Holiday Survival Guide for First-Time Homebuyers

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Jingle Bells and Juggling Bills: First-Time Homebuyer’s Holiday Survival Guide

Brian Vieaux, President & COO, FinLocker

We are officially entering the holiday season, and we totally get it – you want to enjoy the festivities without losing sight of the prize – getting yourself to a place of financial preparedness to buy a home. We’re here to keep you on track so you can navigate the holiday season while keeping your down payment and closing costs untouched – and maybe increased.

Let’s dive into some practical tips for balancing holiday expenses with your homebuying goals:

Create a Holiday Budget: First things first, set up a budget for gifts, attending events, and entertainment during the holidays. This will help you stay on track and avoid overspending. If you’re not already using one, download a free budgeting app to keep tabs on your expenses and ensure you don’t go overboard.

Gifts That Matter: If your family still loves to give gifts during the holidays, consider suggesting a contribution towards your down payment savings or closing costs. Ideally, you’ll be saving in a separate high-yield savings account. As interest rates are high, use this to your advantage. Research accounts that offer higher interest than regular savings accounts.

Mind Your Credit: While using your credit card for holiday shopping can be convenient, be cautious. High credit card balances will increase your credit utilization rate, which can negatively affect your credit score, especially if you can’t pay them off promptly. Stick to your budget and avoid racking up debt that you can’t manage. Keep your credit utilization rate below 30% to maintain a healthy credit score.

Leverage Your Credit Card: If you have a rewards credit card, take advantage of it. Many accounts enable you to earn points or cash back on holiday purchases. Just remember to stay within your budget and pay off your balances on time.

Stay Informed and Focused: Attend local seminars and webinars on homebuying to stay updated on the latest information. It will help you make informed decisions along your homebuying journey.

Find a Mortgage Advisor: It’s never too early to connect with a trusted mortgage advisor in your community. They can assess your current financial situation and advise you on the amount you should save for your down payment and closing costs. They can also inform you about potential down payment assistance programs that could speed up your path to homeownership.

Remember, it’s all about balance. Enjoy the holidays and create unforgettable memories, but don’t lose sight of your ultimate goal – owning your first home. With a little planning and discipline, you can have the best of both worlds. Happy holidays and happy house hunting!

I Pledge Allegiance to my Dreams

Michelle Young, Senior Advisor, America’s Homeowner Alliance

I live in an apartment. At holiday time, I look out my standard issue sliding glass door from my standard issue patio/deck at a sea of tacky, mis-matched Christmas lights that should look festive but only do after I’ve been to a holiday Happy Hour. I don’t hate it. But I don’t love it.

Neither do my neighbors. I know this is true. Because we are a community. We have the same dreams. To own a home. And to string lights on trees. Not apartment safety railings. The holidays are coming. Things are tight this year. Even more so since rates have moved – and the cost burden associated with achieving homeownership has increased with it.

Many of my neighbors are aspiring, first-time homebuyers. A few work as Loan Officer’s  – all struggling to make rent. Some are law enforcement – not struggling to make rent but unable to buy homes. I’m somewhere in between. Some months are better than others.

So, here’s the “expert advice” I’m giving myself that will allow me to hold it down during the holidays and stay on track to moving away from tacky, dis-ordered holiday lights. I am, afterall, an “expert”. In both mortgage banking and tacky lights. I take great pride in both.

Stick to the plan. That’s it. Stick to the plan. It’s about as sexy as a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. But it’s real talk. Tell friends and family what it is that you are attempting to achieve.  Your loved ones will understand.  Tell them that you are ecstatic to drink the nog and talk to the fruit cakes but that you will have to do this in accordance with the strategic objectives you have outlined for your life. Trust me. They will still serve you the nog. (No one needs more than one.) And the fruit cakes don’t have anyone else to talk to. You’re good.

This level of honesty with self and others is at the heart of accountability. Most of my (much younger) neighbors agree. They are riding into the holidays with a clearly articulated – and very loudly verbalized holiday plan. I am inspired and encouraged by their commitment.  I’m one of the “more mature” residents – in some form of “transition” and appreciate their more youthful energy. Many, recently married, had set up informal “down payment assistance” accounts to capture cash gifts in lieu of traditional wedding registry items to be used towards down payment and closing costs on a home purchase. Those accounts remain open and growing. And many have asked friends and family to contribute to these funds if they feel compelled to do so in lieu of traditional gifts.  The promise of future Christmases to come – hosted by the newlyweds in their new home.

This is where a shift from transaction management to more holistic advisory services can really make a difference in homeownership outcomes. Encouraging emails, texts and social media marketing messages can be incredibly beneficial for prospective homeowners post and pre-holiday season. And is a great way to remain visible and supportive while building the relationship, for little investment. The path to homeownership looks to be a much longer journey for many homeowners for the foreseeable future. It does for me.  Knowing you are here with me leaves me with hope!

Happy Holidays!

How First-Time Homebuyers Can Seek Valuable Advice from Family this Holiday Season

Jeremy Potter, Strategist and Advisor

One of the most common ways first-time homebuyers (FTHBs) navigate the process of buying their first home is by asking family for advice. When conducting market research on FTHBs, about half talk to their parents or family or have a real estate agent in the family they count on to answer questions about home buying. This results in varying degrees of information or misinformation. As we enter the Holiday Season, renters hoping to buy their first home in 2024 will have many opportunities to hear from family, friends and whoever else is around those holiday tables. Navigating family gatherings between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day can be as dicey as trying to maintain a diet and exercise routine.

This year, my advice to FTHBs is to create a plan that asks better questions and maybe, if you are lucky, leads to a gift that can be used to secure that new home.

Research conducted by Freddie Mac on the state of black homeownership in America states that the number one factor in preparing FTHBs for homeownership is whether their parents were homeowners. Understanding the importance and even some key information about a mortgage comes from seeing or hearing your parents discuss the process. For those renters, particularly renters of color, who may not have had parents who were homeowners, the Holidays offer an opportunity to talk to other family and family friends about homeownership.

The catch is – questions can be awkward to ask or, once asked, answered in a way that is no longer applicable to today’s modern market conditions.

Even still, the risk can be worth the reward. Learning about the experience of homeownership from those who have gone before is a great way to have a conversation about all things financial (and probably A LOT about personal choices, which can be insightful into good stories). The conversation can also lead to understanding more about where support can come from. As everyone in the real estate and housing finance industries knows, FTHBs are increasingly getting support from family (usually parents), down payment assistance programs, and other sources of matching or grants, such as employers. Exploring questions about how friends and family navigated homeownership is a great way to know if there is support within your community. It starts with striking up the conversation.

Ask Better Questions

Sure, “Tell me about your first house” is the perfect opening line. We all love talking about ourselves (present company included). The key to navigating these Holiday gatherings is also having new and different conversations to explore new aspects of advice and support. Some of the questions that are specific to the process but also unlock aspects important to any FHTB today are:

How much did you put down on your first home? and Why? Today, FTHBs are putting down lower down payments. This is thanks, in part, to private mortgage insurance (PMI) that allows lenders to offer lower down payment loans (as low as 3% for many people nationwide), but this is also because our modern economy has made it harder and harder to build savings as a renter. Understanding savings opportunities or ways your family may have had a different experience will also open their eyes to how FTHBs today survive.

What advice would you give your 25-year-old self? This is always one of my favorite questions to learn from the experiences of others. This could provide FTHBs with some insight into the buying process, the mortgage process or simply those “gotcha” feelings in the first year of homeownership. My advice to my 25-year-old self is to resist the urge to buy unless you know you’ll be in the same place for more than 3 years. In most cases (outside of Boston and Miami, let’s say), it’s a losing proposition to buy a single-family home and then turn around and sell it in 3 years. The transactional costs with only a small amount of equity gained made it a tough one for our first home.

What is the thing you believe first-time home buyers don’t know and should know? This question will open up a two-way conversation about how much has changed (if anything) about buying a house or homeownership. One reason so many family members, like parents, are supporting FTHBs with financial contributions to the down payment is they recognize how much different and more difficult it is to afford a home today. Opening up space for this conversation may help friends and family see how the market and economy have changed (especially helpful when you ask for down payment gifts instead of tangible gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah, or your holiday of choice.

Be Ready With Thoughtful Answers

As the FTHBs navigate these questions and “new” (for many of us) conversations with friends & family, it will be important to be comfortable with your own outlook on homeownership. If parents or others are going to provide a generous gift or contribution, they’ll want to feel like it’s really going to help and be recognized. The more FTHBs can share the experience of renting, the difficulty bidding (and likely losing) on listings and the challenges of how much cash modern mortgage requires (even with low down payment programs), the more family members will see how valuable their relationship and support can be.

Avoid The Obvious Holiday Traps

Finally, it may take a financial or gift-giving strategy beyond asking better questions to show family members how committed you are to buying your first home. This DOES NOT mean skipping all the gifts for everyone else and then asking for money for a down payment. It does mean finding ways to manage travel costs and credit card bills throughout the holiday season. One difficult part of saving, especially during the holidays, is meeting expectations – yours and everyone else’s. Finding ways to tie these conversations to broader themes about gifts that last or have deeper meaning will help underscore a commitment to saving and homeownership. The holidays, like homeownership, are more about the people in our lives and meaningful experiences we share with those we love. Given that, you cannot go wrong investing in the people who love with time and gifts. Opening up these meaningful conversations will also help them invest with wisdom and perhaps more in your first home.

A Holiday Credit Song

Sue Buswell, Credit and Score Consultant

(Sing along to the Jungle Bells tune)
Dashing to the store
All shoppers outta my way
O’er my limit I go
Praying all the way
Sounds of registers ring
Lowering my score
What fun it is when inquiries ping
Need credit help galore!

Yep, that was my Christmas credit jingle last year, a tongue in cheek parody to help folks understand the impact of impulse Holiday shopping. But it’s like fruit cake it gets better with time.

As we head into the Holiday season this year, let’s dive into this little ditty and pull out some tips to help you and your borrowers avoid the credit Grinch.

If you are in the market for or currently approved for a home loan, you have likely been advised NO new debt.

What you may not realize are those inquiries for the % off credit card offerings at Holiday time could adversely impact your score by 5, 10 or 20 points.

Your loan approval pending closing was based on your debt load at the time of approval. That debt load ratio is at 43% – adding all that Holiday cheer to your credit cards could land you with a lump of coal vs your new home.

And going over your credit card limit? That utilization increase is a huge risk predictor, and will likely send your score to a cave at Mount Crumpit in Whoville.

Want to avoid the Holiday credit hangover? These 5 steps will get you and your borrower thru the season without spoiled eggnog.

1) No, the store clerk is not a credit expert. They are selling you a new card and merchandise to make money. New inquiries WILL impact your score.

Just say no to new accounts.

2) The average holiday tab is $1,000. Many spend much more. It will take a minimum of 5 months to pay off the $1,000 with extra payments. Adding that to an existing balance could add years to your payoff.

Make a spending budget with the next 6 months in mind. Do you really want to be paying for Christmas while you’re coloring Easter eggs?

3) Going over your existing credit limit even just a little bit will have big impacts on your score. Yes the credit card approved the charge. And when they report your new balance, your could see a 10-30 point score drop.

You would have to first pay off the over limit amount, then get those accounts back to around 50% of your limit to improve your score. Was that factored in the budget from step 2? If not, step away from that Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal.

4) Give yourself a Holiday present by halving what you planned to spend in step 2, and add that to your emergency fund or down payment fund.

Always pay yourself first.

5) Do the kids really need a new gadget, or would a debit card that’s geared to teach them about savings, spending and how to manage money and credit be a lifelong gift of financial literacy?

Check out selfsufficientkids.com for reviews and options.

Give the gift of empowerment and education to your future home buyers this season. They’ll return the favor with the gift of referrals and repeat business.

Guiding Borrowers Through Holiday Spending: A Resourceful Approach for Loan Officers

Ginger Bell, CEO & Founder, Edumarketing

In the heart of the festive season, where spending can easily get out of control, loan officers have a crucial role in guiding borrowers towards making smart financial decisions. It’s an opportunity to reinforce the importance of saving, especially for those looking to secure a mortgage in the near future. Here are some insightful strategies loan officers can employ to educate borrowers on spending and saving through the holidays.

Create Educational Videos and Blogs:
• Create a Video Series: As a loan officer, consider creating a video series on managing finances during the holidays. Topics could include budgeting tips, the importance of saving for a down payment, and smart credit card use.
• Write Informative Blogs: Crafting blogs that delve into how borrowers can ask for financial gifts towards their down payment or how to use credit wisely can be incredibly helpful. Share these blogs on your website and social media platforms to reach a wider audience.

Promote the Idea of Financial Gifts:
• Holiday Gift Contributions: Encourage borrowers to talk to family and friends about contributing to their down payment fund as a holiday gift. It’s a meaningful gift that brings them one step closer to homeownership.
• Gift Letter Template: Provide a template for a gift letter that borrowers can use to formally accept financial gifts towards their down payment.

Present Credit Management Workshops:
• Organize Workshops: Host workshops on credit management where borrowers can learn how to maintain or even improve their credit scores during the holiday spending spree.
• Guest Speakers: Invite financial advisors to speak at these workshops, providing professional advice on managing credit and saving efficiently.

Teach Smart Credit Card Use:
• Educate on Credit Utilization: Teach borrowers about credit utilization and how to keep it below 30% to avoid negatively impacting their credit score.
• Credit Card Rewards: Explain how borrowers can take advantage of credit card rewards for cash back or savings on future purchases, which can be put towards their down payment.

Offer Personal Consultations:
• Offer Consultations: Providing personal consultations can give borrowers the chance to ask questions and receive personalized advice on their financial situation.
• Budget Planning: Assist in creating a realistic budget that accounts for holiday spending, saving for a down payment, and maintaining a good credit score.

Incorporating these strategies into your service offerings not only empowers borrowers to make well-informed financial decisions but also fosters a deeper relationship of trust and reliability between you and your clients. Through educational content and personalized advice, you can guide your borrowers on a path of financial responsibility, aiding them in achieving their goal of homeownership amidst the cheer and challenges of the holiday season.

Growing Your Reach Through the Holidays

Mike Faraci, CEO & Founder, Red Button Media

The holiday season is a time of joy, celebration, and for some, a little financial stress. If you’re a mortgage professional, this festive time of year can offer you a unique opportunity to connect with potential customers and help them make their homeownership dreams come true.

Let’s explore 8 different pieces of holiday-themed video content to provide value to, and connect with, future homebuyers.

1. Ask for Gifts for Down Payment

The holiday season is the perfect time to ask for gifts from your family and friends. When creating video content, share your personal experiences or success stories of homebuyers who managed to boost their down payment fund with holiday contributions. Emphasize that these contributions can not only be used for a down payment on a home but can make a significant difference in achieving homeownership goals.

2. Using Credit Wisely

Discuss the importance of using credit wisely during the holidays. It’s easy to go overboard this time of year, and explaining the do’s and don’ts of maintaining and building a good credit score while indulging in holiday shopping could go a long way. Share tips like not exceeding your credit limit and avoiding maxed-out credit cards. Empower your viewers with practical advice on keeping their credit scores in good shape.

3. Sticking to a Holiday Budget

A key message in your video content strategy should be encouraging viewers to set a budget for holiday expenses. Share your insights on how to create a realistic budget for gifts and entertaining and, more importantly, how to stick to it. Offer tips for planning their holiday expenses, like making a list, checking it twice (sorry… couldn’t help myself), and prioritizing purchases to avoid unnecessary debt.

4. Resisting Black Friday and Cyber Monday Temptations

Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales can be tempting, but they’re also a potential pitfall for future homebuyers. Create videos that address the allure of these sales while emphasizing the importance of not getting carried away. Encourage viewers to think twice before making impulse purchases and taking on additional credit card debt.

5. Avoiding High Credit Utilization

High credit utilization can negatively impact credit scores. Explain the concept and potential consequences in your video content. Offer advice on responsible holiday shopping, such as spreading out purchases, taking advantage of sales without overextending credit limits, and prioritizing saving over spending.

6. Strategies to Keep DTI in Check

Educate your viewers about the significance of maintaining a healthy DTI ratio and provide strategies for doing so during the holiday season. You can suggest ways to increase income or reduce debt to keep the ratio in check.

7. Personal Touch and Real Stories

Share real stories and experiences of homebuyers who successfully navigated the holiday season while working toward their homeownership goals. Real-life success stories are relatable and can inspire your audience.

8. Customized Tips and Advice

Throughout your video content, provide tailored tips and advice that consider your viewers’ unique financial situations. Make it clear that you understand their challenges and are there to support them in their homeownership journey.

Holiday-themed video content can be a powerful tool for mortgage loan officers looking to connect with potential customers during a time of year where business typically dips.

By addressing common holiday financial challenges and offering practical solutions, you can build trust and help your audience stay on track with their long-term homeownership goals. When it comes time to buy, your viewers won’t forget who they trust, and you’ll be in prime position to help them achieve their homeownership dreams.

Deck the Halls Without Breaking the Bank: A Practical Approach to Holiday Financial Planning

Paul Gigliotti, CEO and Co-Founder of Axis 360LIFT

What better time to be budget-conscious and focus on your finances than the holidays? That statement is comparable to “I plan on losing 20lbs between November 21st and December 31st.” In all actuality, if you focus, concentrate, and hit your marks or goals during times considered to be impossible and can apply that same focus and concentration during the easy times, it will ensure you can hit your mark and achieve your goals. If you say to yourself during the holiday season, ” I am going to curb overeating and not devour Aunt Suzy’s entire pumpkin pie or every candy cane in the house, you will notice your body’s natural reaction toward eating a lot is controlled. Similarly, if you can contain spending, minimize debit spending, and use cash only during the holiday shopping madness and not fall prey to “you can’t pass this deal up” or “BOGO,” you have basically beat the system and won the marathon. You have trained your mind and Christmas spirit that you have a budget and won’t overspend on that budget. Overcoming obstacles during a time of challenge creates strength.

So, let’s get serious for a moment before we start decking the halls with Holly. I can offer two pieces of advice that I have also offered to family and friends. First, your credit score matters, and second, save your cash and contribute to your 401K (as much as possible). The better the credit, the better the finance, and the less you pay for your loan and that financing. Your credit score for major purchases such as a house is very important. On a mortgage note, the mid-credit score of the primary wage earner is what helps derive the interest rate. A mortgage company pulls what is called a tri-merge credit report. The three credit bureaus utilize independent algorithms (albeit outdated) to determine your credit scores. Those algorithms are based on many attributes, such as balance-to-limit ratio, the length of time a liability has been opened, and payment history. The balance-to-limit ratio is a significant component of your credit score, so the more you charge, the closer to your limit you get and the lower your credit score falls.

Also, remember that the more you charge on your credit card, the higher your payment, which takes away from utilizing cash for other expenses. It really becomes a vicious cycle that pulls you away from “Financial Freedom.” Paying cash is the best method during the holiday season. Remember, the holiday comes every year, so it’s an easy “event” to budget and plan for.

U.S. News-Money reported that nearly 42% of the nation will use credit cards to pay for the holidays, charging on average $1750 in debit with “plans” on paying off that debt over 6 months. If those stats align with your budget or even come close, consider an easier, less expensive, and interest-free plan. Save $100 a month in a separate savings account and have the $1500 saved by next year to spend on the holidays instead of pre-spending and charging.

This philosophy and mindset will support healthy spending for now and in the future. It directly correlates to my opening remarks about Aunt Suzie’s pumpkin pie. One slice during the holiday season will ensure a healthy attitude year-round, so come next year- one slice of pumpkin pie will be all the more savory and sweet.

Enjoy the present, but stay focused and realize the path to your goals. I am not suggesting that you not enjoy life, especially during the holidays, but make sure you have a balance. Stay on the path of homeownership, and who knows, in the next coming holiday season, you might be able to host at your new home!

Ho Ho How to Help Hopeful Homebuyers Build Financial Strength

Dan Smokoska, Founder of Loangendary Marketing

This is my favorite time of year. Between the family visits, happy kids and cooling weather, there’s a lot to enjoy during the holidays.
But that’s not the case for everybody — and in our world, I’m specifically talking about hopeful homebuyers who are trying to get through the gift-giving season without blowing their budget.

So, as experts in the mortgage industry, there are a few things we can do to help people enjoy these holidays AND stay on track toward their homeownership goals.

This isn’t the time for “contact me if you’re looking to buy a home before the new year” social posts or emails to your prospects. This is the time to build trust with them by showing them you’re not just out for a sale — you’re out to help them get where they want to go.

And that’s how you get the sale!

To help you get started, I’ve dropped four ideas for you to use in your marketing. The goal?

Stop them from scrolling to read your post

Click “open” on your email

DELIVER insightful and helpful information they can use to continue building their financial strength

Let’s get to them…

12 Days of Budgeting: You can use this as a social media or email series to connect with your audiences and prospects. Post one tip per day or send one email per day that tallies up to 12 total budgeting tips.

Walking in a Winter Budgetland: Help walk prospects through how to budget. Create an infographic of a winter wonderland where a path is cleared with different stops that highlight budgeting tips for the holidays. Or offer to take a call to help “walk them through” the best ways to budget or build their credit.

Ho Ho How to Save During the Holidays: With every passing day, consumers want to get their information through video. Shoot a few videos on your phone giving them really solid insights into ways to save (and why each tip matters to helping them buy a home).

I’m Dreaming of a Better Credit Score: Ask your audience if that’s what they’re really dreaming of this holiday season. And if so, you’ve got the path that can lead them there. Then post a few ways potential homebuyers can boost (or even hold steady) their credit score.

If any of these ideas can help you, start using them as soon as possible to start building trust and showing your expertise.

Happy Holidays!

Staying on Track With Your Financials Throughout The Holidays: Debunking The New Year’s Resolutions Myth

Jeffrey Walker, CEO of CredEvolv

The holiday season is upon us, a time of joy and reflection, but it can also be financially challenging for many; especially first-time homebuyers and those looking to manage credit and budgets. While it’s a common belief that the start of the new year is the perfect tie to get your financial affairs in order, let’s debunk this myth and explore why staying on track throughout the year is a far more effective approach.

It’s been ingrained in our DNA that a new year’s resolution will fix everything. The idea of starting fresh in the new year with resolutions is appealing, but studies show that 80% of these promises fail by February. Rather than relying on resolutions, it’s more effective to maintain your financial discipline year -round. As the saying goes, “if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.” Here’s one way to stay on track during the holidays:

1. Create a realistic holiday budget: Setting a budget for your holiday spending is crucial. Plan for gifts, decorations, and festive activities, but ensure it aligns with your financial goals.

2. Save Throughout the Year: Avoid the year-end financial crunch by saving a small portion of your income each month. This way, you won’t have to rely on credit or deplete your savings during the holidays.

3. Prioritize Your Goals: Whether it’s buying your first home or managing credit, stay focused on your long-term objectives. Use your holiday spending as tan opportunity to practice financial discipline.

4. Monitor Your Spending: Keep a close eye on your expenses through the holiday season. Use apps or spreadsheets to track your spending and make adjustment as needed.

According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton, only about 8% of people achieve their new year’s resolutions. Why wait for a specific date to get your finances in order when you can make consistent, small adjustments year-round?

Being financially responsible is an ongoing process. By staying on track throughout the holidays, you can protect your financial well-being, reduce stress, and work toward your goals without the need for reactive planning. The best time to take control of your finances is today, and by doing so you will be better equipped to navigate the holiday season and the new year.

Smart Holiday Spending: How Future Homebuyers Can Balance Joy With Their Financial Goals

Rob Chrane, CEO & Founder of Down Payment Resource

Holiday spending can quickly get away from us. Without a proper budget in place, we run the risk of racking up debt that could postpone future purchases, especially large ones like buying a home. Accountability is key, and below are a few steps that may help hopeful homebuyers enjoy the holidays without breaking the bank.

Designate Savings: It’s never too early to start planning for holiday spending. Take a look at past expenses, establish a budget, create a savings plan and be accountable. Separately, for those serious about homeownership, park the funds you plan to use for buying a home in a high yield savings account and let it work for you throughout the year. Keeping the savings separate may make you less likely to dip into the funds designated for home buying expenses.

It’s also a good idea to set a goal for having all of your shopping done early. Spreading out holiday spending allows consumers to comparison shop and take advantage of sales throughout the year, rather than making last minute impulse buys where they may have to spend more than intended.

Be Credit Conscious: It’s too easy to overspend during the holidays, which leaves consumers with lingering debt that can affect their ability to qualify for a home. According to NerdWallet’s 2023 Holiday Shopping Report, 31% of holiday shoppers who incurred credit card debt last holiday season still haven’t paid it off.

For anyone going into the holiday season with credit concerns, go ahead and schedule time to talk to a HUD-certified homeownership counselor. They can help with creating budgets and savings plans, optimizing credit scores and more. Even if you’re a year or two out from buying a home, connecting with a homeownership counselor now can get you on the right path to homeownership.

Down Payment Help Is Available: If going over budget is unavoidable, rather than worsening your credit or debt situation, there are over 2,200 homebuyer assistance programs available across the U.S. for eligible homebuyers that will help offset home buying costs. For future homebuyers, it’s more important to focus on debt-to-income ratios and credit scores to make sure they align with mortgage program requirements when the time comes to purchase.

Saving money during the holidays may seem impossible, but creating a budget and remaining accountable is key. And, homebuyers can always check to see if they’re eligible for down payment assistance, which may help take some pressure off holiday spending and get them on the fast track to homeownership. Bottomline, for every holiday spending decision you make, first compare the joy it will bring compared to the joy of spending the holidays in a home of your own.

Lending a Hand: The Gift of Giving Back This Holiday Season

Scott Schang, CEO of Find My Way Home

As the holiday season approaches, the world is alight with sparkling lights and the spirit of giving. However, amidst the celebrations, it’s crucial to remember that there are those around us who face challenges, often hidden behind the facade of holiday cheer.

This year, our referral partners are feeling the strain particularly due to the recent commission lawsuit. As loan officers, we have a unique opportunity to step up and make a difference.
This article delves into how we can spread hope and bring joy to others, proving that in giving, we receive much more.

Understanding the Pressure

Our referral partners, especially realtors, are navigating a tumultuous period. The lawsuit has not only added financial strain but also impacted their morale. As loan officers, we’re uniquely positioned to offer support. By doing so, we’re not just helping them; we’re strengthening our professional bonds and fostering a community spirit that goes beyond business.

The It’s Wonderful Life Strategy: A Beacon of Hope

The “It’s a Wonderful Life Strategy” is a blueprint for how we can be a beacon of hope during these trying times. At its core, it’s about taking action to help others, leading by example, and creating a ripple effect of goodwill in our communities. Here’s how we can implement this strategy:

Community Involvement: Organize local drives for food, toys, or clothing. These initiatives not only help those in need but also offer a platform for our referral partners to engage with the community positively.

Partner with a local charity, church, or organization and support their drive effort.

Partnering with Referral Partners: Involve our referral partners in these drives. Ask them if they want to help or if they have a preferred charity. This involvement can provide them a respite from their stress and rekindle their sense of purpose.

You will promote the drive in their “marketing farm” or even in their own neighborhood (if that’s not their marketing farm). This is about them as much as it is about the charity you support.

Simple Yet Effective Execution: The beauty of this strategy is in its simplicity. Organizing a drive is straightforward and inexpensive. We can use resources like heavy-duty paper bags that your local grocery store may donate, drive flyers from Canva, and QR codes to schedule pick up of the bags filled with donated items.

There are dozens of pre-made flyers on Canva. Add a letter to the back of the flyer that includes your information, your agent’s information, and the charity you support. Add a QR code to the flyer and ask the donor to choose a “pick up day” (one to two days max).

The donor will add their name and address to the calendar invite. They will get “reminders” of when to put the bag on their porch so you can pick it up, and you’ll need this information for the Post-Holiday Follow-Up.

Going the Extra Mile: During pickups, consider leaving handwritten thank notes, chocolates, or candy canes. These small gestures can have a profound impact on the morale of both donors and recipients.

Post-Holiday Follow-Up: After the holidays, send out thank you letters to all participants. Sharing the results of the drive not only provides closure but also a sense of collective achievement.

The Ripple Effect

By implementing the “It’s a Wonderful Life Strategy,” we create a ripple effect of goodwill. Helping others, especially during the holiday season, is not just an act of charity; it’s a powerful statement about the kind of community and world we want to live in. It’s about showing that despite the challenges, we can come together to make a difference.

A Message of Hope

As loan officers, we have the opportunity to be more than just financial advisors; we can be pillars of our communities. This holiday season, let’s embrace this role wholeheartedly. Let’s work hand in hand with our referral partners, not just to navigate the challenges they face but to build a stronger, more compassionate community.

In conclusion, the holiday season is a reminder that amidst our own celebrations, we should not forget those who are struggling.

The “It’s a Wonderful Life Strategy” is not just a plan of action; it’s a mindset. It’s a commitment to look beyond our immediate concerns and extend a helping hand to those in need. By doing so, we enrich our lives and those around us, truly embodying the spirit of the holidays.