Full Transcript is Below:
– Welcome to Home Run: Great Client Experiences, a podcast by NFM TV. I’m your host Gene DiPaula. Today, we have another great story. We welcome to the program, Pat Olujide. She is our happy client. Welcome Pat.
– Thank you. And we also have Loan Originator with NFM Lending Bruce Dorsey. Bruce, thanks for joining us.
– Thank you. You’re welcome. And finally we have Samuel Imoisili, he’s a realtor with Iron Valley Real Estate of Central Maryland, Samuel, thanks for joining us.
– Thank you for having me, sir, thank you. So let’s start with Pat. I want to get a little bit of background on your story. Tell us how you came to be looking to purchase a new home.
– OK, so I was living in a two-room apartment and I have two kids, a boy and a girl, 7 and 11 years old. So they started having an issue of privacy. So I said, OK, I think it’s high time for me to get something bigger. So I went out in search of a three room apartment. So the cheapest I got was $1,600 per month. And I know that my income will not be able to accommodate that. So I decided I was going to just remain where I am. and maybe I would have to share my room with my daughter and then my son, you know, will have the other room for himself. And then as I was speaking to a friend, he said, “Do you know that you can buy a house?” So I said, “No, I don’t think it’s something I can afford.” He said, “No, you can buy a house. All you need to do is, you know, apply for a loan and you follow all the procedures. And if you get approved and then you are good to go.” I said, “OK, why don’t I give it a try?” I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t know where to apply for a loan and all that.
– You and your family are originally from Nigeria, right? You’ve only been in the United States five years. Why did you move to the United States?
– Yeah, I’m from Nigeria and you know, my country is kind of a mess right now. The economy is bad, no jobs, and the condition is collapsing. So I needed to give my children kind of a better future.
– That’s incredible. And, and here you are five years later and you own a home in the United States. That’s pretty incredible, shows an incredible amount of strength and resilience. Samuel, when Pat came to you and said, “Hey, look, here’s my situation. I’m living in an apartment. I don’t really think I can afford a home.” You convinced her that it was a possibility. Tell me about that conversation with her. She said, “I. want to rent an apartment. I currently live in a two-bedroom.” While we were talking, I said, “Do you know you can actually buy a house? And then she said, “No, the cost of getting a house is huge. She doesn’t have that much money. I said, “I know a great guy that I can recommend you to.”
– So Bruce, you get the call from Samuel. And he says, “I have this client, Pat, and she you know, has been renting. She doesn’t really think she can afford a home.” I’m sure you get this call all the time. People think they can’t afford to purchase a home when they’re renting. But in actuality, a lot of times it may cost less to purchase a home. And I think that’s the situation that Pat found herself in. Tell me about that call you got from Samuel and what your next steps are.
– It really just starts with a conversation. You know, I do gather some information from the, from the realtors. They, you know, they send their information over to me about the client and the situation, but I, you know, I’d rather speak directly to the client themselves because I want to really assess what’s important to them, what their needs are. When I’m doing an application, it’s not just numbers. It’s goals. What do you want? What do you want for your future? Why do you want this house? What area do you want? What type of house? Those are all, you know, things that aren’t just analytical things. Obviously I do collect that information as well, but you know, we just want to, it just starts with a conversation and that’s what for every client.
– Is there something, is there anything specific you remember about Pat’s situation?. I know she said that, you know, she maybe was having, even when they went searching for a home, she was maybe having trouble finding something within her price range. Do you remember talking to her about like different loan program options, different down payment options and so forth?
– Yeah. So one of the challenges in the beginning… we were looking at homes and the price point was a little bit higher than, you know, what she qualified for without having to pay off a whole lot of other debts. And that meant, you know she could get the house at a higher price point, but that meant depleting her funds. And, you know, as a client, as a homeowner myself, as a parent, I mean, I’m a father of four boys. I understand that you don’t want to get into a house and deplete all your funds. You want to have some of that money available because things are going to come up. Even if they don’t, even if they don’t come, you still want that peace of mind. So I remember some challenges in the beginning on finding the correct house without having, you know, having her pay off all these debts and so forth and we took a look at one of the options. One was of course buying interest rate down a little bit lower. That helped. And there was a small credit card that, you know, paying off the small credit card, rather than paying off a large auto loan, you know, that meant, you know, that she would qualify for the house at the price point that she was really looking for.
– And so Samuel, getting back to you. Tell me about the home search process. You know, when, you know, like you, you knew Pat had a certain preapproval number, right? So you knew like what the most house she could afford is. So I’m guessing that kind of helps you hone in on a specific area or type of home, but you also have to consider what the client is comfortable paying too. Right? There’s a difference between what they’re pre-approved for and what they’re comfortable with. Tell us your approach to that and how you worked with Pat in that regard.
– In the case of Ms. Pat, we looked at some options. Initially she wanted a condo because that was where she was coming from. You know, she had like, okay, three bedroom flat is okay for me. We saw some options. And then when she says “OK we like it”, I say “Oh, it’s time to check with Mr. Bruce. Mr. Bruce will this work.”
– And Pat told me, actually, that you played a big part in the negotiation of the price on the home, that the owner was looking to sell. And so maybe there was like an initial offer that wasn’t accepted and you went back and negotiated the price.
– It’s a unique story that I love sharing. What happened on that day was I filled out two properties that I sent first to Mr. Bruce. And then he okayed one. And then unfortunately, when we saw the one that was OK with the lender, she didn’t like it. So we called it a day. And then luckily for us that evening, I got a call from the listing agent asking why we canceled. So I told him, I said, “Well, we have financial challenges.” In the course of our discussion, I asked him, I said, “OK, do you know what? Can you give me your best price? And then I can check with the lender. If he says it works, then we can go look at it. And then if it is fine, we can go look at it.” So he told me the figure. He came down $10,000. I said, “Well, this is good.” So I contacted Mr. Bruce and said, “Please, this property they listed and yet, you know, assessed to sell at this price. Can you please check again if this price will work and then if you did and you said it was good, we have to go see it.” And from the moment I opened the door and I got inside, I could, you know, read their body language that they loved the place. So you go ahead and you issue the pre-approval. The seller accepts the contract. So then tell me what happens then from your end.
– Once we go under contract on a house, you know, after reviewing the contract in detail and confirming any questions with the buyer’s agent, with Mr. Sam, then I will call the client. So I call Pat and, you know, I will review the process from here on out, you know, what the, what the steps are going to be, some updated information I’m going to need copies of. And I’m going to send that to the client, or Pat, in writing also. You know once we send out the initial documents that need to be, disclosures, that need to be signed, I do turn the file into my processing team. Now I am going to give my client an update every Tuesday on, you know, what’s going on with the file. We also, you know, as a company have automated updates as well to let the client know what’s going on. Where are we at? Has the appraisal been ordered? I mean, has the file being sent to the underwriting department. Are we approved and so forth, and those are great tools, but I want to take it a step farther and have that personal touch and reach out by phone every Tuesday. My team’s goal is not to do a transaction for a client. I’m looking for a lifelong relationship with the client.
– And Pat, you told me that working with Bruce and working with Samuel, the whole process was like magic. Tell me what that means?
– I never thought in my wildest imagination that I could buy a house in America and they made it so easy. And I’m so grateful. The kids, they are happy. They are happy with the house. Everybody has their own room now, and they’re so happy. They love it.
– And of course the happy ending to this is that now both of your kids have their own room. You, moved into your townhouse. You are paying less than you were paying in your rent, correct?
– Yes. I mean, I could not have asked for something better.
– Well, it’s just a wonderful story, a story of really the American dream, team working together to accomplish a goal. And, and then you did it and, and you’re in a better situation than you were even before. So, so thank you all. This has just been a great story. If you all are looking for a great loan originator, you have questions about buying a home. What can you afford getting pre-approved everything we talked about in this podcast, you’ll want to reach out to Bruce Dorsey. His number is 4 4 3 7 2 2 1 6 5 2 or BDorsey. That’s bdorsey@nfmlending.com. And if you’re looking to purchase a home, you want to go out and look at some homes. A great realtor is Samuel Imoisili, he’s with Iron Valley Real Estate of Central Maryland. His phone number is 379-4210 or Simoisili that’s S I M O I S I L i.realtor at gmail.com. Thank you all so much for joining us. This is a great story. I really am looking forward to sharing it with our audience. You’ve been listening to Home Run: Great Client Experiences, a podcast by NFM TV. Thank you so much for joining us. We’ll see you. Next time.
– Home Run: Great Client Experiences is a production that the NFM TV and NFM Inc. NFM Inc does business as NFM Lending, NMLS number 2 8 9 3, Bruce Dorsey’s NMLS number is 1 7 4 8 9 8. This podcast is for informational purposes. NFM lending is not affiliated with any real estate companies. You are entitled to shop around for the best lender and/or real estate company for you. The real estate agent is not a mortgage lender. Contact NFM Lending directly to learn more about their mortgage programs and your eligibility for such programs. The experiences of clients appearing on this podcast are individual experiences of those who have used our services. NFM Inc does not provide incentives for testimonials or reviews. NFM lending is not a credit repair company. You should consult with a credit repair company to determine what may be best for your individual needs. This is not a credit decision or commitment to lend. Eligibility is subject to completion of an application and verification of home ownership, occupancy, title, income, employment, credit, home value, collateral and underwriting requirements. NFM Inc is not affiliated with, or an agent or division of, a governmental agency or depository institution. Copyright 2021.