Sharon: Hello, everyone, this is Sharon Heller with Network in Action, and I'm here today with Julie Moffatt. Hi, Julie.
Julie: Hi Sharon, thanks for having me.
Sharon: Yeah, it's great to have you today. Julie is with Movement Mortgage and really looking forward to speaking with you today Julie. To start off, how long have you been in the lending industry?
Julie: Well, I've been in there for, feels like a long time when I say it out loud, for almost 20 years.
Sharon: That is a long time!
Julie: It doesn't feel like that long, but it really is getting to be a big number. I was actually a pilot and got laid off, and took a temp job at the old Countrywide and really liked it. So I just kept going with it, and 19 years later and still in it.
Sharon: Congratulations for the longevity. And other than liking it, what has kept you in the industry for so many years?
Julie: Well, I think that it's the fact that it is always changing. In this last 19, almost 20 years, so many things have changed. And I like the problem-solving aspect of it. I like to help people purchase homes for one reason or another, either just to live in, honestly, or to use it as an investment opportunity for lack of better terms.
Julie: It's really been interesting to me to learn how to grow your wealth for your family and for yourself. But real estate is an amazing investment here in Colorado specifically.
Sharon: Yeah, so from your lens and from your 20 years of experience, what tips would you have for someone who's looking to finance a home? And in this climate that we're in, in the housing market and the lending market, the way that it is, what guidance can you offer?
Julie: Well, I know this sounds very trite, but my very first tip would be to get pre-approved and be ready for the purchase. Be ready for the jump into the purchase market, because things right now are moving very quickly. And if you can't put your best foot forward, then you probably won't get the house that you're looking at. So in order to do that, you have to talk to a loan officer, obviously, talk to your realtor. But what you want to make sure is that you know how much you can qualify for.
Julie: You don't want to go out there and waste people's time, or your time, quite honestly, and not understand that that house, you may not be able to afford it. You won't be able to, but you don't know until you talk to a lending specialist or a loan officer. I think it's really important to do that and to take the steps or the tips that your loan officer offers you, in order to make sure that you're putting your best foot forward with your offers.
Sharon: And, you know, there's a lot of loan officers out there, do you have any tips for how people can find someone who's going to be a good fit for them? And what are some things that you think are important to ask and to look for?
Julie: I would say make sure that your personality fits with your loan officer. That's really important. If you like to communicate one way or another, make sure your loan officer likes you as well. Some people are super old school and like to do everything with a pen and paper. Others communicate better electronically or via text and things like that.
Julie: Communication is the key when you're buying a house with your realtor and with your loan officer. So you want someone that has a lot of, or you feel, that have a lot of integrity, and honesty, and is going to point you in the right direction. To me, that makes all the difference in the world. The integrity behind it is super important.
Sharon: Yeah, I completely agree. And in another conversation that we had, Julie, I know that one quality that you have is that you really believe in educating your clients. Can you share a little bit why you think education is so important, and people's questions are really answered and that people really are asking questions along the way?
Julie: Yes, I absolutely love when people ask questions. If someone doesn't ask a question, I almost feel like, or any questions throughout the whole period of time, I feel like they may or may not, you don't know if they understand or not.
I think it's very important because buying a home is a huge decision. It's a huge investment. And I want people to feel comfortable about it. It doesn't have to be scary. It shouldn't be scary because going through the process and the transaction, you want to feel comfortable with it. It doesn't need to be a scary experience and it doesn't need to be overly complicated. There's a lot of different pieces of information, but they're not overly complicated. And with your biggest investment, I want you to make sure that you understand it and feel comfortable with your decision. That helps a lot.
Sharon: Yeah, and I think you're the first loan officer I've ever heard say "it doesn't have to be complicated". I thought that was just a given.
Julie: You know, I watch people overly complicate the process and I watch people simplify it. It's me. I would just prefer the simple method. And I'll ask you a lot of questions up front to make sure that we have all the pieces of the pie together up front, versus waiting till the end. There should be no surprises at the end in a mortgage transaction. Everything should be all set by the time we are ready to close.
Sharon: Yeah, good. Good. That being said, I know that rates have been up and down over the last six months and it's been quite a dramatic situation on some days, I would say, people following those rates. Is it still a good time to refinance even now?
Julie: It really is. In my career, I never thought I would quote rates as low as I've been quoting lately. It's absolutely crazy. I know a lot of people have heard the Fed added half a point to the pricing of loans right now. Even with that, it is still worthwhile. So if you have a refinance this year, I would really recommend you talk to someone, me would be great, about refinancing.
Julie: On top of that, you know, think about possibly using your house as a financial instrument and you can roll some of your credit card or auto debt into your mortgage. Car loans are a little bit lower, but credit cards are running somewhere between like 10 percent and 22 percent. And a lot of us just don't pay attention to that. And recently, I even looked at my stuff and I was like, oh, my goodness, I need to swap them out a little bit.
Julie: But if you are able to use your home or your mortgage to help you increase your cash flow, I think it's a fantastic opportunity. You can use those savings in other directions, or you can use those savings to continue to pay down your mortgage. So really, it is still a fantastic time to refinance.
Julie: Rates have jumped a little bit, but by little, I mean, I truly mean a little bit. We hear "Oh, they've hit the lowest". Well, that just means they went down to severe lower than they were. So really right now, rates are kind of going like this. They're not going like this each day or each week, quite honestly. So we don't know what's going to happen in the future. But right now, things are still pretty darn good.
Sharon: Great, great tips from you today, Julie. So if someone wants to get in touch with you to see what kind of loan they can qualify for or talk to you about a reify, what's the best way for them to do that?
Julie: The best way is to give me a call or honestly shoot me a text on my phone number. It's 303-437 6730.
Sharon: Wonderful. Thank you so much for your time today. Great to talk to you.
Julie: Thanks for having me here. And I appreciate it.
All right.
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