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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, company. NMLS number is 42056, and, of course, I'm here this morning with my fantastic co host, Heidi Griffith, good morning. Heidi, good morning.
Heidi Griffith 1:08
Roland, happy Sunday. Happy Sunday. I'm Heidi Griffith. I am also a mortgage advisor and your Director of Client Services. My NMLS number is 2247754, thank everybody for tuning in this morning. Give a real quick shout out to our always super awesome and amazing engineer. Wes, yes, he is, hey. So before we get started, let's talk about our upcoming class. We have our monthly HUD certified path, the home ownership workshop coming up, don't we? We
Roland Daniels 1:39
do, and that's the first Saturday of every month. Yep, yep.
Heidi Griffith 1:43
So that's going to be next Saturday. It's from 8:30am to 3pm at CPLC. That address is 555, North Maryland Parkway. That's right, that's right. And that's going to be right on the corner of Maryland Parkway. And bonanza. Yes, it is. I really, truly believe that if you've never owned a home before, you haven't owned a home in a while, this is probably the most comprehensive homebuyer workshop in the valley. Don't you agree? I do agree. It covers everything. You've got HUD certifier. You've got HUD counselors. There they go over budgeting, they go over credit. I mean, it really is home buying a to z, plus it is. It's got a little bit more that's involved. I mean, it talks about how to, you know, allocate your money, because when you own a home, obviously, now you've got a payment, now you've got mortgage, and you've got all of these things that are associated with home ownership. And it's nice to have that information up front, because I watch so many people just try and dive in and then not realize there's a lot of little costs that come with being a homeowner. Don't you agree? I agree 100%
Roland Daniels 2:51
and they go over budgeting, they go over credit preparedness, understanding home ownership, how to avoid foreclosure, and, of course, mapping out your plan for home ownership. Yeah.
Heidi Griffith 3:03
And you teach the mortgage portion. I do. It's not just like some of the home ownership classes out there where the lender comes in for five minutes, talks about a few products and walks off. You're actually on stage for one hour. I am, yeah. And what about you? You teach the real estate point. I teach the real estate portion, it's worked out really well because I do have my license. I do not actively sell real estate. We use it for personal use and stuff like that. But it's good for folks to, you know, listen and hear and learn from someone who doesn't have a financial means to it, right? And that way, you can find a real estate agent that you're comfortable with, that you're excited to work with, and move forward with that, but now you've got a little bit of information behind it, right? That is correct? Yeah. So if you want to register for our February 1 class, you can actually call or text us. We're at 702-210-2057, you can also visit us on our new Facebook page. That's mortgage matters radio, and then all the links to register for the class will be on that page as well. You'll be able to listen to past episodes of our show. Okay, let's talk about our question of the week. We had a good one, right? We do this week's question comes from Quincy. He actually called us after last week's show, and he's thinking about buying a home, but he said he's been hearing from a lot of friends and family that now might not be a great time because of interest rates. They're too high. It's not a good time. You should wait till interest rates come down. So he asked, I'm confused about what I should do. Should I buy now, or should I wait till rates drop?
Roland Daniels 4:39
That is a great question. Quincy, and one that we've been getting a lot less it is, right? Yeah, so it's completely understandable to feel hesitant when rates are a little bit higher than what we've seen in the past. But here's the thing, there's more to the equation than just interest rates.
Heidi Griffith 4:57
There is, there is, and I think that there's some things. You should consider before making a big decision, and purchasing a home is a big decision. So Is now a good time to buy? Well, I really think it boils down to you. You know what's important to you and what you're looking for, but if we're just talking about generally, is now a good time to buy. Are rates higher today than they were in 2023 they are, they are, they are, but, but are prices higher today than they were in 2023
Roland Daniels 5:30
Yeah. Some will say they are, yeah, right, yeah, depending on where you're looking and then depending on the house that you're looking at. Yeah, absolutely.
Heidi Griffith 5:36
But historically, home prices continue to rise. They do, you know, our crystal ball broke somewhere back in 1996 or something like and it's still broken. We took it to the shop. They said, Absolutely not. We're not fixing and
Roland Daniels 5:51
then this environment is definitely yeah,
Heidi Griffith 5:55
but, but as trends show, prices are continuing to rise. You know, you speak on it a lot about, you know, the valley and what's happening in Las Vegas, not only with sports and with movies and now, I mean, now we're kind of put in a position where we've got people from California that our hearts go out to, right? But there's a lot of people that may have been thinking about purchasing California, it's been difficult to get insurance. It has been because, because a lot of those, you know, big insurance companies have pulled out. Yes, they're not covering fire and
Roland Daniels 6:32
they're not writing any new policies in the state of California at this time, in addition to auto insurance as well, not just homeowners insurance. So
Heidi Griffith 6:41
in order to live, you know, especially if you want to be a homeowner, it's, it's pretty difficult. So, as we traditionally see when stuff happens in areas like California, Vegas is a great landing
Roland Daniels 6:55
spot. There is, and it's a, it's still in probably number, the number one state of buyers moving from one state to Nevada is California, and we do think that Nevada will pick up. In addition, I think there's about 6000 families moving here every month from California, and I think that will increase depending on what goes on with their properties there in California and how is affected by the wildfires?
Heidi Griffith 7:22
Absolutely, absolutely. So that's not going to slow prices down, no, right? That That wouldn't be a barrier, that would stop our prices. That's gonna, you know, good indicator that prices are will continue to go up.
Roland Daniels 7:37
Um, it will affect our inventory. And
Heidi Griffith 7:38
absolutely, well, yeah, I mean, and we're already in a position. We're in a very strange real estate market right now, because we don't have a lot of inventory out there, you know, with a valley of, you know, between 2.6 and 2.8 million people. Imagine
Roland Daniels 7:56
that almost 3 million right here in Clark County, close to,
Heidi Griffith 7:59
I know, I know. I remember when it was like 300,000 but, but in those numbers, with about 8000 homes, a little bit less than that, last time I looked in inventory, homes that were available to purchase, and we're talking from $0 to $40 million right? We don't have a ton of inventory. So
Roland Daniels 8:20
listen, people, 3 million people in Clark County, just around 8000 homes available, a little bit less, yep. So our inventory is tight, and it's going to be tighter.
Heidi Griffith 8:31
Well, that's, you know, the indicators show that. That's for sure. So if you're waiting for interest rates to go down, I know a lot of people are, I mean, we talk to people all the time that say, you know, I'll get back with you or let me know when rates drop. Well, there is a number, and we don't know that number. People really don't know that number, right? But there will be a number where people say, Okay, let's buy again. And if home prices aren't coming down, and people jump back into the real estate market. If you're someone who's kind of vacillating, should I buy now or wait? Well, those people that you're standing next to on the sidelines, they become your competition. They do and with the lack of inventory, we're back to times where you know you've got 30 or 40 people deep waiting to view a home that will then receive multiple offers. In many instances. What we saw in the past, right? Just in 2019 Yeah, yeah. I mean, they were, you know, they people were putting in offers, sight unseen. They were putting in offers, you know, depending on the house, depending on the value, 10 to $100,000 above list price. They were waving appraisals, right? So if the appraisal came in low, they were willing to to pay that gap. So there's a lot of things to consider, and if you, if you're in a position right now to purchase, it may not be a bad idea to sit down and take a look at pros and cons. So. Because even with rates where they're at today, if you purchase today, you're purchasing at today's prices, if prices continue to go up and again, historically. I mean, we've had some blips in the cycles, right? We saw that in, you know, 2009 1011, 1213, we saw that happen. We did. But everything rebound, right? So those people who purchase then, well, they're sitting pretty good right now, right?
Roland Daniels 10:27
Because equities are at an all time high home value, home prices are at an all time high, right,
Heidi Griffith 10:34
right? So if you, you know, say, Now is the time for me, you get it at that whatever you consider higher rate,
Roland Daniels 10:42
right? You lock in today's home prices. But when rates do drop, and they will, we just don't know when or what. Yep, our crystal ball is broken, but they keep saying that rates will go down, and then you can take advantage of a refinance, lower the rate, but you're already locked in to the home
Heidi Griffith 11:01
and building equity, that is correct? You start building equity now, versus waiting to start that process, right? Yes. And if you're, you know, offering above list price, and then the appraisal doesn't come in, then you have no equity. If you're coming out of pocket, correct? You know, you may eventually get it, but you don't have it out of the gate. So, yeah. I mean, there's a lot of really good benefits. You know, homeownership is going to build equity over time. It is probably the greatest source of
Roland Daniels 11:29
wealth, probably the number one tool to building wealth. Yeah, in today's market, and
Heidi Griffith 11:33
it's not an overnight effect. In most instances, you're not going to, you know, make 200 or $300,000 in one fell swoop, but it's a lot safer than the stock market, isn't it? In some
Roland Daniels 11:43
instances it is. And then, instead of renting month to month, you're making a mortgage payment as you're making that monthly mortgage payment, you're building equity every single month as you're making that payment. And of course, then we have appreciation, right? And some
Heidi Griffith 11:59
people just need to purchase. I mean, there's reasons why people need I mean, you got to have a roof over your head, yes. And if you plan on staying in this space that you're in for any amount of time, then does it make sense for you to start reaping the benefits, or does it make sense to continue to build wealth for your landlord, right?
Roland Daniels 12:21
And that'd be a perfect time to sit down face to face and look at all of your different options. Yeah, because,
Heidi Griffith 12:27
like you say, it's the best thing to have, is options, right? Right? Options create opportunities. So really, bottom line, Quincy, if home ownership is your goal, it really is about finding the right time for you and not just chasing rates. Right? I agree. We're here to help you through it, and since we're talking about what you hear from other people versus what's actually best for you, let's spend a few minutes and talk about some of the biggest myths we hear about getting a mortgage roll into let's start
Roland Daniels 12:55
with the classic number one, yeah, you need 20% down to buy a home. Heidi, is that true? Oh no,
Heidi Griffith 13:04
no. I don't even know why that myth is still flowing. I mean, really, I don't even
Roland Daniels 13:09
understand. We still hear it every single month. I bought
Heidi Griffith 13:13
my first house in 1996 I bought it with an FHA loan. And by the way, that rate in 1996 was 8% I bought it with an FHA loan with three and a half percent down so your down payment was three and a half percent down payment was three and a half so you can get into a home with as little as 3% that's with a conventional loan. Three and a half percent with an FHA loan and then VA loan. How much 0%
Roland Daniels 13:39
the USDA loan, 0%
Heidi Griffith 13:43
Yeah, so no, you do not need a huge down payment to get into a home. That's a good question, though. That is that's a great question. What about when we hear this one a lot, and this one's been coming up a lot more lately. Talk to someone. Hey, I heard that I can get into a home with no money down. And so, you know, we talk about, you know, are you looking at down payment assistance? If you're looking at down payment, yeah. But I heard that I don't need any money, yeah.
Roland Daniels 14:13
And sometimes it gets confusing, no money down means no money out of pocket. That is not true. You do need money for closing costs. Gotta have skin in the game. You do?
Heidi Griffith 14:26
You gotta have skin in the game. So, yeah. So you even if you utilize down payment assistance, and let's say it covers all of your down payment and sometimes it might cover a little bit more. So if you're using a 5% DPA Down Payment Assistance Program, and you're putting three and a half percent down, then you're going to have a percent and a half to work with beyond that. So you could apply that torture closing costs, for sure, but there's still going to be some residual closing costs, right? And then there's upfront costs. And then there's, we talk about that all the time. We talk about earnest money deposit, we talk about home and spend. Section, we talk about appraisal. So you need that money up front. Now, in reality, you could get that as a gift, right?
Roland Daniels 15:07
You can, you can receive a gift from a family member. Maybe mom or dad can give you $1,000 or 1500 bucks, if that's or you're
Heidi Griffith 15:14
in orange, or the entire amount, they can't that you need for your closing costs. Now, keep in mind, this is a gift, not alone, mom, dad, whoever is giving you the money, right? They're going to sign a letter stating that it's a gift and you don't have to repay it. That is correct, but you can do that. But there is money involved. Maybe it's not, you know, your money per se, but there is money involved. You know, we look at and we talk about a lot seller credits and utilizing those, that's still money, right? That is correct. So there's, there's always going to be money involved in purchasing a home,
Roland Daniels 15:51
right? So that means you can't buy a home with no money out of your pocket. Yeah,
Heidi Griffith 15:56
it's an there's no such thing as no money down. Yes,
Roland Daniels 16:00
we hear it all the time, and we have to explain to people that you will need some cash to purchase a home. And
Heidi Griffith 16:08
that's why we don't ever say no down payment or no zero down you know, those are kind of, you know, those hook words, right? That catch phrases, Yeah,
Roland Daniels 16:18
unfortunately, here on a monthly bill. Not cool.
Heidi Griffith 16:21
Lots of great down payment assistance programs aimed to help you make your dream of home ownership a reality, right? Yep, but no money down, no.
Roland Daniels 16:31
And Heidi, there's another myth, yeah. What is it? You must be on the same job for two years? Yeah, a
Heidi Griffith 16:37
lot of people think that too. Well, I haven't been on my job for two years. Once I'm then I'm gonna buy a house. No, that's not true. That is not true. Do you have to be employed? Yes, you do, unless you have other income, unless you eat, unless you're retired, and you've gotten a retirement pension, disability, that kind of stuff that you can utilize. But you've got to be employed if you have no other means of income, right? So, but no, you don't have to be at the same job. If you know, a lot of people go to new places, you know, because better opportunities, yeah, promotions, advancements, yes, absolutely. So as long as you're working. So let's just say roll and say, I I have a job, but I live in Connecticut, I'm moving to Vegas, right? So I quit that job because I'm going to get a new job when I move here. And you know, I've got to pack up the U haul. I've got to drive across the country now, I got to check out the lights. I got to experience Vegas firsthand, because that's got to be kind of cool, right, right? But I don't get a job for 40 days, and then I don't start for another week, and I won't get another paycheck for another two weeks after I start my job, and that kind of stuff. What does that look like when I'm purchasing a home or when I want to purchase
Roland Daniels 17:51
we'll just have to do a letter of explanation. If you have an employment letter on your start date, we can give the underwriter your employment letter, and then we just need probably 30 days of income, yeah, so then we can move forward,
Heidi Griffith 18:05
and we can do a letter of explanation why you weren't working for the 40 days in the interim. I, you know, I moved from I relocated from Connecticut to Las Vegas, and better
Roland Daniels 18:14
opportunities here, and you have a new employer. And like we were saying, we just need a letter of explanation. Maybe we have the employment letter from the employer, and then 30 days of income, right?
Heidi Griffith 18:28
And so can you purchase without being on the same job for two years? You absolutely, you sure can? You absolutely can't. Now, if you're in the middle of purchasing a home, right? You've got a you've found your house, you've got a purchase agreement, you're moving towards closing. Can
Roland Daniels 18:46
you lose your job? That's a whole different circumstance. It is yes, because now you're unemployed.
Heidi Griffith 18:52
And I will tell you from personal experience, your lender will find out. They will find out. Your lender will find out there's all kinds of checks and balances when you're purchasing a home,
Roland Daniels 19:02
not just one. When we order your credit report there, they will verify that you're still employed. They will do a soft credit pool to make sure that you haven't charged your credit cards and Max
Heidi Griffith 19:14
them out or got something new, furniture, that kind of stuff, because
Roland Daniels 19:18
changing your debt to income ratio could affect your ability to buy a home.
Heidi Griffith 19:24
What we say in this industry is it can kill a deal fast. It can as fast as you can a deal fast. So the best thing to do is always be upfront, right? Because your purchase agreement, it has contractual deadlines and dates that you have to meet. And when we talked last week about earnest money deposit, I kind of hit on those a little bit, but you've got protections as a buyer. Understand that. Just understand what's in that purchase agreement and understand those dates home inspection contingency is coming up. Do we have every. Thing that we need to have done, because if for whatever reason, you're not satisfied with that home inspection or the response from the seller, this is a way to get your earnest money back. Same thing goes with your loan approval. There's no contingency date, contingency an appraisal contingent. That's right, an appraisal contingency date. So if those things don't happen or are not satisfactory, your appraisal comes in low and the seller is not willing to negotiate with you, right? Or if, for whatever reason, you're not approved and right? So we, when we do pre approvals, we actually do underwritten approvals, right? We do. But life happens and things change in people's scenarios. So in the instance that we're talking about, if you lose your job,
Roland Daniels 20:44
let us know as soon as you are aware of that. Okay,
Heidi Griffith 20:48
let's talk really quickly about something that doesn't always get enough attention, right? Yep,
Roland Daniels 20:53
debt. Oh, debt. Nobody wants to talk about debt. We don't. We've
Heidi Griffith 20:56
all had of it, right? We've got it in one way or another. But not all debts really created equal. We hear debt it's automatically like this negative word, right? But some debt can actually help you build wealth, while some debt can hold you back from reaching whatever goal you might have, right?
Roland Daniels 21:14
Yes. So think about it like this, debt can either be a stepping stone to financial growth or a roadblock that keeps you stuck. So the key is knowing the difference between good debt and bad debt so that you can make smart financial moves, especially when you're thinking about buying a home.
Heidi Griffith 21:34
Yeah. So if you've ever wondered whether the credit card balance or student loan is helping or hurting you, then I think this is a good conversation to hear. Oh, dirty, yeah. So, good debt, good debts, wealth, building debt, right? Yeah. So, mortgages, mortgages, yeah, because buying a home is an investment that's going to build in equity over time. Yeah,
Roland Daniels 21:54
right. You're buying an asset. What about student loans? Student Loans, education can increase your earning potential, yeah. So making it easier for you to qualify for a loan, right?
Heidi Griffith 22:04
Right? But student loan debt does affect what you qualify for, right? So, for example, I'm working with someone right now. They have about $115,000 in student loan debt. The good thing about student loan debt, depending on where you're you know going with it is that it's usually not if you're in let's just say you don't currently have a payment on your student loan debt. We, as mortgage lenders, we have to calculate a payment count for right because at some point we're going to assume that you're going to have to pay that. So with a mortgage, we're only looking at a half a percent for that right,
Roland Daniels 22:42
half a percent for FHA loans and loans affiliated with Freddie Mac right? If it's a Fannie Mae loan, we have to use 1% 1% if it's a VA loan, we use 5% of the balance divided by 12, right, the calculation, and
Heidi Griffith 22:58
that would be a monthly payment. So that half a percent or 1% would be half a percent or 1% of your balance monthly That is correct. And you know, it sounds like a lot, right, obviously, but if you had, let's just say you had a credit card that went to collection that didn't currently have a payment, we would have to account for that payment too, right? We do, and it's 5% that's 5% yes. So we look at student loans more favorably, because we know that at some point you'll be utilizing that education right, and gaining, you know, good employment, right? And
Roland Daniels 23:38
then when it comes to student loans, let's say you have a higher monthly payment of maybe it exceeds, maybe 1% or maybe there's no payment. You can give your student loan servicer a call and ask what it would be, what your payment will be on an income driven repayment plan, and they can do that calculation pretty quickly, usually while you're on the phone, and they can send you an email, and we can use that as a payment, and it can make a huge difference compared to maybe you have you owe $100,000 and that payment is at, say, $400 a month. Well, with an income driven repayment plan, we can use the lower amount to help you qualify with your debt to income ratio, right,
Heidi Griffith 24:26
right? And if it's higher, or if it's the same, then we can just utilize what we've currently got, but it's a way to find out if you can reduce that payment amount. Yes, I agree. What about business loans? So I decide I'm going to open a business. You know, it's a loan, obviously. But don't you think that that's kind of a good debt?
Roland Daniels 24:43
I think so. In different situations, you know that the business loan can generate extra income and help you build long term financial stability along the way. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Heidi Griffith 24:52
So keeping good debt manageable really could potentially increase your credit profile. It could, I agree. Well. What about bad debt?
Roland Daniels 25:01
All bad debt. Oh, bad debt, high interest credit cards. Oh, revolving balances and high interest rates can sink your credit score. We know
Heidi Griffith 25:11
that especially, especially if you're keeping those balances high or the cards maxed out. First of all, it kills your pocket and your credit score. It kills your pocket and your credit score. And actually, that's what we're talking to a lot of people right now about refinance opportunities in their current properties because of all of that high interest rate
Roland Daniels 25:32
debt. Yeah, because some people are paying 30% a month on credit card debt, I've
Heidi Griffith 25:36
seen higher, Oh, wow. I've seen higher than 30 Yeah. And what about payday loans? You love payday loans. Stay
Roland Daniels 25:42
away from payday loans. The interest rates on those particular loans can be anywhere from two to 300%
Heidi Griffith 25:53
so if you paid the bare minimum on, let's just say, $1,000 payday loan, how long would it take you?
Roland Daniels 26:00
I can't imagine. I can't imagine. And
Heidi Griffith 26:03
we talk to folks all the time. We know life happens. It does happen. I mean, there, there are times where we've got to do what we've got to do. We understand that, yes, but don't just go and get these loans because you want to hang out at the casino or, you know, whatever that looks like. They're they're borderline. Usury, and we don't want people taking advantage of you or your money. We agree with, yeah, yeah. So payday loans, they can, I mean, and we've seen people with payday loans, multiple payday loans, right? That they owed 900 $1,000 a month on these payday loans, and we're not able to qualify strictly because of these payment
Roland Daniels 26:46
that is correct, strictly because
Heidi Griffith 26:47
of the payday loans that is correct. Yeah. And what about, like, unnecessary personal loans, you know, hey, my, you know, my credit union, my bank, will give me a, you know, a $5,000 I got, I got that thing in the mail, and they said they would give me $5,000 so I just went ahead and got it, because I thought, I, you know, I could go shopping, and it could affect your debt to income ratio. Oh, so maybe I shouldn't, you know, borrow for non essentials. I agree. Yeah, yes. Because, yeah, bad debts gonna increase your debt to income ratio, right? We're gonna make it harder to qualify, and in many instances, especially if we're keeping those balances higher missing payments. Yep, it's going to lower your credit score, right? And that doesn't mean you have to have an 850 credit does not because that's the highest you can have. That doesn't mean that you have to have an 850 but it's a lot easier to get by in the world as jaded as that might sound you know, with the higher score, I mean, you're going to get better interest rates. You're going to get better offers for things, loan terms are sometimes more favorable with the higher credit and that kind of stuff, right? It does. Wow. We're coming to an end, aren't we?
Roland Daniels 27:54
It is. Well, it looks like our time today is up. We hope you've enjoyed today's conversation and learned a little something that helps makes your home buying journey a little bit smoother.
Heidi Griffith 28:06
Absolutely remember, buying a home isn't just about interest rates or what you hear from other people the street committee. It's about making the right decision for you and for your future. If
Roland Daniels 28:18
you're ready to learn more, don't forget, our upcoming path to home ownership workshop is Saturday, February the first, and it's an opportunity to take a deeper dive and get expert advice. If you have any questions about anything that we've covered today, whether it's debunking the myths managing debt or getting started with the mortgage process, you're more than welcome to reach out. You can call or text us at 702-210-2057 that's 702-210-2057
Heidi Griffith 28:55
and don't forget, you can also visit us on our Facebook page at mortgage matters radio.
Roland Daniels 28:59
We'll be back next Sunday at 7:30am right here on K, U, n, b, 91.5, stay informed. Stay confident and remember, stay true to yourself and your mind. Bye.