Gateway Funding celebrated the opening of a new facility last year. Pictured are (back) Steve Reich, Dan Stewart, Carrie Wright, Kat Pancko, Kelly Steel, Tina Rawlinson, Michelle Dudas, Lorna Cruz, Amy Procaccino, (front) Tina Smith, Marie Ondy, Hamilton mayor Kelly Yaede, Frank Mancino, Hamilton councilwoman Ileana Schirmer, Patty Mancino and Nelson Abreu.
By Jacquelyn Pillsbury
Frank Mancino knew he always wanted his home mortgage office to be centrally located in Mercer County. That’s one reason the vice president and branch manager of Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services, L.P. decided to move February 2013 into a larger space only a few hundred feet from his previous location on Quakerbridge Road.
Mancino has over 25 years of experience in the mortgage business. In March 2005, Mancino began working for his current company. For the 15 years prior to joining Gateway, he worked for a few national lenders including Countrywide Home Loans, Chase and GMAC Mortgage.
Today the office has 13 employees.
“The staff that I have is really experienced, which is a big plus,” Mancino said. “They average over 15 years’ experience and are all cross trained to handle all aspects of mortgage financing.”
Mancino got started in the mortgage business when he answered a want ad for a part-time clerical position. He said the work comes naturally to him.
“I just seemed to know what I was doing when I started as a post-closing clerk, which was the bottom rung of the mortgage ladder,” he said. “I worked my way up to processing, underwriting, and then originator, and I’ve been an originator of loans ever since.”
Mancino said the best part of his job is seeing the happy faces of customers when they get their mortgage approval and they know they’re going to own their home. He knows customers shop around for the best deal they can get on their mortgages, but he is confident Gateway can offer them the best combination of service, rates, programs and the local presence they are looking for.
Gateway offers fixed and adjustable residential mortgages for primary residences, second home financing and investment property loans, or as Mancino puts it, “anything to do with your house, we can finance.”
“Most people start out thinking they just want the best rate, but ultimately they want to work with a lender they can trust and who is going to walk them through the process and can deliver exactly what they say they are going to deliver,” he said. “We’re small enough to give them the service they demand, and large enough to give them the most competitive rates and products available. We’re also local to the marketplace we serve, so we are available to them when they need us.”
He said he sometimes meets with customers who have misunderstandings about or under estimate the requirements of getting a loan. Today’s mortgage documentation requirements are very detailed and stringent and we work very hard to prepare our customers of what to expect during the information gathering stage and all the phases after that, up to and beyond closing.
“People should know that the traditional standards of good to excellent credit, gainful and stable employment and a history of savings are still considered the benchmark of obtaining a mortgage approval” he said.
He also said buyers should be wary of advertisements or internet lenders that promise interest rates below the market. In my experience, most of these offerings are “too good to be true,” and many come with excessive fees not easily seen in the small print.
“You really don’t get something for nothing in the mortgage business,” he said.
With rates no longer at rock bottom, the refinancing craze has died down, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a viable option today. Customers these days are refinancing to get cash out of their home for repairs or college savings, or to work their way out of an adjustable-rate mortgage. As we approach the spring market, his advice to borrowers is to call your local recommended mortgage company and go through the mortgage “Pre-Approval” process before you look for your new home. That way, they will know their maximum buying power and can look at homes in their price range with confidence. In this competitive market, Realtors and sellers need this information as well so they can evaluate which buyer offer meets their needs.
It wasn’t a complete surprise Mancino took to the industry. His father owned a real estate company from the 1950s to the ’70s. Without ever realizing it, he said, he has been in the real estate business his whole life.
Mancino, born and raised in Ewing, has lived in Hamilton for about 22 years. He has been happily married for over 25 years and has two grown children.
Gateway Funding is located at 3685 Quakerbridge Rd. in Hamilton. Phone: (609) 586-0020, ext. 221. Web:themancinoteam.com
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