Bay Area Life & Style Magazine | Summer 2021

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Kristen Ambos MORTAGE MINUTE WITH WRITTEN BY: OLIVIA KASSNER PHOTOGRAPHY BY: BRANDI KRAUSE “Mortgages are as clear as mud,” says Kristen Ambos, retail correspondent lender and mortgage expert. “It’s not black and white, and it doesn’t make sense.” While there are varying reasons why lenders use the particular criteria that they do, their rules can be arbitrary and leave home buyers confused and taken advantage of. Watching people get swindled in the mortgage business is one of Ambos’ biggest grievances. She sees clients time and time again who have been exploited so that a lending agent could gain a signing bonus or make an extra buck. Ambos has been in the mortgage business for almost twenty years, and her ample experience among market highs and lows has made her an expert resource in lending. Ambos survived the 2008-2010 housing crisis and refuses to go back. She promised herself in the middle of the mess that if she made it out and stayed in the lending business, she would make sure people were better informed. No matter how she can, she vowed to always combat questionable lending. Kristen believes that her clients have the right to know every aspect of their money, whether they’re paying outright or obtaining a loan. She encourages clients not to look at their money nonchalantly, especially if they don’t understand what is going on with it. Too often she sees uneducated buyers being preyed on, and it is her goal to stop that from happening. But how could she educate the general public if she can’t meet each of them? To solve this, Ambos launched her YouTube channel as a way to make her wealth of knowledge accessible to more than just her clients. She uploads videos frequently, educating viewers about mortgage finance by focusing on topics like Contingencies, Student Loan Debt, and Property Taxes.
Ambos’ channel features two regular segments: Mortgage Minute! and Coffee & Conversations with Kristen, so she can provide both tidbits of information and longer chats where she explains things like your friend would (and then you can sit on the other side of the screen nodding like you knew that already, because it makes so much sense how could you not?). Kristen sheds light on the confusing aspects of lending, which in turn empowers viewers to take control of their mortgage. Every scenario in lending is different, and while there are loans available whose criteria buyers don’t fit, there are other loans out there that will work. People feel like banks just want to turn them down, but Kristen wants to approve them. She gets creative and finds new ways to get her clients financed. She advises them on how to fix their credit scores to get a better rate, where to find funds for surprising closing costs, and what steps to take to get them into a home. Instead of fitting her clients into a certain box, she finds loans with criteria they can meet. Since mortgages are all Ambos works with, she has access to a variety of lending options. Specializing in Residential Lending, she acts as a broker and can choose from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, government, conventional, jumbo loans, FHA, WHEDA, VA, USDA and more. Licensed in the entire Midwest and Florida, Ambos is knowledgeable about out of state lending as well. Ambos’ work has also benefited many veterans in the area. Guaranteed Rate’s partnership with the USO has given her the opportunity to work with veterans on their VA loans. To give back to the community, she is currently paying all lender fees for veterans to thank them for their service by saving them money When she’s not working, the UW Stevens Point graduate and her husband spend time in the summer at the race track. Her husband races off-road, and the couple has taken an active role in their racing community, with Ambos sponsoring eight drivers this year. Kristen is your down-to-earth, friendly neighborhood lender, which is evident from her social media presence. Her regular YouTube and Instagram posts give you a real feel for her personality, so you don’t have to feel intimidated to give her a call. She has pages and pages of positive reviews on her Zillow lending profile, with dozens of comments about her accessibility and responsiveness. The best advice is to get a second opinion; it can’t hurt to get another quote, it can only give you options. Kristen Ambos is dedicated to being a transparent lender who educates her clients to understand what they are doing with their money and what their money is doing for them.
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Bay Area Life & Style Magazine | Summer 2021

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