EP 309: Creative Lending Solutions: How Liliana Herrera Helps Homebuyers Find Their Way

Navigating the complex world of home lending doesn't have to be overwhelming. Mortgage expert Liliana Herrera pulls back the curtain on creative lending solutions that can help you achieve homeownership, even when traditional banks might turn you away.

Drawing from her remarkable 20-year journey through the financial industry, Liliana shares how she transitioned from managing bank branches to becoming an independent mortgage broker. As traditional banking increasingly moved digital and branches began closing, she seized the opportunity to create a more flexible career helping homebuyers throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. This shift has allowed her to serve clients on their schedules, breaking free from the constraints of traditional banking hours.

Perhaps most eye-opening is Liliana's debunking of the persistent 20% down payment myth. She explains that today's mortgage landscape offers numerous programs requiring minimal or even zero down payment, making homeownership accessible to many who assumed it was out of reach. For self-employed individuals and business owners who struggle with traditional lending requirements, Liliana's expertise in creative mortgage solutions opens doors that might otherwise remain closed.

The conversation also explores effective marketing strategies for mortgage professionals, including the power of short, informative social media videos that provide valuable content to potential clients. Liliana even reveals her own bilingual podcast "Sierra Trato" (Close the Deal), where she makes mortgage and real estate information both educational and entertaining for Spanish and English speakers.

Ready to explore your home lending options? Connect with Liliana Herrera on social media as "Liliana Herrera MLO" or simply search her name on Google to find the creative mortgage solutions that might be perfect for your situation.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a homelending consultant?
Well, one may be closer thanyou think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Liliana Herrera.
With Liliana Herrera, HomeLending Consultants.
Liliana, how are you today?

Speaker 3 (00:29):
Good, thank, you, I'm good.
Thank you for inviting me.
I'm excited to be here.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yes, and we are so excited to learn all about you
and your business.
Can you start by telling ourlisteners a little bit about
your company?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
Sure, I'm with a broker.
My broker is Home MortgageExpress, but I'm, you know like
I work.
I'm a self-employed.
I do the home lendingconsultation.
I've been doing the broker onthe broker side for two years,
but I've been in banking forlike 20 something years already,
so it's kind of like I had tojump to be self-employed, you

(01:05):
know, like broker and I do allkinds of loans.
First time home buyers.
You know people that want asecond home.
I mean people can have secondhomes, also investment homes If
they want to start.
You know collecting rent andleave off their.
You know the rent alsocommercial, so pretty much

(01:27):
everything.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Um, you know, when the banks say no, I can say yes
yeah, and so, with 20 plus yearsexperience, how did you
originally get into thisbusiness?

Speaker 3 (01:42):
uh well, I started in a banking.
In banking I started from liketeller and then all the way up
to be a branch manager.
So I was managing for almostlike 10 years and you know how
everything is getting digitalnow and a lot of branches are
closing.
So you know I had to, you know,jump ship before I went like

(02:05):
floating everywhere.
So I was like you know what,I'm gonna take that step and the
good thing was a a good friendof mine and a co-worker, that we
were together, um, you know,one of the branches.
She had already been in themortgage industry, like as a
broker, because she was first inthe bank and then, you know,
she moved to different companiesand finally she was like I

(02:27):
opened my brokerage, I have aspace for you if you want to
come up, come aboard.
And it was a little bit scaryat beginning, but then you know
it was like okay, so I'm gonnado it, I'm gonna do it.
And then I've been working withher.
Um, our office is in arlingtonpretty much, but, um, I work
anywhere, like all FriscoMcKinney, everywhere, like from

(02:47):
like north, all the way to southand east and west, everywhere.
That's a good thing about beinga broker that you don't have to
be in the office from you knowlike nine to five.
You can go anywhere and evenwork on the weekends as well.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
So, liliana, what is the most common myth or
misconception you come across inyour industry?

Speaker 3 (03:08):
People think that they need a high down payment,
like 20%, because you know years, years back that was a norm.
But nowadays there's so manyprograms that people can even
get help with the down payment.
Maybe you know like being zerodown for down payment.
Of course you know there'sclosing costs but there are ways

(03:29):
, like for people not to put alot of money, you know, out of
pocket.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Now we know marketing is the heart of every business.
How do you currently marketyour business?

Speaker 3 (03:42):
Well, I use all the social media.
We all hate to do videos, butvideos are key, especially short
videos and also making themkind of informative, like
nuggets of information, becausewe all have like short attention
span, right, the social mediais only up to one minute, so you

(04:04):
have to really make it count.
And also, um, you know, I'mmore like jenny, so I use
facebook a lot, facebook groups,instagram, I mean.
Now, recently I was um notusing t TikTok, but now I use
TikTok too.
So you know, it's just to be topof mind, like people recognize

(04:25):
you.
You have to be consistent andeven if you think that you're
not getting a lot of engagementor comments or likes, it's not
like I mean, yes, those aremeasurable, it's not like I mean
, yes, those are measurable, butI mean whenever you're out in
the networking stuff because Ido also like personal networking
people recognize you.
Oh, you know, I saw you onFacebook and things like that.

(04:46):
So it's good to know that,whatever you're doing, even if
it doesn't show right there andthere that someone is liking
your post or anything, butpeople are still, you know,
paying attention and recognizingyou outside that social media
environment.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
And have you ever thought of having your own
podcast?
I?

Speaker 3 (05:06):
do have one.
It's on Thursdays at 6pmbecause we've just recently
changed the day and time andit's called Sierra Trato, or
Close the Peel, and it's kind ofa Spanish.
So we have you know Spanish andEnglish.
You know cause, being here somany years, like there are
things that you just know how tosay in English or Spanish, you

(05:29):
know.
So we make it like fun and notjust about we do talk about
cause I have a co-host.
She's a realtor.
So we try to, you know know,educate the audience about real
estate, mortgage, land mortgage,lending and stuff.
But we also have guests thatsomehow they're like uh, uh,

(05:50):
connected to the real estate,like it can be a person that has
a roofing company, person thatworks for the title.
So we make it kind of fun.
We just know we're talkingabout interest rates and all
we're like you know, like youcan even smile, or we just, like
you know, reciting the interestrates or contracts for real
estate.
So we'll make it kind of funbut also informative so we can

(06:13):
get you know the audience likethey learn, but also having fun.
I want to send you an invite soyou can come and talk about
your podcast too.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Thank you.
Okay Now, liliana, please tellour listeners one thing they
should remember about LilianaHerrera home lending consultant.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
I do creative mortgage.
Creative lending meaning I knowthat's maybe like I don't know,
a lot of lenders say that or isone thing that I've seen it you
know around but it really meanslike you get to to really find
a solution for the, for theclient, client, um, it's not

(07:06):
like just cookie cutter lendinglike oh well, yeah, we'll I mean
the w2s or or you know peoplethat have w2s or work for a
company.
Of course, that's, that's easybecause we get the documents.
You just need like twodocuments of these, like two w2s
, two bank statements, two paystuffs and that's it.
So that's easy.
But also, um, I really try tohelp the people that the clients
are, like you know,self-employed, because a lot of

(07:28):
times um banks, you know,declining because they're not,
they're not at the tax returns,are not where they're supposed
to be, so there's another form.
So I want to make sure thatevery then the audience and
clients know that we're going tofind this solution, no matter
what um, we're gonna really lookinto all the solutions, all the

(07:50):
options and make sure that youget approved.
Even if you're yours, you know,employee, um business owner,
you know, I got you, I'm gonnafind a solution for it and we're
gonna take the time, and youknow, to do the process and not,
you're're not going to be.
I mean, I'm not going to tellyou, no, we can do it because
it's a long process and you know, and that's that's what, that's

(08:30):
what sets me apart, because Itry to you know, even if meet
the clients in the middle, likeif they're leaving for a school
and I'm over here, and then it'slike kind of like, okay, so how
do we get the documents?

Speaker 2 (08:33):
so that's something that is part of my job, not the
realtors.
So, you know, make sure that myclient is taken care of.
And where can our listeners goto learn more about Liliana
Herrera?
Home lending consultant, umpretty much of my.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
You know the social media liliana carrera mlo on
facebook and also on instagram.
Tick tock, just if you justtype liliana carrera on google,
it'll show my social media well,liliana, I really appreciate
you being on the show.

Speaker 2 (08:56):
We wish you and your business the best moving forward
thank you.

Speaker 3 (09:01):
Thank you so much for having me.
You know, just look me up onGoogle Liliana Herrera, from
London, and all my social mediawill be there.

Speaker 1 (09:12):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPFriscocom.
That's GNPFriscocom, that'sgnpfriscocom, or call
469-221-9345.