Combining these two personal shortcomings into one mass can be paralyzing on a number of fronts. What's so freeing about embracing the fact that I'm not naturally organized or good at finances, is that I am able to really appreciate it when my credit union has its act together.

Over the past six weeks, I've sold a house, moved states, switched credit unions, bought a house, traveled back and forth for family emergencies and worked in some unique places just to get free WiFi.

The thing is, the new credit union really came through to help sift through my disorganization and walk me through a truly incredible home-buying experience (even if I wasn't in town).

There was a seamlessness that I'd really never witnessed before in my personal credit union experience.

From my first call with Randy, one of University Federal Credit Union's mortgage loan officers, I knew I could hand it all over to this person and he had my full trust immediately. I've never seen him and never met him in person, but that's what I felt and that's what I went with. For example, it was a Thursday when I spoke with Randy. By Friday there was a pre-approval letter for a loan. Saturday we met with a realtor and on Sunday the offer was accepted on the house. All of this happened within 61 hours.

Randy's knowledge and local connections absolutely paid off. He introduced the Realtor, who introduced the auto/home insurance person. The dominos all fell at the appropriate times.

While driving around, I recalled a burst of news coverage in 2016 revolving around the topic of outsourcing the operations of mortgage lending.

Looking back at the stories at that time, there was a legitimate argument being made about the growing costs of keeping up with compliance and regulation changes. According to a 2016 report from the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm Callahan & Associates, "Credit unions originated $26.7 billion in first mortgages in the first quarter of 2016, up from $26.2 billion in the first quarter of 2015."

So, the lending amounts were growing, as they are today; and looking at our 2016 news stories, several CUSOs appeared to be nudging the conversation toward credit unions outsourcing their lending services. One source said, "Outsourcing mortgage servicing provides credit unions the ability to offer a variety of mortgage products, while keeping costs down and maintaining compliance in an ever changing regulatory environment."

Again, a legitimate point, especially for the smaller credit unions.

I've been quick in the past to think outsourcing IT and some other credit union functions was a good business and cost-savings idea. I even wrote up an outsourcing proposal a handful of years ago that would have resulted in more than a million dollars in savings for a credit union organization. It was voted down by my boss who simply said, "Do you want a complete revolt to happen?"

But, after going through this step-by-step process between an unorganized and numbers-dumb me and my new credit union, I was very thankful that it hadn't outsourced its lending programs to someone else, or some out-of-town organization who wouldn't have known the ins and outs of this specific local market and the people they personally know can get things done perfectly and quickly.

I tend to look at credit union issues and processes very logically and with an analytical eye for what's news and what might be helpful for our credit union executives. In this case, I had an entirely personal credit union experience that relieved so much stress and pressure from everything else going on that I nearly teared up.

I've written and spoke about brand loyalty several times over the years and this experience really showed me that it had nothing to do with the credit union's social media presence or marketing efforts, for me. It was exactly this: "Here's what I need to have happen. Here's the timeline I have to work with. What can you do?" And Randy and his team truly showed me (again) what I love about credit unions. When you need the professional experience and when you need confidence that you're not going to get screwed by a financial institution – count on the credit union and the local team to hold your hand, calm you down and be your financial friend.

While traveling and hunting down internet service, I looked forward to opening my email to find a consistent, personalized video update of where the home-buying process stood that day. I've said it already, but the relief that gave me was priceless. My mom, a corporate bank customer out east, even said, "Oh, that's really helpful. My bank just sits there."

Even on the day of closing, when I was out of town for an emergency, Randy and his connections at the title company sent me everything I needed to sign over my Power of Attorney so the closing could stay on track.

I've yet to actually meet Randy face-to-face, but I'll get down to his office soon to give him a hug. And I'll tell him to never consider outsourcing what he does and the local value he and his team bring to his credit union. What they do cannot be replicated outside of their credit union's walls.

Michael Ogden, CU Times Executive Editor

Michael Ogden is executive editor for CU Times. He can be reached at [email protected].