Introducing Dave Porter, a mortgage and loan specialist working at loanDepot in Ashland, Oregon who can help you achieve your dream of owning a new home. Now celebrating more than 40 years in business. Dave specializes in knowing all the fine details that save you thousands and thousands upon dollars in navigating the world of loans and mortgages – from choosing the right loan to locking in the right rate. You might be surprised to learn how small changes make huge results and how often choosing the right mortgage lender is often highly overlooked. In today’s interview, I spoke with Dave about his extensive background and experiences in making small moves that have created dramatic changes in his client’s lives.
Dave, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us today and for being a longtime participant in LocalsGuide.
The LocalsGuide is more than an advertising platform. It is an information highway. The articles and interviews can help your readership discover more about key products and services. It’s great to be a part of this.
Dave, one of my favorite quotes goes: “Easy choice, hard life; hard choice, easy life.” Please talk about this in regards to choosing a mortgage and taking the necessary time to make the smartest choice.
Shields, I’ve never heard that quote before. Thanks for sharing. Let’s put it this way, renting a home is easy or at least easier than buying a home. You don’t have to be committed to the property, don’t have to maintain it, and when you want to move on you can exit fairly easily. When you look at the average rent in Medford of $1650 and then multiply that by 12 months that’s $19,800. Landlords can increase rent by up to 10% each year. That $1650 could be $2415 in five years – now you are paying $28,900 a year. You are paying a mortgage, just not yours!
It might be a harder choice to purchase and your payment may be more than the average rent but the combination of appreciation and paying down on the mortgage loan creates equity. The median price in the Medford area today is $433,000. An appreciation rate of 5.115% is projected taking that value to $545,000 in five years.
I don’t think it’s really a hard choice. It just takes a plan and a goal.
Dave, you have been in this business for more than four decades now. What is the most important question we should be asking ourselves when looking for a new loan or mortgage?
Folks think buying a home is probably the most expensive purchase they will ever make in their lives. They are wrong, it’s the mortgage!
In this example I increased the loan by $10,000 and used it to buy down the interest rate, this resulted in a lower payment each month of $197 and savings of over $81,000 over the life of the loan.
How do we know when we just do not know? What should we pay attention to without being totally paranoid?
I want to reply to this question with “I don’t know!” but that would be a cop-out.
First, we are in uncharted waters. We can look at historical events and follow the economy and mortgage patterns over time but that doesn’t give us a long-term view.
If you have a mortgage, you should have a call or meeting with your mortgage lender each year or better yet, just call me. Like going to the doctor or optometrist, get a checkup. That meeting is to review your finances and particularly your mortgage situation. I urge you to have a similar meeting with your CPA or financial advisor. A mortgage is a tool to buy real estate. There are times when you need to change the mortgage based on the needs at the time.
A quick example: You want to buy a place, have very little for down payment or closing costs but have good income and credit. loanDepot offers a program called AccessZero where there is an FHA loan and then a second mortgage on top of that to cover the down payment, an effectively zero down FHA loan. That’s a great way to get into buying a home. But in time, as you build equity, you may want to explore refinancing out of that loan and into one that may have better terms or less or no mortgage insurance costs.
Let’s talk about rates… but rates are not always the most important factor at play, timing often is! I’ve heard ‘marry real estate and date your mortgage.’ Can you please explain this?
The rate average for the last 40 years is about 7.74%. We are lower than that today, about 1% or so. When COVID hit and the government wanted to spur on the economy, they artificially lowered rates, so home prices went through the roof because there were more buyers for those homes. More buyers could purchase at a lower rate.
The concept of date your mortgage is that the mortgage can be replaced.
Dave, home ownership is a huge dream. However, for many this seems to be just out of grasp. How can you close the gap?
Down payment and closing costs continued to be the biggest obstacle for first-time home buyers. Earlier in the interview I mentioned our Access Zero FHA loan.
But I think the biggest obstacle is the mindset of buyers. “I need a 620 credit score” or “I need 20% down” or “I went bankrupt 3 years ago so I can’t buy.” “I don’t have money for closing costs.” These are all incorrect. Start with questions and don’t assume what you can or can’t do when obtaining a home loan.
“The trouble with most folks is we know too much which ain’t so.” – Mark Twain
Dave, recent reports have shown significant life benefits from homeownership. Please say more.
People think in terms of money as the primary benefit of home ownership. But it’s so much more. The impact of home ownership on children has been documented in numerous academic studies, many of which have found that home ownership has a wide range of positive effects such as: better health; fewer behavioral problems; greater achievement in math and reading; lower high school dropout rates; fewer teen births; more years of schooling by age 25; and higher high school graduation rates.
You often talk about power in numbers when it comes to buying a home and you recently had some experiences in using this power for some of your clients.
There is a case to be made to co-purchase a home. Let’s say you make $17 an hour or $35,360/year or $2,944/mo and you have $250 each month in debts. That, unfortunately, doesn’t get much of a home loan. About $100,000 but if two people each making $17 an hour could qualify for a $254,000 loan. Why be roommates when you can be homeowner roommates.
Real estate is still the number one wealth builder in our country and there are always new opportunities for individuals to step into their dream of being a homeowner.
LEVERAGE. The median home is at $433,000, assuming 5% appreciation, the value goes $545,000. Over $110,000 in gain in five years. The magic is you get the appreciation regardless of what you put down. So you make the monthly payments on the mortgage but you have in doing so tied up real estate that will appreciate. There are several zero or low-down payment options.
Dave, simply said you have one of the best availability I have ever encountered in offering customer service to your clients. Why is this?
I am often available evenings and weekends because that is when folks most often look and purchase homes. I need to be available for my Realtors and clients.
When negotiating, sometimes minutes count.
Dave, can you share some recent testimonials with us?
I would simply say, Google “Zillow reviews Dave Porter Lender.“ You’ll see my scores and scores of five-star reviews. I care about my clients and the evidence is these reviews.
Finally, who should work with you and how should we get in touch?
If you have a question just call, text, email, or send me a telepathic message. I’m relationship-centered, not transactional.
Learn More:
loanDepot, NMLS #483876
344 E Main St., Ashland
Serving CA, OR, & WA
This information is not intended to be an indication of loan qualification, loan approval or commitment to lend. Loans are subject to credit and property approval. Other limitations apply. Rates, terms and availability of programs are subject to change without notice. State disclaimer: loanDepot.com, LLC NMLS ID 174457. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org Licensed by the OR Division of Finance and Corporate Securities, Mortgage Lending ML-4972.| WA: Licensed by the WA State Department of Financial Institutions, Consumer Loan Company CL-174457. | ID | CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act CRMLA 4131040
