With 16 years in the mortgage business, Neighborhood Loans’ senior mortgage loan officer Emma Butler is the professional clients need when it comes to financing their homes. Her keen eye for numbers and outgoing personality makes the lending process a success.
“The mortgage process shouldn’t be intimidating,” Butler says. “I try and let my clients know that from the very beginning, that I will be there to walk them through every step of the way.”

A major player in a male-dominated industry, she has carved out a name for herself through hard work and relationship building. The Scotsman Guide listed Butler among its top women originators of 2021 — a prestigious honor of which she is particularly proud. In the last year, she raked in over $40 million in sales, and she attributes this growth to her supportive environment at Neighborhood Loans and “good old hard work.”

Aside from being a wizard with numbers and scenarios, Butler is best known for her invariable communication throughout the loan process and beyond. She provides continual status updates to all parties throughout the process and considers it a priority to be responsive even during the busiest times, having been her best referral relationships on this principle alone.

The opportunity to develop a client-focused business drew Butler to real estate. She found that combining her technical skills with a desire to help clients in a variety of situations was challenging and rewarding, for one of her strengths is finding answers to tough questions. “I am a system-oriented personality,” she declares. “That, coupled with my love for numbers, complex scenarios and people, makes for quite a satisfying career.”

Butler is a member of the Chicago Association of Realtors, as well as the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce. On her bucket list this year are a surfing retreat and another trip to Costa Rica.