Although well versed in all mortgage products, Stacey Roberts considers herself a first time buyer and down payment assistance guru. Patient and kind, she walks clients through the process, from preapproval to closing, willing and eager to answer all of their questions.

“Listening to not only my client’s goals, but also their concerns allows me to focus on their needs and make the process as seamless as possible,” says Roberts, senior mortgage consultant with Wintrust Mortgage. “I definitely aim to have a relaxed, cheerful environment.”

Roberts has closed mortgages in over 25 states but her primary market is Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.

“2023 was the toughest market I’ve worked through, besides the years after the housing crash,” she says. “Consumer confidence deteriorated with higher rates and low inventory, so helping my clients navigate that market and secure new homes was fulfilling.”

Roberts has worked in lending for 26 years. But she spent her first three years processing and underwriting mortgages before moving into sales for love of the challenge. She started off as a loan officer and the rest, she says, is history.

“Having closed thousands of mortgages has been a great experience, but my foundation processing and underwriting taught me how to research, understand and document ever changing product guidelines,” she says. “That allows me to set the right expectations for the clients, as well as the real estate agents and attorneys.”

Roberts has achieved Wintrust’s President’s Circle and Honors Circle multiple times. She earned 2022 and 2023 Scotsman’s Guide Top Loan Originator status and ranked among National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America’s 2022 and 2023 Top 100 lenders. In 2014, Illinois Housing Development Authority named her Community Lender of the year.

“Every deal is a relationship, not a transaction,” she says. “My clients continue to hear from me after closing and not just through an automated email.”