San Vicente Mortgage offers accessibility, local knowledge

When dealing with mortgages, Jason DeLeo likes to make himself accessible to his clients round-the-clock.

He said he gets calls 24 hours a day from clients, adding that he will be available on weekends because he understands his customers often can’t talk while they are at work.

“I’m always there because I know people have questions, and essentially their questions don’t come between 8 and 5,” he said.

DeLeo is a home loan independent contractor at San Vicente Mortgage, 2102 Main St. He and Christie Carlson, who holds the broker’s license for San Vicente Mortgage, have been in the industry for a combined total of 35 years.

Working in Ramona since about 2001, DeLeo noted that there are many different kinds of properties in the community as compared to “down the hill.”

Lots of acreage, vacant land, wineries, farms, groves, and land with unpermitted buildings are among the different types of properties a buyer could find in Ramona.

That is why buyers should use a local person, said DeLeo.

“We know the area, we know the appraisals, we know how to get these types of deals done,” he said.

DeLeo said he works with 50 to 70 banks, and they have different guidelines.

“So I know what banks will do certain acreage, vacant land, groves wineries. There’s a lot of things that they won’t do,” he said.

According to DeLeo, as an extra step he will often walk a property with the agent to see if there are any red flags that can get corrected before appraisers come.

“You just kind of know how to navigate different properties, programs,” he said.

Among the many kinds of loans, DeLeo said that USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) loans are good because they are 0 percent down. The USDA loans are only available in rural areas such as Ramona, Alpine, Valley Center and the backcountry, he noted.

“It’s a really unique and great program for Ramona,” said DeLeo.

Originally from Rancho San Diego, DeLeo earned a degree in finance and briefly worked for a stock brokerage but said he did not like the environment. He then started selling real estate and doing loans, but decided to branch off into his speciality — finance.

“Really, it’s hard to do the mortgage and the realty because you just can’t keep up with all the new laws and things like that,” he said.

He also likes working with numbers better than viewing properties.

DeLeo managed a mortgage company in Mission Valley for just over a year before he was recruited to come to San Vicente Mortgage.

In 2008 he moved to Ramona and became active in the community.

DeLeo served as president of the Ramona Chamber of Commerce in 2011 and 12, and was treasurer in 2010. He still serves on its board of directors. He also chaired the Ramona Country Fair from 2010 to 2012. “It’s quite a lot of work but it was fun,” he said.

DeLeo said he loves giving back to Ramona and figuring out ways to help the community. He started Business Network Exchange, a nonprofit membership group that replaced LeTip, and served as president of it for two years.

“We all get together and exchange ideas and tips and help each other grow their businesses, like a sales force,” he said.

Each member in Business Network Exchange represents a different genre of business.

“It’s almost like a family,” DeLeo said.

The group meets every Thursday morning except for the third Thursday of the month. More information is at bneramona.com.

DeLeo and his wife, Danica (Howard), a Ramona High School graduate, live in San Diego Country Estates with their three children: Jax, 6, Natalia, 4, and Cash, 2.