Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Home Story with Veronica. I'm Veronica Diquez, and today we're diving into the people, places, and decisions that make a house a home. You're watching now media Television.
Welcome to Home Story. I'm your host, Veronica Diquez. Every home has a story. And for many families, that story begins with a dream of owning a place they can truly call their own. But one of the biggest hurdles on that journey is having enough for a down payment.
For some, it feels nearly impossible. My guest today, Tyler Lombardo, knows this struggle well. He is a loan officer with Cross Country Mortgage, and Tyler has helped countless individuals and families navigate the mortgage process with confidence. His mission is to make homeownership feel achievable, not overwhelming. Tyler, thank you so much for joining us. Hey, thanks for having me. Let's start here. A lot of people feel like they'll never save enough money.
Where should they begin, even if they can only put aside a small amount?
[00:01:03] Speaker B: Gotcha. All right. Well, a long time ago, somebody told me that the money is in the preparation. So you have to prepare for this. And the first exercise I always have clients do is take the last two months of their debit card or checking account statements and also their credit card statements and highlight everything that was a want and not a need for purchasing. All right? And I actually went through this exercise myself when I was, like, 24 years old. I was complaining I couldn't save a lot of money.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Well, I was spending about $1,000 on restaurants and bars.
[00:01:34] Speaker A: That sounds familiar.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Exactly. So the person that gave me that exercise, like, no, you can actually save money. You're just choosing not to. So there's always some room to find things. And then also step two is what I have my clients do is set up a family personal budget, okay? So you have your liability, your monthly liabilities on one side, what's actually owed, what you actually pay.
The other column is savings. And then the fifth column is the amount of money that you bring in, your net paycheck money. And you're just basically like a little business every single month. And it's like a profit and loss. So how much is you're bringing in, what's going out, and then from there, it's a little bit easier to organize yourself and save money. But it has to be a mindset.
Yes, your life is not going to be as fun, I promise you, but you're saving up for a really, really good asset that's going to make you a ton of money in the long run.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: And listen, if Anybody wants to go through the process of buying a house, you obviously have to prove that you're a responsible adult. And this is part of being a responsible adult. Right. Being organized, making sure that you check everything where you're spending your money. You're going to have to make some adjustments. Maybe less restaurants, maybe less wine out, which is hard for me. I love my wine.
[00:02:43] Speaker B: Hey, me too.
[00:02:43] Speaker A: But yeah, absolutely.
And Tyler, are there any first time buyer programs or community resources that could make this step easier? You think?
[00:02:52] Speaker B: So you're talking about grants and down payment assistance, correct?
[00:02:54] Speaker A: Anything that will help somebody with saving their money or getting some assistance in order to pay the down payment and the closing costs.
[00:03:00] Speaker B: All right, so for the monthly budget. Yeah. There's a ton of resources.
You can go online and get an Excel spreadsheet. There's apps now that can help you. Unfortunately, I don't know the names of it. I'm an old school guy. I'm just an Excel spreadsheet type of research people. Yeah, exactly. And then there's also grants and also down payment assistance programs. But I also like to tell clients the difference between the two.
[00:03:20] Speaker A: Yes, please. That's important.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: Yep. Grants is free money. You don't have to pay those back. All right. Down payment assistance is a second lien held against the property for a certain amount of years. It depends on the product.
And what comes up with down payment assistance programs is if you go to refinance or sell your home when the time hasn't allocated enough for the loan to be forgivable, you have to pay that back in full. And a lot of times in my experience is that people forget they get those products and then they have a plan on the down payment that they're using equity on their house to buy another one. And then last minute we find out, hey, there's a second lien against the property.
[00:04:00] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:04:00] Speaker B: And then it cuts their cash to close, and then they're scrambling trying to find the rest of the money. Or I have to restructure the loan.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: Exactly. All right, so one big advice that we can give you all is make sure you do your research when you're getting a down payment assistance or you're getting a grant, make sure you understand the difference and what repercussions are going to be there when you want to sell this house that you're buying and then buy another one. Because typically your first home is going to be your bridge home. Right. It's going to be the home that you get to accumulate some equity and get some value. So that you can purchase your second home.
[00:04:30] Speaker B: Yeah, the big mack daddy house. The second home, the one that you.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: Actually wanted, or the third or fourth? I mean, we're getting there little by little. And Tyler, how do you coach clients who feel discouraged watching home prices rise after their first savings?
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Well, I, I always tell people, don't worry about that because if you have a house, your home price is rising as well too. But if you don't have a property, unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about it. Housing prices are just going to go up. You either got to save a little bit more money or get a creative way through the loan structure, maybe some seller concessions to go towards buying down your interest rate or something along those lines. So it's always really helpful to make sure that you have a good, really good real estate and lender team that can help you with those creative solutions to reduce your monthly payments or your cash to close and things of that sort.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: And that's a great subject that I would love to touch on with you because I know that right now, since we're going through a market that's shifting a little bit, it's still not a buyer's market, but it's starting to become one little by little. There are ways that the buyers can negotiate with the seller on getting cash to close so that they can save some money on their down payment. They can buy down their rate maybe so that the payment becomes a little bit less a month. Can you tell us a little bit about what you're seeing on the market right now regarding that?
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Yeah, so every one of my families are purchasing a house that I have as a transaction. They all have seller concessions because it is somewhat of a buyer's market. The data doesn't really say that it is.
[00:05:57] Speaker A: Yes, exactly.
[00:05:58] Speaker B: But yes, sellers are more inclined to help buyers out currently right now. So we can take anywhere from 3 to 6% of the purchase price, depending on the program, the loan to value and blah, blah, blah. And we can go and use that money and allocate it either towards a permanent rate buy down, a temporary 2:1 buy down, which is a little bit more riskier than a permanent rate buy down.
Or if you need money for closing, we can allocate all that money to your closing costs.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: Exactly. So we can get creative around it, Right?
[00:06:26] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:06:26] Speaker A: So you don't necessarily need to. If you're a buyer and you want to buy for the first time, you don't necessarily need to save all of the amount that you need, you can have some of it and Then if you get a good real estate agent, we can help you negotiate a little bit from the sellers so that they can go ahead and get a good deal. Correct.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: Yep. And I agree with that. A good real estate agent changes the scenario entirely because they know how to negotiate and get, you know, the client the better deal. If you work with somebody who's not experienced, like you or something along those lines, they're probably not even going to know to do that.
[00:06:59] Speaker A: Exactly, exactly.
[00:07:00] Speaker B: They're not going to coach you up on it.
[00:07:01] Speaker A: Okay. And what creative saving strategies have you seen families use that really worked?
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Creative saving strategies that really worked.
I mean, I. Refinancing cars.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: Yep. That's a good one.
[00:07:15] Speaker B: Yep. Yep. Consolidating debt into one credit card with a lower rate on it.
What else?
I mean, really, that's. That's about it. And then the personal budget and then just really looking at what you're spending on a daily basis.
[00:07:29] Speaker A: Perfect.
[00:07:29] Speaker B: And just changing, changing your spending habits. I think that's. That's the best thing and the easiest thing.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: Absolutely. And let's talk about car payments for a little bit because car payments people. I've seen a lot of buyers not qualify for a loan because of their car payments. Because, you know, when you.
I don't know, I'm going to make up numbers. You have a certain amount of money that comes in and 50% of that goes towards your car payments. Lenders do look at that. They are going to look at what you're spending monthly. So if you're thinking about buying a house and buying a car, what suggestions do you have for people out there so that the car payment doesn't jeopardize them being able to buy a house?
[00:08:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I would just keep your current car and buy the property first and then go purchase the vehicle afterwards. Because if you do it vice versa, I'm going to see that large monthly payment. Quick little story. Borrower came in, wanted to buy a certain house. He didn't qualify for a certain house because he had a $1200 truck payment and it didn't really. And he didn't have the income to hold both debts. So now he's got to wait. Refinance the car or we got to figure something out. A creative strategy to help.
[00:08:32] Speaker A: Exactly. Remember, lenders are going to look at everything to paint the big picture before they can approve a loan for you.
Another topic. I know a lot of buyers are concerned that they have to save so much money for the down payment. 20%, something like that. When you are a First home time. First time homebuyer. And you want to get your first home. What are the typical down payment percentages that you are seeing right now? Because I think there's a misconception with what the down payment is.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: For sure. Yeah. So Fannie and Freddie have a great product out there.
It's called home possible or homeready. They'll give you, they'll allow you to put 3% down of the purchase price and also give you a discount on the interest rate for that loan to value and a discount on the private mortgage insurance on that value. And that's a conventional loan through Fannie and Freddie. FHA has a minimum 3.5% down down payment and they have a flat rate with mortgage insurance. So it's not going to go up and down depending on your credit score and things of that sort. And then There is a USDA 100% financing, but you have to purchase in a certain area for that. And then also to within the city limits or certain neighborhoods. There are 100% financing, no PMI products.
But all these products I just spoke about, except for the FHA loan, they do have income limits on it. All right. So they are actually for the first time home buyer type individual.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: So before you all get scared about wanting to save for a down payment, what is the first thing that every single buyer should do so that they can prepare properly?
[00:10:05] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:10:05] Speaker A: Talk to a lender.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: Exactly. 100%. Yep.
[00:10:08] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:10:08] Speaker B: A lot of times they speak with realtors first because you guys have the keys to the house, obviously you guys are the fun part. And then I.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: It can be fun. Yes.
[00:10:17] Speaker B: Right. And then I go and, and they meet me and then they have expectations. Then I have to say, hey, this is what you have to accept, unfortunately, because this is where your financial situation puts you at. And then. Did you know the Christmas Carol, Right. Scrooge was a mortgage loan officer.
[00:10:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:32] Speaker B: Yeah. So last Christmas I was like, oh my God. I took after Scrooge. I was like, that's awful. But whatever.
[00:10:37] Speaker A: There you go. This was all amazing information.
Make sure that I tell my buyers this every single time when I talk to them from the beginning.
The first thing that you need to do if you are not going to buy cash, you need to speak to a lender. Because what important is the most, what person is the most appropriate person to talk to you other than the one that's actually going to give you the money? That's the person that needs to guide you. Not your uncle, not your cousin, not your mother in law, in a different state. Make sure that you speak to a lender. We're going to share Tyler's information to make sure that you can contact him. But if you have any questions, absolutely, please reach out because that is the best way to prepare to buy a house 100%, talk to a lender and team up with a good real estate agent. So we will be right back. And coming up, we'll tackle one of the most stressful parts of the journey, loan approval anxiety and how to overcome it. We'll see you in a bit. We'll be right back with more stories, strategies and inspiration to help you write your next home chapter. This is Home Story with Veronica on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Veronica Dinkerez and you're watching Home Story with Veronica on NOW Media Television. Let's jump back into today's conversation.
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I'm here with Tyler Lombardo, a loan officer who has guided so many people through the mortgage maze. In this segment, we're addressing something that keeps a lot of people up at night, loan approval anxiety. For many, it feels like they're being judged by invisible rules and it can be a scary step.
The challenge for viewers is that applying for a loan feels like a high stakes test where they don't know the rules and rejection feels personal.
Tyler, speaking of anxiety, when it comes to a loan approval, what is one of the things that you see that most buyers are struggling with right now with their loan approval process?
[00:13:32] Speaker B: It's the pre approval process and that's when we do all the heavy lifting up front. So there's two type of letters when you go out searching for a piece of property. There's the pre qualification letter and then the pre approval letter. Pre qualification is just an application and credit pull. And then the pre approval is when a loan officer actually reviews your pay stubs, your asset statements, anything you got going on with your financial situation and the biggest struggle I see people and is that other loan officers are not doing the correct pre approval process up front. They're not collecting the documents, they're not going through it, they're not meeting with the client and going over the loan options and things of that sort. And I feel like that's why a lot of people have anxiety going into this process because they don't know what's gonna happen next.
[00:14:16] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:14:17] Speaker B: And that's why it's so crucial to get with a good loan officer that takes the time to go through those documents up front and then also sits down, meets with you and goes over the mortgage process, the little details in your fees, what you're paying for, things of that sort, and then also to the little details in the loan program because every loan program is different and could cause some harm on the back end and things of that sort. So I think that's the biggest thing that people need to do is actually get pre approved up front. So if your loan officer is not collecting income and asset documents up front, huge red flag, go talk to somebody else because it's probably going to hurt you in the long run. On the back end of the transaction.
[00:14:55] Speaker A: Yes, it is definitely not enough for you to tell them how much you're making and how much you have in your bank account. The loan officer actually needs to see that information so that you have a solid pre approval. Because then what happens is they just give you one and you go and put an offer on a house, you put a deposit down and then the lender requests all of these documents and when you send them over, they say, oops, we're not going to be able to approve you.
So now you're in a position where you lost, you know, maybe a few thousand dollars on the deposit and things like that. So make sure that when you talk to a lender before you put an offer in, you truly have a thorough pre approval where your lender has checked all of your documentation to make sure that you're good to go. Is that accurate?
[00:15:33] Speaker B: Quick story. This happened to me the other day.
A realtor referred somebody in her firm over to me to save this because she went to a loan. The loan officer they chose to use didn't collect the documents up front. And the person stated he works 40 hours per week, but when he got the pay stub, he doesn't work 40 hours per week. So then it's considered variable income. I have to average it over the past two years and obviously he did not qualify for it.
So we had to Go and find a creative way, refinance his car.
[00:16:03] Speaker A: So he was able to the car again.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: So he was able to go purchased the property and now we have the loan approval on and he's going to close in a week.
[00:16:11] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, I'm glad you were able to save that deal. That's why it's so important to work with a great loan officer. Okay. Now I know a lot of people worry about their credit score when it comes to loan approval. So how much power does a credit score have and what can people do if their credit score is not perfect yet?
[00:16:27] Speaker B: The credit score is everything. The credit score determines the loan program you qualify for, the interest rate you're going to have and many, many other things.
So yes, make sure you look at your credit score monthly. Make sure you are on time with everything. If there's any medical elections or anything of that sort, make sure you pay them off.
And then also too don't overspend on your credit cards. Keep it at 30% of whatever the credit card limit is because after that that's when you start getting your credit score TV getting dinged. So it's simple but it's, you know, you gotta be disciplined with it.
[00:17:06] Speaker A: And what are some quick fixes or steps that someone can take before applying?
[00:17:11] Speaker B: So I always tell people this.
Six to 12 months before you want to purchase a house, talk to a loan officer. Majority of loan officers do have the ability to do a soft credit pull nowadays. So and it's just like, hey, here's your credit score, here's what you're doing. Hey, it's not the best. Here's a plan. Do X. Yeah and Z to get you where you need to go. Also savings too. Hey, your down payment closing cost is going to be X, Y and Z. And then I go over kind of the budgeting things that I went over earlier.
[00:17:37] Speaker A: Perfect.
[00:17:37] Speaker B: So the earlier you get pre approved or speak with a lender, the better in my opinion. It's never, you know, too soon or too late to talk to a loan officer.
[00:17:46] Speaker A: Awesome. And tell us about because I'm sure you hear about a lot of myths about getting pre approved or approved for a loan or what are some of the things that you hear about that are actually not very accurate and how do you debunk those myths?
[00:18:00] Speaker B: Being a co authorizer on a credit card, it does not help your credit.
Especially if the person who actually has the credit card doesn't keep to the 30% limit, it's going to hurt you because a lot of first time home Buyers or people purchasing their property for the first time, they're like oh yeah, my mom and dad put me on their credit cards. Da da da. I'm like, well your credit score is, you know, not where it needs to be. And they're like, oh, why? I'm like, because you're co authorizing this credit card. The limit's maxed out. Get off that. Stop it. Open up a secured credit card.
You know, Experian Boost can put your rent on your credit report and your utilities and things of that sort. So there's a bunch of different things I can help you with.
[00:18:39] Speaker A: Is that the same when somebody's co signing a lease for somebody else or they're co signing a car or anything like that?
[00:18:45] Speaker B: Anybody co sign anything for everybody? I've also had people purchasing a house and then that their this is a true story. Their daughter actually moved out of the apartment and didn't tell her parents and she stopped paying for it.
[00:18:57] Speaker A: Oh no.
[00:18:58] Speaker B: So when they went to go purchase the property, the, the father had a really bad credit score and I was like, hey, you know, you got this apartment agency apartment. He goes, that's my daughter's apartment I co signed for. I was like, well she hasn't made a payment in six months.
[00:19:11] Speaker A: Oh, that's not good. Even if it's your kids, people you just, you know.
[00:19:16] Speaker B: Yeah, right. Or at least mine. Monitor it.
Monitor to make sure Credit karma app, whatever apps there are out there, look at that stuff.
[00:19:24] Speaker A: Okay, yes, absolutely.
Listen again, if you get prepared with enough time, you are going to be able to get your ducks in a row to make sure that the approval process is not as anxiety driven.
So getting informed is another thing you will hear a lot of people talk about a lot of things. Oh, you need to do this and this and this again. Your uncle or your cousin or your mother in law or whoever. It's gonna give you a lot of information but you got to make sure that you talk to a professional about the things that you need to do.
[00:19:54] Speaker B: Can I hit on that too?
[00:19:55] Speaker A: Yes, please.
[00:19:55] Speaker B: That happened to me the other day.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: The stories are the best ones. That's why this is called home story.
[00:20:00] Speaker B: Gotcha. I love it. So client under contract. He wasn't happy.
Well, his co worker told him, hey, I'm going through the same loan program you are and my rate is so much lower than yours. Da da da da da.
So when the borrower called me and told me, hey, why is my, you know, terms of my loan so much worse than his? I go, okay, well, you know, is he purchasing or refinancing? He goes, oh, I don't know. I said, okay, so if he's, how much is his down payment? What's his loan to value? And I asked him all these questions. He goes, oh, I have no idea any of this. So I said, call your buddy back. Yeah, ask him all these questions.
[00:20:35] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:20:36] Speaker B: His friend was refinancing.
Half of his mortgage was paid off on his property. So he had 50 LTV, which you're going to get prime pricing in. And it was. This guy had 800 credit score. My client didn't have that. Da, da da, da, da da. So, yes, take what people say with a grain of salt because it may not match up with your financial situation. All right, and then all you're doing is causing problems for yourself at the end of the day.
[00:20:58] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: Ask questions, get the information you needed, and just don't assume that, you know, you're not getting a good deal on them on a mortgage.
[00:21:06] Speaker A: Yes. And I think from what I've seen with buyers is part of the anxiety is not knowing, is not being informed, is thinking that it's going to be one way and then it's a completely different way. I've had buyers who then freak out about after they go under contract, then they say, well, the lender is asking me all this information. Yes, that's part of the process. That's why you need to be informed from the beginning of what's going to happen because you'll get, if you can expand that process real quick on the pre approval. You only see certain things once you're under contract on a house. That's when the loan officers really dig a little bit deeper to make sure that you get your clear to close, which is the yay, we can celebrate. You're buying a house. Can you explain that process briefly?
[00:21:46] Speaker B: I'll tell you guys a secret. All right.
[00:21:48] Speaker A: Yeah, we love secrets.
[00:21:49] Speaker B: There is multiple reports that we pull, but we only pull the credit report up front because it's the cheapest. All right, so when you go under contract, there's two other reports that we pull that has more information about you.
[00:22:02] Speaker A: Than the actual credit report.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: So that's why there's some things that come up in the end. They're just so expensive for mortgage companies to pull that they're not going to do it because if they don't go under contract, they're out of the money. You know what I mean?
[00:22:13] Speaker A: So that's when you start asking all of the information about everything we see.
[00:22:19] Speaker B: You Have a business now. Hey. We see that you're attached to another property, like, we find everything out about you. There's nothing. You can't hide anything from us. That's why I always tell people this. Listen, I am your lawyer. Your attorney. Tell me the full story up front exactly, and I'll put a really good case together for you before we.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: So you don't get surprised.
[00:22:39] Speaker B: And the underwriter's the judge. And then I'll present the case that I want to to the underwriter.
[00:22:44] Speaker A: All right.
[00:22:44] Speaker B: But you gotta tell me everything up front if you have it from me.
[00:22:46] Speaker A: That's a trick. Now, I know a lot of you are gonna wanna talk to him. So how can they contact you whenever they want to prepare for a loan? Pre approval. Can they connect with you online? Or what's the best way to reach out to you?
[00:22:57] Speaker B: Well, you know, I'm an old soul, so.
[00:22:59] Speaker A: He is an old soul.
[00:23:00] Speaker B: Call the cell phone.
[00:23:01] Speaker A: What's your cell phone?
[00:23:02] Speaker B: 586-260-0307. You can also look me up on online. Tyler Lombardo, Cross Country Mortgage. I'll be the top person that shows up. Call the office line if you want.
Instagram. I guess I'll answer it, but I don't even know what my name is.
[00:23:19] Speaker A: He looks young, but his social media. Just call him.
[00:23:23] Speaker B: Yeah, just call him.
[00:23:23] Speaker A: Just give him a call.
[00:23:24] Speaker B: I don't even know what my Instagram handle is.
[00:23:26] Speaker A: Of course he doesn't.
He's my favorite lender, so definitely call him. And up next, we're going to shift to the emotional side of the process. What to do when buyers feel completely alone while making this huge decision. We'll be right back. We'll be right back with more stories, strategies and inspiration to help you write your next home chapter. This is Home Story with Veronica on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Veronica Dinguez, and you're watching Home Story with Veronica on NOW Media Television. Let's jump back into today's conversation.
Welcome back to Home Story. I'm here again with Tyler Lombardo. For many buyers, the home financing process feels isolating, like they're navigating one of life's biggest decisions without a guide. That feeling of being alone can make people, you know, the dream of homeownership seem even more intimidating.
The challenge for viewers here, Tyler, is that they feel unsupported, unsure if they can trust their lender, and afraid of making mistakes without any guidance.
Now, what do lenders, or what can someone expect from a trustworthy Mortgage advisor, really? When they're starting to talk to a loan officer.
[00:24:51] Speaker B: Yeah, and then I'll lead into that because something you said with opening this up really hit home with me. And it's.
Yes, it's scary. You're talking to people you don't know. It is actually the biggest probably investment in your life that you are probably committing to. It's a lot of money.
And then also too, the trustworthy part. And that's why you use the real estate agent or excuse me, use the lender that the real estate agent referred you over to. And the reason being is because they have experience with that individual and they know that they get the job done. All right. So they're just not trying to help a buddy out or anything of that sort. These guys hand select these people that they want to work with because they know they do a really, really good job. And also too, as a loan officer, she's my client as well too. I have to make sure that she's happy at the end of the day.
So she keeps referring me her amazing clients.
[00:25:39] Speaker A: And I'm a hard client. Please, I want to make sure my people are taken care of. And he really does exactly. He really does take care of my people.
[00:25:46] Speaker B: And what was the question again? Sorry about that. I want to hit on.
[00:25:48] Speaker A: No, that's fine. It's. What should they expect from a trustworthy mortgage advisor?
[00:25:52] Speaker B: Gotcha. So this is what I have always been taught. All right. And before the pandemic happened, a lot of times people met with their clients, did applications over the phone or even did applications in the office at the. Then the pandemic happened and then we all went super heavy online, which was a huge mistake for mortgage loan officers. So for a trustworthy loan officer, I believe to do a handwritten application over the phone, collect all the income and asset documents up front, review it, and then set up a in house meeting or at least a zoom meeting where I can share my screen with the client, things of that sort. And also too, we'll like, I always have a goal question up front. You know, I said, hey, you know, hey, why are you buying this house?
What's your story? What are your biggest concerns? What's most important to you? Things of that sort. So I know when I'm structuring your loan, I know what's best for you. All right? So if you just have somebody, hey, take this online application. Here's your max pre approval. Here you go, red flag. Go to somebody else because that's just, you're just going to be a number to them. They don't care.
[00:26:57] Speaker A: Exactly. And speaking about being a number to them, it's so important. What you just said, if a real estate agent is referring you to a lender, is because we know how they work. We know that they're good, we know that they follow the process, that they're going to answer any questions you have, because you're going to have a lot of questions that we are used to that we already know the answer to. So for us, it's just second nature. But when you come with those questions, we want to make sure you're working with a professional who's really going to take the time to explain everything to you so that you know what's happening. Don't just trust whatever anybody's saying. Make sure that you get informed and all the information. And like you said, you're not just a number to us. Right. You are somebody who's important for us because you are making probably the biggest purchase that you're gonna make in your life. We want to make sure that you're taken care of.
So that was my next question. How do you show clients that they're not just another number in your system?
[00:27:46] Speaker B: Okay, so up front, yes. That is how I do what I just went over. But after you close, you're not leaving me. I'm still going to reach out to you. All right? So I call you on your loan anniversary. I call you on your birthday, and then also, too, just if anything ever comes up, you know, like, rates are starting to decline a little bit. So anybody that, you know makes sense for them to refinance, I'm going to be reaching out to them. You know what I mean? And I also have client parties, appreciation things, things of that sort. So I know it's super cliche and cheesy to say to be your lender for life, but I really am. You're not gonna get away from me. I'm gonna call you. All right?
[00:28:23] Speaker A: And that's why I keep working with him. Yes. I have the same culture with my clients. I call them on their home anniversaries. I always check on them if there's anything that they can do that I can help them with. You're finding a partner for life, really. And somebody that's gonna be thinking of you when the rates go down, for example, and you can refinance. Who's gonna do that? Your uncle's not gonna do that. Right? That person or your cousin who was telling you about buying a house. And they're not gonna Call you and say, hey, you can refinance. You can save some money monthly. So make sure again, you're not just a number in the system. Exactly. That you're working with a true professional.
[00:28:55] Speaker B: And that's the best, too. When you call, you know, your past clients on their home anniversary, tell me what's been going, oh, my God, you had a kid. Oh, my gosh. Oh, this happened. That happened. Blah, blah, blah. And then they're like, hey, my cousin or this and that wants. Needs to buy a house. I gave them your phone number. Like, well, they haven't called me. You know, what's their phone number? I'll call them. And so now I'm get to working with their family members, friends, and all that stuff. So when I do run into them, you know, I have a lot more of a personal rapport with them than.
[00:29:21] Speaker A: What I did, you know, and I can also be a witness to. Another thing that you touched on is client events. We take care of our clients. We actually do Santa pictures for our clients. We did it last year, and we're gonna do it this year again. So we'll provide you the details later. But we offer. And it's, you know, it's. It's cheesy, but it's important, and it's beautiful because you create that connection with your clients, and they truly become friends and they become partners for life. So I absolutely love that about, you know, the level of service that Tyler provides, for sure.
[00:29:50] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:29:50] Speaker A: Yes. Now, Tyler, what are some signs that a buyer has found a partner who truly cares about the story? What are some of the things that you can say that maybe you do or your team does because you have some.
This man has an amazing team, biking, backing him up, helping us with all of our transactions. What are some of the things that you see that you say, okay, they truly care about my clients, or this is, you know, this is going to be a great transaction or a partnership for life.
[00:30:17] Speaker B: Yeah, no, I just. Maybe it's the stuff that we do behind the scenes.
You actually helped me out with this, and this was even your transaction.
Somebody didn't have, I don't know what, the best term to use but US Citizenship. They had the documentation for it, but unfortunately, he was a few days late of reapplying and things of that sort.
[00:30:40] Speaker A: Okay. Yep.
[00:30:41] Speaker B: So. So you. So I know you have some connections. So I called you, and you put me in touch with an immigration lawyer, and then I was able to have that immigration lawyer write me out this really full letter. Why you know he still has status here and things of that sort. And me and my team called some other people as well, too, before I reached out to you and things of that sort. So I think that shows how much we care. Because the real estate agent on that transaction said I'd never seen a team work so hard to get somebody closed before she goes. The other loan officers probably would have just canceled that transaction. But if I give you that pre approval letter and I give you my word, I'm gonna get that, that bad boy done. I'm gonna get that bad boy done.
[00:31:19] Speaker A: We're gonna go above and beyond for you.
Absolutely. I love that. Tyler, what's one piece of advice that you give to people who are too, even too nervous to even get this. The process started.
[00:31:32] Speaker B: So, yes, it's a liability, but it's also going to be your biggest wealth asset in your life. All right. Primary housing. And I don't know if people touch upon that with finances or financial advisors or what, but I forgot the statistic, and I don't want to quote it without remembering accurately, but the majority of America's wealth is in their primary property, in their equity, in their house. I do know this one. The average homeowner has $130,000 of equity sitting in that property. And you can leverage that as an asset to put a large down payment down on a bigger home or take that money out with a loan program for debt consolidation, remodeling, whatever you may need, pay off medical bills. I just help somebody with that.
So this is going to be your biggest asset, and this is going to help you in life with accumulating wealth. And I know a lot of people use will downsize. And the biggest part, people downsize not just because they don't need a big old house. It's because there's a lot of money in the house that they had for, you know, X amount of years. And they're living off that, off those proceeds as passive income per month.
[00:32:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:35] Speaker B: All right. So that's why you need to purchase a primary house. Buy whatever you can buy, doesn't matter if it's small, whatever, get in it, live it for a few years, sell it, buy another one, Buy another one. Move up, move up. You're going to be happy when you're at retirement age and you got a huge cash cow in a property to use as an asset.
[00:32:53] Speaker A: Buy dirt. They don't make it anymore. That's, you know, that's one of the things it's. Real estate historically has always given a positive return, even if we have one or two years that it goes down a little bit, it'll come back up. It's just, historically, people don't lose money by buying a house.
[00:33:09] Speaker B: Actually, in the last 50 years, housing prices have gone down seven times in the last 50 years, and the only time it was more than really 2% was during the financial crash of 2008. Yep, house prices went down quite a bit, but then five years later, they.
[00:33:26] Speaker A: Came right back up. Exactly, Exactly. So it's definitely going to be one of the smartest investments that you do. And overwhelming is not a bad thing. Overwhelming just means that you're learning that you're getting into this new theme or subject that you're not familiar with. That's why you team up with professionals like Tyler, like myself, as a real estate agent, to learn and to get your feet in the game. If not, you're just paying somebody else's dream.
[00:33:51] Speaker B: That's true. Yep. 100%.
[00:33:52] Speaker A: You're renting, and you're paying somebody else's equity, and they're accumulating all this value, and they're going to retire with it. And what. What do you got to show for it?
[00:33:59] Speaker B: Yep, exactly. I heard this statistic, too, that through somebody's lifetime, they pay over $300,000 in rent.
[00:34:06] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. I paid rent for a little bit, and I was not happy.
Listen, our first home that we bought. Home story with Veronica. Right. Our home that we bought was a mess. We bought it for very cheap. We had to actually clean it for about two weeks before we could.
That's what we could afford at that time. And now we love it. We have fixed it up, it's renovated, it has gone in value, I think, 50%.
[00:34:32] Speaker B: That's amazing.
[00:34:33] Speaker A: From when we bought it. And we only bought it five years ago.
[00:34:35] Speaker B: Right.
[00:34:36] Speaker A: So now we got the equity out of that house, and we purchased another home that we are renting on Airbnb in Florida. So, again, there you go.
[00:34:43] Speaker B: You get to use that asset to help you accumulate even more wealth.
[00:34:47] Speaker A: Exactly. Exactly. And making sure, again, that you talk to a professional that truly cares about what your success is going to be with buying a home. It's truly important because they will guide you through it, they will give you advice. They will tell you when it's a good time to refinance. They will tell you when it's a good time to use your equity to do something else. So I think it's really important, and this is such an important subject for I think everybody that's going to be watching this.
What's one thing you would love to tell people who are too scared to start the process, but they've been thinking.
[00:35:20] Speaker B: About it for a long time, I think. I mean, just from my own experience, how much equity I have in my primary home.
Just. Just do it. The water's warm.
[00:35:30] Speaker A: Just do it.
[00:35:30] Speaker B: Drink the Kool Aid.
It's going to be the best decision you ever made in your life within, you know, two to five years. When you accumulate some equity into your property and you're like, oh, my gosh, I have over $100,000 sitting in this house. That's one of my favorite questions asked past clients.
[00:35:45] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:35:45] Speaker B: Hey, you have $155,000. I love equity in your house. Did you ever think you would have $155,000? And everybody says, no, I wouldn't. And I'm like, well, not.
[00:35:55] Speaker A: I love equity.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: Yep, exactly.
[00:35:57] Speaker A: Equity is the best thing. All right, we'll be right back. And on our final segment, we're gonna take a step back and we're gonna look at the story behind the numbers. How your personal journey matters just as much as the paperwork. We'll be right back. We'll be right back with more stories, strategies, and inspiration to help you write your next home chapter. This is Home Story with Veronica on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Veronica Dicz, and you're watching Home Story with Veronica on NOW Media Television. Let's jump back into today's conversation.
Welcome back to Home Story.
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From business and breaking news to lifestyle, culture, and everything in between, now media TV is streaming 24. 7. Ready whenever you are. For our closing segment. I want to look beyond the paperwork and the numbers. Behind every mortgage is a personal story, a dream of security, family, and a place to belong. Tyler, you've built your career on connecting those stories with the right financial path. The challenge for viewers is that home financing feels cold and mathematical sometimes, leaving them worrying that their personal journey doesn't matter.
Now, how do you connect a client's personal dream with the mortgage that you recommend for them?
[00:37:52] Speaker B: Gotcha. Yeah. And I think it's as simple as asking them, hey, tell me your story. Why are you buying a house?
What's important to you? This and that. And just asking them some upfront questions before you get into the numbers and the cold part of the mortgage process and collecting all the data information and all that stuff.
[00:38:10] Speaker A: Right. And why is it important for you? What kind of questions do you ask besides all the numbers and everything? Like, is this going to be your first time home? Is this going to be a home for your parents? What kind of questions do you have?
[00:38:20] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So essentially when I said, hey, tell me your story and tell me your why, and honestly, the client just kind of answers everything I need to know. And if they don't, then I go in, hey, first time home buyer, are you a veteran?
You know, where are you looking to buy? So I know maybe if they got a cool loan program over there or anything of that sort. So yeah, a lot of times I just ask open ended questions.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:38:42] Speaker B: They just kind of tell me everything.
[00:38:44] Speaker A: Tell you your story. Absolutely. And why do you think understanding the why is so important? Because transactions can get really complicated. Complicated. Sometimes we can have obstacles, we can have repair requests, we can have a horrible inspection report. We sometimes the lenders ask us to send a structural engineer to make sure that the house is not falling apart. That happened to me.
[00:39:04] Speaker B: Yeah, I was gonna say. Yeah, that's hit home for you a little bit.
[00:39:06] Speaker A: That hit home for me. Absolutely. So, you know, things are gonna happen in some transactions can get complicated. Some of them are gonna be very smooth, others are gonna have obstacles. And I think having the why from the home buyer is very important because it can really help us guide them through those obstacles in looking at the bigger picture later on. Because this is a long term thing, Right. That they're acquiring.
So what are some of the things or maybe a personal story that you've been through from somebody who went through obstacles and their why mattered a lot and they got over it.
[00:39:38] Speaker B: Well, for sure. And also too, to hit some statistics, because I'm a math guy, is that 64% of home buyers have a horrible experience purchasing a home.
[00:39:47] Speaker A: 64.
Listen to that. 64% of home buyers had a horrible.
[00:39:53] Speaker B: Experience getting a mortgage.
[00:39:55] Speaker A: Wow, that's crazy.
[00:39:56] Speaker B: Or purchasing a property just in general.
[00:39:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Why do you think that happens?
[00:39:59] Speaker B: Well, they stated in the survey it was communication for the real estate agent and loan officer.
[00:40:04] Speaker A: All right, we take the blame.
[00:40:06] Speaker B: Yeah, right. So, and then also too, it was not hitting the closing dates on time. And why that matters because a lot of times People got moving trucks set up and outside expenses and all that. Then the third one is that the numbers didn't match up with the original quote.
And a lot of times stuff does happen, like you said. But it also may be a bait and switch tactic that another loan officer wanted to deal if you did get in front of you and things of that sort. So I always tell clients, hey, you have your right to mortgages. That's definitely okay. But if you have a loan officer texting you or sending you rates in an email, that's a huge red flag. Ask for a loan summary or a loan or an official loan estimate. All right. Because our systems write that down, people will not allow me to send out that information unless the data is accurate in the system. All right. We get hard stops if I try to. If the numbers are not accurate in there.
[00:41:00] Speaker A: So again, what do people need to ask to make sure that they're getting the right information?
[00:41:05] Speaker B: A loan summary or an official loan estimate. If you go under contract, if you get rates or pricing in an email, don't go with that person because he's probably not telling the whole truth and he's doing a bait and switch tactic.
[00:41:19] Speaker A: And that it's not a surprise you want when you're buying a house.
[00:41:21] Speaker B: No, definitely not.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: Want to be told one thing and then it's a completely different thing.
[00:41:25] Speaker B: Five days before. Five days before your closing, hey, your closing cost went up $3,000. Because there was actually points associated with that interest rate. And one thing I typically do, if somebody did leave me for another mortgage loan officer, I do call them where their closing date is, and I ask them, hey, everything that loan officer promised you up front, did they. Did they hit on it? And rarely does somebody tell me that they did. Like, yeah, no, it was a lot more expensive than what they told me up front. Or, you know, they were super communicated up front. But then after, you know, they won my business over, I couldn't get ahold of them, things of that sort. So just be careful who you choose.
[00:42:01] Speaker A: Absolutely. And can you share a story when knowing a client's personal situation or their story changed the strategy of the loan?
[00:42:11] Speaker B: Well, I don't know if it changed the strategy of the loan, but something that I enjoy, because you never expect it.
You walk into a closing, they're signing the paperwork, and then all of a sudden they start breaking down in tears, and you're kind of like, whoa, what's going on? And then they look at you and they're like, this has been a dream of mine. For so much. Or they tell more of a story of like, yeah, you know, we had two families living in the house. It was crowded.
It's so amazing that we're able to purchase a house and then also to, you know, help the other family. Family get an RV on the house or whatever. The situation for that scenario was one of my first loans I ever closed.
[00:42:49] Speaker A: Oh, that's awesome.
[00:42:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So it was him and his mom on the loan and just bawling their eyes out.
[00:42:55] Speaker A: And.
[00:42:57] Speaker B: It'S an amazing feeling to be like, wow, this really mattered. This mattered to these people tremendously. And I was a part of it.
[00:43:06] Speaker A: You are not just a number for us.
[00:43:08] Speaker B: I mean, that was 10 years ago. And I still remember. I can literally picture the individual. I know his name. I'm not gonna say it out loud, but yeah. So, yeah, so those things, we remember those. Those moments as well.
[00:43:17] Speaker A: We truly do. And we've been on the closing table together several times. And that feeling, it just. Every obstacle and everything that you may have to go through in order to get to that closing table. When you're at that closing table, it doesn't matter anymore. You've overcome it.
You bought your house. You now is gonna give you again. It's the long term picture. Right. Of what was that house going to do for you? And I've seen some people give up, unfortunately, you know, we can't control. Yes, we can control what people do, but it's just heartbreaking. When there was a way to do it, we actually had a transaction together that fell through because they required a second appraisal for $500. This person backed out of the deal and lost thousands.
[00:44:00] Speaker B: It was a flip property, and that.
[00:44:03] Speaker A: Was a horrible transaction. It lost thousands of dollars. And it broke my heart.
And I think they lost vision of their why, to be honest with you, why they were buying the house and what it was going to do for them later.
[00:44:15] Speaker B: And also too, like, going back to my why meeting with the loan officer is so important up front because I go through, hey, I go over everybody who's involved in the transaction, the appraiser, the home insurance, all that stuff, and I tell them about all the horrible things that could happen.
[00:44:32] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:44:32] Speaker B: So I think if you. You set expectations for the worse and then it's those things don't happen. Or if they do happen, they're like, oh, Tyler and Veronica told me that that may happen. Okay, I understand what they're going to do. And I tell them, hey, if the appraisal comes in lower than what the purchase contract is. Hey, this is what's going to happen. Me and Veronica are going to go and get comps and et cetera, et cetera. And don't worry about it. It's going to be okay.
[00:44:54] Speaker A: Be prepared. Yeah, be prepared. And we did. We actually. That happened to us and we increased the, the monthly rental amount. Remember the appraisal. Come in. We send. Yes. So anyways, there's many things that we do. Your story matters to us, I think, is the whole point of this whole thing that it's not just mathematical and it's not just cold.
It really does make a difference because we know that it's going to make a difference for them in the end.
Now, what's one thing that you want every buyer to know about being seen and heard in this process? How can they fight for their own rights and their own, you know, when they're going through something like this?
[00:45:29] Speaker B: I think ask a lot of questions.
There's AI now or the ChatGPT. I don't use it. But also.
Yeah, so type in, you know, at least, hey, what mortgage questions do I need to ask a mortgage loan officer while getting a loan? And you can start with that.
But also too, what you need to know is the most important things to me is, hey, what's my monthly payment? And are you comfortable with it? And hey, here's your cash to close numbers. Are you comfortable with it? And then if you're not comfortable with it, speak up, because I think there's. Sometimes people will say yes, and then they're not really comfortable with it, and then they all get kind of nervous afterwards and things of that sort. So we're here to help. Be truthful, be honest. If you're not comfortable with something, hey, why is that that way? Or hey, I don't want that monthly payment. Is there any way you can restructure this thing to have a lower monthly payment? Yes, it can, Mr. And Mrs. Borrower, let me get to work. Dah, dah, dah. But yeah, speak up. Ask questions.
And that's why I also like meeting with people too, because you can read their body language. You know what I mean?
[00:46:32] Speaker A: It's a different connection.
[00:46:32] Speaker B: Yeah, right, Exactly.
[00:46:33] Speaker A: It's a different connection.
[00:46:34] Speaker B: So if I see a little scowl on your face or not. Because usually people are excited.
[00:46:37] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:46:38] Speaker B: When they're going under contract. So if I see, you know, not a smile or anything of that stuff.
[00:46:42] Speaker A: Same here.
[00:46:43] Speaker B: I hate.
[00:46:43] Speaker A: I don't see what is happening.
[00:46:45] Speaker B: What's going on? Are you sure? Speak now. Forever hold your peace.
[00:46:48] Speaker A: Exactly. No question is a bad question when it comes to this. You gotta be informed, Tyler. This has incredible value.
Where can people follow up with your work and continue the conversation?
[00:47:01] Speaker B: Where can people follow up with me? Like, where they can find me?
[00:47:04] Speaker A: Yes, where can they find you? How can they contact you?
[00:47:06] Speaker B: So my cell phone, 586-260-0307.
My branch is up in Cornelius, North Carolina, 19625 West Catawba Avenue, Suite 202. Cornelius, North Carolina, 28031. You can drive up there and meet with me all the time, but cell phone, call me, text me. My email is team Lombardocm.com and then you'll have all the staff on there. My team does speak Spanish. I do not, unfortunately. I can basically say, hey, how you doing? Nice to meet you, da, da, da, da. But that's about all I got.
[00:47:38] Speaker A: Yes. No, his team will take care of your. Any Spanish needs. I can vouch for that 100%.
Now, Tyler, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and your compassion. Today you've reminded us that buying a home isn't just about dollars and cents. It's about dreams, family, and a sense of belonging as well.
[00:47:56] Speaker B: And money.
[00:47:57] Speaker A: And money.
Definitely. For our viewers, I hope you take away this truth that your story matters. Whether you're just beginning to save, battling loan approval nerves, or searching for the right advisor, you know that you don't have to go through it alone. Okay. This has been home story. I'm Veronica Dikez, and I look forward to uncovering more journeys of homeownership with you. Until next time. Remember, every home has a story, and yours is just waiting to be written. Thank you so much for watching.