EP # 249 From Personal Homebuyer to Professional Mortgage Broker

Ever signed mortgage papers without really understanding what you were agreeing to? You're not alone. Maria Moreno, a mortgage broker with TBF Mortgage, joined us to share how her own confusion during her first home purchase inspired a career helping others navigate this complex process with confidence and clarity.

Maria reveals the heartbreaking story that fuels her passion—watching her parents rent for 35 years, only to move away with nothing to show for decades of monthly payments. This personal connection to the importance of homeownership drives her to help clients build equity rather than throwing money away on rent.

The conversation tackles persistent myths that keep people from pursuing homeownership, particularly the misconception that buyers need a 20% down payment. Maria explains that options starting at just 3% down exist, making home buying more accessible than many realize. She also addresses the futility of trying to time the volatile market, advising clients to focus on personal readiness rather than chasing perfect conditions that may never materialize.

What sets TBF Mortgage apart is their deeply personal, relationship-centered approach. Unlike impersonal national brands, they provide ongoing support throughout the entire process and beyond closing, ensuring clients fully understand their loans and options. Having lived in Southwest Florida since childhood, Maria combines local market knowledge with genuine care for community members seeking to establish roots through homeownership.

Ready to overcome your fears about the mortgage process? Connect with Maria at 239-908-1421 or find her on social media to learn how she can help transform your homeownership dreams into reality.

TBF Mortgage

Maria Moreno

239-908-1421

[e-mail]

TBFMortgage.com

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
It's time to check out your neighbors on the Good
Neighbor podcast, where we bringgood vibes, great neighbors and
local businesses in SouthwestFlorida together.
Here's your host, Cabo JimSchaller.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 249
of the Good Neighbor podcast.
Today we have Good NeighborMaria Moreno from TBF Mortgage
Welcome.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Thank you, tim, how are you?

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Awesome, you know, always good to get to know
people in the community andshare their stories with our
listeners.
So let's jump right in.
And why don't you explain a bitabout what you do?

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Yes, jim, so I am a mortgage lender in the area.
Basically, I help people gettheir best finances for their
mortgages.
I'm in a mortgage broker, so wework with over 50 banks to look
for the best one for you.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
And that's important finding the best option out
there and saying this is all wehave, this is all you get, but
you get to choose and do what'sright by the customer.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
Absolutely.
Every client is somethingdifferent.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
How did you get involved in this industry to
start with, I guess?

Speaker 3 (01:16):
So I bought my house.
And when I bought my house, Irealized that one I didn't know
anything about what was going on.
I was just signing a bunch ofpapers and I was like, okay,
okay, and in my mind I alwaysneeded a 20% down and I wasn't
sure if I could do it.
And it took me a while toactually uh, you know, go for it
.
And once I did, the mortgagelender that did the loan for my

(01:38):
property um, talked to me andshe's like hey, you're really
good at this and you're reallygood at talking to people.
Maybe this is something thatyou should consider.
And at the moment I wasfinishing school and I was
actually looking more into thefinance area and I was just like
, eh, I'm not sure.
But, long story short, wetalked about it.
I looked more into it Once Ibought my house, I started

(02:00):
getting a lot of questions frompeople on how do you do it,
where do you do it, and I waslike, wait, I'm not the only one
that doesn't know.
Maybe this is something Ishould get into and, you know,
not just make it as a profit,but also help people out doing
it.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
I love that.
I love that and you havelearned a lot, obviously, kind
of shifting gears and goingtowards a different industry.
There's a lot of challenges,whether it's personally or
professionally.
Is there something thathappened along your journey that
we can maybe clear up for ourlisteners and kind of help?

Speaker 3 (02:33):
Well, I think one of the things that I always refer
back to is my parents lived herefor about 30 years and they
always rented 30, almost 35years.
They always rented and one daythey decided to move back home
and when they did, they hadnothing to look back to All the
money that they had paid in rent.

(02:54):
There was nothing there.
So I think to me it was a verybig thing to look back into that
at the end of the day.
Maybe sometimes purchasing ahouse might seem a little bit
more of an expense, but at theend of the day it's also an
investment, and I always, youknow, ask them why didn't you
purchase?
And they were like we were justscared and we didn't know how

(03:14):
to do it or where to do it.
They just didn't know theprocess.
So I think that's somethingthat really has always motivated
me to keep going.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Yeah, it's part of that not knowing.
You know people associate thatwith fear, so you know it's good
that you're helping people getover that fear and pushing them
towards what they should bedoing, and it's you know, having
a home of their own.
So do you notice certain thingstrending in the industry lately
?

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, I mean, when it comes to like clients, I notice
a lot of people are trying totime the market maybe and that's
a little challenging to do.
I mean one day we see oneinterest rate and then something
happens and it just goes allout again.
So it's really hard for us toactually advise you on timing it

(04:10):
.
I think that's the trends are.
Right now Our houses are goingdown a little bit, so interest
rates are still in the littlehigher numbers.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yeah, it's that volatility that people, you know
, kind of scares people as welltoo.
It's like should I jump now?
Should I wait?
Should I jump?
So how about myths ormisconceptions surrounding what
you're doing?
Is there anything that maybe wecould kind of clear up for our
listeners today?

Speaker 3 (04:37):
Yes, I think one, obviously, timing the market.
It's not really about when it'stime.
When it's timing the market,it's when you're ready.
Also, the down payment.
There's a lot of differentoptions depending on the
client's needs.
So a lot of people still thinkit's a 20% solid and it's not.

(04:58):
We can do 3%, we can do 3.5.
You know your credit score.
If it's not where it has to be,we can, you know, do something
to make sure that we're workingon it.
Sometimes we need a little bitmore time, but that's why
talking to someone about it isimportant.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yeah, they've seen all types of different scenarios
and they probably have somegood advice for you as well.
So are you from SouthwestFlorida originally?

Speaker 3 (05:26):
So I was born in Mexico but I was raised in Fort
Myers.
I've been in Fort well, I usedto live in Fort Myers.
Now I live more towards theNaples area, but I've been here
since I'm three years old.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
I'm not going to tell you how old I am.
We won't ask that either.
You're still.
You're still young now I willsay that.
But so obviously you love thisarea and you've seen a lot of
changes, right.

Speaker 3 (05:53):
Absolutely.
Great changes to an extent it'sgrowing, it's developing.
Like people are still movinghere.
The beaches are now not emptyin summer, so we can see a lot
more traffic going through,which you know when you've lived

(06:14):
here all your life.
You sometimes are like I kindof miss those good old days, but
at the same time it's great tosee how much it's growing and
developing.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yep, change is good.
Even though we may not be opento it, it is good for us
eventually.
So I know your career can bevery demanding, but when you do
get a moment of free time, whatdo you enjoy doing outside of
work?

Speaker 3 (06:37):
I love food.
I love food and I love sunsets.
So if I have some time off, Imost likely will be looking for
some good food in the area, orsometimes cooking myself, or I
would just be going out on walksor go to the beach as well.
I mean, that's like living inparadise.

(06:58):
You have to take advantage ofthose things.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Absolutely.
If I'm close to the beach andthe sun's getting ready to set,
I got to get out to the beachand watch that sunset over the
water, like it's supposed to.
Yes, yes, absolutely agree sois there one thing you wish our
listeners knew about TBFMortgage that maybe they
wouldn't be too familiar with?

Speaker 3 (07:27):
Yeah.
So I think TBF isn't a brandper se that you're going to see
in commercials or you're goingto see in TV or things like that
.
We're more local and what we dois we want to work with our
clients and we want to work withour realtors.
We want to make sure ourclients and our realtors are
well taken care of.
That.
Once you buy a home with us,you know that it's going to be a
smooth transition.
We're always going to be incommunication with you and when

(07:48):
it comes to our realtors, samething we're always there for
them.
We want to help them out asmuch as we can.
You know we want to make sureit's not a one transaction and
go.
We become, you know, a nicepart of the family that will
come in, even, you know, afterthe transaction is done, because
we still want to make sure youare fully knowledgeable about

(08:10):
what's happening throughout thelife of your loan.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
It's about building that relationship and providing
that customer service that somany businesses lack nowadays,
but it's good to see people likeyourself doing that and still
focused on that.
How would our listeners goabout contacting you if they
wanted to learn more or havesome questions?

Speaker 3 (08:30):
So I can definitely send out my phone number.
I don't know if I should say ithere.
Yeah, so you can call me ortext me.
Phone number is 239-908-1421.
And then you can find me onsocial media.
And yeah, I'm really available.

(08:54):
I'm not going to say 24-7,because I've gotten the later
night calls, but you know, I tryto be as available as possible.
I know a lot of people workearly too, so I want to make
sure that I'm available for whenyou need something.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
Absolutely Any last words for our listeners today.

Speaker 3 (09:16):
No, actually just thank you so much for having me.
I really enjoyed the day I metyou and ever since then it was
in the back of my mind and I amso thankful for you having me
here.

Speaker 2 (09:30):
I'm glad you're on the show.
It's been a pleasure getting toknow you, maria, and thank you
for being such a good neighbor.

Speaker 3 (09:37):
Awesome.
Thank you, Jim.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast, bringing together goodvibes, great neighbors, local
businesses in Southwest Florida.
To nominate your favorite localbusiness to be featured on the
show, go to CaboWaboJimcom.
That's CaboWaboJimmcom, or call239-427-4100.