This month's Expert Edge is from Joe Pessolano of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. Fairway was founded in 1996 and still today they provide clients with individualized services to meet their needs.  Whether clients are looking to buy their first home, a move-up home, vacation home, investment home or their forever home, Fairway Mortgage has products to meet the needs of almost every client.  They make it easy by giving clients the option to apply and communicate online, on the phone or in-person.  This is something that online-only lenders just can't do and sometimes it is necessary to meet face-to-face to truly make sure that our clients have the best experience and understand the process.

Joe's best piece of advice spurs from the fact that self-employed borrowers are often the most challenged borrowers when it come to qualifying for a home purchase.  Joes says "If you own a business and think that you might want to purchase or refinance a home within the next 24 months, it is a good idea to consult with one of our Loan Officers and/or a tax professional to make sure that you are not impeding your ability to qualify due to the way that you file your taxes.  Tax returns can be one of the most important items in determining your buying power and when you are not a standard salary employee it pays to know how to maximize your buying power through accurate tax filings."

Joe added, "many believe that all mortgage lenders are the same.  This couldn't be further from the truth."  Knowing what fees you will be paying for and working with a Loan Officer that can walk you through the process in detail are very important.  Some lenders may charge higher fees that other lenders consider optional when it comes to buying down interest rates.  At Fairway, we offer our borrowers very low closing cost loans.  That means we leave more money in their pockets to buy things for their new home!

​Learn more about Fairway Mortgage here. 

Due to the current trajectory of regulations in North Carolina, and in order to keep our community safe, the Clayton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, staff and the Town of Clayton have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Spring Fling Festival (previously the 2020 Harvest Festival) scheduled for April 21-25, 2021.

All parties are hopeful that the 2021 Clayton Harvest Festival will continue as normal this Fall starting October 27 through October 31, 2021. For this reason, all vendor booths, registrations, etc. for the 2021 Spring Fling Festival will automatically be transitioned to the 2021 Clayton Harvest Festival, with the same benefits. No action is needed for vendors (including Main Street Businesses), Food Trucks, Car Show registrations or Squealin on the Square cook team registrations that had previously singed up for the 2021 Spring Fling Festival. If you had not registered already for the 2021 Spring Fling Festival, you will be able to get registered as a vendor for the 2021 Clayton Harvest Festival soon!

More announcements coming soon. Follow CCOC on Facebook at @ClaytonChamberNC to stay in the loop, or subscribe to our weekly newsletter where all updates will be communicated.