I followed up with this member after she submitted an online application to convert her Gateway Line of Credit to a Visa Gold Credit Card for additional benefits. While going over her application, I noticed she had two auto loans and additional credit cards that appeared to have high interest rates. After we finished the Visa Gold request, I asked if she knew what her interest rates were on those other loans, and after a few quiet moments she said, “Not good at all.” I told her I would do some calculations to see if we could help her refinance the auto loans, and possibly consolidate the credit cards at a lower interest rate. She liked the idea, but was in hurry to go back to work and promised to call back and let me know how to proceed.

A non-member stopped by the Everett branch on a Friday to open an account – we didn’t have an appointment available at that time, but I stepped outside to see how I could help and we scheduled an appointment for the following week. To get the process started before then, I suggested she go to our website to apply for membership over the weekend…

Back in December 2019, I contacted this member because I knew we could help make his money work harder for him. There had been a sizable balance in his checking for quite some time, and I told him we had a fantastic rate on our Premier Money Market. I wanted him to know he could earn more on his balance, and all it would take is a simple shift of funds within his account. What I didn’t realize then, is he would very quickly become an extremely loyal member…

This member has been waiting over 5 years to get his dental work done but never really could afford it, so he decided to call and see if he could get a personal loan. After we approved his request we sent his loan documents electronically that same day, and he called after 5pm because the loan had not funded due to the documents not being received back. He was really stressing out – he’s been waiting years for this day to finally come, and had an appointment first thing in the morning that he may have cancel if he doesn’t have the money to pay for his dental work. I told him I would reach out to the loan processor first thing in the morning to make sure it gets funded, but he said he wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing for sure it will be in his account before the appointment. By now my shift had ended, but I wanted to see if there was any way we could help this member get a restful sleep. I called Loan Processing (it was almost 6pm at this point) and we were able to fund the loan right away. When I called to let him know, he was so happy and said to me, “You have no idea how much this means to me. I can finally calm down and go to my appointment in the morning without worrying!”

I contacted this member to follow up from when we tried to refinance his vehicle in December 2019, but that time he didn’t get approved. I told him I would love to see what we could do for him now – luckily he remembered our previous conversation, and wanted to see if we could save him some money. I took his application and this time he was approved! With his refinanced auto loan, his payment is lower and his APR decreased from 30.27% to 6.99%. THAT IS HUGE SAVINGS of $119 a month on his payment, which ends up saving him over $5,900 in total over the full term of the loan.

I helped this member with a deposit and a payment on his personal loan, and while processing his transactions he informed me he still had a need for more funds. We talked about doing another personal loan, or maybe an equity loan since he was using it for home repairs and improvements. He was very interested, but didn’t have time to discuss the options so I offered to call him at a better time. When I called a day or so later he wasn’t available, so I left a voicemail and sent a follow up email asking him to call me back. Several days went by, so I called to reconnect with him and found out he did go through with another personal loan. Since I knew the equity loan could save him much more money, I explained the difference in the rate and loan amounts. He was still not sure due to the possibility of an appraisal being necessary, but after a bit more explanation of the cost savings he agreed to submit the equity loan application and he was APPROVED!

This past spring a member came in for a simple deposit and withdrawal transaction, and as I was processing his request we were talking about how he wanted to do some renovations to his home. I said, “Wow, that’s awesome! Do you rent or own your home?” He said, “I own it.” I then asked if he thought about refinancing his mortgage for lower payments and use the equity to get cash for renovations. The member hesitated and said, “No I haven’t, but I will go ahead and think about it.” So I gave him a Mortgage info. sheet as well as our rate sheet so he could look over the rates and benefits of a Qualstar mortgage loan. The member took both sheets and left.

I did not hear back from the member directly after that, so I thought he had forgotten about it. But come to find out he liked what he heard (and read) and applied for his mortgage refinance shortly after we spoke. We were able to lower his payments, provide the cash for renovations, and his interest rate went from 4.25% to 3.25%! All it took was a simple conversation to plant the seed and help this member accomplish his goals – that’s what we’re here for!

I recently spoke with this member on the phone about debt consolidation when I noticed she was making payments to other creditors. I asked if she had received the information we recently sent to homeowners about using Equity Loans to consolidate high rate debt, and she didn’t remember if she had received it. Therefore, I told her about our Equity Loan options and asked if she might be looking for a way to reduce her monthly payments, especially with the pandemic happening. She let me know she was interested in consolidating her loans, especially the ones with high interest rates, but she was not interested in an Equity Loan due to just recently refinancing her home loan. I told her we could also do a personal loan to consolidate her debt, as low as 6.99% for the interest rate. She was very interested and we did the application right then and there over the phone!

I came across this member’s account while doing some account reviews. I noticed he has had his Gateway Line of Credit for quite some time, and I knew we could help him improve his financial situation. I called to let him know we could likely lower his interest rate and avoid monthly fees – he was very interested! We discussed the details and I let him know I would submit the application and call him back as soon as we had it approved.

This member has been with us for almost 20 years, having worked for King County Metro. I have helped her with a handful of loans in the past, so she knew I could help her figure out the best way to make some home improvements happen.