Under Pressure

Written By: John Hoxsey
Certified Master Loan Processor (CMLP)

While we do not have to dodge physical bullets or deal with major life and death issues, stress can still have a major impact on our well being. Pressure is part of our work and can keep us motivated. Excessive pressure can lead to stress, which can undermine performance and, ultimately, can lead to illness.

Some of the main contributors to stress are the following:

· Eating on the run, or in a disorganized manner
· Rushing, hurrying, and trying to be available to everyone
· Doing several jobs at once
· Missing breaks
· Taking work home with you
· Having no time for exercise and relaxation

Sound like processing yet? Still want to work in the mortgage business? Some days, stress can make you rethink your career choice. Don’t worry; there are ways to deal with these things. The biggest piece of advice I can give is, do not take on the stress for a situation that is out of your control.

I have been guilty of taking on all the little pressures of this job and letting them boil in the pressure cooker. Then one day I had a breakthrough. An “AH-HA” moment as one of my friends calls it. Why should I take on stress for situations that are out of my control? Can I help it if a lender cannot get docs out? Can I help it if a loan officer’s rate is about to expire and I just got the loan 3 days ago? Can I help it if people shirk their responsibilities and cause loans to be delayed or blow up? No. I am responsible for doing all that I can do, but beyond that, there are many things that I can’t do anything about. I am one person on the assembly line, and it is important for me to do my job and do it to the best of my ability, but the moment that I leave my station and try to do my job, as well as everyone else’s, and worry about Joe Smith’s sick cat who he has to leave early to take to the vet, and therefore can’t get my closing package out today, that is when I am stressing about things that I can’t do anything about. What is the benefit in doing such a thing? Absolutely none. In fact, more chaos always results.

Stress really results when we feel as though we are responsible for those things that are out of our realm of control. I have had several situations lately in which all I could do is stand there and watch it happen. You know those movie scenes when things slow way down, people are running and waiving their hands, the audio is slow, and one guy is standing there saying “noooooooooooooooooooooo”.

So how do we separate ourselves from those situations? Well, we do and we don’t. We still have to deal with the resulting mess. The key is to work through them and not take the blame and pressure from situations that are beyond our control.

Here are a few things that I do to keep the stress at a minimum:

Delegate. Don't try to complete everything on your own. Even if you don't have a team to work with, you can delegate small jobs that will make it easier for you to complete the file on time. For instance, find someone in the office who can assemble your packets, or ask the loan officer to work on a condition. Every file has a few time-consuming stips that can be delegated.

Say no. Most of the time pushing and rushing a file to the table only creates more problems than it solves. I recently fell back into a position of rushing and making closing exceptions. I watched the stress meter of my colleagues and myself steadily climb as a result. I am quickly reminded in these instances why I have “no-rush” policies in place. There are the exceptions. But that is what they should be; exceptions, not the norm.

Schedule your files in advance. Remind your loan officers that lenders are busy, especially with FHA files. Loan Officers should not expect to send in a condition and close the file a day after the last condition is sent in. Wait for the clear and choose a date a few days out for scheduling. You should check with the lender and see what the earliest date you can have docs sent. Nine times out of ten doing this will not cause the world to shift off its axis.

Vent when necessary. You don't want to take your work home with you, but if the pressure of a work situation is driving you to distraction, take some time to vent your frustrations when you get home. Just explaining the problem to a friend or your spouse can relieve the pressure building inside you. You'll go back to work the next day with a clear head and renewed determination. Either that or you will go postal the next day :)

Smile. A smile will have a calming effect on you and everyone around you. It will also show your coworkers how well you're handling your high-pressure job.

Your health is important. Don’t let your career steal precious years from your life. This job is going to throw you some curve balls. The sun will still rise and set tomorrow. Step back, take a deep breath, and realize that you are not your job. And in the end it is just a job.

Remember - Your reputation is your business.

Happy Processing!!!

About the Writer. As one of NAMP's volunteer writers, John Hoxsey is currently a NAMP member in good standing and is a NAMP Certified Master Loan Processor (CMLP). If you would like to become a volunteer writer for NAMP, please email us at: blog@mortgageprocessor.org.