HOMESTAR’s continued growth is something we pride ourselves on! As a larger organization, we are proud to announce several improvements. Our Top 5 Team Managers are being promoted to 'Division Manager,' and our current Division Managers, promoted to 'Division Executive.'

'Division Manager' and 'Branch Manager' are the only two titles we have used externally in our current sales management structure. The 'Branch Manager' title no longer encompasses the nature of all our Sales Management roles, nor does it recognize the accomplishments of those who have developed larger teams and primarily focus on leadership and growth.

Listed by hire date, please meet our Division Executives:

  • Gus Lobo worked side-by-side with Wes Hunt, Founder and CEO, in establishing the company in 2002. From 2006 to 2010, he ran HOMESTAR’s Wholesale Division, showcasing the USDA guarantee program until most of the TPO Brokers joined HOMESTAR – creating the first significant growth at the beginning of 2011. The Lobo Division has 200 employees, including 136 MLOs working in 37 branch locations, resulting in almost 6500 loans and more than $1.5 billion in production in 2021. As part of the Senior Leadership Team, Gus is focused on serving the branches in their recruiting efforts, the training process, and the opening of new markets to continue helping HOMESTAR achieve its best. 
  • Jeff Waggoner has 37 years of extensive experience in financial planning and services, including 22 years in the mortgage industry. Jeff joined HOMESTAR in the early years – 2004 – and has been The Top-performing Team several years in a row! Today, as part of Senior Leadership, Jeff provides oversight and guidance to more than 158 employees, including 92 MLOs in 41 branch locations. Last year, the Waggoner Division closed over 3,700 loans and almost $850 million in production! Jeff remains focused on recruitment and branch growth, including opening of new markets as his commitment to helping HOMESTAR achieve all it can be. 
  • Wendell Couch has been a driving force in the Mortgage Industry for more than 38 years. Starting his career with a large financial institution in North Georgia, he quickly rose to a Vice President-level, before joining HOMESTAR in 2008. Today Wendell provides oversight and leadership to 41 branch locations and 158 employees, including 92 MLOs, who last year closed over 1 billion in loan production. Wendell continues his concentration on advancing the growth of HOMESTAR with a focus on technology, sales-training, and leadership development. As part of the Senior Leadership Team, he helps with implementation and management of the planned growth and development strategies. He knows “The future is bright for HOMESTAR." 

Listed by hire date, please meet our new Division Managers:

  • As a 28-year mortgage industry veteran, who joined HOMESTAR 14 years ago, Regina England brings a wealth of industry knowledge to her team. In 2012, Regina returned to her hometown of Franklin, North Carolina, where she quickly built impactful relationships and established her HOMESTAR brand. She has subsequently added branch offices in the neighboring cities of Murphy, Sylva, Waynesville, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem, NC. Then, in 2021, Regina made the career choice to shift her personal production and realtor relationships to other team members. That move allowed her to focus on the mentorship of current team members and the overall growth of her team. She recruited top talent to join her Western NC Division, in both current and new markets. Regina’s plan has brought success; she has 29 team members, including Mortgage Loan Originators and Operations Staff. 
  • Corey Cantrell began his mortgage career in 2001 and joined HOMESTAR 14 years ago. In that time, Corey has nurtured and expanded his team from just four people to a team of 30, including 19 Mortgage Loan Originators! The Corey Cantrell Team has seven branches in Northeast Georgia, including Clarkesville, Hartwell, Clayton, Cleveland, and Toccoa, and a recent expansion into the Alabama market, with branch offices in Fairhope and Enterprise, Alabama. The culture within the Corey Cantrell Team is one of appreciation, gratefulness, and community service. You’ll recall that Corey is the founding member of, and initiator for, HOMESTARCares. The culture Corey established and continues to cultivate shines through brightly with the recent recognition of the Corey Cantrell Team being the 2022 recipient of HOMESTAR’s Cosmic Crew Wayfinders Cultural Award. 
  • David W.R. Stallings entered the mortgage industry in 2004 and joined HOMESTAR 11 years ago. David’s group has 33 team members, with most reporting to the Douglasville, GA Branch, but David is also proud of the recent addition of his Kennesaw, GA Branch. David continues to maintain a line of personal production; however, he built a team of 10 Inside Mortgage Loan Originators to support and nurture the many referral partner relationships he has cultivated throughout his career. This Team manages Builder Relationships and executes on the strategic vision and goals of the group while driving innovation through technology and best practices. David's focus on relationships and automation is key to his Team’s success. Most recently, in collaboration with the Stallings Team’s Production and Operations Manager Lance Alexander, David invested in technology; automating many items, tracking data points and tasks, and adjusting as needed to constantly improve the process. This cutting-edge approach bodes well for positive contributions to his group’s current and future successes. 
  • Paul Abraham has several years of mortgage industry experience prior to HOMESTAR. He joined us 10 years ago and, in 2020, turned his focus to recruiting and sales training. Since that time, Paul has grown his team to 97 members, including 77 Mortgage Loan Originators throughout 11 branches in multiple states, including Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Alabama. Paul has harnessed the power of social media, building a Facebook group of current and aspiring Mortgage Loan Originators. Through this group, Paul connects with current and future Mortgage Loan Originators all over the country. Paul defines a Mortgage Loan Originator's market as tapping into the new “community of today,” harnessing contacts on social media and using technology no more difficult than your cell phone. 
  • Michael Stallings is a 19-year mortgage industry veteran. Since joining HOMESTAR in 2016, Michael has moved from being a Top Producer focused on cultivating referral partner relationships and hitting top production goals to an acute focus on leadership with the goal of growing his team’s accomplishments. Today, the Michael Stallings Team stands at 65 total members, including 32 Mortgage Loan Originators across seven branches in Marietta, Columbus, Savannah, and Tifton, GA. Michael has also expanded into additional states, with branches in Orlando, Florida, and North Augusta, South Carolina. Michael believes success within the mortgage industry requires several essential qualities, with the most valuable skill, regardless of position in our industry, being the ‘ability to listen and understand.’ Michael credits the team’s secret sauce for conversion ratio to the concept of discovery, a method of asking layered questions, helping the other person uncover what they really want, and ultimately unveiling all information needed to be successful. 

We congratulate each of these individuals and look forward to the future as HOMESTAR continues to flourish. Want to be a part of our growing team? Visit our careers page to see if we are a good fit together by clicking here.