Podcast appearances and mentions of fannie may

Keith discusses seven ways to get a lower mortgage rate, emphasizing the historical impact of the 1940s GI Bill on homeownership and wealth creation.  Caeli Ridge, founder of Ridge Lending Group, digs into smart tactics like adjustable rate mortgages, DSCR loans, and down payment options, plus insider tips on boosting your creditworthiness, timing your rate lock, and planning ahead so you can maximize your returns.  They also explore trends like 50-year mortgages and portable mortgages, and the benefits of FHA and VA loans for first-time buyers.  Resources: Want expert guidance on your next real estate investment or mortgage? Reach out to Ridge Lending Group for personalized support and a full range of loan options—whether you're a first-time buyer or seasoned investor. Visit ridgelendinggroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE to take your next step! Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/582 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 or text 'GRE' to 66866 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, seven ways you can get a lower mortgage interest rate. We'll break them down loan types available to you that you never heard of, and learn how the 1940s GI Bill shaped the mortgage that you get today on get rich education   Speaker 1  0:22   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 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   Corey Coates  1:07   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education. You Keith,   Keith Weinhold  1:23   welcome to GRE from the Romanian Black Sea to the Egyptian Red Sea and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold, and this is the indefatigable get rich education before we discuss the seven ways that you can get a lower mortgage rate and more in the 1940s before my dad was born, the GI Bill gave veterans returning from World War Two access to cheap home loans, and that single policy decision might have done more to shape the modern American Housing landscape than Anything else in the last 100 years. Think about it, millions of young men, almost kids, really had just spent the better part of their early adulthood in Europe or the Pacific. They came home, married their sweethearts, started families, and suddenly America had this booming demand for housing, but demand alone doesn't build homes. You also need money. You need access to credit, and that's where the GI Bill stepped in. It didn't just thank returning service members for their sacrifice. It handed them something way more powerful, the ability to buy a home with little money down a low interest rate and underwriting standards that would frankly look like a fantasy today, that access to credit sparked one of the biggest housing booms in American history. You had these entire suburbs that sprang up overnight, Levittown in New York, Lakewood in California. These were master planned communities, and they really became a blueprint for Post War America. We had the booming 50s, and this had a lot to do with it. Here's the part that most people don't understand. This wasn't just about housing. This was about wealth creation, because for better or worse, home ownership has been the primary wealth building vehicle for the American middle class these past 100 years, when you give millions of people a subsidized path into property ownership, you're not just giving them a roof. You're giving them equity appreciation, leverage, tax benefits. You're giving them the engine, this flywheel that spins up generational wealth in a lot of ways. The GI Bill is the earliest institutional example of what I at least tell you here on the show, real estate pays five ways. Now they didn't call it that in 1947 but that's exactly what it was. Veterans earned appreciation as suburbs grew. They had amortization working for them, they collected tax advantages. Inflation slowly eroded their fixed rate mortgage balances too. And here's the thing, these weren't even speculative investments. They were homes that they lived in. Now, of course, the GI bill wasn't perfect. It expanded opportunity for millions of people, but it excluded a lot of people too. Lenders and local governments often blocked black veterans and other minorities from accessing the same benefits. That's a whole story unto itself, but the takeaway for today is, when you combine demographic momentum with favorable financing, you can remake a nation, and that's why housing policy still matters today, which we'll get. Two shortly, when you change access to credit or just tweak it, you change the trajectory of families and markets for generations, and the GI Bill proved that. So when we talk about interest rates, affordability, supply shortages, or any of the high frequency housing data that we cover here, remember that the stories aren't just about numbers. They really are about people. They're about giving ordinary Americans the chance to build wealth the same way that those World War Two veterans did through ownership, stability and the quiet compound leverage, not compound interest. Compound leverage that real estate delivers over time.    Keith Weinhold  5:49   I'm bringing you today's show from, I suppose, a somewhat exotic location. I am inside Caesar's Palace, which is right near the very middle of the famed Las Vegas Strip, that's where I'm at. The hotel staff is always accommodative of the show setup. This might seem a little strange to you, because I'm not a gambler. The reason I'm here is that my brother lives 25 minutes away, and I've been with him during Thanksgiving. Next week, I'll bring you the show from Buffalo, New York, and then two weeks from now, I have something heart warming to tell you about that, and it is a real estate story. I'll be broadcasting the show from upstate Pennsylvania. I'll be there to visit my parents. My brother's also coming in from Nevada to be there. That's where the four of us, mom, dad, my brother and I will sit around the same dining room table in the same kitchen of the same home that my parents have lived in since the 1970s nothing has changed, and all four of us know our spots at the table. And actually, it's not even called the dining room table. It is the supper table, as my parents call it so, from flashy Caesar's Palace today to Buffalo and then to Appalachian simplicity in Pennsylvania, the stability and continuity of my parents living in the same home and four wine holds sitting around the table during the holidays, it is so rare. I imagine less than one or 2% of people can do this. I'm just profoundly grateful and proud of Kurt and Penny Weinhold for being the best, most stable parents I could have asked for. It's almost too much to ask, and if you don't have that in your life. Ah, you can do something about that. You can provide the same decency and stability for your children.    Keith Weinhold  7:50   Let's talk about seven proven ways you can get a lower mortgage rate with this week's terrific guest. Though, we'll focus on investment properties. A lot of this applies to primary residences as well.   Keith Weinhold  8:07   We are joined by the founder of the lender that's created more financial freedom for real estate investors than any other mortgage originator in the nation, the eponymous Ridge lending group. And though that sounds impressive, my gosh, she didn't even need that introduction for you the listener, because she's one of the most recurrent guests in show history. Welcome back to GRE Caeli Ridge,   Caeli Ridge  8:30   I am delighted to be here as always, Keith, thank you for your support and acknowledgement. I love what you do, and I'm hoping that I can bring more value today to your listeners in what it is that we do, educating the masses, right?   Keith Weinhold  8:42   You've been doing that here for about 10 years. And yes, we're talking about a woman with a reputation for writing emails in all caps, yet still maintains a great relationship with everybody. I mean, congrats, shaile. I couldn't possibly pull that off myself.   Caeli Ridge  8:58   Thank you, Keith. And you know, I'm going to stay by my all caps, man, it's a speed thing. It all boils down to the number of seconds in the day that I can just move quickly through an email. Yeah, I love my all caps.   Keith Weinhold  9:09   Apparently recipients are still replying, well, you can get a lower mortgage rate in at least seven ways. You can get an adjustable rate mortgage, do a midweek lock in, negotiate seller credits. Have a high credit score. Do a two one buy now, which is kind of old school, but some home builders are using it boost your DTI or buy now, not later. Those are some of the strategies for lowering your mortgage rate. What are your thoughts with regard to that?   Caeli Ridge  9:39   I think all of those are viable. I would just say on the adjust for a mortgage. The pushback I would give there is, is that for residential property, specifically, single family, up to four units, we are not finding that spread between the arm and a 30 year fix. We've been the industry as a whole, secondary specifically been on the inverted yield. Now this gets a little tough. Nickel, and I won't go down that rabbit hole, but 08, 09, the housing and lending crash created an environment within secondary markets where an inverted yield has made a 30 year fixed mortgage more favorable in the rate department. Now that's not always going to be the case. I am a huge fan of the adjustable, but what would work right now is an adjustable with the all in one not to take too much time on that topic, but that would be an adjust rate mortgage that I think would save interest or reduce the rate of which interest is accruing,   Keith Weinhold  10:30   the all in one loan, which we discussed extensively back at the beginning of this year here on the show. Long term, though, I have seen adjustable rate mortgages work for a lot of people, because really, the compelling proposition of the arm is that it guarantees that you get a lower rate in the near term, and yet there's only a chance that you're going to have a higher rate in the long term   Caeli Ridge  10:53   and further. Let's I mean, let's dissect that a little bit. I am a huge proponent. I love an adjustable rate mortgage when the arm is pricing a half or a full percentage point plus over a fixed especially for non owner occupied and the reason for that is, and this is statistically speaking, feel free to look this up, guys, the average shelf life of a mortgage for an investment property is about five years. Great point, right? And we know that if that's the case, right, we're refinancing to harvest equity. We're refinancing maybe to reduce an interest rate from where the market was before, et cetera, et cetera. So that would be the first thing I would say. And then also remember, you guys the first 10 years of an amortized mortgage, 30 year fixed, amortized mortgage, how much of that payment is going to the principal? Because people will often push back by saying, well, either an interest only, or an adjustable and what happens if it changes or it goes up? Most of your payment is going to the interest anyway, and that reset to harvest equity. Borrowed funds are non taxable. We always say that, right? I think it's fully justified. So I love an arm, I just don't know, in comparison to a 30 year fixed today, like a five year ARM versus a 30 year fixed we are in a place that it makes sense, but normally, to your point, absolutely. Fan   Keith Weinhold  12:06   that spread needs to widen for the arm to make more sense. What about doing a mid week rate lock in? Is that a thing?    Caeli Ridge  12:13   Yeah. And you know, I don't have any empirical evidence here. Okay, I don't have any data points that actually prove this, except for 25 years in the business and locking loans every day of my life. There's something about a Monday and a Friday. And I have some conspiracy theories. I don't know that. I it's necessary to share them here, but midweek locks tend to be more favorable in both points and interest rate than you'll find on a Friday and a Monday. I think largely it has to do with, you know, the stock exchanges shutting down for the weekend, right? You got a Friday, you got two days in between. You got foreign markets, and all the things that can explode and happen during that amount of time. So I think they hedge a little bit. So on Friday, going into the weekend, I think that there's something about that and why interest rates are a little less favorable. And then Monday, of course, coming off the weekend, similarly, maybe there's some truth to that too.   Keith Weinhold  13:02   Now, negotiating seller credits has really been a trend to help with affordability. Tell us about specifically what you're seeing there, what's common.   Caeli Ridge  13:11   So we're talking to investors. I can tell you that the loan products you guys are going to have access to are going to cap you, okay, you're going to cap at, per guideline, 2% of the purchase price. Okay, remember that your points that you're paying when you get into locking an interest rate are going to be calculated on the loan size, all right. So the first thing to know is seller paid closing costs, maximum is going to be 2% per underwriting guidelines. That 2% is based on your purchase price. Anything that you're paying points for is going to be on the loan balance, the loan size, so there's going to be a little extra there for you that can contribute or can pay for some other closing costs, right, depending on the numbers. Now, if you're smart enough, or lucky enough, or whatever, the market is viable enough that you can negotiate more than 2% from the seller to pay towards closing costs, you're going to be limited on what you can do on the loan side. But let's say that you go and you've negotiated 4% seller will pay 4% towards your closing costs. Then in that case, you can reduce, you got the two points that you're allowed per guideline. And then you can reduce the purchase price by the difference you don't want to leave that money on the table.   Keith Weinhold  14:15   That's how it's done. And then there's just simply having a higher credit score. What's the highest credit score that really helps you get the lowest mortgage rate for both primary residences and non owner occupied properties. Loan product   Caeli Ridge  14:29   type dependent. But I would say overall, 760 and above is kind of that threshold. There are products that go 780 maybe even on the rare occasion, 800 and above. If I had to pick a number as the absolute pinnacle, I'm going to go 780    Keith Weinhold  14:41   All right, so having a credit score above those thresholds really doesn't help get you a lower interest rate. It's really just a little flex that you've got an 811, credit score, or whatever it is. Now the two, one buy down. That's something that we used to see long ago. A few home builders are bringing it back. And what that does it allow? Homebuyers to pay a lower interest rate for the first two years with the seller covering the difference, and that allows the seller to get their price. They don't have to lower the price of the home at all. But the two one buy down, and you see that written, two, one that has been employed more recently. Tell us about that.    Caeli Ridge  15:18   Well, the builders are struggling in some cases, right? The affordability buzzword is all over the place. So they've had to get creative and find ways in which they can move their inventory. So I think they've done a good job at kind of shaving off some of their margins to satisfy or improve the terms for the consumer. So I like the two. One, if you can get it   Keith Weinhold  15:37   now, one can boost their DTI as well their debt to income ratio and Taylor. When we've talked about that before, we've usually talked about reducing your debts in order to improve your DTI. However, a lot of people don't think about the fact that, oh, well, you can increase your income that lowers your DTI to help you qualify. So tell us what is the max DTI that you can have   Caeli Ridge  16:00   maximum debt to income ratio, in most cases on a full dock loan is going to be 50% now, depending on the type of income that you earn or that you've demonstrated, how you calculate that can get a little bit tricky. But if you're just a straight w2 wage earner, we don't have, you know, commissions or bonuses or anything that we consider variable income, then you just take your gross income times 50% whatever that number is, all of your liabilities on the credit report, we do not count ordinary living expenses like food and gas and utilities and cell phone bills. It's the minimum payments on the credit report. As long as whatever that add up is fits within that 50% you're good to go.    Keith Weinhold  16:37   Now, when it comes to improving our DTI to get a lower mortgage rate, I tend to think it's easier to knock out some debts to improve your DTI. But what about the other side of it? What about increasing your income to improve your DTI, lower your mortgage rate and qualify? Can you talk about some of the strategies for increasing your income with respect to DTI?    Caeli Ridge  17:02   Absolutely. And the biggest one, I think that we probably want to focus on most is going to be on a schedule E, right? That's the one that you're going to have more control over. So when we talk about rental income and how we might be able to boost that first, it might be important to share that there are two ways in underwriting that we will calculate or quantify rental income. The first way is called the acquisition year formula. I'll give you that in just a second. It's very easy, but the way I think we focus on here, because acquisition year is going to be what it is, you're going to have very little ability to manipulate or change that once our rental properties fall on our tax return, specifically the Schedule E of a federal tax return, you as the taxpayer or the borrower are going to have some access to maximize or increase the income, or, let's actually get a little bit more granular there to maximize the gain or minimize the loss, by means of depreciation, maybe a cost seg, maybe we make sure that one time, extraordinary expenses are demonstrated on the tax return in the appropriate way so that underwriting can add those things back. So I know that this sounds technical, but the scheduling is the way that I would say is the easiest for an investor to maximize income, reduce debt to income ratio. And I will close by saying that ridge lending, I think one of our most valued value adds is the ability to help our clients look at their draft tax returns on an annual basis and present them with, Hey, listen, Mr. Jones, if you file this way, this draft tax return, if it files this way, this is what it means to your debt to income ratio. Here's my advice, right? We go into a lot of depth there with our clients.   Keith Weinhold  18:39   That is a smart, long term planning piece that most mortgage companies are not going to give you. They're not going to be forward looking, looking out for your next three years of growing your income property portfolio. And shortly, we'll talk about a way for you to qualify loans where you don't have to show tax returns or W twos or pay stubs. But while we're talking about how to get a lower mortgage rate and some creative ways to do that, I brought up, buy now, not later. And what do I mean by that? What I mean is say, properties appreciate even 3% over time. Buying now, I mean that is going to net you more equity if you buy now rather than waiting, than it would in the savings from a rate drop, when you look at the appreciation run up, however, if rates go up, then you get both the lower price and the lower rate by buying now, not later.   Caeli Ridge  19:32   And I would add to that, we have to remember that in addition to a very modest 3% in the home appreciation, we should be appreciating our rents at even a modest 2% a year, right? Depending on where you are, et cetera. I know that there's exceptions to the rule. And then finally, we got to add in that tax benefit, what you're going to get in your deductions, et cetera, et cetera.   Keith Weinhold  19:51   Yeah, great point. Well, I brought up seven ways that you can get a lower mortgage rate. Can you share a few more with us? Some common ones? Because I know. That almost everyone that calls in there wants to inquire about mortgage rate as well.    Caeli Ridge  20:03   Everybody wants, yep, everybody wants to talk about the rate, despite my vervet opposition to say, do the math. Do the math. Do the math. You know, the easiest one there would be buying down the rate. I'm going to try and formulate an example. Let's say you've got a really high wage earner and in the thick of their earning years, and they're trying to prepare for retirement down the road. It's a longer term burn. They desperately need tax deductions, and the deal that they're looking at, yeah, it's okay, but they want some extra expenses on the Schedule E, maybe they buy the rate down by three even 4% because points on an investment loan transaction are tax deductible, so that might be something, and they obviously benefit from the lower interest rate. Now I may push back on this, and I think again, I know I sound like a broken record here, but we really need to do the math. What are we getting versus what are we giving up to get a 6% or five and a half percent interest rate? What does that mean in real, tangible cost, and what's that? Break even? It's actually a fairly simple calculation. When you just divide the difference in what you're getting versus what you're paying for, and that'll give you the number of months that it takes to recapture the incentive versus the expense. But that would be the easiest one. Keith, I would say buying down points, using paying additional points to get that lower interest rate,   Keith Weinhold  21:20   buying down your rate. It could feel good in the short term, but it's often not the best long term or even intermediate term move when you do the math, as you always like to say, well, you the listener here, you know that you can qualify for mortgage loans, for rental properties without needing a w2 without needing a pay stub and without even needing to show tax returns, because you need all those things for a conventional loan, but for a DSCR loan, debt service coverage ratio, you don't. So talk to us about the pros and cons of a DSCR loan versus a conventional   Caeli Ridge  21:53   loan. Okay? And I've got a hook here too, because I think the listeners are gonna be very, very pleased to hear at the end of this statement, what's happening with DSCR in conjunction or comparison, rather to the conventional so DSCR everybody means debt service, coverage ratio. It's a very simple formula. We are going to take the gross rents and divide it by the principal and interest and taxes and insurance and association. If it applies, that's it.   Keith Weinhold  22:18   $1,000 in gross rents, $800 in p i, t i, that yields a DSCR of 1.25 Correct?   Caeli Ridge  22:25   Yes, you're absolutely right. The one that I use as I, just to keep it simple, is 1000 rents, 1000 piti. That's a 1.0 right? As long as the gross rents are equal or greater than the p i, t i, you're going to be in a position to get the more favorable rates. Now that's not to say that we can't go below a 1.0 ratio. You can actually have a property, we have products that will allow the DSCR to be a point seven five. That would mean, in this scenario, if you had rents, gross rents of 750, and the piti was 1000 you can actually get that loan done. That is allowed. The rate gets a little bit hairy. So more often than not, we're at the 1.0 and above. So this is just a really great way for investors who are either recently self employed, maybe they're adjusted gross, they just write everything off for reasons that you can imagine. Why? Right? They don't want to pay the taxes. It could be 100 different reasons. The DSCR option is such a great solution to provide a 30 year fixed mortgage same same similar leverage, if not sometimes even better than a Fannie Freddie, than a conventional loan, you can usually leverage a little bit more, in some cases, on a DSCR like a two to four, for example, two to four unit residential property, Fannie Freddie, they kind of cut those loan to values a little bit, and the DSCR loans don't care about that. So you can get the same leverage as a single family would in a DSCR. The only other primary difference is these DSCR loans are going to come with prepayment penalties. Typically, the standard is about three years, but we're usually not refinancing in the first 36 months. Anyway, if you know that that's applicable to you, then you'd have to buy the prepay down or out, which you can do otherwise. DSCR is amazing. Oh, and I'll give you the little hook here. So something I have observed this is maybe very recent 4550 ish days, the margin for interest rate difference between conventional and DSCR is really starting to narrow. DSCR products are really performing well, and that interest rate improvements that we've been seeing for those products is not far off from what the Fannie Freddie's are, and I've even seen examples where DSCR beats a 30 year fixed Fannie Freddie rate. Now those are for the higher loan amounts. I can explain if you want, but otherwise, that's good news.   Keith Weinhold  24:36   Okay, this is really good news. It's a time in the cycle where dscrs could very well make sense for you without that huge documentation Shakedown that you need with W twos and pay stubs and everything else. There are a lot of nascent trends in the mortgage industry, and we're trying to separate some of them from being rumors, from being something that can truly happen. We're talking about 50 year mortgages and poor. Affordable mortgages. More on that. When we come back, you're listening to get rich education. Our guest is Ridge lending Group President, Chaley Ridge   Keith Weinhold  25:07   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 send a text now it's 1-937-795-8989, yep, text their freedom. Coach, directly, again. 1-937-795-8989,   Keith Weinhold  26:18   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 Chaley Ridge personally, while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com, that's Ridge lending group.com   Dana Dunford  26:50   this is hemlanes co founder, Dana Dunford. Listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream.    Keith Weinhold  26:58   welcome back to get rich education. We're talking with Ridge lending Group President and Founder, Chaley Ridge about how you can get lower mortgage rates, and also about some trends in the industry, separating what's really a rumor in what could really happen squaring on 50 year mortgages and portable mortgages, those are both things only being discussed by the administration to help with affordability. FHFA Director Bill Pulte created some jarring news recently when he publicized this. What are your thoughts on the 50 year mortgage?    Caeli Ridge  27:39   You know, on a primary residence basis, I'm not so sure I need to maybe put some more thought into that. But for an investment property, I love it. Man, anything to keep that payment down so that, because, remember, we talked about earlier in the show here the percentage of mortgages, let's just use our 30 year fixed for a second that for a rental property that start on day one and then stroke a check 360 times later to pay that to zero. Is a fraction of a percent right? We are refinancing these things. We are selling them and doing 1031 exchanges. So anything that can keep my cash flow higher and my payment lower, I am all for it. Now, the people that push back and say, Well, I want to pay off my mortgage in 15 years. I don't want to pay extra interest, you are welcome to do that. So there's a second piece to this that I think is equally as important as maximizing cash flow, and that is your qualification. All right, if this comes to pass, and right now, it could just be noise, okay, and I'm speaking specifically for investment property, but if this is available to us, the debt to income ratio component, because think about it like this. So I'm going to keep using my 15 year and my 30 year, because that's kind of what we understand. The payment difference between a 30 year 360 month and a 15 year 180 month can be substantial depending on the loan size. I mean, it can be hundreds and hundreds of dollars for the individual that is dead set and say, I don't want to pay the higher interest. I want to pay these things off. We may have arguments about that whole strategy to begin with, but overall, if they still want to do that and that's their decision, Fine, take the 30 year fixed payment. Take the 30 year fixed mortgage. Apply the difference. You can figure out that payment difference very easily. Apply it religiously. Every month. You will cross the finish line in about 15.4 years. Download an amortization calculator online. You can find them everywhere. Plug in your numbers, and you'll see what I'm talking about. If you were to do this, let's say the difference is 200 bucks a month, and you send it in every month with your 30 year fixed mortgage payment, you will cross the finish line to pay that thing off in about 15.4 years. So yes, you'll pay a few extra months of interest. But what have you done to your qualifications, right, your payment now on your debt to income ratio, when we're looking at this thing for a future optimization, never take the shorter term amortization, ever, ever, ever, you won't pay the higher interest that the 30 year or the 50 Year will probably come with because you've accelerated the payoff so long, if that's your choice. Now for everybody else that really wants. To maximize that cash flow. And they get that, they're going to be refinancing this every five, six, whatever it is, years take it, man, I am all for the longer term amortization on a rental.   Keith Weinhold  30:10   I agree with you. I even like the 50 year on a primary residence, but yeah, Chaley, right here on the show, several weeks before Bill Pulte made the announcement, I actually talked about the 50 year mortgage and compared it to the 30 and the reasons that I like it because I knew there was a chance it could be coming, since this administration is trying to do so much to help out with affordability, people buy based on a payment, not a price that lowers the payment. A 50 year mortgage helps you benefit from inflation, and there are a lot of other advantages that have to do with that, although you probably are going to pay a higher interest rate on a 50 than you would a 30. And you know, Chaley, when the 30 year mortgage had its Advent just after World War Two, I'm going to guess 75 years ago, people were having this same conversation like, oh, 30 years, my gosh, you're never going to pay off the home. And really, that's not what it's about.    Caeli Ridge  31:01   Not at all, not at all. And remember, you guys, I would encourage everybody listening to this to actually go get that amortization table and see how much interest is baked in and how it is applied and paid. It is the back end of any of these amortized mortgages where the principal actually starts to get applied in a meaningful way. The 50 year mortgage, or the longer term amortization is a huge advantage. I'm speaking for investors. Mostly. I love it.   Keith Weinhold  31:26   Some people say, are you nuts? Look at how much more interest you're paying over the life of the loan on a 50 year mortgage versus a 30 year mortgage. We already touched on that you're not going to keep that loan for the life of it, and if you just take the difference from the lower payment that a 50 Year gives you, and invest that in 8% return, you are going to crush 2x to 3x oftentimes, what the paltry interest savings are over several decades,    Caeli Ridge  31:26   and somebody else is making that payment right. We have tenants that are responsible   Keith Weinhold  31:47    100% and then there's something that I don't know if portable mortgages would fly. And what this means is that when borrowers move, they could keep the rate, keep their term and keep their lender, presumably for the new home you might have seen it in the news. You the listener that Fannie May remove the minimum credit score requirements from desktop underwriting. And Chaley, I think you let me know elsewhere that those changes don't affect non owner occupied, but of course, it could affect the broader housing market in pricing. What are your thoughts about lowering the credit score requirement   Caeli Ridge  32:28   so similar to the portable stuff, until it really reaches mainstream and it affects the non owner occupied I'm not deep diving into those things. The basis of it, though, is, is that, yeah, they're removing that minimum credit score requirement from a du underwrite that stands for desktop underwriter, as you said, that is Fannie Mae's sophisticated, automated underwriting system, and I think it's just going to give more eligibility to lower income households and people trying to become homeowners that have found the barrier for entry very restrictive because They have credit issues.    Keith Weinhold  33:00   Well, let's talk about FHA and VA loans, something that we have rarely, if ever touched on. Our listeners know that I started out making my first ever property of any kind, an FHA loan with three and a half percent down on a fourplex, living in one unit, renting out the other three. Tell us about some trends there in FHA and VA loans   Caeli Ridge  33:21   we actually just did house hack campaign. We did a webinar on it, co living, all those different ways in which, you know, the younger generation, especially, and this is true for anyone. I don't want to pigeonhole it, can get themselves into home ownership and propel them into the real estate investing as an asset class. I am such a big fan of this model, in this strategy, for anybody that's interested and willing to kind of coal mingle or habitat, like you did a four Plex at three and a half percent down, you've got three tenants that are making your mortgage payment. VA, likewise, any of the Gubby loans, which include VA, FHA, USDA, you can get high, high leverage and up to four units. So I'm a huge fan of that. And then the CO living is another thing that I think is not quite mainstream, but I think it's gaining steam    Keith Weinhold  34:09   for those that don't know what we're talking about, you can use an FHA loan with a three and a half percent down payment, as long as you live in one of the units, your credit score can even be pretty low, and you can do that with a single family home, duplex, triplex or fourplex. You can get those same benefits with a VA loan and zero down   Caeli Ridge  34:29   USDA also zero down if you're in the right zip code. How does one qualify for a USDA loan? You know, there's a website I would have you check out. We don't do a ton of those. We have the ability, of course, but there's income restrictions and all of this. They've got, actually, a pretty slick website where you can go online, type in the zip code, make sure it's in a rural area, what your income is. There's all these inputs, and it'll tell you if you'd be a candidate for it. But yeah, it's good. Rates zero down. I like the product.   Keith Weinhold  34:56   Well, there have been a lot of newsy items when it comes. Comes to mortgages. Caeli and I think we should drop back before we're done here and talk about the basics. Just basically, what does it take to get a non owner occupied loan for residential income property?   Caeli Ridge  35:12   You know, there's so many options for investors today that I would say that if you have access to and even with what we just said, house hack. I mean, listen, if you've got 3% down, three and a half percent down, you can probably assure yourself you can get into a property. And if you can't qualify from a income debt to income ratio perspective, you've got three or four other models, which include DSCR, bank statement loans, asset depletion loans, overall, I would say that this is an individual conversation. Chances are you could probably qualify today, and if you can't, one of the things that I love about Ridge lending is, is that we're going to help you plant the seeds and show you how to qualify. If it takes you three months or six months or a year, that's what we do.   Keith Weinhold  35:56   Yeah, we've definitely noticed the difference here and that you do help that investor with long term planning? I do my own loans at ridge, and my assistant here at GRE she recently got the ball rolling with you in there at Ridge as well.   Caeli Ridge  36:11   Brenda, yes, yes, that was fantastic. We are very looking forward to helping her.   Keith Weinhold  36:16   Well, you know, chili, I've come here with a lot of questions that I had. What's the question No one's asking you, but you wish that they would.   Caeli Ridge  36:25   I think it probably would be for me, planning. You know, we get a lot of questions about interest rates. That's kind of top of mind for everybody. More about planning, having people that are interested in real estate as an asset class and an investment have the conversations to say, this is where I'm at today. This is where I'd like to be in five years. Tell me how to get there, and we can have those high level conversations that really sort of reverse engineer it and say, Okay, this is where you stand today from an underwriting perspective. This is where you need to be, and here's how we're going to get you there. It's always about planting seeds and creating those roadmaps, as I like to say so I would say that that would be top of my list.   Keith Weinhold  37:02   That's exactly what you do in there, and that's really what sets you apart. Well, remind our audience how they can get a hold of ridge.   Caeli Ridge  37:11   Yes, there's a couple ways. Of course, our website, Ridge lending group.com Please email us info at Ridge lending group.com and then call us toll free. 855-747-4343, 855-74-RIDGE  is an easy way to remember.   Keith Weinhold  37:25   It's really been valuable this time. Chaley, thanks so much for coming back onto the show.   Caeli Ridge  37:29    Appreciate you. Keith.   Keith Weinhold  37:36   Oh yeah, good pointed info from Chaley over at Ridge, I think that the important things for you to remember from our conversation is that, gosh, isn't it so glaring like in your face that you have options. All these options when you engage with a lender, you're going to learn that there are probably loan programs that you've never even heard of, some that you might fit into and even if you aren't adding more property, if you're not in that phase, there are ways that you can take your existing loans and consolidate them or refinance them, or use them to produce a tax free windfall for yourself and the US is often the envy of other world nations with the flexibility that we have here in our mortgage market. I've never known anyone that does this better than Chaley and her team. I mean, they are real difference makers. If you learn something on today's show, hey, Don't hoard the good stuff. Engage in the nicest kind of wealth redistribution. Tap the Share button right now and share this on social, or text this episode to one friend who'd appreciate it. That would mean the world to me. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 2  38:57   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  39:25   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building, getricheducation.com  

Israel and Hezbollah have reached a cease-fire agreement.USA TODAY National Immigration Reporter Lauren Villagran discusses the response in Mexico after President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats.Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy push for federal workers to return to the office.Millions of Americans could have expanded Medicare and Medicaid to cover blockbuster weight loss drugs.USA TODAY Reporter Andrea Riquier discusses what this week's announcement by Fannie May and Freddie Mac means for the housing market.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We put the FAN in Fannie May, because we're lifelong lovers of these iconic chocolates! From Pixies to Mint Meltaways, Ioanna and Aaron have indulged in Fannie May chocolates every holiday since they were kids. Aaron's twin brother even worked in a Fannie May shop! Fannie May has been around since the 1920's when it all began as a neighborhood chocolate shop in Chicago. Since then, they've grown from a few recipes to over 100 tasty treats! We meet Fernando Bernardo, Marketing Director at Fannie May, who takes us back to when Fannie May all began. We learn about how they became so popular and why their emphasis on quality & in-store experience has made them a forever-classic holiday treat.Learn fun stories behind how your favorite chocolates came to exist- from Trinidads to Pixies, each chocolate has a tale! And, get the run down from our expert chocolatier (Bernardo) on how to gift Fannie May this holiday season and beyond, including what deals you can bite into this Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and during their annual customer appreciation weekend Dec 8-9!We end with rapid fire, discussing our favorite chocolates, a flavor we'd create, and our most nostalgic Fannie May memories!Cocktails crafted by Muddling Memories at Fannie May's “Cheers with Chocolate” event include the Pixie Espresso Brown Sugar Martini, Mint Meltaway Mint Chocolate Margarita, and Milk Chocolate Vanilla Buttercreams Vanilla Mimosa! Shop at the links below and follow Fannie May on Social for deal announcements and more signature events like the one featured in this episode's Instagram content! SHOP FANNIE MAY: https://www.fanniemay.com/us/en/STORE LOCATOR: https://locations.fanniemay.com/FANNIE MAY SOCIAL: https://www.instagram.com/fanniemaychocolates/?hl=enMUDDLING MEMORIES INFO: https://muddlingmemories.com/MUDDLING MEMORIES SOCIAL: https://www.instagram.com/muddlingmemories/

Episode 707: The insurance industry plays a vital role in our financial security and societal progress. Yet, translating innovative ideas into real impact can be a challenge. On today's Unscripted, Neil Alldredge, president and CEO of NAMIC, talks with Phil Budden, senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, about the critical link between innovation and the well-being of insurance companies and the communities they serve.

Mimi and Phil talks the new LLPA's from Fannie May and Freddie Mac, reading through the hot button headlines and truly what it means for you. Plus they give us a full market update including the Fed increase of Prime Rate, Unemployment Details and Previewing the Upcoming major report CPI announcement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mimi and Phil talks the new LLPA's from Fannie May and Freddie Mac, reading through the hot button headlines and truly what it means for you. Plus they give us a full market update including the Fed increase of Prime Rate, Unemployment Details and Previewing the Upcoming major report CPI announcement.

Sophia Mendicino Linkedin Check out Sophia's design work at Sophiamendicino.com Education: University of Illinois- BFA Graphic Design /Art History

Eurozone inflation continues to surge, Argy 2023 wheat crop estimates fall and Fannie May expects a sharp drop in home sales... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Historian Leslie Goddard joins WGN Radio's Dave Plier to talk about Chicago's rich history in the candy business with some of your favorites made here now or long ago in the Windy City including Baby Ruth, Tootsie Rolls, Brach’s, Lemonheads, Chuckles, Fannie May and Frangos.  What's your favorite candy from when you were a kid?

Anna Davlantes, WGN Radio's new investigative correspondent, joined Bob Sirott to share what happened this week in Chicago history. Stories include Montgomery Ward’s legal battle, the opening of Fannie May’s first retail shop, Wally Phillips’ Black Box, a toast to Harry Caray, and Michael Jordan’s most iconic interview.

Welcome to the pilot episode of The Real Estate Life Podcast, where we create a life of passive income through real estate and doing what we love. In this episode we have Luis Becker, a full-time multifamily investor who came from Venezuela in 2015. Luis owns 200 apartments in Florida, 52 units in Miami and also has properties in Gainesville. Today Luis shares his experience in real estate, plus some great tips on how to achieve financial freedom through multifamily housing. All this and much more, up next. 00:40 - Introducing Luis Becker 01:25 - The first real estate experience: turning a warehouse into a medical facility in Venezuela 02:30 - Coming to the United States: first deals and getting loans 08:10 - The first investment: tha Gainsco deal 09:40 - The importance of networking and identifying good deal: a story 14:05 - Checking out the competition 15:45 - Developing land 17:50 - Refinancing with Fannie May to remodel and increase rent 19:25 - Turning land into a multifamily complex through a HUD Program 23:03 - Educating yourself 25:40 - Learning from the biggest mistakes: financing, being overenthusiastic and partners 31:40 - What does financial freedom mean to you? 33:10 - Reach out about the Gainesville deal

Tego Venturi: I want to talk about interest rates because it was an interesting week with interest rates. You know, we saw the biggest weekly move in interest rates in the law in a long time. You know, the thing that's funny about it. We were on with Chris Cooper from Bay equity. Who's one of our lenders that, you know, local lender here that we work with that that's excellent. He watches that interest rate stuff like nobody else. What were some of your takeaways when, when he talked to our team here the other day, Jane, Jane Elizabeth: I think the biggest takeaway is that even at 3%, which is pretty amazing, we're still in absolutely Epic, low interest rates and the affordability. Tego Venturi: Well, it was funny. We were joking. They went from 275 to 3 for a lot of people. It's like, Oh my gosh. Yeah. Jane Elizabeth: I think just that they went up was a little bit nerve wracking because we watched gas prices go up and now interest rates are going up and wondering if it's an overall trend, we can't help but ask that. But yeah, interest rates Tego Venturi: The one thing he said, and I think people need to think about that as if they've gotten a pre-approval Speaker 2: That's right. Yeah. That if someone got pre-approved for a loan last week, that they need to check back in, because if they got pre-approved at the real top end of their ability to qualify, they may not qualify even with a quarter percent increase in the interest rate. Tego Venturi: And we're not talking about qualifying overall, we're talking about for a certain price point. Right. Cause now they're what they can afford. Might have gone down a little bit, right. Again, talking a quarter point here, but it's, it's amazing. One of the things that I looked at this this week, Jane was predictions about interest rates, all the experts, all the housing economists, all that stuff. And Jane Elizabeth: What are they saying? The million dollar question Tego Venturi: Experts with air quotes, right? Because I think 2020 was a year of not believing the experts anymore, but sorry, I'm not going to get political here, but anyway, Jane Elizabeth: Everyone's got a motive behind their opinion, Tego Venturi: But you know, basically what we, what we looked at, the, the group I work with that pulls this data together is we looked at what Freddie Mac said, Fannie May said, which home home, not home builders, mortgage bankers association, and the national association of realtors and, and, and all of them, if you were to just take all of them and look at them, they're saying probably by the end of the year, we're going to be a little bit over 3. Right. And that's, that's it. Now another group that I followed John Burns consulting there, they looked out to 2024 and they're putting a 3.6 on 2024 interest rates point is nobody's expecting a huge change in interest rates. And we there's good chance. I saw some economists talking, there's a good chance. We'll never see six, 7% interest rates again, which, you know, it's again, it's that whole new normal thing. Right. And that could be interesting because as you know, it's effect affected or affordability, even though home prices have gone up, correct? Jane and we only had a couple of minutes left. Cause we, we talked about,uHB one 11, which was super important. I want to just talk about pre-inspections and what's your, your feeling. If you're getting ready to sell your home and somebody says, Hey, should I get a pre-inspection? What do you, what do you say? Jane Elizabeth: I say, it's a great idea for a lot of reasons. One of the reasons is when things are going so fast and we're asking buyers to make quick decisions, it's so wonderful for the buyers to have an inspection that they can look over. And it's really like a seal of approval for the sellers too. And it says we don't have anything to hide. This is what we've got. And it also helps the seller not be negotiating in a black hole. Roofs are the, probably the number one reason that deals fall out of contract. And a lot of people, they don't even look at their roof. They might've moved here from another market and they don't know that even a tile roof needs to be sealed, you know, every couple years. And so to find out after you're already under contract two weeks, that maybe you need to put a new roof on the house. That's a hard pill to swallow when you're already under contract at a certain price. So don't negotiate in a black hole when you consider the value of your home versus a 350,000, sorry, $350 inspection. It's well worth it. Tego Venturi: A hundred percent, and again, I think in this market, even even more so, because you've got a great home, it looks good. It shows, well, it markets, well, we do great photography. We do all this stuff. We do, we get it out there and you've got 20 offers or 10 offers. Let's say, let's be a little more realistic. You wanna, you know, if you have that done, it just puts you in a much stronger position Jane Elizabeth: It sure does. And one of the things that, that, that is common in such a fast market, I mean, buyers are making, again such quick decisions and there's this, you know, the next morning they wake up and say, Oh my gosh, did I do the right thing? Tego Venturi: Yeah. You get in that auction mindset, right. And then you have remorse. Jane Elizabeth: We have buyer's regret. And so if you find out that the roof is bad, you think, Oh, it was a bad decision. It just confirms that you may be decided too quickly. And so we do everything we can to minimize that follow-up rate in how we market and how we accept offers. Tego Venturi: Yeah. Yeah. The other thing is the little known thing that, that we do offer is, or at least have available for sellers is warranty a warranty during the listing period. Do you want to speak to that? Jane Elizabeth: Yeah, absolutely. It's something that maybe it's a tool that we're just starting to harness and for our sellers, but anytime, while they're listed, which isn't usually very long with the average house selling across the board in less than five days. And, and then that, that warranty also covers the whole pending period. So if the dishwasher goes out, thank goodness, they've got a, they've got a small co-pay and they can get a new dishwasher for at $75. I believe Tego Venturi: Seventy-Five dollars. It's such again, it's one of those peace of mind things. That's very little investment for a whole lot of peace of mind. Jane Elizabeth: We need to do that for all our properties.  

Fannie May turns 100, Kate Sullivan shares "To Dine For" Season 2, Consumer Guide Automotive previews the Chicago Auto Show & a Chicagoan's fashion in L.A.

Mr. Garry joined Bizerba in May of 2008 as Director of Sales for the Labels and Consumables division in the United States. As the division grew through acquisition and increased revenue, Mr. Garry was promoted to Vice President of Industry for the United States in 2011, where the group enjoyed unprecedented success for several years under his leadership. In March 2014, Mr. Garry took a brief leave from Bizerba for family reasons, but returned in late 2016 to his role of Vice President of US Industry, and once again propelled the group to new heights. In February 2018, Mr. Garry was promoted to President and CEO of Bizerba USA where he oversaw the division’s Industrial, Retail, Consumable, Parts, and Service businesses, as well as management of the group’s 200 employees. Effective January 1st, 2020 Aaron Garry was named President and CEO of Bizerba’s North American region where he will oversee all Bizerba businesses in the United States, Canada, and Mexico as well as the 400 employees in the region. This position is the culmination of 22 successful years, in and around the food processing industry for Mr. Garry. Mr. Garry began his career as the 2nd of 220 employees at Chicago-based startup Ethnicgrocer.com, as a Supply Chain Analyst. He then spent several years as a Project and Procurement Manager at a boxed chocolate company called Archibald Candy Corporation, which owned such brands as Fannie May, Fanny Farmer, and Laura Secord Chocolates. After leaving Archibald, Mr. Garry joined CSC Management Consulting in their Supply Chain practice, where he worked on Procurement based engagements with a Cincinnati based energy company (now Duke Energy), and a Texas based poultry producer (Pilgrim’s Pride). Mr. Garry then joined Henkel’s North American Adhesives group as a Territory Manager in the Midwest with a focus on food and beverage processing, and was quickly escalated to North American Key Account Manager. After departing Henkel, Mr. Garry began his career at Bizerba, a 5th generation family-owned company that recently turned 153 years old, and for which Mr. Garry has great affection. Bizerba is a global leader in the areas of weighing, labeling, slicing, and inspection and their solutions can be found in a wide ranging array of retail, industrial, and logistics customers. Mr. Garry was born in raised in Kansas City and graduated from Ohio University in 1998 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. He currently resides in New Albany, Ohio with his wife Shawna and their two sons, Evan and Ethan. In his free time, Mr. Garry enjoys watching his sons play sports, exercising, and playing basketball and golf.

This first episode of the Center for REALTOR® Development podcast focuses on pricing strategies. Our guests provide some different perspectives on pricing strategies in today’s real estate market for both buyers and sellers. Melanie McLane and Rob Mehta share their expertise on both basic and more advanced areas to consider when pricing homes. In addition, they talk about how REALTORS® can work best with appraisers, AVMs, and how to use Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) tools. In a comparative market analysis (CMA), a REALTOR® will want to look at solds, current listings, and expireds. Solds should be as similar as possible to the subject property, and current listings allow REALTORS® to share how a seller’s home compares to others on the market. Expireds often exhibit aspirational (wishful) pricing - which in turn can help set a realistic prices for sellers. Other things to look at when comparing cost, value, and price for a client are absorption rates and supply and demand. Melanie talks about how all these factors can work together to test the market and get the best options for your clients. Melanie shares some of her experience as an appraiser and in working with appraisers. As a REALTOR®, it is important to form a good relationship with appraisers. Take them out to lunch and ask them questions and learn from them - you can use each other as a resource! The more they know, the better than can accurately appraise a property. A good appraiser will check the comps to find similar properties and take into account adjustments - which will never be the same across different prices ranger in the market - and compile a report that should then be reviewed by the agent to ensure the facts are right. In today’s market, Automated Valuation Methods, or AVMs, are very popular. A standard AVM (such as Zillow) uses public record data; for an AVM to work, the data has to be correct. It will not pick up the difference between some sales and comps, or closing costs. There are new processes being rolled out concerning AVMs that may prevent people from getting appraisals done. Melanie discusses Fannie May’s Collateral Underwriter and Day 1 Certainty, and how they may affect other aspects of the market. In the second half of the show, Rob Mehta discusses some of the same strategies above from the perspective of a seller. For AVMs, he checks multiple sources to pull reliable data, then will fine-tune the data by looking for nuances in the market. Rob is very big proponent of RPR® tools. With RPR®, you can see public data as well as MLS data; you also have the ability to modify your research and searches to reflect public record information more accurately. It is a great way for agents to obtain high-quality data that clients want, without having to look in too many places. Additional Links: NAR’s Pricing Strategy Advisor Certification Melanie McLane’s Facebook Business Page Realtors Property Resource® (check out the app too!) Onlinelearning.REALTOR® - Use coupon code: podcast Rob Mehta Partners CRD@REALTORS.org Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/Realtor Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com

Today’s Best Ever guest tells you the difference between Fannie May and Freddie Mack and how to get approved for the each of the programs. Shaun Weeks’s real estate background: –        Outside Loan Officer for Banc Home Loans and he is based in Ontario, California –        Been in the industry for 10 years and have expensive knowledge of FHA, Fannie and Freddie loan programs –        Licensed in 48 states and does both purchase and refinance loans

Housing and consumer finance expert Dean Wegner from Academy Mortgage in Scottsdale, Arizona expects to see a push of people buying homes in the coming months. Since rates hit rock-bottom in 2009, it's been a bit of a guessing game as to when the Fed would raise rates.  With unemployment holding steady at 5%, analysts say the door opened wide for Fed Chair Janet Yellen to make a long anticipated move. Who will this hurt the most?  According to Wegner, homeowners who have second mortgages are sure to feel the pinch.  He says it will also be felt in terms of auto loans and credit card rates. Still he believes the housing market will remain strong.  “Right now the home ownership rate in America is 63% and that is the lowest since 1967.  So that means there is a lot of room for growth.” In 2015, the average home value went up 6 ½ % Wegner says.  As home values hold, he believes people will continue to try to get in. “Boomerang buyers are coming out in full force,” Wegner says referring to buyers who had a catastrophic credit event in their past and are now looking to get back in the housing game. “These are people who got the recession behind them, they've dusted themselves off and they want to re enter the housing market.  They know it's a good deal and rates are still good.” There are also a lot of incentive programs available to would-be buyers. “Programs expand the buyer pool.  You want to increase housing, you allow more people to buy homes,” Wegner says. On December 12th Fannie May released a new program called the Home Ready.  It focuses on “creditworthy, low-to-moderate-income borrowers” with expanded eligibility and focus on financing homes in “designated low-income, minority, and disaster-impacted communities.” Is owning a home still the American Dream?  Wegner says he isn't so sure.  But for those who have a steady job and paycheck, he says, buying a house is the best financial move you can make. “Take control of your life and make solid decisions,” Wegner says.  “I can tell you 10 bad stories but I can also tell you 100 great stories.” The post Is Owning A Home Still The American Dream? appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

A few months ago we did an introduction to bonds episode. We wanted to get a little deeper into the topic and a listener, Eric, agreed to help us out.  As you heard in the disclaimer, this is a complex topic. Stick with it though, it will all make sense by the end of the episode.  There are many types of bonds but the most basic description would be, a bond is an IOU. A coupon is the interest payment and you get that on a semi-annual basis until the bond matures. At maturity, you get the face value back.  A government bond is a treasury bond. These are often the benchmark that other bond rates are based on.  Agency bonds are issued by government-sponsored agencies like Fannie May. Mortgage-backed securities are mortgages sold off by the mortgage lender. Corporate bonds are what many of us are familiar with. These are sold when a company needs to raise money.  A municipal bond is issued by a city, town, state, or even a water company to fund expenses. Even Yankee Stadium has bonds! The yields are lower but from a tax stand point, they are a good investment.  Bonds are affected by interest rates and their credit ratings. Triple A is the highest rating. Anything rated below Triple B- is considered a junk bond.  Since most of our audience are buy and hold investors, we don’t need to be concerned with bond pricing on a day to day basis. You just need to be happy with the coupon payments you will receive and the credit rating of the bond. This is why Treasury bonds are a good investment for buy and holders.  Phew, get all that?  Show Notes  Backpocket Brewing Penny Whistle: A Bavarian wheat with spice notes. Betterment: The easy way to invest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s Best Ever guest tells you the difference between Fannie May and Freddie Mack and how to get approved for the each of the programs. Tweetable quote: Major banks have overlays.   Shaun Weeks’s real estate background: -        Outside Loan Officer for Banc Home Loans and he is based in Ontario, California  -        Been in the industry for 10 years and have expensive knowledge of FHA, Fannie and Freddie loan programs -        Licensed in 48 states and does both purchase and refinance loans   Subscribe in    and    so you don't miss an episode!   Sponsored by Cozy - Simple, free online rent payments, tenant screening and credit checks. Get Cozy for free at .       

Sam and Ivan talk about: * Fannie and Freddie * Here Comes Ike * Misleading Rumors * Governor Palin * Bounces * Convention Roundup * Rove Strategy * Small Expenses * Jobs and Recession