Start your week with intention.
Coming into 2007, the market started getting very uncertain. If you were in the business then, you may remember that in February, Freddie Mac announced it would stop buying the subprime mortgages and the securities built on them. In April, New Century, one of the top subprime lenders in the country, filed for Chapter 11, and the dominoes started to fall.
I had taken my new position as a district manager in December of 2006. I had just given up all of my production to go into a non-producing role, and my sole job was to hire originators to my team and grow production. As you can imagine, it was a very difficult time to be new.
In March of 2007, Chris Altig introduced me to Shawn Sterling. Shawn was a top-producing branch manager at Wells Fargo who had closed $50 million the year before, which would be something like $120 million today. He had decided to leave, and he was looking at companies.
He was my first big recruit, and I was nervous. I was unsure of myself, but I knew what was in front of me: a great originator, a great leader, and someone with a strong reputation in the market who could help me put my stake in the ground in Spokane.
So I went for it. I leaned on everything I had been coached on.
I couldn't make the uncertainty disappear. I had to learn how to have a useful conversation with it still in the room.
I began asking different questions. What did this person need? What were they trying to accomplish? What would make a move worthwhile for them? Those answers mattered because I needed to understand whether I could truly help them.
A company presentation could tell them about the business. Our conversations needed to help them understand what working with me would look like and how I would support their growth.
Shawn was honest with me that he was also talking to Countrywide. When it came down to the end, Countrywide's offer was twice ours.
At 4:30 on Friday afternoon, my phone rang. Shawn was coming to our team, in spite of Countrywide's bigger offer.
I still tease him that he made the right call. Countrywide nearly collapsed and was sold to Bank of America in 2008. Shawn is still on my team today, and we have grown that market significantly since then.
Shawn's yes helped build my confidence. It also meant I had someone who was counting on me to do the work I'd talked about.
That's the part I never forget. When someone says yes, you get the opportunity to follow through. Over time, they find out whether you listen, whether you help, and whether their growth matters to you after they have said yes. The same is true for the people already on your team. They're experiencing your leadership every day, especially when circumstances get difficult.
You don't need a title to be leading right now. You lead your referral partners, your clients, and your own business every day. You may have questions about the future that you can't answer yet, and the people counting on you may be asking those same questions. It's uncomfortable to sit with someone and admit you don't know.
But you can still have a specific conversation about what they need from you. What would make the next deal easier for your agent? What is your borrower worried about? Where are you stuck, and what are you working toward? Those are things you can act on while the bigger questions remain unresolved.
As we close this little series, I keep thinking about all the people who helped me become a leader, and the people who gave me the opportunity to be theirs. I'm grateful Shawn took a chance on a brand new leader, and working alongside him has been a blessing.
This week, think about someone who said yes to working with you. What did they hope you would help them do, and when did you last talk about it?
Make it a great week! 💛🌟
MY LINKEDIN FEED
My post this week
I went from about 1,000 LinkedIn followers to more than 15,600, and it all started when I decided to show up exactly as I am.
Dave Savage
Every loan officer I talk to wants more Realtor partners. So I asked a Realtor how he picks his.
CHART OF THE WEEK
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made lenders buy back 1,401 loans in the second quarter, worth $465.2 million, up 19.5% from the first quarter. Loans made in the second half of 2025 accounted for 46.5% of those buybacks, the largest share of any period. Buybacks are still well below the 2022 peak, but they are climbing again.
What it means for your business: When a loan gets pushed back, the lender buys it back with its own money, and that cost comes back around to everyone. Many buybacks trace back to income, assets, and documentation, the things we control before closing.
Source: The Mortgage Scoop, October 16, 2026.
PODCAST OF THE WEEK
Rob Dial walks through the habits that changed his life after 30, from being intentional about who you want to become to celebrating action over outcomes and protecting your energy. It is 16 minutes, so it fits on the drive into the office, and it is a good reset heading into the last stretch of the year.
ONE AI THING I ACTUALLY USED THIS WEEK
Our numbers. I used our company's enterprise version of Claude to pull our applications, locks, and fundings month to date and compare them to last month. In a few minutes I could see the trends: where business was picking up, where it was slowing down, and where I could step in and help.
The numbers don't tell you the why, so I still have to have the conversations. What AI gave me was time. Instead of building the report, I spent that time on the people behind it. In a market like this one, knowing your numbers every week matters more than ever, and the same approach works on your own pipeline.
LINKS WORTH YOUR TIME
Can rates get under 7% by the holidays?
Logan Mohtashami lays out what would have to happen for rates to drop below 7%, from oil prices and trade policy to softer jobs data. Read it before a borrower asks you the same question.
Bonds rallied, then stalled
Matthew Graham's daily recap is the quickest way I know to understand why rates moved. Last week's rally mostly held, but bonds couldn't build on it, and that is worth watching before your next rate conversation.
The Brewers swept the Dodgers
Milwaukee is headed to the World Series after a four-game NLCS sweep, and they'll face the Rays or the Guardians. Game 1 is Friday at 5 p.m. Pacific on FOX.
America's favorite Halloween candy
CandyStore.com's annual ranking puts M&M's on top nationally and in Washington, Oregon, and Montana. Candy corn still made the top 10 in sales, even though it was voted the worst Halloween candy of the year.
WHERE TO FIND ME
I am home in Coeur d'Alene for the rest of October and November. If you are in the area, reply to this email and let's grab coffee. If you want time on the books, grab a spot on my calendar here.
ON THE CALENDAR
Oct 19: NAHB Housing Market Index
Oct 20: Housing Starts, Building Permits, Pending Home Sales, ADP weekly jobs estimate
Oct 21: 20-year bond auction
Oct 22: Jobless claims
Oct 23: University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
Oct 23: World Series Game 1
Oct 27 to 28: Fed meeting
Oct 31: Halloween
WHO LENT ME THEIR BELIEF
Shawn Sterling. You just read how he chose our team over an offer twice as big, in a market that was coming apart. What that yes did for me was bigger than one hire. I was brand new and unsure I could do this job, and he believed in what we were building before I had much to show for it.
Almost twenty years later, Shawn runs our Spokane office, and he has helped build that market into what it is today.
Shawn, thank you for saying yes, and for every year since. I'm grateful for you.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt
PASS IT ON
Forward this to the person who said yes to you when nothing was certain. Or send them the subscribe link below so they get it every Monday.
Or copy and share this link: https://newsletter.natalieoverturf.com/subscribe
Natalie Overturf
Cell: 360-606-7947
