My Company Has Stepped Up

Tony Eddolls , Senior Loan Officer

I’ve been in and around the Real Estate universe for 41 years. And oh, what a ride its been!

I’ve been through the impact of double-digit rates in the late 70’s and early 80’s, Tax Reform of 1986, the October Crash of 1987, the S&L crisis, the 90’s recession and then, was wiped out in the Great Recession of 2008. But like many, I got back on my horse and rode on. Rebuilding or in some instances started over.

I’m hunkered down, working remote, with the support of my company – PRMG.

What’s different about this crisis, Coronavirus, is the underlying issue – a virus that in my case, because of my age and underlying health conditions, will surely kill me. It sounds dramatic, but likely true, according to my pulmonologist.

So, unlike economic circumstances, legislative issues, market iterations, regulatory “enhancements,” or systemic failures – no matter how profound – not one of these instances or eras could have ended my life or the lives of others.

Despite my age and the fact I can’t remember what my wife told me an hour ago, my long term memory is unusually clear and accurate. I remember plenty about each and every one of those historical notches on my professional timeline. I remember the impacts on me, my family, my clients but I also remember how the various companies responded during these occurrences. In some cases, how my company responded and reacted framed those times. In most instances, I felt they did the best they could and as expected.

My timing isn’t always known as impeccable but I’ve also tripped into some amazing opportunities. That can be the nature of the real estate and mortgage realms. But my recent jump back into retail mortgage banking takes the cake! I joined PRMG in late December, my NMLS license went active January 15th and then we leased the office and applied for branch licensing which was granted in early March. I conducted my first Realtor meeting on March 10th and then – BOOM – it hit! Right at home, on Friday the 13th, my wife began to get sick and by Monday, the 16th, we were instructed to self-quarantine, she had to be tested for Covid-19, and the world had changed – radically! Fortunately, while it took over 2 weeks to finally receive Chris’s test results back, she tested negative. Thank God.

It all began back in the roaring 80’s!

But in the two-plus weeks that have passed, I have witnessed the response of my company and it has struck me as something that merits memorializing in the string of articles and blog posts in my decades of experience…as their response has firstly been a human response and one that has quite frankly, blown me away!

Communication is everything when we go through something like this. This is a time of info-overload but I’m not talking about stats and talking heads or P&P announcements and guideline issues. PRMG has been second to none when it comes to communicating sincere concern for our team – the PRMG Family – and as importantly, taking significant and costly action, before just about anyone, to insist that our workforce, including admin and operations, move home and work remote. So back on the 15th of March, which 2 weeks later feels like an eternity ago, 75% of our nearly 2,000 employees went remote.

And here is what is so important about that decision and resulting transition – they did it because our leadership truly cares about our workforce and our families. They didn’t do it because of, “stay at home,” orders. I know this because it all happened ahead of those orders. They did it because they care!

Anyone who follows @KevinPeranio on LinkedIn and other platforms is familiar with his uplifting riffs!

Our most vocal spokesperson, internally and externally on social media, is KP – Kevin Peranio. Kev and I go way back; close to 20 years. I was a seasoned veteran, heading the commercial division for the company we both worked at and KP was a rookie wholesale guy. But I saw in him a fire burning and as anyone familiar with his trajectory from that early beginning – for him anyway – he stood out above the crowd, enduring the meltdown, building a highly successful network in Florida and now, heading up our national sales efforts across platforms. I can only hope I might have encouraged him years ago but I know today, this guy is contributing unmeasurably to the morale and confidence of all of us that today, he leads. Not to mention the 1,000’s of industry followers he has on social media outside of PRMG.

Beyond Kevin, we are hearing from our owners, represented by video from Paul Rozo and our other leadership over all available platforms. Consistently, constantly and with a message that is family first, health first and with a confidence that is palpable. The ship is afloat and in fact, we had the biggest month in the company’s history! And we did so seamlessly, despite the fact we transitioned 100’s of employees home, to their safety, in the middle of the month.

SO, hopefully, I’ll be thinking back on this window of time in a decade or so from now. I see my wife and I, rolling down an open highway in our Prevost coach, my Harley strapped to the back. We are healthy and secure; remembering a time when there was plenty of noise but also a profound and, legitimate cause for concern. But there was another voice; that of my company. It was a supportive voice, almost unconditional. And that voice was there with us and was trustworthy and real as well as timely and very much appreciated.

Says it all!

I will remember this time as when my company stepped up! That will be how I will differentiate this time along the slew of milestones and marking points that make up a career; my career. And for that, guys, I thank you.

To view Tony’s original blog post, please click here.