Last week I sat down with Sergio Spadavechia to learn more about the origins of One Stop and how he and his brother Saverio developed their own careers. This week, in part 2 of our interview, Sergio explains how those beginnings helped formulate a specific business identity.

The crux of that identity? Human interaction free of automation. You see, it’s easy for a bank to turn the other way in the face of unusual circumstances, such as sub-contractors, self-employed people and those facing real-life situations that cause income to fluctuate.

KC: Name a couple of the external factors, the factors beyond someone’s control, that can affect personal finances.

SS: The ability to attain money from a bank or institution is affected by your income and your credit stability mainly, but then there are factors that affect those factors. Unforeseen circumstances can come into play any time. The only real way to explain it is in examples, which we’ve seen hundreds of over the years.

So, say you get injured in a car accident and you can’t work and you’re uninsured. Or somebody has an illness in the family and chooses to spend time with their family instead of creating revenue. If for whatever reason you don’t create revenue, banks can see that, they don’t see that it’s not your fault, it’s automated on their end.

And at One Stop?

We see the circumstances. We deal with people face-first, that’s our niche, that’s what’s built this company. Everything is underwritten by humans for us. For instance in a foreclosure we’ll request a letter, something in writing from the borrower. They’ll detail what happened, why it happened and why it won’t happen again. We provide that document to a lender and they’ll either feel they’re worth the risk or not. There’s a human element, any other lending facility won’t have that.

What are some of your most frequent types of clients? 

We work with people in all walks of life, but in general terms, our client is the client who doesn’t fit the matrix of the bank. That client can be a person with a business worth ten million dollars but has so many expenditures and if the bank can’t automatically qualify how his revenue comes in, that person comes to us because they just need the money. Or people with poor credit. Part of what this job provides is humility, we see people with a lot of success who are in the middle of difficult situations, so they take a few months off and the bank doesn’t see the 3 dimensions behind that tough situation. Credit can be harmed, but life doesn’t stop, so we help keep life going. Some of our clients have continuously bad credit over the years, or they make money for 6 months of the year, and none the next 6 months. Banks don’t lend money to this type of client.

Deals then must come in all shapes and sizes. How do you know a deal is a clear-cut success? 

Absolutely, all shapes and sizes. Although just when I think I’ve seen it all something new and interesting comes our way. I love that part of it. But a deal is a success, a true success, when it works for everybody. The borrower succeeds in what they’re trying to achieve, whether it’s a renovation or a new home or something for retirement. Then the lender succeeds, they a timely investment and we execute on time. This is one of the few industries where everyone in the transaction succeeds. The borrower comes to us seeking a quick mortgage deal, we create an efficient, timely relationship that works for everybody. And the lender gets a quality return on their investment with no headaches.

Everybody wins!

[laughs] You got it. Look, there’s ups and downs for everybody, and it’s a challenging job but the results you see when people are on track is such a great reward. It’s not always easy, the unforeseen is tough to plan for.

Success is seen as stability a lot of the time, but even when things are unstable life goes on.

And the sun will come up tomorrow, right?

And we’ll be there to help you enjoy the sunrise.

KC: Name a couple of the external factors, the factors beyond someone’s control, that can affect personal finances.

SS: The ability to attain money from a bank or institution is affected by your income and your credit stability mainly, but then there are factors that affect those factors. Unforeseen circumstances can come into play any time. The only real way to explain it is in examples, which we’ve seen hundreds of over the years.

So, say you get injured in a car accident and you can’t work and you’re uninsured. Or somebody has an illness in the family and chooses to spend time with their family instead of creating revenue. If for whatever reason you don’t create revenue, banks can see that, they don’t see that it’s not your fault, it’s automated on their end.

And at One Stop?

We see the circumstances. We deal with people face-first, that’s our niche, that’s what’s built this company. Everything is underwritten by humans for us. For instance in a foreclosure we’ll request a letter, something in writing from the borrower. They’ll detail what happened, why it happened and why it won’t happen again. We provide that document to a lender and they’ll either feel they’re worth the risk or not. There’s a human element, any other lending facility won’t have that.

What are some of your most frequent types of clients? 

We work with people in all walks of life, but in general terms, our client is the client who doesn’t fit the matrix of the bank. That client can be a person with a business worth ten million dollars but has so many expenditures and if the bank can’t automatically qualify how his revenue comes in, that person comes to us because they just need the money. Or people with poor credit. Part of what this job provides is humility, we see people with a lot of success who are in the middle of difficult situations, so they take a few months off and the bank doesn’t see the 3 dimensions behind that tough situation. Credit can be harmed, but life doesn’t stop, so we help keep life going. Some of our clients have continuously bad credit over the years, or they make money for 6 months of the year, and none the next 6 months. Banks don’t lend money to this type of client.

Deals then must come in all shapes and sizes. How do you know a deal is a clear-cut success? 

Absolutely, all shapes and sizes. Although just when I think I’ve seen it all something new and interesting comes our way. I love that part of it. But a deal is a success, a true success, when it works for everybody. The borrower succeeds in what they’re trying to achieve, whether it’s a renovation or a new home or something for retirement. Then the lender succeeds, they a timely investment and we execute on time. This is one of the few industries where everyone in the transaction succeeds. The borrower comes to us seeking a quick mortgage deal, we create an efficient, timely relationship that works for everybody. And the lender gets a quality return on their investment with no headaches.

Everybody wins!

[laughs] You got it. Look, there’s ups and downs for everybody, and it’s a challenging job but the results you see when people are on track is such a great reward. It’s not always easy, the unforeseen is tough to plan for.

Success is seen as stability a lot of the time, but even when things are unstable life goes on.

And the sun will come up tomorrow, right?

And we’ll be there to help you enjoy the sunrise.