A guide to millennial home buying with The Mortgage Quarterback

Across the globe, it appears that many millennials are facing an unlikely future of becoming a homeowner. Earlier this year the Guardian announced that one in three UK millennials will never own home. However, fortunately, the situation appears to be less bleak across the pond in the USA. New statistics have actually found that millennials are now buying more homes than ever.

To get a better understanding of the current housing market and the mentality of millennial buyers we spoke with Jeff VanNote, the founder of The Mortgage Quarterback, and author of The Mortgage Playbook for Millennials.

What inspired you to create The Mortgage Quarterback?

I’ve always had a nickname growing up, in sports… and in my first year in the mortgage business (2008-2009) I was given the nickname THE CLOSER by one of the top realtors at the time in New York State for closing impossible deals in the Great Recession. The industry shifted to more education than sales and if you look up the definition of Quarterback it’s making sure the right people are in the right places to give the best chance to win, the leader of the team. I was quarterbacking clients with advice and their next move, as well as calling the plays for the bank. I thought it would bring fun to a boring industry and combine my sports background and intensity. I played Quarterback in football from the 7th grade to 10th grade.

Can you give an example of an individual or case study that has really benefited from The Mortgage Playbook for Millennials?

Yes, Danny Ponzo, owner of cryo therapy in Hoboken. We had never met, I knew his partner Dave well. Dave gave him a copy of the book. He was going to sell his property. After a 5 minute conversation of texting he decided to keep his multi family, cash out refinance tax free equity and buy another property. He left a review on Amazon.

Have you had any customers reach out to you personally for advice, and if so what is the most frequent thing they ask?

Since the day I started. I bring creativity to a boring old stagnant industry. I also bring people real life examples and education on my own mistakes which people value and relate to. Most frequent thing asked is “what do you think of this home” or “where should I buy my first property”.. or now “when should I lock in my interest rate” due to interest rates rising recently in prior few months.

Are there differences between this generation of millennial home buyers compared to previous generations?

Absolutely. People have done a lot of their homework and because they witnessed their parents and relatives struggle during the Great Recession, they are more cautious and Payment conscious. They also love putting a large chunk of money down to avoid PMI in most cases.

What advice would you give to millennial buyers reading this?

BUY a multi-family first with an FHA Loan then refinance to a conventional loan once it increases in value. Get in the game early on…

If you had $100,000, what would you do with this to gain the best ROI over the next 5 years?

I would buy a 4 family home. That generates the best rents for 3 of the units, and live in the smallest rental unit of the property. I would then keep the remaining balance left over after down payment and closing costs and look to buy my 2nd property.. then 3rd… and so on.