During my most recent Personal Branding Session, I met Melanie Babineau of Mortgages by Melanie and Flare Mortgage Group. We had such a great time. We laughed throughout the entire session and learned we have so much in common, it’s a little eerie.
People who know me, know that my background is in mortgages so I know a little bit about that subject but what if you don’t know anything about mortgages and the house purchasing process. Do you feel overwhelmed by the entire process? There is a good chance that you will. Now this is where Melanie comes in. She guides you through the process of mortgages and what you will require to obtain one. Most people would think that finding a Realtor is the first step in the house hunting process but I disagree. I feel that obtaining a Mortgage Broker should be the first step.
Have you ever gone house hunting and found that one house that you absolutely loved and could not live without? Have you put an offer in only to learn when you get your mortgage approval that you cannot afford said forever home? Did your world come crashing down in disappointment because you did not know? This happens more times than not. At this point you have 2 options. Get a mortgage pre approval, find out how much you can afford so that you look at homes within your price range. Or, find out what you need to be able to afford that forever home you cannot live without and work your way up to that.
Now, I have been out of mortgages for quite some time so I wouldn’t be the best person to give advice. Melanie can though. I asked Melanie a series of questions so that you can get to know her a little bit before you can hire her.
Lisa - Introduce yourself and what you do.
Melanie - Hi! I'm Melanie and I'm a happiness creator. Yes you read that correctly. I help homebuyers reduce their stress during the mortgage financing journey by communicating and educating them along the way. In my opinion everyone deserves to reach their homeownership goals and I'm here to help make that happen. For some the journey might be short but for others it might be long, and I'll be there every step of the way.
Lisa - Why did you decide to become a Mortgage Broker?
Melanie - I didn't have the smoothest experience when I bought my first home and honestly, I felt judged more than once and made to feel unimportant other times. I'm happy to share that full story if anyone wants to hear it. Couple believing that people deserve to be treated equally and fairly with my interest in personal finance, mortgage brokering was where I was meant to be.
Lisa - One piece of advice for a client looking for their very first home.
Melanie - Start working with a mortgage broker EARLY. While you may think your situation is a slam dunk, and hopefully it is, sometimes there are slight tweaks that we can do early to help make the home buying process go smoothly. No one likes surprises when they've found the perfect home.
Lisa - Why did you need personal branding photos?
Melanie - I honestly didn't realize I needed them. Then I got the opportunity to work with Lisa and what a game changer this will be. I don't consider myself photogenic, though Lisa will argue that, so I don't take selfies. This leads to me not showing my face much and I think it's important in my business that people see who I am since we often don't meet in person during the mortgage process. We've all heard it before, purchasing a home is the largest transaction you'll make, and wouldn't you feel more comfortable knowing the face behind the voice and emails?
Lisa - Tell me about your volunteer work with the Cochrane Humane Society.
Melanie - That all started when my partner finally convinced me we should adopt 2 kittens. See, I'd never had a pet before (other than a fish that didn't live super long) and I didn't understand the bond people had with animals. That all changed the day we went in to adopt Cleo and Ajax. I walked out of CAHS that day having decided I wanted to volunteer and foster. I'm not sure how I thought that was going to be a good idea since I didn't even know how to care for these two adorable kittens I was taking home but I just knew in my heart this is something that I wanted to do. Fast forward almost 5 years, and though we can no longer foster, CAHS is where I spend most of my free time. Since I don't have little humans at home to care for and taxi to all their activities I have time that I can utilize to help care for animals that don't yet have a forever home. On average I volunteer somewhere around 350 hours doing various things such as cat socialization, cat care and community events.
Lisa - Tell me about your cats and what you love most about your Cats and being a cat mama?
Melanie - Cleo, our Tuxedo and Ajax, our orange tabby are the OG kittens. Mumbai is a foster fail/win that came shortly after. Thank goodness there was a snowstorm the day he became available for adoption and my boyfriend still showed up to adopt him even though I thought two was enough. He's the calm one to the other two's craziness. Like most pet parents I could go on for ages about my cats but to keep it short: Cleo keeps things entertaining with her athleticism & weirdness. Ajax is still a little troublemaker and even though he's done the most damage to the house, we wouldn't trade him for the world. Mumbai is such a little cuddle bug that doesn't really have a care in the world but is afraid of almost everything including sneezes.
If you are thinking of purchasing a house, reach out to Melanie and get the process started. Afterall, she is a Happiness Creator. To me that is pretty amazing, we all could use a little more happiness in our lives. Here is where you can find Melanie:
Website - https://www.mortgagesbymelanie.ca/
Instagram - www.instagram/mortgages.by.melanie
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MelanieBabineauMortgageAdvisor.
If you are loving the images from Melanie’s Personal Branding session and want to learn more about your own session, send me a message so we can connect.
Sending love out to you all.
Lisa
0 Comments