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Local Businesses & Your Neighbors in SWFL
Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
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
maria@TBFMortgage.com
It's time to check out your neighbors on the Good Neighbor podcast, where we bring good vibes, great neighbors and local businesses in Southwest Florida together. Here's your host, Cabo Jim Schaller.
Speaker 2:Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 249 of the Good Neighbor podcast. Today we have Good Neighbor Maria Moreno from TBF Mortgage Welcome.
Speaker 3:Thank you, tim, how are you?
Speaker 2:Awesome, you know, always good to get to know people in the community and share their stories with our listeners. So let's jump right in. And why don't you explain a bit about what you do?
Speaker 3:Yes, jim, so I am a mortgage lender in the area. Basically, I help people get their best finances for their mortgages. I'm in a mortgage broker, so we work with over 50 banks to look for the best one for you.
Speaker 2:And that's important finding the best option out there and saying this is all we have, this is all you get, but you get to choose and do what's right by the customer.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Every client is something different.
Speaker 2:How did you get involved in this industry to start with, I guess?
Speaker 3:So I bought my house. And when I bought my house, I realized that one I didn't know anything about what was going on. I was just signing a bunch of papers and I was like, okay, okay, and in my mind I always needed a 20% down and I wasn't sure if I could do it. And it took me a while to actually uh, you know, go for it. And once I did, the mortgage lender that did the loan for my property um, talked to me and she's like hey, you're really good at this and you're really good at talking to people. Maybe this is something that you should consider.
Speaker 3:And at the moment I was finishing school and I was actually looking more into the finance area and I was just like, eh, I'm not sure. But, long story short, we talked about it. I looked more into it Once I bought my house, I started getting a lot of questions from people on how do you do it, where do you do it, and I was like, wait, I'm not the only one that doesn't know. Maybe this is something I should get into and, you know, not just make it as a profit, but also help people out doing it.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love that and you have learned a lot, obviously, kind of shifting gears and going towards a different industry. There's a lot of challenges, whether it's personally or professionally. Is there something that happened along your journey that we can maybe clear up for our listeners and kind of help?
Speaker 3:Well, I think one of the things that I always refer back to is my parents lived here for about 30 years and they always rented 30, almost 35 years. They always rented and one day they decided to move back home and when they did, they had nothing to look back to All the money that they had paid in rent. There was nothing there. So I think to me it was a very big thing to look back into that at the end of the day. Maybe sometimes purchasing a house might seem a little bit more of an expense, but at the end of the day it's also an investment, and I always, you know, ask them why didn't you purchase? And they were like we were just scared and we didn't know how to do it or where to do it. They just didn't know the process. So I think that's something that really has always motivated me to keep going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's part of that not knowing. You know people associate that with fear, so you know it's good that you're helping people get over that fear and pushing them towards what they should be doing, and it's you know, having a home of their own. So do you notice certain things trending in the industry lately?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, when it comes to like clients, I notice a lot of people are trying to time the market maybe and that's a little challenging to do. I mean one day we see one interest rate and then something happens and it just goes all out again. So it's really hard for us to actually advise you on timing it. I think that's the trends are. Right now Our houses are going down a little bit, so interest rates are still in the little higher numbers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's that volatility that people, you know, kind of scares people as well too. It's like should I jump now? Should I wait? Should I jump? So how about myths or misconceptions surrounding what you're doing? Is there anything that maybe we could kind of clear up for our listeners today?
Speaker 3:Yes, I think one, obviously, timing the market. It's not really about when it's time. When it's timing the market, it's when you're ready. Also, the down payment. There's a lot of different options depending on the client's needs. So a lot of people still think it's a 20% solid and it's not. 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 working on it. Sometimes we need a little bit more time, but that's why talking to someone about it is important.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they've seen all types of different scenarios and they probably have some good advice for you as well. So are you from Southwest Florida originally?
Speaker 3:So I was born in Mexico but I was raised in Fort Myers. I've been in Fort well, I used to live in Fort Myers. Now I live more towards the Naples area, but I've been here since I'm three years old.
Speaker 2: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 will say that. But so obviously you love this area and you've seen a lot of changes, right.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Great changes to an extent it's growing, it's developing. Like people are still moving here. The beaches are now not empty in summer, so we can see a lot more traffic going through, which you know when you've lived here all your life. You sometimes are like I kind of miss those good old days, but at the same time it's great to see how much it's growing and developing.
Speaker 2:Yep, change is good. Even though we may not be open to it, it is good for us eventually. So I know your career can be very demanding, but when you do get a moment of free time, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Speaker 3:I love food. I love food and I love sunsets. So if I have some time off, I most likely will be looking for some good food in the area, or sometimes cooking myself, or I would just be going out on walks or go to the beach as well. I mean, that's like living in paradise. You have to take advantage of those things.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. If I'm close to the beach and the sun's getting ready to set, I got to get out to the beach and watch that sunset over the water, like it's supposed to. Yes, yes, absolutely agree so is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about TBF Mortgage that maybe they wouldn't be too familiar with?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I think TBF isn't a brand per se that you're going to see in commercials or you're going to see in TV or things like that. We're more local and what we do is we want to work with our clients and we want to work with our realtors. We want to make sure our clients 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 in communication with you and when it comes to our realtors, same thing we're always there for them. We want to help them out as much as we can. You know we want to make sure it's not a one transaction and go. We become, you know, a nice part of the family that will come in, even, you know, after the transaction is done, because we still want to make sure you are fully knowledgeable about what's happening throughout the life of your loan.
Speaker 2:It's about building that relationship and providing that customer service that so many businesses lack nowadays, but it's good to see people like yourself doing that and still focused on that. How would our listeners go about contacting you if they wanted to learn more or have some questions?
Speaker 3:So I can definitely send out my phone number. I don't know if I should say it here. Yeah, so you can call me or text me. Phone number is 239-908-1421. And then you can find me on social media. And yeah, I'm really available. I'm not going to say 24-7, because I've gotten the later night calls, but you know, I try to be as available as possible. I know a lot of people work early too, so I want to make sure that I'm available for when you need something.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Any last words for our listeners today.
Speaker 3:No, actually just thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed the day I met you and ever since then it was in the back of my mind and I am so thankful for you having me here.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you're on the show. It's been a pleasure getting to know you, maria, and thank you for being such a good neighbor.
Speaker 3:Awesome. Thank you, Jim.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, bringing together good vibes, great neighbors, local businesses in Southwest Florida. To nominate your favorite local business to be featured on the show, go to CaboWaboJimcom. That's CaboWaboJimmcom, or call 239-427-4100.