Most mortgage lenders say they like their jobs because they get to help people through one of the biggest financial transactions of their lives. Jason LeMasters is no exception. And lucky for him, he found this calling right out of college and now has almost a decade of experience.
“Being able to help walk new buyers through this process and put their minds at ease is very rewarding,” he says.
Jason recently brought his mortgage lending expertise to INB. He’s now serving customers in our Springfield market; he has an office at our Montvale Branch.
Mortgage Lending is a Feel-Good Job
While each closing has its own memories, Jason recalls sitting with one single mom and her two kids on closing day. “Her children were jumping up and down and the borrower couldn’t stop saying thank you with tears in her eyes. She told me how this had been a dream for her and kids for many years.”
He also takes a great deal of pride in helping borrowers who have been turned down by other lenders. “But we usually find a way to get it done.” Sometimes getting someone on the road to home ownership takes more time and requires working through things like credit score issues, Jason says. But down the road, home ownership is a reality. And that takes Jason right back to why he likes what he does for a living.
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Jason says the biggest struggle he sees borrowers face is budgeting. “I always advise they keep some money in savings in case anything goes wrong with the new home. Many first-time homebuyers are used to calling their landlord when something goes out or breaks in their home, and now those repairs are all on them, so having a savings goes a long way.”
When working with an online mortgage lender, Jason says people don’t get advice like this. “While online lenders are becoming more of a constant in our market today, they still can’t provide the market knowledge and customer service like we can at a local bank. Meeting face to face with customers and staying in constant communication is something that I find most customers prefer, and that is something that I can provide that the online lenders, in most situations, cannot.”
Connecting Throughout the Loan Process Important
Pre-Covid-19, Jason would never think of NOT meeting a customer in person until closing day. But when the pandemic made it difficult to meet face-to-face, Jason found he needed to be much more thorough during phone calls and when text messaging. “I wanted to make sure that everything was explained to the customer in an easy-to-understand way so that there weren’t any surprises.”
A Springfield native, Jason chose to earn his degree in economics from Benedictine University in Springfield. He and his wife are high school sweethearts who love to travel. Vacation spots, like Destin, Florida, give Jason the chance to golf or go to the beach every day. He’s a sports fan who roots for the Cubs.
Jason’s NMLS # is 1059653