Mortgage Matters

Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a KU NB 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 to

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,

Heidi Griffith 1:00
and I'm here this morning, as always, with my fantastic co host. Heidi Griffith, good morning. Heidi, well, good morning. Roland, how are you? I am doing awesome. Happy Sunday. Happy Sunday. You're always awesome. Yes. Glad to be here. Glad to be here as well. Good morning everyone. I am. Heidi Griffith, I'm also a mortgage advisor and your Director of Client Services. My animal s number is 2247754,

Roland Daniels 1:26
since we're finishing up this first week of June, we can't forget and mention that June is national homeownership month. It is right. This month's focus was created to recognize the impact homeownership has on our families, our neighborhoods and communities, and that's exactly what we're here about today,

Heidi Griffith 1:51
exactly, exactly, because the idea behind the national homeownership month, right? It started back in 2002 that was under President George W Bush's administration, and it was meant to highlight how important it is for people to have access to affordable, sustainable homeownership, and really it matters even more today. Don't you agree?

Roland Daniels 2:12
I agree. Wow, it's been 23 years. I know craziness.

Heidi Griffith 2:18
It matters and it matters more today, especially when so many people feel like the dream of home ownership is getting further and further out of reach.

Roland Daniels 2:26
That is right. So we see this all the time. People still want to buy, but between rising rents, between inflation, misinformation and fear, they think that it's out of reach, but the truth is, it's not out of reach. There are programs and there are options. That's exactly why we do what we do, right? Heidi,

Heidi Griffith 2:52
absolutely, 100% right. That is why we do what we do. Providing education and resources really is at the heart of what we're here for, because we believe people make the best decisions when they're truly informed and educated, and that's what makes us different. We just don't show up for the loan. We show up to make sure you understand the process, the options and what's possible, even after you move in. And speaking of that, we have a class coming up, don't we? We do? Yeah, this upcoming Tuesday, it's an online class, and it's with the Nevada housing division. It's our home is possible class, and that's Tuesday, June 10, from three to 4pm and it's only an hour. It's an hour. We usually spend an hour and a half online, so that if there's any questions after we do the entire class, we're there to answer them. There's always great questions, absolutely, right? Yeah. And these classes have really been filling up. I think people really enjoy that online platform, because, you know, wherever you are, as long as you're not driving by the right, but wherever you are, you can, you know, hop on Zoom. You can get educated. Find out all about the Nevada housing division down payment assistance programs, because they've got several. They do. They've got programs that are designed for first time homeowners. And remember, first time doesn't mean you've never owned before, does it? It

Roland Daniels 4:16
just means that you haven't owned a home, or if you've been on the deed for three years. Yeah.

Heidi Griffith 4:22
So if you haven't owned a home, or you haven't been on title or on a deed in the past three years, you are considered a first time homebuyer. Even if you owned a home four and a half years ago, you are eligible. So they've got first time homebuyer programs they do. Then we have the kind of flagship, the one that we work with the most home is possible because it kind of fits so many different people's situations. Yep, you don't have to be a first time home don't have to be a first time home buyer, you know. And here's a misconception that we hear a lot. A lot of people think that down payment programs are only available to people who don't make a lot of money, low income folks. We hear all. The time, because with home is possible. How much money can you earn a year to qualify up to $165,000 Wow. So you could make 165k and be eligible and use this program? Yes. And what's great about this one too, because it really helps folks, if you're if you're coming from out of state, let's say you had a house in California, right? You decided that you're going to move to Vegas. Taxes are too high for you in California, but maybe you want to hang on to that house because you've got a renter who might want to rent it. You can actually have a renter in that property, as long as it's not in the state of Nevada, correct? Come here, purchase a home using the Nevada housing program. Yep, you can utilize the assistance, right? And it just has to be your primary residence. That's the only criteria with that one, yep. So, yeah, we've got a teacher's program. So that's for K through 12 public school in the state of Nevada, including charters and magnets, right? So as long as you're a K through 12, the the goal behind that, we obviously know how hard our teachers work and how, you know, and

Roland Daniels 6:09
the difficulty of keeping our teachers right here in Clark and that's

Heidi Griffith 6:12
exactly the reason for that, right keep folks, you know, teaching, They've got a $7,500 program, so they'll give you $7,500 torture down payment and or closing cost, and as long as you live in your house for five years, at the end of that five years, that's 70 it's forgiven, forgiven, forgive me. You never have to pay a cent back if you sold or refinanced leading up to that five years, it's prorated monthly, right? So every month that you live in your house, a chunk of that gets taken off. And once it's at five years, it goes away completely. And we even have programs with the Nevada housing division that offer reduced interest rates for heroes, so for VA and USDA,

Roland Daniels 6:57
because those programs usually don't require a down payment. So they're giving you an interest rate, and you can still utilize that assistance towards your closing

Heidi Griffith 7:06
costs. You sure can. You can use one of the two programs we talked about the beginning, almost possible for first time homebuyers or home is possible? Yes, if you're a veteran, right? Yep, you could utilize that program. You have no down payment with the VA. So you could use, you know, the two to 5% depending on the program that you select, towards your closing cost.

Roland Daniels 7:27
And Nevada housing has also eliminated all of the fees. If you're a veteran associated with these programs, which is another benefit to

Heidi Griffith 7:36
you. Absolutely, absolutely, we still hear it on the regular. We do unfortunately that down payment programs have gone away. They have not, they have not, they have not gone away there. We've got 16 that we work with right here in Nevada. We've got some that are national programs, some that are state specific. So so

Roland Daniels 7:54
no matter what you hear on the news, social media or or from another lender or a realtor, there is money available, and these programs are available,

Heidi Griffith 8:06
yeah. And sometimes, you know, sometimes programs come and go, yep. But that doesn't mean that there's nothing

Roland Daniels 8:11
available. Usually, they'll introduce another program. And we do, as far as I understand, there will be even more programs being introduced throughout 2025 going into 2026

Heidi Griffith 8:24
Yeah, absolutely excited to see what's on the front of those. I am too.

Roland Daniels 8:28
If you have any questions or would like to register, all you need to do is give us a call or text us. That number to reach out is 702-210-2057 that's 702-210-2057 or you can head over to our Facebook page, mortgage matters radio, where you can also find out anything about links to register for any of our upcoming classes or workshops, yeah.

Heidi Griffith 9:01
Plus, I sometimes try and throw in some fun little outtakes there. Right

Roland Daniels 9:07
with that, let's talk about the phone call you received. Heidi, yeah. So it's one that I think that might really speak to a lot of people, those of us who feel like we've waited too long to buy a home and think that it's too late?

Heidi Griffith 9:24
Yeah, yeah. I so I got this call at the beginning of the week. Gentleman called. He was at last Saturday's path to homeownership workshop that we did at CPLC. Right? That was a great class. Was? It was? It was an amazing class. But he called me up. He said he really enjoyed the class. He was calling us to thank us for all of the information. Said it was super motivational. We did. We had a great time. It was awesome. It was awesome. We had a great time in that class. But then he said something that I keep hearing, you know, and it's, it's kind of bugging me. He told me, I know I'm probably older than most people you talk to about buying their first house. That's what he said. Right? And I get it. I get why people think that, but it's the truth is, it's just not true.

Roland Daniels 10:06
It's not and we do get that question probably at every class we do,

Heidi Griffith 10:10
yeah, because a lot of the folks that we work with are over 40, aren't they? They are. Some are in their 50s, some in their 60s, some in their 80s, right? And some are finally in a place where they think things are more stable now, me, right? Maybe their career, their income, maybe their kids are grown and out of the house, and now they're ready. So I reminded them, there's no such thing as being too old to buy your first house. You don't, you know, you don't have to be a specific age. You do have to be 18 to qualify, right, and to qualify for a mortgage, yes, but after that, age is not a barrier. Age is not a barrier. One of our clients was 83 years old when she bought her first house, wasn't she? She was, that is my favorite story, but it is. That's my favorite story. She was a first time home buyer, yes, 83 years old,

Roland Daniels 11:00
83 years old, taking care of her grandkids.

Heidi Griffith 11:03
Yeah, she had an amazing story. She's a beautiful woman. She is, and she's a happy homeowner. She's been in her house. What, close to two years now, almost

Roland Daniels 11:11
two years, that's pretty good. That is awesome. So realize buying later in life comes with its own strength, and you have experience. You've lived through things, and you're not just jumping into something blindly. Most of the time, you've got better credit, you've saved a little bit more money. And you know what matters to you when it comes to a home,

Heidi Griffith 11:36
right? That's the great thing about getting older. Yes, you know what you want. Experience. You know what you want. And here's the thing, not only is it possible, it's actually more common than people think. Because I think we get these visions in our head of a first time home buyer being 22 or 23 not that 22 or 23 year olds don't purchase homes, right, right? But nationally, the average age of a first time home buyer. Get this, the average age of a first time home buyer nationally is 38 years old. Things have changed. They have changed, haven't they? They have so if you're in your 40s, your 50s, your 60s, you're not behind. You're right in line with what we see and what you know and what the people look like that we meet

Roland Daniels 12:19
every single day, right? And let's be honest, life doesn't always follow a timeline, life, life, right? Some people rent for years, raise kids, help other people, and maybe even face some difficulties or setbacks, but now it's their time. It's your time. That's first home can still happen, and it can still help you start the process of building wealth, still bring peace and still change the future by creating a legacy. I love that, right? I do.

Heidi Griffith 12:53
So if this sounds familiar and you think maybe, just maybe, it might be your time, please feel free to reach out. We're happy to walk you through what's possible. You can call or text us. We're at 702-210-2057 again, that number is 702-210-2057 so like I said, we've worked with some people in their 40s, in their 50s, their 60s, like we mentioned, 83 years old, taking that first step, and it really seriously. It's life changing. And for a lot of these people, the big motivation was that they were just tired of renting and making their landlord wealthy. That's

Roland Daniels 13:36
right, and I think all of this moves us right into our next conversation, what are you really paying for when you're actually renting, and how different could that picture look like if you owned your own home?

Heidi Griffith 13:52
Yeah, Roland, right. So let's talk about renting. Not you know, you should have bought a long time ago kind of way, but let's talk about renting in a real world. Let's actually take a look at what this looks like kind of

Roland Daniels 14:05
way. Of course, Heidi, we've both rented before, right? We have right. So we get it sometimes renting just makes sense for that time in our lives. But what we're seeing now is that there are a lot of people renting, who could be actually owning. They just don't think that it's possible anymore. We hear we

Heidi Griffith 14:27
hear it a lot. We do we I think one of the bigger things when we have conversations with people is sometimes people don't allow themselves to believe that they can do it right? Maybe they've been told by someone that it's impossible. You know, like you always say, the street committee, street committee, the street committee has so many opinions they do about what

Roland Daniels 14:50
have never purchased a home, or maybe they bought a house 30 or 40 years ago. Yeah, right. Everybody

Heidi Griffith 14:56
thinks that they're an expert. They do, um. Yeah, I tell you what, none of us are truly experts, right? I mean, there's learning to be done daily, daily, everything, and we do, right? I mean, we crack the books open, we go into meetings, and we go into educational courses, because we are constantly learning. So don't think it's not possible. Don't think that you've waited too long. You know, we have a lot of people that say, well, we'll call you when we fix our credit right, and that could be a problem, because sometimes we're not fixing the right thing right,

Roland Daniels 15:29
and a lot of times you're doing more damage to your credit than if you actually sat down with a mortgage professional or a certified HUD advisor or counselor who could help you come up with a credit plan to improve your credit? A lot of times, instead of you thinking you're six months or a year away, maybe you're only 60 days away

Heidi Griffith 15:50
or 30 I mean, we've seen people that after 30 days, and we have a lot of conversations with people that say we're gonna get our credit fixed up. And then after conversations, and they understand that this is just about having options. This is just about obtaining information, right? You know, if they give us then approval. Hey, can you just do me a favor? And can you just glance at my credit report? We go over the credit report and find out that it wasn't nearly as, you know, horrible as they had envisioned it being, and they were in a position to actually purchase, right? Yep,

Roland Daniels 16:21
in a lot of circumstances, they are ready to buy today, they were just under an illusion, right? Because somebody told them, right, that they needed a perfect FICO score of 700 which is not true, or

Heidi Griffith 16:31
that they didn't have enough money, right, right? Because I still hear it we do, as odd as it is, because I know that whenever I'm scrolling social, this comes up. You don't need 20% to buy a house. I do not. Most of you probably know that. You've probably heard it along the way now, but there's still people that think that they've got to save up 20% 20% you know? So they're waiting until they have whatever that dollar amount looks like, right? Because 20%

Roland Daniels 16:56
of, let's say 300,000 that's $60,000 yeah, compared to 300,000 at three and a half percent, that's only 10,500 bucks. Huge difference, right? And then with the programs that we have, we take care of all of that,

Heidi Griffith 17:10
yeah, because the pro like like home is possible with the Nevada housing divisions, right? That those programs offer anywhere from 2% in down payment help to 5% in down payment help. So the the minimum down payment, let's just say, on an FHA loan, is three and a half percent, right? So if you were getting the 5% we have that covered. So we cover your down payment and then a portion of your closing cost. That is correct. And at, you know when we talk about this week after week on this show about seller credits, don't we? We do, but a lot of people still don't understand in the market, we are seeing some adjustments in the market. I pull the numbers for available properties in the Greater Las Vegas Valley. So Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, right every month before we do the path to homeownership workshop with CPLC, right? And usually, then, I mean, usually, there's a pretty good Gage. You know, there might be a couple 100 more homes on the market, a couple 100 homes that have left the market, but it's been pretty steady this month, this month. So our, it was our May 31 class, there is nearly 1000 more homes on the market. Wow. So we are seeing a shift in the market, and like we're getting more inventory. We are getting more inventory. We are getting more inventory. We haven't seen any drastic reductions in prices, so I guess still good for sellers? Will we see that crystal ball broke? There's not one person that can tell you with guarantee that it's you know, prices are going to come down or prices are going to go up, the market will do what it does. Yep, the market is always right. The market is always right. But this is a great opportunity, because we've been seeing seller concessions for the past couple of years on, the majority

Roland Daniels 19:03
been able to utilize them, probably for at least nine out of 10 transactions, and it's been awesome.

Heidi Griffith 19:12
It has because that's really helping folks out, even if you don't necessarily need help with your closing costs, right? Why not? Why not? It only makes sense, right? Yeah. And here's an interesting fact. You know, this one actually caught me a little off guard. I thought, I thought it was a little bit less than this. But did you know that in Las Vegas, 44% of our residents are renters.

Roland Daniels 19:37
I thought it was actually, I thought it was more. Oh, did you see? And I

Heidi Griffith 19:41
thought it was less, yeah. But so 44% of our residents in our city, and that's the Greater Las Vegas Valley, 44% are renters. I think that's a really big number, right? And many of these people, even if they don't know it, they actually could be in a position to buy they could be Yeah? So we've had this conversation. Position with a lot of people. I you know the gentleman who called me after class, right? He was in a position, or excuse me, he was renting for the past 15 years. And

Roland Daniels 20:10
we've had some people who have been renting for the last 2025, years, never only,

Heidi Griffith 20:15
yeah, their full adult life, yes, so 15 years or 20 years, or 30 years, whatever that looks like of paying somebody else's mortgage. So if you've been in your house or your apartment or whatever you're renting for the past 15 years, average rent in Las Vegas right now is 1462, a month. That's nearly $17,600 a year gone. But

Roland Daniels 20:38
Heidi, I am seeing when we speak to different clients that the rent is more than that,

Heidi Griffith 20:46
$62 because most of our listeners right. Many of you aren't in studios or tiny apartments. You know, most people are renting single family homes or larger rental units, right, right? So you probably are paying more than that. Like you said, we're seeing upwards of 2500 a month. Easy it

Roland Daniels 21:03
is. And that $2,500 a month rent adds up to about $30,000 a year. Can you imagine out the window, right out the window put and that's where equity comes in. When we own our own homes, we are building something on average, that homeowners in this country have over $300,000 in equity. And that's just not a number that is real wealth in your homeownership. That's the foundation that could be used for your retirement, used for emergencies and helping your kids or your grandkids, and that's your true safety net. Yeah. Can

Heidi Griffith 21:48
you imagine the average homeowner in the country? Excuse me, on average homeowners in country, that's what you said, right? They have over 300,000 over 300,000 and we know it can be nerve wracking when you're thinking about it right? Because now thinking about timing the real estate market, that's the big we're waiting. Can you time the real estate market? You can't I, I've been in real estate a long time. I've been in real estate for a very long time, nearly 30 years. Um, yeah, crystal balls are broken. And usually when you see what's happened, whether we're going into a buyer's market, a seller's market, whether markets go up or down, you recognize it when it's in the rear view mirror, right? I know this firsthand. Imagine if we could, yeah, yeah. You know, a lot of us were listening to the doom and the gloom scrolling social and boy, they can get you on that one. Can't they? They can. And so if you're trying to time the market, and you're listening to what the you know, like you say, the street committee says, And what about if prices go down, right? Because that's a fair question. Real Estate moves in cycles. It's cyclical. There's dips, there's rebounds. It always has been this way it has been. You know, it's a long term investment. You're not trying to flip house. Well, maybe you are, but that's not a long term investment, right? If you're purchasing a home for your family, you're trying to build a future. You are flip a house? No. And if you're thinking, but I don't have a ton of money saved, we said it, how am I going to buy a house? You are not alone, because many people think that, you know, until you have buckets of cash, can't do it, but, but that is not true. No, that's why programs exist to increase homeownership. We work with options that can help cover the down payment or closing costs, sometimes even cover the majority of both. Right? If your savings aren't where you want them to be, that doesn't mean you're out of the game. There really are exceptional programs right here in Nevada that could provide you with up to $32,000 towards the purchase of your home. Say

Roland Daniels 23:58
that again, Heidi, how much, $32,000 that is real money. That is real money. And we've helped people who never thought that they could qualify. And even if you're not ready right at this moment, we will help you get there. We have, we will create a real plan with a real timeline and no shame, no pressure.

Heidi Griffith 24:21
That's right. So if you've been renting and wondering if owning is even possible, you might be way closer than you think you are.

Roland Daniels 24:28
So when you look at those numbers, $1,400 to over $2,500 when it comes to your rent year after year with nothing building behind it, it really makes you stop and think

Heidi Griffith 24:42
absolutely and when you add in the potential for equity, for stability and for even passing something down, that's where homeownership becomes so much more than just a transaction, isn't it, it does. So before we wrap up, we just want to say today's show really is about possibility. These whether you're buying your first home at 25 or maybe at 75 right, whether you've been renting for years, or if you're just starting to wonder if home ownership is even an option for you. This month and this moment are a reminder. It's never too late to take the first step, and

Roland Daniels 25:17
while we're talking about home ownership, we can't forget that fair housing matters just as much as access. Everyone deserves the right to live free from discrimination, regardless of your race, your gender, disability, home, familial status in any other protected categories, that is

Heidi Griffith 25:41
correct, an organization that we talk about a lot doing that work right here in Nevada is Silver State Fair Housing Council. They help people fight for their rights, they educate the public, and they help make housing more equitable for everyone. One of the ways they do that is through their testing programs, and they are always in need of good people to be part of it. If you've ever wanted to be part of something that truly makes a difference to learn more, you can call Silver State Fair Housing Council at 702-749-3288, you can also visit them online to get more information. Their website address is S, S F h c.org, again, that's Silver State Fair Housing Council, S, S F h c.org,

Roland Daniels 26:34
Heidi and the phone number one more time,

Heidi Griffith 26:36
sure their telephone number is 702-749-3288,

Roland Daniels 26:42
and Heidi, if they wanted to be a tester, are there any compensation for being a test?

Heidi Griffith 26:46
There is, there is, there's a small stipend. So depending on whether you're doing phone testing or in person testing, I think you know, it's like between 40 and $45 for phone and I think it's upward 6065 for in person testing, but if you reach out to them, and they'll give you all of the information and answers. I mean, really, we're just making sure and and in talking with silver state, we're actually on their board of trustees, right? Yes. So we have a lot of communications with them, but, but in talking with them, their goal is to work with property managers and landlords to try and make sure everybody's on the right page, because most people really do want to do the right thing they do, and education is the best way to get folks there with the testing programs, what we're doing is we're taking scenarios, we're sending out onto the streets, right? Yep, and we're just making sure that everybody's doing things on the up and up,

Roland Daniels 27:38
right? So if you have any thoughts or questions about anything that we've talked about today, or if you have any ideas for a future topic, our number is 702-210-2057 that's 702-210-2057 And we'll be back next Sunday at 7:30am right here on KU nv 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. Bye. You.