Podcasts about fico score

#221: The ultimate guide to credit reports and scores—how they're calculated, what affects them, and proven ways to improve them. Specially, I'll cover how opening lots of credit cards impacts your credit. You'll also learn how to check your credit reports and scores for free, dispute errors, understand lender scoring models, protect your financial health, and more. Link to Full Show Notes: https://chrishutchins.com/credit-reports-credit-scores Partner Deals Superhuman: Free month of the fastest and best email with code ALLTHEHACKS Upwork: Free job posting to find, hire, and pay top freelance talent Fabric: Affordable term life insurance for you and your family MasterClass: Learn from the world's best with 15% off Copilot: Free 2 months access to my favorite personal finance app with code HACKS2 DeleteMe: 20% off removing your personal info from the web For all the deals, discounts and promo codes from our partners, go to: chrishutchins.com/deals Resources Mentioned Credit Bureaus Equifax Experian TransUnion Free Credit Report: AnnualCreditReport.com Credit Monitoring: Credit Karma |  Experian Credit Reporting Agencies Innovis Chex Clarity Services National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange Early Warning Consumer Report LexisNexis Free FICO Scores: myFICO | Experian X Post on Couple's Credit Card Journey International Credit Data: Nova Credit Business Credit Scores Equifax Business Experian Dun & Bradstreet LexisNexis Business Credit Data: Small Business Financial Exchange Article: Understanding Business Credit Scores ATH Podcast Ep #78: Action List: Everything You Can Do To Protect Your Identity, Accounts, Credit and Family Leave a review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Email for questions, hacks, deals, and feedback: podcast@allthehacks.com Full Show Notes (00:00) Introduction (02:03) Quick Background of the Credit Report Industry (04:54) What's on Your Credit Report (06:45) Soft vs. Hard Inquiries (10:04) How to Request Your Credit Report for Free (10:59) Filing for Disputes (12:37) Freezing Your Credit, Fraud Alerts, and Credit Monitoring (18:46) Credit Reporting Agencies (24:06) How to Remove Your Personal Information Online (26:24) Quick Overview of Credit Scores (29:36) How Credit Scores Are Calculated (35:33) FICO Score vs. Vantage Score (38:12) Upcoming (Big) Changes to Credit Scores (40:27) Where to Find Your Credit Scores (42:00) Analyzing Chris' Credit Scores (46:59) Two Main Factors That Impacted Chris' Credit Score (48:58) How the Points & Miles Game Impacts Credit Scores (53:12) The Impact of Closing a Credit Card (56:36) Ways to Improve Your Credit Score (59:21) Adding an Authorized User to Your Credit Card (1:01:59) How to Leverage Your International Credit Score (1:02:53) Quick Overview of Business Credit Scores Connect with Chris Newsletter | Membership | X | Instagram | LinkedIn Editor's Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have talked a lot about credit scores in past episodes – the importance of credit, credit scores for newcomers, and ways to improve your score but how are Canadians doing overall when it comes to their credit health. We have Tommy Lee, Senior Director at FICO, joins us to take us through some insights on the FICO Score and Canadians credit health. Find out more at fico.com and connect on LinkedIn.

Today we're talking about the Medical Fraud Case of the Month - and, if you're not doing this one thing - you're definitely overpaying for healthcare and risking your financial life. Finally, Dr. Virgie reveals why your low FICO credit score might be because of this hidden illegal activity debt collectors don't want you to know! https://ocrportal.hhs.gov https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-letter-credit-bureaus-disputing-errors-credit-reports

Does it matter HOW you pay off your mortgage early as long as you do? Check out the pros and cons of two methods for paying off your mortgage early that might help you choose the one that is right for YOU. 00:00 – Intro 00:52 – William and Patrick's Story 06:47 – Two Ways to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early Today's Story goes through two examples of how you could obtain a mortgage - with and without a credit score. Jay highlights the pros and cons of each and leaves the decision up to YOU as to which is right for YOU. In the Main Topic today, Jay shares two ways to pay off your mortgage. This topic was inspired by a comment on one of our YouTube videos. Jay gives the math and facts behind the pros and cons of these two alternative ways to pay. Let us know what you think in the comments! Please don't forget to like, share, and subscribe! Doing so helps us grow and share HopeFilled financial wisdom. We release a new full episode every Tuesday! Disclaimer: This podcast serves as educational entertainment only. Any and all opinions relating to real estate, law, taxes, insurance, and/or securities investing that may be contained within this podcast should not be interpreted or implemented as recommendations nor advice. The opinions related to these topics – especially those regulated by state and/or federal entities – should never be taken as replacement for advice from a competent, licensed professional. HopeFilled Financial Coaching is not liable for any individual acting on any understanding of topics directly or indirectly related to real estate, legal practice, taxes, insurance, or investing even if an individual in question changed their understanding after listening to this podcast. All listeners are entirely responsible for seeking advice from licensed professionals before taking any action of their own. Our Website: HopeFilledFinancial.com Music: "Take Me Higher" by Jahzzar Music Copyright License: This music is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

Have you heard about the Approved Card? Or Experian's Smart Money Debit Card? Learn why you should be skeptical. 00:00 – Intro 00:39 – Suze Orman's Approved Card Scam 27:14– Travis Kelce Advertisement for Experian Smart Money Debit Card Today's Story is a review of the documentary "How Suze Orman SCAMMED the Working Class" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkePKT-Y7IQ. If you don't know anything about Suze Orman's Approved Card, this may shock you! In the Main Topic today, Jay reacts to Travis Kelce's advertisements with Experian's Smart Money Debit Card. Be skeptical, all you listeners! Find out why in today's episode. Resources: https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit-score  https://finance.yahoo.com/news/suze-orman-approved-card-now-201500250.html  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7BO9PkirLk  https://youtu.be/RHb63pZ39FY  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8uweNakihk  https://www.experian.com/money/experian-smart-money/  https://www.experian.com/help/boost-disclosure/  https://www.experian.com/consumer-products/score-boost.html Please don't forget to like, share, and subscribe! Doing so helps us grow and share HopeFilled financial wisdom. We release a new full episode every Tuesday! Disclaimer: This podcast serves as educational entertainment only. Any and all opinions relating to real estate, law, taxes, insurance, and/or securities investing that may be contained within this podcast should not be interpreted or implemented as recommendations nor advice. The opinions related to these topics – especially those regulated by state and/or federal entities – should never be taken as replacement for advice from a competent, licensed professional. HopeFilled Financial Coaching is not liable for any individual acting on any understanding of topics directly or indirectly related to real estate, legal practice, taxes, insurance, or investing even if an individual in question changed their understanding after listening to this podcast. All listeners are entirely responsible for seeking advice from licensed professionals before taking any action of their own. Our Website: HopeFilledFinancial.com Music: "Take Me Higher" by Jahzzar Music Copyright License: This music is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

Our guest this episode is Larry Rosenberger, Research Fellow at FICO and formerly CEO and VP of R&D at FICO. The views Larry expresses in this episode are his and not necessarily those of FICO. He's also an advisor and serves on multiple Boards of Directors for early-stage startups. Larry came out of MIT and the UC Berkeley College of Engineering. We talk about predictive and behavior analytics for decision-making, covering such topics as: How the FICO Score got started. What FICO brings to the financial system beyond the score. What is the Champion/Challengers approach to analytics with a learning element attached? The 3-step method for evaluating where you stand in your career. An overview of predictive analytics. The evolution from predictive only analytics to prescriptive analytics. The four pillars of behavior analytics. Creating conversations that actually work. Some helpful links: Fico.com Larry Rosenberger on LinkedIn Envestnet Yodlee    

The Fat One returns with a recap of his day in Fat Acres which included the coupon, meeting with the carpentry handyman and LOTS of nattering. Happy National Something on a Stick Day.

Tallywell is an AI-modeled health management app that empowers you to care for yourself and your loved ones with confidence. In the complex and expensive world of health care, we're your first step toward clarity, understanding, and preparation. Every day, your Apple Watch collects data on the way you live and move. Tallywell puts that data to use, learning your habits and providing actionable insights to keep you in the driver seat of your family's health. Live freely with the knowledge that you're keeping yourself and your family on a path to better health. CEO Candice Paik joins Justin to discuss this new health tech app.

For this episode of Ask KT and Suze Anything, Suze answers questions about CD maturities, correcting mistakes, caregiving and so much more. Get your savings going with Alliant Credit Union: https://bit.ly/3rg0Yio Get Suze's special offers for podcast listeners at suzeorman.com/offer Join Suze's Women & Money Community for FREE and ASK SUZE your questions which may just end up on her podcast! To ask Suze a question, download the app by following one of these links: CLICK HERE FOR APPLE: https://apple.co/2KcAHbH CLICK HERE FOR GOOGLE PLAY: https://bit.ly/3curfMISee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brr! Baby, it's cold outside! But don't worry, we've got the perfect episode to keep you warm and informed during Georgia's chilly season. Welcome back to GoGaddis Real Estate Radio, your go-to source for real estate wisdom. I'm your host, Cleve Gaddis, and today, we're diving into two topics that will make you feel toasty inside. Georgia's wet and cold season is upon us: Do you love curling up in front of a roaring fire? If so, it's essential to know the right types of wood to use and why. We'll explore this cozy topic and share tips on keeping your fireplace burning bright. FICO Score 9 - What you need to know: Credit scores can be a mystery, but not after this episode. We received an excellent question about the FICO 9 score and its implications. We'll break down the FICO score range and what a score of 718 means for your financial well-being. Join us for a fireside chat that'll warm your heart and expand your financial knowledge. Whether you're a fireplace enthusiast or eager to understand your credit better, we've got you covered. Don't miss out on this informative and seasonally appropriate episode of GoGaddis Real Estate Radio, where we make real estate easy to understand. Let's cozy up and get credit-savvy together. Tune in now! Host of GoGaddis Radio, Cleve Gaddis, has been a fixture in metro Atlanta real estate since 2000. He has served Atlanta since 1987 by helping thousands of buyers and sellers make smart decisions. As a Co-Team Leader of Modern Traditions Realty Group, he is able to help clients and real estate agents alike. He has the heart of a teacher and is passionate about helping listeners learn the ups and downs and the ins and outs of smart home buying and selling all throughout metro Atlanta. If you have a question for Cleve, click here : https://gogaddisradio.com/ask-a-question If you are looking to buy or sell your home with Cleve, click here : https://moderntraditionsrealty.net/contact If you are looking to join a real estate team, click here : https://moderntraditionsrealty.net/career-opportunity

This episode is the next in the podcast series, #AskPattiBrennan - a series of episodes in which Patti answers one of her listener's frequently asked questions.  These podcasts are shorter in length and address one FAQ or RAQ (a rarely asked but should be asked) question.  One of the most frequent questions we hear is should we combine our accounts now that we are married?  This question does not just apply to young couples, it also applies to second and third marriages – which can also complicate issues, particularly when young children are involved. There is not a set answer to this question because there are many considerations involved.  Patti sets out the pros and cons of each as she tackles this complicated topic.

What’s a credit score? Do you know? When do you get one and how is it calculated? And why does your score even matter? Well, turns out, it does. Find out those answers in more in season 2 episode 5 of the Cash Kid Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Transcript What’s a Credit Score? Welcome back to another episode of the Cash Kid Podcast. Whether you're listening from Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Cash Kid Podcast website, or wherever you like to listen from, we’re glad you are here! This is episode 5 of season 2 where each week we dive into different financial terms we need to know to become cash kids. This week, what is a credit score? Do you have a credit score? If so, how is it calculated? What’s a good score? And can you just ask people what their score is? Those answers and more coming up. Plus, another book review this week. The Cash Kid Podcast is underway! Intro tease: So you’ve got some cash. Maybe from an allowance, or that money your grandma gave you for your 7th birthday. Here you go, sweetie. Thanks, Grandma. Whatever it is, what are you going to do with it? Spend it, hide it away… or maybe invest it? Let’s start learning how to make that money grow. Time to learn how to be a cash kid. Last week we discussed the difference between debit and credit. We stated that credit is money that’s borrowed from a lender in return that you agree to pay it back, usually with interest. But how well you pay it back, how often, and how much credit you have all can feed into your credit score. Now, for kids my age, we don’t have credit scores yet. But, let’s compare it to an adult’s grade point average or GPA. At my age, we worry about our GPA by the grades we get in school. It’s based on how well we perform in our classes. A credit score is kind of similar. A credit score is a prediction of your credit behavior. Like, how likely are you to actually pay back a loan on time. Let’s say you turn 18 and open a simple credit card with a $5,000 limit. If you spend it all but then forget to pay it back, or at least make the minimum payment each month… guess what… your credit score will take a hit and start to go down. Credit scores range from 300 to 850. I tried figuring out why “these” numbers. I mean why not start at zero? But I haven’t found a clear answer yet. So, just remember the score ranges from 300 to 850. The higher the number the better. A score below 700 is considered “fair” credit… we’ll equate that to getting a “C” average. Anything around 700 to 800 is good,... say an A-B average and over 800 is considered exceptional or A+. In 2022, the average FICO Score in the U.S. reached 714. There are actually several sites where you can check your credit score at any time. But how can you achieve those higher numbers? Many times this is a mystery to most. I’ve learned most adults don’t even know what their score is. And why does it even matter what your score is? We’ll discuss this more coming up, after this book review from my Mom. (music) This week we are spotlighting an activity book. The title is “Investing for Kids Activity Book” by Justine Nelson. It has over 65 activities about savings, investing, and growing your money that kids can easily work through to get a concept of how money works and how they can work to make it. Each workbook activity takes less than 5 minutes. The book can be found on sites like Amazon and Wal-Mart for less than ten dollars. Stocking stuffer for sure that will pay dividends! (music) Thanks Mom! Alright. So, why does your credit score matter? It matters because companies use your credit score to decide on whether to offer you money to borrow to make purchases like a house, or a car. Like our $5,000 dollar credit card example earlier where he forgot to pay it back or make payments on time. Say that same person went to try and buy a car and needs a loan to do it, which would be another line of credit. The car dealership will look at his credit score and say, “Hey, your score isn’t great because you show as being behind in paying back your debt.” So, no car for you! There are actually several factors that impact your credit score. Here are some. Your bill-paying history is one. Like in our example, how well do you pay your bills? Another factor is how much current unpaid debt you have. So how many lines of credit do you have open and how much do you still owe on each of those? Also, the number and type of loan accounts you have. We’ll just say most adults have a car loan and a mortage (your house payment). If you have those two but you pay the balances each month, on time, then this type of practice can increase your score. Another factor is how much of your available credit are you using. So if you have a $5,000 dollar credit card and it’s maxed out that month but you pay it back within the month, that can help your score. But if you don’t, and let’s say you have three cards all maxed out… that isn’t going to help. Trust me… we could go on and on about the ins and outs of a credit score. At this age, the moral of the story is this. Building credit is good. It’s a way to show you are financially responsible. But getting lines of credit with the intention of not having the income to pay it back and pay it off, well, that’s gonna affect your score… it’s the same as not listening in class and studying and it affects your GPA. And one more thing to touch on about how having a lower score can hurt you. See, when you open a line of credit, you are given an interest rate. This is basically a fee you pay for borrowing the money. The higher your credit score the lower the interest rate, which means the less amount you will be charged by the lender as a fee for borrowing money. But the lower your score, well the higher the interest rate. Here’s a quick example. Let’s say you have a good score and get a nice low-interest rate of 5% on a $5,000 loan that you need to pay back within 5 years. You’ll pay a total of $661 in interest. But if you have bad credit then on the same $5,000 loan let’s say you are given a 10% interest rate and you’ll pay $1,347 in interest. See the difference? Same loan amount, but because you are trusted less, you get charged more. Build trust, build a better score… it matters. And I asked the question, can you ask someone what their credit score is? Dad: “No, that’s not something people do.” Was the answer I was given. So, it’s mostly between you and the lenders. So don’t go around asking people their scores. But, discuss this with your parents and have an open conversation about how you want help to build a good score one day. Listening to The Cash Kid Podcast, we can guarantee will help. Cash Kids, we have more terms, discussions, and skills to learn. Thank you for tuning in to this episode. If you have a question, please, reach out to me at cashkidspodcast@gmail.com and I’ll answer it in a future episode. You can also reach out via our website at cashkidpodcast.com. Follow us on Instagram and wherever you are listening, leave a review! We need your help reaching a larger audience and building the financial skills of the next generation. Cash Kid, out! Disclaimer: The information presented represents the views and opinions of the guests. This show does not intend to provide personal investment advice through this podcast. This content has been made for informational and educational purposes only. To make a full and informed investment decision, we advise you to speak with a financial advisor and for kids, definitely your parents first before investing.

Today we're talking about the Medical Fraud Case of the Month - and, if you're not doing this one thing - you're definitely overpaying for healthcare and risking your financial life. Finally, Dr. Virgie reveals why your low FICO credit score might be because of this hidden illegal activity debt collectors don't want you to know! https://ocrportal.hhs.gov https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-letter-credit-bureaus-disputing-errors-credit-reports

Today we're talking about the Medical Fraud Case of the Month - and, if you're not doing this one thing - you're definitely overpaying for healthcare and risking your financial life. Finally, Dr. Virgie reveals why your low FICO credit score might be because of this hidden illegal activity debt collectors don't want you to know! https://ocrportal.hhs.gov https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-letter-credit-bureaus-disputing-errors-credit-reports

Today we're talking about the Medical Fraud Case of the Month - and, if you're not doing this one thing - you're definitely overpaying for healthcare and risking your financial life. Finally, Dr. Virgie reveals why your low FICO credit score might be because of this hidden illegal activity debt collectors don't want you to know! https://ocrportal.hhs.gov https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-letter-credit-bureaus-disputing-errors-credit-reports

Today we're talking about the Medical Fraud Case of the Month - and, if you're not doing this one thing - you're definitely overpaying for healthcare and risking your financial life. Finally, Dr. Virgie reveals why your low FICO credit score might be because of this hidden illegal activity debt collectors don't want you to know! https://ocrportal.hhs.gov https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-letter-credit-bureaus-disputing-errors-credit-reports

En este episodio te hablo de los Fico Scores y también te dejo el link del Episodio No.9 que te habla de Cómo mejorar tu puntaje de crédito Si tienes preguntas o dudas me puedes escribir a dineropodcast@gmail.com o a mi cuenta de instagram @jenniferhp15 Nos vemos la próxima semana. ¡Chao!

FICO scores can be overwhelming to keep up with. How do they work? Why are they so important? How do I keep them where they should be? Where should they even be? These are common questions we hear when talking about FICO. Join us for today's episode where Danielle and Coleen share what FICO scores actually are, and how to keep them in check.

Dave Ramsey & Jade Warshaw answer your questions and discuss: "I'm in a lawsuit with cofounders of my company," Getting out of upside down cars (and motorcycles), "Am I saving too much or should I enjoy my life more?" read more: Why You Need Some Fun Money in Your Budget, Things to do to create margin in your budget, "What should my net worth ratio be?" "Are we able retire now?" "Preparing for high interest rates on a home," Covering an emergency while in debt, "Should I sell my house to pay of business debt?" "Should I use my gold & silver to pay off debt?" "When would you recommend bankruptcy?" "How do we set goals after paying off debt?" Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET Support Our Sponsors: Zander Insurance BetterHelp Balance of Nature Neighborly EveryDollar, budget for the life you want today for free: Click Here Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: Click Here Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: Click Here Interested in advertising on The Ramsey Show? Click Here Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

Marcus Garrett with Jackie Beck shares how to get your credit score to 800 Episode 2445: The 800 Credit Score Club: 4 Tricks to Quickly Increase Your FICO Score by Marcus Garrett with Jackie Beck Jackie and her husband paid off over $147,000 in debt, including their house! She's walked the walk to become completely debt free, and she wants to help you do the same with her award-winning Pay Off Debt by Jackie Beck app. Jackie and her app have been featured in Oprah Magazine, MarketWatch, Forbes, CNBC, and more. The original post is located here: https://www.jackiebeck.com/800-credit-score-club/ Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com  Interested in advertising on the show? https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalFinanceDaily Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marcus Garrett with Jackie Beck shares how to get your credit score to 800 Episode 2445: The 800 Credit Score Club: 4 Tricks to Quickly Increase Your FICO Score by Marcus Garrett with Jackie Beck Jackie and her husband paid off over $147,000 in debt, including their house! She's walked the walk to become completely debt free, and she wants to help you do the same with her award-winning Pay Off Debt by Jackie Beck app. Jackie and her app have been featured in Oprah Magazine, MarketWatch, Forbes, CNBC, and more. The original post is located here: https://www.jackiebeck.com/800-credit-score-club/ Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com  Interested in advertising on the show? https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalFinanceDaily Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marcus Garrett with Jackie Beck shares how to get your credit score to 800 Episode 2445: The 800 Credit Score Club: 4 Tricks to Quickly Increase Your FICO Score by Marcus Garrett with Jackie Beck Jackie and her husband paid off over $147,000 in debt, including their house! She's walked the walk to become completely debt free, and she wants to help you do the same with her award-winning Pay Off Debt by Jackie Beck app. Jackie and her app have been featured in Oprah Magazine, MarketWatch, Forbes, CNBC, and more. The original post is located here: https://www.jackiebeck.com/800-credit-score-club/ Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com  Interested in advertising on the show? https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalFinanceDaily Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a tumultuous 2020, John Stauffer and Brian Cristol launched ISO Technologies (ISO), aiming to be the freight industry's central source of truth. As OTIF (on time in full) reshaped shipping, ISO's solution became vital, scoring freight performance akin to FICO for credit. With this, ISO offers a neutral platform for data-backed excellence in logistics. With funding from industry giants like Maersk, the company aspires to establish ISO scores as the industry benchmark. OTR SOLUTIONS This episode is brought to you by OTR Solutions, your one-stop solution for freight brokerages & carriers. They offer comprehensive factoring solutions, expert accounting, efficient funding, and tech assistance, along with quick pay options and a dedicated team to streamline your invoicing, billing, and cash flow - reach out at https://otrsolutions.com/freight-caviar/ or call (770) 882-0124 to learn more. ASCEND TMS (TheFreeTMS.com) This episode is also brought to you by AscendTMS, the world's most popular & best-rated TMS. Use our referral code RA-FreightCaviar! to receive 3 months of AscendTMS Premium for free. It only takes 20 seconds to sign up and no credit card is required. Click here to learn more: https://inmotionglobal.com/features/freightcaviarInterested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at pbj@freightcaviar.com. Support the show

This Episode is for the collective and we are discussing Your FICO score, how many of us are burried in debt because of it? Sure, its a necessary evil that we need in order to move and elevate through society. To get a good job and utilities even a mortgage or car loan, but how many of us get in way over our heads?--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dailylifetip/messageSupport the showhttps://chat.openai.com/g/g-8E47AuJfB-life-points-assistanthttps://FaceBook.com/Lifepointswithronda1https://youtube.com/@lifepointswithronda2968https://TikTok.com/@lifepointswithrondahttps://Instagram.com/@lifepointswithrondahttps://Patreon.com/@lifepointswithrondahttps://Lifepointswithronda.com

Muchos de nosotros no nos damos cuenta de la importancia de tener un buen puntaje de crédito, también conocido como FICO Score. En este país, el puntaje de crédito es como tener una tarjeta VIP que te brinda acceso a los mejores eventos financieros y productos con precios más favorables.

Is it possible to borrow $500,000 and pay NO interest? How can you make that work in your favor to build your business or wealth faster? That's what our guest, Brandon Elliott, shares with us today. Tune in to find out how this is made possible.

This episode is next in the podcast series, #AskPattiBrennan - a series of episodes in which Patti answers one of her listener's frequently asked questions.  These podcasts are shorter in length and address one FAQ or RAQ (a rarely asked but should be asked) question. In today's episode, Patti reviews five key concepts of credit.  It's very important for every consumer to know how their credit score is determined and how to keep a good score.  Patti also reveals that a significant change is going into effect this summer that may be very detrimental to many consumers.  Listen today to protect your credit rating against any negative consequences!  

This week's episode of Grow Money Business features Dionne Perry. Dionne is an author, speaker, and board-certified Credit Consultant. Dionne has created Credit-Lit Ambassador programs to empower youth and train educators, counselors, community activists, financial advisors, and other adults on credit scoring processes. Join us as we dive into credit literacy, the FICO score, how to improve your credit score, how to handle credit disputes, and more. [06:03] Credit Literacy – Dionne starts the conversation by sharing the backstory of how credit literacy became her passion. [13:22] FICO score – Grant and Dionne discuss how a FICO Score evaluates a borrower's creditworthiness based on payment history, current indebtedness, types of credit used, credit history, and new credit accounts. [20:41] Improving Credit Score – Dionne shares some of the fastest and easiest ways to improve your credit score. [28:58] Credit Dispute – Dionne explains how the credit dispute process works. [36:14] The Importance – Grant and Dionne discuss the importance of your credit score and how it impacts everything in your life.   Resources Good Credit - What It Is, How To Get It, and How to KEEP It! credit-lit.com Credit-Lit Credit 101 for Teens  amazon.com/Credit-Lit-Credit-101-for-Teens/

When growing a real estate investing business, having a good FICO Score is a key factor in obtaining capital and achieving the highest return on investment. Hard money or private money lenders use this score to determine if they should give a loan to the borrower and what interest rate they should set. In most cases, hard money lenders look at your FICO Score before pre-qualifying your application and approving your loan. So, let's take a look at FICO Scores, how it's determined, and some steps you can take to improve your score over time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler talks with Managing Editor James Kleimann about the FHFA's timeline for replacing the classic FICO credit score model. The two also discuss the latest news on appraisal bias.Related to this episode:FHFA announces timeline to sunset FICO Classic credit modelCFPB and DOJ: Lenders are liable for appraisal discriminationHousingWire's YouTube ChannelEnjoy the episode!Gathering of Eagles will bring together the nation's top residential real estate CEOs, Presidents, and C-Level leadership teams to grow, network, and set the pace for what's next in our industry. 2023's Gathering of Eagles is at Omni Barton Creek Resort in the rolling hill country of Austin, Texas from June 18-21. Click here to learn more and register your spot!The HousingWire Daily podcast examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each morning, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted and produced by the HW Media team.

Introduction Kurt Grassett is the owner and General Manager of Norway Hill Home Inspections, a home inspection company in Peterborough, New Hampshire with over 800 5-star reviews where they love loves teaching prospective home buyers about their new home. When not working Kurt likes to fly fish, travel to see his kids, and ride his motorcycle. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Kurt Grassett If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast.

[fusebox_track_player url="xxx" ] Introduction Amy Slotnick is a SVP, Branch Manager, and Senior Mortgage Advisor in Newton, MA. She is a 40-year veteran of the mortgage industry and she is passionate about educating buyers through the home financing process. In her free time, she enjoys visiting her daughter, son-in-law, and new grandson in Washington, D.C. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Amy Slotnick If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcript This is an automatic transcription (sorry for the typos in advance!

Introduction Mike La Stella is a realtor in Bergen County, New Jersey. He loves working with home buyers to guide them through the process of buying their first home. He is also a husband and father of two. When he is not working, he loves traveling with his wife and cannot wait to start taking their kids with them! Get In Touch With Our Guest, Michael La Stella If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast!

Introduction Michael Conrad is a building scientist and a serial entrepreneur that runs a company called, DILIGENT, a home inspection company based in Nashville, TN with over 1,000 5-Star Reviews. DILIGENT is the ultimate One-Stop Shop for inspection services in the mid-Tennessee area. You might have also seen Michael on his YouTube channel as “The Diligent Inspector”. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Michael Conrad If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcript This is an automatic transcription (sorry for the typos in advance!

Introduction Lee Barroll is a loan originator in Nashville, TN. He has 26 years of experience and enjoys helping all types of homebuyers accomplish their goals. When not working, he loves hanging out with his 2 dogs, Charlie and Bernie. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Lee Barroll If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcript This is an automatic transcription (sorry for the typos in advance!

Introduction Mike Sposato is the Owner and Managing Broker of Carolina Realty Advisors in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been a Realtor for over 20 years and works with buyers and sellers all over the Greater Charlotte area. When not working Mike loves to travel, go to his beach house, and be on his boat. He is also an avid sports fan. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Mike Sposato If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcript This is an automatic transcription (sorry for the typos in advance!

Introduction Libby Arnold is an Associate Broker at Realty Austin in Austin, TX. She specializes in residential real estate and loves helping first-time homebuyers understand the buying process and the market's nuances. Get In Touch With Our Guest Today If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Podcast Sponsors MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Find A Great Real Estate Agent Near You  If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcript Laura Moreno: [00:00:00] First, the Home Buyers nation. I am loud ano, and I am super excited to bring you our fantastic guest today, Libby Arnold Libby is an associate broker at Realty Austin in Austin, Texas. She specializes in residential real estate and loves helping first the home buyers understand the buying process and the market's nuances. Libby, are you ready to flow? Libby Arnold: Let's flow. Laura, I'm. Great Laura Moreno: of you and our community. Just a little insight. Please share more about you personally and then expand about the. Libby Arnold: Of course, of course. So I am located in Austin, Texas. I actually live in Cedar Park, which is a suburb that's directly northwest of Austin. Um, I have been here since about 2010. I lived in the Dallas Fort Worth area prior to. Um, actually when I came to Austin originally, I expected it would be a very [00:01:00] temporary stay and here I am over 12 years later, it stuck and I just fell in love with it. Um, my background personally, I know I spoke a little bit about this last time, but quick refresher, um, a lot of my background is in the. Logical sciences and then grad school, um, I did kinesiology and so it's been an interesting, interesting journey from biology and exercise science and all of that to kind of get to real estate. But I started helping my husband, Alfredo, who is a local broker here as well. He's also at Realty Austin. We have a team. Um, he has been in the industry since 1990. And so met him after moving here and kinda got started around 2014, helping him out as a transaction coordinator, and then decided to get licensed, and then I got my broker's license and [00:02:00] things just kind of took off. And here we are. Sounds Laura Moreno: amazing. I mean, I, I love your story and I love that you're actually, your background is on sciences, on science, and you do a lot of data. You do a lot of analysis Yes. On the properties. Um, so I wanna go jump right in. What's going on with the market in a Texas and it like, it's like, it's been crazy. Like suddenly everyone was looking to buy a home. Well, Covid happened that no one was, was buying homes for. Two days and then suddenly everyone was like, Oh my God, I need to buy Then everyone was like, I need to buy. And for two years it's been like this crazy amount of people looking to buy properties. The prices have gone up. Interest rates score low, low. What is happening now in Austin, Texas? . Libby Arnold: So, Whew. It's, it's interesting. I was thinking back to when you and I last spoke, and I think it's been about 18 months, give or take. I was thinking about this on my run [00:03:00] this morning actually, and the things we talked about then and how much. Just, it has changed certainly in the last 18 months, and then in the last six months it's really changed a lot. And so Austin is definitely reflecting a lot of what we're seeing nationally, which is the net effect of everything going on is. Market has certainly slowed a bit, but it's, there's a lot more to it than that. And you mentioned C, that was a huge disruptor, and I know we're all tired of hearing the word unprecedented when talking about C and all of these factors that are driving the economy, but it really was, and at the very beginning when Covid happened, like you said, people stopped buying houses. Two days, days. We were really worried for that. Two days and the first week or two of the lockdowns, you know, [00:04:00] my brokerage real Austin did a really excellent job of hosting town halls for us and really collating some of that data. Cause I'm, I'm a data person. I love my numbers and my math and so they did a really good job and I remember us all being, Kind of worried about the market, and then as you said it, it literally felt like two days. I think it may have been two or three weeks , that things kind of shut down here and then it just took off. And 2021 was. A year, unlike one that many of us have seen in the real estate market nationally, certainly, but even more so in Austin, we have so many large tech companies that are either relocating here or they're building additional offices here, moving corporate headquarters here and. Bringing a lot of those employees with them, and a lot of that kind of coalesced around Austin. [00:05:00] At the same time, we had these historically low interest rates, and all of these other drivers were really pumping a lot of money into the economy, and so we had an absolute record year in 2021. But a lot of what we saw was these poor buyers, and especially first time home buyers that two or three years prior to that, we had all these amazing down payment assistance programs and builder incentives and all of these ways to really help make that dream of home ownership a reality for them became a really difficult. In 2020 and 2021 because they simply couldn't compete with these other buyers that were coming in that were, We had houses selling two and $300,000 over asking, and in some cases more, And these buyers are very cash heavy. They're waiving appraisals. They're waiving option periods, they're waiving things that we would just.[00:06:00] And good conscience actually recommend a buyer wave, especially a first time home buyer that's not sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars of extra cash that they can just kind of throw at this. And so that's where we were. Where we're at now, not so much anymore, and I really wanted to, to kind of focus a little bit on the way things were because it's easy to forget. We hear a lot of doom and gloom, and we hear a lot of fear about interest rates, which are higher, and it's a non-trivial amount. They're significantly higher than they were at the beginning of the year, but. The good news that we're seeing here is these, Give me Laura Moreno: the good news. I want the good news. , I have good news. It's like, give me, give, give us the good news for us. , Libby Arnold: I have good news. We're not seeing a hundred thousand dollars of. Anymore. We're seeing houses are staying on the market longer, and so if we [00:07:00] go out with that first time home buyer, maybe we go out on Friday and we see a home that they really like A year ago, we would have to say to them, Okay, offer deadline is Sunday at 5:00 PM You've got 36 hours to think about that. This, here's what the listing agent will tell me about the offers there are. Now, you know, we need to do this and this and this and offer this much over list, and we're not having to do that anymore. We're able to say, We're so glad you liked this house. Why don't you go sleep on it. Let's reconnect tomorrow or in a few days and see how you're feeling. Let's talk to the lender. Let's run some really detailed numbers. Let's take a more detailed look at this property. Let's see if there's anything we might wanna ask the sellers to fix. Let's talk to the lender about your closing costs. Let's see if we can maybe structure this contract in such a way that the sellers are. Able to because they're [00:08:00] willing to do this now, right? Able to contribute some money to help you buy the interest rate down. And that definitely could be something we talk about too, because there are a lot of ways to kind of manipulate that contract, manipulate seller contributions, manipulate, um, types of loan programs that we're using to where we can get that interest rate down to something that. It doesn't start with a seven hopefully. Right. . Laura Moreno: That's really good. So what you're saying basically is like before we, buyers had to make a decision straight away, really fast, Uh mm-hmm. and you know, and when you're talking about people like waving inspections and waving contingencies, I have to say that. Some realtors were recommending that, but actually the market was dictating that because I even remember talking to a friend of mine. She just put a home and she told me without even blinking, that she had put $200,000 more [00:09:00] on, on the home that she had paid the, the, the realtor's fees, $60,000 and that she hadn't put any contingency. And I was like, Wait, what? And she was, she was like, I really wanted the house. I was like, mm-hmm. Okay. Like you, you know what I mean? It's like the market was dictating these things. . So now you're saying that people can go back home, sleep on a property, which is kind of crazy. Sleep on it, sleep on it, and then run the numbers with your lender. And again, people think about this, like I read yesterday, an article that said 70% of first time home buyers have some regrets. About buying a home, and most of the regrets were because of the numbers, because they didn't expect the costs to be so high. They miscalculated the mortgage. So I love that you're saying that now you can go back to your lender, run the numbers, understand what are going to be your upcoming costs, monthly costs to make sure you're not. Making a mistake. And what I love most about it is now you can go back to [00:10:00] the seller and say, Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, you beautiful seller. This is not 2021 anymore. I'm sorry for you. Right. What are you willing to contribute to my, to my closing costs? Like Right. I love that. I love all that. So we basically have the power. Yeah, we have the power. Libby Arnold: Yes. Buyers have some power back. It's. It's really nice to see, um, because we work with just a large portion of our business. As buyers, and we certainly work with sellers, we work with investors as well, but a large portion of our business has always been first time home buyers, and that's what we're very passionate about. And so it's, it's so refreshing for us to be able to get out there and really go to the bat for them again, because for so long it was the best that I can really do is work hard to structure this contract in such a way that we're minimizing your risk. If you wanna buy a house in this, in this insanity, that was 2021, [00:11:00] and now we're really able to step in and say, Okay, you know what? You may not have to move three suburbs away from Austin anymore. Maybe you can live right on the outskirts exactly where you wanted to live because the prices are lower. And again, sellers are willing to. Come to the negotiating table. Things have kind of been different for long enough now. Um, this really, I'll backtrack a little bit. This really started for us in Austin in April when our new tax assessments came out. So one thing about Texas is our property taxes are a little bit higher than pretty much anywhere else in these contiguous United States. And it's not specifically market driven. We. Entities within our governments that do something like an appraisal every year. And so every year our property values with respect to property [00:12:00] taxes change. And so for a very long time, those property tax values here were. Kind of artificially depressed and the tax valuation was running about half of what market value was. In a lot of cases. I'm going somewhere with this, um, . And so what we saw, we had another little, um, Incident that I won't get into, but our, in Travis County, which is where Austin is, our tax appraisal folks got into a little bit of trouble for using some data they weren't supposed to use for valuations. And so in 2020 they could not do any new appraisals for the purpose of property taxes. So then what happens? 2021 is eventually these new values come out. Well, we all know what happened in 2020 and 2021, and the first part of 2022 is we had zip codes [00:13:00] here that saw a hundred percent growth in a property value over that period. Literally doubled. And so all these factors come together. And very long story short, we get the new values. New estimates come out around April of this year, and they're just, Insane. And people's property taxes are doubling. Um, I had a client whose appraised value went from 280 something thousand dollars to about 1.5 million. Laura Moreno: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That means that you have to pay taxes on 1.5 million. Correct. Whoa, that's, that's. That's like seven times or whatever it is. Seven times your tax bill. Libby Arnold: Yes, yes. It went up, I did the math. It went up 486%, and that's a really extreme example, but we saw a lot of cases where it went up a hundred percent, 200%. And so not only at that time were we [00:14:00] in this environment where interest rates are starting to rise. These taxes are starting to go up as well. And so Austin really quickly just started to become incredibly unaffordable for almost anyone because of that combination. So you're paying 50, 80, a hundred percent more for the house. The taxes are now a hundred percent more. Whoa, your monthly payments significantly higher. And then on top of that, were not, Dealing with 2.75% interest rates anymore either. And so the combination of those three things really started to affect the market. And then on the heels of that, sellers, you know, people are generally pretty intelligent, especially when it comes to large investments like real estate. They start to see the writing on the wall. Everyone lists their house, right? We have a lot of [00:15:00] investors in Austin. A lot of people invest here, and when those taxes start to go up, then they have to raise the rent. Some of those folks have also decided to sell, and so we saw really about 170% increase in inventory year over year in a pretty short period. Two. Combined with the previous three factors. And so all of that has really slowed demand down and it has caused prices to start dropping. Um, and so that when interest rates are higher, that's something that. Is really, really helpful. And so we're starting to see, you know, we've kind of crested the wave and we're really starting to see things come down. The trouble that we're kind of left with now are those interest rates, and that's where we start going to. The sellers. Um, and there I can definitely talk about there are [00:16:00] some different programs. So Laura Moreno: let me, let me give a little bit of a quick summary of what you've said to make sure I understood it right and we all understand it very well. So there's been actually lots of contributing factors, uh, like the, the taxes, you know, to taxes, uh, people putting the houses on the market. Um, so lots of contribution factors that are making now Sellers want to put houses on the market now more than before. Mm-hmm. , right. And at the same time, those investors are also raising rent. So that might mean that those people renting are saying, Hey, hey, hey, you know, my rent is more than my, what my mortgage could be. So let me look at the market now. Those renters may be looking at the market now and saying, Well, my market is going to be very high because it's at 7% now. So now let's go into how do you solve for that market interest rate? And this is where [00:17:00] everyone is like, how, How do I solve for that 7%? That's a lot of money. . Libby Arnold: Yes, because it's very easy to sit here and say, prices have come down and they have upwards of 20% in some cases. And I, I hesitate to say, Publicly, I would not be shocked if we see another 10 or 15%. Um, Maybe a little more, even depending on how things play out. And that's great. And buyers have more leverage and that's great. Ladies, Laura Moreno: guys, sorry Libby, sorry to interrupt you again, but this is great. This is great. 20% down, 30% and 40% down. You buy the price low, you log the interest rate at 7%. But remember, remember you can refinance. I did it one year after buying, when the, when the winters rate drop, 2, 3, 5 years on the line, you've refinanced. Sorry. Continue, Libby. But this is a great opportunity. Libby Arnold: It is. It is. And there's a window right now. And so we're left with, Right. There are all of these great things and all of these really good [00:18:00] reasons to get into the market right now and never mind that. But November 9th at the moment, and so the next six to eight weeks, things are really. Pretty shut down for the holidays. There aren't a whole lot of buyers. The houses that are listed right now, they're listed because these folks need to sell and move. They're motivated. So again, there's a long list of all of these great reasons to buy. And then, oh, but we've got these interest rates over here that are frankly quiet high. So how do we deal with that? Yes. So couple of things, right? Couple of things we can do. Um, one, In the realm of new construction, I'll look at new construction and then I'll kind of look at resales as well. Um, a lot of our first time buyers really gravitate toward new construction because there's less maintenance. It's a brand new house, no one's ever lived in it, et cetera. Um, with new builds, they're seeing a lot of [00:19:00] what we're seeing in the resale market. Right now, they're dealing with roughly a 30% cancellation rate on a lot of their contract. Laura Moreno: Filters. Don't wanna, I like that. They don't wanna, You were talking, I'm thinking about like some, Yeah, I'm thinking about some buyers. I'm going to send this episode too. Like guys, guys, guys. Okay. So they are facing cancellations, 20% cancellations. Libby Arnold: So they're facing 20, 30% in some cases for a lot of reasons, which is probably a whole nother podcast. We could ask , but they're offering quite a few incentives. Some of them are putting 15, $30,000. Closing costs toward helping buyers buy that interest rate down. Meaning the buyer can prepay the lender for points, and depending on how much you pay, that can bring down a fixed interest rate. So that's something. In other cases, the builders are actually buying the rate down for you, um, and [00:20:00] they're advertising, you know, instead. Seven or seven and a half percent. They're offering five. They're offering five and a half. Um, and that is something that if you can tolerate that for a couple of years, right? Five and a half is still a pretty decent interest rate. Actually. It's, it's not terribly high. Um, you know, and we've gotten really used to, because of the need to stimulate the economy previously, we've gotten really used to artificially low. I had somebody close that I think two and a quarter was the lowest I saw, which is, oh my God, not even free money. They're almost paying them to buy at that point. Laura Moreno: I'm not that, You know, two, you always want lower , , , Libby Arnold: but it's artificially lowered and so five and a half is really much more in line. Historical averages. It's not, um, not [00:21:00] something crazy. And so, and if you look at monthly payments, At five and a half percent. It looks a whole lot nicer than it does at seven and a half, and five and a half is something that I can probably wrap my head around for the next year or two, and then I can re refinance later when inevitably rates come back down, which they ultimately will. There are a lot of people trying to forecast when ultimately they will. Um, the bottom line on the new build side is that a lot of these builders don't wanna lose a contract. Right. They're willing to negotiate. Um, and they're negotiating on price too. I have, um, some very sweet first time home buyers that are under contract with a local builder right now and completely unsolicited. Um, they've been under contract for about six months. We got an entirely unsolicited email from the builder that said, Hey, we're lowering the price of your house, 55,000. Really Laura Moreno: what's wrong [00:22:00] with house? You guys just go and check the house. What's wrong with the house? ? No, nothing. That's like a little bit concerning. Libby Arnold: Wait, what? What is happening is that, again, back in 2021 and early this year, um, builders were essentially having auctions, much like on the resale. And the new builds. The to be built houses had multiple offers, and so we had to go in and offer and bid a certain amount over whatever their starting bid was. Well, the market is no longer supporting the builders having bidding wars. Things have changed as we've discussed, and so that has caused prices to decrease there. And then what happens is when those start to close at lower prices, now we're gonna run into an issue where the other houses that are currently under contract are probably not going to appraise. Because the most recent comparable closings are at a lower price. And so there's some of it, they're, they're [00:23:00] protecting themselves in there as well and trying to avoid dealing with an appraisal issue. But again, they also really don't want this cancellations right now. Um, and it's not necessarily a unique story. I hear about other agents and other brokers at our brokerage where things like that are happening, um, all the time. And so, Anybody. We have just anybody in the country. Honestly right now that's under contract with a builder. It does not hurt to have your agent go back and talk to the builder and just say, Hey, is there anything else that you can do for me? Odds are there's something. That's Laura Moreno: amazing. I mean, I was going to say like, oh, that's so kind from builders. You know, they're , but they're protecting themselves because if the house doesn't praise you may not be able to close. They don't want those cancellations. They see it coming and they're like, Wait, wait. Let me send a nice email. Let me, They must be in a peak hole. They must be like, Oh no. Aren't you really happy as a realtor [00:24:00] to representing buyers to be now in the strong position and say, Hey, listing agent, this is really nice. But because before the listing agents were the kings of the world and the queens of the world, right? Yes. Now you have the crown. Libby Arnold: It's not quite as much fun when we're listing a house now, , but with the buyers. No, it really is because for so long this has been what my husband and I are really passionate about. Home ownership and first time home buyers. And particularly in a market like Austin, that's just candidly gotten quite expensive. It's not a secret. Um, it's something we're really passionate about and it's something that's been really increasingly difficult. And so it's, it's a pleasure to see that. And it's a pleasure to be able to go in and negotiate the free washer and dryer and fridge and. And Laura Moreno: everything. Why give me everything that you have. You go to the shop and you're like, This, this, this, this. All of that for zero . [00:25:00] Libby Arnold: Yeah. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. And that's, So Laura Moreno: tell me how it is for now. Tell me how it is for resales now. So you touch upon construction, Is it similar for resales or We already talked about that. Libby Arnold: No, no, it's, it's, I got distracted with all the other things the builders are doing and Um, we are seeing, it is similar, the contracts here are set up differently for a resale, but we are seeing a lot of, we're able to make offers below asking price. Or, and even just being able to make a list price offer , it's such a nice change. But in addition to that, we're able to go in and ask the seller for contributions to closing costs, which can help. And again, similar to the new build side, that money can be used to buy down the interest rate. Um, there is a program floating around that's increasingly popular around here called a two [00:26:00] one Buy. Ooh, what is that? And what that is, is essentially the interest rate is bought down for a period of about two years. And because of the way that it's structured, the seller actually has to pay for that. And so we are seeing some cases where we can make an offer at list or a little bit below list, and then we can ask the seller in a separate area of the contract to actually pay for that interest rate buy down. Um, in some cases, I mean, that costs 17 $20,000 sometimes more, and sellers are willing to do. And then the benefit to the buyer is I get a significantly lower interest rate for two years, and then with the hope that within two years I'm able to refinance into something else, which most likely you will be. But it also gives those buyers a chance to kind of adjust to having the mortgage, making that payment, um, starting [00:27:00] to budget for that. And then the interest rate can adjust a little bit later. So, Something that can be done. And then of course those closing cost monies can just be used toward a straight interest rate, buy down on a fixed rate as well. That Laura Moreno: sounds great to me. So you are saying there's properties coming to the market. Those properties are likely not going to sell so many of them in the next six, eight weeks. Sellers may be desperate to sell, they're willing to give concessions, they're willing to do things for you. Property prices are declining, so you could go shopping now, see a property that is lower in price, and then even negotiate a little bit farther, negotiate those interest rates. I think it's a, I mean, taking into account, yes, there's, we all know the interest rates are high, but apart from that, it seems like the fantastic time to buy. I mean, if you can handle those high interest rates for a couple of years. Mm-hmm. It is a great time to buy [00:28:00] now. Like it is a fantastic time and I love the idea that you have with new builds, with builders coming there and saying, Hey, what can you do for me? Mr. Builder? Yeah. What can you do for me? You know, I'm now, you are now home buyers. We are now in a strong position. Now we have to manage the interest rate and we have to understand that it may be hard for a couple of years, is going to be high for a couple of years. But if you do that, you can buy something really nice now like, and be in a very good situation a few years down the line when your property may have gone up in price, you know, all the other purpose are going down. You know, it's like a very good time to buy. Libby Arnold: It really is, and it's just, it's so refreshing to be able to say these things. And so it's again, about, it's kind of the same, using this creativity to structure it in such a way that we can make that interest rate manageable. And it's very similar to how it was in 2020 and 2021. It's just kind of, [00:29:00] The script has been flipped a little bit and back then it was much more about, okay, we have to pay over ask and we have to waive all of these things. How can we creatively find some sort of out in this contract for you? How can we set this up to where there's some hidden way we can get you out of this and kind of protect you? That was our creativity then and now it's, there is just a list of 20 reasons that it's an amazing time to buy. But we need to get creative on how we manage this interest rate and how we get that to a level that is something that you're comfortable dealing with. And a lot of it too is there's just sticker shock at first because we're used to seeing that. 2.25. And I remember when my first buyer that had something approaching four, and we all thought, Oh, that's so high. We love four now. Take it. But take the Laura Moreno: four. Take the four . I wish we could have a way of going back [00:30:00] to the past and say, Take it. Libby Arnold: Yes, do it now. Do it now. When interest rates grow up, we tend to see prices come down. And you know, we talked about a lot of these other factors influencing Austin outside of, you know, we've got the geopolitical things that are going on. It's an election year. Things always get a little strange in the housing market during an election year and, So we've got these larger forces and then kind of these local things happening as well that have really created kind of the perfect storm. And again, if we can just creatively deal with the interest rate issue, everything else that was making it so difficult to buy has kind of just gone away. And so it's, it's really fun to be able to actually negotiate a little bit again and, and stand up for our. Laura Moreno: More Levy, you've shared amazing information today and a very different perspective. What can we do for you? Libby Arnold: Oh goodness. Well, thank you so much for letting me [00:31:00] come back. Like I said, I was thinking about this this morning and thought, Man, it's, it's such a different message than last time, and that's such a nice thing for me. I'm so happy about it. Um, well, if anyone is interested in following along with a couple of things, the Austin Real Estate Market, um, my Instagram is Libby. arnold.realtor, you can follow me there. Um, FairWarning, I do, I run. Um, and so you'll get Austin real estate market stuff and you'll get some of our listings and you'll get a bunch of my running posts too. So have any interest in running or real estate. Um, that's a really good place to connect with me and we try to post a lot of good, um, content and a lot of data and those pieces about the market as. Well, Libby, Laura Moreno: thank you so much for being in the first Time Home podcast again. Libby Arnold: Oh, thank you for having me. Thank you so much. It's been so nice to chat with you again.[00:32:00]

Introduction Frank Pietrzak (Peter-Zak) is a property tax foreclosure Auctioneer in New York State with over 20 years of experience. Frank and the professional team at NYSAuctions.com have returned over 40,000 properties to the tax-paying rolls and he mentions this could be a great option for 1st-time buyers who have access to funds. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Frank Pietrzak If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcript This is an automatic transcription (sorry for the typos in advance!

Introduction John Leon Gonzalez is a Certified Professional Inspector® in Seattle, Washington that has been licensed as a realtor since 2007 both H.I. and WDIR (Pest). He is also certified by the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors® (InterNACHI®) and today he comes to tell us everything about how to have a great inspection in Seattle, Washington. Get In Touch With Our Guest, John Leon Gonzalez If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcript This is an automatic transcription (sorry for the typos in advance!

Introduction Bryan Mize is an excellent home inspector and founder of Optimized Inspection Services, a home inspection company in Seattle. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge and helping others to succeed in RE too. When he's not working he loves hiking, motorcycling, and enjoying live music/theatre. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Bryan Mize If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcript Automatic transcript (sorry for the typos in advance!

Introduction Chris Sayre is a Mortgage Lender in Kirkland, WA. He's always had the heart to help others and Mortgages are just an extension of his desire to make a difference. When he's not working, he enjoys spending time with his family at their cabin in Eastern, WA. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Chris Sayre If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcription Laura Moreno: [00:00:00] First Time Home Buyer Nation I am Laura Moreno and I am super excited to bring you our fantastic guest today, Chris Sayer. Chris Sayer is a mortgage lender in Kirkland, Washington. He has always had the heart to help others, and mortgages are just an extension of his desire to make a difference when he's not working. He enjoys spending time with his family and dog AB there cabin in Washington. Chris, are you ready to flow? Chris Sayre: Let's do it. I'm happy to do it. Yes. Laura Moreno: Great. So I've given our community just a little insight. Please share more about you personally and then expand upon your business, Chris Sayre: you know, um, I, you know, I have a big extended family. Um, you know, my wife and I have five kids and she came from eight kids, and those eight kids all have five plus kids, so it's a big extended family. Um, my mother and father-in-law were just, they're from Belarus and they're just the most beautiful people, you know, that salt to the earth kind of folks. They both passed away this past year. [00:01:00] So, you know, I think you're learn in life. You know, you really. What matters, what is, what really matters. And I have, you know, such a heart for people and such a heart to help out. And, you know, it's one of the reasons why I wanted to come on your show is because it's, it's where my desire is. You know, I, I have it at heart to, to give. And I think doing mortgages is my way of, of trying to give back. Yeah. Laura Moreno: Wow. Tell me, tell me more about that desire to help others, because you were telling me you participate in so many programs that really help others. They help the community, they help veterans. Where does that come from? I mean, how did, how did it all get started? Chris Sayre: I, I think it's an awesome question. I would say it really just got started, you know, as you live life, you know, you'll learn that, um, it's not very fulfilling if you're just living for yourself. Uh, I think that my goal for myself and for my wife is to do as much as we can to help others. Um, you know, we don't make a dollar to keep a dollar, have a dollar more in the bank. We make a dollar to share it with [00:02:00] others. I think if you're blessed, you're supposed to bless others. So we, we look at the world this way and we're. One heart, one mind for this. And I think some of my most joyful times in my life are when we've helped other folks out. Um, so I mean, just personally. And then honestly, when, uh, I've done a mortgage, uh, for somebody, I, I have such beautiful and kind clients. I don't know. I just, you know, I feel really blessed in that respect too. People calling me up years later, you know, asking me for help or, you know, all of my reviews on Zillow are all five stars and, you know, like they're, you know, they just are great people and it fills my heart to help. Laura Moreno: Wow, that's, um, I don't know. Beautiful. Yeah, no, it's so, it's such an order to have guests like you that are with heart of giving, giving to others, you know, not only taking, or not only like is a, is a paycheck, it's a commission, whatever it is. It's more like giving, empowering others to buy homes. Like, do you remember one of those stories that really move. Chris Sayre: Um, you know, honestly, [00:03:00] I, I probably would have, you know, quite a few, you know, you know, I've had people, you know, that I've helped out that, you know, they have families like ours or, uh, large families. Uh, usually, uh, it's people. Since I live in the Seattle era, we have people from so many different cultures over here, and oftentimes these other cultures they believe in, um, like having parents come live with them and helping out. And, you know, you know, for me, my stories would. You know, uh, people trying to get into their first home, I can think of this one couple in particular. And they were trying to also do it so they could bring their parents over from overseas to live with them and, you know, Yeah, it's not, Sometimes it's not always easy. Sometimes it is. But I remember this particular case, you know, there was a little challenge getting 'em approved. Uh, we ended up doing it, and when we closed it was just, it was such an important moment for them to, to be able to get this home because it wasn't just for them. It was to be able to bring their family over and for them, even if they would've lived here and rented, they. Just fine, but [00:04:00] it would've been this emptiness that they had because with a home, like a home is for family, right? So you can't, it's hard to rent and bring people over and have it feel the same when it's your place, your yard, your, your home, everything is that. And so, uh, they were able to bring their parents over and they were just so excited and so happy. And so for me, honestly, it just that that's kind of what you do this for you. Like I said, to bless people and I was so thrilled and so happy for them. And this is a normal thing. This isn't just like one time occurrence. This happens on a regular basis that people out there are trying to help family out and they really need a home because their family is kind of too tight in the space they're in. I Laura Moreno: love that so much and I see it all the time actually. I am an, I am an immigrant and I work very often with immigrants and, and I see it all the time. We immigrants want to help others bring others to the country. And even with your own savings, I mean, I see it even with my nanny. She's amazing. I have a one year old and she's always giving back to her community. She's always bringing people over, always [00:05:00] lending them the money, always empowering, empowering them to live a good life. And it blows my mind how much generosity, generosity she's putting out there. It's. Really mind blowing and you remind me of her. It's, it's so beautiful. It's really beautiful to see Chris Sayre: Well, you know, my, my wife and her whole family are immigrants also, so it's probably another reason why I have this heart for people who come from other countries. Cuz my wife came here, no English, no money, you know, And from that they just worked. You know, that's all they knew. Uh, just hard work and on top of being smart, of course, and just being, you know, really great people. And I saw them come from zero to, not that they have a lot, but they have a home. Right. And that, that was the goal. And, um, and it inspires me. Uh, uh, to have family like that and, you know, I was born in this country, so for me, I feel, you know, very fortunate and I want to do all I can to help other people who come over here and need help [00:06:00] and, and do my part and do what I can. So Laura Moreno: tell me more about House for Heroes and how do you help that community of veterans? And tell me more about that. Um, uh, that part of your business. Chris Sayre: Yeah, so there's a, uh, organization called Homeless for Heroes that came outta really the 9 1 1, uh, time frame. Um, but you know, it, it certainly, uh, helps, you know, military active reserves, veterans, uh, firefighters, ems, uh, law enforcement, healthcare professionals and teachers. So basically anybody who's helping the local. You know, and they want to give back to them. So this program is just designed so it it with us in particular, uh, you know, like we waive our, our lender fee when we work with them, the real estate agents that work with them that are part of this program, they give part of their commission back. Mm. So I personally, uh, recently talked with, uh, a really terrific realtor who, um, Uh, uh, uh, is part of this program and she had this awesome line and she said, You know, can you imagine being one of these [00:07:00] tiros and you just move into a house and the first piece of mail you get is a check from the Homes for Heroes program. and, you know, so for her it just thrilled her to know when to do that. And it's, and it's not just a small check, It can be thousands of dollars that these people get. The first piece of mail they get is a check from the Homes for Heroes Program. So I think it's, for me, again, uh, I, I was super excited to be a part of it and I'm, I'm, I'm happy to be able to help people that are serving our local communities. Laura Moreno: Wow. Yeah, totally. I, I, I love that so much. So, um, tell me more about where you are now, the market, What are you seeing in, in Seattle? In Washington area? Yeah, Chris Sayre: Yeah, it's a, another good question. So, I, I, I would say that right now what we see is, is, um, you know, prices dipping just a little bit. So kind of our expectation right now, uh, in this area at least, is that you're, See, as we head into this recession, we're gonna see some pressure for money to no longer go into the stock market, but instead that money's gonna go [00:08:00] into bonds, which is gonna push rates down. So anyway, big picture is we see rates coming down somewhere in the next six, 12 months, something like that. So anybody that has a loan right now, they're gonna be refinancing out of it. So the main thing is, so our line we're using is marry the home date, the rate, right? Because what's gonna happen is that you're only gonna do it short term. Our expectations, you may see rates drop as much as 2%, maybe even a little bit more, and you'll be refinancing out of it. So the the good, it's actually, even though rates are a little higher right now, it's a perfect time to buy. It's a perfect time to buy because values are down and there's less competition. If you wait until a little bit later on when rates are lower, then what's gonna happen is values are gonna be going up and there's gonna be more competition. So it's much better to buy right now while the values are down and you can refinance out of it a little bit later. And so that's what we've been telling all of our clients and all of the realtors that we work with, is that this right now is a perfect storm, perfect time to purchase a home, knowing that you're not gonna have that loan very long. Laura Moreno: Got it. A [00:09:00] and that's a great line. I love this. Um, marry the house. Date, date rate, marry the house. . Yep. Chris Sayre: That's a, that's a marry the house date, the rate that's right. . The only Laura Moreno: thing sometimes people think about is like, well, but getting that mortgage is costing me money, refinancing is going to cost me money. And, and to that, I will say that when we refinance our home here, we bought it at 4% interest rate, which was good. We refinanced at 3.2 and within a few months we had already paid. Fee that the cost to refinance. So, So it makes total sense. And I love that the values are a little bit down because that's what we wanna first ask first, First time home buyers. Yep. Do you see sellers making more concessions as well, like being able to pay, like give us some help to first and home Chris Sayre: buyers? Absolutely. Positive. Yeah. You are. Again, spot on. The answer is absolutely yes. I, I think sellers are also, they don't want to be sitting on the market for an extended period of time, cuz if they are, that means their price is probably gonna be coming down or they'll have to take the home off the market. Got it. So the many, many transactions where [00:10:00] sellers now are, are offering incentives to the buyers. Could be a builder, it could be just an individual, you know, like you and me, who are maybe trying to sell a home that are doing what they can to help buyers, uh, purchase a home by giving them some type of credit. We see this on almost in every loan right now. Laura Moreno: Yeah. And we love that. So if you're a first time home buyer and you're, listen, Just get in touch with Chris. You know, get pre-approved and go start, start shopping for homes because values are down. Don't be as scared about that interest rate because you can refinance and like someone told me, Chris Buffet is like buying now the most of, he is fortunate. He's making it right now because he's buying low and then's, right? You will sell high. So just getting that home. So Chris, tell me about your first time home buying experience. How was it? How were you feeling? And what did I do to your life to own a. . Chris Sayre: Yeah. So , back when I bought my home, I remember that my rate was 10 and a quarter. That was the going market rate. I hope you refinanced that. I felt . [00:11:00] I did. I did. But it was funny is I thought I was so smart and so slick because I talked 'em down from 10.375 to 10.25, you know? So I thought, wow, I did such a good job, you know? Cause I knew nothing about nothing. But you know, that's what rates were when I bought my house. And then when I got into the business rates were actually at 7%. So they were still like right where they are right now. But I, you know, I felt, you know, thrilled. You know, I bought my house at a great price. Um, I think back then I bought it for like $134,000 and, you know, that house right now was probably gone up by six times. So I, again, I would say real estate's a great investment and, and just, you know, when I had bought my house, it was expense. So it wasn't like it was a deal. Um, so the market continues to do that. So all we have to do is like, look at our grocery store and say like, what was the price I milk before? And what is an hour? What's the price of gas? And what's the price Now prices go up. So whatever you buy at, you know, my wife has a great line about this. Stretch yourself. Stretch yourself because that value is gonna increase and you're [00:12:00] gonna be happy that you did. So as best you can, stretch yourself. Doesn't mean like put yourself in risk, but don't be afraid if a house is, you know, let's say 300. Don't be afraid to go to three 10. Don't be afraid. Afraid to go to three 15. You know, get, get the better home for you and your family. Get what you really want. Get what you are really gonna, you know, be happy with. And it's better to go a little bit above than to suffer yourself, because in the long run, your income and everything else will catch up and pass it up and it'll be an easy payment for you. Laura Moreno: It, It's so interesting you mention, I mean, we bought four or five years ago and, and the, the mortgage rate was a stretch. We were like, this is a little bit too much. Like, yes, we can pay for it, but you know, it's a stretch. And now with this crisis, I mean, rent prices have gone to the roof where we live. Yeah. And we are both so happy because her rent. 30% less than the, the rent price in this area. And we're like, Thank God we bought, because everyone else that we know is trying to struggle getting rent in a [00:13:00] nice place. So buy if you can, It's, it's, as you were saying, you may have struggled for a little bit, but it's going to be so much better for you and. And talking about communities and immigrants. I think it's so, so important to empower people that may not have their first language be English, or maybe the first generation buyers, because those are the ones that need it the most. Like what you were saying, you need that home. You want to bring people over. You need to create that space. Ethnic cultural space. Yeah. Like at my home, we speak Spanish like you . Mm-hmm. . You need to create that space. And if you are always, um, thinking that your rent is always going to be there, you know, you, you, you will have to move, uh, at some point and find a new place. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, Chris Sayre: yeah. I, Can I give you a quick example of something, if you don't mind? Mm-hmm. , of course. So we have, again, I told you, five kids. So we helped, uh, three of our sons purchase a home, uh, one on his own and the other two together. And, you [00:14:00] know, they were all really scared and nervous because the payment was like $3,500 a month for the, you know, principal interest, taxes, and insurance. It was, And they never had such a bill. And so they, they've been out in their house for about a. And now they have friends who are looking to rent. So the friends rent for a two bedroom place in near their work is 3,800 a month. So kind of to your point, you know, rents are escalating. I mean, I've never in my life paid $3,800 for rent. But now they see that that rental payment that their friends are paying is more than their mortgage payment on their home. And they actually have. Laura Moreno: Yes, for sure. And if they want, they can rent their rooms out to their. Yep. Be like, Don't worry, I'll be a good friend. Chris Sayre: They're doing that actually already, so you'd say, You're right. Laura Moreno: That's good. Pay my mortgage. I mean, just people, if you're listening to us, jump on the side of the ownership because it is not, it is not going to get easier. [00:15:00] You know, it's just not going to get easier. And I feel like more and more corporations are going to be owning properties, and it's the time for you to become your, the protector of your money, you know, your own landlord instead of paying someone else's mortgage. So now let's go, let's, let's, um, go to our lighting round, which is, I'm going to ask you a series of short questions to help our audience even further are. , Chris Sayre: I'll do my best. ? Yes, Laura Moreno: I may. Great. , please share with us your biggest piece of advice you can give to TR to someone trying to buy a home in Washington now. Chris Sayre: Uh, so the biggest piece of advice I would say is, uh, get in front of somebody. Could be myself, could be anybody that you think is appropriate for you, but get in front of somebody who can help you determine how much you can qualify for. And if you can't qualify, what steps do you need to take? So what I would normally wanna do is I would wanna look at somebody's income. I wanna look at their assets, and I wanna look at their credit. And I wanna, cuz usually people wanna know, like, I make money, I have no idea [00:16:00] what I can afford. I have some money for a down payment, or maybe I can get a gift. What can I afford? So they need to know what they can afford. And then normally what I would recommend is if they're within 90 days of trying to purchase a home that they need to have all of their information given to an underwriters, we can get them underwritten ahead of time so that they literally are gonna be, you know, final loan approved before they ever find a house. So I would recommend get good information. Up front when you're within 90 days of trying to buy a home. If you're beyond that, then I think just giving a, a phone call or meeting with somebody like myself so we could just pencil out kind of a plan and then they could work towards that plan of hopefully getting home ownership. That's Laura Moreno: great. And two questions out of that. The first one is, uh, commenting on getting that, sorry. Coming, getting that, uh, pre, not, it's not even a pre-approval, it's going farther away. One step farther, Right. Chris Sayre: Yeah, so, So the ones that, Yeah, go ahead. What are the Laura Moreno: advantages of doing that? Chris Sayre: Yeah, so, [00:17:00] so a pre-approval, I can literally do the same day. So I can send somebody a link, I can fill out an online application, I can ask them to send me some income and asset information, and I can send them a letter. and the letter's gonna say, Hey, you're preapproved for this amount, and it's gonna be a perfectly valid letter. It's what we do in our industry. The next level above that is for an underwriter to physically review all of the information. And so what we can do is we actually can collect all the documentation, give it to an underwriter, and it probably takes, I don't know, 5, 6, 7 business days for the underwriter cuz the underwriter may have additional questions once you give inform. But then it's gonna be all signed off, final loan approved. All you need to do is find a house. So the difference is now you can, now you can close like literally in 12 days or 13 days, you know, um, on, on your mortgage, and hopefully by closing quicker like that, it makes it so, if there is competition, if there are other buyers who are trying to purchase a home, the fact that you can, you're [00:18:00] already. Done. You're already, your loan's already underwritten completely and you can close really quick, push you in a better position to actually get the home. So I would highly encourage taking that step. I think it's just a much, much stronger position to be in when you're negotiating with a seller. Laura Moreno: And that's interesting because not all lenders do that from the beginning, right? Like you are one of the very few lenders that will. , Chris Sayre: you're a hundred percent correct. Yeah, most lenders do the pre-approval, which again, like I said, it's, it's, it's a, it's perfectly fine to do that. But the next level above that is what I'm talking about. And you're correct, uh, almost nobody does that. Got it. Laura Moreno: And. How will you find a great lender? So if you are not in your area, in Seattle, listen is looking for a great lender. First of all, is it number one, to find a lender or find an agent? And second question is like, how will you decide on which lender to choose? Because sometimes we try to call and say, Hey, what's your rate for today? And we try to choose the lowest rate lender. But is that the right? To do that. Chris Sayre: [00:19:00] Yeah. So I, you know, again, of course rates are important. I care about rates for, for myself and my family, but it, it's, it's not the right way to do it. Um, it's not the right way because loans are much more than, you know, just quoting a rate over the phone. Rates are determined by people's circumstances. By, what's your down payment? What type of property are you buying? What's your credit score? And ultimately, you want the home. And like I said before, whatever home you purchase, you're not gonna have that loan very long. There's usually not a big disparity on rates, but I would be more concerned about having it be a stress fee, stress-free, low drama transaction. Then having a rate that's an A through a quarter point difference. You know, the main thing is to get the home. Then your family can kind of breathe aside, relief, move into the home, and then you can regroup and when it's appropriate you can look it to refinance. Got it. So I apologize. I know you asked another question, was another question I could answer for you. Laura Moreno: I think that was the main one. So the main one was, No, those were the two of [00:20:00] them. And the other question I have is like, so in order to find a lender, oh, you know, we have all these online lenders and we have also like, um, local lenders and those online lenders like better.com, Rocket Mortgage. I don't want to give out many names because Yeah. Well I don't want to give names, but, um, they count with a, Exposure online. Yeah. So we Google, I want to do a preapproval, and within one minute you have a preapproval from that bank online. Mm-hmm. . I mean, what are your thoughts about them? How do you differentiate and what is actually the best for first time home buyers? An online lender or a local lender? Chris Sayre: Uh, you know, I'm a, I think it really just goes by experience. So if, if I were looking for a lender, I probably would go online to like Zillow. Redfin and they have, you'll see reviews for people. So it's like when we go to our restaurant and we tend to go to our restaurant that has good reviews, or if we're gonna stay at a hotel on vacation, we look up to see what the reviews are. I probably would look at reviews for people, [00:21:00] you know, because I think I, I like knowing that other people, uh, have kind of, um, Yeah, you have given good opinions about something and it, it makes me feel a little bit more comfortable. And of course, a referral is always the best. So if you have somebody that you know, that you respect and you admire that has a home and they use somebody, I probably would ask them, you know, because I think referral probably is my number one way. And then probably online would be my second way to. Reviews online for people. Like for me, you type in my name and read my reviews, right? So you can do that. But you know, I think either one of those two ways reviews online or a referral from somebody you trust and know. and Laura Moreno: between having a local lender and a, or an online lender that could be not in the same town, what, what are your Cho mm-hmm. your, your, what are your options? What would you say? Chris Sayre: Um, um, I'm, I'm not so sure that, cuz we're a virtual world right now. I mean, I'm in Seattle and I think, Are you in New York? Cuz I, Yeah. Yeah. We're. We're like the other side of the world, but [00:22:00] it's like, you know, we're right with each other. I don't think it really matters. Like I can do a Zoom call with anybody. Uh, anybody else could do the same thing. I think it's more this, this trust factor, this integrity factor that we're talking about. I think that's what really matters. Local or far away? You know, I, I haven't really sat with a client and almost three years. Um, I do everything online so they could. Somewhere else, like in any state where they could be, you know, my neighbor next door and I still don't see them, you know, because we do calls like this. So I, I think that it's the person and the company and the integrity of the individual that matters more than their location. Laura Moreno: What, what is the process with you? Like, if I'm interested in buying a home in Seattle and I'm looking to get a mortgage, uh mm-hmm. , what is the process, uh, specifically for you? Like, what would you tell me? . Chris Sayre: Yeah. So normally what we would do is we do a call like this out there on my cell phone, or we would do a Zoom call. Okay. And [00:23:00] before I do anything, I try to, I'm a big picture kind of person, so at first I just wanna understand what they're thinking, you know? So I don't know if they're looking to buy like an. 12 months or two days. Um, so then I, I tried to understand, uh, their timing on things, um, their income. They're asked all of these things and kind of review and kind of talk us through and come up with a plan. And I, I normally say the same line that I said earlier is that I think once they're within a 90 day window, That's when it's time to start pulling credit and do things like that when they think that within 90 days of point or purchasing a home. But if they're just trying to understand, Cause a lot of people just wanna know, like, I just don't get it. Like, I don't understand, you know, what can I even afford? What should I even do? So that's where I just, I just give them some counsel and I, and I basically will email them. You know, like my contact information, I'll send them a list of what we're gonna need, um, when they're ready. So like, people have to gather things cuz we'd all all have pay stubs and W2 s maybe that are, you know, easy access so they can start gathering that together. And then I coach most, so like, don't make big purchases, you [00:24:00] know, don't make sure you're not late on anything. Don't co-sign for anybody else. Don't move money around between accounts and make, you'll make it more difficult on yourself later on. So what I try to do is to guide them to kind of put the brakes on everything. Let's get this plan for you to purchase a home and make sure now you start doing things the way a lender's gonna review things to make it so it's simpler and easier for you once it's time. Laura Moreno: And what have you seen? The last question, I think it's a little bit related to this. What have you seen are the biggest, biggest mistakes that home buyers make and how can they avoid them? . Chris Sayre: Yeah. So some of the, the biggest mistakes they make is when they're trying to prepare to purchase a home, a lot of times they will close an account cause outta a windy debt, right? They're afraid of it. But the way credit works is that if, let's assume you have like an account at a bank and that it's a credit card and that credit card you've had forever, but you really don't use anymore. The truth is that credit card, because it's your oldest liability, actually improves your credit score the most. And when you cancel that [00:25:00] card, you run the risk of your score dropping like a rock. So I would say . So normally my normal line is. Stop, freeze. Don't do anything. Talk to somebody, get some advice. Let them coach you what to do and then do it. But, you know, sometimes people come to you and they've already kind of done all of this and you just, it is, it's what it is and you just deal with it. Um, but I, you know, we try to tell them, don't move money around in accounts. Let it be, you know, don't make any large deposits, don't make any large purchases, Don't do anything like that. Get the house first, then do the other stuff. So I think some of the mistakes I, I've seen, like I said, are, are, are this where they cancel accounts or move money around too? A chin, you know, don't change jobs in the middle of a loan or when you're trying to buy a home. You know, things that you would think that everybody understands, but they don't really, cuz it's not what they do for a living. You don't Laura Moreno: really, I mean, it's so funny because you, we don't know, we don't live in, I mean, I live in this world, but usually home buyers, we don't live in this, We don't know that we kind of go and buy furniture before closing on credit or open Macy's credit card. Just, we don't know about that. It's like, it's very, And that's the [00:26:00] other thing is like what you were saying, Closing an account because you want to make your accounts clean, you want to make them look nice for the lender, and suddenly your score drops like 50 points. Yeah. And you're like, What happened? It's so counterintuitive. . Chris Sayre: Yep. Yeah. Honestly, completely. Right. Uh, people tend to go to Home Depot, you know, and they buy a bunch of stuff, you know, because they're planning for their home. Like this is a really common thing. So we, I try to upfront to tell them, like I said, just before you do, Just give me a call and then I'll let you know. Kind of my advice would be to wait or to go ahead to go forward with it. You know, I've told people to hold up on my own cars or furniture, you know, because there's a, somebody's offering zero down on a car or zero down on furniture, and, you know, if they really wanna buy it, then we'll just deal with it. But if not better to wait. Laura Moreno: Better to just wait to buy the big things. Well, Chris, you've shared with us amazing information today. Uh, what can we do? Chris Sayre: Um, you know, I would love to help more people, you know, that's what I do for a living. [00:27:00] So I would love for anybody that has questions. I'm always happy to ask questions. It's not always just about business, you know, of course I do this for, to help my family and to help other folks out, but you know, I, I know that if you do it right in life, good things happen. So if people wanted to reach out to me, they're welcome to do that. If I can help them with a mortgage, I would love to do that. Laura Moreno: That's beautiful. And how can we get in touch with, Chris Sayre: Uh, my cell phone I've had forever. I have a son who's learned my phone number since he was two. Um, but my number is 4 2 5 4 4 4 7 3 7 3, so 4, 2, 5. Beautiful. 4 4 4 7 3 7 3. Laura Moreno: Yeah. Well, Chris, thank you so, so, so much for sharing your mission and your attitude to life and your well good faith and thank you so much for being on the first time Home Buyer Podcast. You are. Chris Sayre: Oh, Laura, thank you. You're just a beautiful person. I really appreciate it. Thank you.  

Introduction Randy Baruh is a real estate agent in New York City with over 22 years of experience. He enjoys a proven record of sales success and lasting relationships with the people he has helped over the course of his career. Whether they are looking to buy, sell, rent, or invest Randy's attention to detail and dedication to his client's needs have enabled him to consistently exceed their expectations. Randy enjoys exploring NYC restaurants, museums, and parks with his family, and is a member of Corcoran Cares, and the Real Estate Board of New York. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Randy Baruh If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast!   Transcript (Automatically generated, sorry for the typos!

Introduction Nirit Rubenstein is CEO of Dovly - the first, fully automated, smart credit engine. Nirit is passionate about helping Americans maximize their credit and reach their financial goals. Outside of work, Nirit enjoys exploring the hiking trails and other natural wonders of her adopted home in Arizona. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Nirit Rubenstein If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast! Transcript Laura Moreno: [00:00:00] First Time Home Buyer Nation, I am Laura Moreno and I am super excited to bring you our fantastic guest today Nirit rubenstein needed is the CEO of Dovly. The first fully automated smart credit engine. Nirit is passionate about helping Americans maximize their credit and reach their financial goals. Outside of work Nirit, enjoys exploring the hiking trails and other natural wonders of her adopted home in Califor in Arizona. I dunno why I thought you were in California. Why not? It's where I can came from. Are you ready to flow? Nirit Rubenstein: I'm ready to flow. Let's go. Great. Laura Moreno: So I've given our community just a little insight. Please share more about you personally and then expand upon your business. Sure. So I am the co-founder and CEO of Doley. Uh, I'm also a wife and mother of three kids and proud homeowner of my adopted hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. I immigrated to the US as a young girl and witnessed firsthand how hard it was for [00:01:00] my family to get started in this country without access to credit. So super passionate and, and excited to be here. I know owning a home is kind of the American dream. Uh, I, I love it when we're able to help people, uh, achieve that dream. That's awesome. I mean, uh, first time I went into Dole's website, I was like, Wow, this is so cool. Tell me more about Dole. What do you guys do and what is the original story? I mean, why do you come up with that idea? Nirit Rubenstein: So it's in, So Doley is the fully automated credit platform that helps people track, manage, fix their credits. So regardless of where you are in your credit journey, we want there to be an easy way for you to get to where you're trying to go, because the reality is that there's nothing in America that will impact your financial ability more than your credit score. But at the same time, it's a complete black box. [00:02:00] Very hard to navigate. It's counterintuitive. It's very punitive. Uh, so the first idea for Doley originated actually when I met my co-founder for the very first time. And we were having lunch and I was the CEO of, of this credit, uh, uh, repair company, and I met him for lunch and I was like, Oh my God, this guy is so brilliant. He knows everything that you need to know about the consumer credit space. I have to get his brain into technology. There has to be a better way to deliver. This amazing service to customers and, and that was the very first concept. It took us a while to kind of start the company and, and develop the platform and the algorithm. Um, but really what we try to do is provide access to Americans that either have been hurt by this, by the credit system, didn't understand the credit, uh, don't understand kind of how to navigate it, uh, to help them achieve their financial. That I, Laura Moreno: [00:03:00] And what you're saying, this a story, I mean, it re resonates so much with someone that I, I met, uh, this girl, I always looked up to her. She was just buying her first home. She had everything all together, you know, So, and then when we were talking about buying her first home, she said, You know, I haven't been doing it, although I have the savings and so on because of these credit card from Macy's that I. 10 years ago, and I forgot to make a $50 payment. Mm-hmm. , I'm screwed for the rest, for the rest of my life. Right. And I was like, really? Like she, she had everything, the job, the money, everything. But there was this Macy credit card. Uh, tell me more about that. Like is there a way of fixing that or you're in the whole time. Nirit Rubenstein: No, you're, you're definitely not in the hole forever. But they don't, the credit bureaus don't make it easy to fix. Uh, and so you can easily get caught in the loophole of the credit bureau saying it belongs to the creditor. The creditor saying it belongs to the credit bureau. And then you get stuck in this kind [00:04:00] of never ending circle of. Not getting answers. That's part of what we, uh, why we founded Doley. We navigate that entire process for you. So when you enroll in Doley, we soft clear credit and we. Show you the items that are hurting your credit score, and you tell us which ones you want us to dispute. And then we've developed an algorithm that will determine what to dispute, when to dispute, how to dispute the right frequency cadence, and then we electronically communicate with the credit bureaus on your behalf. And so our, our turnaround rate is, is fairly quickly even though the. In by law I have 45 days. We typically see results for people within a couple weeks, uh, and usually within just a few months of being on our platform, people see their score improved by over 50 points. So, You're definitely not screwed forever. Uh, there, there is a way to fix it, but it can [00:05:00] be a very frustrating way, and that's part of the problem with the system, right? You have college students, you have people going off to college that were never taught about credit. All of a sudden, all these credit card companies are trying to get them, Do you wanna open a new account? Do you wanna open a new account? Get this incentive, this bonus, this. They open the accounts. They don't realize. Importance of, of the accounts. They forget to set it up on auto pay. They accidentally miss the payment, and then it's on their account. Then 10 years later, seven years later, they go to buy a house cuz they're married, they're making money, and, and they, they can't because they have bad credit. And so the irony is, even if you have cash in the bank, if you want a mortgage, you need good credit. So in some way, like we have an investor who has. A lot of money and couldn't get a mortgage because he had bad. Even though he has like millions of dollars fitting in the bank, Laura Moreno: were you able to fix their [00:06:00] credit for them? We were, we were that. Okay. So tell me more about, uh, the industry, because whenever I'm thinking about about credit repair, I'm thinking about imagining this Facebook groups, these places where they just sell you, you know, this person that is going to help you fix your credit for a hundred dollars a month forever, like, There's a, I think this industry has attracted a lot of people that are looking for cash that may not be the best professionals, and I don't want to generalize for everyone. Nirit Rubenstein: No, you can easily generalize. It's a, it's a horrible industry with a lot of bad actors that, that really take advantage of consumers that are already kind of, you know, not doing well. That's again, another reason why we founded Doley and, and our mission at Doley has always been to be consumer first. The. The problem with credit repair, and this is why we're not credit repair, [00:07:00] we're really a credit solution to fix all your, to help you with all your credit needs. But the primary issue with credit repair is that if you do it on a regional scale, there's very low barriers to entry. In other words, anybody can set up a credit repair shop right now, charge a ton of money, and, and they'll go under the radar of regulations when you do it on a nation. Scale, it becomes a, the bears to entry are, are much, much harder. And so there's fewer companies that do it nationwide. They're all call center based, which means they buy millions of leads. They pu put 'em in a dialer. You've got call center reps that have no business giving you credit advice. They're, they were selling like widgets the day before and they're the ones that are on the phone with you trying to sell you this ridiculous hundred. Dollars a month's plan. And so for us with Doley, we wanted a, we always wanted a solution that was gonna be very cost effective. We [00:08:00] started our, when we very first started, we were. A third of what anyone else was charging in the marketplace. We've been gradually reducing our prices and we now are, I'm happy to say, have a free offering for people who just can't even afford to pay anything and want to start. Their process takes longer than our paid plans, obviously, but it's, it's so great if you, if you wanna try the solution and, and or if you don't have any money. Um, for people looking to buy a home, we do recommend the the paid plan. Which for most people is still $30 a month, or we have an annual plan for a hundred dollars a year, which is like the best deal you'll find in the space. That's Laura Moreno: amazing. I mean, I, I love that because, um, it's funny, when I came to this country, I didn't want, I didn't have any credit, which was like 10 years ago. And my husband said, You need to have a credit card. And I was like, Oh, no, no, no, no. I'm allergic to credit cards. I will spend it all and get in trouble. I don't want any, anything [00:09:00] to do like that. But in America you need to have credit. Um, the same thing happens. Hispanics and a lot of pop like immigrants like me, we don't want to have credit because we cats consider cats. We like cats. Yeah. I dunno. Israelis also. Yeah, yeah. Big time. We just want to pay debit. Nirit Rubenstein: They, Yeah. Yeah. They pay debit. Israelis get, they get, they get into, To debt on their debit cards. But it's, but they don't, they don't spend, they don't rack up tons of money on, on credit card bills. And that's why I'm saying like the system is counterintuitive. If you're the type of person like you just described, which I am as well, I don't want 10 credit cards open, just sitting there with nothing cuz that's responsibility. But if I close those, It'll bring down my credit score. Why? Because I'm reducing my overall credit utilization, which is what all of these uh, institutions give me as a line of credit. So let's say I have [00:10:00] three credit cards. Each one is giving me $5,000. My line of credit total is $15,000. The higher that is, the better off my credit score will be. The lower my percentage of youth, the higher my credit score will be. So ideally you want a big maximum that you can use, but you wanna use below 10%. There's thresholds, so below 30%, uh, below 50%, 30%, and 10%, it's the third. It's the 10 30 50 rule. So each one of those gives you a bump in your, in your credit score, and that's add another, another problem with credit, if you pull your credit score. Even though I like, I pay my credit card bill in full every single month, but if I pull my credit score right before my bill is due, even though I pay it off every month and two days later it'll be zero, my credit utilization will be up and my score will actually be lower. So [00:11:00] very counterintuitive, like lots of. Kind of things that don't make sense in, in the world of credit. Laura Moreno: I feel like, I feel like, you know, they give you credit cards and they give you like 10,000, $15,000 to spend and, but they tell you, they don't tell you this because obviously they're making money. If you spend all the money and then you don't pay back. That's when they make like those 25% interest rates. Right, Right, right. So you are supposed to know that this is a temptation, but you're not supposed to touch it . But you still have to have the temptation in front of you not to buy this handbag that you want to buy because it's on credit and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Right. Which is crazy to me. It's like, ah, no. Yeah. So tell me about your most impressive accomplishment Nirit Rubenstein: in my life. Um, well, Uh, that's, that's tough. Um, I mean, as the mother, obviously having children is, is I think, the, the best, uh, accomplishment. But, um, but in my [00:12:00] professional career, I actually think joining the, the Army was, was the very big, uh, character builder for me. Um, I think for the first time in my life, I, they put you in the, you know, when you join your, when you're in, uh, boot. You, you're all together in this big room, you're all wearing the same clothes, and it doesn't matter if you're black, white, brown, rich, or you know, background. It's like all of a sudden the whole playing field is the same. Everybody's on the same playing field. And uh, and it's very humbling. It's a very humbling experience and, and I learned a lot in terms of a good leader. Um, Being a teammate, the, the important camaraderie and collaboration, uh, teamwork. And I just, I think that that helped me significantly throughout my, my career. Laura Moreno: That's amazing. I mean, I thought you were going to say, Well, [00:13:00] I'm a three times mom. I'm a wife, I'm also a founder. M and then you said you surprised me with also the. The Army. I was like, Whoa, you're a superwoman. . Nirit Rubenstein: Yeah. No, I, I really enjoyed the army. I think it, it, it build, it helped me be who I am today for sure. Um, but I've been very fortunate. I mean, I have a lot of accomplishments that I'm proud of and a lot of, you know, when I think about companies that I've worked for, I worked for Salesforce before they went public and. That was Wow. Like, talk about career experiences once in a lifetime. You know, It, it was an amazing company to, to be part of. And so I've been, I've been fortunate to work for some really good companies and with some really good people. Laura Moreno: Wow. And, uh, you, you share with me like, um, on the most impressive accomplishment you share with me a very nice video of a woman going through how she changed her life around. Could you tell us more about that? Nirit Rubenstein: I'm [00:14:00] trying to remember which, which video Laura Moreno: you're, you're, It's like an Instagram reels from this woman that Nirit Rubenstein: Oh, from that Carney who bought, Who bought a home. Yeah. Laura Moreno: And you can see the two kids before, like the, the kid and her, and. . Yeah. That Nirit Rubenstein: was, that was, uh, one story. I mean, we've, we've many stories like that. Um, but McCartney is, is someone who found out about Doley, um, had quite a few items on her, on her credit. She was trying to buy a home for a very long time. Uh, her mortgage broker told her there was no way she was gonna get into home at least for another 10 years, given her credit. What was Laura Moreno: the credit? Was it like really horrible? Nirit Rubenstein: It was like in the five hundreds. Yeah. Um, and, uh, you know, we, we worked methodically. She was a member, uh, I think within less than nine months we cleaned up her credit and. [00:15:00] Uh, she, she was able to get a home and her mortgage broker said, I can't. What did you do? Like, did you wave a magic wand? How did this happen? Um, and, and she was so passionate about our product. She actually reached out to us and asked us, Hey, can I do a testimonial? I wanna get this product out to as many people as possible. You guys really helped me. Um, so, you know, she had. She had the American dream of buying a home. And, uh, we were able to help her make that, I mean, I, I always say help cuz I don't, we we don't buy the home for you, right? You have to want to do it yourself. Like you can only lead a horse to water. You can't make them drink. Right? We are there to help you and make things easy. Um, but the, our, our success stories are always people who are committed themselves to making it happen and to put in the. Laura Moreno: Awesome. Well now Need it. Need it? Need it. Sorry. Let's take a quick second to thank our sponsors. [00:16:00] Sure. Welcome back. Now I'm going to ask you a series of shared questions to help our audience even farther. Are you ready? I'm ready. Please share with us your biggest piece of piece of advice you can give to someone trying to buy their first home. Now, regarding their credit. Nirit Rubenstein: Well, first of all, know what's on your. Uh, enroll in a service like ideally Doley. Uh, understand what's on your credit. Start the process earlier than you think because it's not an overnight process. So understand how to get your credit score up either by removing items, getting your credit u utilization down, adding additional, uh, items that can help you improve. Becoming an authorized user on somebody's card could really help. So we have a lot of blogs on the topic. You can just go and get the education for free, but really understand how you can maximize your credit. Because the difference in a credit score of just [00:17:00] five at like just 20, 30 points can be significant interest difference, uh, when you're looking to buy a home. Laura Moreno: Got it. And what have you seen are the top mistakes people make regarding their credit and especially, you know, first time home buyers? Nirit Rubenstein: Uh, the. Very easiest mistake people make is they forget to pay their bills so they don't set up autopay. So set up autopay on everything. As soon as you open up a new account or line of credit, immediately set it up on autopay so that you, you don't forget. Um, and in general, don't go opening up a million lines of credit. Because you, you can also get dinged by having too many hard inquiries. And so be super thoughtful about additional accounts. You're gonna, you're gonna add to your credit history. I, I Laura Moreno: remember actually going to Century 21, uh, one month after having arrived for America, or maybe [00:18:00] a few months later. And I, you know, those offers, like you get 10% off if you sign up for a credit card. So I did sign up for their credit card because I had bought like $400 and I was like, Oh, this is $40, right? And I came back and I told my husband and he said, What do you do? No. Mm-hmm. . And then like a couple of weeks later, my credit was like a hundred points down. Mm-hmm. . I was like, What? But I, I had paid like the thing, it was like the reputation of that credit card. How does that even happen? ? . Yeah. Nirit Rubenstein: Yeah. It's crazy. It's really crazy. It's, it's very, it's a very punitive system. It's like, trust. I always say it's like trust. You can be perfect for, for many years. You make one mistake and you're, you're shot back down to, you know, very Laura Moreno: low score. Now, every time I look at those credit cards, I'm like, Nope. Never again. Nirit Rubenstein: Nope. No. Thank you, . Laura Moreno: No, thank you, . [00:19:00] Yeah. We needed, You've shared with us amazing information today. What can we, our audience do for you today? Nirit Rubenstein: I mean, look, we really are on a mission to help as many Americans as we can get ahead financially. Um, the, the best thing you can do is download doley, start using it, and refer it. As many people as possible, just get the word out there that we exist. Cause we really do want to help as many people as we can. We're extremely passionate about it. We're a very, very mission driven company. Laura Moreno: I can, I can hear that in your voice and I love that so much. How many users you have now? I mean, you're a massive company today. Nirit Rubenstein: We're, we're getting there. Um, we have a couple, We've had, uh, about a hundred, 150,000 users on our platform. Laura Moreno: Yay. Congrats. I love that you being a female founder also. I mean, yay. Yes, Nirit Rubenstein: Yes. Thank you. Laura Moreno: Well needed. Thank you so much for being in [00:20:00] the first Time Home Buyer podcast, and let us know again if there's something else we can do. Thank you again. Thanks, Nirit Rubenstein: Laura. I really appreciate it. Again, encourage everyone to enroll in in Doley, D O V L y.com. Fantastic. Thanks for the podcast. Appreciate it. Thank you.  

Introduction Margo Christophilis is a Managing Broker in Seattle, Washington who loves to help people get into their first home. When she is not working she is dancing and doing crossfit. Being with family is also very important for her. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Margo Christophilis If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast!   Transcription Margo Christophilis Laura Moreno: [00:00:00] First, I'm S Nation. I am Lara, and I am super excited to bring you our fantastic guest today, Margo Christos. Margo is a managing broker in Seattle, Washington, who loves to help people get into their first home when she is not working. She is dancing and doing CrossFit. She also loves being with her family, including hate, Her eight year old grandson, Alejandro. Margot, are you ready Margo Christophilis: to. I am ready to flow. Good morning everybody. Laura Moreno: Grace, I've given our community just a little insight. Please share more about you personally and then expand upon your business. Margo Christophilis: So basically I have been in the business 17 years and I have helped many people. We help, uh, between 4 45 and 50 families a year. Uh, first time home buyers are very important to me, very close to my heart as everything is a process and people want to not fear, they want to understand the process. So, um, out of my [00:01:00] 17 years, I've been down at Keller Williams in Greater Seattle, but I do it two and a half hour radius, so don't worry. We help everybody and we're just here to make the process easy and get people into home ownership and building that equity instead of paying somebody else's. So tell Laura Moreno: me more about helping First. I'm home buyers because, um, I am reading right now a book called The Millionaire Real Estate Agent that says, if you want to be successful, focus on sellers. And, and this is why I, I, in my opinion, it's hard sometimes to find really good real estate agents that. Work with first time home buyers. Tell me more about that. Do you agree with that philosophy or, Margo Christophilis: I mean, I don't agree with the philosophy. You know, if you look up Gary Keller with Keller Williams, he's written three books, um, and one is the Red Book and then the Shift, and then the one thing concentrated on one thing. With that, I am considered a a mega [00:02:00] agent, which means I help both sellers and buyers. I don't think you. You know, do that to people and, and, and just try to do one side of something. Everyone is important in their own way. Yes, sellers are important, and you do open houses, and then you bring in buyers. But at the same time, I'm committed to reaching out to people, like on a show, you know, a podcast like yours, lada. And really meet people and teach 'em the way. So they decide, do I wanna buy? Am I ready? What does it look like? Um, it's scary for people. So I, I don't agree with that. I, I love helping everybody. I do Laura Moreno: both though. That's awesome. No, and I always say that. First time home buyers are the best people to work with because we end up sending you our friends and family doing more business with you. So it's like the long term clients, we, we just need some education. I'm talking about education. Tell me, tell me more about how do you do that in your team? Like how do you educate and empower your client? [00:03:00] Margo Christophilis: So we do several things. One, we teach, um, these home Advantage classes that are with Washington State, and I know every state has their own. Ours, it's called Home Advantage, where there is programs that are affordable for people if they don't have a down payment. They have to fit into a criteria of what they make, whether it's single, you know, two people with the, you know, a child, how many people, and they, they, this county goes off that, the counties in Washington and we teach people a five hour class. Um, what to look for, and we'll talk about that in all these processes. And then we match 'em with the lender that we're speaking with. And if they choose to work with us, we help 'em through the whole process. The other way is people come to me online or on Zillow. Um, I'm actually having some of my clients that were referred to me for dinner on Sunday at my house. I mean, I, I take it seriously and I fall in love with my clients and, and they're, they're family and clients for [00:04:00] life. Laura Moreno: Um, I love that the, I fall in love with my clients. I've never heard any agent inviting their clients to have dinner at their home because your home is such a personal and sensitive place. Like I love that. And I love what you said about I fall in love with my clients. Oh my God. Like, do you have any, do you have any specific, like example of like a relationship that kind of like went far above the, the professional relationship with any of your. Margo Christophilis: Absolutely. So I have my first Zillow clients from 12 years ago. Um, Laura Moreno: I'm sorry, what do you mean when you say a Zillow client? What is a Zillow client? Margo Christophilis: So I'm a preferred agent on Zillow, and people will come to areas and they'll see me and they'll call me. Zillow to see homes or to find out about the process of buying a home. And these particular client's, husband and wife, they found me on Zillow 12 years ago. They had an agent that [00:05:00] wasn't treating them well. Hmm. Um, they're both, they're from Mexico and they're amazing human beings. So, long story short, I've helped them with three homes. I've helped six of their family members, and I am now the godmother. They're two adopted small children. So you know it, It's important to trust, right? They trust you, but you have to trust them and you build upon that. And I'm not saying I'm gonna come into everyone's home or bother you after a transaction closes, but I'm gonna touch base. You're gonna hear from me quarterly. I wanna see how you're doing in your home. How can I help you? Do you need to manage a new bathroom? What do you need? Why? How can I be of. Laura Moreno: I love that so much. So I want to touch upon two things. The first thing is, um, let's talk about the experience about working with Zillow agents, because I've heard so many things like, um, usually you pay a fee to be in Zillow and then Zillow sends you clients, but then I've heard of agents maybe not showing up or [00:06:00] new agents being advertised. There. I'm giving the best experiences to clients, but then I hear about you, you know, an amazing agent that is there. Like how can we really judge an agent and how can we really work with a great agent? . Okay, Margo Christophilis: So with Zillow, we do pay to be preferred agents and I have been on there 12 years. What happens is you'll go to an area and it'll show my face in a, in a couple of those areas. When you reach out to someone like me, you should ask, um, do I work full time? What are my hours of operation? How am I successful with my clients? And you should expect a meeting from me so I can give you my buying book that I've created for everyone and that I update every four months. And we're gonna go through the process of stepping into a property. We're gonna go through the process of what it's like to go to an open house and to be really careful because if we are bonded and [00:07:00] we're working together, sometimes you get misled as a first time home buyer, you sign in and. Agent on site for the listing. They're trying to get business too. They're trying to do this, but you should always have your own agent that you hand picked, because those people, no matter what, they're working on the seller side and buyers don't understand that. So we go to open house and I tell people, We're going to pick the house you love. I'm not picking up for you. I will know when you go into the home. Don't wanna leave and it's our 15, 20 minutes in that home are up and you wanna take pictures and look around. I already know that. Then we go and we have a discussion. I have you look on the internet. You know, to make sure that's where you wanna live. I tell you to drive to your job so that you're not away from your loved ones too long. I want you to know what's going on when you make that kind of a choice. And then we start talking about the offer and what that looks like and why, and what the market value is around that [00:08:00] house. Right? And as we write the offers, I always let people know we might not get the first one. We will get the home that we are meant. That's the home we're gonna get. And I've not had anyone say, I'm still thinking about the other home. No. They're like, I'm so glad we found this home. And then we work on, the lender takes over and, and then the, through all of that, I always tell people, Please do not hire moving vans, carpet cleaning, anything. The day of closing, because in Washington right now, sometimes things don't record at the county. So let's say it goes through the lender and all the, the loan funds, sometimes it doesn't record cuz they're so busy till the next morning. So don't make any of those calls until I hand you your keys. And the reason I say that is because here in Washington we don't give people keys till it closes. Let's say it's five hours before closing and you go in to clean the oven and you light your sleeve on fire and the house burns down. You have no insurance on that house. So I don't let [00:09:00] people step into their property till they own it. Yeah. Laura Moreno: Got it, got it. Wow. Okay. So what you're saying is like, make sure you interview that agent and make sure you are giving the service that you deserve. Kind of like what you were saying about, um, meeting up, talking about the process, talking about where we going to do, like, establishing the expectations and educating buyers. Uh, I absolutely, instead of just like showing up somewhere, showing a house and then , and then that's about it. Margo Christophilis: I mean, there has to be a strategy la there has to be a strategy for people from start to finish, otherwise they feel lost and you haven't done your job. Laura Moreno: Yeah. And I've, I've gone through that in my in my own experiences for sure. And then the other, the other question that I have for you is, um, We know that when, well, we not, not all of us know that, but actually what you want to get with a new, um, with our client, with a realtor, sorry, with a real estate agent, is establish a relationship with someone that is going to be a lasting relationship [00:10:00] that is going to keep on adding value to your life. And to that questions like what do you do to keep on adding value even after you've closed the home? Margo Christophilis: Okay. After we close, we, um, obviously. Ask for a review just to make sure that everything went well. Um, they get a newsletter every month. They get a phone call, if not every other month from me, quarterly. They get a gift quarterly in the mail from, um, I love that a company called, Yeah, Client Giant. And they're cute things Like this month it was these games and some of my clients send me a picture, We're gonna play this game now. It's starting to rain, not, and we're gonna be inside. So I always try to touch 'em and we try to do two client appreciations a year. Laura Moreno: Mm. I love that. I mean, I love those client appreciation events and those presents, like, why not? If you're going to work with an agent and you're not going to pay anything for that agent, why not getting the best one that also invites you to parties and sends you [00:11:00] presents? I, I'm, I wanna say I'm a sucker for all that Margo Christophilis: Yeah. I love, I just do for people what I would like someone to do for me, you know? So, Laura Moreno: That's awesome. So tell me more about, um, the, the main message that you want listeners to take away from this episode. And, um, you said something that is, it's okay. Scared to be, It's okay to be a scared of the unknown. As a professional, you are always there to answer any questions. So tell me, uh, do you have any experiences with any situations where people were really scared of what was going to happen and you came in there to help? Margo Christophilis: Um, yeah, there's, there's always situations, like I have some clients right now that are past clients and I'm friends with their parents too, who live in a different state, and the dad is a agent over there and they've chosen me. to help their family in Washington. And basically we were, you know, in a property the other day, we stay long enough to check everything out. We talk about what's going on outside in this particular [00:12:00] property, they might start building a home. So when you see the fence and you go to the basement part of this home, you can see the the dirt. And so I always tell them we would want an inspection. We wanna make sure, even though they did a beautiful job remodeling, that this won't have water intrus. But I said that's what insurance is for. I will tell you not just what you wanna hear, I will tell you what could be, what may or may not be. But at the end of the day when the gal called me the next day, we talked about the fear of rates. We talked about the fear of somebody building a house. You don't know when you buy a home, what neighbor you're gonna have, cuz you could go knock on the doors and pick your neighbors. They could move next month. Same thing. Someone could tear their house down and build. You, you try to not fear the unknown anymore because you know that it's a positive to buy a home and to build equity, you need to more concentrate on yourself and does this feel like home.[00:13:00] So that's what I would say. Talk everything out. Talk to your family, talk to your agent, talk to each other, and you'll know if it, you really want to live there. All the other challenges, we can work. Got Laura Moreno: it, got it, got it. Yeah, no, I mean, you have an amazing experience. Do you guys, tell me before that you were building your own home? Are you doing that right now? Margo Christophilis: We, we are, We haven't broken ground yet. It's, it's, um, it's just like being a doctor. When you're sick yourself, you learn a lot different things. So we're learning patient. We're learning, why aren't those building permits done? So yeah, we are building here in Washington on a beautiful last piece of acre in a specific area up north, and we're very excited to, to do it our way. Um, and if I'm ever invited back, we can talk about land and what that looks like cuz I do get lots of calls this past couple of years where it's hard to get a house cuz there's 20 offers and people think they're just gonna build, but there's [00:14:00] so much to building and you need to, That's another thing I just want people to be aware before they get into project. Laura Moreno: So you bought the land and you hire a contractor, a builder to build in the land? Yep. Margo Christophilis: Yes, I have stopped for. , were Laura Moreno: you ? So were you stocked the builder? Is he not like dying to have your business? Margo Christophilis: Well, I stocked. He is, but I mean when, when I say stocked, it means I watched him build for the past six years, like walking or jogging in the neighborhoods cuz he only does specific areas. And I saw how he built and then I met him through our. Um, they, he came highly recommended, which I would recommend to anybody who's building, and we met with him, brought my dad with, did all of that. We've been to his home. We've been out to dinner with him, and really we've been, they've, the architect has done our project and sketched it, and now they're doing the final permitting so that we can break ground next month. Laura Moreno: Are you, I mean, tell me about your feelings [00:15:00] because you are a realtor and you've done this many times in your own homes, but now also with clients and now you're doing it again. Like, how are you feeling? Are you like, totally cool, like, I've done this hundreds of times, or no, Margo Christophilis: I, it's made me appreciate my clients even more. We feel lost, my husband and I, cuz all we do is help people. We make solutions, we make things happen. Now I'm waiting for somebody else to control my destiny on this home we trust. But also the rates are high. We're gonna participate in that high rate . So, um, although I know. What, how this works. I don't know. Some of the intricacies, I'm not a builder and so I am learning, like I said, how to reach out to my clients who do want their next home to be, you know, starting with a, with land and explaining to them, Hey, I'm not gonna turn you off to it, but I'm gonna tell you kind of how long it's taking and what to [00:16:00] look forward to. Laura Moreno: How long is it taking for you and what have you learned? Margo Christophilis: So we bought the land. August, the end of last August, right after my birthday. Happy birthday to me, . And we've been talking That's a good present. Yeah. Yeah. And we've been talking to the builder and the architects. Um, Since then, and now we're almost the November and they said we're gonna break ground in June, then July. And then, you know, I'm like, I really wanna have next year, my 60th birthday in my house. Not gonna happen maybe Christmas. So it just takes time. Why do they, Laura Moreno: why do they have to wait until June, I suppose? Margo Christophilis: Well, we'll start in November, but I mean, in June they said, Oh, we're gonna start soon. Oh, in July we're gonna start the never. It didn't happen. You just again, don't. Expectations, , . Pick, pick the right land, pick the right builder, pick the right bank, have your [00:17:00] money ready. And because it, it's gonna be a, a, a process. Get ready for the ride. That's what we've been doing. Laura Moreno: So tell me, um, last question. Tell me more about the market today. What are you seeing in Seattle? And if I am a first I'm home buyer in Seattle now, like what can I expect and how can I position myself in a very strong way to buy a. Margo Christophilis: Okay. That's a great question. So again, it's best if you have an experienced agent. And an agent that also knows a lot of other agents, because all as peers, we work together and if you have a good name out there, that's gonna get you further and it does get you further with your clients. So basically, Seattle has become a normal market. It is not a bad market, It's normal. So we still on in certain areas, might see two to three offers. Realistically though, we're sitting for at least 32 days. I have a listing that's gorgeous up in Edmond's. [00:18:00] Gorgeous. It should have been gone since June. This has not happened to me in years, and it's still not sold. So there's gonna be a few. Why isn't that gone? And people are being a little more nitpicky so you can go home and think about it for a couple days. Right. But then there's an area called Sam Amish where I was with my clients last Saturday, and we had three. To decide if we wanted it. And I just could tell my clients were scared and I said, This isn't the one. They loved it, but I said, You, you're not okay. I can see it in your eyes, making an offer in three hours. So we passed on it. Laura Moreno: And is, was it because the, the, the seller really had like many offers to make it, you know, many offers or they were just like, I don't Margo Christophilis: know. No, this the, the sellers went to a. They were not living in the home anymore. They're elderly. And the agent got a strong offer early in the morning and I said, Could you at least give us till the morning? And he said, I don't wanna lose this offer. So there was really only one or two other offers besides ours, but he wanted to [00:19:00] get it signed around. That was his deal as an agent. He said it was over asking, It's waving everything we're gonna take. Well, my clients don't wanna waive everything, especially in this market. If you're gonna spend a couple million dollars, you should have your inspections. Especially, it doesn't matter if it's new or old. I always say, Do your inspections. Laura Moreno: It's always crazy when people, when people, uh, wa their inspections. For me, it's like playing the lottery rate like. I know the market was crazy over the last couple of years, but making the biggest investor in your life and just not even having anyone to, to see if there's any big problem, and I'm just just talking about fixing the fridge. . I'm talking about a big a structure problem. Problem, Margo Christophilis: Absolutely. Well, and I watch people around and again, I love my peers and I, I. Everyone, I'm, I'm not ever gonna slam anybody, but in my 17 years, never once in this crazy market did I waive anything from my clients. We just got the next house and sometimes it took eight houses, but it was always the one they wanted. [00:20:00] I'm not gonna waive rights of people and I don't want that phone call that something didn't work out. They won't remember me in a positive way, and I've. W helped ruin their life. I'm not doing that. So I take, I don't do gray area, I do black and white, and we stay in our lane. Laura Moreno: Oh, I love that so much. So much. It's all about the clients and protecting them so much. So, Mark, have you share with us amazing information today. What can we do for you, our listeners in the podcast? What can we do for you? Margo Christophilis: Well, you know what, uh, this is gonna sound corny, but I say do an act of kindness. Just try to do an act of kindness and have, you know, grace for people that are, might be having a bad day. And if you're in the Seattle area and you wanna grab coffee or you wanna know about home buying or selling, reach out to me and gimme a call. I'd love to hear from you. Laura Moreno: And how can we reach out Margo Christophilis: to you, Margo? Um, my information is, my phone number is area code [00:21:00] (206) 963-5525, and my email. Margo, M a r r g o, M as in Mary, B as in boy, A as in apple@hotmail.com. Old school . Laura Moreno: Well, Marco, the Hotmail. Is there anyone else with ? Of course there are. Of course there are. I'm always amazed when someone gets like mark@gmail.com. I was like, How old is this person? How did I get that name? . Well, thank you so, so, so much for being the first I Home Buyer podcast.

Introduction Graeme Richardson is a Product Design leader and a first-time home buyer that wants to share with us everything he has learned from buying his first home. When he's not working, he's riding his motorcycle or hanging out with his 2 kids. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Graeme Richardson If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast!

Introduction Sydney Blumstein is a real estate agent in New York. Her parents built a wildly successful team at the Corcoran group based on their knowledge, kindness, and transparency and now she helps people find their own piece of NYC to call home. Her personal Mottos are: “more fun today” “hold the vision, trust the process” and “things take time”. In her free time, she likes to discover new restaurants, activities, and spaces in New York with her husband, twin one-year-old babies, Lenox and Luna, and their lovely cat Bailey.  Get In Touch With Our Guest,  Sydney Blumstein If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast!

Introduction Leonard Steinberg was the first PRESIDENT of COMPASS which is now the largest national real estate tech-fueled brokerage in the USA by sales volume. As the company expanded at a historically rapid rate, Leonard transitioned to Chief Evangelist promoting company culture, ethics, and advisory. He devotes 95% of his time to brokerage, and real estate advisory and has sold well in excess of $5 billion over his 25-year career. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Leonard Steinberg If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast!

Introduction Nate Johnson is the President of Real Estate Solutions Group @ Red Key Realty Leaders, a full-service residential real estate group in St. Louis, Missouri, with a commitment to helping clients achieve their real estate goals. In addition to helping buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals for over 20 years, Nate has been speaking to groups around the country, large and small, for over a decade. He is passionate about educating his clients so they are prepared to make good real estate decisions and helping REALTORS become the best version of themselves through teaching and training. Get In Touch With Our Guest, Nate Johnson If you'd like to get in touch with our guest today, click on the link below and I will send you a warm introduction: Get In Touch With Our Podcast Guest Today Find The Perfect Real Estate Agent Near You If you'd like to find a great real estate agent near you, just go to this link: Real Estate Agent Near Me Podcast Sponsors Find an Agent with HomeFlow: The key to having a calm and successful home buying experience starts with having the best real estate agent. This is why you need to interview a few. To get the process started just go to Tryhomeflow.com Dovly: 10 million of Americans have errors in their credit reports that lower their credit score. To fix those error try Dovly.com MyFico: 90% of top lenders use FICO® Scores—do you know yours? Check your FICO Score at MyFico.com The Smart Home Buyer Calculator: Use our 4-in-1 super-smart calculator to make sure you know your numbers before buying your first home. Get it now at The Smart Home Buyer Calculator Rate The Podcast Click on this link to Rate and Review "The First Time Home Buyer Podcast" on iTunes. You can also subscribe to the podcast there. I will really appreciate it, thanks so much in advance! Listen To A Podcast Guest In Your Area If you'd like to find podcast guests for your specific location or profession just click on the link below to search for them: Podcast Guest Search Awesome Resources For First-Time Home Buyers If you'd like to access other great resources for first-time home buyers just click on this link: First-Time Home Buyer Resources Let's Talk I'd love to talk to podcast listeners and get to know you all better! I can also help you answer any questions you have about buying your first home! So if you'd like to talk about that let's jump a quick call! Just schedule a time that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Feedback I love receiving feedback so please, if you'd like to tell me how you'd improve the podcast, send me an email or schedule a call with me for that works for you here: Schedule A Call With Laura Moreno Share The Love If you know someone looking to buy their first home and you think this information would help them,  just share it with them. They will really appreciate it. Subscribe To The Podcast Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Connect On Social Media YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Do you want to start your own podcast? Then enroll in The Free Podcast Course today, which is the course that I followed to create this podcast!

Home Buying can be stressful and confusing, especially if you're a first-time home buyer! The best thing that can help first-time homebuyers, is really understanding the process in full before you jump in! The more prepared you are walking into the home buying process, the better your chances are of getting that first home! ELLEN FRAZIER from CrossCountry Mortgage, a veteran in the mortgage industry, an author, public speaker, and a trusted Mortgage Advisor since 2004. She has a lot more products and services that she can offer not only for first-time homebuyers but also to investors, veterans, and to the armed forces, etc. Her ultimate job is to provide you with the right tools needed, walk you through the step-by-step processes to make your goals a reality, and ensure you know exactly what's going on throughout your entire home buying process! Finally, she quoted how empowerment and hope can enable you to make the decisions, to make the changes that you need to be able to get on the path towards homeownership. Corwyn also added having a positive impact on the people that you intend to give service to is essential to achieve those next steps that you want for yourself and your family. Let's get started! What You'll Learn From This Episode: Quick intro who and what Ellen's role at Cross Country Mortgage About her mortgage playbook, where to avail it? What is a FICO Score, and how does it affect your credit, breaking down the variables that go into a higher credit score Discover and qualify for USDA financing, and the South Carolina housing down payment assistance program, how to be eligible The biggest challenges for buyers in the Charleston region and how to overcome them. The values needed for a smooth home buying process Connect with Corwyn @: Contact Number: 843-619-3005 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exitstrategiesradioshow/ FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/exitstrategiessc/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxoSuynJd5c4qQ_eDXLJaZA Website: https://www.exitstrategiesradioshow.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmelette/ Email @: corwyn@corwynmelette.com Resources: Ebook: https://amzn.to/3nZXAAz Connect Ellen @: Website: ellenfrazier.com Schedule a call: www.calendly.com/Ellen-Frazier/15min Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenthemortgagechic/

On today's edition of Ask Suze & KT Anything, Suze answers questions about filling must have documents, inheriting a ROTH, boosting a credit score and more. Take advantage of the Ultimate Opportunity Savings Account with Alliant Credit Unionat: https://bit.ly/3vEUTZW Join Suze's Women & Money Community for FREE and ASK SUZE your questions which may just end up on her podcast! To ask Suze a question, download by following one of these links: CLICK HERE FOR APPLE: https://apple.co/2KcAHbH CLICK HERE FOR GOOGLE PLAY: https://bit.ly/3curfMI See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.