Gum Tree Mortgage Starkville - Columbus

06/15/2026

Most homeowners set their mortgage and never look back.

And honestly? That makes sense. Life gets busy. The payment becomes part of the routine. It stops feeling like something worth revisiting.

But here's what we've seen time and time again at Gum Tree Mortgage — the homeowners who take one hour to revisit their loan often walk away with something they didn't expect.

The version of you that signed those closing papers had a lot less information than the version of you reading this right now.

That's not a small thing — over the life of a loan, the difference between the right mortgage and the wrong one isn't just a number. It's real money, flexibility, and could present options you didn't know were available to you.

You don't have to be unhappy with your current mortgage to have this conversation – just curious.

Comment REFRESH or visit our website if you’re ready to find out if your mortgage is still working as hard as you are. 💚
https://myoc.io/Gumtree

06/13/2026

4.66 star review received on Experience.com for Leslie Mackey by Teresa P - i personally don't speak with them everything was done through my husband and he was always more than pleased. We went through a tramatic 3 years with my sister 's bulling and I am so thankful we are through it with very much Thanks to you. We can't thank you all enough to have this burden lifted.

Click to see all 204 reviews of Leslie Mackey, Mortgage Consultant | NMLS # 70653, 2104421,90053

06/13/2026

When you're trying to coordinate a wedding, a closing date, and a lease ending all in the same season — timing matters more than most people expect.

The couples who navigate it smoothly aren't the ones who had it all figured out from the start. They're the ones who had the right conversation early enough to actually plan around it.

We hear this one a lot: "We want to do both — we just don't know what makes the most sense."

That's where we come in. Because before you can make a decision, you need answers to the real questions:

What can we actually afford together?
Should we buy before or after the wedding?
How do we balance saving for a down payment and paying for a wedding?
What programs are available that could make buying more accessible right now?

You don't have to have it all figured out – you just have to be willing to start the conversation.

Comment TOGETHER or visit our website for help mapping out what your path forward could look like.
https://myoc.io/Gumtree

06/12/2026

Buying a home with someone else is exciting, but it's also where many couples realize they have a lot more questions than they expected.

Do lenders look at the lower credit score or a combination of both?
What if one person carries more debt than the other?
How do both incomes factor in — and does it actually help as much as we think it will?

When you apply together, lenders look at the full picture. Both incomes. Both credit profiles. Both debt obligations.
And sometimes that combination significantly increases what you can qualify for.

Other times, there are strategic ways to structure the loan based on your specific situation – options most couples wouldn't know to ask about on their own.

That's exactly why we encourage couples to have this conversation with us before they start falling in love with houses.

Not because you need all the answers today. But because understanding what your numbers look like early on helps you make smarter decisions when it actually counts.

If you're thinking about buying with a spouse, fiancé, partner, or family member — comment TOGETHER and let's walk through what your picture looks like together.
https://myoc.io/Gumtree

06/11/2026

5.0 star review received on Experience.com for Rachael Potts by Hilary P - Great experience making everything easy! Rachael is awesome!

Click to see all 449 reviews of Rachael Potts, VP of Sales - Sr Mortgage Consultant | NMLS # 403007

06/10/2026

5.0 star review received on Experience.com for Leslie Mackey by Jessica Y - Leslie & her team were amazing
Quick to respond when I had a question, and made a first time home buyers experience a good one and less complicated.

Click to see all 203 reviews of Leslie Mackey, Mortgage Consultant | NMLS # 70653, 2104421,90053

06/10/2026

We're proud to share that Gum Tree Mortgage has once again been ranked the #1 USDA lender in the state of Mississippi — as recognized by the USDA itself. 🏆

But this award doesn't belong to us.

It belongs to every client who trusted us with their dream of homeownership. The families who didn't know if they qualified. The buyers who thought rural homeownership was out of reach. The people who came to us with a dream and left with a plan — and then a home.

The USDA loan program exists to make homeownership more accessible for buyers in rural and suburban communities, and we take that mission seriously. No down payment. Competitive rates. A path to homeownership that a lot of people don't even know is available to them.

Being ranked #1 in Mississippi by volume just means more families found that path through us. And that's something we'll never take lightly. 💚

Comment USDA if you want to know whether this program could be the right fit for your situation.
https://myoc.io/Gumtree

06/08/2026

This is one of the questions we get asked most often, and it almost always comes from someone who has already talked themselves out of asking.

Student loans don't automatically disqualify you from buying a home.

What lenders actually look at is how your total monthly obligations compare to your income.

Education payments get factored in the same way any other monthly commitment would — which means in a lot of cases, student loans aren't a dealbreaker. They're just part of the equation.

Here's what actually determines where you stand:

1️⃣ How your income compares to your total monthly payments. This number tells us a lot more than your loan balance does.
2️⃣ How long you've been in your current job. Stability matters — and it works in your favor more than most people realize.
3️⃣ What loan program fits your situation. There's rarely a one-size-fits-all answer, and that's exactly why the conversation is worth having.

Whether there are ways to structure your loan to give you more flexibility. Sometimes the path forward just needs a little creativity.

We've helped a lot of people in this exact situation go from "I don't think I can" to "I'm ready." Sometimes the answer is "here's what to focus on over the next few months." Sometimes it's "you're ready right now."

Either way, you deserve a real answer — not an assumption.

Comment STUDENT and let's find out where you actually stand. 💚
https://myoc.io/Gumtree

06/05/2026

Six years ago, Lori Patterson joined the Gum Tree Mortgage family – and our clients have been better for it ever since.

As a Loan Processor, Lori works behind the scenes to make sure every file is moving, every detail is handled, and every client gets to the closing table with as little stress as possible. It's not the most visible role – but it's one of the most important ones.

The kind of seamless experience our clients rave about? Lori is a big reason that happens.

Six years of dedication, attention to detail, and genuine care for the people we serve. We're so grateful to have her on this team.
Lori, thank you for everything you bring to Gum Tree Mortgage every single day.

Drop a 💚 in the comments to show Lori some love – she deserves it!
https://myoc.io/Gumtree

06/03/2026

5.0 star review received on Experience.com for Cole Gordon by Dillon B - Cole was great and kept me informed throughout the process.

Click to see all 15 reviews of Cole Gordon | NMLS: 2700429, Mortgage Consultant