Karen Pacheco worked in the new home sales industry for over a decade, but she needed a new challenge
Karen Pacheco worked in the new home sales industry for over a decade, but she needed a new challenge. After becoming a mortgage agent at the beginning of 2016, she realized that she made the right choice.
In fact, after winning her first Canadian Mortgage Award last month, that might be an understatement. Pacheco won the Award for Best Newcomer Individual Agent/Broker after completing 53 transactions.
“I am absolutely honoured to receive this award. It’s a fairly big deal for me and it’s great to have the support of everybody I work with at Mortgage Architects and all of my clients,” she said. “It’s my very first award or big recognition within the mortgage industry and it feels absolutely fantastic. It was an honour to be nominated, let alone to become a finalist and then actually win. It’s pretty nerve-racking, actually.”
Pacheco is a big believer in building relationships, and with her agreeable personality it seems like it comes naturally for her.
“I think I have built a fairly good reputation with a lot of my clients and realtor clients, and I just make sure that my level of service meets and exceeds what they expect of me, and that I never stop trying,” she said. “Keep going out there and getting that new business because you’re only as good as your last mortgage.”
Pacheco—who serves Edmonton, Spruce Grove, St. Albert and Sturgeon County—began her career in new home sales and quickly worked her way up to sales management, then moved over to the builder’s corporate office. She eventually ran a team responsible for five cities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. All of that experience has proven invaluable as a mortgage agent.
“I think the vast amount of customer service that I had to deal with in the new home industry—negotiations or writing an actual Purchase Agreement for a new home, for example—is similar to looking for the best rate and best package for a client who’s getting a mortgage. But I think customer service and dealing with the public is the biggest thing, because you have to have that trust with clients and build that rapport with them right from the beginning.”
