Community Lending Solutions, Inc

01/27/2026

I am horrible at keeping up with posting on social media and "maintaining an online presence", but I'm happy to say it's only because I'm always busy with my customers!

Today is an exception, though, because I'm feeling especially grateful. In just a few days, Community Lending Solutions will be celebrating our 3-year anniversary.

I wanted to take the time to say THANK YOU for giving me an opportunity to work with you.

I probably still won't have a lot of time to post online, but I think the reason I stay busy is because of the promise I make to all my customers:

I want to make sure I am the BEST choice for you to obtain your mortgage. I will take the time to make sure I am getting you the lowest rate, lowest costs, and best service available in the entire market. If I'm not entirely confident I can achieve that for you, I will genuinely tell you where I think you can get the best mortgage for your situation (this does happen on occasion with certain types of 2nd mortgage products, or new construction builds, etc)

I'm able to accomplish being the "best" so often because I am a one-person shop. I don't have a marketing team, or a processor, or any third-party underwriters I hire. I do it "all" on every transaction, even the administrative and compliance work.

I'll never grow into an "empire" or "get rich" this way, but I can make a good living and sleep well at night knowing I got my customers the best product and price possible. I work for YOU. That's the entire concept and why we're named "Community" Lending Solutions.

Thank you again for your support these last 3 years!

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01/28/2025

Keep this in mind when buying a home, and make sure to ask any potential mortgage expert you work with what to expect when buying a home.

This is another reason to also trust a local source for your mortgage where they know market trends and how to access the data to calculate what sort of potential outcomes you'll have for paying "X" amount for your new home.

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11/01/2024

Here's a tip for anyone who is considering buying a home or refinancing:

New services like Afterpay, Affirm, Sezzle, etc. are becoming very popular. It's where you can split a purchase from a retailer into 4 equal installments without interest. Seems like a harmless thing to do with nothing but a benefit to you as a consumer, right?

The problem is, this is new for the mortgage industry, and when you use these services, you are creating a "liability", which is a fancy way of saying you created a debt that you now owe, just like a credit account.

On government loans, we have to consider any installment debt, even if there are less than 10 payments remaining, that is more than 5% of your monthly income.

So....buying a new pair of shoes and using this service can cause chaos to calculating your debt-to-income ratio, and even more annoying will be the documentation required to prove the terms, etc.

My best suggestion is that if you plan on getting any mortgage financing, avoid using these for a few months prior and during your application process, because if they're seen on an asset statement of yours, you'll be struggling to document it.

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09/16/2024

It's been MONTHS since a post, but in this case, that's a good thing.

The market has showed significant signs of improvement recently, and current rates are reflecting that.

As a result, I have been busy, busy, busy!

Remember, Community Lending Solutions, Inc is a one-person mortgage shop, so you get incredibly personalized attention and service.

It sometimes means we don't have time to post online, but I ALWAYS find time to make sure my customers get the best service, rate, and costs available in the market.

If you're thinking of refinancing a home you purchased in the last two years to save, or are finally ready to start shopping and buy a home now that rates have dropped, please get a hold of me at (330) 510-1418 and compare me to the competition. Odds are, you'll become one of those customers that prevents me from posting online!

04/22/2024

This is where it helps to own a brokerage. My rates aren't great, but they're at least still in the sixes.

Wholesale lending through a brokerage is significantly less expensive than retail lending, but statistically, 90+% of people go through retail when buying or refinancing.

Then again, I guess when you're spending more than I make in a year on your monthly marketing, you get the business

But if you want to save money, your local broker will give you the best loan. You can support local business and actually save money doing it. No reason not to.

04/16/2024

For some reason, they can't seem to curb consumer spending, and that means inflation is staying around longer than expected. Mortgage rates have gotten pretty ugly in the last couple weeks after showing brief signs of improvement only about a month ago. Until this economy slows down, things will stay unpleasant.

The question is, who is out there doing the spending? It seems as if we all feel the sting of inflation, so I don't understand how retail sales and prices are increasing....anyway....

I can't emphasize this enough....if you're going to get a mortgage in this market, and you choose not to give my company Community Lending Solutions, Inc a chance to earn your business, at least do yourself a favor and don't let an uneducated retail loan officer put discount points into your mortgage to buy down your rate. I see it constantly now, and all you're doing is WASTING your money. We all know rates are high right now. You WILL refinance any mortgage you get today, so why spend money on discount points that will take you a minimum of 3 years to see a gain from? Spending $8,000 (yes, I've seen this recently) to get a lower rate and save yourself $75 per month isn't worth it if you refinance in 12, 18, or 24 months. Just do the math on how much your discount points cost you versus save you. For example, if you spend $2,400 in discount points to lower your rate and it saves you $31 per month, it would take you 78 months (6.5 years) to get any benefit from buying those points ($2,400 / $31 per month). If you end up refinancing 12 months into having that mortgage, you will have lost $2,028 by spending money on discount points. It saved you $31 per month and you had the loan for 12 months, so $31 x 12 = $372.00. You spent $2,400 for the discount points. $2,400 - $372.00 = $2,028

Discount points CAN make sense under the right circumstances, but that's almost NEVER in today's market

Or, give me a chance to earn your business and show you how I can provide you better rates, better prices, better service, better advice, and better loan products

02/22/2024

I always tell people that my company Community Lending Solutions, Inc provides wholesale pricing to my customers, but what does that actually translate to?

Well, let's use today as an example, and this is a loan I just locked for a customer.

Had they used an average lender, the rate they could expect today on a 30-year Fixed rate mortgage would be 7.717%

The rate I just locked them at? 6.75% (yes, still on a 30 year fixed), and that's giving them a lender credit of .228%

So let's pretend you were borrowing $175,000. With me, your monthly principle and interest payment would be $1135.05, and I give a lender credit of $399 at the same time

With the average lender, your payment would be $1,250.10

So you pay $115 less to support local business, all while getting superior service.

Yes, the mortgage market stinks right now, but it at least stinks a lot less when you deal with me.

01/26/2024

Friends who may have purchased a home in the last year and a half:

Did you use FHA, VA, or USDA to finance your home, and is your rate at or above 6%?

If so, you should really look into government "Streamline" options for your loan(s) (FHA Streamline, VA IRRRL, or USDA RD Pilot Stream)

All of these loan programs allow you to drop your interest rate to current market rates with minimal to no closing costs, no appraisal, and no requalification for the mortgage (barely any documents needed)

Of course I would hope you would give my company Community Lending Solutions, Inc a chance to help you achieve your Streamline, or at least compare my rates, costs, and programs to your current/favorite lender

On the wholesale side of the mortgage industry, we are now able to get into the low 5s for government fixed rate mortgages, so you have some savings available to you, and I know plenty of people opened mortgages at 7% or higher recently.

01/01/2024

I hope everyone has a great New Year's celebration! Looking forward to what 2024 will bring...

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our family to yours! 🎁

12/21/2023

For folks watching the rate market, the recent drops we experienced have tapered off and it seems like a little bit of market conservatism has creeped back in, so we've had some very small increases over the past few days. I don't predict any wild swings either way for the remainder of 2023.

That said, I am still seeing some lenders where I can lock in on 30 year mortgages with fixed rates in the 5's (both Conventional and Government). That's a LOT more affordable than the 7's we were seeing earlier this year.

As always, my commitment is to search the market as your advocate and provide you the best loan program and price for your scenario, so if you need a mortgage and want to make sure you're getting the best rate/costs out there, I'm the person you should check with!

12/15/2023

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing my post about my company yesterday. I wasn't expecting it, but I saw it everywhere. There were so many people that shared it that I don't know if I can find each person individually to thank them, but I will try!! I even had a few people reach out to me to ask about services, which is awesome.

I know I have other small business owner friends out there who can relate to this, but one of the most frustrating things is knowing that you have a better process, price, and service than all of the big box companies out there, but no budget or way to get your name out there - it kills me every day!! 🤣