“Jayson and his team
are consistently top
producers in our office.
Our clients like him,
and realtors do too,
because he cares.”
Janene Towner-Chernoff,
Guild Mortgage
J
ayson Stebbins is a familiar figure in the South County scene.
He’s a mortgage professional, a stage and screen actor, a
devoted family man and a community supporter. The fact that
people naturally gravitate to Jayson just might have something to
do with who he is at the core.
Jayson was born in Modesto, the second oldest of seven
children in the Stebbins family. In the early 1980s, his parents
moved to Santa Clara County. Jayson’s dad opened The Old-
Fashioned Parlour, a family-style restaurant that ultimately
became a family-run business.
“As teenagers, my siblings and I helped dad at the restaurant
after school. It was a popular spot with the locals,” Jayson said.
After graduating from Live Oak High School, he worked full time
in the restaurant for about a year before heading off to South
Florida on a two-year mission with his church.
“I lived and served in a Spanish-speaking community.
Hurricane Andrew had devastated the community. I did cleanup
work and provided some translation services for the Red Cross.
It was my first taste of living away from home. I count it as a
great life experience.”
Fresh off his mission trip in 1993, Jayson was back at church
when he caught the eye of a young woman named Lisa who
would become his wife.
“I was at choir practice when in walks this guy,” Lisa Stebbins
said. “I turned to my friend and whispered, ‘Who’s that cute
guy?’ She laughed and said, ‘That’s my brother.’”
Jayson and Lisa hit it off right away, started dating and
became inseparable. Six weeks later Jayson popped the question.
“We had just come home from a talent show and were saying
our goodbyes when he proposed and I accepted,” Lisa said.
“Then we both pulled out our Franklin day planners to schedule
a wedding date! It was funny and romantic at the same time.”
This year marks the couple’s 23 rd anniversary.
The Mortgage Biz
Before they got married, Jayson and Lisa both worked at a San
Jose mortgage company called ComUnity Lending. Lisa was a
loan processor. Jayson worked in the facilities department, then
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
won a spot in the company’s intensive training program. A year
later the couple moved to Austin, Texas, to set up a new office
for their employer.
“Austin is a terrific town,” Jayson said. “Lisa and I were still
in our twenties and didn’t have any kids yet. We really enjoyed
it there, but when an opportunity came along to move back to
California, we took it.”
Returning to Morgan Hill in 1998, Jayson worked his way up
the ladder to the senior executive team. Then came the mortgage
meltdown in 2008. ComUnity Lending closed, so he and his
partners joined Guild Mortgage. Jayson opened a new branch
with Guild where he continues to work today. Lisa started doing
contract programming with VMware and Cisco, which allowed
her to work from home.
Today, Jayson co-manages Guild’s Morgan Hill office with
business partners Janene Towner-Chernoff and Keri Wright. He’s
also a full-time loan officer with his own mortgage team that he
trains in sales and client management skills.
So what’s a day in the life of a mortgage pro?
“We lead a very calendared existence,” Jayson said with a
smile. “There are Chamber of Commerce breakfasts, realtor
tours, client appointments, office meetings, and new business
prospecting. I have a great team that helps on the heavy lifting
with all the paperwork and approvals required to ensure our
loans close smoothly. I enjoy prospecting new clients and
building local relationships with real estate agents.”
According to Janene, “Clients and realtors like working with
Jayson. He has a gift for connecting on a personal level, always
asking about their families, work, and interests. Team Stebbins
does a fantastic job bringing in new business, and our Morgan
Hill office is consistently ranked among Guild’s top three best
performing offices in the state.”
“South County is a great place to do business,” Jayson said.
“It’s an intimate community where people know each other
through professional and volunteer work. Here we can focus
on quality of service unlike huge offices where it’s all about
transaction volume.”
“I’ve always loved this business, and my job,” Jayson said.
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