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People don't call us because they need a mortgage. They call us because they need help making a housing decision.
Mortgage Matters is a Las Vegas, Nevada-based radio show and podcast hosted by mortgage advisors Roland Daniels (NMLS 355859) and Heidi Griffith (NMLS 2247754) with Geneva Financial. Airing every Sunday at 7:30 AM on KUNV 91.5 and available wherever you listen to podcasts, the show explores the real-life decisions, opportunities, challenges, and financial realities that shape where and how we live.
Every week, Roland and Heidi tackle the housing conversations people are already having around kitchen tables, at family gatherings, and on social media. Should I buy or wait? Is my first home supposed to be my dream home? Should I move up, downsize, invest, or stay put? How do I build wealth through real estate? What's the smartest use of my money? Through honest conversations and practical guidance, they help listeners make sense of the choices involved in renting, buying, selling, investing, and planning for the future.
Drawing on decades of mortgage and housing experience, Roland and Heidi break down real mortgage questions, homeownership strategies, down payment assistance programs, FHA loans, VA loans, conventional financing, housing affordability, wealth-building opportunities, and the financial realities that influence housing decisions.
Mortgage Matters also shines a spotlight on the people and organizations working to strengthen communities across Las Vegas and Nevada. Through conversations with housing advocates, nonprofit leaders, educators, elected officials, and local changemakers, the show explores the issues that affect housing, opportunity, economic mobility, fair housing, and homeownership throughout Southern Nevada.
Roland and Heidi are active community educators who lead free homebuyer workshops across Nevada in partnership with organizations including the Nevada Housing Division, Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC), and Nevada Rural Housing Authority. Roland serves as a director with the local chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), and Heidi serves as President of the Silver State Fair Housing Council, where Roland is also a board member. Together, they bring mortgage expertise, housing advocacy, community involvement, and a passion for helping people make informed housing decisions to every episode.
Announcer 0:00
This is a KUNV Studios original program. The
Wesley Knight 0:04
content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Roland Daniels 0:43
Good morning, Las Vegas. Welcome to Mortgage Matters. I'm Roland Daniels, a certified mortgage advisor with Geneva Financial. My NMLS number is 355859. Our company NMLS number is 42056, and I'm here this morning, as always, with my fantastic co-host Heidi Griffith. Good morning.
Heidi Griffith 1:07
Well, good morning, Roland. How are you?
Roland Daniels 1:09
I am absolutely fantastic.
Heidi Griffith 1:12
Loving to hear that.
Roland Daniels 1:13
Yes.
Heidi Griffith 1:14
Happy Sunday.
Roland Daniels 1:15
Happy Sunday.
Heidi Griffith 1:16
I'm Heidi Griffith. I'm also a mortgage advisor and your director of client services. My NMLS number is 2247754, and if you happen to sleep in any Sunday, remember you can find us anywhere you get your podcast. We're on Apple, we're on Spotify, we're on Amazon. Just search Mortgage Matters Radio. So we've got a couple of classes coming up. September is a busy month for classes. We do
Roland Daniels 1:41
September will be busy.
Heidi Griffith 1:42
Absolutely, we've got a class next Wednesday.
Roland Daniels 1:46
We do
Heidi Griffith 1:46
Wednesday, september 9. That's with Kevin Hickey from Nevada Rural Housing. He was on last week.
Roland Daniels 1:51
He was. He's
Heidi Griffith 1:52
always great in studio.
Roland Daniels 1:54
Every single time.
Heidi Griffith 1:54
Every single time. And every day. He's a
Roland Daniels 1:56
great human.
Heidi Griffith 1:56
He's an amazing human. It's going to be an amazing class. We're going to cover all of the Nevada Rural Housing Down Payment Assistance Programs, including Rural Rocks 20,000 Offers $20,000 towards down payment and closing costs
Roland Daniels 2:11
with no employment restrictions. No,
Heidi Griffith 2:14
because with the work management employment
Roland Daniels 2:16
restrictions, yes. Oh yeah, you got to have a
Heidi Griffith 2:18
job. Yes, for sure. Yeah, you have to have some source of income. So if you're retired and you get a pension, that too. But this program, there is no essential worker category like it originally started out with.
Roland Daniels 2:30
Right, you get
Heidi Griffith 2:30
$20,000. You can use it towards your down payment and closing costs. But what's what's the magic sauce with this one?
Roland Daniels 2:36
You're still able to utilize a portion of it to buy down the rate, which
Heidi Griffith 2:40
is important. It is. It's important to a lot of people, and that ability is there with this program. So I'm excited. Next up, we have our monthly path to homeownership workshop
Roland Daniels 2:50
and financial literacy, which will take place on September the 12th,
Heidi Griffith 2:55
Saturday.
Roland Daniels 2:56
Saturday. It is in partnership with CPLC. We start at 830. Doors open around 820, and the location is 555 North Maryland Parkway, right on the corner of Maryland Parkway and Bonanza.
Heidi Griffith 3:12
That's the HUD-approved homebuyer education.
Roland Daniels 3:15
That it is. It
Heidi Griffith 3:16
is a full day commitment, but I have to tell you, if you haven't ever owned a home before, or if you haven't owned a home in a while, this class is just filled with information. I think it's it's the only homebuyer class that I've ever seen, and I believe it's probably the most
Roland Daniels 3:36
probably one of the most comprehensive in
Heidi Griffith 3:39
the state,
Roland Daniels 3:39
right? First time homebuyer club because workshops out there,
Heidi Griffith 3:42
and it just doesn't cover how to buy a house. Because quite honestly, we could probably Google that. Yes, right. This talks about insurance,
Roland Daniels 3:51
credit,
Heidi Griffith 3:52
budgeting.
Roland Daniels 3:53
Yes,
Heidi Griffith 3:53
it goes over things that you're going to be expecting after you close on your home, and you're a homeowner
Roland Daniels 4:00
how to be one of the most successful homeowners out there, and
Heidi Griffith 4:04
that's really important to us. It is. That's really important to us, and that's actually going to be about what today's show is. We're going to talk about some of those things, and then we have our third class. That's going to be with the Nevada Housing Division. That's online this month as well. That is on september 15, that's a Tuesday.
Roland Daniels 4:22
Okay,
Heidi Griffith 4:23
and that's from three to 430. We're going to cover all of the Nevada Housing Division down payment assistance classes, the mortgage process, which we cover in every one of these classes. And then Starla Jordan will actually be with us. She's a realtor with Coldwell Banker, and she's going to talk about what the steps to homeownership from the real estate side of things. So if you have any questions or you'd like to register for any of our upcoming classes, you're more than welcome to reach out. We're at 702-540-0420. Again, you can call or text us. We're at 702. 5400420. You can actually also find all of our upcoming classes and the links to register on our Facebook page. You can search Mortgage Matters Radio and you'll find us. So let's talk about being a successful homeowner. Let's talk about you know I've been getting calls on this since I've been in business, and a big thing is the majority of people get fixed rate mortgages, right?
Roland Daniels 5:27
They actually do, especially when it comes to if you're using down payment assistance. Well, it's got to be a fixed rate mortgage, 30 year fixed rate mortgage. But
Heidi Griffith 5:36
even if you're not, the majority of folks, when they're applying for a mortgage and getting a mortgage, they're getting a fixed rate mortgage. They
Roland Daniels 5:42
are.
Heidi Griffith 5:43
We get calls. I thought I had a fixed rate mortgage. My mortgage went up. I got a letter from the mortgage company, and usually it's going to be the servicer. You know, the person who's servicing your mortgage, right? And it said that my mortgage payment is going up.
Roland Daniels 5:58
Yeah, and we do do we do get phone calls stating that yeah why did my mortgage go up I thought I had a fixed rate mortgage and it wasn't going to go up
Heidi Griffith 6:07
wasn't supposed to go up so let's talk about that really quickly and what to expect because again this is about being a successful homeowner so you want to be prepared to know what's going to happen or what could potentially happen when you're a homeowner what's a fixed rate mortgage woman? A
Roland Daniels 6:22
fixed rate mortgage is that you've agreed to take out a mortgage over a length of time. Normally, it's 30 years, but it can be 1520, 25. But most fixed mortgages are 30 years, right? Which means you have the principal and the interest, which is the loan amount and the interest rate, so that's one factor of your mortgage payment. And then there's other factors that does change. But when it comes to a fixed rate mortgage, is your principal and interest, and that does not change over the life of the loan.
Heidi Griffith 6:56
Right.
Roland Daniels 6:56
So you'll get your real property tax distribution statement.
Heidi Griffith 7:00
Right. So you'll get a statement every single year. You do. You'll get your tax card in the mail.
Roland Daniels 7:04
You do.
Heidi Griffith 7:05
Should we ignore those? Definitely
Roland Daniels 7:07
not. Please make sure you pay attention to that tax card because right attached to it, usually like a tear off, and you want to make sure that your property is reflecting 3% instead of 8%
Heidi Griffith 7:22
So what's 3% Let's start with this. Let's go backwards a little bit. Most mortgages, not all, most mortgages.
Roland Daniels 7:31
Yes,
Heidi Griffith 7:31
you've got an escrow account.
Roland Daniels 7:32
You do
Heidi Griffith 7:33
an escrow account is is within Nevada escrow company. That's where you're going to go and sign all your documents, right? And your mortgage company will pay your taxes and insurance into that, or excuse me, out of that escrow account.
Roland Daniels 7:50
Yes.
Heidi Griffith 7:51
Some people pay their own property taxes, their own insurance. It's going to depend on the loan. It's going to depend on your lender. It's going to depend on a couple of things. But the majority of us pay out of our escrow account, so that's our monthly mortgage payment,
Roland Daniels 8:06
right? And it's paid out of four installments,
Heidi Griffith 8:08
right? Let's talk about that three and that 8% So now we're talking about property taxes,
Roland Daniels 8:14
right?
Heidi Griffith 8:15
When you get your property tax bill, it's going to either say 3% or 8% on
Roland Daniels 8:21
it, right? And that's your tax cap.
Heidi Griffith 8:23
That's your tax cap.
Roland Daniels 8:24
Yes.
Heidi Griffith 8:25
What's the difference between the three and the 8%
Roland Daniels 8:27
Well, 3% is for owner occupied, and the 8% are for investors and non-owner occupied. So second
Heidi Griffith 8:38
homes and stuff.
Roland Daniels 8:38
Yes. So you need to be careful.
Heidi Griffith 8:40
So if I buy a house and I get my card,
Roland Daniels 8:44
yes,
Heidi Griffith 8:45
and my card says 8% oh no.
Roland Daniels 8:48
Well, not oh no. You just need to make sure you mark the box that no is going to be 3% because we all want that lower tax rate. Because
Heidi Griffith 8:56
you're going to get a card that asks you.
Roland Daniels 8:58
Yes. That's why I
Heidi Griffith 8:59
said reading your mail. It's important.
Roland Daniels 9:01
It is very important.
Heidi Griffith 9:02
Sometimes we're sick of it. We get so much, especially when you when you first purchase home, you're going to get a lot of stuff. A lot of it's going to be junk. A lot of it's going to be you know people trying to sell you something.
Roland Daniels 9:13
You will definitely be bombarded.
Heidi Griffith 9:15
You will be bombarded with mail, but that tax card is super important.
Roland Daniels 9:20
Very important.
Heidi Griffith 9:22
You want to make sure that you check the 3% Now, let's just say I change my name or I put my property into a trust. Will it automatically change and and make that that 3% cap again?
Roland Daniels 9:36
Sometimes, but you just have to be careful, just to make sure.
Heidi Griffith 9:40
Yeah, you always want to check.
Roland Daniels 9:42
You do,
Heidi Griffith 9:42
and you can contact the county assessor's office.
Roland Daniels 9:46
You can.
Heidi Griffith 9:46
They'll guide you in the right direction. Now, if it's not your primary residence anymore, should you notify them? Yeah, you should. That's just part of it, right? Right. And if it's not your primary residence, or it's an investment property. A second home, that kind of stuff. You're stuck at that 8% cap.
Roland Daniels 10:04
You are, and if it says 8% and you are truly a owner occupied, which means you live in the property, and it's reflecting the 8% you just make a phone call or send in that card, so you can get your property taxes reduced to that 3% tax cap.
Heidi Griffith 10:22
Yeah, because it's a big deal. Difference between three and 8% is a big deal.
Roland Daniels 10:26
It is, and every little bit saves money. You know, it'll help you.
Heidi Griffith 10:29
That's what we're about saving money.
Roland Daniels 10:31
Yes,
Heidi Griffith 10:31
saving money. So if you if you'd like to get in touch with the county assessor, you can give us call or Texas. We'll get you their information. We're at 702-540-0420. Again. That number is 702-540-0420. Okay, so property taxes can go up, and they probably will. They probably will. More than not, they go up, not down.
Roland Daniels 10:56
And there's a little birdie, and it's been in the news. Unfortunately, they are thinking about changing the tax cap and removing that cap, but that's just chatter, and we'll see what happens.
Heidi Griffith 11:10
Well, we definitely need to keep our eye on that one.
Roland Daniels 11:12
Yes, we do because it can make a huge difference.
Heidi Griffith 11:14
100% We definitely need to keep our eye on that, and if we hear any updates on that, we'll make sure we let you know. We sure will. So when we talk about that fixed rate mortgage, we just said property taxes can make that go up. What else can make it go up?
Roland Daniels 11:28
Your homeowner's insurance. Oh man, for the property. Yes,
Heidi Griffith 11:32
insurance likes to go up.
Roland Daniels 11:33
It is just like your
Heidi Griffith 11:35
health insurance, car insurance, you name it. Insurance. Any my health insurance goes up every year.
Roland Daniels 11:40
That is true as well. So
Heidi Griffith 11:42
yeah, it's insurance. It's probably going to go up. So if you get your escrow statement for the year, you you know, and in your servicer is going to say that there was either a shortage or your payment's gone up to this. What do you do if it's because of your homeowner's insurance?
Roland Daniels 12:00
Well, you do have the ability to shop for your homeowners insurance anytime that you choose, and we do recommend that every year you take a look at that declaration page that you get from your insurance company, and then you call around and see who can give you the best deal, just like shopping for car insurance.
Heidi Griffith 12:16
Absolutely, and because and that that goes back to the mail. You're going to get it in the mail.
Roland Daniels 12:21
You will.
Heidi Griffith 12:21
You probably don't want to read it. It's just another piece of paper. Take a look at it, and and not only shop, but call call your insurance agent on the phone. Have that conversation. Take a look at what you're paying and what you're paying for. Right. You know, can you change deductibles? So
Roland Daniels 12:37
there's different coverages. What is being covered, such as your maybe your liability. There's like you said, deductibles. There's all types of information in that declaration of your insurance for coverages. And when you're comparing your insurance, just make sure, basically, you're trying to get apples to apples. Apples to average.
Heidi Griffith 12:58
So when you're calling around, and it is a great idea. Shopping for your best interest, shopping for the best rate, is not a bad idea ever. So when you're calling, you know, five or six different providers, make sure that you are using accurate numbers so that you are comparing apples to apples. We do that going into home ownership because we do prior to closing on your new home, we're going to need your insurance information. We're going to need to know who you use for your homeowner's insurance. You and I, when you find a property that you like, you put an offer in. The offer gets accepted. We actually reach out to several insurance agents, yeah,
Roland Daniels 13:39
insurance brokers as well, and
Heidi Griffith 13:41
have them give us quotes on that property. We're looking for apples to apples quotes, so that when we look at those coverages, we present them to you, and then we let you know we want you to reach out to number one, your car insurance agent.
Roland Daniels 13:56
Yes,
Heidi Griffith 13:57
and then and then do some more shopping, so that you have the biggest picture, and that you can make the most informed decision possible when selecting your homeowner's insurance. Right,
Roland Daniels 14:07
because a lot of times, if you already have car insurance and now you're adding insurance for a home, now you're getting to what they call bundle. We've
Heidi Griffith 14:15
heard the ad.
Roland Daniels 14:16
Yes, we have. We've
Heidi Griffith 14:17
seen the ad. Yeah. So yeah, you can bundle those things, which
Roland Daniels 14:21
means you're getting the discount because now you're having car insurance and your homeowner's insurance together.
Heidi Griffith 14:27
But something that I'll tell you from experience is don't assume just because they're bundling that it's going to be the best price. That
Roland Daniels 14:33
it's going to be cheaper. So that's why you want to shop. You want
Heidi Griffith 14:35
to do your due diligence. You want to do your due diligence. So those are the two big reasons why your monthly mortgage can go up. The third reason isn't really part of your mortgage, but something to be prepared for when you're buying a house.
Roland Daniels 14:50
Yes. What else can go up? And you have to make that payment even outside, like you said, outside of your mortgage payment, which is your HOA.
Heidi Griffith 14:57
Your HOA. Somebody. Just went, and sometimes you may
Roland Daniels 15:02
have one, two, or three HOAs. Yeah, because
Heidi Griffith 15:05
you have a property that has two HOAs.
Roland Daniels 15:08
That is correct,
Heidi Griffith 15:08
right? It can happen, especially if you're on a master plan community. You can have an HOA for your specific neighborhood, and then one, for example, Summerlin.
Roland Daniels 15:18
Yes, the master plan has
Heidi Griffith 15:19
a master plan, and both
Roland Daniels 15:20
of mine did go up last year, right? Both of them at the same time. They
Heidi Griffith 15:23
do. They both can go up. One of them can go up, but but expect the HOA to go up when you're qualifying for a mortgage. We actually use whatever the HOA payment at that time is. So if it was, let's just call it $100 when you were purchasing a home, we calculate that into your monthly payment. However, you don't pay it every month out into your payment. You actually pay that outside of it, but it's something that you want to you know expect to go up at some point.
Roland Daniels 15:55
Yes, it needs to be part of your budget most definitely.
Heidi Griffith 15:59
Hoping it doesn't happen every year.
Roland Daniels 16:00
Every year,
Heidi Griffith 16:01
but expecting that it will go up at some point.
Roland Daniels 16:03
Yes.
Heidi Griffith 16:04
So we've got the HOA, we've got property taxes, we've got homeowners insurance. Anything else could make our mortgage go up.
Roland Daniels 16:11
Um, I think that is it. That's it. That's it
Heidi Griffith 16:13
because your interest and your principal will never go up if you've got a fixed rate mortgage,
Roland Daniels 16:18
and your mortgage insurance outside of your homeowner's insurance that will remain the same, or that could be removed depending on the type of loan it
Heidi Griffith 16:27
is. Right. So let's circle back to being a successful homeowner. Let's talk about that for a second because we say it a lot.
Roland Daniels 16:34
We do.
Heidi Griffith 16:34
Sounds kind of like we're just throwing it out there. It
Roland Daniels 16:37
is not. That's part of our philosophy.
Heidi Griffith 16:39
It is. What's a successful homeowner? What does that look like to you?
Roland Daniels 16:42
What does that look like? That means being able to afford that mortgage payment. You need to have that part of your budget. We don't want you to be house poor. We want you to have money left over at the end of the month, so you'll be able to live your life.
Heidi Griffith 16:59
And that's a big one, and just so it makes sense, when we pre-approve someone, unless they've given us a specific number, unless somebody calls and says, "Hey, I want to get pre-approved for $485,000,
Roland Daniels 17:13
400,000. Then,
Heidi Griffith 17:14
when we do a pre-approval, we're looking at the maximum you qualify for. That doesn't mean that you have to buy the maximum that you qualify for,
Roland Daniels 17:24
right? Because it's going to come down to that. What if you can afford that monthly mortgage payment,
Heidi Griffith 17:29
right? Because on paper we're looking at your income,
Roland Daniels 17:33
we are,
Heidi Griffith 17:33
and we're looking at your debts, but not all of your debts. We're looking at credit card payments, student loans, things like that.
Roland Daniels 17:39
Basically, the debts that show up on your credit report,
Heidi Griffith 17:43
right? But we don't know that you go on a five-week cruise every year. We don't know that your kid plays soccer and ballet and piano $500
Roland Daniels 17:55
a month.
Heidi Griffith 17:56
We don't know that you are a foodie and you go to five star restaurants weekly. We don't know those things when we're pre approving you, and so that number might sound great, but that's why having a budget and understanding what you're putting out and what you're taking in is so vital. It is
Roland Daniels 18:16
what really matters,
Heidi Griffith 18:16
and we talk to so many folks who are trying to buy the most house? And I get it. I I get that number one prices have gone up.
Roland Daniels 18:26
Yes.
Heidi Griffith 18:26
Right.
Roland Daniels 18:27
Interest rates
Heidi Griffith 18:28
affordability is farther and farther. Right. Interest rates. I I get that, but also understand that if you're pre-approved for a $600,000 house, that certainly doesn't mean you have to buy a $600,000 house. Think through that because we want you to be a successful homeowner. We don't, and you said it.
Roland Daniels 18:49
We don't want you house poor,
Heidi Griffith 18:50
and that that basically means that you're tied to your house. You can't do anything else to make your morning, and all you're
Roland Daniels 18:55
worried about is making that house payment.
Heidi Griffith 18:58
It's important.
Roland Daniels 18:59
We want you to be able to breathe,
Heidi Griffith 19:01
and when we're thinking about purchasing a home along with being a successful homeowner, we don't want you to close on a home with 80 bucks in the bank.
Roland Daniels 19:11
Definitely not.
Heidi Griffith 19:12
And we have conversations with people who are on very limited funds. Want to buy a house?
Roland Daniels 19:18
Actually, weekly,
Heidi Griffith 19:19
and you know have to wait until payday to get the money for their earnest money or for whatever that is. And I get it. There's a lot of people out here working really hard
Roland Daniels 19:33
just to make it
Heidi Griffith 19:34
and stretching.
Roland Daniels 19:34
Yes,
Heidi Griffith 19:35
and stretching. And that doesn't mean you shouldn't be a homeowner. It's thinking about it strategically.
Roland Daniels 19:40
Yes,
Heidi Griffith 19:41
and what it's going to look like moving forward. We don't want you draining your savings to purchase a home.
Roland Daniels 19:48
Right
Heidi Griffith 19:48
now, if you want to drain your savings, then that's your thing. You you can, but is that going to be the best path into home ownership?
Roland Daniels 19:57
Because we always want you to have a an emergency. Agency fund, a cushion, just in case fund,
Heidi Griffith 20:02
a cushion, a cushion, a safety net. Call it whatever you will, and maybe you want to have some money put away for Hawaii because Hawaii. Let's face it, visiting Hawaii is not an inexpensive thing to do. Right. So, how do you get into a home? How do you before prices continue to go up. Indicators are showing that they're not slowing down. Yes, prices dipped between June and July in Las Vegas. A
Roland Daniels 20:29
small dip,
Heidi Griffith 20:30
$5,000. Yes, $5,000. And does that mean that all house prices went down $5,000? No, it meant that the the the median home price went down $5,000. There's a you know we have to look at a much bigger picture, right? Different factors to see where that's headed, but I think a bigger reason is that's why we talk about down payment assistance so much, and why we we are lenders who actually do a lot of down payment assistance, and we do
Roland Daniels 20:55
because it gives you the ability to use someone else's money or funds to help purchase that property, and there's no interest and no payment. You have to pay it back, but there's no interest and no payment.
Heidi Griffith 21:08
Well, and not you don't have to pay all of the down payment assistance programs back, but the two that we look at most-Nevada Housing Division, Nevada Rural Housing-you do have to pay them back. There's no interest, no payments, like you said. There are programs out there, but they typically come with either a big cost, a bigger
Roland Daniels 21:26
cost, and
Heidi Griffith 21:26
then we have to look at: does it make sense if you're paying a lot up front for this down payment assistance versus just paying for your down payment,
Roland Daniels 21:34
right?
Heidi Griffith 21:35
Or there's a payment on the second,
Roland Daniels 21:37
right?
Heidi Griffith 21:38
So now you're making another payment. So we're adding to your monthly expense. So it's not that we don't do them. We have over 20 different down payment assistance programs. We do.
Roland Daniels 21:47
We do. And there are statistics with the Nevada Housing Division, and they have like over 70% of the participants that actually use their program. They already have the money for their down payment. The down payment and the closing costs,
Heidi Griffith 22:01
right? So you don't have to not have money to utilize these programs, and that's why anytime we talk to someone, if they are eligible for any of these programs, we have that conversation. We're not telling you you have to use down payment assistance. But the
Roland Daniels 22:13
opportunity is there.
Heidi Griffith 22:14
Heck yeah, because you're not making any payments on it. You pay it back whenever you're ready. When you're going to refinance, when you're going to sell, or maybe you come into some cash and you're like, you know what, I'm sick of it. I don't want it there anymore, and you can pay it off.
Roland Daniels 22:26
Right,
Heidi Griffith 22:27
but it's not going to cost you anymore when you do that. Now we can keep that. I'll just use a random number. It's going to, you know, I'm getting $15,000 in assistance. I can now keep that $15,000 I was originally going to spend in my bank account, hopefully in a savings account. That's earned. You know, a high yield savings account is always a great idea because we can get paid interest on our money or an investment or whatever that is.
Roland Daniels 22:51
Well, you have options.
Heidi Griffith 22:52
100, and that's that's the name of the game. That's the name of the game. Having options,
Roland Daniels 22:57
and it gives you the ability to have that emergency fund in place because life life's just like you say anything can happen right. Every AC can go out. Maybe your car breaks down. Maybe you get laid off for a few months.
Heidi Griffith 23:10
And the AC going out is a big a big
Roland Daniels 23:13
one because that's huge expense.
Heidi Griffith 23:15
It's a big expense. We went through it ourselves.
Roland Daniels 23:17
We did.
Heidi Griffith 23:18
But even bigger than that, that's that's one of those components to successful home ownership is that you know when you're renting and something happens you pick up the phone you call the landlord you go online you fill out a form right when you become a homeowner those become your responsibilities
Roland Daniels 23:36
yes I'm responsible for fixing everything
Heidi Griffith 23:38
so if you only had 80 bucks in your bank account when you closed and something happens, and you know, unfortunately, the likelihood of something happening
Roland Daniels 23:47
will,
Heidi Griffith 23:47
and and it will probably happen within the first 12 months.
Roland Daniels 23:51
Oh yeah, and then you have to put it on a credit card.
Heidi Griffith 23:53
When we don't, we're gonna we're gonna do everything we can to avoid that because now you've got you know 28 29% credit cards, and that's another debt that we have to account for on top of the mortgage, on top of the mortgage stuff.
Roland Daniels 24:06
Yes.
Heidi Griffith 24:06
So just setting yourself up because I still feel that homeownership is the most accessible way to start building wealth. Yes. Might not be the fastest way, but it's the most accessible way,
Roland Daniels 24:20
and probably one of the more consistent ways or easier ways to start the process, right? So you know,
Heidi Griffith 24:26
especially because when you think about purchasing a home, possibly the largest asset you've ever had, you've only got to come in with a minimum of 3% If you're using an FHA loan, three and a half percent for your down payment,
Roland Daniels 24:39
right?
Heidi Griffith 24:40
And it, you know, grows as homes grow in equity.
Roland Daniels 24:44
Yep, usually anywhere between two and 4% on a, you know,
Heidi Griffith 24:48
normal. Yep, yep. Single digits are are the norm yearly. We've seen times where we've seen
Roland Daniels 24:56
who double digits 20 25% year over year.
Heidi Griffith 24:59
2020. Was a prime example of that, and then also understand that real estate markets go up and down.
Roland Daniels 25:06
They do.
Heidi Griffith 25:06
So you could have a year or several years where you're not gaining equity.
Roland Daniels 25:11
We just want you to understand that we want you to be a successful homeowner. We don't want you house poor. We want you to be able to live
Heidi Griffith 25:20
happily. We want
Roland Daniels 25:21
you to be able to breathe,
Heidi Griffith 25:22
enjoy your home,
Roland Daniels 25:23
not worry about at night. I have to make that next month's house payment.
Heidi Griffith 25:29
That's it. That's it. So before we wrap it up, as always, we want to take a moment to talk about fair housing. We're both on the board of trustees for Silver State Fair Housing Council. Yes, we are. It's super important to us. I truly believe everyone deserves equal, accessible access when it comes to housing. Silver State Fair Housing Council is the Nevada nonprofit resource for renters, homeowners, buyers, and housing providers right here in the state of Nevada, and allows them to understand their fair housing rights, and for housing providers, their responsibilities.
Roland Daniels 26:05
Yes,
Heidi Griffith 26:05
they also provide education, outreach, and fair housing tester training and programs. And this, the the fair housing testers, it is one of those things that helps Silver State Fair Housing Council figure out: Is this going on or isn't it going on?
Roland Daniels 26:22
Right. Are you being treated fairly? Are
Heidi Griffith 26:24
you being treated fairly? Was the housing provider just having a bad day? Maybe they got a horrible phone call, or is there some sort of discrimination happening? Fair housing is an optional. It is the law. If you have any questions about Silver State Fair Housing Council, you'd maybe liked to become a housing tester, or maybe you'd like to find out if you've been discriminated against. You can give us a call or text us. We're at 702-540-0420. We'll get you in touch with Silver State Fair Housing Council. Again, our number is 702-540-0420.
Roland Daniels 27:02
We'll be back next Sunday morning at 730 a.m. right here on KUNV 91.5. Until then, believe in what's possible, even if you've been told that it's out of reach. And remember, stay true to yourself and your mind.
Heidi Griffith 27:18
Bye.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai