Photography by Spacecrafting
Lisa Wells
Lisa Wells of CrossCountry Mortgage in Minnetonka has closed 3,988 mortgages on time. She attributes that phenomenal record to her own experience as a first-time homebuyer — as an abject lesson in what not to do. Her closing took six hours. “I vowed to never let that happen to someone else,” she says.
“I really want clients to feel confident in what they are doing and how they are doing it,” she notes. “I strive to give attorney- or doctor-level advice, not what you can find with a quick Google search. The thought of being average makes my skin crawl.”
Her antidote to industry trends of online chatbots, canned answers and fast preapprovals is sitting down with clients and analyzing all their information upfront. “We ask you to walk all the way out to the edge of the trust tree right away, because we can advocate for you and give you clear understanding and peace of mind,” she explains. “Knowledge is power.”
That power is something that other lenders simply don’t hand over. When you do all the research and paperwork upfront, she says, you know exactly what you’re getting and have very little work to do on the back end. You’re also sure to avoid nasty surprises or failed closings. On top of that, Wells seals her work with a rare guarantee.
She and her team pride themselves on their highly personal client relationships, which stand in stark contrast to the industry shift toward automation. “The fast and easy fix is usually the most stressful, most time-consuming route you can take,” she says, adding that she takes a precise, nonjudgmental, whole-picture look at a client’s financial world to guide their decisions. “When my clients are educated and comfortable with the options, they are empowered to make the best decisions, free from remorse.”
