21 Years in Okotoks. This Is My Story.

RECA-Licensed Mortgage Broker | 25+ Years Experience | Okotoks Resident 2004–2025

I moved to Okotoks in 2004 with a blended family of four boys and a mortgage licence that was already five years old. We landed in Cimarron — back when it was still one of the newer parts of town and Okotoks hadn't cracked 15,000 people yet.

I didn't move here for a market opportunity. I moved here because it felt like the right place to raise a family.

Turns out, it was also the right place to build a career.

Putting Down Roots in Cimarron

Cimarron in the mid-2000s was full of young families just like ours. Neighbours who became friends. Kids who grew up together on the same streets.

Between our four boys, we had kids at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School and Foothills Composite High School. If you had kids in basketball or soccer during those years, there's a decent chance we were sitting in the same bleachers, volunteering at the same tournaments, or standing on the same sidelines trying to figure out the snack schedule.

That's how I met half my clients. Not through ads. Through showing up.

The crew. Raising four boys in Cimarron, Okotoks.

Building a Brokerage — Right Here in Okotoks

By 2007, I'd been doing mortgages for eight years and the business had grown to the point where I needed a real office. I opened my Mortgage Intelligence brokerage at 185, 31 Southridge Drive — right in the heart of Okotoks.

If you ever drove past Southridge and saw the MI sign on the building, that was me.

My Mortgage Intelligence office — 185 Southridge Drive, Okotoks. Where it all started.

I ran that office for a couple of years before making a move that shaped the next chapter of my business.

The FIRM — More Than a Mortgage Office

In 2009, I transitioned to Dominion Lending Centres and launched a franchise I called The FIRM.

The name wasn't random. FIRM stood for Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, and Mortgages — because the idea was bigger than just one broker behind a desk. I built an office of like-minded professionals under one roof. Clients could walk into 185 Southridge Drive and access expertise across multiple disciplines, all from people who worked together, referred to each other, and held each other to a high standard.

Same office. Same community. But a bigger vision for how to serve clients.

That model taught me something I still carry today: the best outcomes happen when professionals collaborate instead of working in silos. A mortgage doesn't exist in a vacuum — it connects to insurance, financial planning, real estate strategy, and long-term wealth building. When those professionals talk to each other, the client wins.

DLC — The FIRM at 185 Southridge Drive, Okotoks. Same office, bigger vision.

Going Independent — Why I Left the Franchise Behind

After years under franchise banners — first Mortgage Intelligence, then Dominion Lending Centres — I made the decision to go fully independent.

Here's the thing about working under a big brand name: it looks impressive on a business card, but it comes with corporate fees, corporate rules, and corporate priorities that don't always line up with what's best for the client sitting in your office.

Going independent meant I could run my business the way I'd always wanted to — lean, fast, and 100% focused on the people I serve. No corporate overhead. No franchise fees getting passed along. No head office telling me which lenders to push.

Today I operate as Your Local Mortgage Professionals. I still shop 30+ lenders. I still have access to every product and rate tier the big franchises offer. The only difference is that every dollar of efficiency goes back into serving my clients better — not into someone else's boardroom.

21 Years of Coffee Meetings, Kitchen Tables, and Handshake Deals

I've met clients in every coffee shop, restaurant, and pub in Okotoks. If you name the place, I've probably had a mortgage conversation there — or at least started one over a cup of coffee.

That's how this business works in a small town. You don't "generate leads." You build relationships. You run into someone at the grocery store who mentions their mortgage is up for renewal. You sit down with a friend of a friend who just got their first job offer and wants to know if they can buy a home.

Over 21 years, those conversations turned into hundreds of funded mortgages for Okotoks families. Homes in the Ole Town. Dream homes in Crystal Shores. Renewals in Cimarron. Investment properties. Refinances. Debt consolidations that gave families breathing room when things got tight.

I've watched first-time buyers become move-up buyers become empty nesters. I've done two, three, four mortgages for the same family over the years. That doesn't happen because of clever marketing. It happens because you do the job right and people remember.

The Hard Part — Being Honest About What Happened

I'm going to tell you something most businesses wouldn't put on their website.

My father and my father-in-law both battled dementia. My wife Lori and I stepped up and became caregivers — while I kept doing mortgages. But the marketing, the networking, the visibility... that all fell away. For years, my business ran on autopilot. I was still getting deals done for clients who found me, but I wasn't out in the community the way I had been.

Then, on Valentine's Day 2025, I had a stroke.

I'm still recovering. It's a process. But I'm working, I'm sharp, and I'm more motivated than I've been in years.

I'm not telling you this for sympathy. I'm telling you because it's the truth, and I'd rather you hear it from me than wonder why the guy with 25 years of experience went quiet for a while.

The answer is simple: life happened. Family came first. It always will.

Back — And Building Something Better

Here's where I am now.

I've rebuilt my entire digital presence from the ground up. New website. Comprehensive service pages for every mortgage type. A calculator suite. Monthly newsletters. Active on social media again. And I moved to nearby High River in late 2025 — just 15 minutes south.

But Okotoks is still my turf. I still serve clients here every week. I still know the neighbourhoods, the builders, the Realtors, and the market better than most brokers who "cover" this area from a Calgary office.

25 years of experience. 21 years in this community. A stroke couldn't stop me. And I'm just getting started on the next chapter.

Just another morning in Okotoks. This is why we live here.

Why This Matters When You Need a Mortgage

You might be thinking — "That's a nice story, Shawn, but I just need a good rate."

Fair enough. And I'll get you that.

But here's what the story gives you that a rate comparison website — or a bank — can't:

A broker who knows your market. I know what homes are worth in Crystal Shores vs. Cimarron vs. the Ole Town. I know which builders have a track record and which ones don't. I know what lenders are going to ask about Okotoks properties and how to position your file so it gets approved smoothly.

A broker who isn't going anywhere. Think about who's behind the desk at your bank. It's probably someone in their twenties who's been there for a year or two. They know their bank's products — and that's it. One bank. One set of rates. One set of rules. And when they get transferred to a different branch next year? You'll start over with someone who's never heard your name.

That's not a relationship. That's a transaction. And to the bank, that's exactly what you are — a number on a spreadsheet, managed by whoever happens to be sitting in that chair this quarter.

I've been picking up the phone for my clients for over 25 years. Renewal questions, rate-hold questions, "my property tax bill looks wrong" questions, "my kid wants to buy a condo, can you help" questions. I've been there for all of them. Some of my clients have gone from their very first mortgage right through to the end of their 25-year amortization — with me on every renewal, every rate change, every life event along the way. That's not something you get from a bank. That's something you earn over decades of showing up.

A broker who knows your neighbours. There's a good chance someone you know has worked with me. Ask around. That's the best due diligence there is.