{"id":251408,"date":"2025-06-30T15:34:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T19:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/?p=251408"},"modified":"2025-06-30T15:46:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T19:46:03","slug":"from-expert-to-client-this-banker-shows-how-anyone-can-benefit-from-a-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/from-expert-to-client-this-banker-shows-how-anyone-can-benefit-from-a-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"From Expert to Client: This Banker Shows How Anyone can Benefit from a Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Working at a bank and handling mortgage loan applications daily, Operation HOPE client Briana L. was no stranger to the homebuying process. She had guided countless clients through the complex maze of paperwork, credit checks, and underwriting. Yet, when it came time for her to buy her own first home, she quickly realized that being on the other side of the desk was an entirely different experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Briana shared her sentiments with longtime friend, Lauren. \u201cI thought that I couldn\u2019t do this\u2014especially with how the economy was going,\u201d said Briana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren, in turn, introduced her to her mom, Sandy Clark, a Financial Wellbeing Coach for Operation HOPE and a financial industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the beginning, Sandy gave Briana the motivation to keep moving forward. In addition to being a knowledgeable coach, she was Briana\u2019s biggest cheerleader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSandy made the process so much easier for me\u2014she was patient and was there for any type of questions or support I needed. She really just helped me the whole way,\u201d said Briana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a homeowner herself, Sandy could speak from experience about the complexities of the mortgage loan process and reassured Briana that there were plenty of options to assist in buying a house. For example, as a first-time home buyer, Briana had several different government loan programs to choose from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest hurdles Briana faced was planning for the down payment. She didn\u2019t want to rely on family or outside help, so Sandy helped her explore other options, including weighing the pros and cons of tapping into her 401(k) for the payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d rather pay myself back than borrow from someone else,\u201d Briana concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transitioning from renting to owning has brought Briana a lot of joy. For example, she is thrilled that her large dog now has a backyard to roam around in. But it also brought new responsibilities\u2014she learned the importance of budgeting for home-related expenses like real estate taxes, property insurance, and unexpected repairs such as damage sustained to her fence after a hurricane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Briana emphasizes how Operation HOPE’s support didn\u2019t end at closing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn’t stop here. If I’m ever there needing any questions answered, I know I can always get to Sandy and she’ll help me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their ongoing relationship has made Sandy not only a coach but a trusted advisor\u2014a role many Operation HOPE coaches proudly embrace. Sandy\u2019s motto is \u201csuccess happens when opportunity and preparedness meet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Briana is excited about what\u2019s next. She\u2019s thinking about home upgrades and taking inspiration from new builds in her area. Her community continues to grow, with new amenities being added regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really good location\u2014and it\u2019s close to my family too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Working at a bank and handling mortgage loan applications daily, Operation HOPE client Briana L. was no stranger to the homebuying process. She had guided countless clients through the complex …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":251409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,49,1],"tags":[65],"class_list":["post-251408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-hope-stories","category-uncategorized","tag-home"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251408"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251410,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251408\/revisions\/251410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}