Kyle Palaniuk is the owner of Plan Prepare Home, a financial mortgage company located here in North Park. Kyle is also our wonderful sponsor of the upcoming North Park Community Cleanup happening this Saturday, November 14th. We asked Kyle a few questions in order to learn more about him and what his business can do for others.
Tell us about yourself.
Kyle: “I’m originally from North Bend, Oregon. I found a zest for traveling at 18 and decided to move to Seattle, Washington. I went to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington and studied International Economics and Spanish. I also studied abroad in Argentina and Costa Rica where I would do case studies on poverty alleviation in Latin America. I met my wife right after I got back and we decided to move to Korea and teach English for a couple years. Now we live in North Park with two kids, a cat, a dog and two chickens.”
So how did you get into the home buying business?
Kyle: “I already mentioned this a little bit, but I studied Microfinance in college and was able to incorporate that into my poverty alleviation work in Latin America. While I was doing this work, I got into that sub-context of home-buying and loans. After studying abroad, I was offered a job doing commercial lending at a bank here in San Diego. Shortly after, I realized I could do more work with the community and actual people by doing residential lending rather than commercial, so I quit and decided to start my own business –– and that’s how Plan Prepare Home was born.”
Why did you choose North Park for your business?
Kyle: “I fell in love with North Park after we moved here in 2011. I especially love the community which reminds me of all the best parts of how I grew up in a small town, but inside a city full of opportunity. I knew it would be the perfect place to start my company.
What is Plan Prepare Home?
Kyle: “Plan Prepare Home is a concierge home-financing shop that focuses on tailoring to the unique needs of each client. We offer wholesale mortgage rates with top quality service. I always say its kind of like the ‘Nordstrom experience’ with ‘Costco prices’. It’s a very hands-on approach to the home buying and/or the home-financing process.”
What kinds of services do you offer?
Kyle: “We handle complete home buying services, home refinancing, real-estate finance, FHA loans, VA loans, conventional loans, commercial loans, alternative loans, hard-money loans, reverse mortgages –– I could go on… as in independent brokerage we have access to everything out there to find solutions for our clients.”
What exactly made you decide to pursue this business?
Kyle: “I wanted to operate my own small business while still doing what I knew best –– I wanted the community-feel and day-to-day, hands-on experience for my clients while providing better quality service than larger banks can offer.”
You’ve touched on this a little, but how is your business different from other similar businesses?
Kyle: “We make sure to limit our workload to ensure we don’t compromise our level of service. There aren’t many other businesses out there that focus on tailoring to the unique needs of each client and being hands-on through every step of the home buying and refinancing process.”
What do you love about the company?
Kyle: “I love the people I work with and the amount of local clients and community members I get to meet. I love to operate like a local pizza shop, while offering the highest quality services. It’s all about the people. I love getting to know our clients.”
So, what would you say is the overall mission of Plan Prepare Home?
Kyle: “Our mission is to educate and advise families on the path to home ownership and help them create long term prosperity through real estate ownership. We recognize that every client is unique, so we provide customized mortgage solutions for our clients in order for them to have a superior mortgage experience.”
Do you have any special holiday offers coming up?
Kyle: “Our industry doesn’t allow us to advertise any specials, but I will say mortgage interest rates are at the lowest they’ve been in over 30 years, so it is a great time to refinance or buy right now, and large and online lenders are underperforming on their promises. We will not.”
Is there anything else you’d like to mention?
Kyle: “I just want people to know that getting a mortgage today can be a much more pleasant experience than people expect. Working with a local independent broker will definitely get you a better experience than going to a large bank.”
If you are interested in learning more about homebuying and/or refinancing through Plan Prepare Home, visit www.planpreparehome.com/ or call 619-354-4929.