Stephen K. Smith, with American Pacific Mortgage, has been a mortgage advisor for some 42 years.
“I’m helping people — that’s the thing I like the best,” said Smith.
Especially these days, with rates at historic lows.
“There’s a lot of folks getting lower interest rates that will save them a fortune, quite honestly,” he said. “I’m really enjoying that part of it.”
1. What was your first job?
Selling Grit newspapers.
2. What job would you like to try/not try?
Try: Cruise ship band member on the Holland America Line. It’s a real class act.
Not try: Dairy farmer.
3. How did you get into the mortgage industry?
My uncle had a mortgage company out of San Jose doing strictly hard money loans.
4. What is the biggest challenge your industry has faced?
Increased compliance regulations since 2008.
5. If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be?
Excessive documentation.
6. What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime that you haven’t yet?
Help more people achieve homeownership.
7. What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?
I am in a cowboy band called Passing Through. The cowboy tunes we (play) are old Western stuff. We have played all over, as far as Sacramento and Vacaville. Most of the time we’re in the valley.
8. What instrument do you play?
I play the guitar but mostly the upright bass.
9. What was your childhood ambition?
Be a cowboy. I actually accomplished that from ‘76 to ‘78. I was a cowboy in Lassen County. And a horseshoer.
10. Do the jobs of cowboy and mortgage advisor have anything in common?
I’d say discipline. When you’re a cowboy if you don’t do things just right it’s death defying. When you are a mortgage person, if you don’t have the discipline you either starve or you’re out of the business real quick.
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As vaccinations get underway, the World Health Organization's technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, makes an impassioned appeal for people to protect themselves and loved ones from COVID-19 in 2021.
PHOTOS: CARTOONS OF THE YEAR
Cartoons of the year, 2020
Check out the best work of 2020 from the eight editorial cartoonists distributed by the Washington Post Writers Group.
Every day, we bring you a Cartoon of the Day, picked by our editors from the work of the award-winning editorial cartoonists distributed by th…
Every day, we bring you a Cartoon of the Day, picked by our editors from the work of the award-winning editorial cartoonists distributed by th…
Every day, we bring you a Cartoon of the Day, picked by our editors from the work of the award-winning editorial cartoonists distributed by th…
Every day, we bring you a Cartoon of the Day, picked by our editors from the work of the award-winning editorial cartoonists distributed by th…
Every day, we bring you a Cartoon of the Day, picked by our editors from the work of the award-winning editorial cartoonists distributed by th…
Every day, we bring you a Cartoon of the Day, picked by our editors from the work of the award-winning editorial cartoonists distributed by th…
Every day, we bring you a Cartoon of the Day, picked by our editors from the work of the award-winning editorial cartoonists distributed by th…
Every day, we bring you a Cartoon of the Day, picked by our editors from the work of the award-winning editorial cartoonists distributed by th…
Catch up on Napa County's top news stories of 2020
In case you missed it, here is a look at the top stories of 2020.
It's been a turbulent year for the wine industry, which between intermittent wildfires, smoke events and pandemic lockdowns has attempted to remain open for business.
The Hennessey and Glass fires made 2020 a year to remember for all the wrong reasons.
It was the year when schools and universities went dark — and their denizens were left to teach and learn, online and indefinitely separated from their friends and peers.
COVID-19 has catapulted county government into the spotlight.
Coronavirus came on quietly, a silent killer that surrounded us like a slowly gathering cloud of smoke.
Stephen K. Smith, American Pacific Mortgage
Smith can be reached at: smitty@advancedmtg.com
In this Series
Get to know Napa County's local entrepreneurs and businesspersons in 10 Questions
Jennifer Huffman
Business Editor
Jennifer Huffman is the business editor and a general assignment reporter for the Napa Valley Register. I cover a wide variety of topics for the newspaper. I've been with the Register since 2005.
