Steve Hobbs
ALCOVA Mortgage
I moved to the Triangle from Arlington, Texas right out of college. I have lived in North Raleigh ever since, for about 17 years.
My advice for newcomers to the Triangle is to consider how far your home is from your job. The money you spend on gas adds up, and your time is also worth money. So even if you have to spend more on your home, it may be worth it.
I came here to work as an assistant to one of the top loan officers in the country, in an office that was closing 200 loans a month. I’m now the branch manager at the Raleigh office of ALCOVA Mortgage. We focus on real estate loans and work with multiple banks. I handle conventional, USDA, VA and FHA loans. We also do N.C. Housing loans for first-time home buyers, which a lot of banks don’t do. Our goal is to lower the cost of closing for our clients. One way we do that is to assist them in improving their credit scores before closing. I have found that even people with good credit can save thousands of dollars by taking a few small steps to raise their credit scores in the months before they close.
My top tip for success is to care what people think. If you care about your work and the people you work with, you’re going to go above and beyond. I’m a competitive cyclist and my favorite thing to do in the Triangle is hit the road on my bike. My favorite restaurant is Firebirds at the North Hills Shopping Center.
