Sonja M. Terrell

Underwriting Manager

330-***-**** ad2drq@r.postjobfree.com Atlanta, GA 30331 www.linkedin.com/in/sonja-m-terrell-8b075125

Performance-driven financial services manager with 20+ years of success in mortgage banking and underwriting. Solid history of underwriting, processing and closing first/second residential and home equity loans/lines of credit mortgages. Strong acumen of underwriting protocol and stipulations for conventional and government-insured loan programs focused on confirming and non-conforming mortgages. Vast knowledge of Fannie Mae, FHA, Jumbo, Bond, Agency, USDA, DAP, and VA loan guidelines. Proven track record of auditing mortgage files for accuracy and to pinpoint industry trends. Highly skilled in sales and marketing with a progressive approach to client satisfaction and brand awareness. Possess underwriting authority up to $3.5M, decision-making capacity up to $5M, and a credit risk SLR and higher with committee approval. Solutions-oriented team leader effective in cross-functional collaboration with a commitment to quality assurance and developing staff professionally.

CORE EXPERTISE

Pipeline Management Team Leadership & Training Customer Relationship Management Data Analysis Problem Solving

Continuous Improvement Time Management Financial Analysis Risk Assessment Mortgage Lending & Marketing

Non-Agency & Portfolio Client Retention Revenue Generation Critical Thinking KPIs Risk Management Critical Thinking

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Citibank, Remote May 2022 to Present

OFFICER, CREDIT UNDERWRITER

Met all rigorous timelines within a demanding job environment. Reviewed, analyzed, approved, and underwrote consumer requests and products per company and investor standards. Portfolio underwriter with vendor management experience.

Working with the business and identifies training needs and provide detailed analysis on any trends identified.

Assesses the level of risk associated with each loan on a transactional basis, forwarding referrals, as necessary, to the Fraud Prevention and Investigation Unit, Vendor or Collateral Risk Management, as well as the Repurchase unit.

Better.com, Remote Dec 2020 to Mar 2022

UNDERWRITING MANAGER

Directly manage a team of 10 Senior Mortgage Underwriters leveraging advanced knowledge of multiple Loan Product and Underwriting regulations, encompassing Agency, FHA, VA, USDA and Jumbo Investors. Support the launch and management of various cross-functional training sessions. Serve as a facilitator during scheduled meetings with management, team leaders, and underwriters to solidify and improve product knowledge and ongoing problems/roadblocks.

Oversee Second Level Reviews and Escalations as required. Audit QC results with personnel and discuss actions for resolutions and grievances. Delegate files and supervise workflow and rush requests. Comply with all key performance indicators (KPIs) and track team efficiency against performance metrics.

Inherited a team of 12 underwriters ranked 6th out of 9 teams for quality across the region. Implemented daily office hours and provided additional training on related QC errors and problem files to avoid errors. Decreased deficiencies by 28%, including 3 months without any critical errors, boosting team from 6th to 3rd ranking.

Initiated one-on-one meetings weekly to address performance issues for team members with low productivity ratings. Mentored team to improve performance and posed both specific and open-ended questions to support their professional goals. Surged team to the top 25% of the company with 3 staff members in the top 10% within a 6-month period.

Reduced suspense rate from over 25% to less than 3-5% by developing and coaching team to recognize trends & develop training with cross-functional teams.

Key Bank Center, Brooklyn, OH Aug 2017 to Dec 2020

SENIOR UNDERWRITER

Conducted Load balancing and Second Level Reviews and mentored a team of underwriters levels 1-4. Managed escalations and QC outcomes/rebuttal. Streamlined the frontline underwriting origination of jumbo and non-conforming specialty residential loan products. Disclosed credit risk decisions to all partners.

Developed and presented training calls to the regional sales team to improve SLAs, due to aged suspense files from incomplete applications. Slashed incomplete applications by 28% within 1 month with a 33% increase of mortgage loans closing within 30 days of the application date.

Created clear language on portfolio guidelines to state when guideline changes were effective after 3 major errors increased lending authority to $3.5M. Successfully overturned the critical QC errors or downgraded to warnings, resulting in new portfolio guidelines. Achieved less than 1% moderate QC errors and 12 months of zero critical errors.

SunTrust Mortgage, Lawrenceville, GA Apr 2015 to Aug 2017

SR MORTGAGE UNDERWRITER, PRIVATE WEALTH COS

Portfolio underwriter that surpassed performance guidelines and targets implemented by the managerial team.

Analyzed borrower documentation and assessed income and ability to repay. Examined housing expenses and possible fraud to identify the best loan solution.

Mentor junior underwriters and processors.

Digital Risk, LLC., Boca Raton, FL Oct 2013 to Apr 2015

MORTGAGE UNDERWRITER

Investigated borrower's credit history and ordered appraisals. Verified income and employment and reviewed debt-to-income ratio. Confirmed down payment and savings account information. Ensured all paperwork was submitted correctly based on current underwriting guidelines.

Mortgage Underwriter: Evaluated income and analyzed debt/assets. Performed a detailed review of all finalized appraisals and title. Oversaw both conventional and streamlined refinances. Used an automated underwriting system to assess approval. Possessed SASE Level 3 underwriter signing authority. Assisted with special projects as mandated.

Processing Manager: Steered a team of 15-20 processors. Managed the processing of FHA, VA, Conventional, and Streamlined refinances. Oversaw the ordering process for titles, insurance, flood certs, credit supplements, VOM/VOR,VOD, and VOE’s. Accountable for final approval of loans within SASE level 2. Assumed Level 2 underwriter signing authority.

TECHNICAL PROFICIENCIES

Software & Tools:

Encompass 360, Empower, Calyx Point, LIS, CORE, ACH, FDR, Numerous Paperless Platforms, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), Adobe Reader

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS

Bachelor of Science (In Progress), Georgia State University Atlanta, GA

Affiliations:

Member, Mortgage Warehouse Banking, LinkedIn Group

Member, LAUNCHPAD - Work-at-Home Contract Mortgage Processing, LinkedIn Group

SMT

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