Full Transcript is Below:
– Welcome to an NFM Salute like no other. We’re talking about our February, 2022 NFM Salute. Why is it like no other? For various reasons. Number one, this individual met his wife on Craigslist. Number two, he was security forces for a United States President, worked with Secret Service to protect President Bill Clinton. And number three, he happens to be an employee of the NFM Family of Lenders. I’m talking about Nathan Hartseil who was a Marine for eight years and has obliged us with being the recipient of our February, 2022 NFM Salute. Nathan, thank you for joining us from Hingham, Massachusetts and thank you for your service.
– Thank you, Greg, I am honored to be here.
– We have a lot of ground to cover. Let’s begin with your late grandfather, who was a Marine himself and a Purple Heart recipient, and a lot of the motivation for you getting into the military.
– Absolutely Greg, my late grandfather was a Marine. He served in Korea and was awarded a Purple Heart. Actually I have the honor of possessing the Purple Heart to this day. He passed away when I was younger and he was one of the big influence that I joined the Marine Corps among many other things. So I made the decision to join the Marine Corps when I was 17 with my parental consent and I left shortly after I turned 18 and graduated high school.
– And you really stood out to your superiors and were elevated in rank multiple times which we’ll get into in a minute. But I’m fascinated by the list of countries that you visited while serving overseas, some four and a half years. On that list Okinawa, Tokyo, Guam, Thailand, the Philippines and while in Australia, you had quite an adventure in the Australian jungle which houses 13 of the world’s most deadly snakes. What was that experience like, you were in the jungle for, you said 30 days?
– I was, the Jungle Warfare Training Center located in the Tully Jungle of Australia. In the jungle the training itself is pretty extensive and excruciating for 30 days but the playtime in Australia is fun too.
– What was the closest encounter you had with one of those deadly snakes?
– The only time there’s usually any injuries at least that I’ve experienced are if somebody invades their habitat, steps on them. This wasn’t a place you could sleep on the ground floor of a triple canopy jungle. So you slept in hammocks tied between the trees at night wrapped in mosquito netting.
– Wow, that’s pretty incredible. So you were, as I mentioned recognized very early on as someone that had a lot of special attributes and you were pulled out and tested and eventually you were assigned to be among the security forces to protect president Bill Clinton. Tell us about that process.
– Sure, so I was 18 years old, getting pulled out of bootcamp and going through various psych evaluations, Secret Service, FBI. They select a few for positions that protect some of our nation’s security.
– And what was it like protecting a president, how much pressure comes along with that?
– It was pretty exhilarating. You know you’re in a position of great stature and you have TV presence because the president’s always on TV and whenever you see the Marines in white pants next to the president this is the unit I am talking about.
– You served from 1997 to 2005, the first four and a half years or so you were active and then you were reservist for the remaining period of time. What are some of the lessons that you learned from your time in the military?
– Camaraderie, the brotherhood, the family, the family feeling, daily lessons that are ingrained in me still today. The values that are impounded you have honor, courage, commitment. I also got to do some really cool things. The different countries, working with the different elite agencies of the US government. I mean that was unbelievable.
– Nothing wrong with that and we’ll get to how you met your wife on Craigslist here in a minute. I’ve got to tease the audience cause that’s a first for sure. But you got into the mortgage business, you kind of, you failed your way into the mortgage business in some respects. You worked for Bear Stearns, they went under, walked you out with some boxes two years after getting there. Then you worked for Lehman Brothers and it happened all over again as far as them shutting down and then you got into the commercial development financing business and that fell apart. So you were kind 0 for 3. Look at you now my friend, you closed 100 million in 2020, approached 80 million in 2021. That makes you one of the top producers in the country as I mentioned, so what’s that journey been like?
– I think a lot of where I’m at now has been from the hard work and past experiences that I’ve had. I don’t want to fall down again. So I’m going to work twice as hard, three times as hard to try to keep gaining momentum and stay on top of my game.
– And now you are at Main Street Home Loans which is among the NFM Family of Lenders and you have found your home, your real home. Tell us why, what is it about Main Street that has you in this groove?
– Sure, here at Main Street, I’ve been given the freedom to build, create and create the team that I always wanted and we’ve just begun, we’ve just started. I mean, when I met Main Street, I sat down and I said, God, these guys must have just sat around and said here’s the coolest concept, how about treat the people that are important to you like they are important to you and I’m like, gosh, these guys get it. And that’s why I’m here. I’m here to stay and I’m more than happy to be a part of it and part of their leadership team.
– Well, congratulations on your success. All right, we’ve arrived at the moment. How in the world does someone meet their wife on Craigslist?
– 2013, I transitioned from the Chicagoland area to Massachusetts. I moved here with an attorney who was a business partner of mine. We moved to a beautiful house right on the water in Cape Cod and it was a big house and times were tough right after moving and closing the business we had started and we had a whole third floor and I said, why don’t we put this out for a roommate for rent on Craigslist to offset some of our mortgage expenses and we thought it was a great idea. So we started accepting interviews and lo and behold, a lady came in who was a chef in Manhattan and then a chef in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and was offered a chef position about five miles from our house in Cape Cod and said, “I’m looking for a place to rent.” And after interviewing multiple candidates, we chose her, who ended up becoming my future wife. So I find humor in telling everyone we met on Craigslist.
– And now you’ve got two beautiful girls, two and six. Some believe you’re not supposed to move in with your significant other until you get married but I guess if there was a caveat, this is it.
– I think this is an extenuating circumstance.
– All right we’ll let it ride. Nathan I can’t thank you enough for your time and sharing some of your wisdom with us and of course, for your service and all you’re doing for the NFM Family of Lenders. What an honor this has been. Thanks for agreeing to be our NFM Salute for the month of February, 2022.
– Thank you.
– That’s Marine veteran, Nathan Hartseil from Hingham, Massachusetts, I am Greg Sher from NFM TV, we’ll see you again next time.