Colette Penkal has built a successful career spanning nearly 15 years, founded on one prevailing principle – honesty. From day one, Penkal has demonstrated to her employers and her clients that she stands by the truth, no matter how hard it may be to hear at times. That philosophy helped turn one of her biggest clients in her early days as an Escrow Officer at a title company, into what is now her current employer. When the economy tanked in 2009 and her previous employer had to cut salaries and jobs, one of Colette’s biggest clients was on the phone to her with a new job offer before she even arrived home that day.

Colette Penkal learned her business from the ground up, working almost every job throughout the industry, getting promoted and being tasked with more and more responsibilities along the way. As her job roles evolved, she began to have more involvement with the people side of real estate financing, connecting with agents and buyers and sellers. “That’s when a switch flipped for me. It became a passion for me,” Colette says. “Helping to put a roof over a family’s head is the most rewarding thing ever. At the end of the day, when I see a family, maybe with young kids, babies, getting the keys to their new house, it’s just amazing. There’s nothing else like it.”

Colette Penkal has a guardian-like nature. She does her best to protect people from less than accurate information, even before they are actual clients. “I try to help people out, just give them the best advice and tell them the truth, whether they do business with me or the next person.” As one of her many glowing online reviews states, “she had been a straight shooter with me throughout the entire process…Colette Penkal was my guardian angel.”

Working with people all over the state of California, Penkal is involved in a variety of commercial and residential loan financing, but her personal niche is in the first-time homebuyers market. “I love to help educate the buyer, and let them know what they’re up against. I just kind of hold their hand throughout the process and make sure everything is going smoothly.”

As a devoted mother to her 8-year old son, Colette values the times they share. “We’re outdoorsy types,” she says with a smile in her voice. “We’re either rollerblading around Dana Point Harbor, or he’s surfing in the waves. Every waking moment I have with my son, we’re together, and we’re usually outside. He is everything to me.”

Running a close second in Colette’s heart is her other passion, raising awareness and funding for the Brain Tumor Society. Seeing firsthand through a close personal connection how devastating this disease can be, Colette has done runs and walks for three years to support this deserving charity.

She also helps her clients support the charities they hold dear. “Instead of a gift card or some other material object, when I close a purchase for a client, I offer to make a donation in their name to a charity of their choice. 99% of the time they have one right away that they can name. It’s my way of saying thank you.”

If you’d like to get in touch with Colette Penkal, you can visit

call 949-310-8850