Guest Post: Stay the Course

This is a guest post from Karen @ MoneySavingEnthusiast.com. Enjoy!

When asked in a Forbes article about advice she would give to the next generation of influencers, NBC Anchor, Ann Curry replied “Know this: Everything you dream of that you care enough not to give up on, the deepest passion in you, the thing you really want will come true. . . .”

Last summer, I fulfilled a long-held dream of mine: I met her. A friend of mine and I journeyed to New York and visited the outdoor set of NBC’s Today Show. As Ann and the other hosts walked around and chatted with the crowd, I was able to get her attention and snap a picture with her. Being in her presence and talking with her left me inspired and invigorated. Here was a woman who had stayed the course in her career even though roadblocks had been thrown in front of her. Now she was in the job she wanted: Lead anchor of the Today Show. I decided to use this newfound inspiration to meet a finance goal of mine.

My husband and I had been talking about refinancing a couple of years ago when the rates were good but hadn’t done it because life got in the way. Then last summer at a pool party a friend of ours who’s into all things financial casually suggested we check the rates again. This was on a Saturday and we were leaving on a car trip to Florida on Monday. We decided to call our current mortgage company anyway on Sunday. The next day somewhere in Jersey on I-95 we hammered out the details over the phone with Mark, a mortgage consultant from the company. He offered us a good rate 3.8% for a 15 year fixed. We took it. The next month saw us filling out paperwork, faxing, signing, and mailing documents. Our house was appraised and we were all set to close. Until the day Mark no longer answered his emails or picked up his phone. It turns out he had resigned to take another job elsewhere. We were told our loan application would be picked up by someone else and the process would continue. It did, but something felt different. Our emails weren’t answered as promptly. Phone messages left weren’t always returned. Questions we had weren’t answered to our satisfaction. My husband and I both became frustrated that the refinance might not happen. After three months, it looked like we were back to square one.

Then a friend of mine who’s a realtor gave me the name of another mortgage consultant, Elizabeth, from a different bank. I called her immediately. After explaining our situation, she asked if she could send us some paperwork to look over. I said yes. The next day it arrived via overnight delivery. To say I was astonished is an understatement. Not only was she offering a better rate (15 year fixed at 3.25%) but the customer service was second to none. Emails were promptly answered, phone calls returned within the hour, and general questions answered courteously. Minor details with paperwork were still there but the process went smoothly. We ended up closing last month. As I sat in the lawyer’s office, my hand going numb from all the document signing, I couldn’t help but think about the long, tedious road we took to get here. But we had made it with an even better outcome than we had expected.

When I think back to the beginning of my refinancing journey, I have to go back and think of Ann Curry. Outcomes are never guaranteed. But persistence is. Staying the course pays off to reach goals, no matter what they are. Ann Curry and my refinanced mortgage are both proof of that.

 

 

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