January Financial was formed in 2005 to serve the needs of our valued clients in the residential and commercial lending areas. We operate primarily on a referral basis, meaning the majority of our business comes from referrals from clients, business partners, friends, and family members. We guarantee that you will have an outstanding experience each and every time you do business with us.

Our Team

In a ground-breaking book titled Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Am I the Most Valued of Them All? by Leo J. Pusateri, the author does extensive research and discovers the seven questions most people want answered before they do business with someone. We want you to be completely comfortable with us, individually and as a company, before doing business with us so we’ve put the answers to those seven questions below!

1. Who are you?

We are licensed, highly-trained mortgage consultants who specialize in educating and enabling our clients. Our loan officers have a combined 32 years of experience in the financial services industry and we have all satisfied the rigorous demands of the California Department of Real Estate.

We are located in beautiful Laguna Hills California, right in the heart of Orange County. We specialize in three main areas – educating our clients on equity management and providing the right mortgage tool for them to accomplish their goals, teaching them all about the various facets of investing in real estate, and providing investment opportunities to help build their net worth.

2. What do you do?

We help our clients choose the best real estate financing option for their home purchase or refinance in order to help them achieve their goals and realize their dreams. The process begins with an in-depth consultation in which our clients describe their goals and outline the things they would like to accomplish. We then present two to three of the best options available and allow our clients to choose the option that best fits their needs.

3. Why do you do what you do?

We believe that owning real estate is extremely important to American families for many reasons. Real estate is one of the best, if not the best, way for families to build wealth while providing shelter. We believe that owning real estate offers many advantages over other asset classes such as stocks, bonds, or CDs.

We also believe that real estate is extremely complicated, with over 20 people typically involved in a single real estate transaction including escrow officers, notaries, title officers, lender representatives, and real estate agents. Just like a good CPA or the family doctor, a trusted mortgage consultant is absolutely essential for a family’s financial well-being.

4. How do you do what you do?

The process starts with a conversation in which we talk about your situation and together we decide whether January Financial is the right company to handle your purchase or refinance. If we’re a good match for each other, great! If not, then we’d be happy to refer you to someone who may be a better fit for you and your needs.

Once we decide that we’ll be a good match, one of our experienced mortgage planners will work with you to help you find the best option for your purchase or refinance. Once you’ve decided on a course of action we diligently handle the transaction from beginning to end, keeping you completely updated along the way. Once the transaction is completed, the relationship doesn’t end! We will keep in touch with you by mail, phone, and email, letting you know what’s going on in the mortgage industry and making sure you’re aware of any important changes that may affect you.

5. For whom have you done this?

The United States has over 410,000 mortgage brokers, who served over 3.3 million clients in 2004. The state of California has 45,000 licensed mortgage brokers, who in turn served over 400,000 clients last year.

The mortgage planners of January Financial have served over 220 families helping with first time home purchases, upgrading or downsizing homes, debt consolidation refinances, refinances to improves rates or terms, or tapping equity to be able to invest in income-producing real estate. We bring this wealth of wisdom and experience to every transaction – including yours!

6. What makes you different?

Because a majority of our business comes from referrals, we don’t need to spend valuable time looking for new business. Therefore, we can make a 100% commitment to making sure your priorities are recognized and met and to guiding you through each stage of the process and beyond. As your trusted mortgage planners we are in business for the long term and are dedicated to building strong, lasting, lifelong relationships.

7. Why should I do business with you?

We don’t know if you should! Give us a call and we will ask you a few thought-provoking questions about your situation and your goals. We’ll let you know if we think we can help you accomplish those goals. If you don’t think we’re the right one for you, just let us know. Fair enough?

Carey Pott

Carey Pott

I’ve been in the mortgage business since 2002 after spending time as a computer consultant. I owned and ran a computer consulting company which had a mortgage brokerage as one of their clients. Although I was good with computers and loved being able to help companies solve their computer problems, I didn’t love spending a majority of my time with machines that couldn’t talk back and only getting calls when things weren’t working right. At the same time, it seemed like my mortgage broker client was having a lot of fun and being able to do some great things for their clients.

I spent two and a half years working as a loan officer in a brokerage that I absolutely loved. Unlike a lot of mortgage brokerages, I was allowed to do what I thought was right for my clients and not always go after the almighty dollar. I’ve always had a long-term focus to things I do, making sure I do the right thing every time and develop strong relationships instead of going for the fast buck or taking the easy way out. This company allowed me to do that while I developed my skills, and I’ll always be grateful to them for that.

Opening January Financial in the summer of 2005 was the realization of a long-term dream of mine. After getting my bachelor’s degree in Finance from Cal State Fullerton I felt I was finally ready to spend the time and resources necessary to open my own brokerage and follow my dream of providing an outstanding customer experience for everyone I deal with. Focusing once again on long-term relationships and building a referral base allows me to spend the majority of my time with the people who depend on me the most, my clients.

The principles that go along with the By Referral Only creed include creating an outstanding customer experience and being the kind of honest, loyal, and talented mortgage consultant that people would want to refer to their family and friends. I continue every day to look for new ways to make sure my clients get treated better than they would anywhere else and are being prepared for the future as much as possible. I want to be not only your mortgage guy, but your financial consultant and friend for life…

Al Yang

Al Yang

It was during these formative years of my life that I was exposed to people of different ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds. In the summer of 1984, my family became citizens of this great nation and was naturalized under the backdrop of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted and the Constitution of the United States was signed. In 1991, I ventured out west to sunny southern California and have not looked back since.

When I’m not working, I like to spend time with family and friends, listen to music and attend concerts. My travel adventures include visiting the UK, India, Canada, Mexico, all throughout the east coast, and of course California. Other places I hope to visit include South America, Africa and Israel just to name a few.

One of my favorite things about working at January Financial is that I’m surrounded by a team of people whose number one mission is to serve our clients effectively by helping them achieve their goals!

Marty Sonke

Marty Sonke

I have three siblings who I am very proud of - Mathew, Sarah and Rebekah. My father taught me how to be frugal, as with a larger family you have to make every dollar stretch. Both my mother and father have made investments in property, which have turned out well. One of the best days in my life was marrying my beautiful wife Sandra on February 22, 2003, in Upland, California. She is a wonderful artist and sees life in a much different way than I. She is presently working towards her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Saddleback College while working at a local woman’s clothing shop. We really enjoy our time together and on our days off, we love getting together with friends, visiting with family and watching movies and sports.

Although both of my parents are wonderful people, neither one of them taught me specifically about doing better financially than just getting by. As with everything in life, there are lessons to be learned. Sure, I learned that saving money was important as well as not paying too much for an item that you really need. However, the biggest lesson I learned money-wise was that in order to get ahead in life, you need to invest in assets that will appreciate over time. I vowed to myself that I would do everything possible not to struggle in life and to pass on whatever knowledge I gained to others that have struggled in the past in order to provide a hope and a future for them.

Not too many people can say this, but I really enjoy what I do. When you become my client, I take that very seriously. There is no one that will work as hard as me to help you accomplish your goals. I hope that by knowing a little bit about me and my family, you will give me the honor of earning your business.

E Soong

Eddie Soong

I am a native of Singapore, and am of Shanghainese descent. I was brought up in an English school system with Mandarin as a second language. Because of my late mother, I was able to speak Cantonese and several other Chinese dialects. After high school, I escaped the hot and muggy weather of the equatorial country to the cold and dry tundra of Toronto, Canada. It sounded like a good idea to have a change in environment and weather while pursuing a degree in mathematics and computer science. Like they say, "Be careful what you wish for." I thought I liked winter. But I soon learned that it can get painfully cold and messy.

After college, I naturally worked in the technology field for a good number of years. Though I enjoyed what I did, over time, my other passion for finance edged its way to the front of my mind. I eventually left the extreme cold North and headed toward the perfect weather of sunny Southern California. It didn't take long before I found myself working in the mortgage and real estate field. Besides my passion for numbers and finance, the sheer satisfaction of being able to make a difference in other people's financial lives was the most rewarding feeling I've ever felt.

I joined January Financial because of its business philosophy of putting its customer first--a philosophy I share as well. Moreover, it has the foresight to position itself as a company with expertise in real estate mortgage planning and wealth building for our clients.

Everyone's financial situation is different. There is no "one size fits all" solution in this business. That is why I will always take time to understand the past, current and future financial picture of my clients in order to offer several proposals based on certain scenarios. I feel that a simple rate quote would be too simplistic and will not come close in addressing the client's needs. Also, having a closer understanding of each of my clients' real estate financial situation would allow me to provide relevant information in a timely manner even after the transaction was completed some time ago. I truly believe that excellent service with the highest integrity is of the utmost importance to my clients. After all, your success is my success.

Heather Lewis

Heather Lewis

I was born and raised in northern California. At a young age, I became a single mother and I knew that my life was going to be different than most young mothers. With strong determination, I worked two jobs and continued my education at a local junior college. At six months of age my son was diagnosed with a heart murmur and spent 30 days in an intensive care unit. This was the scariest time of my life. It taught me how I wanted to live each day with passion for what I do and to live each day to the fullest. With God’s grace, I now have a healthy, happy 14 year old son and also have been truly blessed with two more boys (5 years and 19 months) as well as share my life with my husband who’s my best friend. With strong faith and will to make it through the hard times, we will always come out on top.

 

I started in the finance industry in 1996 going after one of my many passions. Through a chance meeting I started working for a mortgage lender for the first five years. Thereafter, I worked for a mortgage broker for the next five years during which I learned so much from my boss and mentor, especially in the areas of honesty, integrity and going the extra mile for my clients. In my short time on earth so far, I believe there are no coincidences. In 2005 my mentor sadly passed away suddenly and through a friend of his family, I was introduced to Carey Pott and January Financial. Having the same philosophies about business and how we treat our clients, we connected instantly and I am now part of the team at January Financial.

 

Passion is my key word in life. All my time revolves around my passions—my family, continuing education in the finance industry, teaching my children to enjoy life to go for their dreams and to give back to society. My favorite charities include breast cancer awareness, multiple scoliosis, March of Dimes and Habitat for Humanity. I also love music and dancing of which salsa dancing and tango are my favorites! My goal is to take that passion and energy to help my clients change their financial future. There’s no better satisfaction than knowing that somehow, I can make a difference in the lives of others just as others have made a difference in my life.

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Kevin Drake

Kevin Drake

I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio , and was raised up by a good family with great tradition and excellent family values. My family background is nice blend of German, English, Cherokee Indian and Italian. My mother’s side of the family had traveled all the way from Italy through Ellis Island eventually settling in Cincinnati where they still reside.

 

After high school graduation in 1988, I went to University of Cincinnati majoring in business administrati on and worked for Ameritrust bank in the remittance banking operations department. I learned the back end of the banking business and started to develop a liking for finance. I was taught by my family at an early age of how to budget my money and save and to invest in savings and C Ds. Once I turned 21, I got the travel bug and left Cincinnati and explored Alaska while work ing on a commercial fishing boat. A year later I work ed for the Delta Queen Steamboat Company as a waiter and explore d the heartland of America. I t was during this time that I developed a great passion for traveling and meeting new people. In 1994 I moved to sunny California and worked for P.F.Changs as a certified national trainer and travel ed around the U.S. to open new restaurants. Other travels also took me to Western Europe, Iceland, South America to just name a few places.

 

In 2001 I bought my first property and enjoyed the process so much that it motivated me to pursue a career in real estate. I got my real estate license in 2004 while working for a mortgage company. Then the opportunity came up with January Financial which opened a whole new world for me of equity management and real state investing. I had just purchased my first of many investment properties through them. The experience went over so well for me that I wanted to be a part of January Financial ’s mission of helping people to better their financial well being. With my experience I will be able to work with my clients individually and help them to develop a strategy that bests works with their situation to ultimately exceed their goals of financial freedom.

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Cyara Pott

Cyara Pott

Like many people living in California, I am not a native of this state. I was born in Africa to missionary parents and was welcomed into the world by three older siblings. We spent much of our growing up years moving, following trails from Africa to Washington, British Columbia and Quebec. All the adjusting to new people and even cultures and languages in French Canada taught me valuable lessons about acceptance and openness that make up part of who I am today.

 

What finally drew me to California was not, like most, the desire to escape cold weather (actually, I miss the seasons terribly!) but rather the opportunities here to expand my knowledge both academically and professionally. I began as a receptionist in a mortgage brokerage and quickly learned how complicated and tiring the loan process can get. After two years working as a teller supervisor in a local bank I began assisting some real estate investors in the running of their business. The knowledge I gained there led me to January Financial where I now function as administrative support for the mortgage planners.

 

What I love most about this company is that I can see an honest desire to help people in all the mortgage planners, whether it be getting them a lower rate on their mortgage or introducing investment properties to help them toward independent income. January Financial fosters an environment of learning and self-improvement, things I value highly in my own life. I look forward to the challenges and triumphs that lie ahead as I continue to grow in this company and the industry as a whole.