce their debt burden and change their circumstances.
“It is a great feeling to be able to use that loan to help somebody far beyond what thought they could get,” he says.
His market includes Tipton, Lake, Dyer and Lauderdale counties. The average loan size is in the area of $115,000. Part of the market stayed strong during the downturn. But Lauderdale County lost some factors and Lake County was hit pretty hard.
Through October, he has originated $13.2 million, which equals 120 units.
He does not do any specific marketing other than meeting with each county’s veterans’ benefits representative. Word of mouth is how veterans spread the message about how he has helped them. Just old-fashioned hand shaking is how he makes contact with potential customers.
Plus, Regions sponsors and attends veterans outreach sessions. These one-day events have a great turnout.
And he has been able to educate his bank partners and Realtors to ask their customers those two key questions about being a vet and owning a home. Many originators do not ask those questions.
Are you a veteran should be the first question a Realtor asks when a consumer calls or being show a house, Mayfield says.
“That changes the whole dynamic of what they can do” for the customer, he says.
