Between Two Doors

In this episode of Between Two Doors, Nate Carver — Your Favorite Mortgage Guy talks with San Antonio Realtor Faith Cuellar about rebuilding, continuing to learn, and helping families move toward homeownership. Listen as Faith shares how perseverance and her doctoral studies shape the way she supports buyers through a personal and important life decision.

The conversation explores San Antonio’s community and culture, housing affordability, buyer questions about down payments, seller concessions, and the value of a clear plan with your agent and lender. Whether you’re starting fresh or preparing for a future purchase, hear why Faith emphasizes patience, consistency, and understanding each client’s needs. Connect with Faith at https://linktr.ee/FaithCuellarTXRealtor. Listen to Between Two Doors for local conversations that help you build your homebuying team and take your next step.

Creators and Guests

Host
Nate Carver
Your favorite mortgage guy
Guest
Faith Cuellar
Faith Cuellar is a San Antonio Realtor, doctoral student, and housing advocate. Her experiences with rebuilding and perseverance shape her commitment to helping families find stability through homeownership. Her academic work explores housing affordability, and she values education, compassion, and listening to each client’s needs.
Producer
Stan Carver II
Stan Carver II is the producer behind his brother Nate Carver’s Between Two Doors podcast, bringing a blend of marketing savvy, technical craftsmanship, and video-editing polish to help each episode shine. As third-generation real estate investors, Stan and Nate share more than a family bond—they’ve rolled up their sleeves together renovating dilapidated properties, learning firsthand what it takes to turn potential into value. That shared experience fuels their on-air chemistry and off-air collaboration, with a brotherly camaraderie that’s equal parts hard work and genuine fun. For Stan, it’s a joy to support his Favorite Mortgage Guy's vision—translating great conversations into professional, compelling content that helps their audience make smarter moves in real estate and homeownership.

What is Between Two Doors?

Between Two Doors is a unique exploration of the real estate world through the eyes of its most fascinating professionals. Hosted by Nate Carver, a seasoned mortgage expert, and proud veteran, this podcast dives deep into the personal journeys of realtors, offering listeners insider perspectives on the challenges, successes, and the little-known stories behind the sale signs.

From first-time buyers to seasoned investors, Between Two Doors provides valuable insights, tips, and tales that illuminate the real estate industry in a whole new light. Sponsored by Success Mortgage Partners, we're here to inspire, educate, and empower our listeners with stories of perseverance, innovation, and success.

Join Nate as he bridges the gap between real estate professionals and enthusiasts, exploring what it takes to thrive in this dynamic industry. Whether you're seeking advice, inspiration, or just a good story, "Between Two Doors" has a place for you.

All right, we are back, and we're in San
Antonio, Texas.

We're going to talk about Faith and her
journey.

And I think you're going
to really love this podcast.

Welcome to the Between Two Doors podcast.

I'm Your Favorite Mortgage Guy

and host, Nate Carver.

Hey, I'm Nate Carver.

And welcome to Between Two Doors.

And Faith Cuellar,

Welcome to the podcast.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for having me.

I appreciate it.

Absolutely.

Hey, before we get into real estate

and résumés, I was looking at your bio.

Okay.

And and there's a sentence in your bio
that really caught my attention.

And I was like,
we have got to do this podcast.

You describe yourself as still building,
still learning,

and always willing to keep showing up.

I love that.

So before we talk about real estate,

doctoral programs,
housing affordability or anything else.

What are you building right now?

Well, right now I'm building,

you know, my personal life

where it's my professional and personal,

such as real estate, my school.

I'm building a career.

I'm building, you know, a legacy

that I want to help

the people that are around
me and my community.

And that's very important to me.

So I'm building myself,
but I'm also going to build others.

Awesome. So.

So where did you grow up?

So I grew up in San Antonio.

I've lived here almost all my life.

And I love the community here.

I feel very it's my home base.

The people here have always

been so welcoming, so warm.

And I consider it home.

Nice.

It's in in your,
you know, now you're doing real estate

or you've been doing real estate
in the state Antonio area as well.

Growing up in San Antonio.

Were you the rule
follower or the troublemaker?

Well, I was a little bit of both.

I know when to follow the rules,

and I know when.

You know,

sometimes you just have to do

what you have to do
what you feel is right in your heart.

And so.

But most of the time I.

I've always done what's right.

So Antonio close ties with family.

Is there some things
that your family taught you about work

that you've brought into your
your profession?

Yes. My my dad, he always taught us

to, like, have a really strong work ethic.

He was a very hard worker himself.

He believed in doing
what's right, treating people fairly

and just treating everybody equally.

So his his mind frame
was always like very calm,

very warm,
but very direct and very honest.

He was friends with one.

That is your best going to do something?

You better put your all into it.

Was there was there something about you
that surprises people

when they first meet you?

I've always been a person
that I like to talk to everyone.

I don't feel shy.

I feel social,

and I like to hear people's stories, and
I like to get to know them as a person.

And I think what surprises them is
that sometimes

they don't see the, the,
the stronger part,

the, you know, the resilience,
the patience, the

the strength that it, you know,
it takes to just live this life.

And people sometimes will underestimate

me, but that's just, you know.

But I am very open as a person

to getting to know, you know, people
and hearing their stories.

So I love helping people.

I think that I chose real estate
so I can help people

because it's a big decision in their life.

You know, it's an important one.

It's a milestone buying a house.

Absolutely.

So in your story, in your your bio

it talks about change and setbacks
and perseverance and rebuilding.

You don't have to share anything
you don't want to share. Yeah.

But what, what what did that season in
your life look like.

Well that season
looked like a lot of changed where it's

rebuilding, you know, you fall,
but you have to pick yourself back up.

You know, and that's just part of life.

Everybody's going to fail.

And sometimes, you know,
you have to learn from it.

And so that takes
a lot of like discipline.

That takes a lot of like growth

that takes a lot of determination.

Because what you're basically doing

is you're picking yourself up
from the ground

and you're changing yourself
bettering yourself.

And that that was hard.

That was difficult.

That was that was you know painful.

Was there.

Was there a moment where you just
absolutely knew something had to change?

Yes, I knew it.

The moment was, I want to say where
I thought, you know what?

I not only want to better myself,

but I want to better
the lives of my family.

And so that was my drive.

That's what drew Drew like driven me.

And so I felt like

it's you either.

It's like you either
stop the path that you're going to,

you're going through, you're on that path
and you're like you know what.

This is not the path I want to be on.

And so you just stop it
and you go a different path.

Yeah. That was what changed.

That's what made me go to the path
that I'm on my journey.

You just make up your mind.

Absolutely.

I I've learned through experience in

military reassignments and

new duty stations, new careers.

I've learned to embrace.

Starting over.

Yes. And it's it's scary
and it's exciting.

And literally, you get to decide who

who you're going to be,
what you're going to do.

And I love meeting people

that are in that moment
in where they were.

They know in their honest
and they're like, oh, I've started over.

You know, it's it's exciting.

I mean, it really, it really is exciting.

Who who believed in
you during that period?

I think I
a lot of people that believed in me.

Were, you know, just

I want to say, you know, most of my family

and a lot, of course.

I think my, my dad, my mom,

they've really believed.

And just doing what

you have to do to get
where you want to be.

And that was, I always knew that the path

that was for me was going to be more,
you know, different than what I planned.

Right.

Was there a plan? What?

Was there something that kept you moving?

Because I know there's there's obstacles.

There's always all obstacles
and roadblocks or what have you.

Yeah, there's always setbacks.

That's part of life.

There's always going to be,
you know, bumps on the road and there.

That's just something
that you have to, like, go through

and you have to persevere.

So for me, my mindset was always moving.

Keep going.

Don't give up.

And the most important thing
was for me, my

my thing that helped me was consistency.

Yeah. Mr..

Plane self-control. If you don't.

My motivation. Yes.

Yeah.

I've got a motivation board right out

and behind the camera, behind the computer
screens, and right across

it is in big red letters, consistency
and that kind of momentum.

Just it.

It in life finances, investments.

It's it's it's just it grows.

You know the payoff is you know
it's long term short term it's there.

Yeah.

And that's what has helped me
because every I told myself

like there are certain like mottos
that I go by and one of them is

the decisions you make
today will affect your tomorrow.

Your what you're doing today
will be your tomorrow.

That's it.

Do you do you think you'd

be the Realtor you are today without going
through those experiences?

No, I don't think I would be

the same person
if I didn't go through those experiences.

I'm more just more.

I've gained more knowledge and more.

I guess I've taught myself about life more

because those experiences have taught me,

you know, about, I guess, perseverance

and about what you want in life.

Because when it comes down to it,
you have to have a strong foundation

of what you believe in, right?

So if I go through that, I would not be
the same person that I am right now.

Right. So.

So why real estate?

I chose real estate because I want to make
a difference in people's lives.

I want to have a career that's,

you know, more fulfilling
and that helps people.

That is a big thing for me.

Do you remember your
your very first transaction?

Yes I do.

So clinical.

What what was it about that client?

Was it helping them buy a home
or helping them sell a home?

And what was it about that client
that's that stood out to you?

What stood out to me was that
I guess you have to.

Helping
the client has always been a good thing,

but in every transaction,
there's always something that may come up.

Because in real estate, things
don't always go as planned.

So there were issues and there were little

harder.

It was a it was a harder first transaction
to go, but it taught me so much.

It wasn't a smooth selling transaction

or, you know, it was one that it helped me

grow and learn more about the real estate
business.

Yeah.

Always, always,
always champion to homebuyers.

Your team is your real estate agent,

your mortgage
loan officer and your insurance agent.

And between the three of them,
there is a solution.

Was there something
was there something that scared you

when you first became a Realtor?

Well, I guess

nothing really scared me when I first
became a Realtor,

but there is things that kind of bothered
me where, you know, when you have a deal,

and then all of a sudden
the deal starts falling apart

and you're just like,
how do I make this deal not fall apart?

Yeah, yeah.

The the scariest one on me is whenever
someone goes and hey, I just bought a car,

so that becomes a stable loan deal.

Anyway, it's, it's,
you know, I've, I've learned

that's in my initial conversation is going

no new transactions, no new credit cards,
none of that good stuff.

So to hold office, we're
we're on a mission to get a home. So.

So what does handing
someone their keys mean to you?

I think it means to me

that I'm helping them make a big decision.

And like, I'm helping them with their,
I guess, their choice, their life there.

It's important

because they spent they're going to spend
so much time in their home.

That's where you know, their family,
their it's personal.

So for me, buying a home is personal.

It is is there is there something

in that experience that connects
with you on a on a heart level?

I think it's you know, like I said, it's

where I know that I'm helping them.

And their big decision that

to make the best decision
because everybody's different.

Everybody wants something different
in a home is you want to feel good

in your home because your home is
you want to feel safe.

You want to feel, you know,

you want to feel like comfortable
because that's where you live.

Yeah.

So like for me, the it's like,
you know, it's making them happy.

Yeah.

Well let's explore that a little bit.

You've talked about in your bio
what home is in in

you described it in, in like
in four different terms about security

and independence
a fresh start and foundation.

Can you go deeper in that.

Which one of those means the most to you?

Well, security is of course important,

and having a strong foundation
and just having like

that peaceful environment, that peaceful
atmosphere, that's important.

So I think the most important

I would think is stability.

Having that stable, you know, home.

And so where you can come,
you go outside the world, you have a place

to go back to where you feel safe,
you feel comfortable, you feel peaceful.

And that's important.

People need that. What

you know, everybody needs that.

Yeah.

So on the side
it can be it's it's numbers and documents.

Right.

Not very exciting. But you're right there.

See if you can capture this for me
when you walk into a home

with a buyer and and,
and and you get to see the

this is it moment
when they realize this is the one.

What can you describe that for me

or in or the audience?

Okay.

When I, I'm
thinking of the first time I had a,

I was with my buyer, a client,
and we went to go look at a home.

It was at an open house,
and it was a unique home.

So you never know. Everybody's different.

Everybody has a different
personal preference of what they like.

And it was an older home. It had no hope.

So I didn't know what if this
if they would like the home or not.

But their face lit up.

They were like they looked at this home
and they were looking around

and they were like, oh, I like this home.

I can see,
I can see my furniture right here.

I can put this right here.

And so that felt so like, you know, good.

Because they really liked the whole.

And you know,
sometimes you don't always have

that where someone can say
look at a home and they're like, okay.

And they're not very interested.

But that feeling is just like pure
like joy, like, oh, okay, this is

this is I can see myself here,
I can see myself living here.

And I think that's that's so good.

Yeah.

I imagine
it's exciting to start seeing the vision,

casting their future
and their goals and dreams.

Yeah, yeah, I try to get some of that
in the conversations

I have with them on the
lending side. But you know,

it's yeah, you're on the fun side of it.

I'm on the, the numbers. It's all. Right.

Side, not Dallas.

I'm not jealous.

Have you ever had.

I don't know what
maybe an emotional closing is that or.

Yeah.

Let's say you go in
and you go into closing your title company

and buyers are right there, is there?

I think I guess
I'm thinking maybe first time home buyers,

but there could be lots
of different scenarios there where we're

realizing
homeownership is it's really powerful.

It is.

And it's extremely emotional
because I've worked with first time

homebuyers where they thought
that they would not be able to buy a home.

And so,

there's so many different programs.

There's
there's so many different incentives.

And getting more knowledgeable as a
Realtor is so important

because the more you know,
you're able to help your client

and they're thinking, oh, I can't do this
or I can't do that, but there is a way

to make it happen.

And I think that's the emotional side.

When I feel like I can actually help
someone that thought

that it wasn't possible
that they wouldn't be able to buy a home.

I think that's, you know,
that makes you feel more

just more thankful that

for what you can do to help them
because they're trying to,

you know, look to you for answers
and for options and for,

you know, what they can do
and what's possible,

and just giving them that information
and guiding them.

Yeah.

It's I think that's powerful
because it helps.

It's helping them and helping their life
and helping them build

a, you know, a life in a home
that they're going to live at.

And that's what's powerful for me, is it

makes you realize
that a home is not just material,

but it's also something
that someone everybody needs.

Everybody needs a home
that's just part of, like having

you have to have that
for your well-being overall.

So I think it's powerful
to help people buy a home.

And it gets that more powerful.

It helps them. Yeah.

So you and your

you're a successful Realtor, you're
thriving.

Somebody comes to you and they're like,
hey, I'm, I'm, I'm looking to buy a home.

Have you ever seen them?

And maybe they remind you of your journey.

Or maybe they're maybe they're like 5
or 6 months behind back in your

where you were or years back
where you were.

And seeing them in that journey,
has that reminded you of yourself

been a connection point with them?

Yeah, so many times
there are people that I've met

and they tell me their story, you know,
and they're looking to buy a home

they've been renting for so many years.

And I think that, you know, I it where I,

you know, was at and where I,

you know, felt the same way as they do.

And so you understand how they feel.

You understand
like what they're going through.

You understand their questions like,
how can I make this happen?

So I definitely can relate.

Nice.

Hey, so let's talk about San Antonio,
the community that you serve.

Tell me about it.

I don't know why. I'll try to narrow.

Well, I just I love San Antonio.

I grew here most of my life.

The people here are so warm.

They've always been so welcoming.

I moved here as a child,
so I lived here almost all my life.

And it's so diverse here.

There's so many different areas here
in San Antonio, different sides of towns.

And I just want to be able to connect
more to my community,

to help people to understand, like what
they're looking for, their options.

And San Antonio has grown so much.

It's a military city.

Yeah.

And there's military families.

There's a lot of new developments.

There's a lot of culture here.

There's been there's families here
that have been here for generations.

There's so much here.

And it's grown. So it's grown so much.

And it's definitely an a positive
direction because it keeps growing.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

When I was, when I was stationed there
to the Army, you got Air Force bases.

And then, you know, outside of that
you are

the sea world there.

Oh, yeah. There.

So you, you obviously you decided

to stay in and set up
your real estate business in San Antonio.

What are some

some misunderstandings or things outsiders
might not know about the area?

I think there is the area is very

it is a city,

but there's so much
there's so many beautiful parks here.

There's the River Walk,
there's the downtown area

that's thriving, it's grown,

and there's so many other different areas

for people to choose from to live,
you know, different sides of towns.

And I think the people probably don't see
San Antonio always.

They probably see it in one way.

But there's so much more to San Antonio.

There's beautiful parks, there's

Fiesta Texas, there's downtown,
there's the River Walk, there's

there's a few lakes, there's nature parks,

and just a lot of culture,
a lot of different things to do here.

There's always something to do.

There's beautiful areas here

that have history and historical homes.

I, I just there's so much here.

I think people don't realize that.

I guess
because sometimes you just look at,

you know, a certain area,
but there's so much more.

So much more. You.

One of the things so

down on that River Walk one
is there's all the, the historic churches

from the missions back
when the Spaniards and and Texas history,

those in itself are beautiful
and totally worth going on.

Those tours, I discovered.

I can't think of the name of it,
but there's a theater down there,

like Broadway show theater quality.

What's the Majestic?

That's it, the Majestic.

I saw The King and I there.

Oh, nice. Yeah. Oh, it was amazing.

It was amazing. And anyway,
they were it was.

I was like, there's so much to do

in San Antonio proper.

And then outside of it,
you could really fill up

your calendar if you move to San Antonio.

There's a lot to do.

One of my favorite things is eating.

So let's talk about local
eats, your favorite restaurant

and what's on your top?

Top three.

Okay.

My top three that comes to my mind
that I've had

I probably want to save recently is.

I like the Haywire that's here at La
Cantera.

I had their chicken fajita plate

and it was very delicious.

I also like.

I do a lot of cooking at home, so.

But that would probably be my top one.

My second and third.

Oh, I'm not sure.

Do you have any restaurants
that you suggest here?

Gosh.

I guess The County Line.

Yeah, The County Line is one of them.

Okay.

That stands out down on the down
on the River Walk,

there is the
the famous Mexican restaurant there.

Gosh, you're gonna have to help me out.

La Mesa? Is that it? Is it?

How did you pronounce it?

Oh. Oh, I probably got it wrong.

It's been.

It's been at least a decade
since I've been.

So there's so many good
Mexican restaurants there.

It is, like, authentic.

And you're like,
oh my gosh, this is amazing.

But I you walk in and it's like walking

into a traditional Mexico,
what you might imagine.

And they had, they have a vendors area
where you could buy

traditional food
to take home, like groceries.

Right.

And then the restaurant,
I just line out the door, it's down.

It's down on the River Walk.
Somebody knows it.

I'm gonna I'm gonna get a bring up here

since we in the podcast and then.

Oh, well, that's the way

there's a lot of great restaurants,
a lot of great restaurants in San Antonio.

Let me let me try to save myself
from that.

Where are you taking people?

They call you and say, hey,
we're coming to San Antonio.

We want to move to San Antonio.

What are the destinations
you're definitely going to take them to

when visiting San Antonio for the first
time?

For the first time,
I would definitely take them to

downtown, the River Walk.

I would definitely take them to the Alamo.

I think that is the tower.

I love the tower.

You also brought up good ones the mission,

the missions that are here
and the churches.

There's beautiful
historic churches and homes.

I would definitely take them

to those areas to show what San Antonio is
about.

Yeah.

So Texas is experiencing a lot of growth.

One place
to move to and jobs and all of that.

What are you seeing in the community
that's changing?

I'm seeing that
that's changing in the community is that,

you know, people are looking for
they're more price conscious.

I, I, I suppose they're
looking more at the, the numbers now

and they're looking
at their interest rates.

So like before, you know,
you, you'd see buyers and they would come

and they would just be like you know,
whatever, just help me get home.

And now people are more looking at

numbers and, you know, incentives.

And in Texas it's it's growing so much.

People are still moving here
and it's going to keep growing.

And but I think the most important thing

is just the growth
and keeping it affordable for people.

Because like I said, that is a big point

where people are moving here
is for the Ford ability, for the culture,

for, you know, community, because Texas
is, you know, Texas is Texas.

It's supposed to be like,
oh, it's big and Texas and it's,

country and it's cowboy and it's but yeah,

I think a lot that's changing here
is that we are growing as a state.

In helping, you know, a lot of people,
not just a few,

but we want to help the people that I feel
like Texas tries to help everyone.

People that move here, people
that are not from here.

And so I think that's the biggest change
I've seen.

Yeah. Well it is it is the friendly state.

Yeah.

You know, for people outside of Texas,
if you don't know this,

if you're in school in Texas
and if you're a teacher

or you want to be a teacher,
they don't care if you go to

if you have a

degree or a masters,
you have to take Texas history,

before you can teach.

If you want to graduate,
you're getting Texas history and it

you know, and it's such it's
so rich, so rich.

And I don't know of anyone else.

They do that, you know, I don't know
of any other state that does that.

Sure. There's somebody but Texas.

I'd make the whole country study
Texas history.

All right,
so for you, if real estate wasn't enough,

you've decided
to pursue your doctorate, too?

Yes. Why?

I chose to pursue

my doctorate
because I'm a life I love to learn.

I want to keep learning as much as I can.

It helped me in my real estate career.

It's helped me in communication.

It's helped me grow as a person
personally and professionally.

So I guess I'm a student still.

But you know what?

I'm probably always going to be a student
because I just want to keep learning

as I can.

I think that's just,
I don't know, that's me personally.

I like to learn.

Yeah. So. So what are you studying?

Okay, so I'm getting a doctorate
in business administration.

Okay. Yay! Yes.

And it's a lot, a lot, a lot of work.

It's a lot of work.

A lot of learning,
a lot of reading, a lot of writing.

But I'm, you know, I'm loving it.

It's very.

It helps me.

It helps me also with real estate
because it's helping me,

you know, for my business,
for my personally.

And, but I, I just feel like

if you stop learning, you're not living.

You're just not living.

You're not going to live like the
the full,

fulfilling life that you want to live.

And I feel like knowledge is power.

That's what I've always thought.

Well, and it's
definitely going to have huge dividends

in your real estate business
as your teams grow and

and you start building out
all the systems, you have to

you have to have to

actually run a business, any business,
but certainly real estate.

Good for you.

Good for that's exciting.

I can't I just I know with having
a running a business, a real estate

business, running and then pursuing

a doctorate, you are you're on fire.

You're busy.

So, yeah.

So has your research in pursuing your doctor changed how you look at your clients?

It has

this class that I'm taking right now

has been a lot about.

Learning about people's

behavior and situations

and studying,
researching and observe observations

and so many different methods

of just learning how to research.

And I think that it's helped me

realize
that you have to look at every client

very carefully
and be a lot more detailed and a lot

not to be biased and not to assume,
but to really listen to them,

what they need
and what they're looking for.

So I'm to try to bring that back
to real estate.

Is home ownership still achievable
for an ordinary working family?

Yes it is.

It is achievable for a, you know,
working family.

I know that right now, like

the times are not always easy
for everybody.

And that's just, you know, it's
that's for just in general.

But it is achievable.

There is so many different incentives.

There's seller concessions.

There's sellers that are motivated to sell
that will give you incentives.

There's programs
that help you with down payments.

There's programs
that Texas has that the city has.

There's so many different options.

And I think that it's definitely
a cheaper.

Yeah.

On on the lender
side, the tools I have to be able to

get a, get a buyer to closing.

You know, first
you know we want to talk about,

you know, purchase price and the monthly
payment with that can look like.

And then the last thing
would be the cash close amount.

And sometimes that's a heavy lift.

Or borrower if they got to put it down
earnest money and down payment,

they don't know how much down payment
they need to put down.

So talking them through that,
it can be fantastic.

But then when I tell them
there's a an opportunity for the seller

to do a concession
and actually pay the closing cost,

that's when they

start to get real excited
about the lending side of it,

because between you and me
and putting that plan together.

So whenever you go make an offer and,
and to go with the seller's agent,

that tends to be a
that's an opportunity that can

that removes the closing cost.

Question. Yes.

Make it home. You know,

I do a lot of VA loans.

I do in in the borrower
the veteran or active duty

person is oftentimes getting their home
with zero cash out of pocket.

You know, and you know there you know,

there's the VA funding fee whether or not
they're exempt from that or not.

Or I'm writing them a check at closing
and they're like, what's that?

And I was like, that's the difference.

You don't, you know, I'm not. So happy.

Yeah.

And you know, and that happens
and that, that happens in traditional,

you know, you know, government
backed loans, FHA and conventional,

you know, being able
to leverage the value of the home,

the equity in

it and what the seller needs, because you
never know as a buyer.

You never know what the seller's needs are

beyond selling the home.

You don't know what their why is.

And so if they're willing to do that man

it's a win-win for everybody.

Yeah, it helps them in the long run.

All right.

So it's some general stuff.

Do buyers, when they come to you about
buying a home,

Do they are they automatically

are they in the mindset
that they have to bring 20% down? No.

I think they don't know.

Some assume
that they do have to put 20% down.

Some assume that, you know,
they don't know the programs.

They don't know.

Between loan programs such as
conventional, FHA, and VA,

they don't know.

You know, some just don't know at all.

And you have to guide them.

It's literally you're just, you know,
showing them and trying to help them.

And I think that's why
the relationship part

between Realtors and lenders is so
important.

Right.

So so one of the things I love doing is
building what I call clear mortgage plans.

And I'll,
I will talk to a potential buyer and,

and we'll lay out for them,

you know, whether it's in 30 days
or if it's a year or somewhere in between

that timeline of what it's going to take

for them to get them mortgage ready.

Yeah. Are there

tips that you have for,
let's say, buyers who

maybe they need 6 to 12 months
to get mortgage ready

to clean up a credit score
or saves for the down payment

or earnest money.

Yeah, there is some tips.

I think the the biggest tips
is to stay in close

contact with your Realtor and with the
lender.

The tip is of course always.

Sometimes it you have to be patient

and you have to just learn as you go

about what you need to do.

And so I think the biggest thing is just

helping them to be patient
and to guide them

to get into that place
where they're ready to buy the home.

Yeah.

Because
sometimes that takes a lot of time.

Not everybody I meet,
of course, is going to be ready.

Right.

So I mean, I know I'm in there.

And one of the things

I'll ask is I'll ask him, you know,
if they're renting, oftentimes they are.

that they're looking at buying.

And I'll find out that their rent for
the amount that they're paying in rent,

the home that they can buy

can be equal to or less.

And that and then on
then I'll start having this conversation.

Well, let's talk about equity capture
because you're paying your own mortgage.

And so,

you know, even if your rent, even if it's
even a little bit above your rent,

you're paying yourself back
and getting to show them that difference

is, is tends to be a huge win for them,
because they can see the long term

wealth accumulation, whereas

they're renting, they're getting
they're getting a roof over their head.

But that's it.

Yeah.
They're not getting nothing out of it.

They're just yeah, like you said,
they're have a roof over their head.

And I think that's another important thing

is just helping them
realize that home ownership is long term.

It's not temporary.

They're owning their home
and they're able to, you know,

like you said, build wealth.

Yeah. Tell me. All right. So

your name is Faith.

So I'm going to ask
what role does faith play in your life.

Well I faith is very important.

I believe in having faith.

And I

love to pray

and to like,
you know, that's important to me.

And so I just believe,
like you have to have a strong foundation

of what you believe in.

Also with your
just having morals, high standards

and that integrity to like,
keep, keep moving in the right direction.

And so faith is very important to me.

It's literally the foundation of my life.

I love it.

So if you're if you're not watching this,
if you're listening

to the podcast,
we have a guest that showed up.

Who? You.

Oh my God, that is my hot

princess.

Yeah, she.

He's clearly in charge and love.

She's she's.

If you can't see this
if you go to pop on YouTube.

Yeah.

Let's get that cat in love with you.

So I love it.

That's why we do these things.

We record and live.

Right. And so. Yes. Yeah,

that's a good cat.

Yeah.

Well, tell me,
do you think you think purpose

is something that you find
or something that you build?

Okay.

Purpose is something
that you have to build, I believe.

But in order to build it,
you have to find it.

So you do have to find your purpose first.

I believe, and so I believe that
once you realize your purpose,

it's just from there
you keep moving forward.

And so

I guess it is more you have to

you know what?

It's not fine. It's more
you realize your purpose.

What do you think?

Yeah.

What's your.

Realizing it?

Like I gotta say.

Okay. Nobody.

Nobody wakes up or is born thinking
they want to be a mortgage lender.

Nobody.

You find your way in through it, through
life's journey.

Yeah.

And then you realize it's a calling.

Yeah, yeah.

And that's I mean my story on that.

It's been on other podcast.

I'll keep it super, super short
but I, I went to

I was an Uber driver
after I got out of the Army.

Didn't know what I wanted to do. So.

I need money to work. So I was a driver.

I ended up doing that for like three
and a half years and it was a lot of fun.

I met so many meet people.

One of my last passengers owned bank
and with a very long ride,

and when I dropped him off,
he lived across the street from Tony Romo.

There's a Tony Romo plug. Oh yeah.

And he goes deep. He goes, Nate,
you got to get hit on your shoulder.

You should go get your mortgage license.

Come work with me. I'm like what?

And that was it.

I had no idea how to go learn how to spell
mortgage.

It's got two G's.

There's a there's a T in there anyway.

And that's almost seven years now.

And and it's so weird.

I knew a lot about real estate.

Real estate investing.

I was big on that and still am. And.

But the mortgage, it just never registered
to me as a profession.

And then and there it was.

And I jumped at it.

And then when I closed my first loan,

the excitement there, I knew I was hooked,
I was hooked, I mean, what I was doing

for that particular family in that moment,
I was hooked.

So, yeah.

Finds it, finds you.

We're running out of time.

So I'm going to I'm going to fire off
rapid fire questions for you just to.

This will be fun.

Morning workouts or evening workouts?

Oh, man.

Afternoon.

Okay.

Evening.

Okay. Weights or cardio?

Oh, cardio.

All right. Coffee or an energy drink?

Coffee? Coffee. Good.

How do you take it? Black? Cream?

Got a special way of. Doing it.

Black and white. Cream. Cream.

All right.

Tacos or barbecue?

Oh, barbecue. Yeah,

yeah.

Heels or sneakers?

Sneakers.

All right.

New construction or historic homes?

Historic homes. Yeah.

All right. City or country?

Country. Country.

All right.

Vacation wise.

Beaches or mountains?

Beaches. Books or podcasts?

Books. Books.

I won't be offended.

All right. Early bird or night owl?

Early bird.

All right.

What's your dream vacation?

Let's see.

Dream vacation would be.

I don't know.

Maybe going to somewhere different.

Such as? Like Thailand or.

What's that other beautiful beach?

Tahiti? Yes.

Yeah, that's on the list.

All right.

We've mentioned earlier,
but a favorite Texas

restaurant, hands down the number one.

Number one.

Favorite Texas restaurant?

Oh, man, that's a hard one.

I can't think of why. Off the bat.

So, any for you?

Oh, gosh. Well,

my go to default is Texas Roadhouse. But.

Oh, I.

Do like Texas Roadhouse.

I love their roles.

Yeah, I just love a good steak.

Yeah. That one. Meat, seafood.

That's up in Dallas.
Anyway, that's a good one.

Let's
see what's always playing in your car.

Let's see.

I mostly listen to a few podcasts.

I listened to some soft country music.

Just all types of music.

I listened to everything,
so I listened to oldies.

I listened to classic rock.

Everything. Variety.

All right.

What's the most controversial real estate
opinion you have?

Oh, controversial.

Oh. Let's see,
I think that okay, so I probably

and I don't
I don't know if I should say this, but I,

I don't know, maybe I shouldn't say that,
but I think that my most it's opinion.

Right. Okay. Okay. Just an opinion. Okay.

And is

that a
lot of people look at the interest rates.

And I feel like the interest rates,
they do matter,

but I don't think they matter as much as,

you know, as people have put on it.

But that's just my opinion. Like I said.

I second that opinion in yeah, I do,
and it's a good lender

having a plan for that in the future
and understanding

that the acquisition of the property
is the paramount key thing.

Period.

Everything else after that, you know,
you know,

we've all heard the thing date the rate,
marry the house, that's all.

Yeah, I.

100%.

We're out of time.

So look how how is the best way

for somebody to connect with you?

The best way is to.

They can directly message me,
email me, call me.

I'm always on my phone.

So that is the most best way.

All right, I'll put those links
wherever you're consuming this.

Yeah.

Those links will be down below.

Last question, Faith.

We spend our careers helping
people get through the front door.

But what do you believe
actually turns a house into a home?

I think what actually turns a house into a
home is,

you know, the people that your family,
the love, the

the peace, the safety.

And, you know, just having that security

that everybody needs
and that, you know, having that

open where you can feel safe
and be yourself,

and that's
what turns your house into a home

is just, you know, making it

your own, making it your own home.

I love it. Thank you, Faith.

Everybody.

This has been another episode of Between
Two Doors.

Faith.

Real estate agent, excellent real estate
agent down in San Antonio, Texas.

If you're looking to buy or sell a home,
please reach out to her.

And if you want to talk finances and get a
clear mortgage plan, I'm

Nate Carver, Your Favorite Mortgage Guy,
and host of Between Two Doors.

Look forward to seeing you again.

We'll do some more podcasts.

Thank you, guys.
Thank you so much, Nate. Have a good one.