First Impressions, Lasting Value: Making Your Home Shine and Your Mortgage Work

“First Impressions, Lasting Value: Making Your Home Shine and Your Mortgage Work”

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Today we cover some effective tips for making a good first impression before the real estate photographer shows up and when you are applying for your mortgage.

Host: #JoGarner #MortgageExpert 901 482-0354
Co-host: #EliOstrow #PropertyPixMemphis 901 282-6444
Featured: #ChuckBohannon #SantaClaus 901 619-6436

Subscribe for weekly Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe podcasts with show notes at www.JoGarner.com

LET’S GET STARTED…(Jo) (Good morning, Memphis! Welcome to our internet listeners and podcast listeners across the 50 states! . Today is October 18^th, 2026. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Originator. You can connect with me at www.JoGarner.com. Our general topic is

“First Impressions, Lasting Value: Making Your Home Shine and Your Mortgage Work.” Thank you to real estate attorneys Shelley Rothman and Rob Draughon of Griffin Clift Everton and Maschmeyer Law Firm for sponsoring THIS episode of Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. For your home purchase or refinance call Rob and Shelley to do your real estate closing at 901 752-1133.

Introducing Eli Ostrow, Real Estate Photographer with Property Pix Memphis

Welcome to his first time in the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe studio. Say hello to Eli Ostrow, real estate photographer with Property Pix Memphis. Eli, you are well-known in the local real estate marketplace for your full-service real estate media company with cameras drones and the works You were voted Memphis Community’s #1 Choice for Photography and Videography 2025. Take a minute or so and tell our listeners a little more about yourself and the services you offer your clients. (Eli Ostrow has about a minute and a half to intro himself and talk about the services he offers his clients )

(Jo) Eli, when it comes to looking good, your job is to help your clients get the best-looking real estate promotional photos. My job as a mortgage loan officer is to help my clients look the best they can on a mortgage loan application. Knowing what virtues to accentuate for a client is creates the best first impression when it is time to get your mortgage approved.

PLAN BEFORE YOU PAY—REN’S STORY

Not long ago Ren (not his real name) called me and said he was finally ready to buy his first home. He announced that “I am going to use my money to pay off ALL of my bills before I come in to see you. Don’t you think that is the best thing?” My suggestion was, “Before you spend a dime paying anything off, Ren, let’s get a snap shot of where you are right now.”

Money Talks Loudest

Ren’s lease would be up soon on his apartment and he knew he needed a strong prequalification letter and a quick approval to be in the new house before he had to get out of his apartment. He was worn out with paying rent money every month when he could be investing in owning his own home. He had just enough saved to pay the 3% to 5% down payment on the house he wanted, but knew he had some other debt too.

I truly appreciated Ren’s willingness to go the extra mile to help me get his loan file looking its best. But, the top priority with the mortgage underwriting software systems is to show an adequate amount of money available in the bank to make the down payment and pay some costs and its always looks good to have reserve funds left for emergencies.

Good Credit Can Take You Far

The second important factor in making a borrower like Ren look good is to show a high credit score Ren’s ability to show that he pays creditors and only owes a small percentage on the credit lines available to him. I pointed out to Ren that a great credit score is a score over 780. An average score is around 700. When your credit score gets around 650 or 640, then you can probably still get a standard mortgage, but some loan programs will price up the rate you pay to get the loan.

Income-To-Debt Ratios-Can You Make The Payment

After looking at funds available and the credit profile, underwriters look at income-to-debt ratios. Ren’s income-to-debt ratio added the new proposed house payment including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance together with all the minimum payment amounts from credit cards, the car loan and other installment accounts. This total divided into the gross income amount equals the income-to-debt ratio. For Ren, his debt-to-income ratio –total monthly debt divided into his gross income— was around 45 percent. Not bad

However, in some cases the mortgage underwriting program could have prequalified Ren with a 50 percent income-to-debt ratio due to the fact that he keeps more than enough cash available in his bank account. Ren’s prequalification letter was very strong. He was confident going into the real estate market to purchase his first home. We looked at some down payment assistance program for Ren also. Once the home appraisal and title work is done, Ren gets all of his income and asset supporting documents into the file, then a human underwriter reviews the information and makes the ultimate decision on approving the loan suspending until further information is documented or denies the loan. Approve is the goal.

(Jo) Eli Ostrow, as an accomplished real estate photographer, you know that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. What are some tips you can offer to our listeners on making a first impression when you are selling a home. (Eli Ostrow has about 3-4 minutes before the ad break to get started on some of his topics)

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 Eli Ostrow, real estate photographer with Property Pix Memphis will also be back after this ad break. Chuck Bohannon, booking agent for Santa Claus will be bringing his special guest into the studio. See you back in just a moment.

2nd segment is after first break 8 minutes 50 seconds

( Waaka Waaka song in background ) COMIC QUERIES (you probably already know the answer, but we will ask anyway

(Eli) Riddle: What can travel all over the internet, visit thousands of people, and never leave its foundation?

(Jo) Answer: A house listed for sale!

(Jo) Question: “What can make a house look bigger without adding a single square foot, but can’t convince an appraiser that it’s worth more?”

(Eli) Answer: A wide-angle camera lens!

(Jo) Today on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe we are talking about “

“First Impressions, Lasting Value: Making Your Home Shine and Your Mortgage Work”

I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Originator . For your home purchase or a mortgage refinance you can brag about,. We can find the right mortgage product and make the mortgage process EASY on a traditional mortgage, on special programs and outside-of-the-box mortgage programs too. Connect with me at JoGarner.com

Eli Ostrow, Real Estate Photographer with Property Pix Memphis 901 282-6444

Santa Claus’s Booking Agent Chuck Bohannon 901 619-6496

TALK SHOPPE BUSINESS TIP FOR REAL ESTATE PROS

^2nd segment after 9:15 advertising break – (producer to start the song “Taking Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive –but bring the volume down before the lyrics start) It’s time to talk shop with Talk Shoppe’s Business Tip For Real Estate Professionals. Talk Shoppe is a marketing company offering free education and networking to anyone interested in real estate or in business. Talk Shoppe is made possible by the financial support of its sponsors and advertisers. For more about Talk Shoppe, go to www.TalkShoppe.com (shoppe) For our Talk Shoppe Business Tip today we have Talk Shoppe sponsor Chuck Bohannon, the Mid South booking agent for Santa Claus—and he brought Santa Claus with him! Santa Claus, we are talking photography today. You have probably been in more family pictures than any person in the world. What is our Talk Shoppe Business Tip for Real Estate Professionals today? (Santa has about 1.5 min to share her tips )

Santa Claus, how do we reach your booking agent Chuck Bohannon to have you visit our holiday parties and celebrations? (901) 619-6436

Santa’s Tip:

Kids: If you mom just cleaned the chocolate off your face and it is time for a picture with Santa, make sure you keep your face clean and looking good for the picture. Before you get in front of the camera, double check to make sure you look your best.

____________________________________________________________

TOPICS BY ELI OSTROW, REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHER WITH PROPERTY PIX MEMPHIS

A drone photo by Eli Ostrow of Property Pix Memphis

Question 1:

“Tell us about a house that looked terrible when you arrived, but you managed to make it look fantastic in the photographs. What did you do?”

Question 2:

“What are three things homeowners do right before a photo shoot that drive professional photographers crazy?”

Question 3:

“If you could give every Realtor in Memphis one piece of advice about marketing their listings, what would it be?”

Eli might be able to tell real-life stories to illustrate his points (please do not use real names or offer too many details to protect privacy of the clients)

For the photographer:

How important is the exterior photograph?
Should sellers remove cars from the driveway?
Can landscaping make a modest house look more expensive? What makes a property memorable among dozens of competing listings?
Have you ever encountered a body-slamming rooster? Eli tells the story on the podcast

3^RD SEGMENT 12 minutes

( Small Victories song by Allen McCool playing in background)

For Did You Know today…(see if you can guess the answer before we do)
(Eli) Question: What is the name of a well-known photographer who created the photo called “The Tricycle” in Memphis in 1970?

Hint1: At a time when black-and-white photography dominated the fine-art world, he embraced brilliant color.In 1976, New York’s Museum of Modern Art gave his work a landmark exhibition, helping transform how the art world viewed color photography.

Jo ANSWER: William Eggleston!

(Jo) Today on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe we are talking about “

“First Impressions, Lasting Value: Making Your Home Shine and Your Mortgage Work”

Eli Ostrow, Real Estate Photographer with Property Pix Memphis 901 282-6444

Chuck Bohannon, booking agent for Santa Claus (901) 619-6436

TOPICS COVERED BY JO GARNER, LICENSED MORTGAGE OFFICER

“What makes a buyer fall in love with a house—and what makes that buyer financially able to purchase it?”

What are some other ways you can look your best on a mortgage loan application?
Other ways you can spiff up your mortgage loan file so that you are looking your best is to stay away from overdrafts on your bank statements. Right before you close, underwriters will want to see updated banking history. Try to keep from making large deposits into your accounts other than payroll. Loan regulations require that you show a paper trail documenting the source of large deposits. Depending on the story behind the large deposit, it could cost you your loan or at least delay your closing while you document its source.
Don’t buy anything other than daily things you normally purchase while you are in the loan process. Right before you are ready to close, your report is checked again. If it appears that you bought a car or furniture or appliances or cosigned a loan for someone, this could cause your mortgage to be denied. Whatever you do DO NOT open a 12 months same as cash account. This can be a real deal killer and it can drop your credit scores 50 to 100 points.
I have a Do’s and Don’ts checklist that we can go over together to insure you have the smoothest loan process possible and get to closing on time. Connect with me and I am happy to go over it with you. You can find me at www.JoGarner.com
What are the top five steps for improving credit scores?

RACHET UP THE CREDIT SCORE TO RATCH DOWN THE PRICE OF MORTGAGE RATE-PHILLIP AND FARRAH FENTON’S STORY

Phillip and Farrah Fenton had been married over a year and expecting their first child. As newly- weds, they didn’t mind living cramped in a tiny house in a family member’s backyard. But, now they had the baby to think about. Phillip’s credit score was suffering because of some bills he had not paid and others he had racked up from his carefree college days.

In order to put himself and his family in a better position, Phillip and I talked about his plans. He disciplined himself with the help of his wife to aggressively pay down the balances on his revolving credit card accounts to keep the owed balances under 30% usage on each of the lines of credit. His credit score started improving.

After adding several points to his credit score, Phillip was in a position to get a lot lower mortgage interest rate. Bragging rights for the Fenton’s. They locked in a lower mortgage rate than they ever thought possible. Now they had more money to spend on their baby.

We are going to talk about some other strategies you can use later in this show. But the way you can get started using this one on improving your credit scores is pull the free credit report the government allows you to get once a year from www.annualcreditreport.com Review it for errors and look for ways to get your revolving credit balances paid down and maintained as low as possible —using less than 30% if possible on your credit lines and making your payments on time.

Make payments on your existing credit on time, never going over 30 days late.

Keep your revolving account owed balances UNDER 30% of the total credit limit. Revolving credit is open ended credit lines like credit cards. Revolving credit activity makes up 35% of your credit score. Many times if a mortgage client needs 15 or 20 points added quickly to their scores, I will suggest they try paying down the revolving accounts to under 30% of the total credit limit. As soon as the lower balance owed is reported it can many times add 10, 20 or even 30 points to a borrowers score. Whatever you do, DO NOT get a 12 months -same as- cash account. These appear to the credit scoring computers like maxed out revolving accounts and send your score down in the tank.

My older customers grew up with credit in the 70’s and 80’s and were taught that the higher credit balances you carried, the better your scores. NOT TRUE TODAY! In fact, if you owe over 50% of your total credit limit on a revolving account, today’s credit scoring algorithms will cause your credit scores to go down by 10,20, or 30 points or more. Not a good thing.

Leave really old collection accounts alone if they creditor has not been recently reporting the collection to the bureaus. If they are a few years old, they probably aren’t negatively affecting your credit scores anyway. It seems counterintuitive for it to work that way, but once you pay off an old collection account and it is reported paid, it’s computer numerical code identifying it as a derogatory account type doesn’t change and the credit scoring software reads your paid off collection account as a recent derogatory account taking your scores down temporarily. After several weeks your scores should look better though because you don’t show an UNPAID collection but at first paying off a collection account can send your scores down which is what you DON’T want when you are trying to buy a home or refinance one. You can pay these old collections off after you have purchased the home. (use the basketball bounce analogy)

If you do not have a credit score due to having no credit or if you are trying to offset some negative credit accounts, you may want to open a small secured account and keep the balance owed between $12 dollars and $20 dollars each month. In order to keep such a tight control on the balance owed like that some of my customers just use the secured credit card account by buying $12 to $19 dollars in gas for the car each month. That way they can control keeping the balance strategically in those margins. You’re just playing a game with the computer scoring system.

The important way to maintain your credit is to get a free report (without the credit score) each year from a place like www.annualcreditreport.com Just look over the activity and make sure it is correct and that your revolving account balances are comfortably under 30% of the total credit limit. Check for any derogatory reporting. Since identity theft is one of the most wide spread white-collar crimes, it is probably a good idea to sign up for a service that alerts you if someone is trying to use your social security number

Another great resource for determine generally what is most important in determining your credit score in order of importance is the website www.myfico.com

Strategies that make your home purchase offer stronger without having to pay too much for the house.

Get all of your income and asset support documents to the lender right up front. Ask the lender to review our income and your assets and email their opinion. Print the lenders prequalification letter and the lender’s email message to you with the complimentary comments about the strength of your credit and loan request. Give these papers to the seller or their realtor. Some sellers aren’t looking for the highest sales price offer. Some sellers are looking for the surest officer. A lender who, from their message you indicates that you are financially strong and able to purchase their home, is a good strategy to use to make a great impression on the seller in a multiple-offer, competitive situation.

MAKE YOUR PLAN. LET’S WORK YOUR PLAN. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, LET’S DO IT TODAY. I can make the mortgage process easy. Connect with me at www.JoGarner.com You can email me at Jo@JoGarner.com or call me at (901) 482-0354

4^th Segment 8 minutes and 50 seconds

(THE SONG UpBeat Inspirations PLAYING IN BACKGROUND ) INSIGHTS & INSPIRATIONS

“The Man Who Made a Lasting Impression”

What if your greatest success came from helping other people look their best?

In the early 1900s, a young photographer opened a studio in Harlem, New York.

He believed an ordinary photograph could become something extraordinary.

Through beautiful lighting, elegant backgrounds, careful posing, and skillful darkroom techniques, he created portraits that captured the dignity, pride, and aspirations of his customers.

For decades, he photographed everyday families alongside some of Harlem’s most celebrated personalities.

Then, in 1969, his remarkable work gained new recognition through an exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

His legacy teaches us something powerful:

Success isn’t always about making yourself look important. Sometimes it’s about helping others make a lasting impression!

Who was this photographer in this story? That remarkable photographer was James Van Der Zee!

Are you wanting to buy a home or maybe you need to sell a home before you can buy another one? I can help you make a good first impression when we submit your application to underwriting for an approval. Let me help you get the right mortgage and we can make the process EASY. Contact me today by calling or texting me at 901 482-0354. I’m Jo Garner and I want to be your mortgage lender for life. JoGarner.com

(Jo) Today on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe we are talking about “

“First Impressions, Lasting Value: Making Your Home Shine and Your Mortgage Work”

Eli Ostrow, Real Estate Photographer with Property Pix Memphis 901 282-6444

Chuck Bohannon, booking agent for Santa Claus (901) 619-6436

REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK

Eli Ostrow’s real estate tip (about 1.5 minutes) Don’t let the property photo be the solution on the back end. Let it be the solution on the front end. Before you have the promo photo done, cut the grass, trim the trees

Chuck Bohannon (Santa Claus’ tip) 1 minute

Speaking of trees….. At Christmas time, the best location for the Christmas tree is in the corner closest to the fireplace for the best photos.

Jo Garner’s tip : Get the book “Choosing the Best Mortgage:The Quickest Way to the Life You Want” Chapter 15 offers numerous tips for increasing your credit scores. It is the right thing to do to pay off your collection accounts. However, if you are planning to buy a car or a house within the next 45 to 60 days where your credit scores are important, make the deal with your credit to make the debt good, but don’t pay the collection off right now. When you pay off the collection account, initially it drops your credit score, but after a few days, your scores tend to bounce back even higher due to the delinquent credit being paid off. Timing is crucial.

Do you want to buy a house or refinance your mortgage but you seem to be hitting a barrier that is keeping you from moving forward? There are more creative solutions than you can count. You just need a real person to hear your story and take the time to help you set up your strategy.

Call or text me today at 901 482-0354 or go to www.JoGarner.com

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 1^st floor Memphis, TN

(Thank you to Breadie’s Café at One City Church for being Talk Shoppe’s location sponsor. One City Church is committed to proving LOVE WORKS in Memphis and beyond)

Talk Shoppe will meet Wednesday October 21^st, 2026 9AM central time at Breadie’s Café 120 N East Yates Rd. Memphis, TN This week is Health Talk Week powered by Mary Lou Nowak of Resource4Care.com and sponsored by Tim Flesner and Genell Holloway of Mid-South Home Helpers (non-medical assistance with daily living routines for those wanting to age in place.

The topic? “From Hospital to Home: What Happens After You’re Discharged?” by Kelsey Watts of 901 Home Health Care presenting

Thank you to Leah Anne Morse of All Things New Moving and Transition Company. Want a positive experience when it is time to downsize or make a move in life? Leah Anne and her expert team can help you organize and make the move a positive one. 901 488-9733.

I want to personally thank my long-time appliance repairman, Larry Teague. He has kept my same washer and dryer working for almost 25 years. He is very affordable and he can save YOU money too! 901 276-9193

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)

(The Auditory version of this disclosure is played during the show)

QUOTE: Anonymous

“Being beautiful doesn’t make you happy. Being happy makes you beautiful.”

Anonymous

REJOINDERS:

Christine Thornburg, Empowered with Purpose Solutions (901) 653-5400
Brandi Spicer of Howling Wolf Bookkeeping www.HowlingWolfBooks.com
Donna Roach, Hearthside Senior Living Bartlett, TN 901 651-2503

Transitional Music: First Segment “WAAKA WAAKA” (PD) for Comic Queries; “Small Victories” by Allen McCool allenmccool.com for Did You Know segment; “Upbeat Inspiration” by Ikoliksaj for Insights and Inspiration segment.

INTRO AND OUTRO THEME MUSIC “Country Roads” by Sergie Pavkin

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 ELI OSTROW, REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHER OF PROPERTY PIX MEMPHIS

901-282-6444 Info@pixbyelij.com

Eli Ostrow is the owner of PropertyPix Memphis, a full-service real estate media company built on true-to-life visuals, outstanding service, and a drive to raise the standard of real estate media across the MidSouth. Voted Memphis Community’s #1 Choice for Photography and Videography 2025, he pairs a creative eye with marketing strategy to build content that stands out online. He holds a Public Relations degree from the University of Memphis (Class of 2024).

An FAA Part 107 certified and fully insured drone pilot, Eli offers photography, cinematic video, drone, virtual staging, floor plans, and agent content packages under one roof. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the MAAR Affiliate Council and sponsors the MAAR Multi Million Dollar Club. If you can picture it, he can make it happen. Eli invites you all to elevate your next listing visuals today.

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 the Mighty 990 AM, 107.9 KWAM & streaming on the app https://mighty990.com/app 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”

First Impressions, Lasting Value: Making Your Home Shine and Your Mortgage Work

Categories

Recent Posts