LONGWOOD, Fla. - Mark Pease, president and founder of Credit Union Real Estate Services Inc. knows a lot about credit union members and the mortgage process. Formerly the business development manager for central Florida with the Florida Credit Union League, Pease was responsible for organizing and putting on the league's business development workshops for first time homebuyers and annual homebuyers fairs. These days-and for the past three years-Pease is offering the same types of services year-round to the 34 credit unions in the central Florida chapter of the FCUL as a service from the business he operates out of the 115-year old historic Longwood Village Inn in central Florida. Pease covers everything from A to Z about buying a house in his three-hour workshop such as the in's and out's of the mortgage process, the different types of loans available and the mortgage contract. He encourages members to be pre-approved for a mortgage and even sends them home from the workshop with a pre-qualification package. As a licensed real estate appraiser and broker, Pease is well-versed with this information. Ruth O'Brien, assistant vice president of mortgage lending, Fairwinds FCU in Orlando says the exercise is invaluable for anyone thinking about purchasing a home, especially the first-time buyer. Last year, 76 Fairwinds FCU-members attended Pease's workshop and of those 14 closed mortgage loans with the credit union worth $1.3 million. "Normally, the first-time buyer goes to buy a home totally in the blind about what to expect," she said. "They're not familiar with the process and they don't know what their mortgage options are. Mark's workshops are a handholding exercise. He knows what steps the member needs to take in the entire home buying process. A lot of our members who weren't pre-approved were disappointed because they fell in love with a home only to later find they didn't qualify for a mortgage to buy it. Mark knows the value of the member being pre-approved for a mortgage." As of Jan. 31, Fairwinds had 4,000 first and second mortgage loans in its portfolio worth about $138.6 million. Kevin Freeman, manager of lending, Vista FCU, agrees with O'Brien that "Mark opens members' eyes to the mortgage process. He preaches pre-qualification." Chartered out of Burbank, Calif. but with most of its branches in Central Florida, the $194-million CU's mortgage loan portfolio is over $60 million. "Most first-time home buyers are clueless about the home buying and mortgage processes," said Freeman. "They think all it involves is buying a home and you're done. The workshops are geared to the member who has never purchased a home, but they're also valuable to the veteran home buyer as a refresher course." -
ekingoff@cutimes.com
