Amy Goss says that mortgage runs through her veins. Raised by a mother with 30 years of experience in the industry, she always knew she wanted to help people become homeowners. “I was writing 1003s with my mom at the kitchen table when I was like 11 years old. I can’t remember a time where I didn’t think that I would eventually be doing this,” Goss said. “But I wanted to do things a little bit differently.”
Goss said she wanted a strong pedigree to be a professional mortgage banker. She served in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years, earning a degree in finance during her service, and then went to grad school at Boston University. She had to leave the Marines due to an injury but spoke highly of her experience, calling it one of her “greatest accomplishments.” In fact, Goss was only a few hours away from attending a Marine Corps ball when she recently spoke to Scotsman Guide.
She started her career at Navy Federal Credit Union as a member service representative and transitioned into mortgages after managing a bank branch at BB&T. There, she attended the “retail academy,” which taught her from the ground up how to do all kinds of loans, from conventional to home equity and business loans.
“I was able to break into cold calling people and learned to build relationships. Making calls and having day-to-day banking experience before I got into actual mortgage banking gave me a lot of context,” Goss said. “Being in the finance world made my foundation when I came into mortgage funding really, really strong. … I feel empowered to be able to help (my clients) because of that knowledge.”
Ten years into her career, Goss specializes in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) lending. There’s a lot that people don’t understand about VA loans, Goss said, so she aims to be a source of education — the first one people call when they have questions. She’s visible in her community of Jacksonville, North Carolina, and she’s a familiar face at nearby Camp Lejeune, where she runs classes and seminars for service members.
All of this is great for business, and military relationships are at the core of her business. Goss further expands her influence by serving on the military affairs committee of her local chamber of commerce, stays involved with organizations like Hope for the Warriors and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and is active in online groups for military women.
She’s worked hard to build relationships and is never afraid to “get her hands dirty” by doing the heavy lifting, but she credits a lot of her success to her team. “There’s no scenario that we really haven’t seen, collectively,” Goss said. “I feel like that makes us more powerful.”
Despite some challenges — including a difficult 2023 full of ups and downs for her business — Goss is grateful and loves the career she’s worked so hard to build. “I got to watch my mom do it, and she made a difference in so many people’s lives, so I just love making that difference and I feel like I do it for the right reasons,” she said. ●
Tips of the Trade
I tell people all the time in this industry — because everybody wants to be a loan officer — if you’re doing this for the money, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons, because you will eventually fail. And if you’re looking for something balanced, then you need to pick another career. This is very high stress and you take work with you everywhere you go, even on vacation. You have to be ready to work and you have to have thick skin.
