When you're trying to buy your first home, it can be helpful to think about the reasons why you're doing it.
If you're looking to create memories, build equity, raise a family, stabilize your housing costs, and be proud of where you live, we're here to help!
Mike is a 2007 graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. After school, he spent two years playing professional hockey in Europe before stepping into the real estate industry full-time. Mike worked as a real estate agent in Greater Boston focusing on condo purchases before becoming a full-time loan officer in 2011. This extensive experience on both sides of a real estate transaction helps him walk you through the purchase process from start to finish. He finds this to be extremely helpful, especially for first-time homebuyers. Mike is happy to help with all of your financings needs, whether it be a 3% down first-time home purchase to a multi-family investment property, and everything in between. At Leader Bank, our wide range of products and best in the industry pricing keeps us a step ahead of the competition.
Schedule a Call to Discuss Loan Programs, Interest Rates, Homebuyer Education, or Discuss Your Current Loan Process
"We highly enjoyed working with Mike McCarthy at Leader Bank and are grateful for our realtor’s recommendation to do so. Mike went above and beyond at several points throughout the process, including but not limited to: taking a Sunday afternoon call to get pre-approval ready for a Monday offer deadline, calling to vouch for our financial position for a particularly competitive home offer, and putting together a video walkthrough of our loan and interest rate options. Leader Bank also facilitated an aggressive 28-day close deadline. We did have several rounds of back and forth with associates on the Leader Bank team and had some crossed wires on documentation needed; however, everything was able to be processed on time for our close."
"Michael Mccarthy was our go to resource for securing a mortgage for the purchase of our new home. He made sure the transaction was seamless in nature, and worked closely alongside the other real estate team members to make sure deliverables were completed in a timely basis."
"I had a non standard loan and leader bank boiled the ocean to make it work. Solid communication through the process. The team went above and beyond."
"Mike and his team at Leader bank were easy to work with. He gave us a very competitive rate, he was responsive to our questions as first time home buyers and he was a joy to work with. We will definitely use Leader Bank to finance our next home purchase."
"Despite the lengthy application and necessary documents required, the Leader Bank team of professionals helped us close on time! Very helpful and professional."
"I shopped around for lenders and Leader Bank was by far the most thorough when explaining the fees that we were paying at closing. They were extremely responsible and helpful through the process as well!"
"Great interest rates, easy to follow approval process, and easy to communicate with. Highly recommended."
"Working with Michael McCarthy, Brittany Nickerson from Leader bank has been a complete pleasure! We are foreign buyers, English is not our first language. Michael and his team helped us to go through all the difficulties. They are very focused and efficient. They listened carefully and spent the time to solve our problems (we did have a lot of problems). The final results exceeded all our expectations. I couldn’t get the loan without Michael’s help. I would highly recommend Michael and Leader bank to a family member or friend."
"Working with Mike from Leader bank was great. Process was fast and easy, and Mike and his team were very willing and able to answer all of our questions and concerns."
"Mike is a true professional. He is lightening fast and his follow-up is incredible. Mike and his team at Leader Bank did a wonderful job of guiding me through the loan process so that it was painless and hassle free."
"Micheal was available to answer all my million questions. He was patient and worked with me throughout this fast process. Leader bank and Micheal did a great job and i would recommend them. Thank you Micheal."
"Michael provided me with the best loan possible! He replied to my emails in timely manner and was always ready to provide me with clarifications. Michael exceeded my exepctations."
"Mike was great to work with and was able to help us close on our dream home in less than 30 days. He took calls on the weekend and helped negotiate a great rate, and Leader Bank got us through the whole mortgage process seamlessly in a short amount of time. Thanks!"
"Mike's a gem! He was transparent about the process, responsive to our questions, and worked hard to get us a great rate, helping us achieve our goal of homeownership much sooner than we expected. Thanks Mike!"
"Mike is super responsive — he even frequently responded emails and texts to explain details of the loan over the weekends. Mike also tried his best to have things worked out for us. Recommended."
"Mike was great! The leader bank app system made everything really easy. Mike was really good about explaining step-by-step the process of securing lending."
"Mike is exactly what you want in a loan officer. He gives you options, explains each one, then he handles everything from there. He has a team working underneath him that do a great job as well. He got me the best rate I could find (including from my own bank and a top mortgage company). He called me on the regular to update me and even Facetimed me to walk me through how to find a certain document I needed on short notice! He takes one of the most complicated parts of buying a home (the financing) and makes it as easy as possible. You will NOT be disappointed working with Mike's team at Leader Bank!"
"I would recommend Mike from Leader Bank any day! He was the absolute best to work with! Getting files and documents to him was so easy! He was always on top of everything and I never felt like he was difficult to get in touch with. He addressed any questions or concerns my husband and I had and he is very nice!"
Mike is a 2007 graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. After school, he spent two years playing professional hockey in Europe before stepping into the real estate industry full-time. Mike worked as a real estate agent in Greater Boston focusing on condo purchases before becoming a full-time loan officer in 2011. This extensive experience on both sides of a real estate transaction helps him walk you through the purchase process from start to finish. He finds this to be extremely helpful, especially for first-time homebuyers. Mike is happy to help with all of your financings needs, whether it be a 3% down first-time home purchase to a multi-family investment property, and everything in between. At Leader Bank, our wide range of products and best in the industry pricing keeps us a step ahead of the competition.
Schedule a Call to Discuss Loan Programs, Interest Rates, Homebuyer Education, or Discuss Your Current Loan Process
"Michael Mccarthy was our go to resource for securing a mortgage for the purchase of our new home. He made sure the transaction was seamless in nature, and worked closely alongside the other real estate team members to make sure deliverables were completed in a timely basis."
"I had a non standard loan and leader bank boiled the ocean to make it work. Solid communication through the process. The team went above and beyond."
"Mike and his team at Leader bank were easy to work with. He gave us a very competitive rate, he was responsive to our questions as first time home buyers and he was a joy to work with. We will definitely use Leader Bank to finance our next home purchase."
"I shopped around for lenders and Leader Bank was by far the most thorough when explaining the fees that we were paying at closing. They were extremely responsible and helpful through the process as well!"
"Great interest rates, easy to follow approval process, and easy to communicate with. Highly recommended."
"Working with Mike from Leader bank was great. Process was fast and easy, and Mike and his team were very willing and able to answer all of our questions and concerns."
"Mike is a true professional. He is lightening fast and his follow-up is incredible. Mike and his team at Leader Bank did a wonderful job of guiding me through the loan process so that it was painless and hassle free."
"Micheal was available to answer all my million questions. He was patient and worked with me throughout this fast process. Leader bank and Micheal did a great job and i would recommend them. Thank you Micheal."
"Michael provided me with the best loan possible! He replied to my emails in timely manner and was always ready to provide me with clarifications. Michael exceeded my exepctations."
"Mike was great to work with and was able to help us close on our dream home in less than 30 days. He took calls on the weekend and helped negotiate a great rate, and Leader Bank got us through the whole mortgage process seamlessly in a short amount of time. Thanks!"
"Mike's a gem! He was transparent about the process, responsive to our questions, and worked hard to get us a great rate, helping us achieve our goal of homeownership much sooner than we expected. Thanks Mike!"
"Mike is super responsive — he even frequently responded emails and texts to explain details of the loan over the weekends. Mike also tried his best to have things worked out for us. Recommended."
"Mike was great! The leader bank app system made everything really easy. Mike was really good about explaining step-by-step the process of securing lending."
"I would recommend Mike from Leader Bank any day! He was the absolute best to work with! Getting files and documents to him was so easy! He was always on top of everything and I never felt like he was difficult to get in touch with. He addressed any questions or concerns my husband and I had and he is very nice!"
We have a wide range of loan programs including; 1st time home buyer loans, FHA, VA loans, jumbo mortgages, conventional financing, investor financing, etc
No. We have a range of loan programs, depending on your scenario you may be able to bring 0% down.
60 days but can be renewed for another 60 without an additional credit inquiry
Your housing payment along with your other monthly debts cannot exceed 45% of your gross monthly income. This is a general rule of thumb. There are various programs with more/less stringent requirements.
Leader Bank has a 640 minimum credit score requirement. There are additional credit score requirements for specific loan programs. 640 is Leader Bank only, other lenders may have different requirements.
The Leader Bank costs are $1,948-$2,448 depending on the loan program. There are additional costs not associated with the bank as well. Homebuyers should assume all closing costs to equal about 1.5%-2% of the purchase price.