JoAnn Cooper, Nationwide Lending Partners, LLC

09/14/2026

$5 SAVINGS
Many of you are aware that my book, The Road To Home Ownership and Financial Freedom, sells on Amazon for $16.99.

Amazon has increased the amount that they keep from each sale for printing and shipping, to the point that they pay me almost nothing. Their solution? Raise the price of the book, of course!

Well, if you know anything about me, you know I'm all about saving people money vs making more money for big corporations. That's the main reason I am a broker now.

So, here's a deal for both of us. If you want to buy the book directly from me, I can charge you $12 and still make the same as if you buy it from Amazon for $16.99.

I have a limited number left, so 1st come, 1st serve. I'll even autograph it, if you like.

It makes a great gift for anyone who currently owns a home, or would like to. Lots of myths busted in those pages.

Thanks for your support.

09/13/2026

09/06/2026

Here are the 3 main reasons why Underwriters ask about the money you are using for down payment:

1. The Patriot Act - since 9/11, the mortgage industry has been tasked with terrorist financial crime managment.. It was discovered that terrorists were coming into this country with illegally obtained funds, buying real estate, which ultimately laundered those funds, and allowed them to live among us. So every dollar in a mortgage transaction has to be seasoned or sourced.

2. If there's a new loan that gave you those newly deposited funds, we would have to count that new loan payment into your debt ratio.

3. If you did borrow funds, that could be another issue. Because most loan programs require that a certain amount of the money used in a transaction comes from your hard earned savings. That's why the amount of down payment correlates to the amount of risk the lender perceives. If you're down, payment came from borrowed funds, the risk deterrent isn’t nearly as much as if it came out of your savings account, that you've been working on for years.

Hope that helps explain the reason why the underwriters seem to be all up in your business. 😀

09/06/2026

What you may not know about collections, and your credit.

1. Paying them off doesn't remove them from your credit report. It will change to a zero balance, but the fact that you were in a collections situation doesn't go away for at least 7 years*. Which means it hits your score for a long time.

2. Paying off old collections can hurt you more than it can help. Remember # 1 above and then add the fact that it will take the last activity date of that collections from years past and bring it into the current. The more recent the last activity date, the more it hits your credit score.

* They are supposed to drop off after seven years. But what happens? A lot of times one company will sell that collection to another, and then they will start reporting it for another seven years. It's not supposed to work that way. But most people don't no to dispute that and have them removed. So they seem to hang around forever.

Serving all of Texas and Florida
Reach out and I'm happy to talk about your specific credit challenges and the best way to overcome them.

09/05/2026

Mortgage Insurance may be mandatory, but paying too much for it isn't.

09/03/2026

4 Things to Do Once a Year 🏡

Don’t let these important tasks slip through the cracks!

✅ Review subscriptions & memberships
✅ Update emergency contacts & important documents
✅ Schedule home maintenance checks
✅ Refresh passwords & security settings 🔐

A little yearly maintenance can save you time, money, and stress!

Which one do you need to check off? 👇

09/02/2026

Back by popular demand. This webinar was so well attended last time, that we are offering it again. Hope to see you there. If you have an adult disabled child or aging parent that you are responsible for, this is the webinar for you. I bet you will learn something you didn't know!

THANK YOU JOANN COOPER! On Sept. 15, Consolidated Planning Group hosted a webinar titled, "Family Opportunity Mortgage - How It Works, Who Qualifies, And Why It Matters."

Consolidated Planning Group is so pleased to bring another important webinar to you in partnership with Nationwide Lending Partners.

WATCH IT HERE: https://youtu.be/obgjyYq5dY8

09/01/2026

From slavery to freedom!

09/01/2026

Saw a question in a Loan Officer group today. Is being a correspondent lender better than being a broker?

Here's an answer he received:

"Yes, it's a far superior model. There are no real downsides. No more dumb BPC, VA 1% rule and easier to pass points and fees test. This is for an LO. If you're an owner I believe there's a little more risk than broker."

I'll translate for you: As a correspondent lender you can charge more and not have to disclose it to the borrower. Trust me, I know. I worked for correspondent lenders for 20 years! That's why since becoming a broker, I have been able to save my clients over $208,000 in 2.5 years, compared to what they would have paid if I was still working for my last company.*

That coupled with 2-3 week closing, and virtual closings, I couldn't be happier for myself and my clients!

*None of that extra money came to me. It all was for the companies I worked for. I was 100% on my own, no help with marketing or expenses. They just took a large chunk from the borrowers because I had to hang my license with a company.