Speaker 1: 0:30

My name is Glennon Gross. I work for Movement Mortgage. I am a loan officer there. The types of service that we provide is financing options for a plethora of home purchase situations. So residential purchase, commercial purchase, multi-unit mostly residential, first-time homebuyers or investors, veterans, anybody looking to buy a home, either as a first home or 15th home.

Speaker 2: 0:59

Love it. And then could you give me a brief history about yourself and how you got started in your industry and what led you to where you are today?

Speaker 1: 1:06

Sure, been in the industry since 2017. Been at Movement for three years. Transitioned from the restaurant industry industry, where I was in the restaurant industry for almost 20 years and just made that move for upward trajectory. It seemed like a natural transition. When I got married, I had to kind of choose between the restaurant business and my wife, and so I chose my wife and from there I just wanted to help people in a bigger scale. So, as opposed to giving them great service behind a bar or at a restaurant, decided to give them great service with home financing.

Speaker 2: 1:44

Absolutely yeah. I'd like to ask you what are some common misconceptions people have about the mortgage application process?

Speaker 1: 1:52

Sure. Several glaring misconceptions would be that you have to have 20% down, saved up and ready to go. You don't necessarily have to have that. You can have a little zero down. One of the other major misconceptions is that when you apply you're on some sort of timeline. I've got clients that have been looking for years, months even sometimes, and we work at the speed of you. So if you're ready to buy today, we'll set you up. If you're ready in six months or a year, it's more about a conversation and starting it. The application isn't scary, it's very easy to do and what it does is it allows us to kind of get under the hood and see where your finances are, and from there we can really figure out a plan of when you'll be ready to purchase.

Speaker 2: 2:42

Yeah, okay. And then how do interest rates affect loan approvals and how can borrowers navigate rate fluctuations?

Speaker 1: 2:51

Sure, the biggest thing to think about with rates is that you have to look at the micro, not the macro. So you know rates are going to go up and down. You're going to hear news, you know national news, things like that but you really need to focus on what you can afford. With my clients I always work backwards the interest rate is going to be the interest rate, the home price is going to be the home price. What the client needs to learn, or what the buyer wants to figure out, is what they can afford.

Speaker 1: 3:19

And so we always start with what's your monthly payment goals? Can you pay $2,000 a month? $3,000 a month? $4,000 a month? Less than that? What kind of funds do you have at your disposal If the interest rates go up that may change the home price? We're always going to kind of stay within that realm of a comfortable monthly payment Because, again, even if they can't afford the house with the interest rate that it's at, if prices go up or interest rates go up, we don't want them to necessarily be squeezed or feel uncomfortable. We want to be able to grow into that house comfortably and then, when interest rates do come down, they'll pay less for that house.

Speaker 2: 4:00

You know, the refinance game will also come into play. Yeah, yeah, I know that's so true. I'd like to ask you what the transition was like for you from being in the restaurant industry to now going into the loan industry. Was that easy? Did you have a mentor? How did that?

Speaker 1: 4:08

happen. Yeah, I had a mentor Throughout my career. I've worked in several different companies that have been really great for my trajectory into the marketplace. It's definitely a steep learning curve. You kind of have to dive in, just like in real estate. For realtors and real estate agents the dropout rate is high, the attrition rate is low, so getting in and staying in is really tough.

Speaker 1: 4:38

Passing the test, you know, getting licensed and all that is a challenge. And then there's also continuing education. You always get better. There's always new programs, there's new guidelines, there's new. You know Fannie and Freddie come out with new restrictions or new updates. There's always a change. So you just got to kind of sharpen your tools constantly. You know I love that about this business is that I'm always learning. There's always new things to get better at. There's always new challenges, very much like the restaurant industry. Every day is very different. There's no mundane, you know you're always getting a phone call. It's like, oh, I never heard that before, so it's fun. But yeah, that's a good question. It's a challenge. It always has been. I think it always will be. But you know, I think that myself and those that are doing well in the industry rise to that challenge.

Speaker 2: 5:25

Yeah, absolutely, and what have been some challenges for you that you've overcome or that you've learned from, that you could share with us?

Speaker 1: 5:31

Sure, the market has been tough the last two to three years. Let's say, interest rates hitting 7%, 8%, inventory going down, because a bunch of people have low interest rates now and they don't want to sell. So you have several different challenges. For me personally, again, it comes down to that individual conversation really getting into what that person's needs, desires, what their goals are and really trying to accomplish that. The conversations are harder.

Speaker 1: 6:02

The sales cycle is longer now. It's not just like hey, I want to buy a house, let's buy today, let's buy tomorrow. There's some buildup to it. There's a lot more education involved to really make sure that people are understanding what they're buying, understanding that they can afford it and how to afford it, really getting into the nuance of programs, making sure that the right program fits the right person for that time. But it's fun. Again, the challenge is make it more fun. So it has been a challenging couple of years. I'm really excited about 2025. I think it's going to be a great year for home buying and really want to get out there and just educate people about it?

Speaker 2: 6:39

Yeah, no, I love it. And for your team, do you have like a whole team? Is it just you?

Speaker 1: 6:45

Yep. So I have two assistants. They kind of help throughout the process so that we call it, you know, no man left behind or no person left behind, no one falls through the cracks, so that that way there's always somebody that you can talk to. I've got Karen and Lydia who helped me with both application, through processing, through closing, just to make sure that there's always somebody. So if I'm doing something like this and the phone rings, somebody can still get it and make sure that they're taken care of.

Speaker 2: 7:11

Absolutely. And as far as marketing goes, are you avid on social media? Are you going to social networks or team networks in your industry? How does that work? Like, how are you getting your name out there?

Speaker 1: 7:24

Maybe start my own podcast, kind of exploring those options as well. Yeah, yeah, we'll see how it goes Exploring that. Getting into social media more I do have a social media, you know Instagram, mostly Facebook. Looking at Twitter, and some things like that or X or whatever you call it, yeah, whatever that thing is. So, yeah, looking into some stuff, doing a rebrand currently actually. So I have a new logo coming out, probably first quarter this year, and doing some stuff with that. So, yeah, I'm in a full scale social media, you know, revitalization.

Speaker 2: 8:07

I'd say so what made you want to rebrand, or what? What came about with that change?

Speaker 1: 8:11

Uh, it wasn't. It's not even really a rebrand so much, as it's just an update to what my brand has kind of become, you know more, just kind of allowing it to turn into something, um, taking advice from great people like you guys and other people in that kind of sphere.

Speaker 2: 8:28

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:30

And just kind of give a voice to the face and tell the story. I guess that's right. So I think it's just one of those things you have to do these days. Yes, you can't really avoid it anymore. Yeah, I know as much as I would love to just disappear and have things come in and talk on the phone, but you have to be out there, you have to be face forward.

Speaker 2: 8:49

Yes, that is so true. What advice do you have for first-time homebuyers who are new to the mortgage process?

Speaker 1: 8:58

Good question. So the first advice that I would have, first advice that I would give that I tell everybody, is that if you're a first-time home buyer, the likelihood that this is your forever home is pretty close to zero. No one buys their first house and stays in it for 100 years.

Speaker 2: 9:15

That is true.

Speaker 1: 9:16

So getting in is the most important thing. You're never going to find the perfect house. You're just looking for things that check as many of the boxes for you as possible. Most people are only in their first house for three to five years. So even though we're doing a 30-year loan, we usually just do a three to five-year projection to show them what saves them the most amount of money in that time. Not necessarily for 30 years Because, again, even if you stay in that house for 30 years, you're probably not staying in that mortgage for 30 years.

Speaker 1: 9:44

Most people refinance, sell or adjust their mortgage within the first 10 years. So again, it's just about knowing what you're trying to do. First-time homebuyers, you're really just trying to get in. You're trying to find out if you like home ownership. I tell my clients that buying your first home means you're your first landlord, you're your first renter. So you have to figure out if you like doing all the things that a landlord would have to do. You know if real estate is something that you enjoy. You know, and usually people do, and they enjoy the fact that they're building equity and everything and the fact that they can scale that first house into the second house, second house into the third house or whatever it doesn't finally end up in that forever home.

Speaker 2: 10:20

Yeah, no for sure. Like you think about that, because usually when I think about buying your first home I'm like, oh, that's the house you're going to live in forever. But I don't stop to think that sometimes maybe you're only going to be there for two, three years. You're going to move job opportunities.

Speaker 1: 10:33

Yeah, and it's super easy. When you're looking on Redfin or Zillow and you're window shopping, you're like, oh, this house is amazing, this is beautiful, I can see our kids growing up there, or this or that happens. You know, you, you, you. First of all, you get what you afford the first time. You get what makes sense to you financially and you build from there. You know, and most of the time what happens is a life event. I get a new job, I have a kid, I get married, I I change careers, I switch locations. All of a sudden traffic is bad or you know whatever it is that motivates you. But every three to five years, somebody has a life event that changes the trajectory of those things.

Speaker 2: 11:09

That's so true Especially around this area right.

Speaker 1: 11:12

Oh yeah, it's a fast moving area. Sometimes it's even faster here. You know, I have clients that bought a year and a half ago that are looking again.

Speaker 2: 11:18

Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 1: 11:18

A year and a half Okay. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 11:20

All right, let's see. Can you walk us through the different types of loans available and how borrowers can decide which one is best?

Speaker 1: 11:29

Sure, four major categories. You've got conventional loans, government loans, which are FHA, or VA loans USDA as well Not as big in this area because it's not very rural and then you've got non-conventional loans, which are jumbo loans, dscr, investor loans, things like that. Most people are going to fall into the conventional FHA landscape. Va is for veterans. I do a lot of those with my connection to the veteran service community but primarily first-time homebuyers especially, or most homebuyersyers, are going to fall into conventional or FHA and those are just based off of guideline differences. Fha leans more towards first-time homebuyers because it is a little bit looser as far as down payment, credit score, qualifications and income, so your debt-to-income ratio can be a little higher with that and things like that.

Speaker 2: 12:27

When pursuing which program makes the most sense for you, yeah, and what is the process like when you're getting a loan? What all information do you need? How do you get started? Is this something people can do on their own, or is it better if you go to a professional?

Speaker 1: 12:41

I definitely would go to a professional. They have mortgage calculators out there. There's ways that you can. You know they have mortgage calculators out there. There's ways that you can we do provide some information for people to kind of get a broad spectrum view of what they can kind of start to budget or calculate. But I definitely would again, you know, I use the analogy of a car, like you know, if a car, if you want to buy a car, you want to look under the hood.

Speaker 1: 13:01

Yeah, and you want to make sure the engine works, and so that's what we do. We look under the hood and we make sure that all the finances make sense, there's nothing that's going to hang up. You know, we check again. Got to go back to four things, but four major things. We look at income, assets, employment and credit. So those are the four things that we really check to make sure that there's nothing that's going to hang up. Guidelines are the rules, so each program has its guidelines and we just look to make sure that you can check all the boxes so that the guidelines will go through and that you'll be approved for the loan.

Speaker 2: 13:32

Yeah, and then how can people make sure that they're, I guess, up to date, or what is the best qualifying factors for their guidelines to be approved or checked, or make sure that they're a great candidate? What do you recommend for people to prepare?

Speaker 1: 13:49

Yeah, I mean again.

Speaker 1: 13:50

I would say just hop on a quick phone call with a lender, with a trusted With you, glenn With me preferably, but any you know any trusted mortgage professional should be able to give you guidance in the right direction and then from there you know it's. You know I'm not for everybody, but you know, if you want to talk to me I'd love it. Have that conversation. I always love to give guidance and get people set up for success. You know, one of the things that we do that is relatively new to the market I mean, a lot of people are starting to do it now is we do a soft credit pull, so there's no credit.

Speaker 1: 14:19

Hard credit inquiry. It gives us a little bit more into it without having to go all the way in and you're committing to it. You can go in and just kind of say, all right, we're going to do a soft credit check. We're going to look and see here's some things that you may want to work on. Here's where your debt to income ratio could be. Here's where you are now and then, if this is what you're trying to buy, here's what you could be in six months a year. Things like that Really set people up for a player for success.

Speaker 2: 14:44

Yeah, absolutely. And. And then, what do you like to do on your free time, when you're not there helping people with their loans and mortgages? What do you like to do to relax and just unwind with?

Speaker 1: 14:53

Well, I work a lot, so I don't have a lot of time for that.

Speaker 2: 14:55

Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 1: 14:56

Part of my relaxation, I guess, is more work. So I'm heavily involved in my community. I coach volleyball, I play volleyball. I enjoy that. I enjoy time with my wife and my dog. We like to walk and hike and do a lot of things like that travel.

Speaker 1: 15:13

I set up a. We're looking to turn into a 501c3. It's called Cigars and Stoics. It is a community. We call it creating community through meaningful conversations, and so we're really trying to build awareness of mental health in the area.

Speaker 1: 15:29

Again, it's been a challenging couple of years for many people, not just in our field but in other fields as well, and so we're looking to be a light, a beacon, to help people get through it. You know, together and learn through stoicism actually how they can take control of their lives and improve themselves to get through. So that's something that's a big passion project of mine, something I'm working really hard on. And then I also have a networking group that I set up about a year ago called Topgolf Office Hours. So we meet at Topgolf in Ashburn over here from two to five every Friday. So it's a great place to meet and network and socialize and kind of cap off the week, start the weekend with some other professionals. We have anybody from pest control to real estate, to investments, to photographers and videographers, to mortgage professionals. Just a wide spectrum of people that come and connect.

Speaker 1: 16:28

So I really enjoy doing that as well.

Speaker 2: 16:30

Yeah, no, you, it sounds like you are busy. Oh my goodness, like how. My question is how do you keep your head on? Like, how are you not, like? I have so many things to do. I need to do this. Like you have a checklist. Do you meditate? Like oh my gosh.

Speaker 1: 16:42

So I read a book called the One Thing. It's a Gary Keller book. It's a fantastic book and one of the things he talks about is setting some time aside for yourself. So I live and die in my calendar. My calendar is like everything, so that I can make sure everything fits and I go from one thing to the next. Very often it's very busy, but the morning is my time I set aside. I try not to schedule anything before 10 am, 9 am, and then have that time in the morning to kind of set myself up for success. Yeah, so, and it's a practice. It's not always perfect, you know, but it's getting that commitment to yourself and commitment to your health and commitment to your plan.

Speaker 1: 17:20

Yeah, because it's very easy, like you said, when things are going everywhere, to get off the rails.

Speaker 2: 17:25

Yeah, that's what I wanted to know, because I was like, okay, there's no way he doesn't have time for himself, like I know he's always working, he's in his nonprofit, volunteering, doing all kinds of. I was like there's gotta be a secret. But there you go, that secret right. There is like finding time in the morning, whether it's at night, whatever finds people the best way for them to find peace or have that mental health moment that they need. I think is so important, and I try to always highlight that all business owners they're superheroes, but they're not. They have, everybody has their kryptonite right. So they need to reset and take care of themselves because sometimes, if you, if you don't, I feel like you aren't able to operate at a hundred to help other people and to be the best. Absolutely Right yeah.

Speaker 1: 18:08

I mean you use that analogy of like on the airplane, right, you put your mask on first.

Speaker 2: 18:12

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 18:12

You have to do the same thing in life. You have to make sure that your health and well-being is first, because if you can't take care of yourself, you can't take care of other people. Absolutely, you know and oftentimes people think, well, that's selfish, and really have to make sure that you're in a good spot to be that hero or to be that strong person for your community, for your family, for your, you know, for everything.

Speaker 2: 18:35

So absolutely. And is there anything that perhaps I have not touched on that you would like to get out there for people to know about? Whether maybe your industry, yourself, your personal life you have before?

Speaker 1: 18:47

Ooh, anything else, um, you know again, I'm, I'm big, I'm just a big mindset person, you know. I think that anybody that happens to come across this or sees this, you know, should believe in themselves. You start with that, you know, um, start with loving yourself, start with loving your process, dig deep and know that, like, the work pays off. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. You know and I think a lot of people you know, again, being in this business eight years, when I got in I wanted to give myself three years, no matter what.

Speaker 1: 19:23

I told myself, even if it you know old army phrase embrace the suck right, like if it stinks, if it's terrible, give it time to work itself through. And sure enough, you know, the first year is very hard. Almost anything you do, you start working out, you start a podcast, you start anything. The first year is going to be hard. The second year you start to learn some things and usually by the third year is when you can really decide if this is something that's for you you know, and so that's what I would say is just mindset wise, give yourself time and grace.

Speaker 1: 19:51

You know like if you try something new, if you're trying to be better, it takes time.

Speaker 2: 19:56

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 19:56

You know you can't undo years of bad habits in two weeks Right.

Speaker 2: 20:01

That's right.

Speaker 1: 20:02

You have to give yourself time and allow yourself to learn. You know, and learning is hard.

Speaker 2: 20:07

Yeah, most of the time. But to learn, you know, and learning is hard most of the time.

Speaker 1: 20:11

But the first step is just getting out there, putting yourself out there and doing it Just doing it?

Speaker 2: 20:14

Yeah, exactly. And then I'd like to ask you what's the most rewarding part of your job as a loan officer?

Speaker 1: 20:20

That's a good question too. It's multifaceted. You know there are a lot of things that I love about it. Again, the problem solving thing is a big part for me. I love starting with a problem and ending in a solution, seeing and helping homebuyers.

Speaker 1: 20:38

So I didn't grow up very wealthy, didn't have a lot of homeowners in my household and my family for a long time and watching what real estate can do for a family, for generational wealth I call it changing your stars. What's the movie I got that from? I can't remember A Knight's Tale. I call it. You change your stars. But seeing that and seeing the impact that it has because appreciation to real estate and investing in real estate is the best traditionally, historically way to grow generational wealth in this country, really the world so changing that for people, educating people on that, creating that for people that didn't know about it or didn't have it, is huge. And then the second thing is I work with awesome human beings in the real estate community. You meet so many great people, even movers, flooring people, painters, roofers, real estate agents, title people, insurance people Like I. Just get to get connected with so many awesome human beings and I love that.

Speaker 2: 21:45

Yeah, all walks of life. Yeah, it's so fun I love it.

Speaker 1: 21:46

Yeah, all right, my final question it's kind of I love it.

Speaker 2: 21:48

Yeah, All right. My final question. It's kind of a new question that I like to ask because it's the beginning of the year.

Speaker 1: 21:53

Okay.

Speaker 2: 21:53

But do you have a 2025 resolution or goal that you would like to accomplish for this year? Would you mind sharing that?

Speaker 1: 22:00

Sure, I have lots of goals. Again, I've got a lot of things that I'm trying to take off the ground. Top golf office hours I would like to turn into something more structured and growing. Cigars and Stoics we have three to four major events planned. We're looking to bring that to a 501c3. I have some major goals within my movement mortgage industry lane looking to be top of the region in my company. Yeah, looking to rebrand into what we're looking to turn that into. And then, more than anything, just growing and really trying to build on what I've done the last couple of years Really being. So. I've got a've done the last couple of years, um, really being. Uh, let's say I have. So I've got a word for the year. Um, intentional is my word for the year. Uh, and then I also I was telling her at a real stage in this yesterday. I'm a little weird, but I also have a mantra for the year.

Speaker 1: 23:01

Yes so the mantra for the year is faster, further. I want to be able to go faster, and I want to be able to go further than I ever have wow so in everything, physical, mental, business, life, yeah, faster and further.

Speaker 2: 23:15

I love that well. Thank you so much for being on the podcast.

Speaker 1: 23:18

Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2: 23:19

Yeah, no, it was great, absolutely, and good luck on your new rebrand and your podcast and Topgolf and all that good stuff. I'm sure it will all work out for you, thank, you.

Speaker 1: 23:28

I appreciate it if you have any questions?

Speaker 2: 23:29

we're right here. Awesome, yeah, cool.