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The Game of Loans with Chris O’Connell


Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris O’Connell with around 10 years of experience in Real Estate and over 18 years with financial services. I hope everyone who listens will discover how important it is to have an educated loan officer within their team. To that regard Chris is awe-inspiring with an ability to make the world of mortgage finance as more entertaining than watching the VMAs. As Albert Einstein once said “if you can’t explain it simply you don’t understand it well enough”

Mr. O’Connell during the great recession was in the financial services industry and describes how the mortgage industry has changed for the better since 2009. The loans of today are more clearly defined and come with stricter regulations thus allowing for people to be able to respond to the rules in an educated manner as long as they have a team that understands them. The appropriate loan officer can make a tremendous difference on what programs you know of & how well you can fit the metrics of being a strong home buyer. Even the knowledge of how first time home buyers can buy a home with a conventional mortgage with 3% down can change someone’s timeline on home ownership by several years.

A loan officer is a great step for getting into the home buying process. They can help you project how much of a loan you can qualify for, what programs you can exercise, and whether or not you can receive down payment assistance.

When asked how to make a good investment Chris explained from his own experience. His first foray into real estate investing was something in line with his desire, a duplex that he rented the other unit so that he wouldn’t have to increase his living expenses much while still having ownership of a home. What helped him reach a point to decide on buying a house was Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” his family background was a humble one so through reading and connecting with like minds interested in real estate investing, Chris was able to reach where he is today. The way Chris handled his first investment, the 1st duplex was able to fund the 2nd, and the 2nd was able to fund the next. House hacking makes for a strong start since an investor only has to worry about the first down payment when it’s done properly, the next property can be acquired through the equity gain and rent payment of the other unit(s).

Just as there are many programs to qualify for a home, there are many ways to succeed in real estate. Self education has been important for Chris since issues with home maintenance sometimes had to be handled quickly which demanded him to do it. In college Chris in his career exploration class had gotten on the phone with people who work in finance to learn more about their day to day tasks, interests and goals. He recommends people take this action to any endeavor that they want to be competent in. A great way to learn is to ask questions to people who are doing what you want to do. Chris also expressed how useful meetup groups have been.
Chris holds “The Compound Effect” as one of his favorite books. He holds his mindset as one of his most important assets. It takes daily engagement to build habits and to maintain good habits, to improve how you perform. Some of Chris’s morning habits include writing 3 things he’s grateful for and writing daily affirmations. Mindset ties into business and from the compound effect Chris has seen small things become large things before we even realize there was a change.
The way federal programs are, we are encouraged by the government to participate in real estate. The first step is the decision, a decision to learn and refine. “There are only successes and learning experiences.” It’s more than okay in Chris’s eyes to take a step back and reflect on your vision but as long as you persist and make mistakes better, success is inevitable.
By connecting with others and reading books from educated parties it becomes easier to remove the misconceptions of real estate investing, success is a group endeavor. Whether it’s mentorships, coaches, masterminds, meetup groups, becoming involved in a group that is aligned in similar goals accelerates the timeline between desire to fulfillment. The actions of today impact the opportunities of tomorrow, take a step forward today so you can take leaps tomorrow.
Thank you for reading,
Charles

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