Fortune and Great Place to Work® have identified New American Funding as one of the top workplaces in the country for women. The national mortgage lender ranked #53 in the nation on the 3^rd annual list of 100 Best Workplaces, which highlights companies that provide generous benefits, flexible schedules, and a good work-life balance for women.

To see the 2017 list, please visit: http://fortune.com/best-workplaces-for-women/

The ranking is based on feedback from more than 400,000 employees from Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies in every sector of the economy.  Employees were surveyed about their organizations’ culture, leadership, fairness and other elements essential to an excellent work environment.

“It’s very rewarding to have Fortune recognize New American Funding for having an outstanding culture that’s conducive for women to excel,” said Patty Arvielo, Co-Founder and President of New American Funding. “I’m passionate about empowering women to succeed so we continuously strive to create an environment where there are no limits on what anyone can achieve and where women know they have the opportunity to take a seat at the table.”

Arvielo plays a key role with empowering women in her organization by mentoring them and opening the door for them to move ahead through an initiative known as, “If you want to grow, we want to know”. She has built one of the fastest-growing companies in America while constructing a team that’s comprised of about 59% women with many holding C-level positions. The company has also established opportunities for women to thrive by hosting events like, “Rise and Lead” which is geared toward elevating women entrepreneurs in the housing industry.

Consequently, New American Funding has received several notable accolades including a Gold Stevie® for Employer of the Year and #1 Top Workplace in Orange County by OC Register.

Please cast your vote for New American Funding to be the "Best Mortgage Broker" for the "Best of Las Vegas" 2017. Click here to cast your vote. https://www.research.net/r/BOLV2017

For the fifth time, Inc. 5000 has named New American Funding to its list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America; ranking the national mortgage lender #1664 in the nation for 2017. The magazine complied the list according to revenue growth from 2013 to 2016; during which timeframe, New American Funding’s revenue increased by 235%.

To see the winners, please visit: https://www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2017

New American Funding was also recognized on Inc. 5000’s Honor Roll, which is an elite group of companies who’ve made the fastest-growing list five times. This distinct milestone is an accomplishment that less than one-tenth of Inc. 5000 honorees achieve.

“It’s extremely rewarding to have Inc. 5000 repeatedly identify New American Funding for its rapid growth,” said CEO Rick Arvielo. “We’re thrilled by this achievement and are driven to continue working hard to stretch our limits each day. Our commitment is to remain innovative.”

New American Funding is owned by husband-and-wife duo, Rick and Patty Arvielo, who’ve expanded the company to include nearly 130 nationwide branches with a servicing portfolio of $20 billion. The couple have distinguished the company as an industry leader by:

Notable Milestones:

• Streamlining operations and providing industry-leading loan close times
• Developing innovative technology including a suite of mobile apps for New American Funding Loan Originators, Real Estate Partners, and housing consumers - GoGo LO, GoGo Partner, GoGo Home
• Building a 25,000 square foot state-of-the-art educational facility to train mortgage professionals
• Serving diverse communities through Latino Focus Committee and New American Dream

Due to their progressive business approach, earlier this year the Arvielos won a gold Stevie® with Rick claiming Executive of the Year and Patty winning Woman of the Year; each was also selected by Ernst & Young as a 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year® for Orange County.

National Mortgage Lender Ranks #46 in the Country

Fortune and Great Place to Work® have ranked New American Funding one of the best workplaces in the nation for Millennials. The Southern California-based lender ranked #46 on the 3^rd annual list of 100 companies, which included a broad spectrum of industries ranging from technology to healthcare, and banking. To see the 2017 Best Millennial Workplaces, please visit: https://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/millennials/2017

The global research and consulting firm, Great Place to Work®, complied the list by gathering feedback from more than 398,000 employees from Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies. The firm anonymously surveyed employees who assessed their organizations based on fairness, teamwork, benefits and other elements essential to an outstanding work culture.

“We’re excited that Millennials love working at New American Funding. We strive to maintain a fun, friendly environment that our employees look forward to coming to each day,” said Katie Traviglia, HR Director. “We make it our job to put them first. Whether we’re developing fun Friday events, spirit week activities, or team-building exercises, we’re constantly thinking of ways to make our company the best employee workplace!”

New American Funding has created a culture where Millennials can succeed by designing opportunities for younger employees to move ahead through an initiative known as, “If you want to grow, we want to know”. The mortgage lender is also building a state-of-the-art training lab to support employee professional development. Due to this progressive environment, the company has attracted a diverse, inclusive workforce that has rapidly expanded into nearly 2400 employees, among which 34% are Millennials.

Consequently, New American Funding has recently received several notable accolades for its exceptional work environment including:

• Gold Stevie® for Employer of the Year
• #1 Top Workplace in Orange County by OC Register
• Silver Best in Biz Award for Best Place to Work

Once you have spent time finding the home you love, it's important to keep in mind that it will take some time before homeownership is a reality. House hunting begins the journey but the home-buying process is another step-by-step procedure. Even after a preapproval, it doesn't guarantee an immediate loan because from the point your application is approved until it closes, there is a lot of work happening behind the scenes in a crucial part of the loan approval process known as underwriting.

The Underwriting Process

After filling out your mortgage application, the Loan Officer organizes your file along with all supporting documents and sends it off to the Underwriter, who acts somewhat like a home mortgage detective because he or she verifies that the information you provided your Loan Officer is accurate. It is up to the underwriting team to investigate your income, debts, and employment history. They will typically contact your employer to confirm your job title and salary. The goal is to make sure a prospective borrower doesn't provide misleading or false information that could ultimately pose a risk to the lender.

The 4 C's

As a result, the Underwriter becomes like a gatekeeper for the lender and doesn't grant a potential borrower access to home loan approval unless the applicant demonstrates he or she is a suitable investment. In order to evaluate the risk of offering a borrower a loan, the Underwriter relies on set guidelines to make his or her decision and examines the 4 C's: capacity, capital, credit, and collateral. One of the first questions the Underwriter will ask is do you have the financial means to repay the mortgage? The underwriting team, scrutinizes your debt-to-income ratio, the state of your savings, and IRA or other accounts in order to reach a decision. They want to make sure that if you lose your job or become ill that you still have the capacity to meet the loan conditions. They also thoroughly review your creditworthiness to examine how you've handled prior debt and to predict the likelihood that you'll repay the mortgage on time and in full.

Questions, Questions

In the early 2000s, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau began requiring Underwriters to meet higher standards and to do more fact checking before putting a stamp of approval on a loan. Therefore, Underwriters ask you more questions in order to make sure your financial profile meets the loan conditions. The underwriting team will typically inquire about inconsistencies in your application or gaps in employment. They may ask for an explanation about a decrease in your credit score, a maxed out credit card, sizeable deposit, or a transfer of funds between accounts. According to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, there are some questions they can't ask about such as the state of your health or if you plan to have more children. Even though some questions may seem intrusive, bear in mind that the main job of the Underwriter is to protect the lender from a borrower who poses a high risk of defaulting on the loan conditions.

Timing

Therefore to properly make a determination to approve or deny a request, it takes time, which varies on a case-by-case basis depending on your financial situation and potential problems that arise during the underwriting process. Initially, the Loan Officer processes your application through an automatic underwriting system but often, it's necessary for additional manual underwriting which requires more time. Also, whether or not your Loan Officer provided the Underwriter with a clean file that has all the necessary information on the front end will factor into the length of the underwriting process. One key component to shortening the process is accuracy.

Regardless of the Underwriter's query, if you make yourself available and willing to answer questions completely and promptly, you'll move the loan process steadily forward and move yourself closer to becoming a homeowner.

As soon as that last piece of turkey is safely tucked away in the fridge, it feels like a bell goes off, giving you permission to spend. Let’s be honest—during the holidays you are going to spend on things like gifts, party giving, and party going. It’s the most magical time of the year and the one month you are certain to go off budget.

Spreading Joy the Smart Way

That said, the holidays don’t have to break your budget. Here are five tips to help you continue saving, even when you are spending.

Tip #1 Be Rewarded for Browsing

Like many retailing and digital coupon apps, ShopKick alerts you to stores with promotions. However, not all these promotions require you to spend money. ShopKick will award you points just for walking in the door at some stores. You can earn more by scanning specified product bar codes, and even more points are awarded if you buy those products. Accumulate enough points, and you can redeem them for gift cards. The retailers participating in ShopKick include Macy’s, Best Buy, CVS, and Target, among others.

Tip #2 Get Out More

Apps like Groupon and LivingSocial leverage the power of group buying to get things cheaper. They are especially useful in lowering the cost of taking your family to holiday happenings—from performances to sporting events—and you can save quite a bit on entertainment expenses.

Tip #3 Save on Gas and Parking

Although gas prices have come down this year, GasBuddy is still useful for finding the best gas prices nearby, whether you are traveling near home and work or out of town. Similarly, using parking apps like BestParking, SpotHero, and ParkWhiz to alert you to the cheapest spots near your destination can be especially useful in cities like Chicago and New York, where parking can top $35 just for a dinner out. 

Tip #4 Online or in Line, Take Time to Compare

Whether you are online at home or in line at the register, stop and compare prices and last-minute offers before you pay. Check the store itself for discounts available to rewards members and sign up while you are in line if you need to. A 20 percent discount will make it worthwhile! While there are many coupon sites, a good, speedy, all-around go-to app for finding current promo codes is RetailMeNot.com.

Tip #5 Know When You Are Done

It’s best to try to have a list before you leave home so you can focus on sticking to it. Whether it’s for your party or for the gifts under the tree, have a dollar limit for each item. When you do buy gifts, bite the bullet and wrap them yourself instead of paying for the service. Although, you may want to put off wrapping as long as possible. Wrapping paper and ribbons often go on sale closer to the holidays.

Keep Track

Make saving a game of sorts by keeping a running tally of what you would have spent and what you did spend on each item you purchase. Then, reward yourself by adding that amount to your savings account in January.

The VA Home Loan Program continues to give our countries heroes the opportunity to achieve the dream of home ownership. Check out the benefits!

Really, this time the government means it! The Home Affordable Refinance Program® (better known as HARP) will now end Sept. 30, 2017. It had been scheduled to expire, along with all the flashing Internet ads harping on its attractiveness at year end. The program has already earned a number of extensions, but it will be replaced—for real this time—on Oct. 1, 2017, by a new and permanent refinancing program.

Why Should You Care?

If you are among the more than 300,000 homeowners who still qualify for HARP refinancing, you could be paying more for your home’s current mortgage then you need to. Interest rates are much lower today than when HARP-eligible mortgages were made. So, refinancing under HARP typically results in a lower monthly payment depending on the term of the new mortgage.

The program is also very understanding of any changes that may have occurred in your financial circumstances since your mortgage was made. For instance, if your household salary has declined since you took out your current mortgage, your credit rating has dropped, or you’ve had a bankruptcy, refinancing under HARP is still an option that could lower your monthly payments, making it easier to stay in your home.

The terms of the loan can also be changed to your advantage. If you are currently in an adjustable-rate product, you can take advantage of today’s low rates to lock into a fixed-rate mortgage before interest rates rise again. You also have the option of changing the maturity of your loan from 30 years to 15 years so you may be able to pay off your home sooner. You can also choose to lengthen the loan, if lower monthly payments would be of benefit in the near term.

Another advantage to refinancing under HARP is that there is no penalty for having low home equity. You can still refinance without triggering the added expense of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).

Sound Too Good to Be True?

The HARP program is both good for homeowners and true. Better yet, since the program was introduced, it has become easier to qualify for HARP. Even if you looked into HARP several years ago, it pays to check your qualifications again.

Qualifying Essentials

Here are the basic requirements for qualification under HARP:

• You have a conventional mortgage that closed prior to May 29, 2009.
• Your mortgage is held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
• The mortgage is on your primary residence, vacation home or an investment property.
• The value of your home has declined and your loan-to-market value is greater than 80 percent.
• You haven’t had more than one late payment in the last 12 months, and no late payments in the last six months.

Your Loan Officer can verify whether or not you qualify and also run comparison numbers to help determine what your savings will be over the life of a new HARP mortgage. They can also make sure there aren’t any other programs available that may be even more beneficial given your current circumstances.

If you’re like most people, you bought your home to realize a dream and to build equity in something that is your own. If homeownership hasn’t quite delivered on your expectations so far, HARP may help you get that dream back on track. 

If you have decided to purchase a home, you may wonder how to establish your budget. There are a number of factors to think about when you buy real estate. Know what to consider and techniques you can adopt to help ensure affordability.

Before the budget
The interest rate affixed to a home loan may impact what you will be able to afford. CNN Money recommended improving your credit score to qualify for a lower interest rate. Know how good your credit is and correct any blemishes that may be present.

Make sure you pay your bills on time and try paying off as much of your current debt as possible. This will help improve your credit before you apply for a home loan. According to Bankrate, there is some debt that is considered "good" for your credit report. Any debt that you have had and paid off as agreed works in your favor. Do not try to remove this history from your report.

It is also important to know that if you purchase a home, you should anticipate staying in that location for a while. The cost associated with buying and selling a home may not be worth owning real estate if done too quickly, and you may lose money. MoneyNing noted that you may want to live in a home for at least five years otherwise renting may be a smarter option.

Saving for a down payment
One of the first things you should do when figuring out a budget for a home purchase is knowing how much you can afford for a down payment. This is one of the key factors to think about when determining a budget for a new home, according to Zillow. It is a key factor and ultimately impacts the mortgage amount that you will qualify for.

There are a number of ways to save money for a substantial down payment and increase the amount of house that you can afford. Forbes suggested turning your hobbies and passions into income. If you are a crafty person, consider selling your creations on websites like Etsy. If you are a dog lover, offer to walk or watch pets when people are out of town. Your talents can easily translate into money that you can put toward a down payment.

U.S. News & World Report recommended selling items at a garage sale or online. You may sell an item for more money than you expected, and your profits can help your down payment savings grow.

In addition, shopping around for new rates on your regular expenses may leave you with more money at the end of the month that you can contribute toward a down payment. Consider switching your cellphone plan, car insurance or Internet provider. You may also be interested in disconnecting your cable and buy a more affordable option, like Netflix or Hulu Plus.

Determining how much you can afford
Fox Business noted that figuring out a budget for a home is not always clear and simple. Monthly payments for a home that costs $300,000 can be different for everyone. Interest rates, taxes on property, your down payment and credit score all influence your monthly payments.

Mortgage payments generally should not exceed 28 percent of your monthly salary, and the total value of the home should be no more than two-and-a-half times as much as your annual income. Be honest with how much you can afford to pay each month and set aside money for emergencies.

There are tools available on the Internet that can help you determine how much you can spend on a home. They typically take into account your annual income, monthly debts and how much money you can put toward a down payment on a new home.

Accommodating your budget  
Purchasing a home that has been repossessed by the bank may be an option that can save you money. However, there are certain risks involved in considering a property that has been foreclosed, according to FrontDoor.

First, there are different types of foreclosures. It is important to know the type of property you are looking at to determine the disadvantages as well as the advantages. In some instances, you may not be able to negotiate the price, and bank-owned homes may only be sold as-is. In an instance such as this, it is especially important that you hire an inspection company to evaluate the condition of the home so that you know if there are any issues that may require hefty expenses. 

Trulia noted that buying a foreclosure may allow you to purchase a house at a lower price than what the market would otherwise indicate. In addition, if you are looking at a house that is in pre-foreclosure, the individual selling the home is hoping to sell quickly. This puts you at an advantage for negotiation.

There is no denying the opportunity home-buying Millennials represent as they enter their household-forming years. Connecting with these clients isn’t as mysterious as many would have you believe. Like previous generations, the key is to resist the urge to think of these buyers as an age group and instead treat them as individuals with their own needs and preferences. After all, their underlying motivations for buying a home are not all that different from previous generations. The difference is in the approach Millennials take to home buying, and it’sa mindset that is spreading across generations.

What Is Really Different

Chances are you, too, operate with at least a few elements of the Millennial mindset—a digital mindset that leads to keeping your cell close at hand. You, too, probably check for messages frequently, surf during your downtime, and value anything that saves you time and money. It isn’t much different for young buyers; they just tend to be able to use their devices faster. That speed holds the key to working with the Millennial mindset—it’s about what you can do to save them time and effort.

For instance…

1. Don't call. Send a text or email instead.

Ironically, while we all have phones in our hands, more and more, the talking is being done with our fingers. The Millennial mindset is characterized by a preference for texting over talking even when it involves voicemail. The reason is simple, a voice call is a time saver for the person who is calling or leaving the message, not the person retrieving and then listening and responding.

2. Get to the point.

When you deal with legal agreements and compliance all day, you tend to disclose, even when the question was, “What’s for dinner?” Millennial mindsets thrive on bulleted lists. If it’s too much information for a PowerPoint slide, it is likely too much for this mindset, too.

3. Focus on "why" not "should"

It isn’t about establishing yourself as an authority on home buying; it’s about providing enough information to allow your client to make their own decisions. Taking a more collaborative approach puts the focus on "why" they should consider a particular option before deciding, rather than on what they "should" do.

4. Let Information flow freely. Don't control it.

The Millennial mindset won’t wait for a list of homes or a rate sheet. It will google a street address to see what a home looks like and use a mortgage estimator to compare rates and determine affordability. Where you add value as a professional comes from sharing information to help buyers understand the nuances, additional cost considerations, and long-term impact of different options.  

5. Create an "experience" not a calendar entry.

No one really wants to go to an office for an appointment. Make meetings more of an experience. For instance, you may consider meeting at coffee shops, bars, or restaurants in the area your client is considering buying a home.

Millennials are currently the largest generational segment among home buyers.[1]To gain traction with this market segment, serve the individual mindset, not the generalities. If you cater to their individual preferences, the business and referrals are likely to follow.

[1] National Association of REALTORS®, “Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report 2016,” posted March 9, 2016, retrieved Aug. 24, 2016. [http://www.realtor.org/reports/home-buyer-and-seller-generational-trends]