Mortgage Matters

Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a kunv 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. I'm Roland Daniels, and I am here this beautiful morning with my co host. Heidi Griffith,

Heidi Griffith 0:49
good morning.

Roland Daniels 0:50
How are you today? I

Heidi Griffith 0:51
am good. How about yourself?

Roland Daniels 0:53
I am awesome. Together, we're excited to share our knowledge, our experience and tips to help you navigate the world of real estate and mortgages with confidence.

Heidi Griffith 1:04
Oh good morning, everyone. I am. Heidi Griffith with Geneva financial NMLS number 2247754, we just want to give a special shout out today. Happy Grandparents Day to all the amazing grandparents in the valley, whether you're looking to leave a legacy or building your financial future, we're here to guide you every step of the way.

Roland Daniels 1:29
So we just want to do a quick introduction. I'm Roland Daniels, born and raised right here in Las Vegas, 890, 106, I have about 18 years of experience in the mortgage industry, a seasoned financial expert and coach specializing in real estate finance and wealth building strategies. Heidi, would you like to do a quick introduction of yourself? Absolutely.

Heidi Griffith 1:52
I am also born and raised in Vegas, 890, 104, went to the old Vegas high I'll age myself. I'm going to age myself, but, yeah, I have actually been in Las Vegas my entire life. I started out in the casino industry. Decided that wasn't for me about 10 years in and in 1997 thanks to you, actually, right. I started my career in real estate.

Roland Daniels 2:21
I did introduce you to the world of real estate. I

Heidi Griffith 2:24
know. Thank you. You're welcome. Quick. Thank you to you. And what about you? How long have you been in the mortgage business? RO, so

Roland Daniels 2:31
actually, I started in the real estate I used to be a real estate agent, started in the 1990s all the way through 2000 and then I decided to enter the world of mortgages. So in 2005 I was licensed mortgage originator, and I've been licensed ever since,

Heidi Griffith 2:50
wow, that's a long time.

Roland Daniels 2:52
And how long have you been with Geneva now? And how long have you been with me?

Heidi Griffith 2:56
So I was actually a realtor. When Roland talked me into getting into real estate. I got my real estate license in 1997 I was in real estate through a lot of things. In the valley, right? We saw crashes, we saw market comebacks. We saw good, bad and ugly. And I thought I was going to retire. I thought I was going to retire about it was about 2020, right? So covid hit, and covid hit was taking care of the folks, and I thought I was gonna hang up my hat and retire, and you got swamped, because covid did something strange in the real estate market, didn't it? I mean, we thought that no one was going to buy a house, and then all of a sudden, people were lined up 20 and 30 deep just to look at a house

Roland Daniels 3:41
that is correct, covid created a monster. It did in the industry. Who would have ever thought that during covid, during the lockdown, that home prices would increase 25% year over year for 2020 2021, going into 2022

Heidi Griffith 4:00
craziness? It is, yeah, absolutely amazing. So at that point you were busy. You were busy, and I said, Well, let me come help you out a little bit. And that's where we were. I got licensed. We've been with Geneva financial a little bit over a year. I think it was year March, right? Just over a year. Phenomenal company. Yep, they support everything that we do here. Great support for the community as well, and great they actually have a great motto. The company motto really was like one of those things that I loved from the second I met Aaron. That's the owner of the company. It's be a good human,

Roland Daniels 4:37
yep. First and foremost, be a good human truly the way we live, too, right? That is correct. Great. So over the years, it's the privilege of partnering with some of the brightest minds in finance is how we came together. So we work with financial planners, accountants, estate attorneys, insurance agents. And our community partners. So we are on a mission to simplify or simplify the complex, to turn financial jargon into everyday language, to empower you to make informed decisions that will secure your own financial future. Heidi, can you tell us some stories of different clients that we've helped over the years.

Heidi Griffith 5:24
Yeah, we just have so many so a great one that comes to mind. So we had a gentleman who is a gig worker. He's an Uber driver and a Lyft driver. He came to us originally we were offering down payment assistance programs. We actually teach several Down Payment Assistance classes throughout the month, but he'd come to us because he was looking at Down Payment Assistance, his credit needed some work.

Roland Daniels 5:51
And this was about three years ago. It was, it was his credit

Heidi Griffith 5:55
needed some work. And so we sat down with him, kind of went over what could be done and what he should do. And one of the things we like to do with our clients is let them know that we are there every step the way, regardless of how long it takes. The only thing that we ask in return is that that they be there for them, right? That is correct. I mean, as long as you show up, we're showing up. So we worked with him for quite a while. He got his credit, not only to just where it needed to be, but he actually got his credit way up. He had good credit by the time we were able to get him into a home. And now he's in a home, and he's actually thinking about investment properties now, right? He

Roland Daniels 6:37
is, and it is one of our, probably the most successful stories that we have working with a client for over three years getting his credit straight. So it doesn't mean that you're you will need three years to get your credit straight. Maybe it only take you 30 days or 60 days. But we work with clients month to month, year in and year out. So if you're going to help yourself, we are there every step of the way to help you achieve the dream of homeownership. Absolutely.

Heidi Griffith 7:09
Yeah, we actually just had the gal that called me the other day. She called we worked on her credit 30 days. She just had to pay a few of her low balance or a few of her high balance cards down just a bit. I think she spent maybe 500 bucks, and we got the five points we needed to make her eligible to purchase a home. So, yeah, we're getting her out in the car with her realtor now, and she's gonna go find a house. It's pretty exciting. It

Roland Daniels 7:37
is exciting. It's exciting when you get to see families who have never believed that they could buy a home, we have so many people that we talk to in the community, and they really don't understand the importance of being a homeowner, believing that they can purchase a home, and a lot of times, we have to change their mindset. They feel that they're not worthy of owning their own home. So we have a lot of work to do at the beginning stages, middle stages and at the end stages, but with us, there's really no end stage. We are here with you year after year. We're not like other mortgage professionals Once the transaction closes, and then you never hear from from us again. So we are here every step of the way, whether it's one year, five years or 30 years,

Heidi Griffith 8:32
absolutely, absolutely. And so I know that we were talking about first time homebuyers here, but that's not all that we work with, right? We do Down Payment Assistance classes, our our goal, like Roland just said, is to get as many people into homes as possible. You deserve to be a homeowner. We were talking about numbers earlier today, and about what people pay yearly. You know, every three years, every five years in rent. And those numbers really, when you hear them, they're very astonishing. Do you remember if you were paying, let's just say, $2,200 a month, right? Maybe even less than that. Give us, give us a number Roland.

Roland Daniels 9:11
So let's say your current rent is $1,800 a month. So over a course of a year, that's just around $21,600 Wow. And let's say if you've been paying it for three years now you're looking at, you've given the landlord $64,800 well, maybe your rent is $2,200 and we're seeing that often now. So you're looking at $26,400 a year. So just over three years, you'd have given your landlord $79,200

Heidi Griffith 9:46
so almost $80,000

Roland Daniels 9:48
yes, $80,000 in rent that you could have been paying towards your own mortgage building the process of building equity, and now you have something that. You own that could be worth anywhere from, you know, 600,000 to a million dollars, depending on how long you keep

Heidi Griffith 10:07
the property. Because the goal is generational wealth, because there's been studies done right that homeowners have the most wealth.

Roland Daniels 10:15
That is correct, and that's due to the equity built in the property year over year, as prices increase and as you're making your monthly mortgage payment, your mortgage is being decreased. So the property say, if you bought purchased a home at 400,005 years, it could be worth 454 60 or 470 where else can you purchase an asset or control an asset that is worth, say, 400,000 and you only need to put three and a half percent down? It's

Heidi Griffith 10:50
crazy. It really, I mean, people really don't stop and think about that in a lot of instances. And I think that's a great point. And then there's investment properties, right? Because now we've built a portfolio. Maybe, yeah, so

Roland Daniels 11:03
maybe you bought that first purchase five years ago, and you have $30,000 of equity. Well, maybe you're looking to buy a second property. You can pull the equity out of that first and buy another property. And if you do that, buy a property maybe every two to five years. By the time you retire, you have enough residual income coming in to support your retirement, or maybe you want to pay for your children's education or or donate money to your favorite charity. The name of the game is to have options and choices.

Heidi Griffith 11:37
Absolutely so if someone wanted to call us to find out more information. What would they do? They

Roland Daniels 11:44
may they can give us a call or text us. We're with Geneva financial. I'm Roland, Daniels, my co host, Heidi Griffith, and that number is 702-210-2057

Heidi Griffith 11:59
that again, is 702-210-2057 cool. So let's talk about what we do in the community, and maybe, you know, given a kind of update on what our classes look like. So if you are a first time homebuyer and and by definition, first time homebuyer in the mortgage world actually means that you haven't purchased a home, you haven't been on a deed within the last three years. So if you owned a home five years ago, you no longer own it. You're actually considered a first time homebuyer. But Roland and I actually have a class coming up, right? Roland,

Roland Daniels 12:39
it is. It's scheduled for September the seventh. We do first time homebuyer classes or workshops on the first Saturday of every month.

Heidi Griffith 12:48
Yeah, and that is located at 555, North Maryland Parkway. It is hosted alongside HUD, certified nonprofit CPLC. And that class is from 830 it starts at 830 right,

Roland Daniels 13:03
830 and we're usually done. It'll say on the flyer or the information at three, but we're usually done by 230 Absolutely.

Heidi Griffith 13:09
And it really, in my opinion, coming from the real estate side of the of the spectrum. When we talk about it, it really is probably the best class out there. It is an intensive class, but you learn from A to Z what it takes to be a homeowner. They talk about budgeting, they talk about homeowners insurance, they talk about home inspections, mortgages. Roland does the mortgage portion of that class. You meet with a realtor, and at the very end of the class, you actually get a certificate that is good for various down payment assistance programs, including the wish program. Wish is a five, excuse me, a four to one match. So if you've got $7,500 in your checking or savings account and you qualify for this program, they'll give you up to what 30,000 up to $30,000 in assistance. And you can use that toward your down payment. You can use that towards your closing cost. We can do a principal reduction, bringing your mortgage payment down.

Roland Daniels 14:15
And sometimes we're able to what's called stacking. We're able to utilize one program with another program. So we can utilize the wish program and down payment assistance, and there's a possibility that you can get up to $50,000 and you can use that for the closing cost down payment, and whatever's left over goes towards the principal reduction. So

Heidi Griffith 14:38
if you ever stopped and thought, you know, I'll never be able to save the money for the down payment. How am I going to do that? This could potentially be a game changer, right? It

Roland Daniels 14:50
could be Most definitely. So, just like Heidi was stating in the class, it's more than just the down payment class, we go over budgeting. Credit preparedness, housing affordability, renting versus owning, understanding mortgages, what the down payment assistance programs provide, understanding homeownership, avoiding foreclosure, and mapping out your plan for your own home ownership. Our goal is to make you the most successful homeowner possible.

Heidi Griffith 15:24
That is correct. That is correct. So if they'd like to sign up for the class, they can reach us by calling 702-210-2057,

you can call us or Texas if that's what you'd like to do, I highly suggest looking into that class. If that's you know, something that you've been thinking about but you are unsure how to move forward.

Roland Daniels 15:53
There will be tips on improving your credit, the home buying process and so much more. Discover the keys to building generational wealth through real estate and gain the valuable insights we will cover the home loan process and the who's who. There will be a licensed mortgage professional, there will be realtor, home inspector, title insurance agent to answer all of your burning questions. But how should you prepare for this? What do you bring? All we ask is you bring an open mind, a desire to learn and a willingness to engage. Everything else is provided for you. Lunch is on us. Absolutely

Heidi Griffith 16:34
we look forward to seeing you there that Sunday's coming quick, right? It is, excuse me, that's that's next Saturday, September

Roland Daniels 16:42
the seventh, and we start at 830 doors usually open around 820

Heidi Griffith 16:49
and like Roland said, we try and get you out of there early,

Roland Daniels 16:51
if at all possible. But with this particular class or workshop, it makes you eligible for all of the down payment assistance programs that are available within the state of Nevada right now, we probably offer 15 or 16, yeah, 16 different down payment assistance programs. Who else out there are in the community we're providing the classes and the workshops we're trying to make sure that the information is out there. Yeah, absolutely,

Heidi Griffith 17:26
absolutely. And this is all free, by the way, there is no cost. And even when we're working with folks to get their credit where it needs to be to qualify for these programs or for mortgages as a whole, right? There is no cost for that either. We actually work with the same nonprofit that we teach the class with, right? CPLC, yes, and they actually will help you, step by step with fixing your credit. You know, repairing your credit. So I know that there's a lot of you know, credit repair services and debt consolidation services, I highly recommend looking into that first, saving the dollars, perhaps, if that works for you, and if you're willing to do a little bit of work, it may not be as daunting as you think. The only thing that they charge for, I think they charge 25 bucks, and that's for a soft credit pull, right?

Roland Daniels 18:19
That is correct, just $25 per person, right for the Soft Pool, and that's just their expense, yeah,

Heidi Griffith 18:27
because that's what it costs them to pull credit. So So now that we've talked about the down payment assistance classes, what else do you what do you see happening in the market right now?

Roland Daniels 18:38
It looks like inventories increasing, but

Heidi Griffith 18:41
not a lot, right? Because I I actually looked at numbers from where we were last month to this month. So we've got how many, two and a half million people in the valley, over two and a half. So we're making our way towards the 3 million mark, and right now in the Las Vegas in the Greater Las Vegas Valley. So that's Vegas, that's North Las Vegas, that's Henderson. There was just under, I want to say it was like 6800 homes available, and that was all homes. So that was, you know, single family residences, townhomes, condos, stuff like that. There's less than 7000 homes still available in this market. But it's kind of strange, though, right? Because there's not a lot of buyers out there right

Roland Daniels 19:26
now. Well, the buyers are on the sidelines, so whatever that interest rate looks like. So the Fed last week announced they're going to start the lower interest rates. Well, we don't know how much, yet they're predicting a quarter of a percent interest rate. We don't know the next meeting is scheduled in September, so we'll see if it happens in September. If it doesn't happen in September, then we're looking at the following meeting right after the election, right around November. 6, November the seventh. No. Yeah.

Heidi Griffith 20:00
So that's, I mean, when the Fed speaks, we listen, right? It's not directly tied to mortgage rates, is it? But, but when the Feds speak, we listen, because that's, that's kind of the direction that that the economy is going in as a whole, right? And so interest rates by by 2020, standards, right? Because, I mean, we talk to people all the time that are sitting on two and a half percent, three and a half percent interest rates, the reason why inventory is so low, that's one of the key factors. If you have an interest rate on your property under 3% or even at 3% and unless you have to move, why would

Roland Daniels 20:40
you sell right now? Yeah, you don't. You're not willing to give up that, and you're smart.

Heidi Griffith 20:45
You shouldn't, you know unless, unless there's a need, unless you know you have to move out of state. You're downsizing. You need to move into a single level property, whatever that looks like to you. That's not a that's not a silly move, that's a smart move, right? But there's a lot of people that are taking opportunities with rates where they are right now and like, that's why I think we continue to go back to that first time homebuyer and, you know, the down payment assistance and stuff, because that's not all that we do. However, right now, we're utilizing the market where it's at to help folks get into homes, because they're not lined up four and five deep. So if interest rates drop, what are your thoughts? Roland, if interest rates let's whatever that magic number is, because nobody knows where they're going to go and where they're going to land. But I know that the folks that are waiting that are saying, I'm not buying now, because interest rates are Don't you think that there is a number? I mean, do you know what that number is? I

Roland Daniels 21:42
don't know what that number is, but there is a magic number, whether they want to see fives, mentally, low sixes or maybe fours. But when that does happen, all of the people who are on the sidelines waiting to buy will jump into the market, right,

Heidi Griffith 21:58
right? And so if you're a first time homebuyer, and you know, and you don't have a lot of funds for down payment assistance, or, excuse me, not for down payment assistance, but for down payment. You don't have all those funds that are just lingering around. You don't have spare change that you can throw at a mortgage or that you can't that you can throw at a down payment. There's a situation that, if we find ourselves in even a similar situation to what we saw in 2020, now we're competing with others for our property. And I know you and I have had conversations with a lot of people about this, right. People are paying above list price. But not only were they doing that, they were waiving the appraisal contingency, meaning, if the appraisal came in 1020, 30, $100,000 less than what you'd offered on the property. They were willing to waive that and pay in cash the additional amount between what the home was valued at and what you offer. And there's a lot of people that can't afford to do that. You know, not everybody's walking around with wads of cash in their pocket or the

Roland Daniels 23:01
extra funds to go in above and beyond the appraised value. Is it above? Yes, and making offers based on so like in 2020, home prices say they were going for 350 some people are offering $400,000 $50,000 above appraised value, and willing to pay that in cash, right? Right? Because you have to come to the table with that additional funds yourself. They won't give you financing for anything above the appraised value. No,

Heidi Griffith 23:28
no, the bank wants to make sure that what they're lending on is what the property is worth,

Roland Daniels 23:34
correct? So when it comes to Las Vegas, along with us being the entertainment capital of the world, we are soon we will be considered the sports entertainment capital of the world as well. You are right. So Formula One is here now. They signed a 10 year contract. We're going on year two. We've

Heidi Griffith 23:55
got to get tickets. Uh,

Roland Daniels 23:58
those tickets are very expensive. Uh, we have, of course, we have our Golden Knights here. We have the Las Vegas Raiders. We have the A's here. Now. We have the Aces here. The Aces, yes, back to back, champions. They are killers. Yes, I love it. And then the new NBA call, I guess the bargaining contract, or the new television contract, was just signed. And I'm pretty sure we are in the running for a NBA team, and it will probably be, I don't know, announced sometime in 2025

Heidi Griffith 24:41
so do you think LeBron has anything to do with that?

Roland Daniels 24:44
I think so. I think he's part of an ownership group that is building an arena right now.

Heidi Griffith 24:50
Ooh, that would be so much fun. But again, and that's what he's talking about, but I'm excited, because I love basketball, but that would be a. Way to bring more people into the valley, right? And what does that do when we bring more people into the valley

Roland Daniels 25:06
with a limited number of homes?

Heidi Griffith 25:09
So could prices go up? Yes. Do we have a crystal ball? No, we do not. Our crystal ball broke. It's broken. We don't have a crystal ball. It's like when people say, What? What are rates going to do based on all of the indicators, right? They're gonna, they're gonna come down when we don't know. Hopefully, you know he, he speaks in a language that the market responds well to and for the mortgage end of things, not necessarily for investment end of things, but he's told us that we're no longer in danger with inflation, right?

Roland Daniels 25:44
He did say that, Pal is a smart guy. And I want to tell all of the listeners out there, and I tell all of our clients, it's not me, it's not you, it's the market. Market is always right. Market is always right. That's right. Oh, and don't forget, we have on board, maybe slated, two studios, film studios, two film studios. I know they announced. I think it is paramount.

Heidi Griffith 26:14
I think Sony. And I'm not sure who the other I know Sony was one of them. I was actually speaking to someone that's in production the other day, and I know that they're working on something with tax credits, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. I know that they've got the parcels right. I know that there's that spot right there in Summerlin on Town Center, and I believe that's Flamingo. And then there's a space over there off of sunset. I

Roland Daniels 26:41
think it's sunset and Durango and Durango, yeah, sunset and Durango by the Harry Reid center, the

Heidi Griffith 26:50
UN Yeah, it's actually UNLV. It is. That is UNLV, yeah.

Roland Daniels 26:53
So with all of the construction, all of the development, that's only going to make our prices here increase. And then, of course, we have a lot of people moving here, especially from California, due to the fact of wildfires and flooding and not being able to insure their properties.

Heidi Griffith 27:15
That's happening. There's insurance companies that are pulling out of California and Florida, but specifically California right now, because of fires, we actually had a client that closed in California, and her fire insurance was outrageous,

Roland Daniels 27:31
absolutely outrageous, and we were only able to find one insurance carrier to cover the property. Yeah, because the big guys pulled out, right they did. I know a few of the major insurance companies are no longer writing policies here or there in California.

Heidi Griffith 27:46
So I'm excited to be here. What about you?

Roland Daniels 27:50
I am so excited to be here, and just wanted to let our listeners know that homeownership matters. It is the cornerstone of building stability, creating roots and fostering that generational wealth within our communities. Owning a home provides security, pride and a place to call your own, shaping the foundation of a brighter future for you and your loved ones.

Heidi Griffith 28:18
That is awesome. If anybody has any questions, please feel free to reach out. We are at 210, excuse me, 702-210-2057. So we did our first show now. So what do you think it's gonna look like moving forward? Roland, I know that we're gonna talk about mortgages, obviously, because mortgages matter, right?

Roland Daniels 28:40
Mortgages matter, but it's more than just mortgages. We'll be talking about money, talking about your own financial economy, financial literacy,

Heidi Griffith 28:51
yeah, because you actually are part of what is it? Borrow smart.

Roland Daniels 28:57
It is the borrow smart University where we will teach you how to borrow smart and repay smart. You definitely deserve this. Let's make it happen together with my co host, Heidi Griffith, I'm Roland Daniels with Geneva financial, like she said, We can be reached at 702-210-2057, that's 702-210-2057

Heidi Griffith 29:26
have a great Sunday. You