WINNSBORO – After 30 years in the mortgage and tax business, Marilyn Goree Butler says her calling is still this: to help people improve their financial situation.
Butler is the owner of Preferred Mortgage and Tax Service, a Winnsboro-based business that helps people in Fairfield County and across South Carolina with obtaining mortgages and with preparing their income taxes.
“We start from getting them pre-approved to go out and purchase or to refinance homes. We do everything from start to finish with handling the paperwork and getting them to the closing table,” Butler says.
“I work with borrowers who have A+ credit all the way down to borrowers who need assistance with credit management, so it’s not like I only work with higher credit scores; I also work with borrowers who may have credit challenges,” she says.
“Everybody’s situation is different, so there’s no one product fits all. I talk to the person, find out the situation, and place them where they can get the best offer.”
As a mortgage broker, Butler serves as a liaison between borrower and lender, she says. And she’s also open year-round to help with individual, small-business taxes and bookkeeping.
A Fairfield County native, she says she’s had an interest in finance ever since high school, when she worked as a school bus driver and helped other drivers with their taxes. She went on to attend college and earn a bachelor’s degree in finance from Winthrop University in 1990.
After gaining some experience in the financial industry, she opened her office in 1996, in downtown Winnsboro. Seven years ago, she opened a second location in Summerville, which is staffed by her employees.
Her plan, she says, is to continue expanding in the coming years to offer services in more of the state, particularly in communities where having a local mortgage broker can help people access loans and homeownership and where there is a need for local tax preparation services.
“I feel that my calling is helping people with their financial situation, whether young or old,” Butler says. “I get gratification from helping a single mother reach the goal of getting her house or helping a new couple obtain homeownership.”
Butler lives with her husband, Greg, and they have four grown children: Gregory, Rickey, Jasmine, and Jourdan. She is a member of the Winnsboro Rotary Club, the Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce and is a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Preferred Mortgage and Tax Service is located at 122 South Congress Street in downtown Winnsboro and is open from 9-5 Monday through Friday, year-round. Butler can be reached at (803) 635-9142, and more information can be found online at www.pmtfinancial.com.
