One of the major obstacles they face, as Khavo did, is the language barrier. For other customers who have also immigrated from Vietnam, she helps translate paperwork so they can understand everything clearly.
“I do a lot of research, and I understand a lot of documents,” she said. “I translate for them and help them. I find the resources to help them with that. I connect them with immigration services. Some of the easy documents, I can help them solve that problem. That’s why I have a lot of leads because of what I give to my community.
“People approach me every day. I don’t need to go out to find business. People refer me and send my contact information to many people. My business is relationship-based. I build trust so that when people think about me, they trust me, and they use my service.”
From novice to mortgage pro
When Khavo came to the United States, the concept of a mortgage was completely foreign to her. Things were much different in Vietnam.
“I grew up in the Vietnam education (system) mostly,” Khavo said. “I came here with a language barrier, and I had no idea about mortgages because in Vietnam, it’s a cash economy. We pay cash, pay in full, for most things. So, we don’t have mortgages. But here I came into mortgages, and I learned a lot.”