Keyrate's Stephanie Hume is no stranger to hustle, which has helped her find success early in her mortgage career
Everything in Stephanie Hume’s life has been a stepping stone to her mortgage success. Growing up as a competitive dancer and athlete instilled discipline, a tireless work ethic and the importance of being a team player. As a graduate of Carleton University’s law program, she learned how to think critically and work within deadlines, and her previous sales jobs taught her client-facing skills, the importance of product knowledge and how to match people’s needs with the right solutions.
Mortgage first piqued Hume’s interest when she started out in real estate, but it wasn’t until she bought her own first property three years ago and met Danny Ibrahim, the principal broker at Keyrate, that she realized the financial side of home-buying was where she belonged.
Ibrahim became a mentor to Hume. He answered all of her questions, allowed her to make her own mistakes and taught her the importance of being extremely detail-oriented and getting all information from borrowers upfront. As Keyrate’s head processor, charged with processing deals for most agents in the office and coordinating with clients, lawyers and other partners, Hume gained a considerable amount of knowledge about the industry, which gave her a competitive edge when she started doing her own deals.
“I’ve worked on over $200 million worth of files and have come across almost every single type of loan you can think of,” she says. “During that time, I was a sponge soaking in every aspect of the industry. I took my time to become an expert in products and observed how everyone approached the business.”
Hume says she started her career slowly to ensure that when she was given a referral, she knew exactly how to take care of her clients from start to finish. At 25 years old and just three years into her mortgage journey, Hume was named one of CMP’s Rising Stars for 2020. Despite recognizing many other top female brokers in these ranks, she acknowledges that the space remains very male-dominated.
“I want to see more women enter the mortgage industry,” she says. “It’s a challenge because I’ve noticed that some people prefer to work with men when it comes to their finances, but those who take a chance on me quickly realize that I’m a young female professional who knows what I’m doing, and I’m just as knowledgeable as the next broker.”
Hume has a very client-centric approach to her business, going above and beyond for every borrower. As a young broker, she understands the importance of technology and the growing role it plays in the mortgage process. She was quickly able to adapt to serving her clients virtually after the coronavirus pandemic hit in mid-March, just months after she obtained her full broker licence.
Keyrate allows clients to provide documentation upfront for pre-approvals, which has been essential to an efficient online process, and Hume began focusing on her online marketing strategies and reaching out to clients to let them know she was available to help at a time where many Canadians were looking for additional cash flow.
“Technology makes this business possible,” she says. “It facilitates working remotely and going paperless. Right now, the market is crazy in Ottawa, where people aren’t putting conditions on their offer, so we have to ensure the process is flawless from top to bottom.”
The connectivity that technology allows, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, has also helped Hume lead her new team. She sends them step-by-step videos, and they keep each other accountable and motivated through video chats and regular meetings.
In her previous role as head processor, Hume knew it was important to be dependable, and she’s brought that attribute to her job as team leader. Her goal this year is to continue growing her team, which is currently made up of professionals from diverse backgrounds who are constantly learning from one another.
“We are in touch every day and talk about everything from business, strategy, goals and vision,” Hume says. “We are also using the time during this pandemic to go full throttle on marketing and client outreach to keep this momentum going. At the end of the day, nothing is promised to you in this job. If you want to make it, you have to work for it.”
