10 Questions with Hometap's Director of Investment Support Operations

Lehann oversees the day-to-day functions of our Investment Support team, which ensures that after signing, all homeowners who access their equity through Hometap are satisfied for the life of the Investment.

CAREER HISTORY / BACKGROUND

Q: What’s the biggest challenge you face as Director of Investment Support Operations?

The biggest challenge I face in my role as Director of Investment Support Operations is simultaneously building out a department and developing a team.

I joined Hometap in January 2022. At this time, only two team members were in Investment Support. My first objective was to understand the scope of the work and then create a plan to scale. Almost two years later, the team consists of six team members in various roles and six established mini-departments. As a team, we continue to build upon our strong foundation and we are excited for the continued growth!

Q: What’s the most rewarding part of the role?

The most rewarding part of my role is seeing the growth and success of my team. The environment that has been created in Investment Support calls for each person to have a seat at the table. It is a safe space to collaborate, empower, and challenge each other. Collectively, the team genuinely supports each other and celebrates each team member's successes.

Q: How do you stay apprised of the most current news in the industry? What are you reading, listening to, or watching?

I follow many industry leaders on LinkedIn and I listen to a couple different podcasts; the Mortgage Marketing Expert and HousingWire Daily. Of course, I read all the great information in our “Hometap competitive info” channel in Slack.

Q: What’s the best advice that you’ve received during your career?

I have had the pleasure of working with a few great leaders over the years, but I can narrow it down to two pieces of advice that I follow every day.

“Servant leadership is easy for people with high self-esteem. Such people have no problem giving credit to others. They have no problem listening to other people for ideas. They have no problem in building other people up.”- Robert Greenleaf

Being a servant leader has allowed me to coach others into leadership roles. It is so rewarding to witness others achieve success in their leadership journeys.

“When you stop learning, you start dying.” - Albert Einstein

This is my favorite piece of advice, it pertains to every facet of my life. I always strive to challenge myself and continually learn from others.

AT HOMETAP

Q: What led you to Hometap and appealed to you about your initial role here and the company?

A recruiter from Hometap reached out to me via LinkedIn about an opportunity and I immediately researched the company. Once I spoke to the recruiter and others during the interview process, I knew instantly that Hometap was the right fit for me! Everyone was genuinely kind and that kindness drew me in instantly. When I learned more about the role and responsibilities, I felt I could truly make an impact in building out the Investment Support department.

Q: What’s something you wish members of other teams within Hometap understood about your role as Director of Investment Support Operations or the work that you do specifically?

Investment Support is often referred to as the post-close department, however, our responsibilities go well beyond this scope. While we have post-closing tasks, the department comprises six different areas to properly service our Investments.

We manage all Homeowner facing roles such as the call center, incoming emails, insurance monitoring, and adverse events monitoring. Additionally, we are responsible for ensuring timely recording of the Investment, investor accounting activities, and the settlement/offboarding process.

Q: If you could trade jobs with anyone else at Hometap for a week, what position would it be?

This is a tough one, as there are so many interesting roles here at Hometap! I think it would be most beneficial to switch with the Director of Sales. So many of the sales processes directly affect Investment Support and how we service our Homeowners. It would be great to lean into each other's roles from different perspectives to strengthen our alignment on future initiatives and perfect the Homeowner journey.

Q: What’s one quality someone needs to be successful at Hometap?

I love this question! I believe that a willingness to learn is critical to a person's success here at Hometap. Taking initiative to learn new skills and responsibilities is crucial in a startup environment. Plus, like I said before, when you stop learning, you start dying.

OFFICE CULTURE

Q: What qualities do you look for in a company’s office culture?

Hometap checks all the boxes on this one! I look for a company that is welcoming and supportive of its employees. I look for a company that empowers its people to share ideas and implements a few of them! Additionally, being a mom, a healthy work/life balance is very important to me.

Q: What are the best and worst parts of working from home?

In my experience working remotely with Hometap, I don't have any detractors. All of our virtual meetings are with cameras on. so I feel as though I get plenty of social interaction. The company also plans fun events both virtually and in person, so I feel part of the team. The best part of working from home is more of a healthy work/life balance. I no longer have a stressful, long commute each day. I feel like I am more productive and more focused on my work because I am not worrying about the drive home. Most importantly, I can easily attend sports or activities for my kids because I am already in town. Also, wearing comfortable clothes every day is a huge win!