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Rachelle Cerera-Leones is the co-founder and creative collaborator of Creativly Studio, an enterprise built on the belief that entrepreneurship should help people grow. From a home-based business to a trusted partner of companies, government agencies, and fellow MSMEs, Cerera-Leones' journey reflects the power of collaboration, mentorship, and innovation. A 2019 DTI and Go Negosyo- KMME graduate turned Certified KMME Mentor, she continues to pay forward the mentorship she received by empowering fellow entrepreneurs and communities.
Getting someone from fentanyl to buprenorphine can be one of the hardest transitions in addiction medicine, and not because people “don't want it.” The pharmacology is unforgiving: start too soon and precipitated withdrawal can hit fast, loud, and memorable enough that patients never want to try bupe again. We sit down with Dr. Reb Close to talk through a newer approach that's gaining traction, Direct To Inject (DTI), and what it looks like when you actually do it in the real world. We explain why fentanyl's long tail changes everything, then map the options we offer patients: macrodosing, microdosing with a cross taper, microdosing without a cross taper, and DTI. You'll hear how DTI uses a weekly long-acting injectable buprenorphine dose that comes on over about 24 hours, effectively creating a built-in “microdose ramp” while the patient navigates that first day. We also get specific about comfort meds, safety counselling, and how we handle the common moment where someone feels terrible but hasn't taken any of the meds meant to help. From street-based care to clinic workflows, we share what withdrawal severity looks like across patients, when DTI is not a good option, how we think about methadone switches, and why we often push toward high-dose monthly injectable buprenorphine for a longer protective tail. If you care about practical fentanyl-era buprenorphine induction, retention, and overdose prevention, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review so more people can find the show.To contact Dr. Grover: ammadeeasy@fastmail.com
Rachelle Cerera-Leones is the co-founder and creative collaborator of Creativly Studio, an enterprise built on the belief that entrepreneurship should help people grow. From a home-based business to a trusted partner of companies, government agencies, and fellow MSMEs, Cerera-Leones' journey reflects the power of collaboration, mentorship, and innovation. A 2019 DTI and Go Negosyo- KMME graduate turned Certified KMME Mentor, she continues to pay forward the mentorship she received by empowering fellow entrepreneurs and communities.
Don’t miss this massive ecosystem shift! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ Host Vince Menzione sits down with industry leaders Nicole Dziedzic, Erwin Visser, and Mira Ayad to uncover the critical transformations happening across the technology ecosystem and marketplace. The panel explores the impact of Reseller Enabled Offers (REO), the changing role of distribution into aggregation, and the immense opportunities surrounding agentic AI. They also dive into why MSPs need to ruthlessly simplify their technology stacks to make room for business value selling, and how data tools like ASPX are changing the game for proactive channel strategies. https://youtu.be/4Ox507-0l_8 Key Takeaways The marketplace has completely transformed software procurement and is now rapidly expanding into the SMB sector. Reseller Enabled Offers (REO) allow partners to own private offers on behalf of ISVs while maintaining their trusted advisor status. Ingram has introduced the MCP server to help partners automate and pull necessary distribution data seamlessly. The next few years represent a “golden age” for MSPs if they can successfully adopt, build, and operationalize AI agents. Microsoft’s ASPX platform gives partners critical usage and marketing signals to proactively target customer opportunities. MSPs must simplify their bloated technology stacks to create space for selling true business value with agentic AI. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags agentic AI, Reseller Enabled Offers, MCP server, marketplace syndication, ASPX data, Agent 365, precision velocity, managed service providers, hyperscaler enablement, technology stack simplification, Ultimate Partner Experience, cloud solutions strategy, customer zero, ISV go-to-market. Transcript Nicole – Erwin – Mira Podcast [00:00:00] Mira Ayad: I think it’s a very simple formula. Start where your customer is at, like meet the customer. Where they act is not just a generic cliche state statement. [00:00:10] Vince Menzione: You can feel it happening. The ecosystem is shifting beneath us, the way hyperscalers are partnering, how AI is remaking the channel. And what it means to win in 2026. [00:00:21] Vince Menzione: Welcome to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. I’m Vince Menzi, own your host. And each week I sit down with leaders at the intersection of technology, partnerships and outcomes, the voices shaping how ecosystems actually work. We talk about what’s real, what’s changing, and what it takes to lead in this era where the partner channel isn’t just part of the strategy. [00:00:43] Vince Menzione: It is the strategy because being in the room changes everything. Let’s start. [00:00:53] Vince Menzione: We’ve got some word friends of ultimate partner coming up now, and then I’m gonna have them come up and introduce themselves. Uh, most of these people I’ve had the opportunity to meet Nicole, come on up. Come on. Good to meet you. I’m gonna have everyone introduce themselves. This guy, I never know. I’ve never met this guy before. [00:01:12] Vince Menzione: Mira, great to see you again. We gotta be on stage about a month ago. Yes. And we get to do this again while a different panel conversation. So, terrific. [00:01:22] Vince Menzione: Nicole, we’re gonna start with you on from the far end and come this way. So I’ll have you introduce yourself to, to our audience. [00:01:27] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. So, uh, so I lead our, uh, US business for Ingram, uh, really focused on our customer success and renewals across our vendor stack. [00:01:36] Vince Menzione: Thank you for being here. [00:01:37] Nicole Dziedzic: Okay, [00:01:37] Nicole Dziedzic: thank you. I’m excited. Awesome. [00:01:39] Erwin Visser: Yeah. Uh, great to be here again. Thanks, uh, fin for, for having us and a lot of familiar faces. So, uh, Erman, Viser, uh, I recently changed roles, so four weeks ago, uh, in Microsoft. I’m, uh, I just, uh, started to, uh, to lead the, uh, the Cloud Solutions Strategy team, uh, still in GCPS, so our global channel organization. [00:02:01] Vince Menzione: And Mira, great to see you again. [00:02:03] Mira Ayad: Same here. Yes. I’m looking forward for this conversation. We had so much fun last time. [00:02:07] Vince Menzione: Yes, [00:02:08] Vince Menzione: so [00:02:08] Vince Menzione: good. [00:02:09] Mira Ayad: My name is Mira Ayad . I’m the GM for a global Microsoft marketplace. My team leads the strategy and operations. I’ve been with Microsoft for seven months, I think, but this is not my first rodeo. [00:02:21] Mira Ayad: This is my fourth time boomeranging to Microsoft. Yeah. [00:02:26] Vince Menzione: And for context for people, we have talked about marketplace quite a bit, but the conversation has expanded at Microsoft in, in bigger ways. Uh, before, was it November that. REO was announced. [00:02:39] Nicole Dziedzic: Yes. [00:02:40] Vince Menzione: Yes. We’ll talk about that. But maybe you, you talk a little bit about the reseller enabled, uh, offers and, uh, and maybe we’ll take, we’ll take us through that and then how Ingram has been a great partner, and of course, Erwin’s organization has been really front and center with some of this. [00:02:55] Vince Menzione: So let’s go there for, let’s go first tell us, tell us about, about REO. Sure. For those and, and your, your role is, um, we had Cy on stage yesterday. But your role is front and center with the channel, with the with the reseller community. Right. Taking marketplace into the resellers. [00:03:12] Mira Ayad: Sure. So, uh, Cyril is my partner in crime. [00:03:16] Mira Ayad: He leads the marketing for marketplace. Um, my team focus across all personas that hits marketplace from an ISV to channel partners, buyers, and even the Microsoft sellers themselves. Like how can we bring that vibe and that energy? To bring marketplace, to be front and center. Um, REO is, um, a feature that we’ve launched back in November and it’s, it was a very strong statement from Microsoft of how we’re bringing the channel partners into that marketplace journey. [00:03:45] Mira Ayad: With RE Reseller enabled offers, we allow partners to own the private offer that they can extend to their customers on behalf of the SDCs. So kind of bring that scale mechanism for SDCs to access that channel community and for the channel partner to remain the trusted advisor and provide not only marketplace, um, products, but Microsoft services their own professional services. [00:04:12] Mira Ayad: And wrap that and provide a one-stop shop for customers. [00:04:17] Vince Menzione: And it’s really lit up organizations like Ingram. Nicole, I like, it’s been a maybe a minute here, like talking about the evolution of Ingram. ’cause I think back at the old role of the DTI credit, availability of product and delivery, right? Yeah. The kind of the three things. [00:04:34] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, and those are still really, really important to the core of how we go to market. ’cause I think we heard yesterday, every dollar of software, uh, requires a dollar of hardware. So it’s not anything that we’re getting away from. But I think, you know, the marketplaces and the automation, and really where we’ve been transforming our business over the last six to 10 years is how do we take some of that transactional work away from our partners? [00:04:57] Nicole Dziedzic: Make it simpler so that you can really focus on more strategic areas. Marketplace has been a, a heavy part of our go-to-market and something that we’ve been embracing for many years now, um, and seen a lot of success in helping the partners on that journey and helping the vendors really accelerate that with the partner community and the end customers. [00:05:15] Nicole Dziedzic: But it’s also really enabled us to look at how do we wanna show up into our partners differently, right? So as we automate our business. Help our partners automate their business. We have the opportunity to upskill our own resources. And so some of the key areas that we’ve really been focused on is our post-sales motions, and how do we really ensure that the partners customers are leveraging the technology, optimizing it, and adopting it in a much faster pace. [00:05:45] Nicole Dziedzic: So that the investments that they’re making are netting an ROIA lot quicker. Those, uh, those have been things that we have accelerated across our vendor stack. Um, and I think it’s gonna become much more important as we continue to see technology evolve, especially around AI and co-pilot’s. A huge part of what we’ve been really focused on for the last year. [00:06:05] Nicole Dziedzic: Um, the biggest thing that we’re really seeing in the market today. Not just within the MSPs, but within our end customers is that they struggle in terms of how they really get the ROI out of it quickly. Um, and so our team is very human first. Uh, we do have digital motions, but really human first to really dive into the different personas. [00:06:25] Nicole Dziedzic: How do we help them attack that from an end customer perspective? How do we really help them drive value out of those solutions? [00:06:32] Vince Menzione: So what does enablement look like for them? [00:06:34] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, so, um, I loved the quote, uh, from some of the folks in the last session because it’s really about meeting our customers where they are. [00:06:42] Nicole Dziedzic: And so it is a, I always call it we play in the gray and we love to play in the gray all day. Um, because our partners and our our partners customers wanna interact differently. And so we wanna make sure that we have, um, ways to interact with them across. Stack both from a digital standpoint where you can really drive efficiency through digital messaging and marketing, um, all the way up to high touch. [00:07:03] Nicole Dziedzic: So those larger customers can get, uh, hands-on training and enablement. We can do it on behalf of our partners or with our partners to really drive that into the end customer, and then that enables us to really customize it. So what personas are we going to engage with? What are the key features we’re looking to get out of it? [00:07:20] Nicole Dziedzic: Um, and largely what are the outcomes that that company is driving towards over the next 1, 2, 3 years, so we can always stay ahead of what their needs are. [00:07:29] Vince Menzione: Nice. So Erwin, what is Microsoft doing to enable this distribution channel to be more effective with partners? [00:07:36] Erwin Visser: Yeah. Uh, it’s a great question. And, and Nicole, I I love how you, uh, and, and Ingram is, is kind of really leaning in mm-hmm. [00:07:43] Erwin Visser: In driving these customer outcomes and, and helping your partners that even if needed, kind of working with your partners or stepping in front of your partners to help drive these outcomes. ’cause I, I think that’s, uh, we’re. Uh, it clearly ev you, you need to meet the customer where they is. But, uh, having helping customers adopt ai, adopt these new AI solutions agents, I think that is going to be super important for partners to drive, uh, incremental value and also the ROI for themselves as well as for the, for the customers. [00:08:14] Erwin Visser: But Microsoft is, have we, um, one of the things that we are heavily investing in at this moment is our skills platform, our scaling platform. So we, we, if, if people have followed us, we kind of revamped it in the last three, four months. Uh, and we are really not just investing now heavily in technical skills, but also project readiness skills for partners as well as sales skills. [00:08:37] Erwin Visser: Uh, like how do you sell in this new world of, uh, of ai. So where you can see, uh, uh, incremental, uh, ongoing investment in our scaling platform. Um, the other thing that we’re, we’re really working on at this moment, uh, with our. Tech team is, is building more helping partners to build like standardized service offerings and also understand this what’s, what is the capability they need to be successful in and, and become ed themself. [00:09:05] Erwin Visser: And, and we’re doing that also in partnership with the, with income. So income can use kind of some of these, these frameworks than to, to leverage them for their partners and then help with, uh, with that enablement. [00:09:18] Vince Menzione: So Mira when we think, so we think about it from a couple different lenses here, right? [00:09:22] Vince Menzione: Because we’ve got the Microsoft first party products that are, that are being offered through distribution channel to customers, and then we have what I call third party, right? Mm-hmm. Which is a lot of what the marketplace does. It does both. But I think about the marketplace, I think about ISVs, I think about agentic ai. [00:09:40] Vince Menzione: How do we, how do you bring it all together? [00:09:43] Mira Ayad: Um, the way I think of marketplace, and you and I talked about this before, yes, it’s that intersection where SDCs ISVs services and solutions meet. First party solutions meet professional services provided by system integrator and all wrapped up to provide that complete solution for customers. [00:10:04] Mira Ayad: So marketplace, kind of that perfect intersection for all of those parties to meet, um, from a customer perspective depends on the segment. We all know that marketplace is born and raised to be an enterprise tool. Now we’re seeing more and more s and b customers coming trying to leverage marketplace. [00:10:20] Mira Ayad: Yeah, [00:10:20] Vince Menzione: very much so. [00:10:21] Mira Ayad: So the role of enablement and how we activate the channel to really be front and center, more proactive as they go and talk to their SMB customers. Find the ways to monetize their solutions and their services for the SMB customers so they can adopt that marketplace. Because with everything that’s happening in the industry, one thing we know for sure that marketplace transformed how procurement of software happens. [00:10:46] Mira Ayad: Yes. And it’s here to stay. [00:10:48] Vince Menzione: Very much so. Very much so. And Nicole, I’m interested too on, on this side because we, we have, this is the first year that we’ve invited quite a few MSPs into the room as well. Right. We were very much ISV and reseller and, and SI focused. Uh, this time has changed like no other. [00:11:05] Vince Menzione: Right. We’ve been talking all morning about all this agentic ai. As an as an MSPI, my my sense is like I need to have my hands on the steering wheel for my customer at all times. And how are you thinking through it? How are you working with those organizations on driving some of that? [00:11:22] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, so again, it’s about meeting even our partners where they are. [00:11:26] Nicole Dziedzic: And so one of the things that we’ve recently released at Ingram is our MCP server. And so how do we enable our partners to then connect their agent capabilities that they’ve built internally to grab the data from Ingram so that they can interact with us how they want to, you know, we have our platform and, and. [00:11:43] Nicole Dziedzic: We don’t wanna force everybody to go into a platform. And so that server is gonna enable you to build capabilities internally in the tools that you’ve already invested in so that you can, again, refocus your energies and your teams, um, on selling on these new go-to markets that enables you to grab the data that you need and. [00:12:03] Nicole Dziedzic: Essentially a snapshot of your account when you’re buying through distribution, all with a really simple click of a button. I know I, I oversimplify it, but I’m not that technical. Um, but it is really a click of a button. And so as we continue to release capabilities, API feeds, if you’re connected via that server and you have those agent capabilities already internally, then it’s as simple as us just continuing to release and you’ll continue to be able to grab that information. [00:12:28] Vince Menzione: Mira’s gram’s approach, what you’re starting to see across most of the distribution channel. Yeah, [00:12:34] Mira Ayad: more or less, yes. Like we, we’ve seen, we’ve partnering with Ingram on, on multiple fronts. Uh, there’s another feature that we bring and Ingram has been our, uh, partner in crime, which is syndication, which we push the marketplace listings into the Ingram portal to support what Nicole just said. [00:12:52] Mira Ayad: So partners get to use the tools that they are using today. We’re meeting them where they are. We’re not forcing them into one platform over the other. Um, I think enablement. The role of enablement and the distributor as an enabler is going to grow even more. Uh, switching that message of how can you sell a task oriented agent versus a solution [00:13:17] Mira Ayad: Yes. [00:13:17] Mira Ayad: Um, is a, is a game changer. And we also see, I I like to say this, like distribution are now becoming an aggregation and a distributor. Yes. So they get to aggregate all that solution between all hyperscalers marketplaces. And find that core enablement so partners can be a plug and play and use their core competency to sell and be that trusted advisor for their customer instead of wasting time trying to figure out where to get enabled or how to get enabled. [00:13:44] Mira Ayad: Mm-hmm. So absolutely a hundred percent the aligned. [00:13:46] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Enablement seems to be a big theme here, right, Nicole? And, and, and you’ve got some new products is MCP server and. Some of the things you’re doing there as well. [00:13:55] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, I would say even above and beyond the, the MCP server for the automation, you know, enablement enable is kind of our core function of our enablement strategy and enable ai, enable MSP are two of the most recent ones that we’ve released to market. [00:14:10] Nicole Dziedzic: Um, one of the things that we’ve really identified. Especially within the M-S-P-S-M-B and mid-market partner community is that there’s still a struggle in what does AI actually mean for my strategy and out to my end customers. And so we’ve created paths to enable our partners, MSPs, their end customers on how do you build that strategy for AI that’s both going to create outcomes for your end customers, um, but also be safe and secure as you kind of bring it to market. [00:14:39] Vince Menzione: Erwin on your side, on the marketing side, and you just shifted roles. You were [00:14:43] Erwin Visser: Yeah. Know. Yeah. Piece. Well, I didn’t forget everything that I did. Okay, good. No, I, it was only last week. Right. I’m, I’m getting older, but I still have a little bit of memory. Last year, uh, the, the, um, yeah, I wanted, uh, react quickly on the, on MSPs, especially think it’s incredible time. [00:14:59] Erwin Visser: And, and, uh, and, and so you, I think most people probably know that Microsoft, this, uh, our fiscal year start on July 1st. So May, uh, uh, April, may up to June is like really our crunch time for planning. So we’re in the middle of it. But, and, and without seeing, like giving you too much like insights or details, but. [00:15:18] Erwin Visser: We, we believe there, uh, is an in significant opportunity, almost like the golden age for MSPs in the next years. [00:15:25] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:15:26] Erwin Visser: Uh, if they are able, the, the partners that are able to embrace ai, and we, we kind of think about it in, in maybe in three different like steps or, or framework of clearly, uh, being a customer, zero. [00:15:41] Erwin Visser: And I assume a lot of people, or a lot of people talked about it in the last day and a half, so I don’t have to go in deep here, but hey, you have to adopt the technology itself to be able to deliver and sell it to customers. But then the, the other two steps that we believe one is, uh, uh, built an an agents or an agent accelerator and, uh, that can mean that. [00:16:02] Erwin Visser: Uh, leverage, uh, marketplaces for finding and customizing agents or having competency in-house to build agents for your customers. And then the third step is, is operationalize agents. And I think pe the partners that have experience at this moment with managed services probably have a step ahead. ’cause we had the in. [00:16:24] Erwin Visser: For more and more customers in the future, we’ll rely on a partner to manage and to help support their, their, uh, agent infrastructure. And so, uh, MSPs that can really, uh, jump into that and can help customers to manage, protect, secure, uh, uh, uh, their, uh, their agent in, uh, infrastructure, uh, that will be an an significant opportunity. [00:16:49] Erwin Visser: Um, one of the products that, you know, I’m, I’m not gonna do a product pitch yet, but still, I’m gonna mention you can, [00:16:55] Vince Menzione: and you can also share things that are gonna be announced with us as well. [00:16:58] Erwin Visser: Well, this is, uh, this is, this is announced already, but hey, we, uh, one of the technologies we are very excited about that’s, uh, hopefully can also support MSPs is, uh, agent 365. [00:17:10] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:17:10] Erwin Visser: Which, uh, which really can help partners to, to kind of like secure and manage and, and drive governance around [00:17:17] Vince Menzione: agents. Still, still very new product by the way. [00:17:19] Erwin Visser: Yeah, it’s, uh, uh, [00:17:20] Vince Menzione: makes a big difference. [00:17:21] Erwin Visser: Awesome. [00:17:23] Vince Menzione: So, Mira, this is very, you know, it’s funny because initially when you would think about what you, what you’re doing with REO as being like big ISVs, selling big solutions through marketplaces, we, we now brought the channel in. [00:17:38] Vince Menzione: But now the ag agentic has really changed the things dramatically. Right, right. Let’s talk about that. How does it, how does it fit into your strategy as you go into the SMB market as well? Right. [00:17:48] Mira Ayad: Great question. And um, I’d like to tell a story in a little [00:17:52] Vince Menzione: bit. Please, please. [00:17:53] Mira Ayad: So, one of my greatest mentors, um, I was just having a chat with him a couple of days ago, and I’m just like, the market is changing faster than anyone can catch up. [00:18:02] Mira Ayad: And he told me, Mira. It’s not a chess game anymore, it’s a squash game. So it’s all about being agile, beating the ball with it, what it is, uh, and moving fast. And I think the strategy for marketplace and for the channel, Microsoft has always been a channel first company, so this is not a news for anyone. [00:18:20] Mira Ayad: Next year we’re focusing more into bringing the channel into marketplace. We are having, and I’m sure Sarah talked about it, uh, yesterday a little bit. We’re having very targeted approach to bring. Agents that customer actually wants into marketplace. So not just a, a traffic jam of agents. Uh, we’re being very precise about it from a channel perspective. [00:18:44] Mira Ayad: Alex? Agree. My colleague, she has a, an a a session later. She [00:18:48] Vince Menzione: does for having Alex on stage here. [00:18:50] Mira Ayad: Yes. And she’s gonna talk more about this channel strategy overall, but being customer zero. Is big for us and precision velocity is something else. Like how can we help the partners [00:19:00] Vince Menzione: precision velocity. I like That’s [00:19:02] Mira Ayad: right. [00:19:02] Mira Ayad: And she’s gonna talk a lot about it. I’m [00:19:04] Vince Menzione: not gonna say [00:19:04] Mira Ayad: her thunder. [00:19:05] Vince Menzione: I wanted to hear, I wanna hear more about it. So it’s, it’s compelling. [00:19:08] Mira Ayad: I know. Just, uh, a under session today, [00:19:11] Vince Menzione: well, I think I’m gonna be leading it, but come in this afternoon. Absolutely. [00:19:16] Mira Ayad: Absolutely. Yes. So moving from being a scale player to actually know what you’re really good at and have that precision. [00:19:23] Mira Ayad: To sell and get your customer where they want to be. I think it’s, it’s all how the strategy is aligned, yet shifting a little bit to reflect what’s happening in the industry. [00:19:33] Vince Menzione: And you’re no stranger to marketplace. Right. Um, we talked about your career journey, but you start off in Microsoft. We sort of knew each other back in the day, right? [00:19:43] Vince Menzione: Yes. Public sector. [00:19:44] Mira Ayad: Yes. [00:19:44] Vince Menzione: And then you left and you went across the river or across, across the lake. It was a lake or river? The lake. Lake. Yeah. You can tell I don’t live here, but [00:19:53] Mira Ayad: it’s a pond. [00:19:53] Vince Menzione: It’s a pond, yeah. [00:19:55] Mira Ayad: Um, so yes, I did start in, uh, Microsoft as a PDM for public sector focusing on education partners. [00:20:00] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:20:01] Mira Ayad: Um, [00:20:01] Vince Menzione: Anthony Salcito. [00:20:02] Mira Ayad: Anthony STO was the GM back then. And then I spent some time in an ISV. Um, it was a startup. I think I’ve, I had like my MBA on how to start businesses there. Which I boomerang to Microsoft to be part of the architecture team of a tiny program. I’m not sure if you guys are familiar with it. [00:20:23] Mira Ayad: It’s called CSP. So I launched CSP for the channel partners hosting telco’s, distribution. And then, um, our neighbors across the pond called the pond, me to come and help them build a channel program. Um, and then for, for three years, and then I spend the next seven. On AWS marketplace, uh, helping with, uh, channel adoption and strategy and enablement. [00:20:50] Vince Menzione: Nice. Very nice. Okay. And, um, the perspective on that as well. Bringing you, you talking about being precise. I think I heard what I, what I gleaned from your last set of comments is it can be so overwhelming to have all these agents, thousands and thousands of agents out there, how do, how do I decide, what do I go do and do the agents conflict with one another in terms of how they, how they react, and how they maybe start procuring on my behalf. [00:21:18] Mira Ayad: Um, I think it’s a very simple formula. Start where your customer is at, like meet the customer where they at is not just a generic cliche state statement. Customers are gonna lead our MSPs, our channel, our distribution, and our hyperscalers with their marketplaces or what needs to be built and how fast they want it. [00:21:37] Mira Ayad: And we should not lose sight of that. Um, just. Customer win is a win for everyone. That’s the, that’s, I think that’s the simple formula. And across all, uh, hyperscaler marketplaces, I think everyone is trying to win the heart and the mind of the customer first. [00:21:52] Nicole Dziedzic: Yes. [00:21:53] Mira Ayad: And then we, as the platforms and the channel community, we need to work very closely, um, with precision, with high level of, um, depth of knowledge to bring customers faster and make that customer zero. [00:22:10] Mira Ayad: From our perspective as an internal customer first and our first customer that we’re gonna build the case studies around to build that flywheel so we can accelerate that. So the first five offer becomes, the second, becomes the hundreds. Um, and this is how we bring it on. But always start from the customer. [00:22:26] Vince Menzione: I’m thinking about Jay’s slide yesterday, Jim McBain slide about the 28 moments [00:22:31] Mira Ayad: Yes. [00:22:32] Vince Menzione: And all the, all the partner types that are involved in that process. Right. The ISVs. Uh, CSPs, I mean actually lay out more partner types, ISPs, CSPs, distributor, uh, reseller, all all aligned in that customer journey and all. [00:22:49] Vince Menzione: And so just that coordination and that effort. I just wanna get everybody’s point of view on that maybe. [00:22:53] Erwin Visser: Yeah. [00:22:54] Vince Menzione: Or [00:22:54] Erwin Visser: you want start, Nicole? [00:22:55] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. I mean, I think it takes an army, right? And I think it’s about how does each. Each kind of persona simplify the process for the next person. And I think that’s probably the key piece of it. [00:23:06] Nicole Dziedzic: And I’ll, I’ll talk from a distribution lens, is that our goal is that we wanna make sure it’s simpler for our vendors, for our partners to be able to transact in the marketplaces. Um, and also be that conduit, right? To provide that feedback back to vendors around what’s working, what’s not working, so we can go faster, right? [00:23:23] Nicole Dziedzic: And so the partners can go faster, um, but also be super sound in how they bring it to market. [00:23:30] Vince Menzione: And I, and I think what I also got outta that conversation, I want to get your point of view on this, is because again, I go back to ISV thinking, direct selling model. [00:23:39] Mira Ayad: Yeah. [00:23:40] Vince Menzione: And oh, there’s this thing called the channel and oh, we have to go do this. [00:23:42] Vince Menzione: But I think what that illustrated, that slide illustrated to me yesterday. Was how important to have all the multiple touch points involved because the deal is happening before you were entering the room. Right. So how, how are you, how and again, why, why do ISVs? I think, I think the answer is right there. [00:24:00] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. I, it’s about how do we scale you and how do we simplify. For the partners. Um, I think the biggest challenge that young ISVs really run into is that they do forget about the channel. And the channel is massive. Um, and the channel gives you reach and it gives you scale by leveraging MSPs and better communities. [00:24:24] Nicole Dziedzic: Distribution comes into the fold because we are that scale for the partners themselves. We are that scale for the MSPs, right? And so there has to be a connection between the two to really enable the ISVs that are direct today, um, to scale to probably the levels that they wanna scale, and a trusted partnership where we can bring in. [00:24:46] Nicole Dziedzic: What works, what doesn’t work? Best practices. ’cause we have worked with a lot of vendors and we continue to work with a lot of vendors, um, on how to continue to scale their business. [00:24:55] Vince Menzione: What’s it, what do they get wrong? You mentioned the younger ISVs. Mm-hmm. The newer is more startup ISVs and the startup doesn’t take long. [00:25:02] Vince Menzione: You can get to a billion dollars. Yeah. Pretty quickly these days. What do they get wrong? And then how do you solve for that for them? [00:25:08] Nicole Dziedzic: I, I think what they get wrong at times, um, is building out a true partner program that makes sense for the MSPs, for traditional VARs, um, for sis to actually wanna participate, right? [00:25:24] Nicole Dziedzic: Because there’s a lot of competition out there, and you have to differentiate yourself. And part of that is making sure you’re not forgetting about what you’re. Partner program is gonna be to bring to market. I think that’s probably the biggest thing. The, the other piece is that, you know, there is a lot of solutions out there and so what’s your compelling event, compelling reason, right, for a partner to wanna bring you into their stock, into their end customers. [00:25:47] Nicole Dziedzic: And that is something that we, at times are missing as well, is, is what’s differentiating you from the person next to you. [00:25:55] Vince Menzione: Mira, anything to add to that? [00:25:57] Mira Ayad: Um, I think working with ISBs for the past, I don’t know how many years in my career, um, I always get asked the same question, how can I utilize marketplace? [00:26:06] Mira Ayad: How can I do the pricing? And I listed on marketplace, how come the deals are not falling from the sky? Yes, exactly. And um, my answer has always been. Listing a marketplace is the first step, not the last, right? What is your go-to-market strategy? How are you going to go to market? What’s the role of the channel that they want them to play? [00:26:28] Mira Ayad: Do you want them to become just a reseller and an extended Salesforce arm? Do you want them to take that to implementation and take your support? I think Microsoft kind of between all of the partner types that we have and the great distributors that we partner with, we kind of unlock that for guys because we can have that conversation and help them with their go-to market strategy. [00:26:49] Mira Ayad: But I think first is marketplace need to be in the beginning of the deals, not at the end. So they can always be like, okay, I’m going to be listed to the marketplace when they pitch that to the customer. Bring the marketplace philosophy and the channel into the deal making. Not on the 11th hour. Yeah. [00:27:06] Vince Menzione: Yeah. I liked what an ISV said earlier about actually unlocking their sales organization by putting incentives out there. Yes. To be marketplace first. Erwin, you, you’re the accelerant. Yeah. Go to markets. You’re the marketing guy in the, in this conversation. [00:27:21] Erwin Visser: Yeah. So I, I’m, I’m maybe, uh, I was thinking on the other side, it’s like, and there’s a clearly a role for the ISV. [00:27:26] Erwin Visser: Yeah. And opportunity through marketplace. I also think there’s an opportunity on the MSP side to really, uh, be proactive around, uh, the ISV solutions that you can deliver to your customers. And, and one of the things that, uh, I, I still see is that, uh, some of our partners are not using just the data that is available and that we also have, uh, as Microsoft and with Ingram give to our partners to really see what the opportunities are out there. [00:27:52] Erwin Visser: And, uh, a new, uh, platform that we released, uh, a few months ago. A SPX. Uh, I would kind of be curious to see, uh, hands up like, uh, of the MSPs in the room. Have you heard of a SPX? A few. Okay. So we still have a little bit more eventually to do here, but, uh, yeah. So we we’re, uh, bringing, uh, data sources to our partners, uh, that combine like usage data and marketing signals, other information that we have, licensing data that that really helps our partners also because. [00:28:24] Erwin Visser: To be, to understand where your customer is. Yeah. You first have to understand also the data of your customer and, and the signals that they are giving in the marketplace so you can help understand where the, the next opportunity is. And so we’re, uh, we have another great partnership with, uh, with Ingram around this data sources and in income enriches them and brings them to their resellers. [00:28:45] Erwin Visser: But I think that’s still, uh, uh, clearly if I saw the hands, an opportunity for us to, uh, to bring that more to the market. Yeah. [00:28:53] Vince Menzione: And let’s not forget the MSPs in this conversation, right? Because they are like at, at all, at all levels, whether it be first party, third party, cross marketplace. They are the instrumentation in front of the customer. [00:29:05] Vince Menzione: And I think there’s a great opportunity and know you talk about how you and enabling them. Um, maybe some last comments about how MSPs in this room could be more successful in the coming year, working with your organizations. Yeah. [00:29:18] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. I mean, I think for us it’s challenge us, um, bring forward things that you want and need, even if they seem outlandish from a distribution standpoint, right? [00:29:28] Nicole Dziedzic: We wanna continue to make sure we’re meeting you guys where you are with what you need and how you wanna be interacted with. Um, so I think that would probably be my biggest thing. I do. Before we, I just wanna go back to the as PX data real quick. I do wanna give a plug on the as PX data, because I do work with all of our vendors within Ingram and, and I will say the data. [00:29:46] Nicole Dziedzic: Availability that you guys have released has been above and beyond what we’ve seen from most of our vendors. We hear a lot of can’t share that it’s legal, can’t share that it’s legal. Um, this really enables us and the MSPs to, to see not just where their customer needs to go, but where they’ve been. [00:30:04] Nicole Dziedzic: Right. And so how do you really frame a conversation that’s really strategic by leveraging data and data that will intake and be made available for everybody that, um, purchases through distribution so that you can have that ready at your hand. So I just wanna reverse back to that ’cause it is a really great data set, um, and something we don’t see a lot of vendors actually released to the masses within the partner community within distribution to leverage. [00:30:29] Erwin Visser: Yeah. I, I love that quote, by the way, but it’s, thank you, Nicole. Uh, so the, but, uh, uh, your question is around how we are enabling MSPs, correct? Yes. Yeah. Right. So I had the, um, there, there’s a, there’s a few things here. Uh, I think that, am I, if I’m being honest, there’s still some points that we need to improve on our technology and our roadmap Yeah. [00:30:53] Erwin Visser: Of our technology. So this is clearly well understood within Microsoft and there’s areas that we are, uh, that we’re working on and, uh, we’re taking very serious, uh, at this moment. Good. Uh, to help you like, manage, uh, uh, our technology across, uh, uh, significant numbers of, uh, of, of tenants. Um, the, the second thing I would say is that clearly we talked about scaling. [00:31:16] Erwin Visser: We talked about enabling, uh, added technology to help you build out your managed services from, I would say from the, the, or the, the infrastructure to security to also agents. Now with some of the new technology that we, uh, that we have released. The, the third thing, and this is maybe more of an ask to the MSPs, is that, uh, when I talk to MSPs, when I see the research, uh, I believe that still at this stage, uh, you mo uh, the average Ms. [00:31:44] Erwin Visser: P has like 30 different products in the technology stack. That’s crazy. And, uh, and so I, I simplify. Simplify. Yes, I understand how you got here. Uh, it’s a lot of like, uh, best of breed, maybe selection through, through history. But I think, uh, my advice to MSPs is like, if, if, if you wanna create space for selling business value and for building out like an an AI accelerator for your customers, you need to find a also space to simplify your technology stack. [00:32:15] Erwin Visser: ’cause that’s what we believe. That’s not where the, the opportunity sits in the future. Uh, and that’s also not where I think the, uh, the, the margin sits for, for our partners in the future. So simplify your technology stack. We have ideas about that simplification clearly, but, uh, happy to talk to you about it. [00:32:33] Erwin Visser: But, uh, yeah, simplify and then create space for, uh, for really selling business value with, uh, with agenda ai. I think that’s a, a huge opportunity. [00:32:42] Vince Menzione: There any last comments before we start? [00:32:44] Mira Ayad: Um, a very short comment. So from an enablement perspective, we have a very intentional, proactive focus on enabling the MSP and FY 27 and the remaining of FY 26. [00:32:55] Mira Ayad: Um, yes, last year was the year of the channel. I think next year is going to be the year of, uh, marketplace Channel and MSPs. Um, but I do have an ask. We build marketplace. For you and with you, and you are the closest to the customer. So please be the voice of the customer. Bring us that feedback. Let us know how we can build a marketplace that meets your customer needs so it makes your life easier instead of having to spend time figuring out how to incorporate marketplace in your strategy. [00:33:24] Vince Menzione: I love that we had Jose Gomez. K. Uh, with us yesterday and he spent a lot of time with the partners to getting that feedback, so it was wonderful. [00:33:32] Mira Ayad: Another big guy. [00:33:32] Vince Menzione: Thank you so much. [00:33:34] Vince Menzione: Thanks for listening to The Ultimate Partner Podcast. If today’s [00:33:38] Vince Menzione: conversation resonated, share it with a partner leader in your network. [00:33:42] Vince Menzione: Subscribe where you listen, and head over to the ultimate partner.com. For show notes related content and the resources for this episode. And if you haven’t already, now’s the time to register for the Ultimate Partner Live Event in Reston, Virginia, October 26th through October 28th. Until next time, keep showing up in the rooms that matter because being in the room changes everything.
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Rachelle Cerera-Leones is the co-founder and creative collaborator of Creativly Studio, an enterprise built on the belief that entrepreneurship should help people grow. From a home-based business to a trusted partner of companies, government agencies, and fellow MSMEs, Cerera-Leones' journey reflects the power of collaboration, mentorship, and innovation. A 2019 DTI and Go Negosyo- KMME graduate turned Certified KMME Mentor, she continues to pay forward the mentorship she received by empowering fellow entrepreneurs and communities.
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Stop feeling stuck: this free 12-month action plan helps first-time homebuyers buy sooner and more powerfully.Are you 6-18 months from buying and feel overwhelmed? This episode introduces the "Last Lease Ever" program, a free, customizable 12-month strategic plan for first-time homebuyers. Learn to optimize your credit, debt, and savings with a trusted "Unicorn" team, enabling you to purchase sooner and with greater leverage. Discover how proactive planning unlocks advanced negotiation tactics and debunks common industry myths to secure your best deal."You don't get ready and then hire the team. You hire the team and they get you ready."— David Sidoni, Nationwide First Time Homebuying Coach HighlightsHow can proactive planning 12-18 months before buying give you the ultimate leverage?What are "The Big Three" financial pillars you need to optimize for homeownership?Why is hiring a "Unicorn" team before you're ready the absolute best strategy?How does the "Last Lease Ever" program help you target savings for closing costs and down payment, debunking the 20% myth?What advanced negotiation tactics can you unlock by starting your plan early, like the "first mortgage payment timing trick"?Why is managing monthly debt-to-income (DTI) more important than eliminating all gross debt for mortgage approval?How can tracking your progress with "fundraising thermometers" keep you motivated on your journey?Referenced Episodes & Resources515 – You're Closer Than You Think, Start Saving Now | 2026 Financial Prep Series - Part 1500 – What to Know Before Buying Your First Home in 2026503 – First Time Homebuyer Step #3: Credit Score504 – First Time Homebuyer Step #4: Debt Management505 – First Time Homebuyer Step #5: Saving for a Home506 – First Time Homebuyer Step #6: Goals - (Plan A & B)437 – What Is a Unicorn Realtor? First Time Homebuyer FAQ:465 – Balancing Debt and Saving in 2026 - First Time Homebuyer's Guide460 – Rent vs Buy in 2026: Are First Time Homebuyers Crazy?HowtoBuyaHome.com/10steps - The #1 Educational System for First-Time Homebuyers in the USAHowtoBuyaHome.com/Guide - Over 100 of our BEST Episodes of Detailed Homebuying Knowledge, Interviews, and MORE! Connect with me to find a trusted realtor in your area or to answer your burning questions!Subscribe to our YouTube Channel @HowToBuyaHomeInstagram @HowtoBuyAHomePodcastTik Tok @HowToBuyAHomeVisit our Resource Center to to get your FREE Home Buying Starter Kit!David Sidoni, the "How to Buy a Home Guy," is a seasoned real estate professional and consumer advocate with two decades of experience helping first-time homebuyers navigate the real estate market. His podcast, "How to Buy a Home," is a trusted resource for anyone looking to buy their first home. It offers expert advice, actionable tips, and inspiring stories from real first-time homebuyers. With a focus on making the home-buying process accessible and understandable, David breaks down complex topics into easy-to-follow steps, covering everything from budgeting and financing to finding the right home and making an offer. Subscribe for regular market updates, and leave a review to help us reach more people. Ready for an honest, informed home-buying experience? Viva la Unicorn Revolution - join us!
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Life is hard. But sometimes, the way we think about what we're going through makes it even harder.This week on the Desire To Inspire Podcast, we get into physical fatigue, marathon training, adversity, negativity, faith, losing people you love, friendships, and one question that completely changes how you look at your problems:**If you could put every problem in your life into a bag and trade it for a random person's bag without knowing what was inside would you do it?**Probably not.Everyone is carrying something.The goal isn't to pretend that life isn't difficult. It's learning how to navigate the difficult seasons without allowing them to completely derail you.We also somehow start the episode with Freddy nearly BURNING DOWN HIS BRAND-NEW HOUSE after only two weeks of living there.
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Unlock your mortgage approval by understanding how new 2026 student loan plans can strategically boost your buying power.Don't let student loans stop your homeownership dream. This episode reveals how lenders really evaluate student debt through your Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratio, not total balances. Discover the vital 2026 student loan repayment plan changes and how strategically optimizing your DTI can unlock significant mortgage qualification, even with substantial debt. Learn the critical steps to navigate new rules and make informed decisions that pave your way home."Student loans keep uninformed buyers from buying a home, but the buyers who get the new strategies for this new economy will be playing chess while everyone is playing checkers."— David Sidoni, Nationwide First Time Homebuying Coach HighlightsWhy isn't your total student loan balance the biggest concern for mortgage lenders?What is the Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratio, and why is it your most powerful tool for mortgage qualification?How do the new 2026 student loan repayment plans (like RAP and IBR) directly impact your homebuying potential?Which mortgage programs truly honor a "documented zero" student loan payment, and which will calculate a hidden monthly cost?Can a strategic move, like refinancing a high-payment car loan, be more effective for qualification than paying down student debt?What critical questions must you ask your lender to compare every student loan plan against every mortgage program?Why is ignoring the 90-day letter about new student loan plans a catastrophic mistake for your homeownership goals? Referenced Episodes & Resources503 – First Time Homebuyer Step #3: Credit Score504 – First Time Homebuyer Step #4: Debt Management460 – Rent vs Buy in 2026: Are First Time Homebuyers Crazy?HowtoBuyaHome.com/10steps - The #1 Educational System for First-Time Homebuyers in the USAHowtoBuyaHome.com/Guide - Over 100 of our BEST Episodes of Detailed Homebuying Knowledge, Interviews, and MORE! Connect with me to find a trusted realtor in your area or to answer your burning questions!Subscribe to our YouTube Channel @HowToBuyaHomeInstagram @HowtoBuyAHomePodcastTik Tok @HowToBuyAHomeVisit our Resource Center to to get your FREE Home Buying Starter Kit!David Sidoni, the "How to Buy a Home Guy," is a seasoned real estate professional and consumer advocate with two decades of experience helping first-time homebuyers navigate the real estate market. His podcast, "How to Buy a Home," is a trusted resource for anyone looking to buy their first home. It offers expert advice, actionable tips, and inspiring stories from real first-time homebuyers. With a focus on making the home-buying process accessible and understandable, David breaks down complex topics into easy-to-follow steps, covering everything from budgeting and financing to finding the right home and making an offer. Subscribe for regular market updates, and leave a review to help us reach more people. Ready for an honest, informed home-buying experience? Viva la Unicorn Revolution - join us!
Send Us A Message! Let us know what you think.Are fake AI photos hiding structural defects on house listings? And how did a social media property coach end up owing $2M to creditors?In Episode 23 of New Zealand Property Insights, hosts Paul Roberts and Debbie Roberts (owners of Property Apprentice) tackle the biggest ethical, regulatory, and construction cost developments affecting New Zealand property buyers and investors today.
The Land Podcast - The Pursuit of Land Ownership and Investing
Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Mike Cantrall. We discuss: Why two years of house-loan rejections came down to being newly self-employed and a DTI formula. How Mike found a lender who looks at the whole financial picture instead of a W-2. The Roth IRA withdrawal that covered his down payment when income alone wouldn't get him approved. Going self-employed with no college degree, no plan, and two deer dropped off at a friend's shop. Why the pressure of working for yourself is what finally forced him to figure out land ownership. How he got pre-approved first, and had a landowner call him about 40 acres the very next day. Buying, improving, and selling his first farm inside four months — and why he skipped the 1031. Why he walked away from a 500-acre lease that cost about what a farm payment does. What a permanent CREP easement restricts, plus the DNR visit that comes with owning one. Why two used car payments a month is roughly the cost of a small farm. And so much more! Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:00 Starting a Taxidermy Business 04:19 Financing Land While Self-Employed 10:46 Mindset for Land Ownership 13:56 First Farm Purchase Strategy 17:40 Leasing Versus Owning Land 22:25 Rapid Farm Transactions 30:31 1031 Exchange Lessons 34:43 Reflections and Lessons Learned 41:26 Future Plans and CREP 50:37 The Home Building Challenge 53:05 Final Advice and Outro Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/ Whitetail Master Academy https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Trax Took Birth in October 1985 as a pirate radio station broadcasting from the north circular road in a caravan. The station was called "D.A.D",(abbreviated as Davinder,Amir,David). After a DTI bust,(or 3!), the name changed from D.A.D to a mobile disco name,(Trax Mobile Disco),to TRAX FM. The time was 1986,and what fun we had. New DJ's joined,Mickey,Ritz,The Pacman,The Captain & DJ Danny). Trax also had "live" phone in's and requests on air! We hope to bring some fun back to you over the internet. Anything good will be played. Whether that be House,Hip Hop,Electro,Soul,Jazz,Funk,Disco,Soca,Reggae/Chutney..whatever. Also the live debates returns! Enjoy! www.traxfm.org
Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll ever make. If you are not ready to buy yet because mortgage rates feel high, your down payment needs more time, or the right house has not hit the market; the waiting period can still work in your favor. Don't let the home buying delay get you down. Instead, let it motivate you to work towards a more favorable purchase outcome. Links: Listen to our past episode "What the Heck is Credit and Why is it Important?" to learn more about credit scores and reports Check out TCU University for financial education tips and resources! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Learn more about Triangle Credit Union Transcript: Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast. Finding the right house can be challenging. For many buyers, it's a process that's hard to predict and in many cases, can take longer than expected. The good news is that the waiting period doesn't have to be wasted time. In fact, a few smart financial moves now can put you in a much stronger position when it's finally time to make that offer. If you're one of the many people waiting to find the right house to call home, here are a few things you can do in the meantime to get your financial situation in tip top shape while waiting. 1. Build a Bigger Down Payment One of the most productive things you can do while waiting to buy is continue growing your down payment fund. A larger down payment can reduce your monthly mortgage payment, lower the amount you'll need to borrow, and potentially help you avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI). Even adding a few extra thousand dollars to your savings can make a meaningful difference over the life of the loan. Consider setting up automatic transfers into a dedicated high-yield savings account, so your home fund continues to grow without requiring constant attention. 2. Improve Your Credit Score Your credit score plays a major role in calculating the mortgage rate you'll qualify for. Even a small improvement could save you thousands of dollars over the life of a loan. This waiting period is a great time to beef up that score for a better purchase position. While you're waiting, focus on: Paying bills on time Reducing existing credit card balances Avoiding new debt Reviewing your credit report for errors Think of this period as an opportunity to strengthen your financial profile before mortgage lenders take a closer look. 3. Pay Down Existing Debt Lenders pay close attention to your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio when evaluating mortgage applications. The lower your monthly debt obligations, the more attractive you may appear as a borrower. Take some time to do the math and figure out what your debt-to-income ratio is. If it's uncomfortably high, make some changes. Reducing debt can improve both your borrowing power and your overall financial flexibility once you become a homeowner. For more information about credit scores in general, listen to one of our podcast episodes “What the Heck is Credit and Why is it Important” for an expert explanation on building and maintaining a good credit score. Check the link in the show notes. 4. Build an Emergency Fund It's easy to focus entirely on saving a down payment, but homeownership comes with unexpected expenses. Water heaters fail, roofs leak, and appliances don't always cooperate. Before buying, aim to have an emergency fund that can cover several months of living expenses. Having cash reserves can help prevent a surprise repair from turning into a financial setback. 5. Research Your Future Neighborhoods The waiting period can also be a great time to become a more informed buyer. Doing preliminary work and research is always a good idea, because it helps you further solidify where you really want to live. This is important because it'll decrease the chance of buying a home so abruptly that you didn't get a chance to consider the location. So, you put in the offer, signed the contract and finally moved in only to realize you hate the neighborhood. These days things move quickly, so having a firm understanding on locations can help you rest easy knowing you're making the right move when you buy. Spend time researching things like: School districts Property taxes Commute times Local amenities Future development plans Environmental factors – human-caused (like contaminated water or natural like flooding risk) While researching, visit neighborhoods at different times of day and on weekends. What looks perfect during a Sunday afternoon visit may feel very different during a weekday rush hour. 6. Create a Realistic Homeownership Budget Many buyers focus primarily on the mortgage payment, but that's only part of the equation. Homeownership brings with it many added costs. Take some time, do research and develop a budget that will include not only the mortgage but added payments you can expect to make down the road including: Property taxes Homeowners insurance Utilities Maintenance and repairs HOA fees, if applicable A useful exercise is to "practice" the future payment. If your current rent is $1,800 and you expect a future housing payment of $2,500, try setting aside the extra $700 each month. This can help you test your budget while increasing your savings. 7. Avoid Major Financial Changes If you expect buying within the next year, it's wise to avoid actions that could complicate a future mortgage application. Be wary and try to avoid changes that can disrupt your financials like: Taking on large amounts of new debt Financing expensive purchases Frequently opening new credit accounts Making large unexplained bank deposits Consistency and stability often work in your favor during the mortgage approval process. Waiting to buy a house can feel frustrating, especially when you're eager to move into a place of your own. But the time before your purchase can be one of the most valuable parts of the homebuying journey. By strengthening your savings, improving your credit, reducing debt, and preparing for the realities of homeownership, you'll be positioning yourself for a smoother purchase and a stronger financial future. When the right house finally comes along, you'll be ready to move forward with confidence. If there are any other tips or topics you'd like us to cover, let us know at tcupodcast@trianglecu.org. Also, remember to like and follow our Making Money Personal Facebook and Instagram to share your thoughts. Finally, remember to look for our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union, on Facebook and LinkedIn. Thanks for listening to today's Money Tip Tuesday. Check out our other tips and episodes on the Making Money Personal podcast.
Send us a question/idea/opinion direct via text message!First-home buyers are occupying a larger share of the New Zealand property market than at any point in the last two decades.This week on the New Zealand Property Market Podcast, Head of Research Nick Goodall and Chief Economist Kelvin Davidson dive into the June Buyer Classification data to complete a full wrap of the second quarter. The numbers reveal that first-home buyers secured a record-breaking 28.3% market share across Q2, capitalising on lower house prices, KiwiSaver access, and high-LVR bank lending allowances.Meanwhile, the landscape for investors is fracturing. While small-scale "mum and dad" buyers holding two properties are steady, large-scale investors owning ten or more properties saw their market activity fall in Q2 down to 2.3%. We break down the combination of high bank serviceability testing, debt-to-income (DTI) restrictions, flat rents, and growing election anxieties regarding interest deductibility that are driving this retreat.The guys also look at the sudden breakdown of the Iran-US peace deal and the re-closing of the Strait of Hormuz, analysing how renewed global supply chain uncertainty impacts the path toward the next Official Cash Rate review on September 2nd.Sign up for news and insights or contact on LinkedIn, X @NickGoodall_CL or @KDavidson_CL and email ngoodall@cotality.com or kdavidson@cotality.comThis podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. The hosts are not licensed Financial Advice Providers in New Zealand. All information is of a general nature and does not take into account your personal situation or goals. Please consult a qualified professional before making any financial decisions.
Qualifying for a Mortgage: Why Today's Market Feels Different Than a Decade AgoRemember when buying a home felt a little more within reach? Maybe you or someone you knew qualified for a mortgage with an income-to-debt ratio comfortably in the 30% range just ten years ago. It felt like a solid, achievable goal. Fast forward to today, and that same ratio is often closer to 50% for many aspiring homeowners. It's not your imagination; the landscape has indeed shifted dramatically. This isn't just about feeling a pinch; it's a fundamental change driven by significantly higher home prices coupled with elevated interest rates. If you're feeling frustrated by the challenges of homeownership, you're not alone. Understanding these shifts is the first step toward navigating today's market successfully. Let's break down why qualifying for a mortgage today looks so different and what it means for your homeownership dreams.The Rising Bar: How Higher Home Prices and Interest Rates Impact Mortgage QualificationThe journey to homeownership often begins with a critical calculation: your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. This number is a cornerstone of mortgage qualification, and it's where we see the most profound change over the last decade. Lenders use your DTI to assess your ability to manage monthly payments and repay a loan. Simply put, it's the percentage of your gross monthly income that goes towards paying your monthly debt obligations.Understanding the Debt-to-Income (DTI) RatioYour DTI ratio is calculated by adding up all your minimum monthly debt payments (like credit card minimums, car loans, student loans, and the potential new mortgage payment) and dividing that total by your gross monthly income (before taxes). Lenders typically look at two types of DTI: the "front-end" ratio, which only considers housing-related costs (mortgage principal, interest, property taxes, and homeowner's insurance), and the "back-end" ratio, which includes all your monthly debt obligations. A lower DTI indicates less risk to lenders, making you a more attractive borrower.Ten years ago, a DTI of around 36% to 43% was a common sweet spot for conventional loans. Today, it's not uncommon for lenders to approve borrowers with DTI ratios closer to 50%, or even slightly higher, especially with certain loan types or compensating factors like a strong credit score or substantial reserves. While this might sound like lenders are getting "easier," it's more a reflection of market realities than relaxed standards. The cost of housing has simply outpaced wage growth for many, pushing these ratios higher out of necessity.The Double Whammy: Home Prices and Interest RatesThe primary drivers behind this DTI escalation are the significant increases in both home prices and interest rates. Let's consider a hypothetical example to illustrate the impact:Imagine a home that cost $300,000 ten years ago. With a 20% down payment, you'd finance $240,000. If interest rates were around 4% (a common rate a decade ago), your principal and interest payment would be roughly $1,146 per month. Add in property taxes and insurance, and your total housing payment might have been around $1,500.Now, fast forward to today. That same home could easily be priced at $500,000. Even with a 20% down payment, you'd now be financing $400,000. If current interest rates are around 7% (a common rate recently), your principal and interest payment alone would jump to approximately $2,661 per month. With higher property taxes and insurance on a more expensive home, your total housing payment could easily exceed $3,500.This dramatic increase in the monthly housing payment directly inflates your DTI ratio. To qualify for that $3,500+ monthly payment while maintaining, say, a 43% DTI, you would need a significantly higher gross monthly income than you would have ten years ago for the $1,500 payment. For many, incomes simply haven't kept pace with this combined surge in housing costs and borrowing expenses.tune in and learn https://www.ddamortgage.com/blogDidier Malagies NMLS #212566dda mortgage nmls#324329 Support the show
In the final epsidoe of our hardcore series with Dance or Die, we're joined by London-based DJ, producer, and Rag & Bone label founder Jason Alexander, better known as Warlock, who documents his 36 years inside UK rave culture. We revisit the early days of breakbeat hardcore, the impact of Belgian and Dutch rave records, and the rapid mutations of jungle, darkcore, techno and dubstep. We talk about dodging the DTI while broadcasting pirate radio, the parallel rise of squat parties and mega-raves, and how media panic, the Criminal Justice Act, and major labels all reshaped the scene. You'll also hear stories from legendary spots like Labyrnth, SW1 Club and Helter Skelter and learn about Rag & Bone's raw, punk-adjacent take on breaks, electro, and early dubstep before we take it up to the present and find out about this wizard's current obsession with 160+ bpm bass music, Hooveran Blur, and the joy (and labor) of digging for new sounds in an algorithmic age. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). For more info and extras, visit Ravetothegrave.org or Instagram @ravetothe.grave.
Feeling overwhelmed by buying a home? These eight practical action steps will help you build a plan, improve your buying power, and avoid costly mistakes before you start house hunting.Most first-time homebuyers focus on finding homes before creating a strategy, which often leads to stress, confusion, and expensive mistakes. In this episode, David Sidoni breaks down eight specific actions buyers can take in the next 30 days to improve affordability, strengthen their financial position, and gain confidence in the process. Topics include calculating your debt-to-income ratio, creating a realistic wish list, improving your credit score, automating savings, researching neighborhoods, organizing mortgage documents, and exploring down payment assistance programs. The episode concludes with a step-by-step framework for building a homebuying plan that helps buyers avoid the panic and overwhelm of “the scramble.” “The biggest mistake is scramble. Build your team first, your plan second, and then go home shopping.” — David Sidoni, First Time Homebuyer CoachHighlightsWhat is your true homebuying budget, and how can calculating your DTI help you understand it before speaking with a lender? How can a no-regrets wish list help you balance must-haves, affordability, and future goals when searching for a home? Are you overlooking down payment assistance programs that could significantly reduce the amount you need to save? Why do so many first-time buyers end up in “the scramble,” and how can building a plan now help you avoid it? Check out our updated 2026 First Time Homebuyer's Episode Guide - Over 100 of our BEST Episodes of Detailed Homebuying Knowledge, Interviews, and MORE! Connect with me to find a trusted realtor in your area or to answer your burning questions!Subscribe to our YouTube Channel @HowToBuyaHomeInstagram @HowtoBuyAHomePodcastTik Tok @HowToBuyAHomeVisit our Resource Center to "Ask David" AND get your FREE Home Buying Starter Kit!David Sidoni, the "How to Buy a Home Guy," is a seasoned real estate professional and consumer advocate with two decades of experience helping first-time homebuyers navigate the real estate market. His podcast, "How to Buy a Home," is a trusted resource for anyone looking to buy their first home. It offers expert advice, actionable tips, and inspiring stories from real first-time homebuyers. With a focus on making the home-buying process accessible and understandable, David breaks down complex topics into easy-to-follow steps, covering everything from budgeting and financing to finding the right home and making an offer. Subscribe for regular market updates, and leave a review to help us reach more people. Ready for an honest, informed home-buying experience? Viva la Unicorn Revolution - join us!
Episode SummaryNina Hart did not plan to be a loan officer. She was 18, looking for a job, and ended up at a mortgage company because she spoke Spanish. That was the beginning of a career that has taken her deep into one of the toughest housing markets in the country. In this episode of Troy Talks Money, Nina breaks down what it really takes to get a mortgage approved, why credit reports break hearts, and what families in today's market actually need to know before they ever walk into an open house.How Nina Hart entered the mortgage industryNina Hart describes her journey starting as a telemarketer at 18, leveraging her Spanish language skills, and advancing to a top loan officer role 00:00:59.Skills learned from telemarketingThe importance of mindset and customer relations: “Always smile first, then dial” 00:01:26.What it takes to become a loan officerPreparation, structuring deals like a “Jenga game,” and the significance of honesty in client disclosures 00:03:38.Understanding debt-to-income (DTI) ratiosSimplified explanation of DTI, real-world vs. textbook lending ratios, and why full financial disclosure is crucial 00:04:39 and 00:05:26.Challenges of the California marketDiscussion around how rising home prices are outpacing incomes and impacting families' ability to buy or move within the state 00:09:11.COVID's impact on real estateHow the pandemic affected home buying behaviors, including bidding wars, waived appraisals, and historically low interest rates 00:10:13.Manual vs. Automated UnderwritingThe pros and cons, and how certain debts or credit issues can require manual review 00:06:09.Emotional challenges in lendingThe heartbreak of denying clients due to credit issues, often beyond their control, and the realities of how U.S. credit systems penalize people for “life happens” moments 00:15:12 and 00:16:08.Down Payment Assistance ProgramsDetails about California-specific programs (e.g. CalHFA's silent second mortgage) and how these can be a lifeline for qualifying buyers 00:24:02.The mortgage qualification processThe logic behind seeing a lender before a realtor, preparing financials, and “payment shock” 00:12:09.Current mortgage industry challengesThe increasing necessity for dual incomes, the risks of cosigning, and why credit discipline is more important than ever 00:28:43.“Always smile first, then dial. They can hear your mood on the phone.” – Nina Hart 00:01:26“Structuring a mortgage deal is like a Jenga game—miss one piece and it can all fall apart.” – Nina Hart 00:03:38“A credit report tells you everything from about eight years ago. You can see when ‘life happened.'” – Nina Hart 00:15:12“We're supposed to have equal housing opportunities, but we discriminate all the time based on FICO scores.” – Nina Hart 00:18:14“Fifty-year mortgages aren't a solution—they're just to create more wealth for the banks.” – Nina Hart 00:22:19“Take care of your credit report. Don't co-sign for anybody, no matter how nice they are.” – Nina Hart 00:29:07CalHFA – California Housing Finance AgencyDown payment assistance and “silent second” mortgages: 00:24:02Nina Hart on Social MediaFacebook, Instagram, TikTok: Search “Nina Hart” for mortgage tips and client stories 00:29:34TroyHolt.comBook a free consultation with Troy Holt: 00:30:32Nina Hart: Loan officer, mortgage guide, and social media educator—active on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram (search “Nina Hart”).Troy Holt: Certified financial educator, debt elimination specialist, podcast host.Missed something from the show?Subscribe for new episodes every other week and revisit the episode for more thoughtful insights into mortgages, homebuying, and building real wealth.If you'd like show notes for additional episodes or have a specific focus, let me know!
Your credit score went up but you still got denied for a loan, and the reason is debt-to-income ratio (DTI), the number lenders actually use to approve a mortgage and the one most credit repair clients never see coming. Join Our FREE Start Repairing Credit Challenge: HERE The score gets your client noticed. The DTI gets them approved. So before you build a plan, ask every new client what they want to qualify for, what their timeline is, and what the rest of their financial picture looks like. Lead with the goal and you'll spot a denial before the lender does. DTI is simple math that almost nobody explains to clients. Add up their monthly debt payments, divide by their gross monthly income, and that percentage is the number. Most lenders want to see 43% or below, though conventional loans can stretch to 45% or even 50% with strong compensating factors like great credit and cash reserves. You move that number two ways, lowering the payments or raising documented income. Knocking out an installment loan with fewer than 10 payments left often gets the whole payment dropped from the calculation. Keep an eye on student loans, which can count against a client even in deferment. And when a big purchase is close, bring in a mortgage broker to run the exact numbers. Tune in! P.S. Join the #1 event to grow your credit repair business: http://creditrepairexpo.com/ Key Takeaways: 00:00 Intro 01:30 Why a Higher Score Still Gets You Denied 03:34 The Three Questions to Ask Every New Client 04:46 Credit Score vs. DTI. Two Different Numbers 05:56 How to Calculate Your Client's DTI 07:40 The Ground Rule. No New Debt Until You Close 08:40 Why Student Loans Hurt Even in Deferment 09:32 Two Levers That Move the DTI 10:52 Final Thoughts Additional Resources: Get a free trial to Credit Repair Cloud Get my free credit repair training Fastest Wins in Credit Repair: 7 Things You Can Delete In DAYS Make sure to subscribe so you stay up to date with our latest episodes.
You might not look rich on Instagram. That doesn't mean you're behind. Joe, Paula Pant, Jesse Cramer, and Anthony Weaver from About That Wallet work through eight real signs that your financial life is on track -- covering stability, behavior, and mindset -- and spend just as much time on why we're all so bad at recognizing the wins we've already had.What You'll Walk Away WithWhy a $1,000 emergency fund puts you in the top 40% of Americans -- and what Jesse's registered nurse versus Uzbek architecture professor framework tells you about how big yours actually needs to beThe debt-to-income ratio question nobody asks: would you rather have a 10% DTI and zero savings, or $1 million invested and a 45% DTI? Paula and Anthony work out their actual answers liveWhy someone making $250,000 and living paycheck to paycheck is less financially trustworthy than someone making $60,000 with a two-month buffer -- and what that reveals about the real gameAnthony's dream walk framework: the questions he asks clients to make sure their day-to-day financial habits are actually pointed toward what they say they wantWhy the trend matters more than the number -- and the one thing Jesse tracks monthly that most people miss when they're focused only on net worthThe peace of mind problem Paula names that most personal finance conversations skip entirely: there is very little correlation between the numbers in your accounts and your actual anxiety levelWhy Jesse thinks prioritizing stress reduction over optimization might actually produce better long-term outcomes than squeezing every percentage pointThe Instagram tell that almost none of the visible wealth you're comparing yourself to is real -- and the Tai Lopez rental strategy that proves itAnthony's story about the client who needed permission to sell investments to feed her kids -- and why money as a tool looks completely different at every income levelWhy money is the easiest possible scorecard -- and how that ease is exactly what makes it so dangerous as a proxy for self-worthWhy This Matters NowThe comparison pressure has never been higher and the metrics have never been more visible. This episode is a reminder that the signs of real financial health are mostly invisible on the internet -- and that you might already be further along than you think.From the BasementJoe, Paula Pant, Jesse Cramer, and Anthony Weaver from About That Wallet work through eight signs of financial progress from a wisdom.com piece while talking about drone footage FOMO, Tai Lopez's rental Lamborghinis, and why somebody in Florida held a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich for ten years before selling it on eBay. Resources MentionedAbout That Wallet podcast -- Anthony Weaver; available wherever you listen to podcastsAfford Anything podcast -- Paula Pant; recent episode with Dr. John La Puma on why going outside improves health and productivityPersonal Finance for Long-Term Investors (FILTI) -- Jesse Cramer; recent AMA episode on retirement planning questionsFreedom app -- referenced by Paula for blocking Instagram; freedom.toSurfshark VPN -- surfshark.com/stackingbee; code stackingbee for four extra monthsStacking Benjamins Vault -- stackingbenjamins.com/vaultStacking Benjamins Newsletter (The 201) -- stackingbenjamins.com/201Stacking Benjamins Community -- stackingbenjamins.com/basementStacking Benjamins BAD Groups -- stackingbenjamins.com/badSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
DSCR loan explained simply. You see a higher DSCR rate and walk away from the deal. That is the mistake costing investors thousands in lost opportunity every single year.In this episode, I break down exactly why DSCR rates are higher than conventional loans, what you are actually paying for, and why that higher rate is often worth every single penny for the investor who wants to scale.If you are buying two or three properties, conventional all day long. Better rate, lower fees, done. But the moment you want to scale past four properties, the moment your DTI caps you out, the moment you need a loan that looks at the asset, not your W-2, DSCR is the only tool that makes sense.In this episode:— Why DSCR rates are higher and what risk the lender is actually taking— DSCR vs conventional loans broken down side by side with real numbers— Why DSCR loans have no scaling cap and conventional loans do— The 1.25 DSCR ratio threshold and why going below it is a deal killer— How your credit score impacts your rate by 25 to 100 basis points— Why DSCR loans closed in an LLC do not report to your credit bureau— The underwriting fee range you should expect and which lenders are overcharging— Three questions you must ask every DSCR broker before you commitIf this saved you from walking away from a good deal, share it with a fellow investor. More tools and resources at trutalk.co
In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the VA loan to show you it's so much more than just a zero-down payment option. I'll break down how to leverage massive tax exclusions, house hacking strategies, and the "deployment hack" so you can build serious wealth while serving. Timestamps (00:00) - Intro (00:48) - The Section 121 Tax Exclusion power move (03:41) - Why service members get a 10-year tax extension (05:15) - Roommates and multi-family house hacking (07:48) - Debunking credit score and DTI myths (10:38) - How the VA IRRRL streamline refinance works (11:09) - Using your VA loan multiple times (12:17) - The Deployment Hack for maximum cash flow (14:14) - Partnering with other veterans to buy bigger (16:04) - Renovation loans and building on land About the Show On the Military Millionaire Podcast, I share real conversations with service members, veterans, and their families. Each week, we explore how to build wealth through personal finance, entrepreneurship, and real estate investing. Resources & Links Download a free copy of my book: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/free-book Sign up for free webinar trainings: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/register Get an intro to recommended VA agents/lenders: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/va-realtor Apply for The War Room Mastermind: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/mastermind-application Join our investor list: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/investors Guide to raising capital: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/capital-raising-guide Connect with David Pere Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/militarymillionaire YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Frommilitarytomillionaire?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frommilitarytomillionaire/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pere/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/militaryrei TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@militarymillionaire
Want a Mortgage in Canada? Know These Numbers
Send Us A Message! Let us know what you think.Is this the best time to buy in a decade? While the mainstream media fixates on a "landlord exit," the hard data reveals a rare, high-opportunity window that Paul and Debbie Roberts are calling the "Goldilocks Market."In Episode 13, we cut through the negative noise to show you why New Zealand property is currently at its most affordable level in 10 years. With sales volumes hitting their highest peak since the 2021 boom—yet prices remaining remarkably stable—the power has shifted firmly into the hands of strategic buyers. Whether you are looking for your first home or your next high-yield investment, this is the blueprint for navigating a sustainable, measured market.In this episode, we celebrate the positives:The Affordability Milestone: Why current house-price-to-income ratios make this the most accessible market in a decade.The Sales Surge: Unpacking the 7,853 sales in March—the highest volume in years—and what it means for market liquidity.Regional Superstars: Why the West Coast (+22.1%) and Southland (+17.9%) are leading the charge in capital growth.The $60 Million Success Story: How a new 297-unit development in Auckland proved the massive valuation gains available in the "Build-to-Rent" sector.DTI "Green Lights": Why new debt-to-income limits actually favour savvy investors and new-build strategies.Don't wait for the headlines to turn positive—by then, the window will be closed. Learn how to use the current "Goldilocks" conditions to secure your financial future today.Ready to navigate the market with strategy, not fear?
Unlock the hidden understanding of how past head trauma shapes your brain—and what you can do now to heal, protect, and optimize your mental vitality. If you've ever wondered how invisible injuries impact your cognition, mood, and overall wellness—especially as we age—this episode offers groundbreaking insights backed by neuroresearch, seasoned with Grandpa Bill's candid stories and proactive approach.This isn't just about MRI results or medical jargon—it's about exploring the profound, often unseen effects of multiple head impacts over a lifetime. Grandpa Bill shares his personal journey through brain health, from surviving concussions to accessing advanced imaging techniques like DTI and fMRI. Discover how micro-tears, microglia activation, and neuroinflammation can influence everything from processing speed to emotional resilience—all with practical steps you can integrate today.You'll learn about:The limitations of standard MRI scans in detecting microscopic brain injuriesHow Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) can reveal hidden wiring tearsThe crucial role of neuro inflammation and microglia in aging and trauma recoveryThe impact of repetitive head impacts on brain plasticity, cognition, and sensory processingSimple, intentional practices—like deep calming breaths and sensory integration—that support neuro plasticity and mental clarityDiscover how past head trauma can silently shape your brain's future. Join Grandpa Bill as he explores the unseen impacts of brain injuries and shares practical steps for healing and optimizing mental vitality. Learn about advanced imaging techniques and holistic practices that support brain health at any age.Grandpa Bill Asks:How can understanding microstructural brain damage change your approach to aging?What role does neuro plasticity play in recovering from past head trauma?Ever wondered how childhood head impacts can echo into your senior years?
Keith explores how real estate investors can use mortgage strategies to build long-term wealth. Seasoned lending expert and repeat guest Caeli Ridge joins Keith to discuss why debt isn't something to avoid but to optimize, and how negotiating terms can matter more than price. They walk through practical approaches for new and experienced investors, from house hacking to scaling a rental portfolio. The conversation also tackles common myths about qualifying for investment property loans and what really matters to lenders. Finally, they emphasize focusing on fundamentals—cash flow, risk management, and informed decision-making—rather than fixating on interest rate headlines. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/604 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments. For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text FAMILY to 66866 Unlock truly passive real estate income—visit flockhomes.com/GRE today to see if your properties qualify for a 721 exchange with Flock Homes. Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review" For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript: Keith Weinhold 0:01 Welcome to GRE I'm your host. Keith Weinhold Some mortgage guidance out there is costing you wealth today. I'm talking about how you can negotiate to get better terms. I'll tell you the exact questions to ask. Then a guest clears up mortgage myths and misconceptions and how you can borrow to win today on get rich education Keith Weinhold 0:28 let me ask you something, if you've worked hard to build wealth, is your money positioned to actually support your goals? A lot of accredited investors leave capital sitting in cash because it feels safe, but inflation and missed income opportunities can quietly erode its value. Freedom family investments offers freedom notes for investors seeking structured income backed by real estate. It's a straightforward approach built on real assets, not speculation and full disclosure. I'm an investor myself. What I like is that their team walks you through how it all works so you can decide if it aligns with your portfolio and income goals. Every investment carries risk and nothing is guaranteed, but with a track record of consistent on time investor payouts, they built real credibility. Go to freedomfamilyinvestments.com to book a clarity call or text family to 66 866, that's family to 6866 Speaker 1 1:32 you're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education. Keith Weinhold 1:48 Welcome to GRE from Albany, New York to Albany, Oregon and across 188 nations worldwide. You're listening to get rich Education. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, as we know, debt isn't something to avoid. It's something to optimize. As a real estate investor, I would rather have lower mortgage rates than higher ones, and now you can call me Captain Obvious. Yet there are some reasons that higher mortgage rates benefit us as investors, though they're not as great as the lower rates are I'll discuss some of that today. This stuff obviously influences marketplace behavior. In fact, here we are now, years after rates made their historic surge and nearly tripled between 2022 and 2023 and yet still, 70% of mortgage borrowers have an astoundingly rock bottom rate below 5% today, lower than the ocean floor, and they won't sell those properties. That's just one contributor to the low supply hangover that still lingers. Are today's buyers still anchored to an unrealistic baseline. It certainly reframed how investors think about normal borrowing costs and what that word normal means. My first ever rental property, many years ago, was purchased at a 30 year fixed rate of six and three eighths percent. One year later, I got to refinance a full 1% lower at five and three eighths. I'm happy that I bought one I did because starting year earlier, got all my real estate benefits rolling that much sooner, the leverage and everything else, and when I did that, refinance many years ago, from six and three eighths down to five and three eighths, I was able to roll all of my loan refinance costs into the new mortgage balance, and that way I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket. So financing is negotiable. A lot of investors don't realize that buy down your rate if you want roll the loan costs into the loan amount, like I did. In fact, I would usually rather have a higher mortgage rate and then not have to come out of pocket at the table. I would rather do it that way. Sometimes I take a higher rate and even get cash back at the closing table. So I walk away from the closing table with a property and cash, but yet with a bigger mortgage. And what's the strategy there? Well, with more inevitable Inflation, I want to load up on the dollars that I get now and then make those paybacks over the long term with future cheaper, diluted dollars for 360 months, sometimes I don't have to ask the lender for any sort of favor to get that zero help from the lender at the closing table to get cash back. How do I do that? Well, I ask the seller to give me cash at the closing. Closing table in return for offering the seller full asking price, or sometimes even over the asking price. I have done it the strategy of offering full price or even a little more than the full list price. See, that's often easier than getting a price cut from the seller, and that works great, because getting the closing table, cash is going to benefit you more than the price cut would anyway, in almost every circumstance, and when it comes to your lender, ask them questions that cut through the noise. Now, lenders have to make their profits somewhere and stay in business, but I've asked the question, what's the break even point on this rate buy down. That's something you can ask today. That can be an even better question for you to ask of builders with all of the buy downs that they're doing for you now, most people know about a mortgage rate lock. That's when you're in contract to buy a property. At some point, you and your mortgage company, you lock in your rate for, say, 30 to 60 days, and that way, if the rate rises before the deal is completed, you are protected. You are locked in. But some lenders also offer float downs. That's for if you lock and then rates go lower before you get the deal closed. In that case, you get the lower rate, and now you successfully played both sides, but most borrowers don't know to ask about a float down for larger apartment buildings, sometimes you can negotiate away prepayment penalties or instead a shorter penalty window. The thing to keep in mind is that smallest borrowers negotiate price, but savvy investors negotiate structure. That's what we're talking about here, and that's why you often hear that terms are more important than price. So there's plenty of opportunity here, even if historically low rates is not where today's opportunity lies. Today, we're going to discuss some things about mortgages that most people believe but are just flat out wrong. Also, what separates the borrowers who build real estate portfolios from the ones who stay stuck on property one, let's have a conversation with this week's repeat guest, a real favorite here at GRE for her mortgage clarity. Keith Weinhold 7:35 Hey, the president of ridge lending group, Chaley Ridge is back with us. We'll get into things like rates and loan strategy shortly, but first, let's discuss some fun. What would you do? Chili, what would you do if you're 35 and have 100k to invest in real estate? What's your first move? Ooh, good question. Caeli Ridge 7:55 So let's think five years ago for me now I'm 35 what would I do if I had that was a joke for all you listeners, obviously, you know, I think that if I could go back and knowing what I know now, I would probably invest that into an owner occupied house hack using an FHA loan. Probably look for newer construction if I could find it, and I would probably target a four unit residential property. I'd probably put three and a half percent down lowest rates with that. FHA, I would leverage my money, and I would get three other tenants in units, two, three and four to pay my mortgage, and then I'd use the rest to go buy an investment property Keith Weinhold 8:32 much like I started out with the owner occupied four Plex, live in one unit, rent out the other three. FHA, three and a half percent down. What if someone, however, lives in a market where the numbers just don't work and the law really tilts toward the tenant rather than the landlord. Caeli Ridge 8:47 You know, that's a good point. There's a lot of factors, obviously, right? And there's exceptions to all rules, etc. So I don't want to generalize, but I would probably take the 100,000 and maybe look at some kind of a burr in that case, maybe pivot and do some math and see if buy rehab rent refi might be more applicable. To take that 100 grand and leverage it that dollar bill, as far as I could make it go Keith Weinhold 9:10 sometimes you have to get scrappy when you're starting out another what would you do now? Say you've got some more experience. You already own two rentals. How do you scale that to 10. Caeli Ridge 9:21 You know, my biggest piece of advice for investors, especially newer ish investors, is to make sure that you've got your eye on some level of diversification. Scaling from two to 10 can sound pretty daunting to some people, but I think that diversification advice comes in handy when you're not singularly focused on, let's say, a core philosophy of single family, residence, cash flow only in one market instead, maybe layer in some appreciating markets where you can earn and count on longer burn appreciation that you can then leverage from to then purchase the next to the next to the next, right. Cash. Refinances borrowed funds are non taxable. I would probably say diversification is the core answer to that question. For me, Keith Weinhold 10:07 yeah, if you've already got two properties, maybe if you've had those for a few years, yes, you can do a cash out refinance and basically use one of your first two properties to fund that third and fourth and so on, right exactly? How about if rates drop 1% tomorrow? What's the next thing you would do? Immediately? Caeli Ridge 10:29 I would do the math. Is what I would do, Keith, and I know you love that answer. So if I had a portfolio of X number of properties and rates just dropped 1% tomorrow, I would take a hard look at what I had in the queue, and I would say, Okay, how much does a one percentage point rate save me in monthly payment, aka, earn me in cash flow, and what is it going to cost me? It is imperative that the investor is actually doing the math. 1% may sound amazing, but if it's only going to save you 5060, bucks a month, and maybe that's enough, but it might cost you five grand. Does that math work for you? So that's my answer. Do the math? Keith Weinhold 11:08 Yeah, if rates drop 1% does that make you want to perform more purchases? Does that make you want to refi something that you already have and at the same time that you do that refinance? Okay? That may or may not save you a lot in payment. But another consideration is, okay, well, at the same time you do that refinance, oh, maybe you could take cash out and use it as a down payment for another property, or just use that money for something else, Caeli Ridge 11:33 absolutely, and you know what we're talking about. That from a purchase perspective, if rates drop 1% tomorrow, from an investment perspective, what do we think is going to happen to the rest of the market? The homeowners are going to be coming out of the woodwork, right? The owner occupied the competition is going to get very, very stiff, steep. I would say that if you are banking on or waiting for rates to do X, Y and Z, you are missing massive opportunities today. So there's a lot of reasons not to hesitate and be waiting on some magic, massive rate drop. Keith Weinhold 12:04 All right. Well, those were three interesting what would you do scenarios you mentioned the possibility, and it's surely only a possibility that mortgage rates will drop sometime in the near future. Let's expand on that. If someone is indeed waiting for rates to drop. What are they risking in the meantime? Caeli Ridge 12:25 You know, this is such a good but complicated question. There's a lot of layers to this. If someone has a magic number in their head, again, I'm going to press back and say you have to be doing the math. All right. So a lot of people conveniently, maybe not so conveniently. But a lot of people forget that interest rates, by nature, always drop or reduce much slower than they're going to climb. Okay, historically, go back and do your own research here. Interest rates, when they go up, they tend to kind of go up quickly. When they come down, they really kind of trail, and it's a slow, progressive landing. It's not a quick thing when they come down. So if we know that that's true, or at least historically, that's been true an interest rate reduction of an eighth or a quarter or three, it's of a point. Maybe that takes us a month or two or six or a year. What does that really mean to that payment? You have to be doing the math so, largely dependent on the loan amount. Okay, if you think that interest rates are going to be reduced in a month from now by a quarter of a percentage point, what does that mean to the payment? Does it mean $12 a month? Does it mean $100 a month? And in that scenario, in that calculation, what are you giving up by waiting the month or two or six for a what if I think that you are diminishing your rates of return by waiting on a come that one may never happen, and two, the significance is probably far less relevant than you are giving it credit for. Keith Weinhold 13:52 Now, I think generally real estate investors want low mortgage rates. Obviously, it gives us a better refinance opportunity. It gives us a better purchase opportunity, potentially, okay. In general, we want lower rates. However, there are some reasons a lot of people don't think about as to why lower mortgage rates are actually bad for a real estate investor. If you just look historically, when have we had extraordinary low mortgage rates here in these past 20 years? Well, they've been to get us out of huge economic problems, late to global financial crisis or the covid pandemic. So if you're wishing for really rock bottom rates, which again, is tempting to do, and is advantageous, in a sense, there is a downside as well. If there are super low rates, a lot of people might be out of work, including your tenants. So that's the reason that we want to be careful as to what we wish for, with rates being super low and artificially low, like they were a couple times in the past two decades. And you know, Caeli another reason why I'm not fully in love. With low mortgage rates, although I liked them, is the fact that I look back and notice as being a property investor for more than two decades now, is that I have had tenants leave when mortgage rates are too low and lending is too easy, especially leading up to the global financial crisis, it was so easy to get first time homebuyer loans at really attractive rates. So I had higher vacancy because mortgage rates were so low that my tenants left and became first time homeowners. So yes, we generally want lower mortgage rates, but there is a downside to that as well. Caeli Ridge 15:35 And I think there's probably a sweet spot, I think such a good point that most people probably don't think about Keith, and I couldn't agree more, when rates have been at their lowest. To your point, all hell is breaking loose economically in so many other sectors. Yeah, be careful what you wish for. Keith Weinhold 15:51 Any old time, real estate investor would find it really humorous and almost cute that people think mortgage rates between six and 7% are high. You and I know they're historically low. 7.7% is the long term owner occupied, 30 year fixed mortgage rate going back to 1971 per Freddie Mac the most reliable stat set that we have. But now that we have come up back into what's really a more normal range, just like we started to do in 2022 How should someone think overall in not a high but a higher mortgage rate environment? What are some things that actually matter more now than they did before back five plus years ago? Caeli Ridge 16:32 I want to give you some statistics. So from 1990 to now, the average owner occupied rate was 6.08 now that's owner occupied, and more often than not, you can add about a point percentage point spread between that and non owner occupied in general. So we are right in line with the last 36 year swing of where interest rates have been. So please keep that in mind. Again, that psychology piece. But overall, I think that what we need to be paying attention to, even if, over the last five years, 10 years, interest rates are a little bit higher than we came to recognize them, the pandemic was an outlier. You guys. Okay, let that lie that's hopefully never to repeat itself. But what we want to be focusing on, and I know that I'm beating a dead horse here, is that you have to get rid of the mental block that you have about that number that we call an interest rate. You need to be looking at a property holistically that says, does it cash flow based on this tenant application? What about this tenant application? What is my exit strategy? Is my property management doing the job that it needs to be doing? Can I trust them to ensure that my vacancy is low? And if I have to evict somebody that they know what they're doing and they know all the rules in the different cities and counties, I think that those are going to be more prevalent to the successful real estate transaction that gives you the financial freedom that you want long term, stop fixating on the rate. That's my advice. Keith Weinhold 17:53 Some of those operations that you talked about are controllable, and the mortgage rate is largely uncontrollable outside of maybe getting a better credit score to get a lower rate or something like that, focus more on what you can control. And Caeli, you touched on something interesting that I think a lot of people don't understand, and that is investor financing versus owner occupant financing. A lot of people just don't understand the differences as to why investor loans cost more, tell us about that. Caeli Ridge 18:25 Yeah, good question. It happens to be about secondary markets, so I won't get too technical, but when we talk about mortgage backed securities right Wall Street, and this is an asset class that is bought and sold and traded, etc, etc, there are demands, obviously, and then you've got layers of risk. So the baseline thinking is that an owner occupant is less likely to default on the home that they live in, right? Something is going on financially with them. They've got some hardships, etc. They're going to cut loose the rental property before they're going to default on their primary so that's just kind of the overall basic. There's other variables in there, but that's the one that makes the biggest difference. Is default rates on an owner occupied versus a non owner occupied. Now I may argue, if I can just add to this. So this is a little bit of a history lesson for those that maybe remember or too young to remember this. 08, 09, housing and lending implode on each other in this country, the financial crisis, et cetera, et cetera. It was the Wild West before that. You could have a pulse and get a mortgage, even investors right, 0% down. They had some pretty risky things out there. We didn't do that kind of stuff, but they were out there, and I certainly contributed to what happened with the oh eight financial crisis. So fast forward, and I feel like when things like that, especially in this country, happen and devastate big, huge sectors of our economy, we knee jerk. And we knee jerk in a way that is almost the 180 of irresponsibility. Let me explain so when we talk about what it used to be like, fogging a mirror, right, having a pulse and getting a loan as an investor or anyone. For that matter. Now fast forward to post, 08,09, you've got Dodd Frank, all that sweeping legislation, etc, they raised the qualification bar. Okay, that's fine. Now I want to come into today's space, and I want to give you guys an idea of the qualification markers between an owner occupied let's just use an FHA and a non owner occupied purchase. So you can have 580 credit and put three and a half percent down and have slightly over a 50% debt to income ratio and get an FHA loan, a GSE government sponsored enterprise loan. All right, a non owner occupied you've got to walk on water. Man, I make that dumb joke, files of blood and DNA samples, you've got 20 25% down minimum. You've got to have x higher in credit score, all these extra reserves, etc, etc. So I would argue that secondary mentality, thinking the non owner occupied is, in my opinion, probably a more stable loan as it relates to default. So there's some disconnect. I think that the way that that is thought about in secondary market speak, but maybe a little TMI for the listeners. In any case, that's the reason that they're looked at differently. The ideal, or the idea is, is that the owner occupied is less likely to default than the non owner occupied. I would disagree with that premise, Keith Weinhold 21:19 and I think you would agree that things are still pretty tight because lending requirements are still pretty rigid, still pretty strict. You have to have a good credit history and assets and income, unlike what we had to have 20 years ago, when I was a real estate investor myself, back when things were irresponsible and back when things were free flowing, and money was flying, and a lot of nefarious things were happening. Even though I had a good credit score all my life, I was the beneficiary of those High Flying Wild West times myself. I remember on the first four Plex I owned after I had moved out of it so I didn't even occupy it anymore, I got a generous appraisal for a 90% combined loan to value, cash out, refinance 90% that I would not get today, no way. Caeli Ridge 22:10 Yeah, but that knee jerk is, I think, also part of the problem. They go the opposite way that pendulum shift is, I feel like there needs to be a little bit more reasonability in the mix and different markers to justify who should be getting or being able to take advantage. Keith Weinhold 22:26 When we talk about investor loans versus owner occupied loans, that really begs the question. Now, when does it make sense to house hack versus go straight into investor loans? What are some of the trade offs there. Caeli Ridge 22:41 I would argue that if you are in a position and you're willing to share your primary residence with you know, tenants house hack is always a great idea, because you've got these great loan terms, you've got this massive leverage, and almost always you've got other people making the entire mortgage payment for you, or the vast majority of that mortgage payment, I'm such a big fan of that is a strategy for real estate investing. You've got to do it right. You got to do it by the rules. But I can't think of a downside if you qualify and you're willing to do that, to live with other people right next door, etc, etc. Some families don't think that that works for them, whatever, but I just think it's a fantastic way to jumpstart someone's real estate investment journey and then continue it. If you do it right every 12 months, then you'll be able to continue to parlay into the next, the next, the next. One thing I would say about that that I don't get a lot of opportunity to talk about, but since we're talking about here, if you're going to house hack and you've got, you know, a duplex, triplex fourplex, and you want to manage it yourself, which I think everybody should be responsible to manage at least one rental property in their lifetime, maybe official, yeah, yeah. More often than not, people will tend to pay for that service down the road. But having the experience is valuable. Do not tell the other tenants that you are the home owner, do yourself a favor and just you're another tenant, but you're taking care of you know, you don't want to let them know that you actually own the property. There's lots of emotional and different things that you want to avoid giving that information away to the tenants. Keith Weinhold 24:17 I have had two friends, and each friend owned a fourplex, and what they did is they would manage the other person's fourplex. That way, they were able to keep it more professional and less emotional, since it wasn't the owner directly dealing with the tenant, and that provided a buffer that really benefited them. I haven't done that myself, but I found that such an interesting way to approach it? Caeli Ridge 24:42 Yeah, that's smart. If that ends up being your situation, definitely horse trade that way. Otherwise, you're just a tenant and you can be on call whatever, just avoid giving that information back to the other tenants that may be there. Keith Weinhold 24:54 Well, there's an underwriting reality out there that chili can share with us versus. Some of the online advice that you get, and what some of the biggest myths are that borrowers believe. We'll talk about that next. You're listening to get rich education. Our guest is Ridge lending Group President chailey Ridge, more we come back. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold. Keith Weinhold 25:12 Flock homes helps you retire from real estate and landlording, whether it's one problem property or your whole portfolio through a 721 exchange, deferring your capital gains tax and depreciation recapture. It's a strategy long used by the ultra wealthy. Now Mom and Pop landlords can 721 the residential real estate request your initial valuation, see if your properties qualify@flockhomes.com slash, slash GRE, that's F, l, O, C, K, homes.com/gre Keith Weinhold 25:47 the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President chailey Ridge personally. While it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com that's Ridge lending group.com Ted Sutton 26:22 Hey, it's corporate directs Ted Sutton, listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream. Keith Weinhold 26:29 Welcome back to get Rich's case, we're talking with a familiar and recurrent guest Ridge lending group, President Caeli Ridge Kelly, talk to us about your underwriting reality there, versus some of the advice that one gets online sometimes, including what really gets a loan approved with some of those things like income and reserves and DTI. Caeli Ridge 26:59 You know, this can be so confusing for the consumer, because there are so many different vehicles in which to get Mortgage Funding, and there's something in our industry called an overlay. Okay, an overlay is taking the purest form of a guideline and adding layers of risk to it. I'll give you an example. Let's say that we know, or most of us know that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac allow for up to 10 finance properties per qualified individual, right? That is a straight Fannie Freddie guideline B of A, and this could be wrong, but a big boy bank may have an overlay and layers of risk that say we will only allow up to four, right? So all of this differing information, conflicting information, when the nice thing with ridges is that we go by the purest form of the guideline, we are not going to impose those overlays. So in working with us, you're always going to be sure that we know exactly what those guidelines are. We know them like our own faces, and that we're not going to impose some additional risk layering or overlay that might prohibit or preclude the qualification. It's pretty basic stuff. I mean, if you're going full doc, Fannie Freddie, and this can apply to our owner occupied and, of course, all of our non owner occupied income, debt to income, credit and assets, it's a pretty basic formula that we use. And then we've got all the other products that we have. Again, knowing those underwriting guidelines like the back of our hand, is very important to making sure that we can navigate the battleship in a creek. That's the analogy that I give that tends to be mortgage lending, or what feels like mortgage lending anyway. So it's pretty basic. We have to understand what the borrower's qualifications are out of the gate, and then we can provide them with a schematic of options that they can tell us which direction they want to go in Keith Weinhold 28:42 for quite a long time now, one could get 10 conventional investor loans, single or 20 married. It wasn't always that way. I remember attending a real estate workshop in 2012 and you could only get four loans, or at least you could only easily get four investor loans before that expanded to 10. And we just shouldn't always assume that it's going to be this way forever. Caeli Ridge 29:06 Yeah, so I kind of going back before 08,09, there was no limit to the number of finance properties Fannie and Freddie would secure per individual. After that crash, it shut off, and it got to four to your point. And then it stayed there for a while, until we kind of brought it back to that 10. You know, there's been rumors for years that they're going to up it to 12 or 15 or some random number. I don't even know where it's coming from. I always make a joke and say, Yeah, between now and my death, we'll see that. But it would be nice. It would be nice if they increase that number a few Keith Weinhold 29:35 now, as someone is qualifying there, you probably run into a lot of borrowers that believe certain myths or have to have misconceptions corrected. Tell us about some of those Caeli Ridge 29:45 the biggest myths, I'm going to say that it's probably one of three things they believe that they've got to make 10s of 1000s of dollars a month or hundreds of 1000s of dollars a year to qualify. Absolutely not true. It's so much less about the monthly. Income than it is the monthly income in relation to your minimum payments on your credit report. So just as an example, I could have a client that only shows $1,000 a month of income, but if they truly have no debt and some of the other qualifying criteria, they can qualify for a mortgage on an investment property, because the investment property has income to offset that mortgage payment. So it dispel the myth about having massive amounts of monthly income. That's not necessary. It's about the income and your monthly debt that we find on your credit report. That would be the first thing. The other thing, speaking of credit reports, I would say, is that a lot of times, people think that the overall debt that they're carrying matters. I mean, Mr. Jones could have $300,000 worth of debt, but his monthly payments are only 1500 All I care about is that monthly amount. I do not care what the total outstanding debt is. I hear that one a lot inquiries, credit inquiries. Every time you have your credit pulled, it drops the score, 20 points. Not the case. Now I can go down that rabbit hole, Keith, but it is a rabbit hole, so maybe I'll just leave it there. Your credit score does not drop X number every time you have your credit pulled. That's a misnomer. Keith Weinhold 31:07 Well, actually, that brings up a thought. Then once prospective borrower initiates with you in there and gets the ball rolling in qualifying for a loan, what are some reasons that deals die late in the process? So what does it take to be sure to hold that together? Caeli Ridge 31:23 You know, I think it all boils down to communication. And we tell our clients this on the front end, treat us like your attorney. You tell us everything, do not own anything, so that we can ensure that we're guiding you appropriately. So lack of information can derail things. Let's say, for example, they change jobs, and it's a completely new line of work, and it could prohibit or preclude the amount of income that we could have we were using now DTI gets changed, or they buy a new car in the middle, and they don't think it's going to come up. And now it's a DTI issue. It can be all kinds of things, but the point there is communication is key. Just keep us informed, and then we will give you the input or advice, and then you do what you want with that. But at least it's not once the bell is rung. Keith Weinhold 32:05 Live pretty conservatively and safely until that loan closes. Yes, sir. Well, does that bring up any stories? Sometimes people learn better that way. Is there a deal? Perhaps that should have worked, but it didn't. Caeli Ridge 32:20 That's a good question. You know, I think that the answer is no, and mostly because we have such a diverse menu of loan products, even if something did happen and even if it was outside of anyone's control, let's say we would normally just pivot to another loan product that would accommodate whatever that event ended up being. I cannot think of an example where a deal fell apart that could have gone differently, that we weren't able to just simply pivot into another path and close the loan for Keith Weinhold 32:49 well, America is a place that promotes entrepreneurship, and it seems like side hustles as well are more popular than they've been before. So can you talk to us about how self employed borrowers get evaluated? Caeli Ridge 33:04 Yeah, it is different. I mean, the simplest way to describe it is, we're going to take the adjusted gross income, but there are something called add backs. So depending on what their deductions are, there are certain things like Depreciation or Amortization or, I mean, there's a whole slew of things that we're able to take those numbers and add it back into the Adjusted Gross and then divide by 12 or 24 whatever it needs to be. That's typically what we're going to be looking at for a self employed person, versus the straight w2 is just the gross income divided by 12 months. Keith Weinhold 33:35 Well, Caeli, this has been really good with some strategies and some actionable tactics. Before I ask how one can learn more about ridge? Is there any last thing that you'd like to share with us, whether that's to expand on anything we discussed, or any of the more nascent things that have happened, like banks holding less in capital reserves, or Fannie Mae, except in crypto back mortgages? Is there anything else we really ought to know? Caeli Ridge 33:57 You know, I think my advice right now for anybody that is in real estate investing, thinking about getting into real estate investing, be informed. Listen to people like Keith, ideally, listen to people like me. I've been doing this for a very, very long time. I'm an educator at heart. Get your information from sources that you can trust, and try to avoid the analysis paralysis the best you can. I know that people get hung up on that, but now is the best time ever, and I would say that tomorrow and the next day and next year and the year after that, to invest in real estate. Keith Weinhold 34:27 Yes, the only thing that could possibly make now better than ever is now is sooner than it's ever going to be again. Well, Caeli, if someone wants to get a hold of ridge so they can tell you their situation, and you can then help them find out how you can best help. What should they do? Caeli Ridge 34:43 There's so many ways. Check out our website, ridgelinengroup.com you can email us info@ridgelinengroup.com you can call us toll free at 855, 74, Ridge. All of those ways get to us, and I look forward to speaking with each and every one of you Keith Weinhold 34:58 that's been valuable. Always It's been great having you here. Caeli Ridge 35:01 Thanks. Keith Keith Weinhold 35:08 Caeli brought up a great point from the lender's view, when they make a loan, it might be safer for them to lend on an income property loan, actually, than it is for your own home, because on the income property, you have a substantially higher qualification bar to clear, and you have to make a higher down payment on it. I hadn't thought about it that way before. As far as Fannie Mae accepting crypto backed mortgage structures, that is still new as of this year. How it works with a crypto backed mortgage is that you're usually getting two loans. First you get a normal mortgage, and then for your down payment, it's a separate loan that's backed by your crypto. Your crypto stays locked up for years and you can't trade it while it's pledged as your home down payment. That's generally how it works. But notice the attraction. You would also get to keep your crypto while you're leveraging it. Also notice the risk there, and very few banks offer this, think Coinbase and not JPMorgan Chase. It's still new and niche, and it remains to be seen whether or not crypto backed loans will gain any real traction. It's only likely going to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum or stablecoins, not altcoins. Only about 1% of homebuyers use crypto in transactions. Most of what the current presidential administration has done focuses on making mortgages easier to get, not in making homes cheaper. Making mortgages easier to get means more bidders and higher prices. Washington can make it easier to get a mortgage, but they cannot make a $400,000 property cost $300,000 we talked about how to borrow to win today, and big thanks to our terrific guest. Until next week, I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, though you might quit your day job, don't quit your Daydream. Speaker 2 37:17 Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice, please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively you Keith Weinhold 37:45 The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth, building, get richeducation.com
Can you really afford the home you want? In this episode, we break down debt-to-income ratio (DTI) and explain how lenders use your income, monthly debts, loan program, down payment, and mortgage payment to determine how much house you can qualify for.We also walk through the income needed to qualify for homes at different price points, including $300K, $500K, $750K, and $1M, so you can better understand what lenders are actually looking for before you start shopping.If you are a first-time homebuyer or trying to figure out how much house you can afford, this conversation will help you understand the mortgage approval math in plain English.✅ Ready to buy a house in 2026? Start your stress-free journey today: theeducatedhomebuyer.com/start
Outpatient Direct Initiation of Injectable Buprenorphine in a Harm Reduction Agency and Primary Care Clinic: A Retrospective Case Series Journal of Addiction Medicine Initiating weekly long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB) without prior sublingual buprenorphine (“direct-to-inject” or DTI) may reduce buprenorphine initiation barriers. In this case series, outpatient DTI outcomes are described. Of the 23 patients with available data, 19 (83%) had no withdrawal symptoms pre-DTI. Of the 20 patients with documented post-DTI withdrawal symptoms, 3 (15%) had no withdrawal, 12 (60%) had mild, 4 (20%) had moderate, and one (5%) patient had severe withdrawal. Thirty days post-DTI, 14 (58%) patients were retained on any buprenorphine formulation, and 11 (46%) patients were retained at 90 days. The median post-DTI buprenorphine treatment days were 77 (range: 9–90). The majority of patients had no pre-DTI withdrawal symptoms, no or mild withdrawal symptoms post-DTI, and were retained on buprenorphine at 30 days post-DTI, with nearly half retained at 90 days. DTI is a promising buprenorphine initiation strategy, but further research is warranted. Read this issue of the ASAM Weekly Subscribe to the ASAM Weekly Visit ASAM
Your local bank will happily close your first investment loan, but what they will not tell you is that the loan could make your next deal nearly impossible to finance. In this episode of Chasing Financial Freedom, Ryan DeMent walks through the real differences between DSCR loans and conventional bank financing, including how investment loans on your personal credit affect your DTI, what questions to ask both types of lenders before you commit, why 1.25 is the minimum DSCR ratio worth pursuing in today's compressed rent markets, and how to use both lenders as tools rather than choosing one and hoping for the best. If you are serious about building a real estate portfolio and nobody has walked you through this side-by-side comparison yet, this episode will change how you approach every financing decision going forward.
Michael Flomenhaft, Esq. is the principal of the Flomenhaft Law Firm, PLLC in New York. He is a renowned trial lawyer specializing in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and severe chronic pain. With a unique, deep expertise in neurosciences—including neuroimaging, neurobiology, and the neuroanatomy of chronic pain—Michael bridges the gap between complex brain science and the courtroom. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Neuroscience and Law at Fordham Law School and was a director of Neurolaw for the Program for Imaging and Cognitive Sciences at Columbia University. A graduate of Boston University School of Law and the Trial Lawyers College, he is passionate about advocating for clients whose brain injuries are often unrecognized or minimized.In this powerful episode, host Bethany Lewis (The Concussion Coach) sits down with attorney Michael Flomenhaft to uncover the challenging legal realities of living with a concussion. They discuss why standard ER scans (CAT scans, MRIs) often miss the white matter damage that causes persistent symptoms, and how this medical gap creates major hurdles in legal cases. Michael explains why a "normal" scan does not mean a normal brain, the progressive nature of brain atrophy, and the invisible emotional burdens of grief, shame, and fear that clients carry. He also introduces advanced imaging (DTI, NeuroQuant) and hopeful therapies like neurofeedback.Resources Mentioned by Michael FlomenhaftContact for Legal Help (New York/New Jersey & Nationwide Referrals):Email: mflomenhaft@brainjusticeny.comPhone: 917-359-8023Website: www.brainjusticeny.comKey Medical & Legal Concepts Discussed:DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging): Specialized MRI that evaluates white matter integrity (introduced into US jurisprudence by Mr. Flomenhaft in 2004).SWI (Susceptibility Weighted Imaging): MRI sequence sensitive to microscopic bleeds (hemosiderin).NeuroQuant: FDA-cleared computerized program to evaluate brain atrophy.Neurofeedback: Described as "going to the gym for your brain," a highly effective intervention for re-establishing white matter connectivity and recovering function.Connect with Bethany:Website: https://theconcussioncoach.com/Free Guide: "5 Best Ways to Support Your Loved One Dealing with a Concussion" on the websiteFree Coaching Consultation: https://theconcussioncoach.com/free-consultation
Keith challenges the belief that all debt is bad and reframes it as a tool for building wealth when used intentionally. He contrasts destructive consumer debt with productive investment debt, especially in real estate, and explains how inflation, long-term fixed-rate loans, and rental income can work together to grow net worth. Keith explores the mindset shift from prioritizing safety and being debt-free to pursuing growth through leverage, highlights the opportunity cost of avoiding debt, and offers practical guidelines for using borrowing rationally rather than emotionally. He also shows how modern economies and many wealthy individuals rely on strategic debt, positioning it as a key part of a more intentional, asset-focused version of the American Dream. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/600 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments. For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text FAMILY to 66866 Unlock truly passive real estate income—visit flockhomes.com/GRE today to see if your properties qualify for a 721 exchange with Flock Homes. Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review" For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript: Keith Weinhold 0:00 welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith weinholder, there's bad debt, good debt and great debt. Are you using debt wisely, and are you ensuring that you stay in debt? Because debt is the American dream today, on get rich education milestone episode 600 Corey Coates 0:23 since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads of 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki. Get rich education can be heard in every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast, or visit get rich education.com Keith Weinhold 1:06 the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President chailey Ridge personally while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com that's Ridge lending group.com Speaker 1 1:40 You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education. Keith Weinhold 1:56 Welcome to GRE from Kennewick, Washington at Kennebunkport, Maine and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold, and you are inside get rich education. Yes, America's favorite slack jawed mammal on a microphone has got his act back on track, for your listening pleasure, since 2014 This is our 600th wealth building week in a row, you've been misled, not maliciously, not even intentionally, but somewhere along the way, a really expensive idea got planted inside your head, and it was once planted inside my head, that debt is bad, just blanketly bad, that the goal is to be debt free, that owing money to somebody else is something to escape as fast as possible. And look, I get it, if your mindset is in the old middle class consumer credit world like mine was for much of my life, debt feels heavy, it feels like risk, it feels like obligation, but the people telling you to avoid debt, they're the same people that never built much wealth now a reliance on 22% APR, credit card debt just To pay basic living expenses, because it's the only way that you could do it, merely making the minimum monthly payment that right there is the road to ruin. Why? Well, because the interest rate is high, because you have to pay it back yourself, and because it's unsecured, meaning that there's no collateral, and at the same time, the people quietly getting rich, what are they doing? They're using debt every single day. So debt is not the enemy, it's just the tool, and like any tool, it can build a house, or it can smash your thumb if you miss the nail. Well today we're going to separate the two, because if you understand this one concept, then you stop playing defense financially and start going on offense. In fact, I'll go further. Debt isn't the opposite of the American Dream used correctly. Debt is the American dream. Now, my turning point was really fueled when I made my first ever home, that $295,000 blue four Plex Building Two decades ago, with just my three and a half percent down payment. That meant that 96 and a half percent was borrowed. That's debt, and that fueled everything for me, and got the ball rolling on using that seminal four Plex to leverage even more debt and more property with 1031 exchanges and cash out refinances debt made that American dream free. Me because I could not have afforded $295,000 all cash back then. Now, a guest that we had on the show last year and the owner of a commercial lending company, Hannah Hannan, she recently talked about the virtues of debt. I met Hannah because we were both faculty members on last year's real estate guys Investor Summit at sea cruise. Well, Hannah went on a different cruise and saw in Jamaica that there were all these vacant and uncompleted houses just sort of weirdly stuck at different stages of construction. She asked the tour guide, why are these houses all abandoned? And and the tour guide answered, we don't have loans here in Jamaica. People have to work make money and then start the build, and then the build pauses while they make more money, and then they have to construct the next phase of the build as they go and go back to making more money like that. I mean, sheesh, that's awful. Can you imagine if you had to build a home or a rental property for yourself that way? Well, back here in the US, access to debt is what allows people to build wealth faster, especially in real estate, you can use other people's money control large assets, pay less in taxes and compound off a much smaller amount of capital. That's the difference. Debt availability is really good in the US compared to other nations, and that's the emphasis on the American part of today's episode. Debt is the American dream. Now, when it comes to the big misunderstanding, most people think that debt is really just one thing. They just lump it all like it's all bad, credit cards, car loans, student loans, mortgages. A lot of people, they really do. They just still throw it all into one mental bucket that's sort of labeled da, avoid that at all costs. I'm telling you, no way you cannot do that. I mean, this is like saying food is bad because candy exists. No, there's junk food and there's fuel. It's the same with debt. Consumer debt is a wealth killer. Investment debt is a wealth creator, and if you don't know the difference well, you end up avoiding the very thing that could move your life forward. Here's another way to think about it, debt doesn't make you poor. Using debt poorly makes you poor. Keith Weinhold 7:36 In real estate, inflation is quietly paying your mortgage, even if you never made a principal payment at all. When you really understand this, it almost sounds too good to be true. Most people think inflation is just rising prices, and it is that, but they miss the other side of the equation. Inflation also shrinks debt, something I've been talking about for more than 10 years here. If you have a 30 year fixed rate mortgage, you're paying back that loan with future dollars that are worth less, and meanwhile, rents tend to rise, wages tend to rise, and asset values tend to rise, but your mortgage, it stays fixed. Inflation can't touch it, and that means that over time, your payment gets easier and easier to make. Oh, and then if you've got a tenant in place as well, oh, they're the one sending in the check for everything. And inflation is not just happening to you. It's now working for you. If you've got, say, a $500,000 mortgage loan, and inflation is 3% well, then inflation enriched you by $15,000 every single year. That's $1,250 a month just on this 500k mortgage loan. And if you've got an investment property rented out. You've even got the tenant paying down, oh, maybe $400 in monthly principal for you on the property, plus this $1,250 in inflation profiting, plus $100 of cash flow. This is $1,750 in monthly benefit before we've even added in your tax benefits and the appreciation potential. What made this all happen debt is what made it all a reality for you. When we talk about why the middle class fears debt, yeah, there is a mindset divide here. On one side, it simply says, get out of debt, stay out of debt and avoid risk. On the other we ask, How can I use that to acquire assets? So it's really like the first group is focused on safety and the second group is focused on growth, and after a while you have to ask bigger X. Potential questions like, do you want to live a life of safety, or do you want to live a life of growth? Now, I'm not knocking discipline, but there is a hidden cost to avoiding debt entirely. It's called opportunity cost. When you pay all cash, oh, well, then you lose leverage, you lose scalability, you lose tax advantages, and you often lose time. Hey, just like I would have by postponing my first four Plex purchase for, say, five plus years until I could have saved up all that money by myself. That's why playing it safe is often the riskiest move, because while you're sitting on the sidelines, inflation and rising prices are still in the game, and you've taken yourself out of the game. When we talk about the American dream, look, America was built on debt leverage. Keith Weinhold 11:01 Zoom out for a second. This isn't just about you and me. America itself was built on debt. Railroads were financed with borrowed money that helped Cornelius Vanderbilt build his railroad empire in the 1800s in the 1900s highways were funded through government debt. Today, our entire suburbs are built on mortgages. Leverage didn't break the system. It built the system. So it's kind of ironic that today people are told the safest move is to avoid the very mechanism that built this modern economy that you and I are living inside every day. Debt is how things get done. Now, practically, yes, debt can absolutely wreck you if it's used poorly. So we think about some simple guardrails then favor fixed rate debt over variable match long term debt with long term assets, and you want to chiefly borrow for cash flowing or appreciating assets, and also stress test your deals assume that things won't go perfectly. So this certainly is not about being reckless. It's about being intentional. Debt should serve you, not the other way around. And now notice how I said to chiefly use debt for cash flowing or appreciating assets. I didn't say solely because you'll remember how last year, I talked to you about how I bought a new car for myself and financed as much as I was allowed, almost 100% debt. I had to make, like, a two or 3k down payment on the car because it was a special order. And once they start, you know, building it and customizing it for me, well, then they're at risk if they don't have a deposit, all right? Well, I found a way to make this car debt pretty good debt. Oh, and you might be thinking, oh, yeah, of course. Well, if you use it for business, you probably get some deductions that way. Oh, no, no. Business use totally a personal car, almost leveraged to the hilt, but it's not bad debt, and I'll tell you why. By the way, this isn't some high end exotic car. It's a BMW x3 SUV. It was like 53 or 55k and now how could I possibly call this good debt? Nope, I'm not running it out to other people or anything like that, because here, unlike income property, where a tenant pays it down, I do have to make these car payments myself. Well, in a word, the reason I did it this way is for the arbitrage. I got a fixed 3.99% interest rate for five years. Call it 4% Oh, I am almost certainly going to beat that by investing those dollars in real estate. So the 55k almost that I did not have to allocate to a car. Oh, well, that amount is enough for a down payment and closing costs on a cash flowing rental. That's probably going to pay me five ways with a total ROI that I expect to be multiples above the 4% interest rate, but the car's value depreciates. What about that debt on a depreciating asset? A car depreciates at the same rate whether it's bought all cash or all debt. It doesn't matter. Here is the better question, why tie up that much in a depreciating asset? 55k if I had paid all cash which I could have, I would have foregone returns and paid opportunity cost. Now, arbitraging car debt this way. That's not great debt. I don't put it in that category like real estate that pays for itself is and that is mostly because no tenant services. My personal car debt. For me, this car debt is just good debt, not great debt. Now how about some more guardrails? How can you keep yourself from going nuts and just trying to arbitrage everything. How would you know if you've gone too far? I mean, any person that's savvy with personal finance has to ask themselves a question, and that is always, what is the risk associated with this investment, or what is the risk associated with this debt, right? Because I already talked about the upsides of car debt this way. Well, the first risk is that I don't successfully arbitrage it. Rather than having the 55k sunk into the car, I have it invested elsewhere than say, it doesn't achieve a greater than 4% return. Well, the risk of that happening is small, maybe about a 10% chance. What's another big risk of leveraging car debt this way? Well, it's if you cannot make the monthly payment, which for me is about $1,050 a month, 1050 that's a comfortable payment. For me, if you can't make the payment that's called, you got yourself into an over leveraged condition. But for me, these risks are manageable. And this is applied thinking. This is clear eyed thinking, rational decision making, a level headed approach, a long term approach. It's common sense investing. Have a strategy and then invest your plan, not your emotions. Look paying off debt. That's often an emotional response, like when the debt is at a low interest rate and yes, understanding that debt is the American dream. Okay, this is still a pretty unconventional understanding, for sure, but it is pragmatism over emotions. When emotions go up, intelligence goes down. You can see that in a lot of places in your life. I can too. I think that a lot of the emotion happened to us when we were really young, perhaps age 12. And maybe you're saying, Oh, well, grandpa, he would not have arranged his finances this way. Grandpa wouldn't have leveraged all this real estate debt, and he sure wouldn't have thought that arbitraging car debt is savvy, but your grandpa was born before 1971 back when the dollar was still gold, backed if you're older now, your grandpa might have even been affected by living through the 1930s Great Depression. Our world does not work that way. Today, the dollar is no longer tethered to gold. It's just borrowed and lent into existence, and another Great Depression that's actually really unlikely. In the 1930s President Herbert Hoover refused to provide government support to prop up the economy, and sheesh today, any crisis is like immediately propped up by us printing a ton of dollars and then giving them out, just like covid stimulus checks and mortgage loan forbearance and all of that debt, debt, debt. Now I don't think that all of that is good, but you got to acknowledge that that's the world we live in today. If you're debt averse, because grandpa always said to stay out of debt, well then you know what you can take solace. Take comfort in the fact that today, ultimately, grandpa would have understood that the world changed, and he would want what is best for you. Keith Weinhold 19:03 I'm get rich education. Host Keith Weinhold, this week, we're talking about why debt is the American dream on episode 600 with guidance that's practical, contrarian investor first and non emotional. Contrarian does not mean reckless. And by the way, just because something is mainstream, well, that doesn't necessarily make it bad, but in this case with debt, it often does. Here we're kind of back onto the old Mark Twain quote. Go out on a limb, that's where the fruit is. This is independent thinking for real world investors. It's where theory meets what actually works, and I'll discuss some specific actionable guidance for you before we're done today. But this is largely about ignoring the masses and following a clear incentive path. And what do the masses do? Now they kind of all gel together and get pumped up when they follow these debt free call in radio shows where the host advises the caller to always desperately retire debt at all costs. They'll even tell you work a second and a third job. You got to postpone vacations. They'll tell you to defer your life and go into lifestyle debt. Then in order to desperately stay out of financial debt, we're never going to get that time back. So just chill, take it easy with a lot of debt types inflation and sometimes tenants both passively pay it back for you. I mean, on these debt free call in radio shows, almost every time they give guidance, I kind of chuckle when I listen to this stuff. I sort of quietly ask myself, how would that path ever build wealth like when people are advised to retire 3% mortgage debt? Why dreadful sounding guidance like this happens is because it keeps irresponsible people from going over a cliff. That's all it serves to do. I mean, you're here listening to me because you're good with money, or you desire to be good with money and not give all your money away to creditors used intelligently. Debt isn't reckless. It's a tool, and it's one that lets you scale without trading every hour of your life for dollars. It seems to me that some of the groups of people that need to hear the debt is the American Dream message. They tend to be in a few groups. I need to be careful here, but I'm talking about groups like people with less financial education, engineers and women. It doesn't mean that people with less financial education are any less intelligent. And then when it comes to the engineering profession, you know that type of person tends to be unusually conservative, and I've worked for engineering firms in the past, so I wouldn't know this is somewhat of a paradox. Since engineers are the calculating types, you would think that they would have leverage and arbitrage figured out, and then women are a group that they tend to be more debt averse than most, and this is not a knock on women at all. In fact, women generally do a lot of things better than men do. I mean, I could go on and on there, like emotional intelligence and social awareness and relationship building and even multitasking and sticking to a plan, but I know couples where the husband does understand that it does not make a lick of financial sense to pay off the home, but he did it because the wife wants it so badly she deems that as security. But yeah, there was a time in my life where I thought that being millions of dollars in debt. Oh, that just sounded awful, like I thought that after graduating from college, but Oh, position well, with leverage in real estate, after a long time, you might get yourself where you're increasing your debt half a million bucks every year, but right alongside it, you're increasing your asset value 1 million bucks every year. Well, right there, since net worth is assets minus debt, you're increasing your net worth by a half million bucks a year because you have a big amount to leverage, because you've been a real estate investor for a long time. For example, debt made that American dream possible. But, yeah, the needling engineer type that's conventional and is like still the guy faithfully contributing to their 401 k which is locked up until their age, 59 and a half and keeps paying down debt. You know, they're the ones showing up to their engineering job in a pair of Dockers pants. I'm telling you, people that wear Dockers are not good debtors. I mean, do they still make stupid Dockers? I've got to look that up. Do those pants have pleats at the front or not? I don't even know. Speaker 2 24:16 Levi's 100% cotton Dockers. If you're not wearing Dockers, you're just wearing pants. Keith Weinhold 24:21 Oh jeez. And yeah, they still do make Dockers. I mean, the stereotypical needling engineer that dutifully contributes to a 401, K, he's got to have a complete dresser drawer full of stupid Dockers, no doubt. Keith Weinhold 24:37 Hey, I can make a little fun of them, because I spent a lot of time in that world. I think it makes sense to contribute to a 401 K, by the way, but only up to the employer match amount. That way it's tax advantaged, and you're using other people's money one to one, but above that, oh, every dollar you lock inside a 401 k is $1 that can No. Longer leverage other people's money. That means no debt, no leverage, and a steep opportunity cost. Now to get a holistic picture here, we need to think through what are some reasons to pay down debt, or to pay off debt and completely retire it? Because there are some good reasons for doing that. I talked about credit cards earlier, student loan debt is also not good debt, because you must pay that debt, not somebody else, like a tenant, and now their interest rates are not as high as credit cards, but there's also no collateral with student loans. Maybe you could arbitrage it, like I did with my car, but student loan debt can't be discharged in bankruptcy. Like most other debt types, can you also want to pay off debt when an interest rate is working against you and not for you. Also, if you want to buy more property, but you need to lower your DTI in order to qualify with your mortgage loan underwriter that is lower your debt to income ratio before you take out another mortgage. Oh, well, that would be a reason, for example, to pay off a car loan. Another reason to pay off debt is if you're approaching retirement and you expect a decrease in your income, then you would want to revisit that here at GRE you might be structuring things to increase your income once you retire. That's its own discussion. They are some of the reasons to pay off debt. It makes sense sometimes, and with all those reasons, we've kept emotions out of it. But otherwise, yeah, bring on the good debt. Debt and loan are my two favorite four letter words the wealthiest people have the most debt. I've discussed that reality before on previous episodes, and I gave a lot of examples, like with Mark Zuckerberg and also with Jay Z and Beyonce, so I won't go into all that again. So therefore, let me discuss how, not only do the wealthiest people have the most debt, I mean, for example, I'm wealthier than I've ever been, and I simultaneously have the most debt that I've ever had. Not surprisingly, the wealthiest world nations have the most debt too. Let's look at it from the perspective of household debt as a percent of GDP. There are about 200 world nations, and sure enough, the US ranks pretty high 13th in this measure of household debt, the top 10 nations, counting them down from 10 to one is and look, they're all wealthy nations that have the most debt, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, Norway, South Korea. Up to fifth is New Zealand. And then you've got the Netherlands at fourth, and then Canada, Australia, and number one is the nation that you probably think of as the most wealthy and stable in the entire world. It is Switzerland. They are number one in household debt per GDP, and then the poorest of the 200 world nations have the least debt and the highest interest rates and the least stable currencies. But see, the wealthy nations can borrow the most. These countries can borrow trillions because investors trust them. Their economies are productive and they can service the payments just like you see, say that I know you've got $5 million in debt. Just say that's true. All right. Well, now that's an interesting thing that I know about you, and now I can automatically deduce something else about you. I know that you must be pretty credit worthy for anyone to have even extended you that much credit. So a high debt level is a mark of creditworthiness. The richest people have the most debt and the richest nations have the most debt too. Debt is a contract with time. Here's the deeper idea, debt lets you pull future resources into today. It's financial time travel. But there is a catch. You need to deploy that capital into something that grows faster than the cost of borrowing. If you do that, you win. If you don't, then you just brought future problems into the present debt is time travel, and most people just waste the trip. That's why debt has a bad name. Debt Free surely is not the goal. But you know, even hitting a certain net worth or income mark is not an end goal. Their financial goal. But not the end. The end goal is genuinely living the best version of you. And in fact, let's listen to this together for a minute or two from the parallel truth. Are you really living? It's a little oversimplified, but this is quite a bit more substantive than civil engineers wearing Levi's 100% cotton Dockers. Don't be startled by the sound effects. Speaker 3 30:23 If you really think working 50 years at a job you hate just to get a few years of so called Freedom makes sense, then I'm sorry to say, you have been brainwashed. This is not living. It's a trap. From the moment you're born, the system starts programming you. School doesn't teach you to think. It teaches you to obey, to sit still, follow orders and wait for permission. Then comes work, where your best years, your energy, your creativity, all get drained away to build someone else's dream. And they call that success. Retirement is the prize they dangle in front of you. Work hard now, they say, so one day you can finally rest. But by the time that day comes, your body's worn out, your fire's gone, and all those dreams you once had, they faded into routine. You traded your time for money and then your health to earn it back. And here's the cruel truth, that's not an accident. It's designed that way, a system built to keep you tired, broke and too distracted to notice what's really happening. They want you so busy surviving that you forget to actually live the scam is simple. They steal your youth when it's full of energy, passion and possibility, and then hand you back your freedom when you're too weak to use it. And the worst part, most people defend the very system that's enslaving them. They call it normal life. They laugh at anyone who questions it, because it's easier to believe the lie than to face the truth. But nothing about this is normal. It's just comfortable enough to stop you from revolting. They give you weekends, holidays and Netflix tiny doses of relief so you don't question the cage you live in. You were born to create, to explore, to build your own path, not to clock in and out until the day you die. The world doesn't need more workers. It needs more thinkers, more dreamers, more people brave enough to walk away from the illusion. So ask yourself, are you really living or just slowly dying inside a system that calls itself freedom? Speaker 4 31:59 Yeah. Are you truly living or just existing with GRE plan, you can often retire in five to 10 years. So no debt isn't something to fear. It's something to understand. Because the difference between being stuck financially and moving forward faster than you thought possible, it often comes down to one thing, whether you avoid debt or you learn to use it, the American dream is not about being debt free. It's more about owning assets, leveraging wisely, and then letting time tenants and inflation do some of the heavy lifting for you, all of your life. Debt is the American dream, and I've got more on this for you today, coming up here on the show in future, GRE episodes, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Author Robert Kiyosaki publicly states that he has $1.4 billion in debt, billion with a B, not because he's irresponsible, because he understands leverage and debt often entails a tax advantage with it too. Later this spring, Robert Kiyosaki returns to the show with me here. He's been one of our more recurrent guests over time. Next week, Redfin chief economist, Darrell fairweather, PhD, sits down with me here. Also a lot of other prominent guests lined up, like real estate influencer thatch Wynn will be here with me and lots of other great episodes coming up, including a lot of content that you wouldn't expect to hear that can make a real difference in your life. Be sure to follow or subscribe to the show and also tell a friend about the show today could very well be one of these paradigm shifting episodes that you want to share on social media. More straight ahead you're listening to debt is the American Dream On get rich education. Keith Weinhold 33:50 Let me throw out a simple idea, sometimes doing nothing with your money is actually a decision. Leaving it parked might feel safe, but over time, purchasing power changes. So the conversation isn't about chasing returns. It's about intentionally placing money somewhere. Freedom, family investments works in real estate people use every day housing, senior communities, essential properties, things tied to living and not trends, their freedom notes. Offering is built for accredited investors looking for structured income backed by real assets, not speculation. I am an investor with them myself. The Freedom team makes themselves available to walk through their approach, structure and operating philosophy, so you can ask questions and determine alignment before moving forward, while past performance doesn't guarantee future results, their historical operating philosophy has yielded 100% investor payouts backed by over 20 years of experience. If you want clarity before making any moves, book a clarity call. At freedom familyinvestments.com or text family to 66 866, text the word family to 66 866. Keith Weinhold 35:12 Flock homes helps you retire from real estate and landlording, whether it's one problem property or your whole portfolio through a 721 exchange, deferring your capital gains tax and depreciation recapture. It's a strategy long used by the ultra wealthy. Now Mom and Pop landlords can 721 the residential real estate request your initial valuation, see if your properties qualify@flockhomes.com slash, slash GRE, that's F, l, O, C, K, homes.com/gre Tom Wheelwright 35:50 This is Rich Dad Advisor Tom wheelwright. Listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream. Keith Weinhold 36:02 You welcome back to get rich Education. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold its debt is the American dream on episode 600 now, just before taking the mic, about 30 minutes ago, I ate some raspberries. I looked at the package to see where they were grown Mexico. Someone in Mexico supplied them. There was a supply chain. Those raspberries were planted in rows with trellising grown, and then they need to be hand picked. They're highly perishable, and they need to be shipped a long way fast, therefore, I just simply had the exorbitant privilege of buying those raspberries from a lit refrigerated store shelf with my dollars. Well, effectively, a bank lent me those dollars. Most of my debt is real estate debt, where time, tenants and inflation service my debt for me. I mean, what an amazing world. I'm just here to control those flows, those flows of money between Mexican raspberry growers, for my property managers that manage my tenants and for the banks that provide the loan. I mean, gosh, debt really is the American dream. It made raspberries appear. This is a contrarian way of thinking, but it's calculated. It's unconventional, but it's first principles thinking, rather than emotions from grandpa. You know something I've said it before that. Hey, I'm proud that throughout my life I have never ridden the government dole. Once. Never have I done that. I've never accepted a subsidy, no covid stimulus checks. I've never accepted an unemployment check in my life, even though I could have been eligible one time. I'm proud of that, because otherwise taxpayers would have had to work for me and pay for me. But in a way, since so many of my mortgage loans are subsidized, I am riding the government dole to get 30 year mortgage money at a 7% interest rate, that's also tax deductible, so therefore maybe I'm paying 5% I mean, that's a really good deal, and the government backing makes banks want to provide lucrative loans to us, just like the FHA program that I personally began with on a fourplex, and Just like these first 10 Fannie, Mae, Freddie Mac backed investor loans that you can get for one to four unit properties. So although it's indirect, it's really like a government handout that we're getting. And what can we do when we can do our part in giving back by doing good in the world and providing good housing, not being slumlords. That's the path that we're on here and the future, it's always going to feel uncertain. Always, I'm encouraging you. You've got to plant the tree, you've got to take the leap. You've got to choose to believe that there is something worth building toward optimism is not about ignoring what's broken in the world. It's about deciding anyway to keep on going, and you're probably doing a lot right, working hard, earning, well, a little saving, but more investing. There's a problem that very few people talk about, labor income is taxed heavily, asset income is treated better, and then 401, K income, well, that doesn't even start arriving until you're about 60 or 70. And really, this is why a lot of high performing. Professionals eventually hit a wall. They make more money, but they don't feel much freer. The people who break out usually do one thing differently. They stop relying on one income source, and they start building income producing assets, and that's where I come in, you already know how to do things like budget and save. We all learned that quite a long time ago, and we've all heard the usual advice about maxing out your 41k waiting for years and just sort of hoping, and that might build a nest egg like that usually does turn into something, and it's better than nothing. It usually won't build outsized returns or freedom, though, and surely not while you're young enough to fully enjoy it. So get rich education is about a different path, building durable wealth through income, property, financial education and smarter leverage, certainly not day trading, certainly not get rich quick, just a proven framework for escaping overdependence on a paycheck, a generationally proven vehicle here and here you get the mindset and tactics to make generationally proven real estate a life changing investment because most people are Climbing the wrong mountain. A lot of smart professionals spend 30 years trying to save their way to freedom, but wealth usually grows faster when you own assets that produce income appreciate over time, offer tax advantages and can be financed with long term debt. That's how you get a lot of them. That is the difference between working hard and building leverage. So you can't out earn a broken wealth strategy. Keith Weinhold 41:47 Most people earn income, but few people own income. You own the source of the income when you have rental property. A lot of smart professionals really learn that too late, Your salary alone doesn't even have the ability to make you wealthy, since wealth is freedom. So we use an abundance mentality to invest in assets that are scarce. Most people use a scarcity mentality, leading with loss aversion, to invest in something that's abundant and plentiful. So there is always opportunity out there in a market as big and as broad as the US residential real estate market. Where is that opportunity today? Well, I'll tell you that list prices rose 2% year over year to a median of 423k that's in the four week period that just ended according to Redfin. But notice I said that was the list price buyers haggled them down to about 389k that's really significant. It's really proof that sellers are willing to bend in today's markets. So therefore in most markets, I'm encouraging you to make an offer that's below the list price, as we know, available for sale property that is still scarce in a lot of the Northeast and Midwest, and supply is abundant in Texas and Florida. But here's the thing, although Florida inventory is higher now than it was pre pandemic over that six or seven year stretch, here's the new trend, and it's worthwhile to identify inflection points like this on a year over year basis. So looking at only the past one year, Florida inventory is now down 4% it's no longer going up. So it's possible that we've reached the peak of this new Florida supply. We could have hit the turning point now, and yet, builders are still buying down your mortgage rate to about 4% giving you that long term fixed rate on new builds. So I'm telling you, that's where the opportunity is now. As far as the rent side, nationally, I don't see rents going up significantly anytime soon, and that's for most everything, single family rentals all the way up to huge apartment buildings. Rent increases in the single family to fourplex space, they showed some real promise last spring, a year ago, but as we got into summer, they didn't really materialize. Now, although you get rent increases historically, it's never wise to buy and just assume that that is automatic. But I want to underscore the fact that you really should not count on a rent increase over the next year. So that's new builds. Keith Weinhold 44:53 The other area ripe for opportunity. Here is burrs, buy, renovate, rent. Finance and repeat properties and among GRE listeners, burrs have been our most popular investment over the past two years. Yeah, Memphis, Little Rock, Birmingham and Kansas City, they are our hottest and most reliable burr markets, and we've really improved our burr operations since first helping you with those found the secret sauce, as far as helping you get the right provider that doesn't leave you hanging on the renovation, burrs are also good for you if you have fewer investment resources than what new build properties require. GRE coaching calls and our coaching program are completely free to help you with this now. Of course, our investment coaches listen to all the GRE episodes like you. They're aligned, and we have family guys that work here, like our investment coach Naresh. He has a wife and kids, and he's just the type of person that you want to see succeed in life and that you would enjoy working with over time. And we are all investors ourselves here, every one of us, so it doesn't hurt to set up a 30 minute consultation call to see if our GRE coaching program is right for you, some good, abundantly minded council for free. Our investment coaches have access to the best deals in real time. That alone is worth a connection. We're in constant communication with the top national providers in the best markets. So there might be an incentive today, like, say, a builder rate by down to 4% that didn't exist just two days ago or yesterday. So this is why investors are succeeding. They're also succeeding thanks to our recent Florida online live event. Connect with us to watch the replay and get in on these deals yourself. In fact, we have never seen so many incentives and price reductions in GRE history as we are right now. And see, here's the thing, when it comes to you making an offer below the list price, because our coaches work with other GRE listeners, they're going to know how low that seller is really going to go for you on that price. So that negotiation is some key information that you can learn. We have access to more than 200 deals nationwide, so contact our real estate investment coaches to get access and these burr properties can give you a super high ROI, because sometimes you can end up with as little as 10k or 20k of equity invested in an income producing single family rental. That's probably going to be 20k or more. And then with some of these developers that overbuilt in places like Florida, make that offer use good debt and take advantage of that interest rate in the fours. Buy low. And the reason that these new build deals provide positive income is because you buy at a lower purchase price overall, and you get a fixed rate in the fours, and you get a low property insurance rate, since they are new build properties, you don't need urgency right now so much as you need clarity, because there are opportunities, real ones, whether it's burrs in the Midwest or builder incentives in places like Florida, where you can Get those 4% rates. But the challenge isn't finding opportunity, it's knowing which one is right for you, and that's exactly what we help you do. And since our coaches are active investors themselves, they follow the same markets and the same providers and the same strategies that we talk about here on the show. So instead of guessing or going back and forth in emails, just get clear book, a quick call. It's free, it's 30 minutes, and it could save you months or years of going in the wrong direction. You can do that@greinvestmentcoach.com that's greinvestmentcoach.com the best thing you can do next is get aligned with the right opportunity. I'll chat with you in a week. I'm Keith Weinhold. Don't quit your Daydream. Speaker 3 49:35 Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively the. Speaker 4 50:03 The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth, building, get richeducation.com
Fentanyl changed the playbook for starting buprenorphine, and we're tired of watching people suffer through days of withdrawal just to “earn” their first dose. So we break down a cleaner, faster on-ramp: direct-to-inject. Think of weekly Brixadi as an automatic microdose that builds buprenorphine levels over 24 hours, cuts out guesswork, and sets up a smooth handoff to a monthly injection that actually sticks.We start by demystifying precipitated withdrawal with simple, memorable analogies—the “100 mph to 60 mph” shift explains why heroin-era inductions no longer work when fentanyl lingers like THC. From there, we map the current options: long waits with comfort meds, meticulous sublingual microdosing, short-acting opioid bridges, and why DTI often outperforms them in the real world. You'll hear our step-by-step protocol for week one: when to keep using, when to stop, how to layer sublingual buprenorphine, and which comfort meds reliably blunt symptoms without fogging people out.Then we get tactical. We compare Sublocade and Brixadi in plain English—needle size, injection sites, refrigeration, and the “tail” that can protect patients who miss appointments or face custody interruptions. We explain why some teams favor weekly Brixadi for the bridge and monthly Sublocade for its long half-life, while others choose monthly Brixadi for logistics and patient comfort. We also clear up a big myth: yes, you can supplement injectables with sublingual buprenorphine when needed.What matters most is the outcome. DTI compresses complexity into a single, supported action and replaces fear with momentum. Patients report fewer false starts, less chaos, and a quicker path to cravings control and stability. For clinicians and outreach teams, it's a protocol that works on the street and in clinic, with clear timing, meds, and contingencies that honor how people actually live.If this helped you rethink induction in the fentanyl era, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review so more clinicians and families can find it. Treating addiction saves lives—let's make the first step easier.To contact Dr. Grover: ammadeeasy@fastmail.com
In today's episode, we go through the announcement by Fannie and Freddie to buy more MBS. Plus, Robbie sits down with Castor Financial's Brooks Champagne for a discussion on solving DTI snags with unique income stacking qualification and asset depletion features to qualify more borrowers. And we close by looking at how tweets on the Iran War are influencing the bond markets.Thank you to Quorum Federal Credit Union, which offers a broker outlet. Quorum empowers brokers to close more deals with flexible, high-LTV mortgage and HELOC solutions featuring up to 4 percent comp, low FICO options, and versatile programs for nearly every borrower scenario.The Chrisman Commentary is your go-to daily mortgage news podcast, where industry insights meet expert analysis. Hosted by Robbie Chrisman, this podcast delivers the latest updates on mortgage rates, capital markets, and the forces shaping the housing finance landscape. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just looking to stay informed, you'll get clear, concise breakdowns of market trends and economic shifts that impact the mortgage world.
You've got a great multifamily deal lined up—but your tax returns, DTI, or “10‑property” limit kill the loan before it starts. In this episode of Chasing Financial Freedom, Ryan DeMent explains how DSCR loans work for multifamily investors, how lenders actually calculate DSCR using NOI and full PITI, what ratios they want to see, and why your credit score, down payment, and reserves still matter even when they ignore your W‑2s and tax returns. You'll also hear the key pros and cons—higher rates and prepayment penalties versus speed, scalability, and LLC vesting—so you can decide when a DSCR loan is the right tool for your next multifamily purchase and when conventional financing will serve you better.
✨Join me for my FREE Class! The Biggest Roadblocks Keeping Landlords From Scaling — and How to Fix It March 24, 2026 at 12PM & 7PM ET via Zoom https://owningitandlivingit.com/landlord Want to see the exact tech stack I use to run my $5M+ rental portfolio? In this video, I'm breaking down every tool — starting with Baselane, the banking and bookkeeping platform that keeps my entire rental operation organized and running on autopilot. 50,000+ real estate investors use Baselane to automate their rental finances. Sign up at http://baselane.com/erikabrown and get a $100 cash bonus.
Keith shares how a recent trip to Colorado Springs and a changing commission landscape reveal what really matters for real estate investors now From there, the show dives into the three levers investors truly control—leverage, operations, and relationships—before welcoming lender Caeli Ridge to break down the major mortgage options for investors. You'll hear how different loan types fit different strategies: from your first conventional "golden ticket" loans, to DSCR loans based on property income, to short-term fix-and-flip and bridge loans that prioritize speed and flexibility. The episode then moves into how more advanced investors can scale beyond 10 doors, navigate debt-to-income and tax strategy, and even approach financing for short-term rentals—all while highlighting why having the right lending partner and long-term plan can make a big difference to your results. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/591 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments. For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text 1-937-795-8989 to speak with a freedom coach Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review" For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript: Keith Weinhold 0:01 Welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold with new ways to think about your life through goals momentum in the real estate market. Then learn about various mortgage loan types, conventional DSCR, fix and flip, bridge loans, short term rental loans and more. Knowing which loans to use can save you millions and learn the fatal mortgage mistakes you must avoid today on get rich education. Corey Coates 0:29 since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads and 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki. Get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast or visit get rich education.com Speaker 1 1:14 You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education. Keith Weinhold 1:30 Welcome to GRE from Winnebago, Minnesota to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold, and you're listening to get rich education, the voice of real estate investing since 2014 before we get into the mortgage discussion, where we'll discuss five or 10 different investor loan types and their various pros and cons, which could save you millions over the course of your life. I shared with you that I traveled to Colorado A couple weeks ago, for a goals retreat hosted by the real estate guys, top notch event, I spent extra time there in Colorado Springs, because I find it really livable, and I spent five hours with a local realtor there, one day out and about visiting properties in the area I'm potentially looking for a home or a second home. And by the way, how is this for a price range? The realtor wanted to know what my Buy Box is, and since I'm just learning the Colorado Springs market, I told him I'm willing to spend between 400k and 1.2 million on the property, yeah, pretty wide range, a mile wide. Fortunately, my other Buy Box criteria are more narrow and specific, and I have got to say, I'm surprised at how low the area's home prices are. I thought they'd be higher. Interestingly, before touring homes, my buyer agent wanted me to sign a six month exclusive representation agreement. Fair enough, that's standard stuff. It was on the agreement, though, that I as the buyer pay a 3% commission up on the purchase, and the seller would presumably pay the other 3% to make up that total 6% commission for the agent compensation. Well, historically, the seller paid the entire 6% and this, of course, goes back to the NAR settlement, and that ruling that became effective in August of 2024 you probably remember this, and I talked about it on the show back then, and how it's not really that big of a deal, especially to investors like us, because at GRE marketplace and with our GRE investment coaching, it's a direct model. There's zero commission on either side, and then you, in turn, get some of those savings, but out in the larger world and in the owner occupant world. Well, that rule change that started a year and a half ago. It means that sellers are no longer required to pay the buyer's agent. Instead, the fee is now negotiable between buyers and their agent. The other change is that property listings no longer display the buyer agent's commission offer. But here's what's interesting in practice, and what really ends up happening in the end, in most cases, is that the seller still pays the full commission and compensates both agents that full 6% sometimes it's 5% instead of six buyers and buyer agents, they still operate under the seller pays. And that's largely because that has just been the norm. It's what's seemingly always been done. It's what buyers are used to. And the reason that that often persists. Is because the seller is the party in the transaction that has that thick equity in the property, deep equity, and buyers are the ones often just trying to scrape together whatever they can for a down payment and closing costs. Buyers are not going to be able to come up with another 15k for an agent commission when they're buying a 500k property, that's 3% especially today, this is true because American homeowners the seller then still have record equity positions of about 300k an all time high. Nearly half of mortgaged homes are considered equity rich. What does equity rich mean? It means that the loan balance is less than half of the home's value, yeah, the seller has the means to pay the full commission. So the point is, in practice, the seller, yeah, still pays that full five to 6% commission in the overwhelming majority of cases, and the buyer pays nothing. And if that does change, it's going to take a long time. You know, a lot of these evanescent real estate stories that people think are going to have some seismic impact. It rarely does, like this erstwhile NAR ruling or the 50 year mortgage proposal or banning big institutions for buying more single family rentals. You know, this stuff is like one little baseball sized asteroid striking an entire planet. I mean, it's like a barely discernible impact. Real estate is anchored in one place like Jabba the Hut. It is solid. These stories are interesting, but they're not impactful. Keith Weinhold 6:52 Instead, I've mentioned it before. What are three things you control in real estate that really matter. And these are evergreen things. First, it's, how many dollars are you leveraging? That's where your wealth is going to come from. In fact, we're going to discuss that today with mortgage loan types. Second, what's the efficiency of operations on your existing properties? And thirdly, what is the quality of your relationships? And actually, we're addressing the third one today too, talking to a lender that you could make part of your team. You can control these three things. They're unyielding, they're evergreen, they're long term, and they all have gratitas and impact those three things, leverage operations and relationships. Now my agent drops me off and picks me up from my hotel here at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. This was also the event hotel for the goals retreat. I just extended my stay to hang out in the area. Look at real estate, do some climbing on Pikes Peak. Pro tip for you on hotel room rates, talk to a human being before I booked my stay, I called the front desk and asked them if they could extend the attractive event room rate to more nights on my extended stay. And they agreed. You might have heard of the Broadmoor. It is well known. It's been here for more than 100 years, and it is such a fine place to stay. Let me tell you about this special piece of real estate. In fact, I've thought it through, and I will now hereby proclaim that it is the finest us hotel experience that I've ever had in my life. I say us because I stayed at an amazing place in Dubai. But what makes the Broadmoor stand alone? It's the details and the service. A lot of hotels are nice, but this is on a different level. And I don't say this to brag, and this is because you probably can afford to stay here, yeah, like I have. You might have paid more elsewhere in your life for a lesser hotel, although I am here in the low seasons. Okay, now, sure, you've got views of the Rockies and a man made lake and waterfall and even a beautiful chandelier in my hotel room. The thing that sets it apart, though, is you have this service that feels old world and not corporate. That's what makes the difference. The Broadmoor is horse themed, since horses are a symbol of the American West. There are about 800 rooms here. It's kind of like a self contained adult Disneyland championship golf courses, a world class spa, even an outdoor lap swimming pool like that has lanes that I swam in one morning for. Fine dining, casual dining, access to hiking, fly fishing, even falconry, zip lines, tennis, pickleball pools. Take the cog railway to the Pikes Peak, Summit. Okay. Now, other nice hotels have attractions that are sort of like that, but when I rave about the service, it's the little things they are knocking on my door before 10am to come in and clean the room. And you know how so commonly, when you first check into your hotel room and you look in the closet, there are not enough clothing hangers, and they're all like stupidly mismatched. These all match. They're all nice wood, and there are plenty of them. So I'm talking about these details. I'm telling you. I had dinner at one of the broadmoor's restaurants the other night. I just happened to take a close look at the tag on the napkin. Sure enough, it is made in Italy. I mean, jeez, no detail is overlooked at this stellar place. In fact, here's what I'll do. You know, I'll just completely stop my Colorado Springs home search right now. Instead, I'm going to stop down by the Broadmoor front desk, tell him to give me some moving boxes, because I'm moving into the Broadmoor and I'll be here for the next decade. Start forwarding my mail here and everything. And hey, at least I was courteous enough to give them notice. I can't stay here too long, or my standards will be rising faster than my net worth. Yeah, yeah. Can't go to sleep with a mint on your pillow every night, I suppose. Keith Weinhold 11:38 Now, the reason I came here now is to attend that aforementioned goals retreat, and let me take all the time and all the resources that I put into being here and distill them into just a few of the most salient takeaways for you. Goals should be smart, strategic, measurable, actionable, relevant and time based, they must be written down. Now, how would you describe yourself to somebody else that didn't know who you were? Write that down next. What do you think your reputation is? How would others describe you? Write that down now that you can see how you describe yourself and how others describe you, you can see that there's a gap there. That gap is what you need to work on. I learned that goal should be written in the present tense, not the future tense. I did not know that before. For example, say it is January 1, 2035, and I own $5 million in rental property. That's an example of how you would do that. So take future events and write them in the present tense. Other questions at the goals retreat that got really introspective are, what are you really going to do with your life? And write down that answer. Sheesh, that is tough. And if you think that's a hard question for you to ask of yourself, the next one is even harder. It's simply why? Why is that where you're going with your life? And then write that down? I mean, would you answer questions like this for yourself? And you really think about it, that can occupy a new segment of your entire headspace. It is a big cognitive load, and a last one to leave you with is to dream not just big, but gigantic. Get it out there, write down a dream that interests you, but it's so grandiose that you're actually embarrassed to tell someone about this stretch dream, for example, for me, it's the first person to walk on another planet. No human has ever done that, and this would most likely happen on Mars. See, this is so grand that is sort of embarrassing for me to even share that with you. It almost makes you sound Loony, like I would have to learn so many new skills to travel to and walk on Mars. But you should write down a bunch of other goals too. You're sort of brainstorming on goals, attainable goals. Recall that is the A in the SMART goals acronym, you want to write down a bunch of attainable ones, not just that stretch one. So for attainable ones, one of them is for me to become the highest man on earth. To give you an example. And I attempted that goal two years ago, and I failed. I told you about that at that time. But see now, compared to my embarrassing stretch goal of walking on Mars, the highest man on earth feels attainable, I know what it takes to achieve it, and it's worth doing, ah, but it's a grind to get there, yet it would be worth it. Those are some quick take. Ways from the real estate guys goals retreat while on stage the event host Robert helms he took a minute respite from the goals material, and he recognized the fact that, as he calls it, the four OG real estate podcasters are all in the same room. One of them is helms himself, and now I feel like the other three are all older and doing it longer than me. I was one of the four that he mentioned. But you know, there is only one podcast that was mentioned from stage, and that is that Robert helms told the audience that they should be listening to the get rich education podcast. That was a nice thing to say, and he is always a gracious giver. Keith Weinhold 15:45 Next, we're talking about four major loan types, conventional DSCR, fix and flip and then bridge loans. When we discuss the first two parts of it could sound repetitive, but you'll see why we do this, because then you'll be able to compare it to nichey loan types that we discuss, for example, the speed of a bridge loan, where you can get funded in just one week, compared to a slower conventional loan. The mortgage landscape changes. I still remember how in 2012 we had still somewhat freshly emerged from the global financial crisis, and back then, you could only get four conventional loans, four rental properties, not 10 like you can today, 20 married. So get your loans while you can, you probably won't always be able to get 10 loans. We'll start with loan types that are more for beginners, and then we'll get to advanced material. Let's welcome back one of our favorite recurring guests. Keith Weinhold 16:54 You can make millions more throughout your life by understanding mortgage loans. This is key, and today it's the return of the woman that's created more financial freedom through real estate than any other lender in the entire nation, because she's the president of ridge lender group. Hey, it's time for a big welcome back to the incomparable, yet somehow still so approachable Chaley Ridge Caeli Ridge 17:16 my Keith, thank you for having me. I love being here. I love what you're doing. It's my pleasure, sir. Keith Weinhold 17:23 And our followers, our listeners, have been approaching you since 2015 you're one of the longest running guests, truly one of the OGS around here at GRE and now Caeli, before we discuss loan types. You know, we don't really talk politics on this show rather policies, and we're in the midst of a presidential administration that often, in the name of the word affordability, is trying to supremely shake things up in the housing market. Help us dissect what matters and what won't. Caeli Ridge 17:58 I have found that at least as it relates to current administration, whoever that might be, I wait for the buzzwords or the taglines to become the actual policy. Like you said, That's a good point in this case. You know, you've got things floating around, like the 50 year mortgage cutting off the hedge fund guys and that kind of thing. Whether or not, those things come to fruition. I'm happy to give my opinion on them. I do not think that it's going to move the needle much for the people that you and I serve with regard to I mean, just taking them one at a time, I don't think that the 50 year is going to come to fruition. Just first and foremost, if it did do, I think it would be a good idea for a homeowner, probably not, but for an investor, maybe if there's some way that we can keep our payment lower, given the maturity date of a mortgage for an investment property is usually about five years. I mean, I know that this is a 30 year fixed mortgage, but statistically speaking, the average shelf life of a non owner occupied mortgage is about five years. So getting a 50 year amortization, if that were going to reduce the payment, I don't think is a bad thing for an investor, however, and this may get a little bit technical for the listeners, so I apologize in advance if we were to go to a 50 Year am the adjustments, something called, and you and I have talked about this before, something called an llpa, that stands for loan level price adjustment, I think would be such that it could end up defeating the purpose of having the longer term amortization, because I think the interest rates would be higher and I think they may offset so that was a long way to say. One, I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think it's actually going to get to its final resting place. And two, would it be a good idea for investors, yeah, I think it would be worth considering if it kept the payment lower. Okay, that's that as the other piece to cutting off the hedge funds, the big, you know, BlackRock, some of the big players, and giving them access to the residential housing and first right of infusion or etc, because they've got such deep pockets. You. It's such a small amount to what our individual investors are going to have access to that I don't think that that moves the needle either. So I don't know if I'm answering the question, except to say anything that they're going to tout, I would wait for it to actually become written in stone and pass by the rest of the powers that be before I would get excited about or concerned about any of it. Keith Weinhold 20:21 This is pretty parallel with what I've been telling our listeners. All these things seem to make splashy news, but I haven't seen anything that's going to make a deep impact yet, whether it's the 50 year mortgage, which probably won't even come to fruition, or if it's doing these mortgage bond buy downs in order to bring more liquidity into the market and bring rates down, or if it sees any of these other things being discussed with these institutional investors, since they already own such a smaller proportion of the housing market than a lot of people think, we'll discuss seasoned real estate investors and their loans shortly, but first for newer real estate investors, you Know, chili, I kind of think of four or more loan types that a beginner should be familiar with. I think of conventional loans, dscrs, fix and flips and then bridge loans, the first one with conventional loans. What are the basics that someone should know? Caeli Ridge 21:17 So first of all, you should know that there are 10 of these. We call them the golden tickets. I'm pretty sure I coined this, okay, 100 years ago, the golden ticket. We call the conventional aka Fannie Freddie, aka agency. They go by different names, but they all mean the same thing. We call them the golden tickets because it's the highest leverage and typically at the lowest interest rate you can find. Now I do have a hook in our conversation today about that. I'll get we'll get to it. There are 10 of these per qualified individual. So one of the first things that I would tell somebody is, is that if they are a partnership or a husband and wife team, you want to make sure to keep the debt obligation separate, because if you want to maximize these golden tickets, let's just say it's a husband and wife team. You each have, per qualification access to 10, and that includes a primary residence. In fact, let me just take a quick second and define what counts in the 10, because some people get this wrong. So the 10 golden tickets are counted by any residential property, single family, up to four Plex that has a loan on it, where the loan is in the individual name or personally guaranteed by the individual. That's where people get tied up. So if they went out and got a kind of more of a commercial type loan, that was in an LLC name, for example, but they signed a personal guarantee, per Fannie Freddie guidelines, that particular mortgage is going to count against the 10. So those would be some of the first pieces of news or detail I would give them about conventional Keith Weinhold 22:40 for married couples, don't take ownership in both the husband and wife's name, either the husband or the wife. That way, you can get to 20 rather than 10. And yes, you do have to be mindful that your primary residence does count in that 10 or 20, whatever it might be. Anything else quickly with conventional loans, LTVs so on, Caeli Ridge 23:01 yeah, LTV can go to 85% loan to value. So you get a little bit extra than you're going to get in some of the other loan product types. It will have PMI, private mortgage insurance, anything over 80% LTV will always have PMI on a more conforming, conventional basis. So keep that in mind. But the factor is pretty low. I would encourage people that are looking to stretch the almighty dollar. Do the math. Look at the 85 with PMI against, say, an 80% and see what are you giving up versus what you're getting. And then qualification stuff, you guys, my dumb joke, it's Keith's favorite. I'm sure vials of blood and DNA samples are sort of required for the Fannie Freddie loans. So just be prepared to supply or submit us the tax returns and pay stubs and bank statements and and all that stuff, Keith Weinhold 23:44 you'll feel like you're getting fingerprinted almost for a conventional loan qualification. And the second one that I brought up DSCR loans, that's short for debt service coverage ratio. And these mortgages are pretty standard for rental properties. They're underwritten based on a property's income potential. So you know, the way I think of dscrs Chaley from the lender's perspective, is that sustainable cash flow is what matters. The rent has got to support the property's monthly mortgage payments. So we talked to us more about dscrs. Caeli Ridge 24:15 Yeah, I love this product, and this is for somebody that either can't fit into the conventional Fannie Freddie box, or maybe they've exhausted their golden tickets and they're graduating and moving on. This is a great option that will reduce the amount of vials of blood and DNA samples that you're going to have to submit. It still provides for a 30 year fixed mortgage. The leverage is roughly the same, 80% in most cases, on a purchase. And to your point, the gross income divided by the principal, interest, taxes, insurance and Hoa, if it's applicable, is the simple formula, the easy method I'll give people, just to kind of solidify that math, is that if the gross rents were $1,000 a month, and if the PI TI was $1,000 a month, when you divide that, your debt service is 1.0 Now you can go as low, believe it or not, as low as a point seven, five, DSCR, they have those available be ready for the interest rate to get a little hair on it. Okay, it's going to be higher than what the 1.0 and above is going to be. But you can go as low as point seven, five, those are going to be for the investors that have found a property, maybe in distress, and they cannot show the current market value rent, perhaps, and it's on the low end. So you can still get that done at point seven, five, just be ready for a higher interest rate. Keith Weinhold 25:30 So the DSCR loan an alternative for you, which might be especially useful, like Chaley touched on, if you've already exhausted your 10 golden ticket. Fannie Freddie loans, a DSCR of 1.2 for example, means that your rent income needs to exceed your principal, interest, taxes and insurance payment by 20% or more. That's what we're talking about here. And then Chile, those were more of loans for the buy and hold type of investor. Tell us about fix and flip loans. Caeli Ridge 26:03 Yeah. So these are shorter term loan that will allow you to include not just the purchase of the property, but also some renovation or rehab money if you need that. And we're going to be looking at an ARV after repair value. So you've got a purchase price, you've got your renovation or scope of work budget. And then we're looking for an ARV with the ARV to be somewhere around 75% so what that means, if you've not heard of this before, you're going to take, let's say, $100,000 value. And if we want the ARV to be at 75% we're going to lend 75,000 is kind of the mix there. Those are quicker loans. You're going to be paying much higher rates on those. You know, between nine and 13% depending on the deal. The points are also going to be a little bit higher, but a great option for that quick turn and burn where you know your deal has enough skin in it and you can recapture all your capital and make a good tidy profit on it. Keith Weinhold 26:53 We're talking about basically fixer upper loans here with Chaley Ridge, the president of ridge lending group, yes, these are jalopies that rarely qualify for traditional bank financing. And oftentimes, when I think about these fix and flip loans, I'm thinking that often there is interest only flexibility with regard to those higher interest rates that you need to pay. And I think of it as, you know, a shorter term loan that you've got during your renovation period, oftentimes 12 to 18 months. Does that sound about right? Caeli Ridge 27:24 Yeah, 6,18, even 24 months. And to your point, yes, all of these are going to be interest only. And one of the cool things is about these loans is, is that, if there's enough room in the deal, right, based on what you need to borrow and what we think the ARV is expected to be, you don't even actually have to be making those interest payments. You can build it into the final payout when we go to refinance you out of this short term loan, or you simply sell the property and pay off that loan. So for example, let's say that your interest only payment is $1,000 a month, okay? And the value of the property is going to be $200,000 and you only took 120 okay, we're going to be well within that 75% ARV. You can build in that $1,000 say, for 12 months, there's $12,000 and just add it to the outstanding balance that you started by owing, and not have to be making those payments on an ongoing basis. It's not rented, right? So it might be nice to be able to factor that in to the actual payoff when you go to refinance that if it's a fix and hold versus go to sell it on a fix and flip. Keith Weinhold 28:31 Now, long term, we know that the big gains for real estate investors really come from that leveraged appreciation getting that loan. But sometimes there are situations where we might want to act as a cash buyer. And that brings up this fourth of four loan types that I brought up, the bridge loan, short term loans that can temporarily finance a property purchase while you're waiting for a longer term loan to come through. The bridge loan, so I think of it as a pretty speedy loan, if you sort of want to act like you're an all cash buyer. Caeli Ridge 29:04 Yeah, I like this, and in many ways it's similar to a fix and flip interest only. Obviously the term is going to be shorter, six months, 12 months, up to 24 months, and based on largely relationship, the bridge loan for the purpose that you described, really comes into play for an investor that we know and we're comfortable with, we can fund those inside a week, for somebody that we've done several of these loans for. So for those that need that really quick turn, once you've established yourself as a seasoned, experienced investor in that space, those are pretty slick and easy to get through. Keith Weinhold 29:39 Why would someone use a bridge loan, rather than a fix and flip loan. Caeli Ridge 29:43 So if they're in a very competitive market, that might be another option, because those are going to be faster. The bridge loan is going to be faster where they need to say that they're an all cash buyer and they only need seven days to close, or whatever it is. It depends on the municipality in the state. But what if you're at the courthouse steps? And you need cash quickly. Sometimes it needs to be immediate. So that might not be applicable in this case, but if you put the bid in, and you win the bid, and you've got, you know, three days to perform, usually we can get those done. So it's circumstantial. Those would be two variables or two scenarios that that would apply to Keith Weinhold 30:17 the bridge loan gives you the advantage of speed, but that speed can come at a cost. Caeli Ridge 30:22 Oh yeah, yeah, you're going to be paying probably three points, maybe four points, and it's short term interest, 13, 14% Keith Weinhold 30:30 so with these four loan types that we've discussed, conventional DSCR, fix and flip and bridge loans, you can kind of see that there is a loan for most every investment scenario, and there's no reason to rely on only one type, a flipper. Might start with a short term fix and flip loan or a bridge loan and then later refinance to a DSCR or a conventional loan. So consider mixing and matching based on your needs. You're listening to get rich education. We're talking with Ridge leninger, President Taylor Ridge, more when we come back, including steps for more advanced investors, I'm your host. Keith Weinhold Keith Weinhold 31:06 mid south homebuyers with over two decades as the nation's highest rated turnkey provider, their empathetic property managers use your return on investment as their North Star. It's no wonder smart investors line up to get their completely renovated income properties like it's the newest iPhone, headquartered in Memphis, with their globally attractive cash flows, mid south has an A plus rating with a better business bureau and 4000 houses renovated. There is zero markup on maintenance. Let that sink in, and they average a 98.9% occupancy rate with an industry leading three and a half year average renter term. Every home they offer you will have brand new components, a bumper to bumper, one year warranty, new 30 year roofs. And wait for it, a high quality renter in an astounding price range, 100 to 150k GET TO KNOW Mid South. Enjoy cash flow from day one at mid southhomebuyers.com that's mid southhomebuyers.com Keith Weinhold 32:08 you know, most people think they're playing it safe with their liquid money, but they're actually losing savings accounts and bonds. Don't keep up when true inflation eats six or 7% of your wealth. Every single year I invest my liquidity with FFI freedom family investments in their flagship program. Why fixed 10 to 12% returns have been predictable and paid quarterly. There's real world security backed by needs based real estate like affordable housing, Senior Living and health care. Ask about the freedom flagship program when you speak to a freedom coach there, and that's just one part of their family of products, they've got workshops, webinars and seminars designed to educate you before you invest, start with as little as 25k and finally, get your money working as hard as you do. Get started at Freedom family investments.com/gre or GRE, or send a text now it's 1-937-795-8989, yep, text their freedom coach, directly again. 1-937-795-8989, Keith Weinhold 33:19 the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage, start your pre qual and even chat with President chailey Ridge personally, while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com that's Ridge lending group.com Blair Singer 33:53 this is Rich Dad, sales advisor, Blair singer. Listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold. And above all, don't quit your Daydream. Keith Weinhold 34:09 Welcome back to get rich education chili when we go beyond this beginner stage that we've been discussing, how about for an investor just trying to scale to 10 doors worth of one to four unit properties. Now, are there any strategies there or more of a loan order that you would recommend in getting up to your first 10 you know Caeli Ridge 34:29 I think the strategy starts with calling your lender, ideally Ridge lending group, and having that deep strategy call that, that discovery call, so that we can really understand and plant some seeds that say, Okay, Mr. Jones, these are your qualifications today. This is where you want to be in a year or 10 years. These are the steps that are going to be important that we are mindful of and we take to accomplish and reach those milestones. It's really important to have that baseline understanding of what is your debt to income ratio on day one, what are your assets? Sets. What is your credit? Where do you want to be in a year or 10 years? Right? Do you want 10 properties in a year's time? It's going to be a very different conversation than if you're going to slow roll this and want to establish 10 purchases or 10 investment properties over 10 years. So identifying those details is going to be part one, and then next, in terms of order, I would say, largely the higher price point properties, typically, I would say, put those in one through six. And the reason that I'm saying that is is that the underwriting guidelines under conventional financing, they will change based on how many finance properties you have. So of all of the inner working guidelines and things that go into securing a conventional mortgage loan, the three top most heavily weighted are going to be debt to income ratio, credit score and assets. Okay? And within each one of those, the marker or the qualification guideline changes as you evolve and acquire more property. So the higher up the ring you go, or the rung that you go to 10, the more restrictive the guidelines are going to be. So I would typically say, get the higher price point properties go into maybe one to four, one to six, if that's part of your strategy and your diversification of portfolio ownership. Then after you've established having two or three or four properties and that higher price point it as it gets harder to qualify, potentially, if your debt to income ratio is a little bit tight, you've got the smaller loan sizes that might be less impactful in debt to income ratio. All of this is very subjective to the individual's qualifications and needs, of course, but that might be one rule of thumb that I would take Keith Weinhold 36:39 gosh, this This is absolute gold in helping you structure the architecture of a growing income property portfolio. And we're coming up on this Super Bowl, and whatever mortgage lender advertises for the Super Bowl or has some big, splashy campaign nationally, you know they are not the ones that are going to have conversations like this for you, they might be fine for buying a primary residence, but this is why you want to have a long term strategy and work with a lender that's aligned with you on exactly that sort of thing. And Chaley, is there a specific way in which one can avoid hitting the Fannie Freddie loan ceilings too early if you haven't already touched on it. Caeli Ridge 37:22 Yeah, very good question. You know, I think that this is going to come down to a debt to income ratio conversation. It's easy enough to ensure that we contain assets and credit. Those are easier conversations. The debt to income ratio is the piece that's more complicated and can get away from an investor without them even knowing it. You don't know what you don't know, right? So I would say that debt to income ratio and making sure that your lender again, hopefully Ridge lending, because we know this like we know our own faces, making sure they know how to structure and provide feedback and consult on that schedule E, part of the beauty of real estate investing is the tax deductions. Right? Many people get into real estate investing, not for the cash flow, not even for the appreciation, but for that tax strategy, because they're high wage earners, or whatever it may be, and they're sick of paying x in taxes. So the debt to income ratio is key in scaling and making sure you can continue to qualify for those loans. The conversations that we have with our clients really go deep about where we can maximize our deductions to ensure that we get the tax benefit without precluding our qualification on a conventional underwriting basis in the DTI category. Keith Weinhold 38:35 Now, during my growth as an investor, when I got above 10 doors, one gets above 20 doors. When one gets to 216 doors, I began where I needed to qualify more on a DSCR basis, where the lender is looking at the properties qualification, more so than me. So are there any other thoughts with regard to how one can set themselves up for success in really going big and well beyond 10 doors Caeli Ridge 39:03 absolutely so once we've exhausted the Fannie Freddie, and I think one of the real value adds about Ridge is that we are not a one size fits all, and we are extremely holistic versus transactional. So having that first conversation and understanding what those goals are, so that we can pivot as we need to maximize the golden tickets, whether that be 10 to 20, right? If you're in a marriage or a partnership or whatever, and then setting up for the DSCR loans when the time comes, and taking advantage of those, there is no limit to how many DSCR loans we can get for one individual. We have yet to file an individual that we've had to say no, and we've done quite a few of the high, high acquisition investors, so I don't expect that to be an issue, but yeah, I think it's about planning, planting those seeds, creating roadmaps together and have those smart discovery conversations. Keith Weinhold 39:50 Now, as you grow, one way you might diversify is to have perhaps at least a part of your portfolio in short term rentals. So what I. Comes to getting loans for sort of Airbnb or VRBO type properties. What does one look for there? How much does the landscape change versus the longer term rentals that we've mostly been talking about here? Caeli Ridge 40:10 Yeah, I think that the differences are going to be about purchase versus refinance. If we're just talking about purchases, let's kind of try to keep it in one lane. If we're talking about purchasing a short term rental, you may be limited on leverage. You might lose a little bit of leverage, 5% let's say you could get to 75% and maybe on a short term they're going to back it off to 70% LTV, so there may be reduction in that loan to value. And the way in which we're going to quantify the income is absolutely important to share with your listeners on a purchase transaction, we have access to things like an appraisal. An appraisal is going to give us some median rental income, whether it be long term or short term, that we will use to offset a new mortgage payment if that's needed for the individual's debt to income ratio qualification. Now, if they don't need the rental income to qualify, then it's a non issue. But if they do, like most of us, need that rental income to absorb this new mortgage payment that we are securing for them, how that's going to quantify is important. So if it's not in a short term rental area, let's just say it's kind of off the beaten path, and there may not be enough data points to support the income that you need. It's important to know that up front versus way down the rabbit hole, when you paid for appraisals and you're all the way through the transaction and earnest money might be off the table if you had to cancel that kind of thing. So really important to understand the numbers in advance, I would say, when we talk about short term rentals and how the income is going to be quantified from an underwriting perspective, Keith Weinhold 41:43 why does a borrower often need to make a higher down payment on a short term rental than they do a long term rental? Caeli Ridge 41:49 You know, I think that in secondary markets, as we talk about mortgage backed securities and things like that, it's looked at as a higher risk. A short term rental is going to be a higher risk than just the stable long term, long burn tenant is going to be there and they've got their lease for a year, two years or whatever, at a time, the short term rental is more volatile and it's seasonal. It can be I mean, there's all those different factors, so higher risk means more skin in the game for the investor. Keith Weinhold 42:13 That makes a lot of sense. Does that higher risk also translate into a higher mortgage rate for short term rentals than long term rentals? Caeli Ridge 42:18 Fannie Freddie versus DSCR The answer is no. On the Fannie Freddie side, the interest rate's not going to change on a DSCR loan. Yes, it can be slightly higher, usually about about a quarter of a percentage point on a short term versus a long term. Keith Weinhold 42:33 Now, are there any particular markets that lenders want to avoid with short term rental loans? Caeli Ridge 42:39 No, as long as the property is habitable, and all the other metrics fit Qualifications and Credit and assets and all that stuff. No, there isn't a market that we're going to have any issues with now. We do get the notifications for natural disaster areas, and as that relates to the appraisal and things like that, if it's in a natural disaster area or zone, we may have to hold funding until after the disaster is over, and then we can go and take more pictures and make sure it's still standing and there's no major issues. But otherwise, aside from that, as long as it's habitable, no, there is no market restriction. Keith Weinhold 43:12 Yes, with that variability of income for short term rentals, you can understand how a lender would be more careful in making a loan, and would want you, the borrower, to put more skin in the game for a short term rental. Well, Caeli, overall, what should an investor do in the next 24 hours to make themselves more lendable before contacting someone like you? Caeli Ridge 43:36 I would say the answer is sticky, but call rich lending group. That's how you're going to make yourself more lendable. And the reason that I can say that is is that everybody's qualifications and needs and goals are inherently different. So calling someone that understands this landscape and can navigate the battleship in the creek like I like to say, that's the visual aid for those of you that need the visual is the first key. And with that conversation, we're going to be able to identify for you specifically what you would need to do to become more lendable. And it may be nothing Keith Weinhold 44:07 well over there, Chaley, you're growing. You do loans in almost all 50 states. The GRE podcast has more than 5.8 million listener downloads, and you have helped countless GRE listeners acquire smart investor loans for fully a decade now. Just amazing. So talk to us about all of the loan types that you offer investors there at ridge. Caeli Ridge 44:30 My gosh. Okay, so I think one of the real value adds for us is that we have such a diverse menu of loan products. We touched on a few of them already. So we've got the conventional Fannie Mae Freddie, Mac stuff. We've got our DSCR loans. We have bank statement loans, asset depletion loans. I can touch on those if you want. Keith, we have our short term bridge fix and flip. We have our All In One my favorite, first lien, HELOC we have second lien HELOCs. We have commercial loan products, and commercial can apply to residential and commercial property. A cross collateralization, commercial for residential properties. That just means, if you're putting 10 single families into one blanket loan, that would be cross collateralization, or if you're buying a storage unit that's straight commercial, and probably even more than that, ground up construction, there's really not a limit to the loan products that we offer, specifically for investors. The only thing we don't have, I would say in our arsenal is bare land loans. Those are hard to come by Keith Weinhold 45:24 It sounds like you recommend a call in order to get some of that back and forth, to learn how you can best help that investor. But tell us about all the ways that someone Caeli Ridge 45:32 can get a hold of you. Yes, there's a few ways. Of course, our website, ridgeline group.com, you can call us toll free at 855-747434385, 747-434-3855, 74, Ridge. Or feel free to email us info at Ridge lending group.com Keith Weinhold 45:49 and you might get lucky. Hey, spin the wheel. Chaele does get on the phone and talk to individual investors herself too. So Chaley, it's been valuable as always to cover all these different loan types for beginners, and then what one does when they advance beyond that. It's been great having you back on the show. Caeli Ridge 46:09 Thank you, Keith. I appreciate you. Keith Weinhold 46:16 Oh yeah, a lot to learn from Chaley today. You've got mortgage rates three quarters to 1% lower than they were a year ago. At this time, in fact, last month, they ticked below 6% for the first time in years, and their lowest level in over three years. But when you introduce geopolitical uncertainty, well, that tends to make rates tick up again. Now, just what does happen when you have a lower overall rate trend like we have? Well, in this cycle, it's already spurred an increase in housing sales volume. It surged to 4.3 5 million in the latest reporting month, and that is the hottest annualized pace in nearly three years. Some of the same people who said, wait until rates fall, they're about to realize that prices didn't wait. Demand comes back fast. Inventory doesn't if mortgage rates take another leg lower, we could see quite a refinance wave in balanced markets or in supply constrained markets, bidding wars could follow. Now I've shared with you before that I totally do not predict interest rates. I don't know if anyone should. It is a great way to be fantastically wrong and supremely waste a lot of people's time. Instead, I think it's more efficacious for you to be able to interpret the signs that can trigger a further rate drop. Those signs are a weak jobs report that tends to bring lower rates because the labor market needs the help. So does softening wage growth, GDP below expectations, inflation continuing to cool, or a pickup in US Treasury demand. These are all signs that can lead to even lower rates. In fact, right now, with already lower rates and higher wages, real estate is more affordable than it's been in about three years, but overall, longer term, yeah, income properties still feel somewhat less affordable. It's less affordable than it was in pre pandemic times. That's for real for US investors, though, affordability is less about the price of the property, it's about whether the property pays for itself and grows your net worth while inflation does the heavy lifting for you, that's why it still works for us as investors. Higher prices don't kill investors inaction during inflation does you're not so much buying a say, 350k property. You're controlling it with 70k while your tenant and inflation do the rest. We don't rely on hope or appreciation. We start with inflation, tax benefits and debt pay down, and then appreciation typically happens too. A lot of times, the question for us goes beyond whether or not a property is affordable. The question is whether owning an investment property is better than inflation compounding against us, which is an investor mindset for this era, Ridge landing gear. President Chaley Ridge is a regular guest here because the mortgage space is so dynamic and things change a lot. For that reason, we expect to have her with us every few months this year, I'll see you next week. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream. Speaker 2 50:01 Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively Keith Weinhold 50:30 The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building, getricheducation.com
Your real estate agent is ignoring you and not sending you deals. You told them you're interested in investing, but they're leaving your texts on “read.” This happened a lot to Dave and Henry until they started saying the right thing to agents. Now, they have more investing opportunities than they can handle. What's the secret to landing an agent who will put you first? They're sharing the tactic today. We're back, taking questions from the BiggerPockets Forums, helping you invest in real estate wherever you are. Speaking of locations, an investor is worried about this “big city” they're about to invest in. But Dave and Henry push back, calling this one market a “sleeper” city for investment properties, one that Dave is actively looking to invest in. A house hacker with a high DTI (debt-to-income ratio) sees a property down the street that they want to buy. But with maxed-out credit, how can he make it work? We've got multiple options anyone can try. Would you buy a property with 0% down and a 100% loan? This investor is scared of overleveraging himself, but is it worth it for the low investment? Finally, we're giving you actual steps to lower (or at least stabilize) your renovation budget even with rising material and labor costs. Do NOT start buying toilets in bulk, we'll tell you why… In This Episode We Cover Signs of an investor-friendly agent, and the easy way to weed out average agents The most underrated real estate investing area in the country that is still affordable How to invest in real estate when your DTI (debt-to-income) is maxed out The real risk behind a VA loan (0% down loan) and how to ensure you're not biting off more than you can chew Flipping or BRRRRing? How Henry and Dave keep their costs on budget And So Much More! Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1214 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices