McCue Mortgage Celebrates Top-Lender Status

Originally published in The Day on April 11, 2017
by Lee Howard, Day Staff Writer
 

New London, CT – Keith Turner, a representative for McCue Mortgage in southeastern Connecticut, unveiled a banner Tuesday indicating that he closed the most Connecticut Housing Finance Authority home loans of any agent in the state during 2016.

Joined in the unveiling outside his Union Street office by state Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, and state Rep. Chris Soto, D-New London, Turner said this is the first time that CHFA has given out a plaque noting this accomplishment. But, he said between him and his dad, the late Phil Turner, they have been at the top for CHFA loans for more than two decades now.

"This indicates a shift that more young people and first-time homebuyers are moving to this part of the state than anywhere else in Connecticut," he said.

Turner, assisted by Pam Gourlay, closed 71 CHFA loans last year out of the small office. That's about half of the 150 or so nonrefinance mortgages Turner wrote last year, he said.

"That shows how hard Keith works," Soto, a member of the state legislature's Housing Committee, commented to a small crowd of perhaps 20 people.

Formica, who recalled being a McCue Mortgage customer three decades ago, pointed out Turner's location right near downtown.

"We need to keep our young people, and you're doing your part to do that," Formica said.

Turner said down-payment assistance programs from such major local enterprises as Electric Boat and Lawrence + Memorial Hospital have made it easier to close loans for first-time homebuyers. Teachers and police officers can tap into similar programs, he added.

Turner, still in his early 30s, said in an interview that he likes crunching numbers, but he would never push buyers to take out loans with which they are uncomfortable. His first question usually revolves around their comfort level with various payments.

"Everyone wants a house," he said. "Nobody wants a mortgage."

But for first-timers looking for a mortgage — and a good majority of the people looking to buy in New London — getting a state-backed CHFA mortgage will mean substantial savings, somewhere between a half-percent and a full percent off the loan rate.

Turner, who lives in New London himself, said he has a 3 percent mortgage loan and expects never to have to refinance.

"For me, it's just a numbers game and hearing people's needs and what they are trying to accomplish," he said.