The Monique Buchanan Show June 13, 2026

What is The Monique Buchanan Show?

Monique Buchanan, your real estate specialist, talks all things real estate. On this show she covers the processes of buying and selling a home. The Monique Buchanan informs you on best practices to navigate the housing market so that you can start building your wealth through home equity.

Announcer 0:00
This is a K-Unb Studios original program. The

Wesley Knight 0:04
content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and Moore, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, the

Monique Buchanan 0:40
Well, hello, Las Vegas. It is Monique Buchanan, the host of the Welcome Home with Monique show. And listen, I've got a great show for you today. It's gonna be, hopefully, a blessing to many people out there. Listen, my motivation for this show today comes from a real story. Just recently, I'm going to be talking about foreclosures. Yes, you heard me right. Foreclosures, notice of default. Okay, and the reason I'm talking about that is because if you haven't heard, they are on the rise. No, we are not 2008 but they are on the rise. So let me start with a story that motivated me to go ahead and talk about this, because I realized there's probably a lot of people that need to understand what they can do, what you know, what, what are their options? I think there's a lot of people out there that just feel overwhelmed, some of them feel they feel ashamed, which they shouldn't, but they do, and I want to kind of talk to those people out there that maybe you know coming up on something like this, maybe they've gotten to notice a default in the mail, maybe they're behind three or four payments, because hey, it's hard times right now for a lot of people, right, so I just want to make sure these people understand what it is that they can do, walk away with their head held up high with money in their pocket, and without a foreclosure on their credit for seven years. So that's the motivation of this story, you guys. If you know a family member, or maybe it's even yourself, you know that is, you know, facing something like this right now. You know, I just want to make sure that you understand what your options are, and I'm always here. You guys never feel ashamed. Put pride to the side. I'm here to answer those questions. And if you're just tuning in, I am Monique Buchanan. I'm the host of the Monique Buchanan Show, and we sell real estate in all 50 states and in 24 countries, that is what I live and breathe, is real estate. So, don't ever feel that you can't call me if you have questions, all right? You just want questions answered, that's what I'm here for. All right, so let's jump into it. I have a seller right now, she was going to walk away, you guys, completely from her property. You know, she was overwhelmed. Single mother, son went off to move, or he wouldn't live with his father. So she said, "You know what, I'm in the house by myself. You know what, I'm going to move. I have family, you know, in another state. I'm going to go ahead and pick up and move to this other state. I've been facing hard times with the rising cost of everything, and you know, she was a casino worker. We all know that Vegas has gotten really slow, and therefore that, that causes what does it cause hours to be cut. It causes layoffs for, you know, our casino workers, or that's our bread and butter, that's our industry here in Las Vegas. So she said, you know what, I'm just gonna pick up and start a new life somewhere else, okay? So she calls me, thank God, and she said, Monique, I wasn't gonna call you, but something told me give you a call, and I'm so glad she did. She said, Monique, I'm just gonna leave the house. I said, well, wait a minute, let's sit and talk about this, and that's what I did. I listened to her story, my kid, whooped, you know, kid moved away. I've been struggling making the mortgage payment since my hours have been cut, and I'm just over it. I'm just gonna get up and walk off, because I, she told me I have a, you know, I owe money to the water company. I have some plumbing issues going on within the house, you know, there's some backyard work that needs to be done, and I'm a woman by myself, you know, so I can't do all this. I'm overwhelmed. I'm just gonna walk away, and that's where I jumped in at and said, "Wait a minute, that is what I can do, is I can help you. Okay, so please, one second, I have the resources to help you.

Monique Buchanan 4:37
I have the plumber, I have the handyman, I have the contractors, I have, the cleaners, the landscaper, right, and a lot of my vendors are willing to wait until you sell the property to be paid, so there's no upfront cost for you in many cases. I can figure that out. Okay, so sometimes I even advance, you know. On some minor repairs, in order to get the property market ready, you know, you can just simply reimburse even me once you actually sell the property, and we're putting money into your pocket, to where now you have a couple dollars to go ahead and reimburse whoever helped you get the property sold. Does that make sense? So, the point is, don't panic, don't assume you're out of options. Don't let being overwhelm make the decision for you. Just like with selling properties, when I have buyers, we go over all their options. It's the same thing for my sellers. We go over all your options, so that you understand where you're at and can make an educated decision. Okay, so everybody knows that foreclosures are well, maybe not everybody, but they are rising, especially here in the valley. Nevada is actually one of the top states with rising foreclosures, and that makes sense, because obviously we are our main bread and butter once again is casinos, and we all know that tourism has dropped tremendously in the last year here in Las Vegas, have a lot of friends, including myself. I used to work in casinos, so we live off tourism once again. Once tourism drops, guess what happens? Casinos start doing what we call as a skeleton crew. They start cutting hours, laying people off, right? No more oracle time, that's for sure. So, when people hear foreclosures are on the rise, they immediately think of 2008 and that is not what this is. Okay, it's not what I'm seeing, in my opinion. Today's foreclosures, they involve homeowners who bought within the last three to four years, they purchased at the higher interest rates, right? They did not negotiate any seller paid rate buy downs. Remember the last couple years, you guys heard me saying almost every one of my clients that I can remember, we got money for the sellers, I negotiated it, and we bought down the rates, or else we did the three one buy downs, basically that bought three years of low mortgage payments while we waited for the feds to go ahead and lower those rates. Now, mind you, before this war started, the feds were doing exactly what they promised, which was lowering the rates. We were in the low fives, and I'm pretty sure my veterans were seeing 4% and then the war started, which was unpredictable, and unfortunately we're back in the highest six again, and now there's no talk of rate lowering, so that's causing a lot of people to be stuck in these high mortgage payments, especially if they didn't buy the rates down. So if you're looking at purchasing today, I'm still on that same page with my buyers. We are still getting 1000s of dollars. I just got $10,000 for one of my latest clients, and we're going to buy the rate down organically now. Now that we know that we're not hearing the feds talk about lowering the rates anymore, we're not going to do the programs anymore. We're just going to buy it straight down, so if it's at six 6.75 we're going to try to buy it down to a 5.75 or 6% or six and a quarter, right, to make sure that that payment is affordable for my buyers at the cost of my sellers providing those funds, right. So you just have to, you know, make sure you put yourself in a good position to be able to afford the property, but anyways, so this is not 2008 right? These folks, unfortunately, bought properties without doing a rate buy down, in my opinion. Now you know they're carrying more credit card debt than ever before, because people are using credit cards just to stay afloat right now, right, or maybe they've experienced job loss, or even just, you know, a reduction in their work hours, which we just talked about. We're in Vegas, tourism is our bread and butter, right?

Monique Buchanan 8:51
So the majority of people that bought homes, you know, 567, years ago, they're sitting on two and 3% rates, their payments are low, right? With that rate, your average payment is like 1500 bucks, 1800 bucks, totally affordable for most folks. Right, so that's what's going on, but we are starting to see more of the foreclosures creeping up, right, and I just want people to know that are facing that, that are unfortunately going through these hard times, you know, have that credit card debt, have that high mortgage payment, you know, over their heads. I want them to understand what their options are. So, if you've missed a couple months, you're more than likely going to be receiving what's called a notice of default. A notice of default is one of the first major foreclosure, like warnings, okay? It just means you're behind on your mortgage, and your lender has started a foreclosure, a foreclosure process. It does not mean you've lost your home, okay? You still have options, and if you've been living there for a couple years, you know, at least 345, years, you more than likely have equity, which means you have money. Money sitting on the table that you don't want to walk away from, so the earlier you act and find out what your options are, you know the better you will. It will all turn out all right. So just be careful when you're talking to your lender or your servicer, whoever you got your mortgage through. A lot of times the homeowners will call the lender and they're told everything will be like okay, they'll work things out with you. They call back a week later, and the story has completely changed. They talk to somebody different, and it's changed. Unfortunately, not everyone at the service company is always on the same page. So, here's my advice: keep notes, write down names of who you speak to, ask for everything in writing. In other words, tell them to email you, and don't assume a verbal promise means the issue is resolved. Okay, so let's just talk about some of your options, but before we do that, if you're just tuning in, this is Monique Buchanan. I'm a local Las Vegas realtor, but I sell in all 50 states and in 24 countries, and I am talking about notice the defaults, people facing foreclosures today on my show. I appreciate if you know somebody that's going through this unfortunate situation, and if they have questions, they can reach me at 702-984-3700 702-984-3700 They don't have to face this alone. If they're, if they don't want to call me, they can also email me at Welcome Home Show 91.5 at Gmail. Welcome Home Show 91.5 at Gmail. I'm here to help you figure it all out. You don't have to do it by yourself. Okay, so here's our number one option, and of course it's the one that I'm going to recommend, because to me it gives the most benefit. We can talk about selling your property. Okay, sell the property. You will avoid foreclosure that stays on your credit for seven years. You will protect your credit. You'll potentially walk away with some money, and of course, the reduced stress after selling and having that weight off your shoulders is just that, you know, that's the biggest thing, right. And then you can start over on your own terms. If you sell the property, you take over the power instead of the bank or the lender having the power. So many homeowners are always surprised that they still have money that they could walk away with after we sell the property and pay off their mortgage. This is the biggest thing I want people to understand. Even if you walk away with only $5,000 $10,000.20 grand, that's so much better than having a foreclosure on your credit for seven years, not being able to buy for seven years, having a drop of up to 160 points on your credit score, that affects your entire life, right? I mean, life happens, you guys. There's divorces, medical issues, job loss, reduction hours, unexpected expenses, heck, high groceries, high gas. So, there's nothing to be ashamed of if you're facing this, and that's that's what I really want to get across. You guys, don't be ashamed, put pride to the side, and just know that I'm here. You're not by yourself.

Monique Buchanan 13:02
I will help you get through this, and I will guide you, give you free resources. Okay, even if you don't use me, I'll send you to the HUD people, so they can kind of help you through this as well. You know, there's, I believe, there's even pro bono attorneys out there, so just don't feel like you're by yourself. All right, so let's talk about option number two, and this actually is, if you have not received a notice of default, this is like before you start missing payments, okay? You can always do what's called a loan modification, all right, so if you're, you have medical issues, you haven't been able to work for, you know, three months, whatever, you can call your lender, and a lot of times they will work with you. They'll extend your loan terms, sometimes they'll roll, roll like your missed payments into your loan, or they're like just lower your monthly payment. My girlfriend at one point had a $2,100 payment per month for her mortgage. Her husband works for Republic Services. He hurt his back, and he was down for a couple months, you know, due to back surgery. Well, she knew to call the lender, her servicer, and let them know this. And I want you guys to know that. So, what they did was they lowered their mortgage to $1,300 a month, and guess what? Even when he got back to work, it didn't change. They got that savings for the rest of their 30 year term. Not everybody qualifies, but it's worth exploring. When I say your servicer, I mean whoever you pay your mortgage to. Okay, a lot of times the servicer, once again, whoever you pay to will work with you. So let's say that you're $6,000 behind on your mortgage, all right, the lender will sometimes approval is not guaranteed, but the lender may allow you to spread those payments out over several months, so that way you know they'll just chop up that 6000 and add a little bit more onto your payment if you can afford that, right, and of course it has to be approved now off. Number four is a short sale. A short sell is when the lender agrees to accept less than what you owe. All right, so example, if you owe 350,000 the mortgage balance is 400,000 The lender may allow the home to sell for 350 and forgive that difference of $50,000 The benefit of that is you're going to avoid a foreclosure, you'll have less damage to your credit, and it allows you to move forward in life sooner. Right now, option, option number five is bankruptcy. Chapter 13, and by the way, I am not a lawyer. This is my understanding of it. You need to reach out to a lawyer for law advice, that's not what I'm giving you, I'm just giving you options, but it's my understanding that on a Chapter 13, it's it can stop the foreclosure temporarily, it'll kind of let you catch up on missed payments. FHA financing can be possible even after just 12 months, so you could be buying another house in a year, right, with court approval, as long as you make your payments on time. Is my understanding you could also do chapter seven, and this is like a fresh start. Most of your debts are wiped out, is my understanding on chapter number seven. I do know with FHA and VA, financing is normally able to be had after about two years from discharge. In other words, you can buy a house FHA or VA in as little as two years with Chapter Seven. Okay, so foreclosures are stopped, like you know, temporarily with a bankruptcy when it's filed. The collection activity is usually stopped. Foreclosures are basically just paused, but bankruptcy does not automatically mean that you get to keep the house. So every situation is different, so you once again contact an attorney and talk about those options. I do know attorneys as well that can assist you if you don't know one, but once again, I am not an attorney, and I'm not giving you legal advice, I'm just giving you options.

Monique Buchanan 16:57
Okay, so I'm just trying to help out right now, because there's people that are are going through this and they feel so isolated, they feel alone, some of them feel ashamed, and they just don't know who to talk to. So that's why I'm talking about this today. So, if you're just tuning in again, my name is Monique Buchanan. I am a local Las Vegas realtor, and we're talking about foreclosures, notice of defaults, people missing their payments right now, because everything is so high, you know, a lot of people are being laid off, a lot of people have lost their jobs. Tourism is down here in Vegas, so I'm trying to be a resource for my community, and I hope you can appreciate that. Now, if you need help, or you're thinking that you do want to sell the property, I'm here to help. We can go over numbers and see if it makes sense. Okay, if not, I can get, I can refer you to a lawyer if you want. Maybe think about doing a bankruptcy, getting a fresh start. I'll tell you what, my dad did a bankruptcy, and I was about 17 years old. I watched my dad go from decent credit to over 800 credit score fast after he did bankruptcy. That is a tool. It is nothing to be ashamed of. That is a tool, and use it if you need to use it, and do not be ashamed of it. That's my advice to you. Rich people use it as a tool all the time. You guys really just want to be careful, okay? There's red flags if they start promising you that they can get you out of the situation, or they're charging a large upfront fee, telling you that you can, you need to stop talking to your lender. Those are red flags. Be aware, there's free resources. All right, you've got HUD-approved housing counselors that can help you, legal aid organizations, bankruptcy attorneys, all right, and even licensed real estate professionals like myself that are familiar with distressed properties can assist you on what your options are. Okay, so my final thought is this: guys, I don't want you to panic, don't ignore the problem, and don't let pride get in the way. Get the facts, get your options. All right, I'll tell you the same thing that I tell my clients: you don't have to figure it all out by yourself. Sometimes people are surprised to learn that they have money in their home, and you could walk away with money in your pocket instead of a foreclosure. That's the biggest thing for me. If I can position you that not only are you going to avoid a foreclosure and seven years of, you know, that following you around, and I'm able to sell your property for you and put money in your pocket, so you could start fresh, possibly keep some of that money, and hey, now you could buy another home as early as six months, you know what I mean, as soon as your credit comes up from those missed payments, hey, we can buy a home again, you know, so just keep that in mind, you know, even if it's only a few $1,000 it's better than, you know, walking away with a foreclosure, that's my point. And there's no shame in asking questions and exploring your options, you guys. Life happens, job, job loss, hours cuts, divorce, whatever it is, so my. Goal is to sit down, make you feel like you're not by yourself, look over the numbers with you, and explain what your options are. I hope that's okay. All right, I want to help you make a decision that's going to be the best for you and your family. And sometimes the answer is selling, sometimes it's a loan modification, sometimes it's a short sale, but at least you'll know that you did your due diligence. What can I do? This is where I'm at. This is what I've received. You know, what are my options?

Wesley Knight 20:27
Monique Buchanan has served the community for over 10 years, helping homeowners, probate families, first-time buyers with zero down grants, and investors nationwide, serving all 50 states and 24 countries worldwide, 7029 84 33700. at Realtor Monique Buchanan on Instagram, the Monique Buchanan team experience you can trust. And now back to the Welcome Home Show.

Monique Buchanan 20:52
So I'm going to wrap this up with, if you've already received a notice of default from your lender, you're like, okay, so what can I do right now, so if the bank has already started the foreclosure process, which is called a notice of default, you've missed like three payments, usually you're like around 90 days. The lender will usually record a notice of default to at the county. You'll have three months to catch it up, typically. Now, after three months, if you have not caught it up, they're going to record something called a notice of trustee sale, and your home could be on the auction, all right. It could be on there and be ready to be auctioned off within 21 days, all right. It can move fast, or sometimes it might not move fast. That's what we do. We look into it for you to see where you're at, all right. You may be asked to leave the property after the auction, all right. So that's what I'm saying. If you've received that notice of default, I need to know what date is on there. I need to know how fast I need to move if we're going to sell this property or if we're going to go the short sell route. Okay? Or even if a loan modification is an option, you'll reach out and ask your lender that, but at least I can give you that road map on what to do, right? Because you want to avoid a major credit hit, right? It can be, like I said, up to 160 points off your credit. It makes it so much harder for you to buy. It could take up to seven years for you to get a new mortgage again if you get a foreclosure. All right, and the most of it, you don't want to lose any equity money that you have in that house, you want to try to recoup some of your money and not let the bank have the upper hand and take the money you know that you've made within that property. I can find you a comfortable rental to stay in for that year or six months, you know what I mean. While you wait for your credit to come back to normal, and if you want to buy again, maybe the rates will be way down in a year, right? We never know. So, at least you have the ability to buy if that's what you want to do. Okay, at least you have options again, and you have that monkey off your back. Okay, guys. So, my number is 7029 84 3700 Monique Buchanan, B U C H A N A N. You can follow me at Realtor Monique Buchanan on IG, or just my name on Facebook, Monique Buchanan, B U C H A N A N, or you can always give me a call, you guys, 702984 3700 Maybe you know somebody that's going through this and they're lost, they need answers, they need options. Um, 702 94 3700 Look for any notices from the bank or the county. All right, if you see one, you want to talk to an attorney or a HUD-approved counselor, or you can call me. All right, and we'll go over the timeline, and I can possibly get your home listed and beat the foreclosure clock. If we do that, you're walking away with money, you're walking away with no foreclosure on your credit. All right, so once again, guys, this is nothing to be ashamed of. Lot of people are feeling the crunch right now. It is what it is, but that's what I'm here to do, here to go ahead and help you. I've got quite a few sellers right now that are reaching out, a lot of listings coming on the market, and we can go ahead and put that property on the market, get it sold, let you and your family start off fresh. I'll even put you in a rental property for that year, all right, while you rebuild, and we can go ahead and start all over again. Fresh start, head up high, that's what I'm talking about, you guys. Hey, we're all out here living the same life, doing the best we can, and however we do that, right, we got to do what we got to do. So that's what I'm here for.

Monique Buchanan 24:30
7029 84 3700 I hope this show helped somebody out there that didn't know their options, and maybe they have a better picture now, and now they know they can call me 7029 84 3700 All right, guys, until I hear from you, I want to give my oldest daughter a happy birthday shot out. She lives over in Albania. She moved to Europe last year. She's loving it. Okay, so I don't think she'll hear the show I. But I'll be calling her anyway. I love you, Sanaya, and I hope that you have a blessed birthday. All right, guys. 7029 84 3700 Monique Buchanan. Have a blessed weekend, you guys. Talk soon. Thank you for listening. Please remember, all terms discussed are simply an estimate. My license number is S 1788 46 my phone number, if you'd like to contact me, is 702-984-3700 You can also find me on YouTube.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai