Hear stories of how people like you have been intentional in their pursuit of living in the home they want with the financing they can afford. Like a good exercise coach, the right home repair and financial professionals can help you with the right steps to happier homeownership.
Subscribe for weekly Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe podcasts with show notes at JOGarner.com
Host: #JoGarner #MortgageExpert #Mortgagelender 901 482-0354
Co-host: #EdHill #MastersRoofing & repairs 901 273-6594
#homebuyer #firsttimehomebuyer #memphismortgage #memphishomerepair
#realtor #memphisrealestate
LET’S GET STARTED…(Jo) (Good morning, Memphis! Welcome to our internet listeners and podcast listeners across the 50 states! . You’re on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Originator. You can connect with me at www.JoGarner.com. Our topic: Exercising the Right Moves for the Best Home and Mortgage Financing. Thank you to real estate attorneys, Rob Draughon and Shelley Rothman of Griffin, Clift, Everton and Maschmeyer for sponsoring the episode. Today is May 3rd, 2025 Call in to the live show at 901 535-9732
Introducing Ed Hill of Masters Roofing
(Jo) Ed Hill of Masters Roofing is back in the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe studio. Ed, you have been the senior consultant with Masters Roofing for well over a decade. You have your own podcast www.MemphisHomeMaintenanceShow.podbean.com. Ed Hill, take a few minutes to introduce yourself and tell us what you do to help your customers. (Ed Hill has about a minute and a half to intro himself and talk about the services he offers his customers)
(Jo) The famous body builder Arnold Schwartzeneger is known for saying, “If you don’t find the time, if you don’t do the work, you don’t get the results.” Working as a mortgage loan officer for over 30 years, has given me the privilege of seeing so many customers exercise the right moves to get into the home they want and the mortgage financing that works for them. Some of them it was quick and easy. Others had to work on credit, step out in faith for the right job and rely on their faith in God to get the house they wanted for their family.
The Flannerys- pushing from heavy hardships to homeownership
One particular young family, the Flannerys, lost their jobs, their cars and their home during the economic downturn around 2010. They had two young children and yearned to own their own home again so their children could play outside safely and not be cooped up in an apartment.
The loss of the car and health issues delayed this couple getting the better-paying jobs they needed so the cycle of hardship pressed down on them. Mr. Flannery said, “Time after time I would finally get up on my feet and something else would crash in on me and take me down again. It was like a terrible movie where you just want to click off the television, but you can’t because the movie is about you and you are the actor on the stage and the film is still rolling.”
The Flannerys considered signing up for a program to help them resolve some debt issues, but there was a cost to the program. They tried something else but it didn’t work either. No quick fixes. They went to a special meeting about managing finances at church one evening and that is where I got to meet the Flannerys.
Through a strong faith in God and just tenaciously working on their budget and applying any extra to paying off some debt and paying down some credit cards, the Flannerys emerged debt-free a few years later. I got to be on their homebuying journey as their lender. It was a spectacular celebration that day at the loan closing.
Later in the show I want to share with you more specifically how YOU can improve your credit scores, and exercise the right moves to live where you want to live the way you want to live.
Just for starters:
-
Determine what you you want in a house and WHY you want it. What is the maximum house payment and maximum down payment you can afford.
-
Assess your credit and start steps to improve your credit score.
-
Talk about your home buying goals with a reputable mortgage officer. Explore mortgage programs that will best help you meet your goals
-
Get preapproved to give yourself a better advantage above other competing bidders for the house you want.
Also, later in the show lets visit with some characters that can show us the mistakes to avoid…
-
Picking up more than you can carry on the house note and down payment.
-
Opening new credit accounts and adding heavier balances to existing accounts.
-
Changing jobs or the way you are paid on your job
-
Skipping the home inspection.
(Jo) Ed Hill of Masters Roofing, you are known for going beyond expectations with the work you do on home exteriors and roofs. Even after your team had finished installing my roof and swept up the nails, you went back again and swept the area to make SURE no nails were left on the ground. I knew I had picked the right contractor. What can you share with us about picking the right contractor ? (Ed Hill has until 9:15 break to get into his topics. We can continue after break
OUTRO: You’re on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Originator. What do YOU want to accomplish with YOUR mortgage? I can make the mortgage process EASY for you with the right mortgage. Connect with me at JoGarner.com When we come back, we will be hearing more from our home maintenance and roofing expert, Ed Hill of Masters Roofing. We will see you back in just a moment.
2nd segment 9:18 am – 9:30 am
2nd segment is after 9:15 break from about 9:18Am to 9:30 AM break
___________________________________________________________________________
TOPICS COVERED BY ED HILL OF MASTERS ROOFING
WORKOUTS FOR HOMEOWNERS
MAINTAINING YOUR HEALTH TO MAINTAIN YOUR HOME
It is vital for homeowners as we mature to be intentional about maintaining our physical health and even improving it over time.
“Nothing gets dynamic until it gets specific!” That’s what my college history professor used to say. So let’s get specific so we can get dynamic!
Disclaimer: If you’re taking my health advice then you’re in bad shape! Always seek out competent health, exercise and medical advice from professionals!
If you’re still considering my opinion then it’s your own fault.
-
Stop delegating simple tasks that you can still perform
Examples: taking the trash cans to the street and mowing your yard. There is value in your muscles experiencing time under tension.
-
Start learning simple tasks that you would like to perform.
Examples: climbing into your attic to change air filters and trimming shrubbery.
-
Strategically plan to complete specific projects on time.
Examples: Paint each room in your home at one per week and change out burned out bulbs in every room on one Saturday.
-
Seek fitness coaching to improve your mobility.
Examples: Join a community workout group and join a gym with personal coaching.
Ed Hill, Senior Consultant, Masters Roofing, offers competent professional advice on home exterior maintenance, renovation and repair. He also seeks competent professional advice on physical fitness at LivLimitless Fitness Studio Memphis. Contact Ed at 901-273-6594.
__________________________________________________________________]
3rd SEGMENT 9:35 AM-9:45AM)
TOPICS COVERED BY JO GARNER, LICENSED MORTGAGE OFFICER
-
Determine what you want in a house and WHY you want it. What is the maximum house payment and maximum down payment you can afford.
If you are trying to decide whether to Buy vs. Rent- consider how many years to you plan to live in the geographic area. If you plan to be in the area more than three years, you may want to consider buying a home rather than renting. What is the maximum house payment you can COMFORTABLY afford? What is the maximum down payment you can pay and still have enough emergency funds left over after closing.
-
Assess your credit and start steps to improve your credit score.
Sam and Sally Smith are newly married and expecting their first child. Saddled up with student loan debt had kept them strapped for cash and existing in a small apartment, not large enough for their expanding family. Sam regretted his carefree days in college charging up the credit cards he accepted in the mail. It was so easy to use them –even for necessary items, but a few missed payments and a collection account tanked his scores.
When Sam tried to was denied credit to purchase a car he needed to get to work, reality came like a slap in the face. It was time to make a plan and stick to a plan to get his credit back working for him and not against him.
Sally’s story was a little different. She had stayed away from credit altogether and did not have a credit score at all. Her income was too low to qualify for a house on her own, so the plan was to build her credit and make Sam’s credit better.
When Sam and Sally went to apply for a mortgage to try to get out of the tiny apartment and into a house, the news was not what they wanted to hear. Even if he could improve his credit score up to a 640 from his current 565 score, he would be paying about a half point higher on the interest rate. Over a period of time, the financing would cost him almost $10,000 more than what he would pay if his scores were higher. But he had a plan to move the dial up on his credit scores in just a few months. Sally’s plan would get her a decent credit score in only 30 days.
Working with his loan officer, Sam was able to pay down his credit card balances to show he used less than 25% of the credit limit on both of his cards. Sally’s parents had an old credit card account with a small balance and a perfect payment history. When they made Sally an authorized user, the credit card company started reporting the good credit on Sally’s account, giving Sally a good credit score. (On some mortgage programs, Sally would need to show that she made some payments on this account)
Here’s what you can do to improve YOUR credit:
Check your own credit at least once a year through www.annualcreditreport.com
Pay down your revolving credit accounts to show you use less than 25% of the credit limit on each card.
Stay away from 12-months-same-as-cash accounts They can damage your credit score and more.
For brand new collection accounts, see if you can settle the account with the creditor. For older collection accounts, you may be better to let sleeping dogs lie still and deal with them after the mortgage closing.
There are more tips in the book “Choosing the Best Mortgage-The Quickest Way to the Life You Want.”
-
Put reputable professionals on your team like a good realtor and a good mortgage officer who listen to what is important to you and will help you.
-
Get preapproved to give yourself a better advantage above other competing bidders for the house you want.
Mistakes to Avoid
-
Picking up more than you can carry on the house note and down payment. Mortgage software can sometimes approve you for a debt ratio of over 50% of your income. Unless you have other income, it would be difficult to afford anything else except the house note.
-
Opening new credit accounts and adding heavier balances to existing accounts.
Remember this one. Don’t even let anyone inquire on your credit like retail stores and others while your mortgage is in process. One of my young first-time homebuyers, called me a week before closing to announce that she was finally going to buy her furniture for the house so she would have it ready on move-in day. Wrong choice! I explained that mortgage underwriters do a soft credit pull right before closing to make sure there are no new creditors or additional debt balances. My first-time homebuyer agreed to buy her furniture AFTER closing.
-
Changing jobs or the way you are paid on your job
Albert Abbott was freshly out of the military with a job as a new hire. The salary wasn’t great but, at least he could qualify for the mortgage to buy the house that he wanted.
As we our mortgage team was processing Albert’s mortgage papers, we noticed that, in the middle of the loan process, Albert had switched from a salaried employee where the employer withholds Federal Income taxes and other deductions, over to a 1099 subcontractor position.
As a 1099 worker, the employer no longer withheld Federal Taxes and other deductions. Now, that Albert was self-employed, he would have to pay his own taxes because now he was self-employed.
When I asked Albert about the switch from being an employee to being self-employed he said, “Because I can make a lot more money.” His eyes bulged outward when I informed him that the government mortgage program he wanted would not allow us to count any of his self-employment income until he had been on the job or at least 2 years to set up a track record.
Albert decided that “less is more” and arranged with his employer to return him to his employee status, even if he was making less money. At least he would be able to qualify for his mortgage.
Some of my mortgage clients who have been self-employed for 2 years or more still have problems getting qualified for their mortgage loan because they don’t show a lot of income on the front page of their tax return. An experienced lender can go into the back pages of the tax return to look for certain expenses that are allowed to be added back to the income.
-
Don’t skip the home inspection.
(For one of the most expensive purchases in your life, don’t depend a call center from a 1-800 # mortgage company to handle your loan. Choose an experienced loan officer that will listen to you and take the time to look for detailed tweaks along the process that might save you thousands of dollars over time.
Work with a person who will do business the way YOU want to do business In person? Over the telephone? Strictly online?
If you want to meet in person, I am happy to meet you in person or on zoom.
Do you want to complete your loan application over the phone? I can help you.
Do you want to complete your loan application in the middle of the night online and upload your supporting documents from your mobile device while you are standing in line at the grocery story? You can do that with our team system. I can assist you in finding the mortgage program that gets you more of what you want and a good price. We can make the mortgage process easy.
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK
Ed Hill’s Real Estate Tip of the Week (about 1.5 minutes)
Jo Garner’s tip (about 1 minute)
Do you think you can’t afford to buy a house right now? You may be surprised. I have worked to help people refinance other debts to lower the overall payment so they can afford a house payment. There are various tweaks you can make to a loan program or your finances so that you can now afford to buy a home.
What do YOU want to accomplish with YOUR mortgage? I have the knowledge and experience. Let’s look at traditional mortgage products, alternative mortgage products and even combinations of products. I can help you get you what you need and make the mortgage process EASY. Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer 901 482-0354 www.JoGarner.com
Professional Endorsement for Mike Wiggins, MidSouth Home Repairman 901 870-7258
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Talk Shoppe equips with education, engages by offering connection opportunities between business people and empowers businesses in a supportive community. Talk Shoppe meets every Wednesday 9A-10A CT at Independent Planning Group’s conference room 110 at Clark Tower 5100 Poplar Ave 1st floor Memphis, TN
(Thank you Manny Corless and Ben Hunter (615-601-0568) outstanding Financial Professionals at Independent Planning Group for being Talk Shoppe’s location sponsor)
Talk Shoppe on Wednesday May 7th, 2025 “How To Appeal Your Shelby County TN Real Estate Tax Assessment” presented by appraiser Tom King of Bill King Company
Join in person or online by clicking www.TalkShoppe.com and click the Events tab for the link to get into the event online.
Talk Shoppe could not offer the free educational networking events free to our community without some very giving sponsors. Thank you to Mark McLaurine of Refrigeration Unlimited. Mark McLaurine is well-known as one of those people who goes the extra mile for his clients. Mark looks for ways to fix the underlying problem causing a problem which saves his customers money. When you heating or air conditioning is on the blink, call Mark McLaurine at 901 216-7782.
Talk Shoppe is free to you because of the generosity of people like Troy and Lynn McDonald of Erin McDonald Insurance Agency. For your home and auto insurance, including your recreational boats, cycles and an umbrella policy, Troy and Lynn can get you insured so you can sleep at peace at night. Call Troy and Lynn 901 849-7101.
Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe reminds you to MAKE YOUR PLAN. LET’S WORK YOUR PLAN. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY.
Subscribe for weekly Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe podcasts with show notes at www.JoGarner.com
SPECIAL NOTE: REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE DOES NOT ENDORSE 100% OF THE CONTENT ON THIS EPISODE. REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE RECOMMENDS THAT YOU CONSULT WITH A FINANCIAL, LEGAL OR OTHER CERTIFIED, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL BEFORE ACTING OR INVESTING ON ANYTHING YOU HEAR OR SEE FROM THE CONTENT ON THIS SHOW OR BLOG POSTS. THE INFORMATION WE SHARE ON REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE IS GENERAL IN NATURE MEANT FOR GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND NOT AN OFFER TO LEND. EXAMPLES GIVEN FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ON REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE AND MOST ARE BASED ON TRUE STORIES BUT WE USE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS AND DO NOT DIRECTLY REFLECT REAL PEOPLE OR EXACT DETAILS IN ANY OF THE SITUATIONS. JO GARNER IS A LICENSED MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATOR. (EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY)
QUOTE CORNER:
Pinterest—“ I have to exercise early in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing”
“If you don’t find the time, if you don’t do the work, you don’t get the results.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
REJOINDERS:
-
Reverend Jo Rook Huggins, Church of the Harvest in Olive Branch, MS
-
Clint Cooper of Redeemers Group (foundation and crawl space repair) www.RedeemersGroup.com
-
Craig Jennings, Avalon Capital private lenders 901 417-8427
Transitional Music: “Stronger-What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger by Kelly Clarkson ; “Parody of Hello Song” by Nine Eleven; “We Can Work It Out” by the Beatles
PICK UP YOUR COPY OF “CHOOSING THE BEST MORTGAGE-THE QUICKEST WAY TO THE LIFE YOU WANT” by: JO GARNER
An essential guide for real estate professionals and their customers.
On Amazon and Barnes and Noble
ABOUT ED HILL OF MASTERS ROOFING
Ed Hill has been in the residential roofing industry since 2008 and has been Senior Consultant with Masters Roofing Memphis TN since 2010. He has personally assisted about 800 homeowners with roof replacement and many others with roof and exterior repairs. He is an active member of the Greater Memphis Business Network International chapter and is the official Masters Roofing consultant to TPC Southwind. He holds three earned degrees including a doctorate but tries not to let those get in his way of serving his customers! For free roof advice, free inspections, and free estimates and bids for roof replacement or roof repair call Ed Hill at 901-273-6594. Learn more at #EdHillMastersRoofing and at MemphisHomeMaintenanceShow.Podbean.Com
Ed Hill, Senior Consultant
Masters Roofing
2845 Stage Center Cove
Bartlett TN 38134
901-273-6594
EdHill.MastersRoofing@gmail.com
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ABOUT JO GARNER-MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER:
www.JoGarner.com (901) 482 0354 jo@jogarner.com X @jogarner NMLS# 757308
(currently working with Everitt Financial dba Supreme Lending)
ONLINE LOAN APPLICATION : https://jogarner.supremelendingLO.com
“Whatever YOUR personal priorities are, my job is to help you get the mortgage terms that will give you bragging rights when you talk about it and help you score on hitting your goals .”
As a mortgage loan officer, my job is to help you get to the benefits you want from your financing terms. What is most important to you? I can help you find the financing terms that will help you get to what you want. What is your comfort level on a house payment? How much are you comfortable paying down,? What type of financing do you need to get the house you want to buy or refinance?
Different clients have different priorities in life—some are buying their first home with very little down payment funds. Some are recovering from medical challenges, divorces or preparing to send children to college and some are embarking on a long term goal of buying properties to build rental income.”
Jo Garner is a mortgage officer with extensive knowledge in helping her clients find the right mortgage program and making the refinance or home purchase mortgage process EASY. She offers conventional, FHA, VA or other loan programs for primary residences, second homes and investment properties.
Jo can help you look at rent vs buy, when it makes sense to refinance, how to get the best deal on your home purchase financing.
Jo Garner has been in the real estate/financing business for over 30 years. She grew up in West Tennessee and got her start in real estate in Portland, Maine where she first began her real estate career. She received her real estate education from the University of Southern Maine and was personally mentored in San Diego, California by Robert G. Allen, author of Nothing Down, Creating
*Wealth and The Challenge.
On moving back to West Tennessee in 1987, she went into business buying and selling discounted owner-financed notes secured on real estate. In 1990 Jo went to work for a residential mortgage company and has been a mortgage loan officer for over 30 years.
In addition to her work in the mortgage field, Jo Garner is the primary sponsor and founder of Talk Shoppe in Memphis. www.TalkShoppe.com Jo Garner also host the radio show Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe airing on News Radio AM 600 WREC and iHeart Radio with podcasts and show notes published on www.JoGarner.com Pick up Jo Garner’s book on Amazon or Barnes Noble “Choosing the Best Mortgage-The Quickest Way to the Life You Want”