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Mortgage Matters is your go-to show for all things home financing. Join Roland and Heidi as they break down the ins and outs of the mortgage world. From first-time homebuyers to seasoned investors, we’re here to guide you with expert insights, real talk, and the latest market trends. Whether you're looking to buy smart or refinance right, Mortgage Matters is your trusted source for smarter decisions and financial freedom. Tune in and take control of your home financing journey.
Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a Kun V studios original program. The 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 your host, Roland Daniels, a certified mortgage advisor with Geneva financial. My NMLS number is 355859, and our company, NMLS number is 42056, and of course, I'm here this morning with my fantastic co host, Heidi Griffith, good morning. Heidi.
Heidi Griffith 1:07
Well, good morning. Roland, you always give me such a good intro. I try, man, I appreciate you.
Roland Daniels 1:14
Happy Sunday. Happy Sunday. Happy
Heidi Griffith 1:16
Sunday. I'm Heidi Griffith. I'm also a mortgage advisor and your Director of Client Services, my NMLS number is 2247754, thanks for spending your Sunday morning with us,
Roland Daniels 1:29
right? So we've got an important show today. We do April is Fair Housing Month. So we are going to take an in depth, look at what fair housing really means, why it still matters, and who it protects. Yes
Heidi Griffith 1:48
we are. Yes we are. Plus we're going to give you the scoop on two upcoming classes. We're teaching, one all about down payment support through Nevada housing, and the other is going to be all about the VA home loan, which is best benefits available for service members and veterans alike. Don't you agree? I 100%
Roland Daniels 2:04
agree. And if you have any thoughts or questions about today's show, or if you'd like more information on getting mortgage ready, please feel free to give us a call or text us. Our number is 70221020578, oh, 2057, that's 702-210-2057. So April is Fair Housing Month, and it is a good time to think about how far we've come and how far we still have to go. So when it comes to Fair and Equal Housing?
Heidi Griffith 2:43
Yeah, absolutely. Roland, so last week, we sat down with Fernanda hakee from the Silver State Fair Housing Council, didn't we? It was an awesome show. It was, it was a great show. Silver State Fair Housing Council is a non profit right here in Nevada that helps people who think that they've been treated unfairly or unjustly when they're trying to buy or rent a home. They also provide access to forms, tools. They're a great resource. They provide resources and information and really help people understand their rights, right
Roland Daniels 3:15
they do then. They also do a lot of education, just for the public, but for landlords and other housing providers as well, they do, and they have something that is called a tester program. So it's kind of like being a secret shopper, but for housing, you can volunteer to help check if people are being treated unfairly. I
Heidi Griffith 3:37
think it's important, and you and I are both going to sign up, aren't we? We are? We are, we are. So if you want to learn more, get help. You can actually visit them at S, S F h c.org, so that stands for Silver State Fair Housing Council, S, S F h c.org, or you can call them at 1-888-585-8634 so let's just take a little bit of time and talk about what fair housing really means. You know, right? So the Fair Housing Act became a law on april 11, 1968 that was just one week after the passing of Dr King. It was a really big moment during the Civil Rights Movement. People were being left out in neighborhoods just because of their race, religion, or because they had kids, or maybe they were living with a disability, right? It was awful.
Roland Daniels 4:29
It was so Dr King believed that fair housing was a key part of civil rights, so in the mid 1960s he led protests in places like Chicago to bring attention to the housing discrimination that was taking place. He believed that where you live affects every part of your life and your job, your kids, schools, your safety, and even wanted to make sure that everyone had the same chance. To live where they want it, yeah.
Heidi Griffith 5:01
And while Dr King's leadership sparked a national call for change, it was really organizations like the National Association of real estate brokers, also known as nareb, right? Were both members, and they actually had been working towards Fair Housing long before the Act became a law,
Roland Daniels 5:19
right? So when it comes to nareb, they were founded back in 1947 because black real estate professionals weren't allowed to join the main Real Estate Group at the time.
Heidi Griffith 5:30
Yeah, no. So Black real estate professionals Realtors didn't join the National Association of Realtors, and they became nareb. They
Roland Daniels 5:41
did. It's awesome. So from day one, their mission has been about all about democracy and housing. They were speaking out against unfair lending, redlining and segregation when it comes to real estate. For decades, before these issues even became national news. They lobbied Congress, helped educate the public and even partner with leaders like Dr King to shine a light on housing inequality. So nareb works really laid the foundation for Fair Housing Act. So when we're talking about this, how this act or this law came to be, we have to recognize that nareb helped shape it.
Heidi Griffith 6:29
I agree, and today we're still working on it, aren't we? We sure are, every single day, every day, the Fair Housing Act protects people from being being treated unfairly because of things like their race, their religion, or whether or not they have kids. It also includes sex, national origin and disability. And we found out when we sat down with Fernanda that disability is actually the number one complaint in the state. It
Roland Daniels 6:54
is right. Unfortunately, you would have ever thought that individuals with disabilities are being so many issues,
Heidi Griffith 7:01
yep, yep. And the group that makes sure those rights are protected is HUD. That's the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, so if somebody feels like they've been treated unfairly, HUD is the federal agency that will actually investigate these complaints, right?
Roland Daniels 7:15
And HUD also sets the rules for something called Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing or A, F, F, H, and it's a rule that that says and cities and states have to do more than just not discriminate. They have to be able to take action to make housing more fair. Yeah,
Heidi Griffith 7:38
yeah. And just last month, we're talking March 2025, HUD's made some changes to the rules, right? So now they let local governments, so we'll use Clark County in this instance, or Carson City. You know, local governments simply say now that they're following fair housing. So before March of 25 that was just last month. It was just it was just Yeah. It was just a few weeks ago. Local governments used to have to fill out forms, send them to HUD, so that HUD could verify that they were following fair housing practices.
Roland Daniels 8:14
And now that we're in Fair Housing month, the month of April, now
Heidi Griffith 8:18
that we're in Fair Housing Month, that is gone. All that governments have to do. Local governments just have to report to HUD that. In words, yes, we're, we're practicing fair housing. They don't. They don't have to submit any documentation or proof of that anymore.
Roland Daniels 8:34
So just verbal acknowledgement, verbal
Heidi Griffith 8:37
acknowledgement, that's correct. So they don't have to send anything in. Some people like the change saying it gives cities more freedom on how they govern. Others worry that it could make it easier for unfair practices to go unnoticed.
Roland Daniels 8:49
Wow. So it's one of those things where we have to really pay close attention to the fight for fair housing isn't over, no, and it takes people to speak up and stay involved, it
Heidi Griffith 9:02
does. And fair housing is about more than just where somebody lives, right? It's about having a fair shot and a fair opportunity. And when we say it protects everyone seriously, I mean, this is an act that protects every single one of us, if you're renting, if you're buying, if you're applying for a loan, or even if you're just looking for a new place to set your hat, right, right? It matters, and it affects us. And I'll just add, yes, April is Fair Housing Month, but honestly, this isn't something that you and I talk about once a year and forget fair housing should be a conversation we're having every single day, because I agree with you, still being impacted, right? Every
Roland Daniels 9:43
single day? Yeah. So, you know, Heidi, one thing that always surprises people is that housing discrimination isn't always as we say it loud or obvious. Sometimes it's very quiet. It could be subtle and. And that's why it's still happening today, exactly,
Heidi Griffith 10:02
because it's not always somebody saying you can't live here because of X, Y and Z. Sometimes it looks like, I don't know, a rental listing that mysteriously just disappears when the landlord hears your voice or sees your last name or sees that you have a child, right, right? Or maybe a loan approval that somehow gets delayed or denied, even though your finances are online.
Roland Daniels 10:23
Craziness, yeah, and sometimes it could be so heartbreaking, because Fair Housing isn't just about getting a roof over your head. It's about access to wealth, safety, stability, and it's all about our future.
Heidi Griffith 10:38
It is and you know, I'm going to talk about something because it was in the news. A lot, a lot of us have heard about it. This could even affect appraisals, right? So, so we kind of seen cases where homes were owned by, let's just say, minority families, right, that appraised way less than their next door neighbor, right, right? And once it started getting researched, right? And this is when we submit these complaints to HUD, brought to their attention. These types of things are brought to your attention, right? In this case, it was brought to their intention or attention. They took the personal stuff out of the home, put a different looking family's photos in the home. And do you know that that home appraised higher than the so
Roland Daniels 11:23
they had to get another appraisal done on that property correct. They did. And what happened? What were the results? The results
Heidi Griffith 11:29
were that that appraisal was higher than the appraisal that they were comparing the house to in the first place.
Roland Daniels 11:35
And this happened just recently, right? Not long ago. This is crazy. That's
Heidi Griffith 11:39
just the kind of stuff that you know, fair housing and the CFPB, and there's all of these protections in place, just it's not for a lot. It's just to say that we treat everyone fairly,
Roland Daniels 11:52
right? So, whether you're a renter, a buyer or a homeowner, or even a real estate agent, a lender or a landlord, we all have a role in making housing fair, and it's how we speak to people, the assumptions that we make and the way that we follow the law. Yeah,
Heidi Griffith 12:11
and again, if you ever feel like something's off, groups like Silver State Fair Housing Council ask questions, they'll walk you through it. They know the system inside and out,
Roland Daniels 12:23
we can't fix what we don't talk about, so conversations like this matters.
Heidi Griffith 12:30
If you have any questions or like to find out more how you can help, please feel free to reach out. We're at 702-210-2057, that number again, is 702-210-2057, okay, so let's take a little bit time and talk about what's going on, what's coming up,
Roland Daniels 12:49
what is coming up? Yeah, we've got
Heidi Griffith 12:51
two events that are perfect for anybody who's thinking about buying a home, whether you're starting out, whether making a move, ready to get moving, right? We
Roland Daniels 12:59
do. We do so first up, we're hosting an in person class on Friday, April the 18th, and it will be from 11am to 12:30pm and it is called home is possible. And it is being held at the state business building at 3300 West Sahara.
Heidi Griffith 13:19
Now this is the one that we do with Nevada housing. We try and do a class with the Nevada housing division about once a month. Sometimes they're online, sometimes they're in person. This one is in person. We do it at the Nevada State business building. It's a great class. It is. It's only in the class itself is only an hour long. We schedule it for an hour and a half that if there's any questions that we can answer, plus, we bring in lunch and snacks. And
Roland Daniels 13:46
what do you like? I love snacks. Hey, that's the best part.
Heidi Griffith 13:50
I bring the good stuff in, right? We get to lunch, we get to talk. You know, there's a few Nevada, rural Nevada housing. They both have these programs that don't end up costing you, for lack of a better term, an arm and a leg, where a lot of down payment programs that are available out there, you know, they've got payments on the seconds. They've got all kinds of stuff. These are good, solid programs. They've got a first time home buyer program they do that's at a reduced interest rate, that's in program if you haven't owned a home within the last three years, right? They've got a program that allows you to own a home in another state, right?
Roland Daniels 14:27
Then you can still own that home in another state and have the ability to purchase here in Nevada. Yeah.
Heidi Griffith 14:33
So if you're moving to Nevada, you're relocating, you own a home wherever you're at, right? But you want to keep that house and maybe rent it out. We've
Roland Daniels 14:41
had several clients who own property in another state who decided to move to Las Vegas, and,
Heidi Griffith 14:47
yeah, this will just help you with your down payment and or closing costs. Right? You can get anywhere from three to 5% on those programs, right? Three or 5% they've got eight teacher programs the. That is specifically for K to 12 public school teachers in the state. We know how hard our teachers we know how hard our teachers work. It's a program that was designed to bring teachers into Nevada, right, and to keep them in Nevada. That's a $7,500 down payment program, and it's forgiven after
Roland Daniels 15:20
five years, and it's prorated, by the way, and it's
Heidi Griffith 15:23
prorated, right? So if you live in your house three years, and for some reason you have to move, refinance, sell, move, all of that kind of stuff, you're not going to have to pay back the entire $7,500 it's a monthly right? Yep, yeah. And we're going to talk about, I think, because we're going to, we have another class talking about VA loans, but they offer a reduced rate for better veterans. There they offer a reduced rate for veterans. It's like I said, it's quick. It's an hour of your day we feed you. Figure out what the programs are about and they fit your goals, right, right? You can call us to register if that's something you'd like to do. You can also visit our Facebook page, mortgage matters. Radio, or we've got links to all of our upcoming events that you can register for. If you would like to register, you're more than welcome to reach out. We're at 702-210-2057, again, that number. What's the Facebook page again? Mortgage matters. Radio, awesome. Thanks. And
Roland Daniels 16:23
just before we move on, Nevada housing division just made a special announcement they did right, and it goes into effect tomorrow, so you're hearing it first. So the Nevada housing division is happy to announce that they are waiving all of their home is possible fees, which includes, is called a compliance fee, which is $275 waived. US Bank has two additional fees, a funding fee, tax, serving fee,
Heidi Griffith 16:55
all waived, and these are on their VA, on the VA
Roland Daniels 16:59
loans programs only, right? So Nevada housing division is picking up the cost, yeah,
Heidi Griffith 17:04
so realistically, it makes sense to look at programs like this, especially if you're going to couple it with a VA loan. And so let's talk, because we have a class coming up
Roland Daniels 17:14
loans coming on Saturday, April the 19th, we are holding an online VA Home Buyer class, this is one that is all about VA Home Loans. And let me tell you, the benefits are often underused, even though, right, it's one of the most powerful tools available to our veterans and active duty servicemen, but only about 20% of veterans actually use their VA loan benefit. And
Heidi Griffith 17:47
I know if you've tuned in and heard us before, you've probably heard this, it's one of the most underserved Home Loans that's that's available. Just a really a lot of bad myths around a VA loan, and that's why we decided to put this class together to kind of bust some of those myths, and again, hand in hand with the Nevada housing division, right, we can actually now offer a reduced interest rate without a ton of you know, piled up cost on the back end, right,
Roland Daniels 18:17
especially when it comes to the VA loan. So we're trying to help the veterans out there, right? 100 so one of the or there's many benefits of using the VA home loan benefit. There is no mortgage insurance with a VA loan. That's huge, right? That's huge. And most importantly, there is no down payment. So
Heidi Griffith 18:36
let's go back to mortgage insurance really quickly, just because sometimes it's a little confusing, right? Mortgage Insurance, it is. What is mortgage insurance in a nutshell?
Roland Daniels 18:47
It gives the ability for you to get a loan from a lender without having to put 20% down, right? So you're
Heidi Griffith 18:55
basically your original purpose. You're paying an insurance policy so that, if, for whatever reason, your loan defaults, yes, your lenders got some money.
Roland Daniels 19:04
Yes, it's based on risk, right? So if you now in half to 20% and we're not talking about VA loans, we're talking about like FHA or conventional loans, right? But when it comes to the veterans, the VA has you covered, they
Heidi Griffith 19:17
pick it up. They pick it up. So there's never any mortgage passed on to you. So and no mortgage insurance on no mortgages, so you don't pay mortgage insurance. There's never a down payment. Now, you could put a down payment, down if you wanted to, but it's not required. Yeah, and,
Roland Daniels 19:32
and remember, some lenders, depending on the loan amount, they may require you to put a down payment, but that's something that's called an overlay, right? Most lenders do not do we at any financial we do not require a down payment. There is no down payment. There is no funding fee. Let's talk about credit scores. Well, when it comes to the VA loan and the VA loan guidelines, there are no minimum. Them FICO score required, right? But most lenders have an overlay. We're talking about, well, you have to have a minimum FICO score, right, right, right. For us, it's a 585 80.
Heidi Griffith 20:11
So you could get into a home with no money down, no mortgage insurance, with a credit score of 580
Roland Daniels 20:18
Yes, and then probably, I think in 2020 2022, no, I think it was in January of 2020 they passed the Blue Water Act, which allows you to have an opportunity to use that VA loan. And if you qualify for it, let's say you qualify for a million dollars, you can still use that VA loan with no down payment
Heidi Griffith 20:42
and so, and let's talk about that for a second, because with FHA loans, there's a loan limit. There is right with conventional loans, there's a loan limit, they'll only lend up to so much county
Roland Daniels 20:54
loan limits that come out every year, right? VA, no loan limit, no loan limit,
Heidi Griffith 21:01
no loan limit. So if you qualify because you've got the income, yes, you can get into we'll just call it a million dollar property, a million dollars. We'll just use that for fun, right? A million dollar property, no money down, right? It's correct, no down payment. So there's closing costs involved. But let's just say you weren't looking let's not use that million dollars for this situation, but let's say you don't have enough for your closing costs saved. We could actually utilize some of these down payment programs that we work with the Nevada housing division, and since there's no down payment, the money wouldn't go towards your down payment, but we could apply that money towards your closing costs and potentially principal reduction. That's right, if there was money left
Roland Daniels 21:43
over, right? And if you are a veteran who has some type of disability 10% or more, or maybe you are a purple heart recipient, there is no VA funding fee as well, because, yes,
Heidi Griffith 21:59
because with VA loans, there is a VA funding fee, and that's kind of a clerical fee, right? I agree with that. Yes, yeah. So that's but, but if you're 10% disabled or more more or a purple heart recipient, that
Roland Daniels 22:14
is waived, no VA funding, yes. So there's a great possibility, along with if you want to use one of the down payment assistance programs, if you have a disability, or maybe you can get seller credit. You may be able to buy a home with just your appraisal, home inspection and your earnest money deposit. That's it. That's it. That's it. I know
Heidi Griffith 22:38
that we just closed a loan for one of our veterans, right, just this last week, and they got their final numbers to go to closing for their cash to close. So their cash to close, you know, depending on the type of loan you could be, that could be anything from your down payment and closing costs, all those costs involved, that's what we call your cash to close. Their cash to close was but that was my drum roll,
Roland Daniels 23:03
under $25
Heidi Griffith 23:06
under $25 they came to closing with under $25 they got some seller credits. Yes, they did. They had a they didn't have the VA funding fee, no again. DP, no mortgage insurance, no down payment.
Roland Daniels 23:21
Can you imagine getting into a home for under 25 bucks, 25 bucks at the closing table? Congratulations.
Heidi Griffith 23:29
Why we
Roland Daniels 23:31
do what we do? It is
Heidi Griffith 23:34
so, yeah, this, this class will be a really informational class. It will be again, if you or someone you love has served in the military, they really might want to check it out. We'll make sure you understand what's available and how you can utilize it. That class again Saturday, April 19, the class with Nevada housing division is going to be that Friday, just the Friday before Friday, April 18. And if you're not sure where to start, or if you have any questions, or if you'd like to register for any of our upcoming events, you can feel free to reach out. Our number is 702-210-2057 again, that number is 702-210-2057 and as Roland mentioned earlier, you can also find us on our Facebook page, mortgage matters. Radio
Roland Daniels 24:26
Heidi, I am definitely looking forward to this VA class, because I am ready to bust all of the myths around the VA home loan, and we hear it constantly, probably at least five or six times a week, information that is untrue. Whether there takes longer for a VA loan to get done or there's no assistance for the veterans out there, I'm just excited.
Heidi Griffith 24:57
That's all I and I'm excited too. I love to see you excited. Yes, it's cool. It is. It's cool. And there are a lot of myths, and that's a big one. The you had mentioned that, let's talk about that for a second, because something I hear all the time is that they take too long to complete.
Roland Daniels 25:14
And do you hear this from other realtors, or I
Heidi Griffith 25:17
hear from everybody? There's, there's not great information. And we've had this conversation, you know, in my career as a real estate professional. And my my dad was a Vietnam vet, you know, so I kind of grew up in a military household, and I even believed that VA loans, I thought, number one, they took too long to come to complete, right? So, a traditional, you know, when we talk about, how long does a loan take to close you put an offer in on a house, how long after it's accepted? Can we close on this transaction? You know, a good rule of thumb is 30 days. I mean, can we close them sooner? Absolutely. Can we close VA loan sooner? Absolutely, we can. We can close them in days less. In some instances, just depending on the documentation that we have and where the file is in process. But 30 days is a good rule of thumb in our industry. I believed, as a real estate professional that they couldn't close in 30 days, that there was too much red tape, that the file had to go back and forth with the VE that's not true. That's not true. And I also believed, and I'll speak from experience, because this is what I and I picked it up somewhere along the lines in my career, I believed that it cost more the seller, a lot more it does not. There are fees that a veteran is not allowed to pay for correct. This is not this huge amount of money that the seller is going to, you know, have to take over. It is a very similar transaction. As long as we have your DD, 214, right, and your certificate of eligibility, we can get it done as soon as we can close any other kind of loans. Yeah, yeah. So again, please, if you have any questions, feel free. We've got some great classes lined up. I'm excited. I'm ready and excited. Yeah, so I think we're almost out of time. We almost are out of time. It's going to do it for us today. So I want to thank everyone again for joining us on this beautiful Sunday. Hopefully looks like we're going to warm up again soon. We go hot. We go cold. Get rain. We had rain last week. Yeah? So we hope today's conversation helped bring a little bit more light to what fair housing is all about and why it still matters so much so,
Roland Daniels 27:27
whether you're just getting started looking for help with down payment support or ready to use your VA loan, we are here to guide you every step of the way. Yeah,
Heidi Griffith 27:37
and don't forget, our next home is possible. Class is Friday, April 18, at 11pm that's an in person class, and the location is 3300 West Sahara Avenue, and the online VA classes. Saturday, April 19. So
Roland Daniels 27:52
be sure to join us next Sunday, at 7:30am right here on K, U, n, b, 91.5, for another episode of mortgage matters, fair housing is everyone's issue, and when we all work to protect it, we build stronger communities for generations to come. Thank you for spending your money with us, and as always, stay true to yourself and your mind. Bye. You.