Speaker 1: 0:30

My name is Cole McInturf, I'm a mortgage lender and I work for Home Savings and Trust Mortgage. We're a local lender based out of Fairfax. You know referral business, so you know I help people purchase their home and it's just residential mortgages.

Speaker 2: 0:49

So yeah, love it. And now your academic background includes both a bachelor's and master's in education. What inspired your transition from education to the mortgage industry and how have your teaching skills influenced your approach to mortgage lending?

Speaker 1: 1:04

Yeah, that's a good question. I went to JMU. I played baseball at JMU. If I'm being completely honest, it was very favorable for my schedule, yeah, but, granted, I enjoyed it and at the time I thought that's what I wanted to do, you know, get into teaching and it required a lot of patience. You know, to be a teacher and I did my student teaching at JMU and I did elementary school teaching, so that required a lot of patience.

Speaker 1: 1:41

But my dad was in the mortgage industry for a long time. So my whole life I kind of grew up, you know, knowing about the mortgage business. And when I got out of school, you know, he had approached me and said hey, look, if you are interested in getting into the mortgage world, you certainly can. You need to get licensed. So I got my license. It was actually like my last semester of college I started studying for the mortgage test and I did get my license and then I decided, you know, I think this is what I want to do, um, get into the mortgage business. So right after school I kind of made that decision. You know I didn't know if I was going to keep playing baseball. Um, and there's a lot of, you know. You know question marks like what I wanted to do, yeah, and then I finally decided, like you know what, this would be cool to. You know, kind of follow my dad's footsteps.

Speaker 2: 2:42

Yeah, was he, I guess, like your mentor in a way.

Speaker 1: 2:45

So my dad was very old school. He was definitely a mentor, but he really wanted me to kind of figure it out on my own. So, like you know, questions that I had and kind of strategies and different things he helped me with. But he was very much like I want you to kind of go out on your own and figure it out this business on your own and decide if it's something that you want to continue to pursue or not. And I think that helped me because you know, I didn't want to be looked at as like his junior or you know, um, not have people take me seriously.

Speaker 1: 3:23

Um, so the fact that I was kind of doing it on my own but also behind the scenes, kind of asking him, like you know, what do you think about this? What's you know what? What would you do if you were in my shoes right now? Um, so that helped a lot. And then he had a partner, george um, that was also, I would say he was a little bit more of my mentor at the time than my pops was, um, and they they worked together. My dad sort of kind of groomed him into being a loan officer. So he kind of, you know, returned the favor and, uh, kind of helped me. You know, start out and get my footing with everything.

Speaker 2: 4:01

So Okay, yeah. No, that's great that you had that community of people that was over here in the industry that could help you, and it wasn't just your dad and you did all the hard work on your own.

Speaker 1: 4:09

I think that's amazing. Yeah, yeah, yep.

Speaker 2: 4:12

And then um. During your time at James Madison University, you were a member of the baseball team, as you had just mentioned, achieving notable successes such as winning a CAA Conference Championship in 2011 and being named an All-CAA Conference Player in 2012. How have the discipline and teamwork from your athletic experiences influenced your professional career in mortgage lending?

Speaker 1: 4:38

Yeah, um, I think it's just like accountability with you know sports, um, you have to be accountable to. You know how hard you work and you know being successful in sports requires so much discipline, so much work like behind the scenes especially me, you know, I went to JMU. I was almost kind of like a project, you know, with baseball I wasn't a highly touted recruit or anything like that. So my whole career kind of required me to be really, you know, pedal to the metal, like behind the scenes, like working on my craft and getting better. I always had the confidence, you know. But once I got to JMU it was just like a different level. You know it was a division one baseball program and a lot of guys that were very good players and I kind of figured out like, all right, if I'm going to play, I need to get better, I need to improve and I need to, you know, do extra work. Um, that was like required of me.

Speaker 1: 5:47

So I I think that translates a lot for business like, especially in real estate. Like you know, I don't have a boss or coach, you know, really like telling me what to do. It's kind of really on my own. So I've always felt like I've been pretty good with like a self accountability, um, and that came from, you know, sports and learning that like work ethic and um, like I said, kind of doing things behind the scenes to get better. And um, like I said, kind of doing things behind the scenes to get better and um, I think the other thing too is, like, with sports, confidence is such a huge factor. You know, I'm not going to be a good athlete or a good loan officer if I'm not confident in what I'm doing. So that too, I think, translates a lot, just having confidence in your ability or you know your profession. So absolutely.

Speaker 1: 6:40

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:41

Love it. And then, given your background in education, how do you approach educating clients about the mortgage process to ensure they make informed decisions?

Speaker 1: 6:50

Yeah, um, you know I work with a lot of first time homebuyers so I don't mind kind of going from start to finish on like how everything works, you know. It's kind of similar to when you're teaching a kid or a young student with you know patience and kind of showing them everything along the way. So, like I said, like I think the patience piece of it has really helped and the fact that I work with a lot of buyers that really have no idea what any of this means or what you know how anything works, I like you know kind of showing them from beginning to the end, like every you know fee, how this fee works, you know how this program works for you, how we qualify you, you know, like credit score, if I can help them get their credit up, or you know different strategies just to help them save some money.

Speaker 2: 7:50

Yeah. So what's some advice you could give to people about how to get their credit score up? And there's some. Are there some do's or don'ts to do? Share that with us.

Speaker 1: 7:58

Yeah, so I think the biggest thing is credit card debt. I think that, from what I've seen, can really kind of fluctuate credit scores and it's really just keeping your balance as low as possible on those credit cards. If you have a credit card and you know it has like a $30,000 limit and you're kind of just pushing it all the way to the top each month and paying it down a little bit, it's going to have a negative effect on your score. Um, when I do like rapid rescores for customers a lot, rapid rescore is getting your credit score up within like a couple of days.

Speaker 2: 8:37

Oh, wow.

Speaker 1: 8:37

Yeah, and a lot of it is just paying down credit card debt. So, um, you know, I think you know managing credit card debt revolving debt is what they call it and you know staying on top of it, paying it down as much as possible, cause if you let that kind of rack up, you know staying on top of it, paying it down as much as possible, cause if you let that kind of rack up, it can really hit your credit score. Um. And the other piece is obviously, you know, making sure you pay everything on time, um, cause if you have a late fee, it can really crush your credit score. Um.

Speaker 1: 9:09

The other thing that I see quite often is collections, and sometimes you know customers don't even know they have it right. It can be like a Verizon bill that you know you terminated your service and they charge you a fee they had no idea about and they just sent it to a collection. So you know there's strategies to get the collection removed. You have to obviously pay off the collection, but if you can get a letter from the creditor saying that it's paid and can be removed or can be deleted, we can get that off, and I see credit scores go up to like 100 points when you get the collections removed. So I always urge people like, hey, let me take a look at your credit, see if there's anything I can do to get it up, or see if it's in a good spot right now.

Speaker 2: 9:56

Yeah. So that's good to know, because I'm sure a lot of people are hesitant to even go and talk to people because they're just like nope, I don't qualify, or they don't even know where to start.

Speaker 1: 10:04

Right, yeah, it's almost like they feel like they're wasting my time, but if anything, like I want to help you get into a game plan or you know a situation yeah. Like I want to get you sure it might not happen like right now, but as long as we're on the path and you know exactly what you need to do, I think that's valuable.

Speaker 2: 10:25

Absolutely. And as far as marketing goes, how are you approaching? I guess, using video content or maybe graphics, or going to networking events to get the word out there about your business and the type of services that you provide?

Speaker 1: 10:39

Yeah, I've definitely increased my social media kind of video presence. I would say over the last like year and a half I really, you know, dove into that. I hadn't really done it before. Most of my stuff on like my social media was it was personal and you know I didn't want to be the cringy like real estate guy that was posting like every day, but honestly I feel like it. It was like breaking the ice, like once I did it and once I got comfortable with it. You know I wasn't posting videos like every day but as long as I was staying consistent, like once a week, every couple of weeks, kind of just putting my face out there talking about, you know, the mortgage world or whatever I was talking about I felt like that's helped me with like my sphere I was talking about. I felt like that's helped me with like my sphere. Um, you know people that I don't talk to that much, but we're Facebook friends or Instagram friends. You know they'll. I get more messages and texts like, hey, we're thinking about this. What do you think?

Speaker 2: 11:47

Yeah, Um making those connections with people.

Speaker 1: 11:49

Yeah, and it's also good because a lot of my real estate agent referral partners are my friends on Facebook and Instagram. So I'm also staying top of mind for them. So that's helped me and I feel like once I dove into it I've gotten a lot more comfortable with it. Um, but I also, I would say, marketing wise. Um, you know, I I contact real estate agents um like directly in. You know, that's kind of how I built my business.

Speaker 1: 12:23

It's like going directly to a real estate agent, whether it's meeting them organically or through, um, friends. You know, I've asked, like peers in my sphere, like, hey, do you have a real estate agent that you could recommend, that I could call and meet? And I just try to meet them. You know, whether it's like coffee, lunch, and talk to them about their business, talk to them see if you know I can help them, and then just kind of routinely checking in on them. You know, giving them value.

Speaker 1: 12:52

Um, I don't really love to just call an agent and just say, hey, do you have any business for me? I like to make sure that I'm I'm giving them like a piece of information that they can use for their buyers or sellers. Like, hey, um, rates, did this this week. If anybody asks um about interest rates, here's what's going on this week. If anybody asks about interest rates, here's what's going on. Hey, we just got a new product for first-time buyers. The mortgage insurance is really cheap on this, or the down payment is 3% or we have 100% financing. Whatever it is, I just like to constantly give them updates and information that they can use.

Speaker 2: 13:34

And now, when you're giving them that information, how are you staying on top of the resources, new trends, new policies that are always changing.

Speaker 1: 13:43

Yeah, I would say our company does a really good job of kind of hey, here's what's going on. Like we do a month or a weekly Monday call with all of our loan officers and we talk about kind of what's going on with changes. Or hey, you know, here's the new loan limits for you know next year. Or hey, they just changed this guideline. Or here's a new product. So we're always, you know, helping each other out with like products and things that are changing. So I feel like we're always on top of it just through our company. That's awesome yeah.

Speaker 2: 14:21

And then the mortgage industry is continually evolving, as I mentioned. What current trends are you observing and how do they impact home buyers in the Fairfax area, in your opinion?

Speaker 1: 14:32

serving and how do they impact home buyers in the Fairfax area in your opinion? Yeah, I think this year's been pretty interesting to start. I think after the election, people thought that rates were going to kind of dip down and instead I feel like right immediately after the election, they kind of peaked up a little bit, which was a little unexpected. But then after the election, they kind of peaked up a little bit, which was a little unexpected. But then, you know, February, March, the rates have actually been coming down a little bit. So it's just we're in like a weird market right now where I feel like some things are sitting, some things are flying off the shelves.

Speaker 1: 15:07

I think different agents can tell you a million different things. What's going on right now, just based off like their open houses and their listings and what they're seeing. Um, you're kind of hearing everything. Oh, you know, we had two groups come by the open house, or we had 40, but only one person put an offer in, or we got 15 offers over the weekend. So it's so it's interesting kind of where we're at in the market.

Speaker 1: 15:34

I think right now, with rates, what they're doing and some things that are sitting a little bit, it's a good spot to be a buyer because it's not like straight bedlam right now with the rates going down a little bit and we're kind of in a spring, you know, getting close to a spring market it just feels like there's still a lot of opportunity to get a home as like a first-time buyer, as a VA customer, and you're not, you know, having to waive everything. You know some properties you may have to, but just with the way things are going right now and it feels like it should be a lot crazier but it's not. So I actually think it's a good opportunity right now to be a buyer. You hear that, yeah. So it'll be interesting to see kind of how the rest of the spring kind of unfolds and, yeah, the the summer. I'm very, very intrigued with how things are going to go this year and kind of the direction things are going to go.

Speaker 2: 16:37

We'll see. Yeah, you'll have to update us on how it goes for you.

Speaker 1: 16:40

Of course.

Speaker 2: 16:41

And then as a lifelong resident of Centerville, virginia. How does your connection to the local community influence your work at HSTM? Are there specific community initiatives or events that you and your team participate in?

Speaker 1: 16:54

Um, yeah, you know, it's funny like I grew up in Centerville and I feel like I had a ton of friends from all different neighborhoods, just from, you know, playing like travel sports. Um, I had friends that were at different high schools. Like, I had a lot of friends that went to Chantilly, a lot of friends that went to Oakton. I played baseball with people that went to Centerville and Robinson. So I feel like I know a lot about the neighborhoods, just kind of driving to friends' houses and stuff growing up, and I feel like that's helped me. You know, especially when I want to make a connection with someone, I always ask people like, oh so, where are you guys from? Like, are you from Northern Virginia? Like, oh, yeah, we, I, you know, I grew up in Oakton, I went to Oakton high school and you know no way, Okay, Do you know this person? You know this person.

Speaker 1: 17:48

I feel like, um, that happens a lot to me when I, you know, get referrals. So I feel like that helps me make a connection with someone, just kind of knowing the area. And oh, yeah, I used to go to lunch at blah, blah, blah, like right up the street. That's where I lived here. Yeah, exactly, I remember going to this neighborhood all the time when I was a kid, just stuff like that. And in terms of like going to community stuff, I mean I don't. I don't necessarily go to anything specific to Centerville. I do go to like a lot of JMU stuff, like alumni stuff. But I do feel like I'm still like I go to Westfield that's where I went to high school. I go to Westfield like baseball games. I go to Westfield football games, Um, one of my best friend coaches in Loudoun County and um, so we go to his game. So I do kind of feel like I'm on the scene a little bit.

Speaker 2: 18:44

Yeah, especially the baseball.

Speaker 1: 18:46

Yeah Like the high school stuff, which is cool, and a lot of coaches that coached me, uh, back in the day are still coaching or they've moved around. So I feel like just knowing, you know that whole community and stuff has also helped with with business and you know we've definitely like sponsored, you know like travel baseball teams and a couple of different high school teams. Home savings has. So that's awesome.

Speaker 2: 19:14

Love it. And then, what key financial factors should potential home buyers evaluate before deciding to apply for a mortgage?

Speaker 1: 19:22

Um, I think, like we talked about, credit score is going to be big. You know, have a lender, look at your credit score whether it's qualifying, whether it's a qualifying credit score or you know. Hey, like we don't know where our credit score is, but we think it's low. Can you help us get it up? Like I think that is going to be kind of one of the biggest pieces. But also making sure you have you have consistent employment history, making sure that you know if you're hourly or you're commissioned, you have two years of consistent income that we can average and do a couple different things to make sure that you qualify.

Speaker 1: 20:08

So, I think, employment history, credit and then the last piece, obviously, is like making sure you're comfortable with what you have currently like in your checking, savings, investments, retirement and okay with closing costs, prepaids, down payment. So those are the big three and I like talking to people about their budget, right? So, like a monthly budget, what sales price gets us there? What down payment? Here's what we should expect total cash to close. Um, so you know, those are important things that you need to figure out before you start looking at homes because you don't want to just show up all unprepared.

Speaker 1: 20:54

Exactly. Yeah, you don't want to fall in love with a house and then realize, ooh, I don't know about this mortgage payment, so you should talk to lender first and get that all squared away. You know, I'm going to let you know exactly what your price point is and, um, then you can sort of really start looking at homes and figuring out what you want to buy.

Speaker 2: 21:13

Yeah, Is there anything that I have not touched on that perhaps you would like to share? Whether it's about yourself, your business, the mortgage industry, you have the floor.

Speaker 1: 21:22

Yeah, we were talking about this the other day and it was basically like what advice would you give yourself, you know, when you first started in the business? And, um, we had like a long discussion, you know, with my colleagues about it and the the one thing that like kept coming up was basically like, be personable, like don't be a robot when it comes to like talking to someone, and it's hard to hard to do this right.

Speaker 1: 21:55

Like you this goes back to what I was talking about like with confidence, like I'm sure, when I first started I was so nervous to talk to someone because I was brand new and of course this is something that you, you know, you develop, you acquire it. But, like I wish I could go back in time and just kind of just relax. You know, when I'm talking to someone, I want to make them feel like I'm not like this wizard of Oz, like big bad mortgage lender, like you know, like I want them to feel like they're comfortable talking to me, like like I'm their friend. Um, and we're having a conversation about finances and some people. That can be pretty intense but, um, as long as you're patient and you know you can come off a certain way with people and it can be very intense or you can be relaxed and you know, kind of walk them through everything and, um, I just wish I kind of, you know, could go back in time and tell myself that, like this doesn't need to be as intense as you're making it and thinking.

Speaker 2: 23:02

So I'm glad that you realized that now, cause sometimes it could be much later in life. I know it would would have been better earlier, but I'm glad that you have realized that about what you want your presence to be like with your clients and you're working on it. So what better time than the present.

Speaker 1: 23:18

Yeah, exactly, and just making a connection with them. Like you know, when I talk to people now, I like to make any type of connection I can, Like you know, talking about family or baseball yeah. Or you know where did you go to school, family or baseball, yeah. Or you know where'd you go to school um. So I just I try to make things so much more personable um you know, as opposed to business, only, yeah, as opposed to you know me just stamping you're approved or you're not approved decline exactly yeah yeah, that's not the vibe I want to get.

Speaker 1: 23:51

I want people to feel like like I'm their guy and they're getting like a VIP you know experience for me and also like they feel like they can call me anytime, whether it's questions about a mortgage or just personal. So that's kind of with the way I've kind of shaped my business the last couple of years and it certainly wasn't like that at first. I wanted to be super, you know, by the book, by the book and you know just kind of churn and burn and um, I've just slowly kind of realized like that's not how you make like a connection with people and, um, people want to work with people.

Speaker 2: 24:28

They like so, yeah, no, you and you've learned that with experience, so that's great.

Speaker 1: 24:32

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 24:33

All right, my final question, I promise. Do you have a quote saying or a mantra that has inspired you in any way?

Speaker 1: 24:39

I know.

Speaker 2: 24:40

Right now you're saying I wish I had been more X Y, z, but do you have something that resonated with you? Maybe your dad told you this, or your mom even.

Speaker 1: 24:49

Yeah. So my dad used to always say it's very simple saying but he used to always say to me and this was when I would play sports, because with baseball there's a lot of highs and lows to baseball, there's a lot of failure in that, and I used to be very hard on myself and my dad used to always say don't get too high, don't get too low, stay even keel. You have a good game, stay even keel. You have a good game, stay even keel. You have a terrible game, stay even keel. You've got way more games, way more at bats. Don't let you know something small. You know impact you and continue to impact. You Understand that there's highs and lows to everything in life and you just want to be consistent and you know follow your routine. So that resonates to me with mortgages too, because you know not right.

Speaker 1: 25:44

Yeah not right Rates going up and down but also, just, you know, it's not a perfect business. You know I'm going to have tough conversations with people. I'm going to have to tell um my agents, hey, this person doesn't qualify, or you know, we can't do this, we can't do that, um, and it can be stressful. So you know, I I try to stay as even keel as I can. It can be a very stressful job. It can also be so rewarding. You feel like you're on top of the world when you get someone to closing and they're so appreciative and you know that's great. But you know, understand, like not every transaction is going to be like that.

Speaker 1: 26:23

Like it's just going to be difficult. You know more difficult paths for people. And then the other saying that I love is if it is to be, it's up to me. So you know, like I was talking about with accountability, like, um, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm my own business. So if I want to grow it, if I want it to get better, it's all up to me to do that.

Speaker 2: 26:45

So yeah, well, thank you so much for sharing that. You gave us two pieces of wisdom nuggets there. Appreciate it. And it was a pleasure having you on the podcast, so thank you so much.

Speaker 1: 26:55

Yeah.