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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.
Announcer 0:00
This is a Kun V studios original program.
Wesley Knight 0:03
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 Roland Daniels, your certified mortgage advisor with Geneva financial. My NMLS number is 355859, company. NMLS number is 42056, and as always, I'm here with my fantastic co host, Heidi Griffith, good morning. Heidi, well,
Heidi Griffith 1:04
good morning. Roland, how are you today?
Roland Daniels 1:07
I am doing wonderful. Well, Heidi, we do have some some classes coming up in anyone who's looking to take advantage of these down payment assistance programs. We are excited to be offering classes with both the Nevada housing division and the Nevada Rural Housing coming up. These classes aren't just about getting information. They are your first steps towards becoming a homeowner.
Heidi Griffith 1:34
Absolutely. Yeah. So we've got two classes coming up this month, right? So we've got one. The first one is with the Nevada housing division that is on Friday, November 15. That's going to be from 11am till noon. We're going to be serving lunch so you can come out, you can fill your belly and your brain, because we'll be talking about all of the down payment assistance programs the Nevada housing division offers. We'll also be talking about how to get qualified, what's involved with the mortgage process, and you'll get great information on the actual real estate market. And then on the following Monday, that's November 18, we've got a class that we're super excited about that's actually going to be our first class with Nevada Rural Housing. That class is at the Whitney library. It's also from 11 to 12. Lunch is still provided, because we like to feed folks. And when we put this class together, I was thinking about how we could make people understand that, although it's rural housing, right? Roland, yes, it's, it's obviously valid in rural areas, you know, Pahrump, Northern Nevada, Indian Springs, those kind of areas. But there are pockets right here in the city in Las Vegas that qualify for these programs. So you can utilize the Rural Housing down payment assistance and live within our city limits. Huh? We
Roland Daniels 2:57
do. And there's probably three pockets we have Summerland, South right, 89135, we have Whitney, right, 89122, and then we have Winchester. So all of these programs, or the programs with Nevada Rural Housing, are eligible for these pockets right here in Clark County, along with Nye County, mesquite laughing,
Heidi Griffith 3:22
that whole area. So it's an interesting program. And even Boulder City in Boulder City as well. That's right, that's right. So we've got two classes, um, both of them will provide you your home owner education, your home buyer education, right? Yes.
Roland Daniels 3:38
So these classes are designed to give you the knowledge and the confidence to make informed decisions all about home ownership, and as always, remember, there's no cost to attend. It's just our way of helping people get started on their path to home ownership, plus everyone who attends, just like Heidi said, will get a home buyers education certificate, which make you eligible for all of the different down payment assistance programs,
Heidi Griffith 4:07
right, right? So if you come to the Nevada housing class, that certificate is valid for Nevada housing, you can actually use that certificate for Nevada Rural as well. And then the Nevada Rural Housing class that's going to be on Monday the 18th. That certificate is valid for that it's going to be at the library. It should be a really good time. Yes,
Roland Daniels 4:27
I agree with you. So let's get into something. When you're thinking about buying a home, right? You're, you're you just have to know why. And you have to ask yourself a question, why do you want to buy a home? This is the very first question that you should be asking yourself, because knowing that answer could guide you through every decision that you make along the way. Do you agree? Heidi,
Heidi Griffith 4:53
man, I totally agree on this. So when we were putting this show together, we talked about, you know, what are we going to go over? What. What makes the biggest impact to folks and gives the best information as you kind of turn off the radio at the end of the day. And I think one of the big ones is stuff that you know that Google isn't necessarily giving you. You know you're not getting that from Google when you type in, what are the steps to buy a house, and we've covered a lot of those. We'll continue to cover that stuff. But what's the stuff that people don't talk about? And the first thing is, really figure out what's your Why? Why are you buying a house? First of all, rates are high right now, right?
Roland Daniels 5:35
Yes, they are. They're higher than they used to be. So right now, they're right around that 20 to 30 year average, they're no longer in the twos and the 3% interest rate range, heck
Heidi Griffith 5:46
no, heck no. So rates are higher than what you know, by standards we're familiar with. As of late, home prices, home prices have continued to rise, even though rates have stayed higher than what they were, right? So I think a big one is determining what is your why, and especially if you're a first time homebuyer, because understanding that could actually make the whole, the whole process a lot easier for you to navigate. Because Are you perhaps looking for stability? Maybe you're ready to build some generational wealth for yourself, for your family. Once you're clear on what's driving you, you're going to actually be in a better spot to pick you know the the options that are available. Are you going to need to utilize down payment assistance? Do you understand that process? Do you have money saved? So it's a matter of figuring out your why and your where, right? Because you need to make sure you you're in a neighborhood that you want to be in. Does it fit your lifestyle? Do you need to use public transportation? Obviously, you're going to want to be close to public transportation. Are your kids in a specific school that you want them to go to? Obviously, all of those things kind of come into play, right? But really, the start of the conversation is, why? Why do you want to be a homeowner? Because
Roland Daniels 7:05
maybe you're not going to be in in Vegas or Clark County for a long period of time. Maybe you're only going to be six months or a year. Yeah, it may not make sense for you to become a homeowner. You need a little time to start building the equity, starting to reap the benefits of being a homeowner,
Heidi Griffith 7:25
yeah, yeah, because it's all about building equity. So if you're going to be purchasing you want to make sure that you're in the home long enough to start that process, so that you can turn those monthly payments into something that actually grows over time, right? And you know, for other people, it might not be about the equity. It might be about, you know, setting up a stable future for you and your family. Maybe you want to refinance the home that you're currently in, so figure out what your why is. You know, knowing your goals helps make big decisions easier, especially when it comes to your financial future and financial health. Don't you agree?
Roland Daniels 7:59
I agree. So when you're looking at your finances, everything comes into play. Well, your employment history. If you're only going to be here temporarily, it may not make sense, but if you know you have a stable income, you have a stable job here, right here in Clark County, it definitely makes sense to start looking at home ownership instead of renting from month to month, year to year. Yeah,
Heidi Griffith 8:27
absolutely. So let's say your goal is to save on, you know, your monthly payments. Let's say you have a house and you want to save on your monthly payments. Maybe refinancing is your why, because maybe you want to lower the interest rates or stretch out the loan terms on your current debts, don't you think?
Roland Daniels 8:45
I think so. So when it comes to refinancing, there's two options. They have a rate and a term, which means you're just adjusting the interest rate. So maybe when you bought your home, you're at a, say, 7% interest rate. When the rates do drop back down, let's say you want to do a refinance, maybe 5% or five and a half, whatever that looks like when the time comes right, when they when they settle right. And then the another refinance is when you're looking at debt consolidation. Maybe you have some outstanding credit card debt, auto loan that you want to pay off or pay down, then it could make sense to save on your total monthly cash flow. So maybe you're able to save three or $400 by paying off those high interest credit cards, right?
Heidi Griffith 9:35
So if you were just looking at reducing your payment depending on where your rate currently is on the home that you own. It might not make sense today, but if you had some debt that you wanted to pay down, even with rates being higher than they were two years ago,
Roland Daniels 9:54
that is correct, because it's definitely going to be lower than your auto loan interest rates. And definitely credit card payments, oh
Heidi Griffith 10:02
yeah, because, I mean, right now I got, I got a an ad in the mail, you know, doing a consolidation, right? And rates could be anywhere from 19 to 29% it was a variable. So,
Roland Daniels 10:19
yeah, so something to look at. And then when it comes to auto loans, that can range anywhere from if you're using a credit union, 5.99 to 8.99 so just think about it. Don't just think about the interest rates that you see on when you're purchasing a home. We have an opportunity here to to if you have that ability to reduce your monthly cash flow. So take a look at the auto loans. Take a look at your credit card, monthly interest rate on those cars and what you owe, yes, and it can make a significant difference, especially if you do have the ability to do a refinance, cash out, pay off those credit cards, pay off the auto loan, and you definitely can have more money in your pocket. Yeah, it's, it's
Heidi Griffith 11:11
you're still saving you are, but it's got to be, it's got to be right for you. So you have to make sure that you explore the options that work best for you, right,
Roland Daniels 11:20
right? So, and then, as we were talking about stability, let's not forget about security as well. Buying a home can mean that you have more control over in a living situation, no more worrying about rent increases or your landlord deciding to sell that property as you're renting. It's your space, and that's a level of stability that that's hard to put a price on it. So it's all about building something that is solid and stable for yourself and your family.
Heidi Griffith 11:52
Yeah, no, I totally agree about that. So we've got stability. I mean, another why could potentially be, you know, let's, let's talk about rates again for a second, because not enough people sit and think about this a lot of times. When we talk to the general public, just a conversation. Hey, Roland, what do you do? I'm a mortgage lender. Rates are high. I'm gonna wait. That's it is? It's the general consensus, right? And rates are higher than they've been. But is that the whole picture?
Roland Daniels 12:22
It is not the whole picture, and sometimes by waiting, everybody is on the sideline, waiting for rates to come down, but you could be losing out on your opportunity to be a homeowner right now, when the rates do come down, you're already in a home. All we need to do is just do a refinance to that lower rate. Yeah,
Heidi Griffith 12:43
yeah. Because what we're seeing now is waiting could potentially be a gamble, and we live in Vegas, so yeah, we understand that, because if prices continue to go up, then you could potentially be priced out of the market when quote, unquote rates come down right.
Roland Daniels 12:58
And just because you you buy now doesn't mean that you're stuck with today's rate forever. You can always refinance down the road when the rates do come down, so if prices keep going up, getting in now could help actually save you money over time. Remember, you're not just buying a home. You're buying a little piece of that stability and the chance to build something for your own future and your kids and maybe your grandkids.
Heidi Griffith 13:28
That's right. That's right. Because let's talk about generational wealth for a second. You know, if you're thinking long term, because one big reason we hear people give for buying a home is to actually start building generational wealth through real estate. So, you know, setting something up that's going to benefit not just you, but your kids, their kids, your your kids, kids, kids. It's all about setting that up, because real estate can be one of the best ways to do it. It's just not that home values go up. Equity does, and that's what you're going to be sitting on. So that's money that's money that's going to stay in your family and potentially create security for years to come. Right?
Roland Daniels 14:07
It does so if you have any questions or want to reach out with anything, 702-210-2057 once again, that number is 70221020 22102057, so if you been pre approved for a mortgage, let's say that it's for 350,000 does that mean that you should spend every dollar on that home or that house? Yeah, that's
Heidi Griffith 14:38
a great question. So when we talk about your why and figuring out why you want to purchase a home, there's stuff that goes along with it. Last week, we spent an entire episode talking about credit, right? We did, and those are things that we kind of have an idea about. When we start thinking about buying a home, we know that our credit. Has to be something. Maybe we don't know exactly what it has to be. We know we have to have some money. Maybe we don't know exactly what we have to have, but realistically, there's other stuff that comes along with purchasing a home, other than the things that your lender would utilize to qualify you. So what you say, let's say you qualify for $350,000 that's a great question, and this should be one of your bigger whys. You know, I qualify for 350,000 Mr. Or Mrs. Lender. What does that payment look like? And is that something that I can actually afford outside of what I qualify for. Should I stretch that limit? Because when you're setting your own budget, it really is a really good idea to take into account that a lot of your monthly expenses, lenders don't consider those, I mean, stuff like, I don't know health insurance, right,
Roland Daniels 16:01
right? So, and I think a lot of people overlook the personal side of budgeting or having a spending plan. So these costs comes along with your day to day life, things like gym memberships. Maybe your kids are involved in different sports activities, maybe you have a weekly yoga class or some type of a hobby, all of these things add up, and you don't want to feel that you're strapped for cash just because you're in a new home. You don't want to be cash poor,
Heidi Griffith 16:32
yeah, and that's a great point. So as a lender, we look at your income and we look at your debts. Yes, we don't look at your your Netflix bill, because that's not reported on your credit report, right? Right, right. So that's a big one. I mean, you've got all kinds of streaming services. I mean, the best idea is to keep track of all of that stuff. But if you ask me, right this second Roland, right, what streaming services I subscribe to, I'd have to dig deep. I'd really have to, like, go to my television, log in, scroll a little bit, and figure out what I have and what I don't have. And those costs are adding up now, right, right.
Roland Daniels 17:10
So you may have Hulu, you may have Netflix, or, you know, Apple TV. When you add all them all up together, it can be anywhere from you figure, 60 to $200
Heidi Griffith 17:19
a month. Yeah, and then people have cable and internet. I mean, there's a lot of things that we as lenders don't take into account, but you're still spending money on every month, so that's pretty important, right, right?
Roland Daniels 17:30
And then you have maintenance. Maintenance is a big one, right? Yeah, yep. So, you know, usually we tell clients to plan on setting aside one to 3% of the home's value each year for upkeep. So it may sound like or may not sound like much, but it's a way to help you save for those emergencies that pop up. So maybe your hot water heater goes out,
Heidi Griffith 17:58
it happens right at the most unopportune times,
Roland Daniels 18:01
or maybe you need repairs for that air conditioning in the summer,
Heidi Griffith 18:04
been there, done that you're gonna be glad you had the cushion if you set that aside. So these
Roland Daniels 18:09
are unexpected repairs, and you will be glad that you had a cash cushion set aside for those types of expenses. Yeah,
Heidi Griffith 18:17
because unexpected costs are gonna happen to everyone eventually, especially as a homeowner, things are going to pop up. And if you have that extra set aside, it's really going to help you with your peace of mind. I promise. I speak from personal experience on that one to having and not having that set aside. So you know, you've got all of those things. We've talked about it before, but you also have property taxes, homeowners insurance, all of that kind of stuff. If you're getting a fixed rate mortgage, which most people do in today's mortgage environment, if you're getting a fixed rate mortgage, your mortgage payment doesn't change, right? Your principal and interest, right? Because your mortgage is made up of what Roland five things,
Roland Daniels 18:59
your principal and interest, your property taxes, homeowners insurance, and if you have some type of mortgage insurance premium or private mortgage insurance, and then if you have an HOA,
Heidi Griffith 19:11
right? So there are things in that payment, when we calculate it, that can go up. The actual payment, the principal and interest isn't moving if it's
Roland Daniels 19:22
a fixed rate that's fixed over that 30 year term. But
Heidi Griffith 19:25
property taxes, we had Brianna on the radio show from the assessor's office, taxes can go up. They do go up. We need to utilize those taxes for public services, for fire, for police, for all of that kind of stuff. Property Taxes can go up, and they probably will as time goes by and as the valley grows. Don't you think,
Roland Daniels 19:44
yes, the valley here is growing tremendous, and
Heidi Griffith 19:47
we need those services. So yeah, your property taxes probably will go up. So if you know your payment coming in is and let's just say your payments $2,400 when you close on your. Transaction, your payments, 2400 bucks, could that go up? Well, your principal and interest isn't going up, but your property taxes can, can an HOA go
Roland Daniels 20:08
up? Yes, homeowners insurance can go up, and HOA too.
Heidi Griffith 20:12
So your homeowners insurance can go up, yes, but, but more than that, your HOA can go up. So you're going to want to make sure that if you receive a letter in the mail from your HOA that they're having a meeting attend, because there's all kinds of assessments that they can do that you want to make sure that you know what you're paying every month, and if you've set aside enough and you know that it's within your budget, right, you'll be fine, yep.
Roland Daniels 20:38
And having that emergency fund in place is definitely a game changer. If something unexpected happens, when it's when it comes to a house repair or maybe a medical event that that takes place, you are covered and it is. It could without that cash or that cushion, it is impacting other parts of your budget, absolutely,
Heidi Griffith 21:01
because it's not just about what could happen to your house. We talked about it your H your HVAC, your air conditioning, could go out, your hot water. I mean, there's all kinds of things that could happen that if you were renting, you would just call your landlord on Right, right. But there's also life that happens. And I say that repeatedly because it's true. I mean, there's always stuff that we need money for a school trip comes up, and you college comes up, and you need to make sure. So you need to make sure that when you're getting into a mortgage, that you're good with that number and you're good with all the other stuff in life.
Roland Daniels 21:36
So it's true, those those little things add up, and I will, and I always tell people that setting a realistic home budget isn't just about what you qualify. It's about making sure that you can live comfortably in a home without stressing about every bill that you you see and get in the mail. Yep,
Heidi Griffith 21:56
and to anybody listening, just remember, owning a home is about financial freedom, but it only feels that way if you give yourself room to enjoy life outside of the mortgage. So if you want to take a vacation, you don't want to be house poor, right? You want to make good financial choices.
Roland Daniels 22:13
So Heidi, let's say someone has set their realistic home budget, and we've talked about that, and they feel ready to start the buying process. Sure. What should they expect next?
Heidi Griffith 22:26
Well, I mean, that's a really easy path. And I know it sounds overwhelming, but once you know your why, and then once you decide that you know this is going to be the step you take, it actually is easier than it seems like it's going to be. I know it's very overwhelming to a lot of people, but the first step is to schedule an assessment. So talk to a mortgage professional, because they're going to give you the insight on how you're going to move forward. How much do you qualify for? If, in fact, you do qualify? Right? So they're going to ask for a series of documents we've talked about this. So you're going to look at providing pay stubs, you're going to look at providing your last two years, W twos and sometimes tax returns. You're going to look at providing two months worth of your bank statements. So you're going to do all of that and start that pre approval process. That doesn't mean that you have to buy a home. That means that a professional is looking at your documentation, they're going over your file, and they'll be able to give you an answer and pull credit, by the way, and they'll be able to give you an answer at that point as to if and what you qualify for,
Roland Daniels 23:39
right? So let's say we start the pre approval process. Do I have to buy now? Or can I wait?
Heidi Griffith 23:44
Absolutely you do not have to buy now. No, this. I mean, really, that's why we like to call it an assessment, because we're just assessing your information and giving you information. It's more of an information session now, if you decide at that point, okay, so now let's take a look at where rates are today based on my personal situation. And obviously those rates aren't guaranteed rates, because until you actually lock a rate, that means you've got a property, you've got a purchase agreement and that kind of stuff, we can't lock rates, but you'll get a better idea as to what your monthly investment is going to be. And that goes back to what we were talking about earlier with budgeting, right? Because if I know that I can comfortably afford $2,400 a month, I know what I'm paying in rent already. I know that with the utilities and with the subscriptions and all the good stuff that we talked about earlier, I can comfortably afford, let's just call it $2,400, a month, and the numbers work out then yes. And if you're you know your lending professional says you qualify for whatever that is, and you're not comfortable with that. You have to move forward. Heck no, you don't have to move forward. Could you look for a lesser monthly so less home? Sure you could. Um. Could you say maybe now is not the right time? Absolutely, it is just an assessment,
Roland Daniels 25:05
right So and then, so after the pure the pre approval, what about finding a great real estate agent? Is that one of the steps after the pre approval? Well,
Heidi Griffith 25:17
you know, it just depends on where you fall. If you happen to know a real estate professional, that may be your first step. It may not. I really suggest to everyone, I would go out on a limb and say most Realtors would actually suggest this too. They want you pre approved before you go house shopping. Because here's the thing I talk about this all the time when we're teaching, right? So the first thing that I you know, we ask is, how would it make you feel to become a homeowner? We talk about figuring out what your why is, and that's what we were talking about today. And then the next thing I talk about is window shopping for real estate. Because I know the majority of us do it. I know we go online and we look at Zillow and we look@realtor.com and we look at all of these real estate sites, because it's fun, and looking at houses is fun, and it's kind of cute, and you can figure out, you know, your design style and what you vibe with. But at the end of the day, it's always, it's not always a phenomenal idea, because now you're on Zillow, you find this house that's, I don't know, 650 then what happened? It's pretty amazing, and you fall in love, and you're showing all of your friends and you now are envisioning yourself in this property, then you meet with your mortgage professional, and you find out that you only qualify for $400,000 at that point. That $400,000 house is never going to compare to the house that you were looking at online. So my my biggest advice that I can give folks is don't window shop until you have kind of a price range that you're going to be looking at, right?
Roland Daniels 26:47
So you should know your range, and you can focus on the homes that you that will truly fit your budget.
Heidi Griffith 26:54
Yep, yep. So you get pre approved, then you're going to want to get with your with either the realtor that you've been working with, or find a great realtor, because that's super important, because they're going to be making a lot of moves on your behalf. You know, they're kind of the person that communicates with the seller's agent, and that agent communicates with the seller, so they're kind of, for lack of a better term, kind of a middleman in the transaction you want to make sure that you're working with someone that understands the market that we're in, that understands how to negotiate best on your behalf. So obviously, that's just a little piece of the pie. First step is always to figure out your why, why you want to become a homeowner. Second step is going to be to get pre approved, then get with a real estate professional, and then you start your house search, if that's what you want to do at that point. Interestingly enough, we are almost out of time, so we're going to pick this conversation up next week,
Roland Daniels 27:56
right? So thank you for joining us today on mortgage matters, we hope you found some helpful takeaways today,
Heidi Griffith 28:05
and for everybody considering buying a home, but maybe you need some help with the down payment. Remember, we have two more classes this month that will cover down payment assistance options. First one is Friday, November 15, with the Nevada housing division. That class is from 12 to one, and then we've got the class with Nevada Rural Housing on Monday, November 18, from 12 to one as well. Remember, we've got areas right here in Las Vegas that will qualify for those down payment assistance programs that Nevada Rural Housing offers. We would absolutely love to see you there.
Roland Daniels 28:38
So remember, preparation is key, and these classes are designed to give you the confidence to make the best decisions for your future. If you would like to register or have any questions, please feel free to reach out. The number is 702-210-2057 that's 702-210-2057 2210, 2057, thanks again for tuning in. Don't forget to join us next Sunday, right here at 7:30am on K, U, N, V, 91.5, and remember, take care of yourself and your mind. Have
Heidi Griffith 29:17
a great weekend. You