Brian Faeth Mortgage Team

Brian Faeth Mortgage Team Veteran-owned mortgage team helping you buy, refinance, or invest with confidence.

08/28/2026

This is exactly why the Florida Hometown Heroes program exists and why it matters.

A teacher in the Miami-Dade district. Minimum funds to put toward a purchase. Working with what she has and trying to make homeownership work on a teacher's salary.

Without the Hometown Heroes program she would not be able to get into a home right now. With it she was able to access approximately $10,000 to $12,000 toward her closing costs. That is the difference between getting the keys and walking away empty-handed.

Teachers do not make what they should. That is not a controversial statement. It is a reality that plays out in the housing market every single day when dedicated educators cannot afford to buy homes in the communities they serve.

Programs like Hometown Heroes exist to close that gap. And when we can use them to help someone like this teacher cross the finish line into homeownership it makes every part of this job worthwhile.

She was so grateful. And honestly that gratitude is exactly what we do this for.

If you are a teacher, firefighter, police officer, nurse, EMS worker, or military member in Florida reach out and let's find out if Hometown Heroes can help you do the same.

08/27/2026

Last week's inflation report did not move in the direction anyone was hoping for and your clients deserve a clear explanation of what it means.

Here is the full picture.

Rates opened last week higher with the 30-year fixed climbing to 6.72 percent as Treasury yields firmed on stronger economic data. Then Wednesday brought the number everyone was waiting for: the PCE report, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge.

The result was mixed and not in a good way. Headline inflation ticked up to 3.7 percent when 3.6 was expected. Core inflation held at 3.3 percent, right in line with forecast, but still well above the Fed's 2 percent target. Treasury yields moved higher on the news and mortgage rates followed.

Here is the part worth really paying attention to.

The same report showed consumer spending was basically flat in July. Prices are staying sticky but households are pulling back. That combination, inflation not cooling as fast as hoped while consumers grow more cautious, is exactly the kind of mixed signal that makes the Fed's next move harder to predict. And it is why rate forecasts keep shifting week to week.

So what does this mean for your clients?

Nothing changes about the fundamentals. Waiting for a sure thing on rates is not a strategy. Weeks like this prove that nobody can time the market perfectly. The move that actually works is knowing your numbers now so you are ready the moment the right home shows up.

If you have clients trying to make sense of what happened last week send them my way. I am happy to break it down in plain English.

I am Brian with Universal Home Lending.

08/26/2026

If you are a Florida hero, this program was built specifically for you and most people who qualify have never heard of it.

The Florida Hometown Heroes program was launched by the Florida Housing and Finance Corporation in 2022 to help firefighters, EMS workers, military, nurses, police officers, doctors, and others in similar fields qualify for and purchase a home.

Here is an important update worth knowing for 2026.

When the program first launched it focused on the core heroes: medical professionals, military, firefighters, and police. Last year it expanded to include a much broader pool of eligible workers. This year it appears to have scaled back toward the original definition of a hometown hero.

That means if you or someone you know is a firefighter, EMS worker, military member or veteran, nurse, police officer, or works in a qualifying medical field, this is the conversation to have right now. The program still exists, funds are still available, but the eligibility pool is more specific than it was last year.

The Hometown Heroes program provides down payment and closing cost assistance to help qualifying buyers get into a home with less cash upfront. It is one of the most straightforward and powerful assistance programs available in Florida today.

If you are unsure whether you or a family member qualifies based on occupation reach out and let's find out before you assume you do not.

08/25/2026

The biggest mistake buyers make with the Florida Hometown Heroes program is one that costs them the benefit entirely. And it is completely avoidable.

Timing.

Here is what actually happens. A buyer gets pre-approved when the program opens. They take two or three months driving across the state with their realtor looking at every possible property. And by the time they find the one they want and are ready to move forward, the money is gone.

Then the calls start coming in three, four, five weeks after the program closes from the same people who were pre-approved two months earlier wondering if they can still use it.

The answer is no. Once the money is gone it is gone. There is no waitlist. There is no second round announced in advance. It is just over.

And here is the part that is frustrating. When lenders and realtors tell buyers the money is running out, buyers sometimes think we are just trying to pressure them into a sale. We are not. This is public information. You can go on the Florida Housing Finance Corporation website right now. You can call the 800 number and they will tell you the same exact thing.

The other mistake: every buyer thinks they are the only one applying. They are not. Thousands of qualifying heroes across the state of Florida are in the same program at the same time.

If you are pre-approved for Hometown Heroes the single most important thing you can do is move with urgency. The benefit does not wait and neither does the money.

08/18/2026

If you have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right time to buy a home this week's news might be exactly what you have been waiting for.

Two major inflation reports just came out and they are both telling the same story. Consumer prices barely moved in July. Wholesale prices came in basically flat. And that is a bigger deal than most people realize.

Here is why it matters for your mortgage. Inflation is one of the biggest forces that moves the bond market. And the bond market is what drives mortgage rates. Cooler inflation reports take pressure off rates and create a more favorable environment for borrowers.

Now I am not going to tell you rates are about to crash. Jobs data, Federal Reserve decisions, and other economic factors all play a role. But the trend is finally moving in the right direction and that matters.

Here is what I really want you to hear. If you stepped away from the market six months to a year ago whatever the numbers looked like back then they are outdated. Your payment picture today could look meaningfully different from what you saw when you walked away.

Do not wait for a headline to tell you it is time to reach out. Reach out today and let me show you what is actually possible right now.

Call me and we will go over everything together.

I am Brian with Universal Home Lending.

🏡 Lower Your Payment. Close More Deals.For a limited time through August 31, our 1-0 Temporary Rate Buydown is available...
08/13/2026

🏡 Lower Your Payment. Close More Deals.

For a limited time through August 31, our 1-0 Temporary Rate Buydown is available for just 25 basis points.

That means you can offer buyers:
✅ A lower interest rate during the first year
✅ Lower monthly payments when they're settling into their new home
✅ An affordable way to improve purchasing power without permanently buying down the rate

For Realtors, this is another tool to help get hesitant buyers off the fence. For homebuyers, it means more breathing room during the first year of homeownership.

The best part? The cost of offering this incentive is currently a fraction of what it normally is.

If you're wondering how much your payment could be reduced, I can run the numbers using our 1-0 Buydown Calculator and show you the savings.

⏳ Offer available through August 31.

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