If you ask Brett Green what he does, he’ll tell you he’s a teacher.

And that’s because his job as owner and branch manager of Summit Funding in Silverdale is that of an educator.

“People come in here hungry for information,” he said. “They want to know what they can do. Can they afford to buy a home? Should they refinance? I consider the biggest part of my job to be educating clients about the options.”

In the 20-plus years that Green has been in the home loan business, he’s come to learn that the business is a lot more than sales. It’s about getting to know your client and their specific needs.

“I’d rather work with someone and send them out the door without a loan, than sell them something that won’t be good for them long term,” he said. Here, it’s about them. Every loan is unique and very specialized.”

Summit Funding is a privately held top lending organization based in Sacramento. In April, Green formed his own team and affiliated with Summit.

The change in funding source was prompted by a commitment to continually improve and excel in quality of service, speed of closing times and to remain competitively priced, Green said.

“The industry is changing at such a rapid pace,” he said. “We have to be looking three steps ahead to safeguard the integrity of this business to our customer. This community has been hit especially hard with recent economic changes. Our job is to educate borrowers, industry partners such as Realtors, builders and insurance agents and guide them through these changes.”

With a degree in business from Puget Sound University, Green set out after college to own a business in Kitsap County where he grew up. His first business was a scuba diving company.

After he sold that business, Green decided on the finance industry and began working for US Bank Corporation in the mortgage division.

The division sold and had several name changes, all the while Green was gaining more knowledge about ever-changing mortgage industry. At one time he was in charge of 75 loan officers in three states.

As the industry evolved, the larger mortgage companies gave way to the smaller boutique loan companies of today that target more direct customer service, he said.

Providing that individual attention to the needs of each customer is the basis of what Summit does, Green said.

“I had an engineer in the other day who wanted to know what loan she would qualify for,” he said. “She just wanted the numbers. It took us meeting about three or four times for her to understand that her question didn’t have a simple answer. What she came to see is that there are options and by giving her that information she felt empowered.”

Summit has several loan officers with specialities including assisting veterans and active duty military, seniors, first time home buyer and those looking for refinancing options.

Heather Gutierrez, senior loan officer and certified mortgage relocation specialist, works with many Navy families who are locating to Kitsap County.

“We’ll help them get temporary housing, and we let them know what the housing options are on base,” she said. “We can help them get into a permanent home and we work with current military families who are trying to decide about buying a home here.”

Military families have special things to consider when they look at buying a home, she said. Because they move often, they have to consider whether the purchase makes sense.

But often times, when the military move comes about, families opt to keep their homes here and rent them out because they plan to retire back in the Kitsap area.

Whether its military families or other clients, making sure each of them gets the best possible personal service is the aim of each of the four loan officers at Summit. The office has a total of seven employees.

“This is the community that I grew up in,” said Green. “I’ve lived here all my life and raised a family here. I want to make sure that when I see someone I’ve worked with at the store or at an event, that that person is happy with the service they’ve gotten because they are a part of this community.”

Green and his wife, Dana, and their children Max, 19 and Mattie, 17 live at Illahee. As a family they enjoy boating, water skiing and fishing.

To learn more, check out www.summitfunding.net, or call 360-689-7400.