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Mortgage Matters is a Las Vegas, Nevada–based mortgage and homeownership podcast hosted by licensed loan officers 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 covers real mortgage questions, down payment assistance programs in Nevada, VA loans, FHA loans, first-time homebuyer strategies, and building generational wealth through homeownership.
But Mortgage Matters is more than a mortgage show. Roland and Heidi regularly bring in community voices—organizations and individuals doing meaningful work across Las Vegas and Nevada—because they believe homeownership doesn't happen in a vacuum. Housing advocacy, community resources, and economic empowerment are part of every conversation.
Roland and Heidi are active community educators who lead free homebuyer workshops across Nevada in partnership with the Nevada Housing Division, Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC), and Nevada Rural Housing Authority, plus a series of other housing and finance classes, covering programs like Home Is Possible and Worker Advantage. Roland Daniels is a director with the local chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), Black Realtists of Southern Nevada — an organization both Roland and Heidi are proud members of. Heidi Griffith currently serves as acting President of the Silver State Fair Housing Council, where Roland also serves as a board member. Together, they bring decades of Las Vegas mortgage expertise — and a deep commitment to closing the racial and economic homeownership gap — to every episode.
Announcer 0:00
This is a KU NV 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. Nova.
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 with my fantastic co host, Heidi Griffith, good morning.
Heidi Griffith 1:06
Heidi, well, good morning. Roland, how are you? I am doing awesome. You are happy Sunday. Happy Sunday. I'm Heidi Griffith, also a mortgage advisor and your Director of Client Services. My NMLS number is 2247754, mortgage matters is about helping you better understand your options around housing, home ownership and long term stability, whether you're thinking about buying your first home, buying again, or you're already a homeowner, our goal is to give you clear, honest information so you can make confident decisions. So before, before we jump into today's show, let's talk about a class we have coming up. Let's do it. If you've tuned in before, you know that we do monthly classes. We do them, we do the path to home ownership workshop. That's the first Saturday of every month. That is correct? And that's a CPLC. That's a full day event. It's hosted by HUD certified counseling, right? And then we have this one. This is my favorite, because it's, it's it's quick. You get lots of information and find out about all programs the Nevada housing division offers. This is the home is possible Down Payment Assistance class, and it's online this month. It is. It's going to be on Tuesday, February the 17th, from 330 from 330 to five. Not only do we walk through the mortgage process. There's a real estate professional that talks about what it looks like when you're out looking for homes, but we cover the first time homebuyer program we do. And a first time homebuyer doesn't mean you've never owned does it?
Roland Daniels 2:32
No, it just means you haven't owned a home or been on title within the last three years, right?
Heidi Griffith 2:37
So they've got a first time homebuyers program, they've got their traditional program, and that allows you not to be a first time home buyer, correct? And you can actually own a home in another state. So if you've moved here from somewhere else, you didn't know if you were going to stay, maybe you wanted to keep that property as an income property, as a rental. You're able to do that with this program, and it has income qualifications up to $165,000
Roland Daniels 2:59
what about our new program?
Heidi Griffith 3:00
We've got a teacher program that Nevada housing has been offering for a while we do, and we've got somebody special in the studio today, so we'll talk to her about this stuff too, to pass along the information to folks she knows. But Nevada housing division has been offering the teacher program, and that was really geared to bring teachers into our state, because they keep them and to keep them here, that's a big one, right? So they've got a down payment program that offers $7,500 in assistance that's forgiven after five years and
Roland Daniels 3:30
prorated, right? Prorated every month. $125
Heidi Griffith 3:33
a month, every month you make your mortgage. $125 comes off at 75 at the end of five years, forgivable, it goes away. Then can really help with your down payment or your closing cost, or just, even just to start a little nest egg as you move into your house. But this new program, it's the worker Advantage Program, right? It is. It covers education. It does so when we were talking about the teacher program, we we get a lot of calls because Clark County School District just isn't teachers, right? There's a lot of staff, a lot of staff, probably more staff outside of actual educators. So we've got, I mean, anywhere from administration, we've got, you know, custodial, all of that kind of stuff,
Roland Daniels 4:14
bus drivers, yeah, this program opens the door
Heidi Griffith 4:18
to all of those people. It also covers construction. It does you could be an electrician, you could be a day laborer, you could work for the you know, convention. Set up conventions. This covers those folks. It does public safety, public safety. So we're talking police, fire, we're talking corrections officers. We're talking sheriffs, so that. And then finally, we've got the medical profession
Roland Daniels 4:47
right, including CNAs, which is that have been left out for a while.
Heidi Griffith 4:52
CNAs have been left out, but this is also admin too. So if you work in a medical facility, even you know we were, we just spoke with somebody who's doing. Billing, yep, in a medical facility, and she'll qualify. Not only do these folks qualify for it, but this program offers you $20,000
Roland Daniels 5:10
for the first 900 families right here in the state of Nevada, right?
Heidi Griffith 5:13
And it started December 1. So we've, you know, we've got, you know, we've got at least 200 that are taken, right?
Roland Daniels 5:19
200 have been reserved, so we still have 700 left, right?
Heidi Griffith 5:23
So they figure about nine months from the time it started. Yes, but you get the two you get the $20,000 you can use it towards your down payment. Or there's actually the option to buy down the interest rate. Buy down the rate. This is the unheard of part. We don't typically see this with down payment programs. So you get a two or a 4% buy down that comes out of that $20,000 so depending on what your sale price, what the loan amount of that is, then that would be deducted from that,
Roland Daniels 5:51
and then whatever is left over can go towards your down payment or closing.
Heidi Griffith 5:55
Man, it's a game. I mean, it's game changer. So we're seeing rates, you know, depending on the day, Nevada housing publishes their rates daily. Anyone who uses this program, we base everything off of Nevada housing divisions guidelines. We do their rates are published daily. Right now we're seeing both the two and the 4% buy down in the fives. You don't see that in the mortgage world, not in today's world. No, heck no. So if you have any questions or you'd like to attend that class, you're more than welcome to reach out. We'll get you registered. We're at 702-210-2057, again, our number is 702-210-2057, you can also head over to our Facebook page, mortgage matters radio. There'll be a link to the Eventbrite for you to register. Let's get into it. Let's do it. I'm really excited. We have a great guest in studio today. Really do an amazing human I will tell you that. I will tell you that we're joined by Meg pike. She is a coordinator with the title one HOPE Program at the Clark County School District. So before we jump in and say hello, the title one HOPE Program ties closely into what we talk about here on mortgage matters, housing, stability and opportunity, and it also really it connects for you and me personally, doesn't it? I agree with so if you've tuned in, you know before regularly, if you were around during the holiday season, you probably remember us talking about the Ruby Thomas holiday toy drive that we did. It was a huge success. It was. It was so emotional for me. It really was. But that experience really opened my eyes to how, how many kids in our community are experiencing homelessness. It was awful, right? And these kids, they're supported through the title, one hope work. Meg, thank you for being here.
Roland Daniels 7:42
Welcome, yes. Thank you and welcome to the show.
Meg Pike 7:44
So much. I'm so happy to be here on my very first radio segment ever. Welcome to the radio. We have a great studio, don't we? Yes, I'm very excited.
Heidi Griffith 7:54
Yes, thank you. Thank you. So tell us a little bit about Title One. Hope what you do, what it covers, all the
Meg Pike 8:01
good stuff, sure. So title one hope is actually the title one homeless outreach program for education. That's what hope stands for. That's the acronym program in every single district across the nation. Not every program is called Title One hope. They are all called something different based on the community and who started it. But really, it's our job in any school district to make sure that barriers are removed for students who are experiencing temporary housing of some sort. Maybe their homelessness is unsheltered, they're living in a car park, whatever, but it's our job to make sure that the barriers are removed for them to get an education. So that means immediate enrollment. There can't be a delay in enrollment. That's what our staff does all day, every day. We're on the phone making sure kids get enrolled, even if they don't have their documents. We work with them to do that and make sure the school gets what they need, whether it's proof of address, a birth certificate, and immunization record, whatever. That is wonderful. That is a lot. It is a lot. And, you know, I can't say enough about our staff. I mean, we are a mighty group of 12 for the entire Clark County School District, which is the fifth largest school district in the nation. A lot of people don't know that, even living here.
Heidi Griffith 9:19
Well, we're the fifth largest? Yes, wow, yeah, that's a lot of kids for your
Roland Daniels 9:24
Yeah, yeah. How many students do you
Meg Pike 9:27
last year, we identified over 13,000 students, and those are students that are they could be living, like I said, unsheltered in a car or park or some other situation. They could be living in a shelter. We work very closely with the local shelters in town to make sure that we know when kids enter into the shelter, and those people at the shelters that staff know exactly what to do. We also work with the schools that those shelters are zoned for. They know exactly what to do. We make sure they have stuff on hand for those students all. Those things. It also covers and these are the two categories that a lot of people don't think of. It also covers students who are what we call doubled up. So Heidi, if I get evicted and I don't have anywhere else to go, you can come to my couch and you say, Meg, you and your two kids and your three great danes need to come live with me, right, right? So that's doubled up if, if you and I decide, oh, we're gonna move in together, because I have room and I already have a lease in my name, and you can just pay me rent and we'll just save money, that's a different situation, right? Right? Because I'm not necessarily experiencing a hardship. I haven't been evicted, but there has to for this particular program to kick in. There has to be some kind of hardship, right? And that makes total sense, yeah. And then the other category are those families that are living in the weekly hotel motels, or some kind of temporary situation like that, right? A lot of people don't think of that as being in a homeless situation, but most of the time, when we talk to those families, they have no other option. So those are the four categories that are protected under federal law, right, and that are qualified under this program. So, you know, it's, it's hard for us to get the word out, and that's why I appreciate you guys having us on. Oh, absolutely, like I said. So the awareness alone is the biggest. And that is a big thing, because before we connected with the folks at Ruby, Thomas, number one, you know, when you're out living your life, you're not thinking about this kind of stuff. And there's so much that happens in the world, it is hard to keep up. And when I found out about what you guys are doing, it was astonishing. It really was. I met you in your office, and you guys are a great team. Fun. Number one, that's always good. You're able to keep a smile on your face, because I'm sure it's not an easy job that you're doing, but if you're listening and you're and you're not aware, I mean, there's a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes, right? Have no idea it's not just there's a teacher at a desk, and kids show up and it goes on. There's a lot of stuff that goes on, and it does make sense, and we do know that people are experiencing hardships right now. Yeah, and I would say one of the most difficult things to convey to people is all of that stuff we really don't see, just like you're talking about right? The family who is struggling to make ends meet, maybe they're living in a hotel motel, maybe they're doubled up. Who knows what their situation is, but they've got to figure out child care before and after school, they've got to figure out when, how and when to get to work, and all of that coordination has to happen, in addition to not really being stably housed, right, right? And if anybody out there has ever been in a situation where you are not stably housed, it is not comfortable, and you know that's even not even addressing food insecurity or not having clothes or the supplies you need for school or hygiene items, right? Those are basic things you maybe you don't have a place to take a shower. If you're living in a clothes in a car, you don't have a place to take a shower and change your clothes like I do every morning when I get up. No, absolutely. And those are things, I think those logistics are, it's hard for people to wrap their head around all of that, because we just don't. If you don't have a reference point there's it's really hard to make those connections,
Roland Daniels 13:40
right and imagine the children of what they're experiencing, the emotional and maybe physical part of
Meg Pike 13:46
that, yeah, yeah. I mean, we've, we've talked to students before, and we know that, you know, let's say, let's say the youngest child is sick, right? And mom and or dad, wherever you got to go to work because you've already taken too many days. Who knows, right? Or you can't afford to take days, right? Because some people don't get paid for taking days off, of course, right?
Roland Daniels 14:10
So they have to stay home.
Meg Pike 14:11
So they ask the older kids to stay home from school. I mean, this is a very typical situation, and so now you have multiple students that are having attendance issues, and it becomes, it just starts compounding. And we talk to a lot of families all the time that are dealing with these issues. It's not uncommon at all.
Heidi Griffith 14:34
And I'm sure it's not easy at all. And you know, I'm sure that the majority of us understand that, you know, not being in school, especially you know, especially in in primary school, that you're you're losing vital pieces of the puzzle moving forward into adulthood. So it's got to affect them, aside from all of the the emotional stuff that they're. Going through absolutely then we come back to the class, and maybe we did miss a week because of something now or behind. And we all know what that feels like as a kid, just being, just being a normal kid, sure, right?
Meg Pike 15:11
Or on top of that, maybe your family had to move. Maybe you got kicked out really quickly, and your parents don't know that if you qualify under this program, you can apply to stay at your current school. Oh, really, and, and maybe depending on the situation, title, one hope can help with transportation. It just depends on the situation, right? So it's called school of origin, and that is part of the federal law. It is part of your rights as a student experiencing homelessness to continue going to the school where you have been attending to keep that continuity in your education. Oh, that's wonderful, so, but we have to know about it, right in order to help facilitate that.
Heidi Griffith 15:52
So aside from like folks at the shelters getting in community, because they obviously know that you're there, and I'm sure you work very closely together. So how do parents get in contact with you? How does that process work?
Meg Pike 16:05
You can call us at 702-855-6682, we get calls all day long.
Heidi Griffith 16:11
Give us the number again, 702-855-6682,
Meg Pike 16:15
okay, that goes straight to the title one hope office, and anybody who answers that phone can either help you with what you need or find who can Okay. The other way is, there is what is called a title, one hope advocate at every single school. Oh, there is, it should normally it is a person who is a social worker or a counselor, just because they we kind of encourage that, right? But it really could be anyone on campus, and you can always go into the school and ask to speak with the title one hope advocate. Okay, and there should be posters and pamphlets. Title One hope posters and pamphlets at every school. We check that all the time, and we actually give out the little pamphlet holders with the pamphlets in them, so they should be on the front
Heidi Griffith 17:00
counter, but if you run into any difficulties, they can call you directly and you'll start to figure it out.
Meg Pike 17:07
Yeah, and I would say anybody who is in a homeless situation, and if you're trying to enroll somebody in school, and you're at the school, and the school doesn't understand what is going on, or maybe you're not comfortable telling the school that's going on, I bet it's huge, right? And it just happens, right? Because you never know what somebody's gonna say. One's gonna be hard for people, yeah, and you're afraid of being judged, right? So if, if anybody is in that situation, and you're at a school, 702-855-6682, because you're gonna have to go back to a school at some point to complete enrollment, and we would rather you just get it done right, and we can walk you and the school through all of that, because we want to do it. We want it. We want to get those kids in school. It really is the best place for them to be right. It is absolutely because they can have a meal, if not two, and we can get backpacks full of school supplies and and hygiene items. Some schools have a clothing closet, right? Those resources are available at the school, and the schools know who needs it, and if they don't you, you really need to just ask, right?
Roland Daniels 18:19
So for the the parents that are listening. Are there any misconceptions that keep families from reaching out for support?
Meg Pike 18:26
Well, I think there are a lot of misconceptions. I mean, the first one that comes to my mind is that somebody, as long as they have a roof over their head, they're not homeless. And that just isn't true. The case, you can be unstably housed and still be in a hotel motel, or be staying with a family friend or a relative or somebody you don't even know, because you are that desperate. So I think that's the big misconception. I also think that one of the other things that I've learned having this job the last nine years is that we all are guilty of biases, yes, at a high level, and recognizing those biases is the only way that we're going to break down enough barriers to help people in general, right? One of these things is these. This family isn't homeless. Mom drove the kids to school in a blah, blah, blah car. Today, Mom has her nails and her hair done. These people are not homeless, and my reaction to that is, we don't know what is happening, right? We don't know if she borrowed that car. We don't know if she owns that car. And does it really matter? Maybe they're living in that car.
Heidi Griffith 19:41
Or maybe she got, she got, you know, her hair done right, to go to a job, to go a job
Meg Pike 19:45
interview, that's exactly what I say. And or maybe mom just needs to feel good about herself, right, you know? And who knows, who she knows that could help her with that we don't know. So just making sure that we are have ourselves. Themselves in check on those biases and those judgments that could make all the difference in the world for a student, because these students don't choose this situation. I can't. They just don't, and you can't judge the parents for being in that situation either, because it is where they are, and we have to meet them where they are and just help them from there. And that's the
Heidi Griffith 20:21
whole thing, is that you're providing help. You're providing guidance, yeah? And, you know, I have this conversation like, number one, walk a mile in someone's shoes. That's a big one, right? Because life happens. Life happens. And, you know, we had this conversation with somebody last week, you know, in relation to homeownership, you know, well, you know, stop going to Starbucks or stop buying avocado toast. Let's really, let's, let's narrow this down. Starbucks isn't stopping us from buying homes. Affordability is stopping us from buying homes. Being unhoused, being homeless, having your hair done, yeah, isn't making you homeless, no. And you know, there's so much going on in the world that number one, first and foremost. And I had this conversation during the toy drive with several people that I'd spoke with about the drive, and they were donating. And the conversation goes like this, it doesn't matter what the parents situation are. These are children. They deserve an education, they deserve happiness. They deserve to feel like every other kid, and that's why, when we got in contact you and I, I was just, I was overjoyed with the work you're doing. Because when you see it firsthand, you're like, what are we doing to help these kids? And there really is help out there.
Meg Pike 21:37
There is and I will say, from this side of it, our staff. We all go through these periods, sometimes daily, sometimes weekly. Sometimes we have months of feeling like, what are we really doing, right, right? Like, what I gave a kid a backpack today? So what? It's huge. But when you say that to anybody else, they're like, Well, wait a minute, where you know, how would that kid have gotten into school? If you would that have, would that kid have gotten into school, or would that kid have been able to stay going to school where they were, even though they moved out of the zone? That's a big one. Yeah, that is a huge one. And, you know, I just hope that we can keep doing what you Yeah, I mean, I just just, it's so it's the good work it is. And I'm very proud of the work that we do and on a daily basis, because they are really our staff is really there on the front lines.
Heidi Griffith 22:31
I think it's beautiful. So what drew you to this? What made you say, let's
Meg Pike 22:35
go do this? Well, I didn't grow up in the Most Great of circumstances. It wasn't horrible, but there were a couple times like I my brother and I and my mom ended up in a homeless shelter one night because of a domestic violence it's a big deal. That's a big deal. Now, this was back in the 70s. I don't care do your math. I'm 57
Heidi Griffith 22:59
it's the same guy. It's the same math.
Meg Pike 23:03
I'm proud. I'm proud and 57 but that was back in the 70s. And I will tell you, walking into that shelter, I felt safe. I felt, I mean, it was a beautiful home. It was there were antiques everywhere. There were stained glass windows. I was like, oh, sweet the kids. It's not like that. No. Shelters are not like that. So that's partially what drew me to it was my own experience, but also I got my first degree was in theater, and I did theater for years, and I felt like I needed to make a bigger impact somehow. And when we moved to Las Vegas, I got the opportunity to work for the school district, and so I got my teaching certificate. But one summer, I was working out at an office with the title one program federal funding right, and I was helping them archive their files, and I met somebody who was working for this other program called Title One hope, and I found out more about it, and I that was probably, Gosh, 18 years ago, if, even if not longer, right? And I thought, I'm, that's where I'm gonna that's where I'm gonna end up someday. So, yeah, this position opened up like a month after I got my master's and it was just done.
Heidi Griffith 24:24
Oh, man, so it was Kismet. How do you handle the hard days?
Meg Pike 24:29
Me, personally, I have the good tissues in my office. I buy my own tissue, not the crunchy one. No, no crunchy tissues in my office. And there are times my staff comes in and they need the good tissues too. It's emotional. It's draining. I just try to make sure that I take care of myself first, which is not an easy thing to do, but I am telling you, the older I get, the easier it is. I get I get it. Yeah, I do get i. I if I don't take care of myself, I don't have room for anything else. I really don't,
Heidi Griffith 25:04
and I think that's true for everyone. So that's a good that's a great point. If you're listening, really, you're Yeah, it's that's why the flight attendants tell us Yes, put the oxygen on us first. Yes. So if listeners had one thing to take away today, if they wanted to help, how do we get involved? What does
Roland Daniels 25:20
that look like, yes, what can we do?
Meg Pike 25:21
So I would say, have conversations. That's what I tell everybody. Okay, make sure anybody like, if you have the dinner party, talk about title one hope. Talk about school. Talk about kids. Talk about bring it up. Hey, I learned about this program. Do you know it like or you? You might be really surprised who you know has lived experience, that's right, you might be very surprised. On top of that, I will give you a QR code for our donation account. People can make monetary donations. We use that money to purchase mainly to purchase gift cards, right? So that we can support families outside of our grant funding, because we are solely grant funding and everybody, I hope most people know that grant funding is red tape, right? Oh, yes. So you have to follow a lot of rules, and there's only certain things that you can
Heidi Griffith 26:15
use that for, use that for. So you've got that Q code. We'll post that on our we'll post that on our Facebook page. Mortgage matters radio, if you have any questions about title one, or you just like to donate, they can call you directly, yes, right, so and give us the number again for Title One. Hope, 70285566821,
Meg Pike 26:35
more time, 702-855-6682,
Heidi Griffith 26:39
it really is a conversation that matters.
Meg Pike 26:41
Yeah, and if you're curious, we are. We also filmed a documentary on student homelessness in Southern Nevada. We are doing a screening on April 6. I will make sure you get that information too.
Heidi Griffith 26:52
I'm excited that you're doing another screening. Yeah, this is a really interesting one. I heard a lot about it. So I heard about it from Ruby Thomas. I'm going to go back to Ruby Thomas, because we've got that tie, and Melissa Morris, and she was on our show back in November. She's actually in the documentary, so we want to make sure that we check that out. We want to make sure that we fill seats in that too, right? Yes, because it's one of those things that you don't think about. But we will keep posting that information. We will we would love to see you there. Maybe we'll have some
Meg Pike 27:20
popcorn. Yeah, I'll be there. Yay, yay.
Heidi Griffith 27:23
Thank you so much for being here today. So much really appreciate the time goes fast and it flies by. So before we head out today, I want to take a moment, like I always do, to talk about fair housing, because access to housing and opportunity really never depends on who you are or where you are. Silver State Fair Housing Council is Nevada's nonprofit organization focused on fair housing, education and outreach, helping ensure accountability, awareness and all of that in housing. One way that work happens is through the housing Tester program, where trained volunteers act as secret shoppers to document real housing experiences. So if you've had housing experience that raised a question, or if you'd like to learn more about becoming a tester, feel free to reach out to us and we'll connect you with Silver State Fair Housing Council. Their next online testing training is Friday, February 20. That's at 9am on Zoom. You can call or text us. We're at 702-210-2057, again, our number is 702-210-2057.
Roland Daniels 28:24
Thank you for spending part of your Sunday morning with us. We'll be back next Sunday morning at 7:30am right here on KU NB, 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 28:42
Thanks, Meg, thank you. Thank you. Bye. You. You.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai