“We’ll put them on a monthly home report,” Brennan said. “The home report, what it does is it shows, ‘This is your current value of your house. Here’s the anticipated appreciation over the next five years. Here’s how your home has appreciated over the last 20 years. Here’s the median household income. I’m just providing them with information at no cost, so it’s top of mind for them.”
Working with first responders
Brennan spent time earlier this month in New York, on Long Island, alongside some of the city’s first responders. It was part of a push to help first responders understand their financial situation regarding their mortgage. He feels like many of these people don’t get the financial advice they need.
“When I talk about first responders, it’s police, it’s fire, it’s DEA, it’s FBI, but it’s also EMT, it’s also nurses, it’s all those that serve,” Brennan said. “Sometimes, some of these groups get looked over. But the key is, where are you pointing them towards to get the right information? I can’t tell you the number of times we talked to people who just haven’t gotten a mortgage check-up.
“They haven’t done a sit-down and said, ‘Let me look at where my current mortgage is. What’s my interest rate? What’s my payment? How many years do I have left on the mortgage? What do I look like in consumer debt?’”
The consumer debt issue is not only plaguing first responders but also homeowners nationwide. For homeowners sitting on low-rate mortgages but buried in consumer debt, the mortgage check-up can give them an idea of how a refinance might help.
