Gina Wilson
June 30, 2011

It is with both equal parts admiration and gratitude that I write this letter on behalf of Shelly Mellomida, loan officer for Essex Mortgage-actually, she was MY loan agent, and that's an important distinction. To be dear: Shelly worked for ME and MY FAMILY ... tirelessly, emphatically, and selflessly. And THAT distinction is why I write this.

In this day of nightmarish home stories--foreclosures, bad loans, bad decisions on the part of buyers, layoffs, short sales, and who knows what else--it is with amazement that I should meet with someone who is still truly a believer in our system and this pursuit of buying a home. From the moment I met Shelly, I knew that I could trust her with this mission. See, I'm a single parent and a full time special educator. I'm pretty good at "reading" people. I met with Shelly more than a year before embarking on my home search. She looked at me honestly and fairly, and realistically told me what I'd need to do to better position myself to be a highly qualified buyer. And then she patiently waited, knowing that I could have gone with anyone else in that time. I did not! I came back to her because I knew in my heart 1 could trust her with the most critical purchase of my life. When we met a second time, this is what she shared (well, this is the best I can recollect!),

"Gina, if we do this together, l need you to trust me. I know what I'm doing. When I say it's time to do something, I need you to commit to that and be willing to do your part. In return, I will do everything in my power to get you the best loan, and I will be honest with you every step of the way. l will work tirelessly to meet deadlines and get you pre-approved. I want your business for life, and I plan to earn it. This market is no picnic: be patient and let me use my experience. l need you to trust me, and I need you to be ready to jump high and fast when we go into contract."

I appreciated her honesty up front, and I agreed to her "terms" without hesitation. I did absolutely everything, immediately when she asked, and when we hit inevitable snags (as every loan does), they were mere speed bumps, NOT mountains! We closed in record time (23 days!), and I had keys in my hand .. .it was like a whirlwind! Shelly never lost sight of the fact that this was my home, and she took every precaution to be sure all "i"s were dotted and "t"s crossed long before getting to underwriting. She worked tirelessly with my agent, helped me decide how much I could afford, and locked a fantastic rate when the time was right. I cannot recommend her more highly.

One of the things I appreciated most was working with someone who had the strong backing of an excellent company (Essex), yet worked very much as an independent. I knew that I was giving my business to a neighbor. .. a community member. Keeping my loan experience local was huge to me. And for all of these reasons (and so many more too numerous to list!), Shelly is my loan agent for life. I certainly hope anyone who reads this will make her theirs, too. She will have your back every step of the journey.

Warmest Regards,
Gina Wilson