Friday is My Monday - with Audra O'Neal
Friday Is My Monday is a real, no-fluff real estate podcast where top producers break down what actually moves the needle—lead generation, systems, mindset, and execution—so you can win the weekend and win your week. Built for agents who treat Friday like the start of opportunity, not the end of the workweek.
Friday is My Monday - with Audra O'Neal
Friday is My Monday - Episode 23
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Stop trying to fit your home purchase into someone else's mortgage box. There may be a program designed specifically for you.
Not every buyer's journey looks the same, and your financing shouldn't either.
In this episode of Friday is My Monday, special guest Rob Hanlen with Rate shares financing solutions for veterans, physicians, first responders, homeowners needing bridge loans or HELOCs, and more. He also explains how he helps veterans maximize the benefits they've earned and why understanding your options can make all the difference.
Our mission is simple: help you understand what's available so you can make the best decision for your family and your future.
Education first. Options always. Better decisions for your future.
Okay, hey everybody. This is Friday is my Monday with Audrey O'Neill, and we have a special guest today. It is Rob Hanlin with Rate Mortgage. So how you doing? So tell us about you.
SPEAKER_01Well, I've been doing this about 23 years. Um I've landed at Rate this year. It's been a huge opportunity to be with such a great company with all the technology, the products, and everything. It's kind of where my career is built to at this point.
SPEAKER_00Okay. And we've been working with you for many, many years. And I mean many years. However, just recently, we've had some really great deals of things that you just you pulled tricks out of a hat. Okay. And really gave our clients something that was out of the box, like really good loans. That not only make them happy, get them where they want to be, when they want to be there, because that's 50% of the other side of the transaction, right? Is making sure that they can get the money. So let's talk about VA loans first. Okay. All right. So we recently did one. So tell us a little bit about like what some people don't do and and you know, kind of some stuff that we were discussing with VA.
SPEAKER_01Well, first of all, big salute to the veterans out there. Absolutely. They they served our country and they have benefits that are entitled to them because they picked up a weapon and they served. Yes. Okay. So that being said, they're entitled to 100% loans up to $832,750. After which, if they're if they're buying something a little more expensive, they have a reduced down payment on something over that that the normal everyday person might not have access to. In addition, a lot of the veterans that I've worked with over the years find that they haven't filed for their VA benefits as far as any disability they may qualify for. Either they don't think that they have a true disability, or they know they've had a disability, whether that being hearing loss, PTSD, or some of the very common things that veterans get diagnosed with, besides the things that may maybe you see, like an amp amputation or something like that, which is obvious. Yeah. Um, but they they know they've been diagnosed, but they just simply don't file the paperwork because out of sight, out of mind, like they're on to other things in their day. But it's something that they really need to take charge of and take control of and file their paperwork with the Veterans Administration and get those benefits installed so that when they go to get a VA loan, they can avoid paying a VA funding fee, which is 2.3% of the loan amount on a first time and 3.2 on a second buy. So just to put that in the numbers, $800,000 purchase, if that's what you're doing, 2.3%, that's uh 16, call it, I don't know, $18,000.
SPEAKER_00That's a lot of money. Yes, because by making sure you have your benefits in place.
SPEAKER_01So here's a question. If you were gonna could if somebody said I'll pay you $18,000 to file your paperwork, would you do it?
SPEAKER_00Yes, I 100% would. And some of our clients are, you know, 100% disabled, and because they're in Texas, don't have to pay property taxes or a portion thereof, depending on what percentage of their disability.
SPEAKER_01That's correct. In Texas, if somebody is 100% disabled, deemed by by the um VA, and that doesn't mean they're in a wheelchair or anything like that. Right. They could have 100% hearing disability, they could have PTSD combination of the two, but they reach the 100% disability qualification with the VA. They do not pay any property taxes in Texas.
SPEAKER_00That is huge. I mean, that is huge, especially on a million-dollar house. You might be paying $30,000 in taxes.
SPEAKER_01That's correct. Depending on where you're located, $20,000 to $30,000 in taxes a year that you're not paying.
SPEAKER_00Think about how that could change your family, having an extra $30,000 in your bank account to do something amazing with. Right.
SPEAKER_01Because you took the time to file your paperwork.
SPEAKER_00Because you took the time to file your paperwork.
SPEAKER_01Which is on the VA portal. You can go right there, get the documents, file right there.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So that is huge, and huge salute to our veterans. We want to help you buy houses. So if you have any questions about that or how that works, reach out to me or Rob about any of those and we can help guide you in the right direction.
SPEAKER_01One other thing on veterans, we we support the veterans. We are one of the top uh VA lenders in the country. Really? And veterans do not pay lender fees with us. No lender fees.
SPEAKER_00I love that. Very good. That's awesome. Awesome.
SPEAKER_01The least we can do for those guys.
SPEAKER_00We have so many friends that their kids are going into the military and stuff, and they need to be educated. Absolutely. Like they need to need to educate these young people and you know, making sure that when they when they come home that they are getting what they deserve, which are taken care of.
SPEAKER_01Because they earned it.
SPEAKER_00Because they earned it.
SPEAKER_01It was not given to them, they earned every single benefit that they can get.
SPEAKER_00100%. Yes. Okay, so now we're going to shift over to doctors because we serve a lot of people in the medical world. Um, you know, we have hospitals all over, we have the best medical center in the world here in Houston, Texas. There are hospitals in all of our suburbs, and it's a great place to get sick.
SPEAKER_01Um but fortunately, yes.
SPEAKER_00Right. However, you have they they get perks for special doctor loans.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Talk to us a little bit about that.
SPEAKER_01Well, there's a lot of things. First of all, there's just your normal everyday uh doctor, nurses, firefighters, stuff like that, first responders. There's programs for them. Um, next of all, then if you get into what we term doctors' loans, which include dentist, optometrist, um, CRNAs, there's a whole list of products out there based on if you're in the medical sometimes, okay, but not all the time. But there's depending if you're in the medical field, there is probably a mortgage product specific for you with reduced down payment requirements because you are a medical professional. Now, some have even up to 100% financing. So you just reach out to somebody like me and say, hey, what do you have? I'm this kind of doctor, or I'm this kind of nurse, or I'm this kind of medical professional. What do I qualify for? And then there's a whole host of things that that you may not be aware of. And you know, it's nice to be able to buy a home and not have to put anything down sometimes.
SPEAKER_00Sometimes, absolutely. I mean, that may not be the right payment that you're looking for, but it also might be the right situation that you're looking for to get you where you want to go.
SPEAKER_01That's correct. And then also first-time doc like doctors just out of medical school, they're gonna qualify for more because they are in the medical field. So these are, you know, you might not think, oh, well, I'm just a first-time doctor. I haven't I've been practicing for many years.
SPEAKER_00Well, you know what um, I remember this from years ago. I helped these two kids. They were graduating from medical school, they were finishing off, they were both gonna be OBGYNs, and they both had letters from the hospitals that they were gonna go work at. And we were able to get them doctor's loans based on their letter of intent to work. And um, of course, they proved that it was you know legit and all the things, but both of them were gonna make $250,000 a year right out of the bat, and they hadn't even started their jobs yet. They bought the house and then they were starting their jobs like two weeks later, but they were able to get their loan.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. That that's entirely possible. The thing is, you want to work with a mortgage professional that actually has these products available and is knowledgeable to inform you of what you're gonna qualify for based on what you do.
SPEAKER_00So, not everybody fits into a nice little box, and that's what we talk about all the time is when we do a consultation with you, we get to know you, we need to know where you stand financially. Are you a 1099? Are you a W-2? Do you have bonuses? Do you get money in other ways that you try to count as your income? Because it gets a little convoluted because when you pull your credit to get a mortgage, it's different than when you're pulling your credit to get a car. Okay. They use different parameters, and then they have to say, okay, how do you make your money and how do you want to use your money? And people like Rob that have been doing this for a long time, and not all mortgage companies allow their lenders to do this, so they're not all the same, just like realtors are not all the same. Lenders are not all the same, which is why we have a suite of them. But Rob is definitely our biggest partner in the amount of out-of-the-box loans that your company can do. And I didn't know y'all were the biggest or how many VA loans y'all did.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yes. No, we're top five VA lender in the country. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00That is amazing.
SPEAKER_01We're actually a top five lender in the country. That's fantastic. So we have everything, we're continually evolving, rolling out new products for for clients because there's a demand out there.
SPEAKER_00Well, everybody's so different. Everybody's financial situation is so different, and that's why it takes like you know, learning about them and really understanding them in that consultation before you take them out to shop for a house.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and my job is my job, you think, oh, he's a mortgage guy, just crunch his numbers, do this. My job is I'm an educator. Like my job is to educate you, the client, of what's possible for you and your situation right now, and to build a plan and present that to you and let you select which options that I have available for you that work for you. Fits well for you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, whether it's an adjustable rate mortgage, some people hate the word adjustable, so they don't want to do it. But if I present it to you and I explain it to you, if you're comfortable doing it, maybe it's something that works for you.
SPEAKER_00And I mean, we recently did one with one of our clients and it made sense based on his moving history, where he moved, what kind of loan he was getting. That was a good idea, it was a good choice for him. You know, absolutely. And and that's the thing, is not everybody fits in a box, not everybody has to put 20% down, not everybody has to, you know, put this down, this down, this down. And I mean, we've done 5% downs, we've done no downs.
SPEAKER_01Oh, absolutely. A good example would be, hey, you got a great deal in a house, it's perfect uh as far as location, everything, maybe need some improvements. Maybe there's some things in the inspection you need to do, and that the seller wasn't willing to come down, you got to figure out a way to pay for it. We have products for that too. Or we just go, hey, why don't you just put less down? We'll use the money there. So, and that's what I would do with that client. Say, okay, hey, we have a product that we can build in these repairs and and do this, or do you just want to put less down and then pay for it out of pocket?
SPEAKER_00Because they can always recast later once they make more money. Absolutely. I mean, because there's options for them. So if they need to update something, put a roof on it, whatever, then they can they can update later.
SPEAKER_01We pretty much have every single mortgage product known to mankind that's out there right now. Whether you're waiting to sell your home, but you want to buy now, we get a bridge loan for you. Oh, you need to take equity out of this home. We got a HELOC. Um, you got a HE loan we just rolled out on Tuesday. We can't wait to hear that. Yeah. So there's a whole lot of things out there for you. You just got to reach out and have a set up a call, and I'll I'll do the best I can for you.
SPEAKER_00Fantastic. Well, listen, thank you so much for joining me on Friday as my Monday. Um, you made it very enjoyable for all of our viewers, and I cannot wait for the calls to roll in because again, VA, doctor's loans, all kinds, a healan. Okay, don't even ask what that is yet because we're not ready to talk about it. But anyway, we thank you so much for your time and do another loan with you soon.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Awesome. Thanks, guys.