Caring for Her Community

A Senior Loan Officer at Cornerstone Home Lending, Nancy Hudson offers Alaskan homebuyers the same insights and down-to-earth counseling she gives to her own family.

Nancy is the longest-standing loan officer in Juneau with more than 42 years navigating the changing lending landscape. She has seen a lot of unique loan scenarios over the decades and is able to draw from a wealth of experiences when counseling her customers.

“Most of the time, I can honestly say ‘I’ve seen that before,’” Nancy said.

Partnering for Alaskans

Nancy has turned to AHFC as a resource over the decades, partnering to help make homeownership possible for customers with unique financial scenarios or uniquely Alaskan property types. In particular, Nancy said she has turned to AHFC when underwriters push back on a loan due to not understanding a borrower’s income.

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“Alaska’s industries are just different. Fishermen, miners, travel nurses, people who work in tourism – the way they are paid might look different but that doesn’t mean they can’t afford a home. If I think what the borrower is applying for is reasonable but I get pushback, I’ll call AHFC. Their attitude is ‘we are here to support Alaskans’ and they understand Alaska in a way that out of state investors don’t.”

- Nancy Hudson, Senior Loan Officer, Cornerstone Home Lending Inc.

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Practicing the Golden Rule

Regardless of each homebuyer’s specific situation, Nancy’s guiding principle remains consistent: treating each customer the way she would want to be treated. For Nancy, this means being sensitive to each borrower’s financial situation and helping them to avoid surprises – a lesson she learned as a young woman when completing her own home purchase.

Nancy bought her first home at age 19 and said she found the process extremely challenging. A lack of clarity and communication meant that by the time she was at the table to close, she was shocked to see that her costs had tripled.

“I was near tears at the closing table,” she said. “That experience made a lasting impression on me – from the start I knew that I never wanted to allow that to happen to one of my clients.”

Learning from her own history, Nancy is upfront with borrowers about all the possible financial scenarios that could occur before closing and takes the time to make sure they understand all the nuances of the closing process.

“Thankfully, I’ve never had to apologize to a homebuyer because they were caught off guard,” she said.

Realistic Advice

In Nancy’s view, demonstrating this kind of care for a client’s wellbeing is what being a responsible loan officer is all about.

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“You’re putting people in debt - it's a good thing to have a debt for, but it's still a debt. As a loan officer, you need to care. Sometimes I’ll tell clients ‘I don’t want you to think I’m mothering you, but I’d like to talk to you the way I would to my sons. They appreciate it.”

- Nancy Hudson, Senior Loan Officer, Cornerstone Home Lending Inc.

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From the start, Nancy counsels all her customers to consider how their life will look down the road and to create a comprehensive, brutally honest budget before even considering homes – something she said AHFC’s no-cost HomeChoice™ class can help with.

It’s the same advice and the same exercise she gave to her son before agreeing to help him navigate his own home purchase.

“The client might still buy that more expensive house,” she said. “But I know they have thought it through and have a realistic picture of their financial situation. That makes me feel good, knowing that they will be fine.”

Contributing to Her Community

After more than four decades working to help Alaskans achieve their goal of homeownership, Nancy said she has become friends with many of her clients, watched their children grow up, and even done three or four loans for the same homebuyers over the years. Years after helping first-time homebuyers get into a home, Nancy still receives Christmas cards from some families.

The reward of contributing to her community and seeing her clients succeed and put down roots has kept Nancy in the industry.

“I love what I do. I’ve retired out twice and always decide to go back to home loans. You are helping make a dream come true for somebody, helping them to provide security for their children. It makes me feel good.”

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Alaska Housing does not endorse lenders or real estate licensees, but we are pleased to highlight individual relationships. Thank you to Nancy Hudson (NMLS #861429) of Cornerstone Home Lending Inc. (NMLS #2258) for participating in this blog post.