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The Happy Ending!
I posted on the forum some months ago, and on other social media, an article on Gustan Cho and Associates. How we met and the process of applying for a mortgage. I also explained how his team waded through misinformation on my wife’s and my credit rating. His diligent help secured us a mortgage on a new home in Ocala, Florida. Ocala is centrally located in the middle of the state, an hour and a half drive to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. We escaped the traffic and all the new arrivals in Tampa. This may be the last toe hole in Florida that is very nice and affordable. Gustan Cho was able to get us a very reasonable home mortgage and insurance, which we bundled and saved more money on.
The interesting thing about Gustan Cho and his team is that their values extended past the signing of our loan. He researched lower rates, and one week before closing, he had us reapply for the mortgage. A very scary situation with the closing the week later. He streamlined the loan, and we were giving a mortgage at a lower rate—1.75% lower—a huge savings each month. His business mantra, which I explained in my first article, held true even after closing.
His concern for people is something you will never find in a clause in a contract.
As of today, Gus is constantly looking for a lower rate. When the rate goes down and there is equity in the home, it might be time to refinance. If so, Gustan Cho is on it.
The entire moving process is extremely stressful, to say the least. Starting with the mortgage, then home owners insurance, not to mention the dozen or so phone calls for change of address and medical coverage. We moved 100 miles away from Tampa, and we are in a whole new PPO medical insurance district. All the prior information given has to be re-given. The insurance company must explain each and every plan; after two hours of nonsense, we had the same medical plan as before. I swear the phone calls, automatic messages, and the AI giving advice were the most stressful.
All the horror stories about moving are true, and for the most part, my wife and I were very fortunate. Starting with a wonderful real estate broker, who, as Gus, looked out for our best interests. I always wondered who a real estate broker works for. They need the house and the owner to sell the home, and then they also need the buyers.
The moving company was exceptional. We called four for quotes, and ironically, the one we chose was the least expensive. They arrived at 10 a.m., two trucks and seven guys. The packing of our items was handled with great care. The bubble wrap they used was close to two miles long! Nothing was damaged; they needed an additional truck at no charge; they kept to the quote on the contract; there was no small print to trip you up. When the ordeal was completed, moving everything in and arranging what and where we wanted items, it was 11 p.m. A hard day’s work. The work ethic with these guys was amazing!
Other nightmares you may have heard or experienced for yourself were about builders. We have friends who had a $400,000 home built. There were dozens of issues with plumping, electrical, etc.; calls were placed and never returned; they have been pursuing the builders for over a year. Our builder’s assistant has been over every day for the first week, fixing minor things that occur normally with a new home and keeping true to the home warranty. Each worker, and sometimes three workers at a time, showed up respectful of our home and continuously apologized for the inconvenience.
If you need a real estate broker in Florida, get in touch with new homes on a quarter acre for right now under $280,000! The same is true for an outstanding mortage guy. If your need is movers in Florida, let me know. I will be more than happy to pass on information that will make your Florida move actually pleasant.
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4 Replies
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Thank you, Peter, for sharing your story. I want to thank you, Doreen, and Donna Davidson. Donna Davidson is hands down the best real estate agent who I have worked with since I got involved in the real estate industry in 1998. AMAZING is an understatement. For me, working with you and your family was a pleasure and gift. I enjoyed every minute of it and could not have reached the finish line without every single person cooperating. This means Peter, Doreen, Donna, our one and only Angie Torres, Marga Jurilla, builders, and the operations and support staff of our wholesale investor. If one of the named parties did not cooperate, the deal would have been broken and this is where stress comes into play. I manage the support, ops, and licensed staff of the Oakbrook Terrace Branch of NEXA Mortgage (CORP NMLS 166090) and we go under the dba of Gustan Cho Associates aka GCA Mortgage Group branch NMLS 2315275. We have a phenomenal team who have been together a long time. The average team member of Gustan Cho Associates have been with us eight years and some have been with us since 2012. I do not believe in having a large team. I believe in having a small team of quality mortgage professionals and there are no rank at GCA Mortgage Group. Everyone is hands on and nobody is the boss. As the man in charge and branch manager, I am not the boss. Everyone is equal and we all learn from each other. When I first got the inquiry from Peter Arcuri, I knew there were multiple moving parts to get this loan qualified and approved. Normally, I do not originate loans. However, there are times when a borrower’s loan application will take longer than normal due to several moving parts before we can get to the finish line. I knew whoever I assigned the Arcuri file to, it will hold up the assigned loan officer’s pipeline, which by no means will they complain but I thought the best way to handle Peter and Doreen Arcuri’s file was for me to handle it personally with Angie Torres. Loan Officers use mortgage processors but I decided this file was above an average processor’s paygrade. Angie is the national operations director and has experience in running a full-eagle HUD-1 mortgage banking operation, from the initial opening department, disclosure desk, mortgage process, mortgage underwriters and underwriting, closing departments, funding desk, servicing department, and secondary markets as well dealing with scratch and dent loans that we could not sell in the secondary market. Angie also deals with regulators, audits, and licensing. Angie is our top gun at GCA Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois Branch and Marga Jurilla is our top dog on corporate matters. By the way, the mortgage loan application by having multiple layers is by no means the borrower’s fault. It was due to errors in creditors reporting tradelines correctly, and legal matters that had to get rectified before even getting pre-approved. All in all, I always tell that making a buck here or there is not wealth. It is the relationship you build that is wealth. I got wealthy by meeting a great client, friend, and lifelong client, Peter and Doreen Arcuri, and Donna Davidson, from being the assigned loan officer on Peter’s mortgage loan. Thank you, Peter, Doreen, Donna, for giving me the opportunity to serve you in your mortgage loan. Thank you for your faith, confidence, and trust on having me, Angie, and my team entrusting me with all of your important, confidential financials and supporting me with discretion for us to do our jobs. Our mission and goal was to get you the very best mortgage loan program at the lowest possible rate. We take our client’s trust and faith extremely seriously with negligence NOT an OPTION, EVER. Remember, I am closely monitoring rates and terms on your loan to get you refinanced after six months. I have confidence that rates will go towards our favor and you will get a net tangible benefit with lower monthly payments and lower rate. Thank you again.
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Congratulations 🎊
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Thank you
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Congratulations 🎊 👏 💐 🥳 🎊