Q: Tell me about the partners.
A: Bill Westrom was born in Portland, Oregon, and moved to Spring Hill from Seattle, Washington. He spent 10 years as a mortgage broker, working for both small and large shops including Washington Mutual. While in Seattle, he worked as an account executive with Macquarie Mortgages, an Australian bank that first introduced the concepts to the U.S. in 2001.
David Welles, a self-described “service brat,” was born in Dover, Delaware, traveled extensively throughout the United States and spent a lot of time in Florida. He was introduced to mortgages while working for a small lender in Virginia and later was hired by National City Bank in Altamonte Springs Florida to sell loan programs through broker channels. In addition to having his broker’s license and originating loans, he worked in compliance.
Tired of seeing consumers getting taken advantage of, the dynamic duo joined forces and created IFS Development Group in September 2006 to “help the little people.”
Q: How does IFS work?
A: IFS Development Group promotes a holistic approach to improving financial health. We’re not financial advisors. We’re saying you can accelerate the payment of the debt to free up the equity.
Consumers are so accustomed to paying the bill, many have never taken a calculator and figured out what the costs would be in the end. Our formulas take into consideration the dynamics of life. Everyone has income and expenses and there’s a daily bottom line. We’re helping people look at themselves more closely and asking them not to ignore the nickels and dimes that are dropping. Little by little, ATM charges, interest rates add up.
Q: Give me an example.
A: Okay, we are all aware of the impact simply moving a credit card balance from an interest latent credit card to a promotional 0% interest rate credit card does for us right? Well… we help people do the same thing on a grander scale. The example just given is a simple example of “Reallocation of Resources”. We identify opportunity to reallocate all your resources so to maximize your income. Putting more money in your pocket by getting more out of what you own and what you earn.
Q: What are your steps and programs?
IFS offers consumers a holistic approach to improving their financial health. Steps include preparing a personal profile spreadsheet, educating consumers about tactics, using available tools to make your equity work for you, reallocating resources and restructuring repayment of debt to more favorably take advantage of tax deductions and more. The firm offers four different programs to fit consumers’ needs.
Q: Do you only work with homeowners in Florida?
A: Thanks to technology, IFS can work with homeowners and financial institutions around the country?
Q: How does IFS make its money?
A: Through consulting fees. The IFS consulting fee provides unlimited monitoring and assistance as well as expertise and access to experts in other areas like Real Estate, Legal, Lending, Title, Appraisal and much more.
Q: Aren’t banks against what you’re promoting?
A: This is unconventional financial wisdom. Banks have had this product and program for decades. They just don’t know they have it. Conventional training does not allow them to understand what they already have. We are currently working with banks to help them help their current and new customer base. Banks love us. Consumers love us.