Exploring Life & Business with Trey Onkst of Colten Mortgage

Today we’d like to introduce you to Trey Onkst.

Hi Trey, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I began selling cars in Lexington, Kentucky, in 2014. By 2017 I was selling Mercedes in Louisville, and a few short years later, that had taken me to Walnut Creek, California, and eventually to Manhattan, New York. In late 2021 I decided to leave the car business and move closer to home and to one of the hottest real estate markets in the United States, Nashville, Tennessee.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! The car business has a negative reputation that is well earned, and I experienced it firsthand. The lack of business scruples led me to believe that I could not personally do business homogeneously with the large corporate entities that dominate the market…. but let me tell you how I really feel. Transitioning to home lending has been no breeze either. My license was instated on January 1st of 2022, just in time for the steepest climb in mortgage rates in the last forty years of American history. My adult career has been one test of resolve followed by another; each more challenging than the last.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business?
You must compromise between price and quality when shopping for any commodity (mortgage loans included). We at Colten Mortgage believe this is a false dichotomy. We are a true local lender headquartered here in downtown Nashville. By working in the community with local families, realtors and vendors, we have successfully offered a boutique, white glove, level of service while commensurate in rate and fees with the biggest names in the industry. The result is an experience of buying a home that second to none!

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk is a reality of life; we all participate whether we like it or not. I have personally risked moving across the United States three times in the last five years to better my opportunities and job prospects. Ownership of real estate is the largest vehicle for the average American to build wealth. Every potential borrower considering buying a home for the first time (or the fifth!) will be faced with a level of uncertainty. The best time to buy was yesterday; today is the second best time to buy. It is easy to get bogged down trying to get every detail exactly in line or to hold off on a purchase until a unicorn of a situation presents itself. Still, most folks fail to realize the compounding effect on wealth of home ownership over time. Every mortgage payment buys a larger equity stake than the month prior. Couple that with the effect of inflation chipping away value from every dollar, and it starts to make sense to jump into the housing market sooner rather than later.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.coltenmortgage.com/trey-onkst
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treyonkst/