Today we’d like to introduce you to Zelma Singleton.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I bought my first house in 2003, cash, while I was still in college. I didn’t know it then, but that was the beginning of everything. I graduated in 2005, bought a second house with a loan in 2006, and rented out the first one. That’s how I became a landlord before I even had a real job.
In 2010 I moved back to Houston and started teaching middle school math. I spent ten years in the education. I still had my two rental properties the whole time, just quietly building on the side while I taught kids their times tables.
In 2019 I got my mortgage license, still teaching. By 2020 I left the classroom for good and went full-time in mortgages. In 2025 I opened my own brokerage, Summit Mortgage Lending.
Now I focus on the people banks overlook: self-employed borrowers and real estate investors who don’t fit in a neat little box on a loan application. I get it, because I am one. I’m still a landlord myself. I’m not teaching this from a textbook, I’m teaching it from my own experience.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. I left a stable teaching paycheck, with retirement and benefits, for 100% commission. No safety net, no guaranteed check. That’s terrifying when you have a family depending on you.
I was also building this while going through a divorce, raising my child, and while being a caretaker for my mother with dementia. Trying to run a business, be present as a mom, and take care of my mother all at the same time will humble you fast. There were plenty of days I don’t know how it is all going to work.
And honestly, being a former math teacher, and a woman walking into finance, people underestimated me. A lot of “side-eyeing”, I had to prove I belonged in rooms where nobody expected me to be the smartest person there.
We’ve been impressed with Summit Mortgage Lending, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I own Summit Mortgage Lending, a mortgage brokerage based in Texas and Louisiana. I specialize in DSCR loans and non-QM financing, which basically means I lend to people banks tend to turn away: real estate investors and self-employed borrowers who don’t have a W-2.
What sets me apart is that I’m not just brokering these loans, I’m living them. I’ve been a landlord and investor since 2005. When I explain how DSCR financing works, I’m explaining my own portfolio, not a script. I also spent ten years teaching middle school math before this, so breaking down something confusing into simple, honest steps is second nature to me.
What I’m most proud of is a framework I built called the 3-Property Blueprint. It’s three stages:
The Root, which is the home you actually live in at the lowest responsible payment, so you stop renting and learn ownership.
The Fuel, where that first home turns into a rental and fresh financing buys your next property.
And The Legacy, where a property qualifies on its own merit through DSCR financing, not your personal income, and is built to outlast you. It’s the roadmap I actually used to build what I have.
What I want people to know is simple: if you’ve been told no because you’re self-employed, or a bank couldn’t make sense of your tax returns, that doesn’t mean you don’t qualify. It means you haven’t talked to the right lender yet.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Honesty! I grew up being taught that honesty is the best policy, and that hasn’t changed. In an industry where people get sold what sounds good instead of what’s true, I’d rather tell someone the real numbers before they fall in love with a house than tell them what they want to hear.
Secondly, it’s legacy. I’m a mother, and I’m also taking care of my own mother right now. Those roles stretches you in both directions at once, and it makes you think hard about what you’re actually building and who it’s for. Every property I own, every client I help, is part of the same goal: building something that outlasts me and that I can hand down.
Teaching is in there too. Ten years in a classroom taught me that most people don’t need more information, they need someone to break it down honestly and walk with them through it. That’s what I try to do now, just with houses instead of algebra.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.summitmortgagelending.us
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summitmortgagelending
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/193sj514eU/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zjsingleton/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@summitmortgagelending
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/zelma-singleton-mortgage-broker-houston-2
