Claire Mahoney

Claire Mahoney is a second-generation mortgage broker and Branch Manager at Mortgage First Corporation, the oldest mortgage brokerage in Salem, Oregon. She has been originating loans since 2013, with 650+ closed loans across Oregon and Washington and over 260 five-star Google reviews. Real estate isn't just her career; it's woven into how she grew up. Her family has owned and managed rental properties for generations, and she and her husband (a real estate agent) continue that tradition today with their own portfolio. That firsthand experience as an investor, a homeowner, and a broker gives her a perspective on real estate transactions that goes well beyond the loan itself. Claire developed a passion for VA loans early in her career, and not for a complicated reason: veterans deserve better. The VA loan is one of the most powerful home financing tools ever created, designed specifically to reward those who served. But she kept seeing veterans steered away from it, not because the loan was bad, but because too many real estate professionals found it unfamiliar and didn't bother to learn it. That bothered her. So she went to the source, studied the VA Lender's Handbook, and made it her mission to know this program inside and out. If you're a veteran in Oregon or Washington, you have earned this benefit. Claire's job is to make sure you actually get to use it.