As my wife Sharon and I began to plan for our retirement seven years ago, we looked into relocating to the Springfield area.

We weren’t quite ready yet, but we did meet with Deena Smith (VP, Mortgage Lending at INB) to discuss our goals for the years ahead.

Deena listened intently as we explained our goals. Since our oldest daughter, her husband, and our four granddaughters live in Springfield, our primary goal was to relocate close to them.

Deena was knowledgeable and very helpful as she explained the process and requirements for financing a home. These details helped us develop our plan to move from Lovington, IL to Springfield at the appropriate time.

Finally, we knew the time was right to execute our plan, and we contacted Deena again in April 2021. We were surprised that she not only remembered us and our original meeting, but also our circumstances and goals.

Making the Move with INB

Our daughter introduced us to an excellent realtor to help us secure a home in Springfield, and we listed our house in Lovington for sale. Deena quickly acted on behalf of INB to pre-qualify our financing and put us on solid footing to make an offer on a house.

With recent changes in the housing market, the process proved more challenging than we anticipated. Our home in Lovington went under contract much sooner than expected, but our Springfield search was slower.

We searched for a new home and made five offers on properties. Each time, Deena and INB stood behind us in approving our financing.

Although “losing” numerous houses to other buyers was incredibly discouraging, it all turned out for the best.

On September 10, we closed on the sale of our home in Lovington. As we were driving back to Springfield, our daughter called about a new listing she had found. We contacted our realtor, and she scheduled to show us the property four hours later. It was the first house we had seen that we truly felt could be our next home.

We made an offer on the property the next morning, and it was accepted. We were so thankful and excited beyond words, as the home was in the perfect location, only three tenths of a mile from our daughter and her family.

INB Closes Quickly to Beat Surgery Date

Our closing was tentatively set for October 27. However, there was another challenge ahead: I had been scheduled to have a surgical procedure in 2020 that already had to be rescheduled twice. My newest surgery date was October 14.

I contacted Deena Smith and explained the situation, asking if we could possibly close the sale prior to October 14. I knew this was a "big ask," but she and her team began working on this looming deadline immediately.

A few days later, Deena contacted us to say that the new closing date would be September 30!

Sharon and I were very surprised, and grateful, to say the least.

While we don’t know all of the specific steps to make this happen, we realize that coordinating with all parties involved to have all necessary documents prepared for a September 30 closing must have been quite a feat.

Fortunately, INB was up to this challenge.

Seven years earlier, I had no idea how fortunate we would be to meet Deena Smith. Today, I cannot imagine working with a better lending officer.

Deena inspires trust and exemplifies the standards of quality service that give customers confidence. In fact - thanks to our mortgage experience -  when it came to choosing a local bank for our accounts, Sharon and I knew we needed to look no further than lNB.

Deena Smith’s NMLS # is 662911.