Choice Home Mortgage · the Gregory James Group
Your loan and your agent, one team.
Esther arranges the mortgage and Greg finds or sells the house, both inside one Orange County company, and you can use either one without the other.
Can my real estate agent and my lender be the same company in California?
Yes, and that is how our company is set up. Choice Home Mortgage and the Gregory James Group are trade names of the same California company, Montana Real Estate Inc (NMLS #2629064, CA DRE #01822046). Esther Buede arranges the loan at Choice Home Mortgage, and Greg Toussieng, a California real estate broker (DRE #01495415), handles the home at the Gregory James Group.
You can use one without the other. When we refer you from one to the other, we give you a written disclosure of the relationship and the estimated charges, and when we act as both your loan broker and your agent we confirm both roles in writing within 24 hours.
Do I have to use both?
No, and nobody here will ask you to. Many borrowers already have an agent they trust, and we work alongside whichever agent you choose. The reverse holds too: Greg’s buyers and sellers can finance with any lender they like. Neither company makes a referral a condition of anything.
Using both means fewer people to chase. If you are buying and have no agent yet, Esther can introduce you to Greg from the same phone call that starts your pre-approval. If you are selling to buy again, the sale and the next loan get planned together, which matters most when you need a bridge loan to buy before the current home closes.
How does one team shorten a purchase?
A California purchase contract sets deadlines for the loan and the appraisal. On the California Association of Realtors residential purchase agreement (Form RPA, revised 12/2022) the default is 17 days after acceptance for both, unless the contract sets other dates. A lot of the delay inside that window is hand-offs: an agent waiting on a lender for an updated pre-approval letter, or a low appraisal sitting in someone’s inbox overnight. This is how Esther and Greg work a shared file:
- When Greg writes an offer at a new price, Esther updates the pre-approval letter to match it.
- The loan, appraisal and inspection deadlines from your contract go on one calendar that both of them work from.
- If the appraisal comes in under the price, they look at the comparable sales together and talk through your options with you.
On a higher-priced home the loan type itself can change the plan. In Orange County a loan above $1,249,125 is a jumbo loan with its own reserve and documentation rules (see the 2026 Orange County limits), and knowing that before the offer shapes how the offer is written.
Who handles the loan, and who handles the house?
Esther Buede
Esther runs the loans at Choice Home Mortgage (individual NMLS #2003644). She takes the application, compares lenders for the file, and stays on it through closing. Meet the family.
Greg Toussieng
California real estate broker, DRE #01495415, working Orange County under the Gregory James Group name. Greg helps buyers find and negotiate for a home and helps sellers price, prepare and list theirs. To be introduced, call Esther at (949) 522-7310 or tick the introduction box on our call-back form.
What people say about working with both.
“My wife and I had an incredible experience working with Greg Toussieng and Gregory James Group to sell our home in Yorba Linda, California, and with Esther Buede and Choice Home Mortgage on the buyer’s financing.”
“… Iam incredible gratefulto Esther Buede and Greg Toussieng for helping us accomplish what we thought wasn't possible. Their knowledge, responsiveness, integrity and exceptional customer service exceeded every expectations.”
“… From our very first conversation, Greg Toussieng and Esther Buede were knowledgeable, responsive, honest, and incredibly professional. Their expertise with DSCR loans, investment property financing, and mortgage lending was obvious from day one.”
The part of each review about Greg and Esther, quoted as written. Read all our reviews.
One-team questions, answered.
Can my real estate agent and my lender be the same company in California?
Yes, and here they are. Choice Home Mortgage and the Gregory James Group are trade names of the same California company, Montana Real Estate Inc (NMLS #2629064, CA DRE #01822046). When we refer you from one to the other, we give you a written disclosure of the relationship and the estimated charges, and you are free to work with any other agent or lender.
Do I have to use both Choice Home Mortgage and the Gregory James Group?
No, you can use either one alone. You can get a loan from Choice Home Mortgage with any real estate agent, or work with Greg Toussieng at the Gregory James Group and finance with any lender. Using one is never a condition of using the other, and we will compare outside loan offers with you if you bring them.
How does one team shorten a home purchase?
There are fewer hand-offs between offices. The way Esther and Greg work, the pre-approval letter is updated for each offer price, the loan and appraisal deadlines from the contract go on one calendar, and if an appraisal or loan condition comes back with a problem they look at it together.
Who handles the loan and who handles the house?
Esther Buede (individual NMLS #2003644) arranges the loan at Choice Home Mortgage and compares lenders for it. Greg Toussieng, a California real estate broker (DRE #01495415), helps you find and negotiate for the home, or list and sell the one you have. They are married and run both sides of the business together.
How the two companies are related.
Choice Home Mortgage and the Gregory James Group are trade names of the same California company, Montana Real Estate Inc (NMLS #2629064, CA DRE #01822046), which Greg Toussieng owns. If we arrange your loan and the Gregory James Group also represents you in the purchase or sale, the company is paid for both services. You are not required to use the Gregory James Group to get a loan from Choice Home Mortgage, and you are free to work with any real estate agent. When we refer you, we give you a written disclosure of this relationship and the estimated charges, and when we act as both your loan broker and your agent we confirm both roles in writing within 24 hours.
The contingency periods above come from the California Association of Realtors Form RPA, revised 12/2022. Choice Home Mortgage, NMLS #2629064, Equal Housing Opportunity.
Start with the loan.
A pre-approval tells you the price range before you tour a single home. Ask Esther, and tell her if you would like Greg on the house side too.