Loan Officer Courtney Peveto Helps First-Time Homebuyers Realize Their Dreams

Loan officer Courtney Peveto with NOLA Lending Group in Lake Charles has found early success in her lending career by concentrating on first-time homebuyers and building relationships with her clients.

“I call my clients my forever friends because I really get to know these people,” Peveto says.

Her customer-focused approach has helped her close deals for dozens of homeowners over her first year in the mortgage industry, many of them facilitated through homebuyer-assistance programs from the Louisiana Housing Corporation.

Peveto says that as she and her husband built and sold multiple homes in the Lake Charles area over the years, she found the lending side of the transactions increasingly fascinating. She also got a firsthand look at what makes an effective lender for a homebuyer, an insight she held on to as she transitioned into the mortgage industry.

“I learned what I wanted in a lender, so I decided I would be that type of lender for other people,” she says.

In 2017 Peveto started taking certification courses to become a loan officer, but a new baby complicated the process. She started with NOLA Lending Group in February 2018 and hasn’t looked back since.

Peveto says she seeks to live out the Golden Rule with homebuyers, including an emphasis on communication to keep clients informed throughout the mortgage loan process. “I believe in making sure that you treat your clients how you would want to be treated: honest, kind and informative,” she says. “Because at the end of the day, if there’s no honesty or communication you don’t know what’s going on. Putting yourself in your client’s shoes is so important.”

In her first year Peveto has brokered nearly 50 deals — an impressive feat in an industry that can be difficult to break into — in part because she’s one of the few lenders in the area who focuses heavily on first-time homebuyer assistance. “It feels good to help first-time homebuyers,” Peveto says. “I feel like that’s my specialty, and I’m really excited about that.”

Peveto has smartly leveraged homebuyer assistance from the Louisiana Housing Corporation. LHC offers access to low-interest loans — as well as up to 4 percent assistance for a down payment and closing costs — to qualifying Louisiana residents looking to purchase their first home. Homebuyers must have a credit score of at least 640 and must meet income requirements based on their location. Assistance is available statewide for home purchases of up to $435,000.

“They offer multiple programs that fit all kinds of different scenarios,” Peveto says.

Peveto says she has helped some qualifying homeowners who had money for closing costs and down payments to save some of that money by accessing LHC assistance. “Everyone really works hard for their money, and it’s really hard to save money, so I like to make sure that people are offered every opportunity to get some kind of break,” Peveto says. “It saves people from having to drain their bank accounts. Nobody wants to do that.

“Everyone works very hard to get to the position when they’re a homeowner,” she says. “Getting to the closing table and seeing them get their keys is an unbelievable feeling.”