50 years in, and Tom Couture has never slowed down.

From the moment his mother pushed him to apply for his first job, Tom has been a self‑taught mortgage professional who learned this industry desk by desk, role by role, one skill at a time. Half a century later, Tom is still learning. Today he’s enrolled in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) program, a rigorous, college‑level course with only a few hundred active designees nationwide. When he completes it, he and his daughter—who earned her CMB last year—will become the first father‑daughter pair in history to hold the designation. It’s a fitting next chapter for someone who has never stopped growing, never stopped adapting, and never stopped showing up for the people he serves.

We sat down with Tom to reflect on his 50‑year career, the moments that shaped him, the lessons that still matter for today’s homebuyers, and what he hopes his legacy will be in the lives of the families he’s helped.

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Do you remember the moment you decided to go into the mortgage industry? What did 1976‑Tom imagine his life and career would become?

‍I didn’t exactly decide—I got drafted by my mom. Right after high school, she came home from her bridge club and told me to get dressed and walk up the hill to apply for an entry‑level job at a local life insurance company in Vermont. They bought and serviced mortgages, and I started as the mail clerk pushing a cart through the department. Over the next nine years, I learned every desk and eventually handled “dialing for dollars,” calling banks around the country to see if they had mortgages to sell.

One of those banks was Plains National Bank in Lubbock, Texas. The woman who sold loans there mentioned she was retiring and they hadn’t found anyone to take her place. I told her I wanted to apply—even though I lived in Vermont. Their HR department initially dismissed me for that reason, but I flew to Lubbock anyway, applied at every mortgage company in town, and went back home.

Two or three weeks later, Plains called to offer me the job. In 1985, I moved my wife and two kids to Lubbock for the opportunity. The job nearly doubled my income, and it changed the course of my life.

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Looking back 50 years later, what would you tell that younger version of yourself stepping into his first mortgage office?‍

Be more confident. Don’t see yourself as the least qualified person in the room just because you didn’t attend college. Value your ambition to learn every desk—most people won’t. It wasn’t until the mid‑’90s at McAfee Mortgage that I realized there was nothing in this business I couldn’t learn.

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You started in the mid‑’70s during rising inflation and a rapidly changing mortgage landscape. What has stayed constant for you through the shifts, trends, and cycles?

Embrace change. In mortgages and banking, change is the constant. You don’t have to love it, but you do have to use it—to learn something new, adjust, and move forward.

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You’ve lived through some wild mortgage eras. What was the weirdest or most unpredictable time you ever experienced?

The 2008–2010 mortgage meltdown, without question. In the years leading up to the crash, the industry saw an explosion of risky loan products—like stated‑income and stated‑asset loans, no‑documentation programs, and subprime lending—as Wall Street investment banks became heavily involved in buying and securitizing mortgages. When the market finally collapsed, everything changed almost overnight, and the industry had to rebuild with far stronger guardrails to prevent anything like it from happening again.

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You’ve seen mortgage rates swing from single digits to nearly 18% and back down again. What do you want today’s homebuyers to understand about interest rates and staying grounded?

Don’t fixate on the rate—focus on whether you can afford the payment. If the payment works, buy the home; you can refinance later. Waiting on the ‘perfect’ rate often costs more in rising prices and lost equity.

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What do you hope your children and grandchildren understand about the work you’ve done for 50 years?

That this business is a platform to serve and love people. Sometimes serving means saying no with compassion. I want them to see that the most important thing in life is helping others—whether through lending or day‑to‑day interactions.

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Over thousands of closings, what’s the coolest or most memorable story that still outshines all the rest?

I can’t choose one. Each closing represents helping someone achieve a dream—whether it’s a first home or building wealth. That collective experience is what stands out.

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What’s the funniest or most unexpected thing that’s ever happened during a loan process?

An FHA borrower and his girlfriend qualified with just him on the loan because her debts would have disqualified them. Mid‑process he mentioned ‘my wife’—they’d gotten married over the weekend. Now her debts had to count, and he no longer qualified. Two days later he asked, ‘If we get an annulment, does that fix it?’ They got an annulment, closed the loan, and likely remarried afterward.

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What’s one thing that gives homebuyers a headache time and again—but really shouldn’t, because it’s an easy fix?

Moving money between accounts before finalizing their home purchase and using Buy Now, Pay Later services. Both require documentation that complicates underwriting. Avoid them before applying.

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For first‑time homebuyers this year, what’s the one piece of advice you wish everyone knew before they start?

Take care of your credit. Don’t miss payments or overextend cards. Understand that app‑based credit scores differ from the models lenders use—good habits matter more than the number you see.

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When people reflect on your 50‑year career years from now, what do you hope they say about you—not just as a lender, but as a person?

As a lender, I hope they say I never steered them wrong. As a person, I hope they say I cared about their well‑being. Success comes from putting people first, not chasing commissions.

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After 50 years, what stands out most about Tom isn’t the number of loans he’s closed—it’s the way he talks about people.

The families he’s helped, the stories he’s witnessed, and the generations he hopes he’s touched. In a field defined by rates, rules, and constant change, Tom has stayed rooted in something simple: buying a home is personal. It’s emotional. It’s life‑shaping. And the guide you choose matters.

Here’s to 50 years of service, thousands of families supported, and a legacy built on connection—and to the many more who will walk through their front door because Tom Couture helped guide the way.