“It was a loan I did for my cousin that changed my mind,” said Stacey Van Roosendaal (a.k.a. Stacey the Loan Lady), CEO and President of Sundance Lending Company, when describing how she became passionate about being a loan officer. “My cousin heard from her servicer she was able to drop her monthly mortgage payment by about $100. But with me, I was able to save her $150. That’s 50 extra dollars she gets to use every single month. That was the loan that changed it all and I realized what I’m doing really matters.”

‘Stacey the Loan Lady’ founded Sundance Lending in November 2019 and quickly ascended in the industry, earning the coveted distinction of QLMS Pinnacle Partner in just three months. When it comes to the way she runs her business, she has a laser-like focus on helping her clients – treating all of them just like her own family.

Knowledge is power for her clients By educating her clients and keeping them informed throughout the entire process, she creates lasting relationships and generates an overwhelming number of referrals – which is nearly 100% of her business. Her natural knack for using the power of social media enables her to reach clients on a medium where they may not expect to see mortgage information. Here clients appreciate the fact that Stacey brings the mortgage information to them in an approachable way.

She holds regular #MortgageMondays chats on Facebook and Instagram where she walks her audience through general mortgage-related topics ranging clients in a personal way that is focused on education – something that helps when dealing with a process that can be overwhelming for a layman. By boiling down these dense and difficult topics in an easy-to-understand format, her clients feel confident they are working with a true professional because she has demonstrated her prowess.

Stacey truly began to thrive after starting her own business, but things were not as easy when she was learning the ropes while working for nearly a decade at a mortgage company where her father was an executive. Even though she closed some of the largest loans in the company’s history, experience became very transactional and focused solely on business – not the clients. This led to her struggling with depression and anxiety.

Success can be achieved “In early 2019, I was just inching, existing and closing loans. I started getting better and in May 2019 I had 7 closings which, for me, is huge! I know a lot of other loan officers do way more than that, but for me, that was massive,” Stacey said. “Because I had never worked at another mortgage company and was only competing against five other LOs at my dad’s business, I knew I was good but I didn’t know how great I was. There were two major things that made me realize I am a damn great loan officer.”

The first was meeting mentors in the mortgage industry who were there to support her and help her grow. The second was in July 2019 when she attended QLMS’ Flight Path – an in-person training and networking event that educates partners on a variety of topics like marketing, goal-setting and much more – where she realized her untapped potential. The combination of these events has created the Loan Lady we see today, who is running her own successful mortgage broker business.

The decision to create her own business was difficult to make at first, but it has paid off in terms of her realized success and ability, as well as her own mental health. As someone who has struggled with mental health for much of her life, taking things into her own hands and running a business the way she wants has given Stacey the autonomy and freedom to become a successful, but more importantly, a happy individual.

“I am doing mentally, emotionally and physically better than I have ever done in my entire life,” Stacey said.