Author: Abby Vaquerano

First Community Mortgage Announces New Vice President and Mortgage Originator

February 16, 2022

In a recent announcement, First Community Mortgage (FCM) named Tracy Flesch as the company’s newest Vice President and Mortgage Originator. 

Prior to working with FCM, Flesch graduated from Iowa State University and spent some time working as a sportscaster. Much of what he learned from these past experiences helped shape how he works with clients today. 

“I enjoy making the process as simple, quick, and convenient as possible for clients,” Flesch says, “and the entire process can be completed online or in-person at my office in Huntsville, always striving to provide an experience that will exceed expectations.”

Since moving into the mortgage industry, Flesh has closed over 1,800 loans and can originate mortgages in 32 states, including Tennessee and Alabama. 

Flesch’s appointment represents FCM’s interest in and commitment to growing the communities they operate within, especially in Huntsville, where FCM will open an office in Spring 2022. 

“Tracy is a great fit for our team, having been a top producer throughout his mortgage career,” says Dan Smith, President of First Community Mortgage. “And he makes the mortgage process – which can be daunting to some – as fast, easy and painless as it can be.”

First Community Mortgage, Inc. is a subsidiary of First Community Bank of Tennessee. In 2021 alone, FCM funded nearly $3.5 billion in home loans, and is a FNMA, FHLMC, and GNMA seller and servicer. Winner of several recent “best places to work” awards, FCM is there to help with any mortgage solutions for consumers and financial institutions alike.

Read the original article here.

First Community Mortgage Recognized Among 2022 Top Workplaces USA

February 4, 2022

Middle Tennessee-based national mortgage again garners Top Workplaces notice

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — First Community Mortgage has been named one of the 2022 Top Workplaces USA by Energage, a purpose-driven organization that develops solutions to build and brand Top Workplaces.

“Our employees continue to amaze me, as they are what makes us the organization we are,” says Keith Canter, CEO of First Community Mortgage and one of the company’s founders. “I continue to be proud of their work and teamwork and the continued recognition of this great organization as a workplace of choice, especially during a challenging couple of years with the pandemic.”

In addition to the recent Top Workplaces USA recognition for the Murfreesboro-based mortgage firm that does business nationally, Canter refers to FCM also having been named one of the Best Places to Work 2021 by the Nashville Business Journal and one of the Top Work Places 2021 by the Tennessean.

“During this very challenging time, Top Workplaces – in its inaugural year – is a beacon of light for organizations, as well as a sign of resiliency and strong business performance,” says Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “Top Workplaces draw on real-time insights into what works best for an organization, so they can make informed decisions that have a positive impact on their people and their business.”

He notes that the recognition program is built on a 14-year history surveying more than 20 million employees across 54 markets for the regional Top Workplaces awards. Results are calculated by comparing the survey’s research-based statements, including 15 Culture Drivers that are proven to predict high performance against industry benchmarks.

First Community Mortgage, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Community Bank of Tennessee, and includes Wholesale, Correspondent and Retail divisions. FCM is a FNMA, FHLMC, and GNMA seller/servicer and offers mortgage solutions to consumers and financial institutions. It funded nearly $3.5 billion in home loans in 2021. First Community Mortgage is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS ID 629700.

Energage delivers the most accurate competitive benchmark available. With access to a unique combination of patented analytic tools and expert guidance, Energage customers lead the competition with an engaged workforce and an opportunity to gain recognition for their people-first approach to culture. For more information or to nominate your organization, visit energage.com or topworkplaces.com.

How to Prepare for a New Home in 2022

January 31, 2022

It’s a new year and families are creating new budgets to reach their goals. If you are planning on buying a new home this year, here are some tips to turn your American dream of homeownership into your reality!

1. Pay attention to your credit

Your credit score is one of the first things lenders look at when qualifying you for a loan. Keep an eye on your credit card minimum payments and pay everything on time, if not early. The higher your credit score, the lower your rate.

2. No large purchases

Do not make any large purchases that require a credit check. Whether it is opening a store credit card for an extra 10% off or buying a new car, it will hurt your overall credit score. A new car, that beautiful sofa you’ve been eying, or that giant TV to watch the playoffs on can wait until after you close on your new home.

3. Switching to Self-Employed

Taking the leap to start your own business is exciting! However, if you quit your job to dedicate all your time to your new business, you will be resetting the clock on buying a new home. Mortgage lenders love stability in your income stream. Becoming self-employed or changing your income type could potentially postpone the dreams of homeownership for 2 to 3 years.

4. Keep your bank account simple!

Apply the KIS rule (keep it simple) to your bank account. Mortgage lenders look at the last 60 days activity. Moving money from one account to another or taking it from underneath your mattress and putting it in your bank account could cause significant issues for your loan approval. If you have a large amount to deposit in your account, speak to your lender first to make sure it is done right.

5. Do not co-sign for others

As much as you want to get Cousin Eddie and his Winnebago out of the driveway, do not co-sign for anyone. That debt will be counted against you, even if they make the payments. 

Schedule a time to sit with one of our trusted loan originators to walk through each step here!

First Community Mortgage wins prestigious business ethics award

January 20, 2022

Award recognizes businesses for their “commitment to building trust through ethical practices”

First Community Mortgage has bagged a prestigious award that honors businesses for integrity and ethical practices.

The lender was announced as the winner of the Better Business Bureau’s (Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky) Torch Awards for Ethics in the extra-large business category.

According to the Better Business Bureau, the Torch Awards for Ethics – presented in conjunction with the BBB Integrity Foundation – recognizes businesses in BBB serving the Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky service area that demonstrate an “outstanding commitment to building trust through ethical practices with their staff, the community, their approach to marketing, and within their industry.”

“This award is special because it’s bigger than who is selling the most of their service,” said Robyn Householder, president and chief executive officer of BBB serving Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky. “It’s about displaying an ongoing commitment to ethical practices. This should be recognized far more often. BBB is proud to give this award as our highest honor.”

“I feel strongly that actions speak much louder than words and we’ve taken great care in establishing and communicating the core values of the organization, and communicating that they are never compromised by anyone,” said Keith Canter, CEO of First Community Mortgage. “At every level of employee engagement our values are communicated, but, more importantly, executed. Eventually, it became the fabric of our organization, in which all employees understand the values, with a clear baseline for who stays on the FCM team. That ultimately cascades to our business partners and customers, who see that we trust our employees to ‘do right’ and that we can in turn be trusted with the privilege of their partnership and business.”

Read the original article here.

Is the New Year the Time for a New Home?

December 14, 2021

Article written by FCM CEO Keith Canter for NASDAQ

The calendar turning over is often a time for people to take a look at their lives and evaluate any changes they’d like to make. New Year’s Resolutions about exercise, saving money, weight management and more can be useful if carried out. For many, one resolution may be to buy a new home in 2022. If so, now what?

The home buying and financing process can be daunting. For one, you don’t just go the store and buy a house like you would a gallon of milk. Fortunately, lenders have increasingly made it easier to finance a home. Some lenders even provide prospective home buyers with added informational items like a book for first-time buyers, a roadmap for application documentation, and a checklist for homeownership and financing steps.

Other lenders provide a helpful mortgage calculator to see what your monthly payment may look like based on various loan amounts and estimated rates. Borrowers should know that loan amounts may change during the homebuying process, just as rates can change throughout the home financing journey.

A good mortgage calculator will give you a basic understanding of how monthly payments are calculated. Likewise, a great mortgage originator or loan officer should be ready and willing to gauge your knowledge level and help you clearly understand the process and choices.

Easier than you think

A good real estate agent will take the time to walk you through how that process works. An experienced, reputable mortgage banker will help you with your application and find options that suit you and your circumstances best. Every borrower, and every property, is different, and a good loan officer will stand by to answer your questions, tackle any changes or surprises, and bring you to the closing table as “cleanly” as possible.

A good loan officer also will pay attention to you as an individual. Are you married, or is there a co-borrower? A good explanation why a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is better for you than an adjustable rate, or a 30-year fixed rate. How a Down Payment Assistance Program might benefit you. Why a pre-qualification letter is different than a pre-approval letter. The list goes on and on, and a loan officer will walk you through the process.

Anyone thinking about buying a home in 2022 should realize that most lenders can offer a variety of technological advances to help process your loan. But you also should know that the process has not changed much: an application is taken, the borrower’s credit is analyzed, the property appraised, a rate and program selected, and the loan “funds.” Those steps have been streamlined through the use of software that improves the speed and accuracy of data collection, which in turn helps the lender analyze whether you and the property are good risks.

Stable, consistent for now

As we wrap up 2021 and move into 2022, like many things, buying a home and financing the property are subject to global events. The pandemic, which has dominated world headlines for nearly two years, continues to influence the strength or weakness of economies, and therefore interest rates and specifically mortgage rates.

A good mortgage loan originator will discuss how strength in the U.S. economy can move your mortgage rate, making housing more affordable or helping determine whether it makes sense to refinance. And although the Fed does not determine mortgage rates specifically, its actions come about as a result of U.S. economic strength.

Rates, including those used to finance a home purchase in 2022, have indeed moved higher from where they were this summer. But the impact of that increase in mortgage rates must be kept in context. You may not have the same interest rate as your neighbor, but a loan officer will affirm that the impact of a small move-in rate could be negligible.

For example, on a $250,000 30-year, fixed rate loan the monthly payment at 2.75 percent is $1,021. At 3 percent it is $1,054; a difference of only $33 per month. A couple who buys coffee every day will, over a month, spend $240 a month. A lot of money can be saved over the months and years by, for instance, making coffee at home and using that money to help pay off their home loan.

Expertise, relationships, communication

Through all of this, it’s important to remember how important a personal connection is with a real estate agent and with a trained loan officer. Sure, many answers can be found on the internet, but it always helps a new home buyer to have someone on their side, ready to answer questions as you head into 2022 – and, possibly, into home ownership or a re-fi.

Read the original article here.

First Community Mortgage again recognized as a DEI leader in mortgage industry

October 19, 2021

Murfreesboro-based national lender is the only two-time winner of Mortgage Bankers Association’s Residential DEI Leadership Award for Market Outreach Strategies, vows to continue expanding commitment

Nashville, Oct. 20, 2021 – At the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Annual Convention & Expo in San Diego this week, Murfreesboro-based First Community Mortgage learned it is the Winner of the 2021 Residential Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Leadership Award for Market Outreach Strategies.

“We are of course proud and grateful for this recognition,” says Keith Canter, CEO of FCM and one of the company’s founders. “Plus, this award has special significance for us as FCM is the only company in our industry to have received it for a second time. We take that ‘double honor’ seriously, as it validates our commitment to provide more families from diverse backgrounds with the opportunity to achieve the American Dream of homeownership.”

In 2017, FCM also earned the MBA National Market Outreach Strategies award recognizing its efforts in this area, including a wide array of bilingual information and educational resources for Hispanic potential homebuyers. The annual award recognizes MBA members who have developed innovative ways to foster DEI efforts within their organizations, highlights leaders within the area of DEI in the real estate finance industry, inspires business strategies that reach diverse populations and raises awareness of the importance and value of being a diverse and inclusive industry.

“We are proud of our companywide initiatives to increase outreach, marketing and products to attract customers within the industry’s fastest-growing diverse market segments,” says Miguel Vega, FCM’s EVP of Multicultural Business Development and the company’s Chief Diversity Officer. “And even though the growth of our Multicultural Lending Initiative (MCLI) as well as our American Home Opportunity Fund were some of the main elements of our nomination, the award is really a recognition of the individual and collective commitment and intentionality of our incredible team. Our people each take our DEI efforts very seriously.”

Vega notes that the MCLI of First Community Mortgage has grown tremendously since 2016. As part of the MCLI, he recruits bilingual Loan Originators and team members across the country. For instance, he recruited top talent leading to the opening of new MCLI locations, like the Houston, TX, branch in October 2020. Also in 2020, Vega says FCM created the new position of Vice President, Community Engagement, to launch its Community Development Initiative, expanding the MCLI to generate even more homeownership opportunities for underserved communities, especially within the Black community, while also fostering generational wealth.

Vega says over a thousand families have been served by MCLI since the first loan closed in February of 2017. In 2019, the MCLI division produced $57.9 million, $101 million in 2020, and is on track to produce $125 million by the end of 2021.

“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is an ongoing journey,” Canter says, “especially to continue being a leader in DEI, so we will keep listening, evolving best practices and investing the time, energy, and other resources, further expanding homeownership information and access.”