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 your host. Roland Daniels, a certified mortgage advisor with Geneva financial. Our NMLS number is 42056, my NMLS number is 355859,

Heidi Griffith 1:01
I'm here this morning, as always, with my fantastic co host. Heidi Griffith, good morning. Heidi, well, happy Sunday. Roland, happy Sunday. How are you today? I am doing awesome. I am so happy to hear that I'm doing great. Also, that's what I'm talking about. I'm Heidi Griffith. I am also a mortgage advisor and your Director of Client Services. My MLS NUMBER is 2247754, so got some stuff to talk about today, don't we? We do? We have a lot to cover. We do? We do. We're I think we talked a lot about this this past week. I feel like it's time. It's on a lot of people's minds, especially with everything getting more expensive. We all know how that feels. Don't we? We do? Yeah, so I think today we're going to be talking going to be talking about something that we're all thinking about. We're asking the question. And here's the thing, does your mortgage rate always matter as much as people think? And more importantly, how can you use the equity in your home to actually get ahead where we are in the economy? Yeah, those are some great questions. It is. So we've got a class coming up, don't we? Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, we're hosting our home is possible, online down payment program class alongside the Nevada housing division. I love this class, and it we really are seeing people sign up for this one. It's going to be a full class. It will. The great thing about this, in comparison to some of the other classes that we teach, like the the workshop that we teach the first Saturday of every month, right? Ownership, that's an all day event. And although I think that it is by far the best home ownership class out

Roland Daniels 2:34
there, and there are some reasons why it's that long, right, right? Well,

Heidi Griffith 2:38
because it's HUD certified. I mean, there's certain things that have to happen, and it really is in depth, it is, but if you don't have a full Saturday to spare, and you still want to find out what's available to you, the Nevada housing class, really, it's a fun class. It is only an hour. It's an hour. We usually stay on for 30 minutes, following because there's always questions. We get to learn all about all of the Nevada housing divisions programs, because they just don't have one program, right? They have multiple. So let's start so they've got a first time home buyer program, right? That's that's home is possible for first time home buyers. And what, what's a first time home buyer? A

Roland Daniels 3:18
first time home buyer isn't necessarily. It doesn't really mean that this is your first home. It means that you haven't actually owned a home or been on title within the last three years,

Heidi Griffith 3:30
right? So you could be a first time home buyer, right? It could be your first home, but it doesn't mean it has to have been your first home. As long as they haven't owned in the past three years, you got it, and they've got some programs with that. They've got FHA options, they've got conventional options. They've got different Down Payment Assistance help. So they've got what, 2% or 4% program or 4% they're traditionally a little bit lower than what the standard rate of the time would be. Yes,

Roland Daniels 3:57
there's no loan level pricing adjustments when it comes to Nevada housing's division rates, which could save you a lot of money, because there's a cost associated with most rates, with those rates, right, that they don't talk

Heidi Griffith 4:09
about with most rates right now, right? With that, you've got to, you know, not have home to own a home in the past three years. But there's also the rate, and what does that look like for qualifying, right? So if you're, if you're looking at doing that kind of program, to get the better rate, because it certainly is. It is the better rate, what's tied to that? So minimum credit score, it's, it's the same for all of them, six four programs, right? 640 don't worry if you're not at 640 today. Don't freak out and not call right? Because we've worked with a lot of people below 640 who and who moved on to utilize these programs. And in the Nevada housing programs, these are the programs that we actually use the most, aren't they? We do? Yeah. So we've got the first time homebuyer, then we've got some specialty programs. Let's talk about the teacher program really quickly. They offer a program for Nevada. School teachers, public school teacher. So down here we would be the Clark County School District, right, K through 12k. Through 12, you can be a magnet teacher, charter. You can be a charter school teacher. As long as you're working for the school district K through 12, they will give you $7,500 that is correct to purchase a home. And the the icing on that one is that you don't have to, you know, if you live in your home for five years, you don't have to pay it back. It goes away, and it is prorated over those five years. That is correct. So if you had to move in three years, you wouldn't have to

Roland Daniels 5:31
pay it all back, right? It's just divided into 60 months. Yep, it's, it's an

Heidi Griffith 5:35
amazing program. It was originally created to get school teachers into the valley. I actually read a report just recently that we're actually starting our school year with more teachers than we've had in the past. Then they've got their workhorse, right? That's the home is possible program.

Roland Daniels 5:50
And just to give some program highlights, they just released this just last week, actually, right? The maximum purchase price for the hip DPA is $806,500

Heidi Griffith 6:02
Wow. What we knew that

Roland Daniels 6:04
the maximum income limit goes all the way up to 165,000

Heidi Griffith 6:09
let's talk about that for really quickly. So a lot of people and we, we hear it all the time. We hear it every week. People are like, Oh, down payment programs are for low income people, no, no, they're not. You know what. They're there to help all of us, low to moderate. You can qualify for these programs and earn up to $165,000 here in in my brain, that that's by no means low income, is it?

Roland Daniels 6:32
I agree with you. And just to circle back on the first time home buyer, hip DPA, the income limits here in Clark County, one to two person household is 102,000 and then if there's three or more, we can go up to 117 and still, by no means low income.

Heidi Griffith 6:52
And let me talk about that. For that, that's a great point that you brought up. So when we say one to two people, one to three, you know three people or more, you as an individual could have, let's say you have two kids left. They're counted towards income. So you could individually make 117 and have two kids and qualify that is correct. Yeah, that's awesome,

Roland Daniels 7:15
right? So with the hip DPA, some of the statistics so far, just in 2025 the average mortgage is about 381,000 average person purchase price is about 392,000 and with the program, the average household income utilizing the programs is averaging around 113,000

Heidi Griffith 7:40
Wow, and that's, that's statewide, right? That is state because Nevada housing, we can do it

Roland Daniels 7:44
anywhere, anywhere in the entire state of Nevada. That's great information. It is total loan volume so far this year, $111 million Wow. 111 million. 100 and $11 million dollars that's been used so far with down payment assistance. So no matter what you hear on social media, lenders or realtors, there's money is available. Dave already used 111 million, and we have many more millions to go

Heidi Griffith 8:16
well. And that's that's why I love the way Nevada housing structures their program, right? Because it does have a silent second, and you do have to pay that back. You're fixed exactly, but and you're not making any payments. There is no interest. It just sits back quietly until you decide it's time to refinance, sell, or, if it's been 30 years, pay your house off, right? And that's how we can recycle that money to benefit the next person that wants to purchase a home.

Roland Daniels 8:45
And they also mentioned that the average DPA amount is about $15,000

Heidi Griffith 8:49
and that's about what we see. So those statistics are pretty close to exactly pretty spot we see. Yeah. So if you've been thinking about buying but you're unsure where to start this class, really it could be a great opportunity for you, a great place to begin. You can call or text us to register. Our telephone number is 702-210-2057 that number, again, is 702-210-2057 or you can head over to our Facebook page. That's mortgage matters radio, and you'll find the link there to the Eventbrite to register for class. Like I said, it's going to be tomorrow from 330 to 430 we'll probably hang out until five to answer any questions. It's easy to jump on. You can jump on after work. You can jump on in your car, as long as you're not driving on your sofa. It's a way to get information,

Roland Daniels 9:39
and maybe you have other questions outside of down payment assistance, we're more than happy to answer

Heidi Griffith 9:44
absolutely, absolutely so Roland, let's jump into today's conversation. Right? To do it, I think we've heard this before. Don't touch your mortgage. You have a great rate, especially if you've got those pandemic rates, right, those

Roland Daniels 9:57
two and those three, three and a half percent interest. Rates. But don't

Heidi Griffith 10:01
you think if I said that that advice sometimes, while well meaning, it might actually be harming people

Roland Daniels 10:07
in certain situations, it actually is. Yeah, we're

Heidi Griffith 10:11
seeing it more and more, because some people are beginning to feel some pain in their wallets. They are. We're seeing it every week with people we work with, aren't we? We are. Yeah, they're not out here buying luxury items. They're just living. People are just trying

Roland Daniels 10:24
to live. Things have gotten a little bit more expensive. They have

Heidi Griffith 10:27
and you know now, when we're talking about owning a home, if their current mortgage interest rate is, like I said, and that those pandemic numbers three and a half, even 4% right, right? Many people think that my rates too good to touch it. I can't touch it, but I'm still feeling it. I'm

Roland Daniels 10:42
feeling the pinch. Yeah, my maybe my credit cards are all maxed out,

Heidi Griffith 10:46
right? Yeah, we're saying that all the time too, aren't we? We are. So

Roland Daniels 10:50
let's break it down. Okay, the average American household carrying credit card debt right now owes around $7,300

Heidi Griffith 11:00
right? So if you've got credit cards, you've got credit card debt. Card debt, it's about 7300

Roland Daniels 11:04
bucks. For people over 45 that debt, on average, is closer to $9,500 and that's a number that's still climbing month after

Heidi Griffith 11:15
month. It is, isn't it? It is, yeah. And so the average credit card interest rate right now it's sitting at about 22% and I know firsthand that we've talked to people, we've met with people, we've worked with people who are looking more like 30% for their average, you know, interest rate on these credit cards. So it's not just the

Roland Daniels 11:33
balance, right? Yes, we are seeing more 30s

Heidi Griffith 11:36
than 20s, absolutely. And because of that high interest rate, and because of life, lifeing right, a lot of times the balance that they've got, it's not just sitting there. The balance is growing because of the interest

Roland Daniels 11:50
right. And things have gotten, like I said, more expensive. Maybe you have some cost or some life events, and you had to use those credit cards, and they're all maxed out. Sometimes with those payments, it could exceed your actual mortgage payment when you add them up. Yeah,

Heidi Griffith 12:09
well before we came in here, I sat down with that number, that 9500 bucks, right, that you could have on your credit cards, and that 9500 could actually cost you over 20k you know, it could cost you over $20,000 if you're making minimum payments. And that's what a lot of us are doing, in interest, right? Just in interest that nine you know that $9,500 could cost you over 20,000 and

Roland Daniels 12:31
in medical bills, Gen X households owe an average of just over $12,000 and that includes medical and dental. Wow, yeah. Then there's the big one, car payments. The average car payment is around 745

Heidi Griffith 12:50
bucks. We are seeing we are seeing that on the majority of credit reports

Roland Daniels 12:55
we pull. We are here in Nevada, nearly 12% of drivers are paying at least $1,000 a month or more on their car.

Heidi Griffith 13:05
Let's talk about this for a second. Let's just talk about so the see it all the time, the average car payment on a new car. You go to the dealership, you're getting a new car. The average car payment in today's world is 745. Wages aren't rising rapidly. And of course, we want, you know, we want nice cars, we want all that kind of stuff. But that's a lot of debt. It is. A lot of debt. It is. And, you know, along with car payments and credit card payments, right? I know firsthand that groceries are going crazy. Stuff that used to cost me two and $3 is now five and $6 my coffee, and it adds up. My coffee was, it used to be 295, for the brick. Now it's over $5

Roland Daniels 13:44
and I hear that coffee is will continue to rise with the tariffs.

Heidi Griffith 13:48
I don't know if I can give up my coffee. We'll figure that one out. Yes, it's going to be a budget item. But you know, so that people are saying that groceries are now the number one financial stressor in the United States. And that's not just inflation, right? That's tariffs that we're seeing. Recent data shows that tariffs are quietly increasing household costs by anywhere from 24 to $3,800 per year, and depending on what happens moving forward. Because we're still not really sure what those are going to look like, right? Those numbers could certainly go up. I bet that they do.

Roland Daniels 14:17
I think we're only in like three or four months of the tariffs. Yeah, may not even be three or four

Heidi Griffith 14:22
months, and a lot of them have not, you know, kind of been straightened out yet. So we know that most of us, our paychecks, have stayed the same, but everything around us kind of got a price hike. Didn't it? It did. It did. And how do we cover that gap? Right? So people turn to credit. They turn to it at 22% or 30% or whatever they can get their hands on, because we have to continue to

Roland Daniels 14:42
live we do. Yeah, so why aren't more people using their home equity? That's a great question. And I think maybe because maybe they're scared, you know, they worked hard to get that 3% mortgage.

Heidi Griffith 14:54
They did. They did and, you know, and we've talked so much about that two and a half and three and a half. This mythical thing. I get it.

Roland Daniels 15:02
We do, yeah, and they are afraid to touch it. They are also afraid of what could happen if the market drops. And a lot of times they'll say, what if I refinance or tap into my equity and regret it later? We hear it all the time, but here's what people don't hear enough, you're not failing, you're not behind. You're just trying to do what's best for you and your family and your equity. It can be a tool that can actually help. It

Heidi Griffith 15:34
can right? I agree with you. So here's the facts, the average US homeowner has about $195,000 in equity right now. They do $195,000 in equity right now. And according to core logic, home values right here in Nevada, rose about 8% year over year in 2024 but less than half a percent of that equity is being used by people, right and we get it, we get it, we get what that 3% looks like, right? But meanwhile, families are paying two to $3,000 plus a month across their credit cards, their car notes. A lot of people were talking to a lot of people that are getting personal loans, whether it be through their bank or even pay date loans, right, right?

Roland Daniels 16:18
And don't. Yeah, don't forget the student loans. I can't

Heidi Griffith 16:21
even start to talk about student loans, right? And that's why, while we're sitting back and we're trying to protect this mortgage that has a payment of 1200 and I get that one too, right? So let's shift from, you know, what do we do, to what can we do? Possibility, right? Because people say, I don't want to touch the mortgage, what they really mean is, I'm afraid to make it worse. I don't want to make this mountain of debt that I have already any worse than it already is. But I feel like if you have the right tool and you use it the right way, it doesn't make it worse, right? It could potentially

Roland Daniels 16:55
make it make things a lot better, give

Heidi Griffith 16:57
you more breathing room, and that's not for every person, but it's a matter of sitting down and figuring out what your options could potentially be and what those look like, right,

Roland Daniels 17:07
right? Because if you really want to stay in that two and a half 3% rate, and you have equity, there are options out there. We can look at doing a home equity line of credit, or in terms you'll hear that term heat lock, right? And that's home equity line of credit, right? It is. It is. And then you have the he loan, which is just a second mortgage home equity. And that gives you the ability to keep that two and a half 3% rate. But we use that he lock or a he loan to eliminate the car loans, the credit cards or student loans that can give you breathing room.

Heidi Griffith 17:42
One, a big one that we're seeing people look at is that credit card debt. I know that we talked to a lot of people that start talking about, you know, credit consolidation.

Roland Daniels 17:51
Please stay away from the debt consolidation. Yeah,

Heidi Griffith 17:55
that's a tough one, and it may work for some people. It doesn't work for most but when you're looking at having equity in your property, there's several things. So we have a client, right we're working with her right now. We do. She's got a home in North Las Vegas. She works full time. She's done well. She makes ends meet. She's careful with her money. She never missed a payment. She's got great credit, but she feels like everything's kind of stacking up. So her mortgage has had a great rate, right? She's in the threes, but everything else around her is becoming harder to manage. She called after actually another show that you've got, and wanted to go over some scenarios, so you met with her. We all sat down, we had a conversation, and I think we've got a great game plan lined up for her, but we thought that, and after talking to her, asked her if we could use her information on air, and she gave us approval. And so we're going to kind of give you her situation, because I feel like a lot of people could potentially be in this exact same situation. Maybe the numbers are a little bit different. Maybe, you know, your personal scenario is a little different, but it really is one of those things that a lot of us are feeling so right now, her balance on her mortgage is $220,000 the interest rate is 3.25 and that's why she didn't want to touch that. Because she'd spoke to a real estate professional. They said you're not going to find that rate. Hang on to your house, do whatever you can to keep your house, and she's not trying to get rid of her

Roland Daniels 19:20
house, right? And then the rates today are going to be pretty much double, right?

Heidi Griffith 19:24
They are, and we'll talk about that, because it is double. Yes, she's got 25 years left on her loan, right? She got a 30 year fixed mortgage and her monthly mortgage payment, and that's her payment, interest, taxes and insurance on this home at 3.25 is $1,300 which is awesome, I'll tell you right now, it's virtually impossible to find a $1,300 mortgage payment with interest, taxes, insurance and HOA right parent home prices. So we started talking about her debts. We ran her credit. We went over everything that she'd had. So she's got a car payment. And. You know, she didn't go crazy luxury. She didn't get a quote, unquote bad interest rate, but she got a $30,000 car, which is pretty normal nowadays, right? Her car payment is 745, a month. And that's the we talked about that. That's the average in the US right now, right, right? She's got credit card debt. She's owes right about $11,000 and we pulled up all the interest on all of her cards. Her cards are about 24% in interest on average. Her monthly payment, her minimum monthly payments, so that she's just paying the minimum is 385 and then she took out a personal loan that she got from her bank to kind of try and help all of this for 12,000 that loan has an 11% interest rate on it, and the payment on that is 412 $412 a month. Wow. She's got some medical debt that the insurance didn't cover. She set up a monthly payment plan with them. There's no interest on that so, but she's got to make that payment monthly, and she's making 150 bucks a month towards that medical bill. And then, like so many of us, she's got student loan debt. Previously, she was on an income driven repayment plan, and unfortunately, that went away. Her her payment plan went away, and now she's got to make full monthly payments, and she owes $13,000 in student loan debt with a payment of $315

Roland Daniels 21:28
a month. So those are real monthly dollar figures that are coming out of her cash flow and basically her budget

Heidi Griffith 21:36
and a lot of this has gone up in the past. Just in the past 12 months?

Roland Daniels 21:40
Yes, her budget has been busted, actually, yeah,

Heidi Griffith 21:43
because her non mortgage payments, everything but her mortgage payments, is at $2,007

Roland Daniels 21:51
a month, right? Total monthly payments, including the mortgage. Now we're at $3,307

Heidi Griffith 21:58
a month. Yeah? And she feels stuck. She you know, she heard so many things about how great her interest rate was, and don't get me wrong, it is a great interest rate, right? But how great it was, she couldn't do anything with that. How does she find more money? Does she go out and get another personal one? I mean, she's been trying to rack her brain to figure out ideas. So we all sat down, we did and we went over options. Because, like you said, there's the HELOC, the home equity line of credit, there's the he loan, and then there's, you know, a cash out refinance, and that means that you're, you know, you're pulling some of the equity out of your property, and you're getting a new loan, and it's going to be a higher rate, right?

Roland Daniels 22:33
So on the cash out refinance, that means we're replacing that 3.25% interest rate with today's rate.

Heidi Griffith 22:44
So when we pulled it, we ran what the rate was and what was it?

Roland Daniels 22:47
Yes, it was 7% and she chose what we call option number one, right? She chose a cash out refinance, which means she has a new loan at 270,000 new payment, mortgage payment at 1805, old debts were completely paid

Heidi Griffith 23:05
off. She paid off. Yeah, she was going to be able to pay off everything with this option.

Roland Daniels 23:10
And she was able to save $1,500

Heidi Griffith 23:15
a month. And so she's excited about looking at that possibility. I know that we talked about, we talked about using a HELOC. We looked at the numbers on that. That's just the line of credit, right, right? Her payment on that one was going to be about 250 a month, and she was going to be able to save about 697 a month going that route. And then we looked at the home equity loan as well, which would save her a little bit less. But everybody's situation is different, so what worked best for her situation and getting rid of that credit card debt, she actually is going to be able to pay off her car, which is going to be a huge relief on her shoulders, right? Yeah, she said that going with that cash out refi is obviously the most mindful for her. It makes the most sense to what she's looking at doing. And so that's probably the way that she's actually going to move forward,

Roland Daniels 24:04
okay? And with that car payment, that's $745 and that gives her a huge relief on a monthly basis.

Heidi Griffith 24:13
Oh, gotcha, it's gonna totally simplify her life, right? Because it's freeing up over $1,500 a month and just giving you space to breathe right and enjoy

Roland Daniels 24:21
life. Yes, remove some of that stress. Yeah. So

Heidi Griffith 24:24
if you have any questions, or you feel like this might be the same kind of situation that you're in, where everything looks fine on paper, but you're stretched kind of thin, right? No, you're not alone. You're more than welcome to reach out. We can take a look at different scenarios for you, you can call or text us. We're at 702-210-2057, again, that number 702-210-2057, we'll look at all of the information. We'll walk you through real options, no pressure. And sometimes you know it might not be the best option for you, right? But in this case, it was. And maybe, in someone else's case, a HELOC might be better, or a he loan, or maybe just getting a personal line of credit from the bank.

Roland Daniels 25:07
Yep, right? Those are all options that are available to you. I agree.

Heidi Griffith 25:11
I agree. So we only have a little bit of time left, right? And we talk about this every week. We do, and we're going to keep talking about it, aren't we? It is so important. It's fair housing. Fair Housing is not optional. It's law. It's worth fighting for right. It protects all of us, everyone we are all covered under fair housing. And right here in Nevada, the Silver State Fair Housing Council, it's been standing up for fair housing and equal housing rights for decades, helping people understand their rights, file complaints and make their voices heard. We are all protected under fair housing laws. I need to say that again, every one of us is protected under fair housing laws. It doesn't matter your background, it doesn't matter your circumstance or your neighborhood. If something feels off or just doesn't sit right when you're looking for housing, you deserve to know your rights, and you deserve to be heard. You do Silver State Fair Housing Council's Tester program. It's one of those things we talk about a lot. It's vital for making sure we all have an equal shot at housing right, and volunteers are trained, and you do receive a small stipend for your time. But more than that, you're helping shine a light on discrimination that might otherwise stay hidden. So

Roland Daniels 26:21
we need your help. We do need your assistance. Testers are trained to pose as renters or homeowners and document their experiences when they interact with landlords, leasing agents or sellers. Each tester has a similar profile, but with one key difference, like your race, family status or maybe a disability, so investigators can compare whether everyone is being treated fairly. The goal isn't just to catch people, it's to make sure that the housing process is fair and legal for everyone, and sadly, even today, that's not always the case. So without testers, many cases can't be proven, leaving those who faced housing discrimination, like people with disabilities, which is the number one housing discrimination or violation, which remains, like I said, the most common complaint with little recourse,

Heidi Griffith 27:22
yeah, we need testers, because without those testers, now it becomes my word against yours. It

Roland Daniels 27:28
does if you believe in fairness and want to be part of protecting equal access to housing, we encourage you to get involved. You can learn more at www, ss, fhc.org, or you can give them a call toll free, 1-888-585-8634

Roland Daniels 27:53
Again, that's 1-888-585-8634

Roland Daniels 28:00
because access to fair housing is access to opportunity, and everyone deserves that. Yes, they do. They do so whether you're trying to manage rising debt, wondering if tapping into your equity makes sense, or just want to explore your options, we are here to help you. Can give us a call or send us a text at 702-210-2057 once again, that's 702-210-2057 thank you for tuning in this morning. We'll be back next Sunday at 7:30am right here on K, U, N, V, 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

Unknown Speaker 28:50
you.

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