Meet Gabrielle Smith, Mortgage Loan Officer in Our Slidell Office
Dinner time at Slidell Loan Originator Gabrielle Smith’s house is the stuff of dreams.
This isn’t exactly because she’s a born and raised Creole, who grew up in a large New Orleans family that relished in the comforts of Cajun cooking and good times together.
That’s a huge part of it.
It’s actually because as a professionally trained chef with a culinary degree – and a former owner of a successful catering business – Gabby can’t help but plan award-worthy dinner menus for her Krewe of 4.
Among her favorites to prepare: Fried eggplant with seafood alfredo pasta, Lasagna with homemade tomato sauce (fresh tomatoes a must!), and blackened salmon with a bed of savory dirty rice, creole potato salad, and sweet peas.
After a successful first career as a chef, Gabby, a relative newbie to the mortgage business, switched gears in a search for more work-life balance and the opportunity to help members of her community experience the rewards of homeownership.
A New Career and More Time for Family
Though Gabby was and is a successful chef and past catering business-owner of 10+ years, she found herself at one point spending less and less time with her kids: 13-year-old, Adriana, and 10-year-old Julea.
The University of New Orleans graduate had worked briefly in the mortgage industry with a large national bank around the time of the Great Recession in 2008. The trying times led her to attend culinary school and jump into the restaurant business, founding her own catering start-up serving top New Orleans and Northshore area event venues.
“It felt like I never saw my kids,” Gabby says. “I wanted a more regular schedule, and at the same time, I knew I loved serving my community and serving people.”
In the midst of considering her career change, Gabby became a new homeowner. This re-ignited her passion for helping homebuyers secure home loans for their forever homes.
“My home is somewhere my family and I will live and have forever,” she says. “Real estate is everything to me. I love having the opportunity to help give that same thing to other people.”
Gabby found her new career ‘home’ at Gulf Coast Bank’s Home Loans Division in 2019, joining the Slidell Oak Harbor Blvd. office.
A Teaching Heart to Help Guide First-Time Homebuyers
With her caring spirit and teacher’s heart, Gabby loves working with first-time homebuyers to help guide and advise them throughout the complex process of becoming homeowners.
“If you think about it, there are so many unknowns from a first-time buyer’s perspective,” Gabby explains. “I strive to help inform them and guide them through the process.”
In fact, her dedication to serving and partnering with her clients doesn’t stop when she leaves the office. Gabby regularly answers questions from clients and her referral partners well into the evenings, helping educate them on the process, keep them updated, and calm shaky nerves.
After her first year with Gulf Coast Bank, Gabby surpassed her first-year goals, which solidified what she always knew. She was in the right place, doing the work she was meant to do.
Giving Back to her Community
In between advising homebuyers and cooking up magazine-worthy meals for her family, Gabby is a passionate supporter of various nonprofits with her kids, including Girls on the Run South Louisiana, local women’s shelters, and Habitat for Humanity.
She also enjoys gardening, fishing the Louisiana waters, and helping her carpenter fiancé, Jimmy, with various build projects around their home – a time Gabby affectionately calls “Building with Bae.”
Reach Out To Gabby Smith When You’re Ready To Jump Into Homeownership
When you’re ready to jump into homeownership in the Slidell and Northshore area and you’re not sure where to start, Mortgage Loan Officer Gabrielle Smith is ready to serve you and help you get pre-qualified. Reach out to Gabby at 985-259-9984 or gabriellesmith@gulfbank.com.