Megan Felch
WHEN SERENDIPITY STRIKES
Megan Felch grew up all over Northeastern Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains area. Her professional journey started while she was attending Pennsylvania State University and working in a local community bank. She received an unexpected promotion to work on credit and underwriting for commercial real estate mortgages — something she didn’t have experience with but turned out she really enjoyed.
After graduating, Megan moved around the country and tried her hand at other jobs, like underwriting consumer/residential mortgages, but nothing sparked as much passion as underwriting multifamily loans. Compared with residential mortgages, she found that underwriting multifamily real estate was much more interesting because she rarely saw the same deal twice. As fortune would have it, in 2016, she landed a job with Freddie Mac Multifamily focusing on underwriting for Small Balance Loans (SBL).
Nearly 10 years later, Megan rose through the ranks and is now an SBL underwriting manager who still enjoys the everyday challenge that comes with her role. In addition to the important work of approving deals in her respective region, she’s also tasked with the internal “People” objective — attract, develop and attain talent. This entails overseeing employee performance metrics, team engagement, celebrations, planning internal training opportunities and mentorship for SBL underwriting staff.
In her free time, Megan loves drawing portraits with graphite or charcoal and giving them as gifts. Although she’s dabbled with landscapes and still objects, there’s something about drawing faces that really moves her.
Let’s hear what Megan has to say about the importance of her work at Freddie Mac.
What do you like about your job or what gets you excited to come to work?
A: The first thing that comes to mind would be the people. We have some of the best minds in real estate at Freddie Mac. On many projects, I get to work with other people I don’t normally interact with, and I learned a lot from them over the years. We also have great camaraderie within the SBL group, which helps deals run smoother and the day-to-day feel exciting. And I have to mention our Optigo® lenders and third-party vendors — it’s been great building relationships with our external partners as well.
How do you see your contributions impacting the bigger mission?
A: I see two main ways that my contributions impact the bigger mission. The first is getting deals done efficiently to help provide liquidity and stability to the multifamily market. The second is specific to SBL. In this business line, we target funding 5- to 50-unit, very low-income properties to help tenants secure affordable housing that’s safe and in good livable condition.
Megan with her husband and daughter.
What makes a great teammate or ally?
A: I think having empathy is an important trait — I try to approach everything with empathy. It helps build trust in relationships and makes work more fun because we know we can rely on one another.
Also, SBL used to be the new kid on the block, so our team has the underdog spirit. Although we just celebrated our 10-year anniversary last year, I think we’ll always have a can-do mentality and encourage teammates to have an open mind. For example, this year, we stepped out of our comfort zone and put on an SBL tradeshow at the Optigo® Essentials: SBL workshop as an alternative method of delivering best practices.
What makes a winning game plan as it relates to your role?
A: As a credit manager and people leader, a winning game plan means investing in the team’s development and having trust that they can get deals done. By empowering my team to know how to handle various scenarios, they can do their work efficiently to keep deals moving. Relationship building is another critical part. We have to work closely with lenders and our own internal teams to find the best solutions to deal particulars.
Can you share something outside of work you’re passionate about?
A: I’m passionate about fundraising for cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease which does not yet have a cure and is very personal to me. For one of the recent fundraising campaigns, I created a ton of artwork over eight weeks, including drawings of W.E.B. Du Bois and former NBA player Dirk Nowitzki, and made pottery on a wheel for the first time ever to raise awareness and funds for the cause.
Megan with the drawings she created for a recent Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser.
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