The Reality of Real Estate with Chris and Bri
Brianna Lehman, the Realtor, and Christopher Lynch, the Lender, give a real take on making home ownership attainable. They break down real-life scenarios, trends in the market and give their personal tools to make homeownership not just your dream but your reality.
The Reality of Real Estate with Chris and Bri
Crafting the Winning Offer Amidst the Tides of Mortgage Rates
Embark on an expedition through the real estate jungle with Christopher Lynch and Brianna Lehman as your seasoned guides, uncovering the secrets of home appraisals and the ebb and flow of interest rates that can make or break the dream of homeownership. Our journey is peppered with personal tales, including my own brush with credit score calamity, to illustrate the unforgiving nature of financial oversight and the steps you can take to mend the pitfalls in your credit report. We share a treasure trove of insider tips to arm you against the pitfalls of the market, emphasizing the need for constant vigilance and smart dispute tactics to keep your home buying hopes on track.
As we chart the territory of contract negotiation in the face of fluctuating mortgage rates, you'll learn how to craft an offer that turns the tide in your favor. We shed light on the power of a savvy lender's advice during high-stakes multiple offer scenarios, and how even a small increment in your mortgage payment can unlock substantial savings down the line. The conversation ventures into the emotional landscape of home buying, framing it as a milestone of personal growth and resilience. So, stay connected and evolve with us, because this episode isn't just about the bricks and mortar of real estate—it's about laying the foundations for your future.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LucasLiveMedia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realityofrealestatepodcast/
Email: Brianna Lehman- blehmanrealtor@gmail.com
Email: Christopher Lynch- Christopher.Lynch@ccm.com
Hey everyone, what's going on? Welcome to the Reality of Real Estate podcast. I am one of your hosts, Christopher Lynch, and welcome my co-host.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, my name is Brianna Lehmann.
Speaker 1:We give you a real take on making home ownership attainable.
Speaker 2:We will be breaking down real-life scenarios, trends in the current market and giving you our personal tools to make home ownership not just your dream, but your reality.
Speaker 1:Get ready to be inspired, motivated and ready to take action towards building your own empire.
Speaker 2:Because when you invest in real estate, you aren't just purchasing a home, you're investing in your future.
Speaker 1:Well, hi guys, we are back. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Thanks, ben, we did that on the last.
Speaker 1:Let's just kind of get into it, and what I kind of want to talk about is what's the current market doing? And I also want to talk about rates, and I just think one of the big questions that I get, especially when structuring numbers for someone is like are homes still appraising, and so Are they?
Speaker 2:Yeah, they seem to appraise to me. We just had one that appraised higher, didn't we?
Speaker 1:The majority of them continue to do so.
Speaker 2:I'll look up, you yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Not by much, I mean. I think it was like 2000.
Speaker 1:No, because I almost just said names. But, like on our most recent one, it appraised the one you're thinking of in December. Yes, that did appraise $2,000 higher. Okay, but the one from this month it appraised for almost like $10,000 higher.
Speaker 2:Oh See, I don't know where I've been because I've been so wrapped up in my life.
Speaker 1:You got life going on yeah.
Speaker 2:I do. So I definitely want to talk about rates. I want to you already kind of know about the situation, but I want to bring up, like what happened in my credit from one little thing and how it's so important to.
Speaker 1:I wish I had recorded that phone call.
Speaker 2:I don't because I was furious, but now we can talk about it like Both calls actually. So what happened is I have a credit card that's not even activated. Why, I don't know. I just have it. I think at one point it was activated and then I got a new card and so my account still whatever it has a $6 surcharge a month on it, whether you're using it or not. You're paying this In December. Well before that, someone stole my identity. Okay, you remember that?
Speaker 1:So I could have recorded like four phone calls at this point.
Speaker 2:So I had to get a new debit card. Getting a new card because I don't use this card. I simply it was an oversight to not update the auto pay on this particular card for $6. $9 per number of dollars. They hit me with $90 in late fees for 30 days and then hit my credit 67 points from 30 day delinquent. First time ever I do not miss payments on anything like. That's why I have auto pay. So I call you. I'm like what do I?
Speaker 1:do besides something illegal, because I'm about to lose?
Speaker 2:it. You're like call them calm down. I paid the fee immediately, got my balance to current, which most people are like. I would have fought that and I'm like well, I'd rather fight my credit than fight the late fee cause I was late On accident.
Speaker 1:She was just trying to fight everybody. She wanted it fixed 67 points is crazy. Yeah, that's insane.
Speaker 2:That goes from like great to fair credit rating, Like that. So anyway, I call the company and they're like. You have to write us a handwritten letter. It is 2024. I can email you. You could just copy down this phone call Like.
Speaker 1:The transcript.
Speaker 2:Yeah something. So I hand write this letter all heartfelt explain to them what happens. Got real emotional about it.
Speaker 1:I coached.
Speaker 2:He coached. It was during the time that, unfortunately, my sister had passed away, so I really wasn't in the head space and I'm thinking about this $6 card that I don't use.
Speaker 1:Okay, so, On an account that is just not even activated.
Speaker 2:That's a whole nother thing. So I get this letter in the mail the other day, yesterday.
Speaker 1:Yesterday. Was it yesterday or was?
Speaker 2:it. No, maybe it was two days ago. Either way, I get this letter that says I get this letter that says we can only report accurate information. So unfortunately, you're out of luck. We're not fixing this for you. Now my credit has gone up by like 38 points, 40 points or something, because I got the balance to zero and all those things, but I'm still hit 20 some points at this point.
Speaker 1:But where I feel like they messed up is that if you called back, especially because the two individuals that you spoke to said that it would be fixed- they sure did. And so verbally on a recorded phone call, they told you it would be fixed. I don't really care if it's above that person's pay grade to make that decision.
Speaker 1:So I told her to call back and say that they can technically search your phone number and look and they can listen to those other two phone calls where two other people said that it would be fixed.
Speaker 2:And now I haven't called back because Addy got the flu and it's been a crazy few days. But my biggest concern is she's going to. Oh, I will be funny. But my biggest concern is how does that look as a buyer on my credit report? So when you pull it, are you gonna see that I have like this delinquent that I didn't pay my bill on time, and now I'm dropped it down Like. I'm worried about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she. I wish I could emulate like your voice, because it was like.
Speaker 2:Chris, I was furious.
Speaker 1:And I was like wait what happened. But no, I think that it'll be fine, only because, again, one like who knows when you are actually going to buy this house, Don't do that.
Speaker 2:And two, it is fine, it could be tomorrow of the right house comes. That is true, that is true.
Speaker 1:I'll give you some credit there, but you paid it. Is that a zero balance? And now I don't remember if you ended up activating it or not.
Speaker 2:No, I don't. I want to cancel it, but you told me no yeah.
Speaker 1:I told you, no, you told me not to close it.
Speaker 2:That's how petty I am at this point is that I just want to call them and say well, if you're not going to help me, I'm just canceling this card I don't use.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it's one of your oldest trade lines, so you need to keep it open, which is also why it hit your score. So, hard, yeah, so hard compared to if it was a car that you had opened up in like the last six months, you'd have been deemed for it, but not the same way that you were, because it was one of your oldest trade lines.
Speaker 2:Okay, 60 plus points.
Speaker 1:You see how this is how like the phone call went.
Speaker 2:It's crazy.
Speaker 1:So she hears me, but she just doesn't really hear me.
Speaker 2:I hear you, I hear you. I don't know if I'm listening, but I hear it, I hear it.
Speaker 1:But then also like what we would also just do in that case, is that a simple letter of explanation to underwriting? To say hey, like this is what happened and this is the letter that you got back after so I should keep that letter. Yeah, don't burn it. I have it because I got a call.
Speaker 2:But anyway. So I just wanted to share that story to one complain about it, to bring up, like how easily this could happen. And Three hear from you like if you get a borrower with that on their credit, is it gonna substantially affect them in their buying power?
Speaker 1:No, I mean, and that's the thing about it Is that so some people would say like hey, no, like I can't buy a house anymore because this happened and it wasn't oversight, but now I need to wait, you know, a year or whatever?
Speaker 2:that makes me spiral. I was like yeah 67 points.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I still get that. I almost I mean I did choke when I checked and if I wouldn't have? So? I actively check my credit every month on like credit wise, and my fight go score just cuz I'd like to know where I am and I just randomly checked and saw it like, yeah, which if I wouldn't have done that because that was my other thing.
Speaker 1:I was just like, okay, so did you get any phone calls from them? No, and the girl faithfully answers her phone, and if she can't answer, I mean I've never called her from a landline to where she texts me and said that, hey, you know, like sorry, I can't talk right now, sort of a thing, but like if you leave her voicemail she's calling you back, whatever. So I was like, okay, many miss phone calls, did you get anything in the mail? And she's like no, so Then you could put the pressure back on them and just say, hey, send me the call log from when you called me to make me aware of this and Because it should have never gotten a 30 days, and then also send me the mail that you sent me To show me that you made me aware of this right, not an email nothing and so like I feel like they should fix it.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of reasons to back up why it should be fixed and but also going back to your initial phone calls, two people.
Speaker 2:Yes, tell me this, like I even said them. What do I need to do? Do you need? What proof do you need that my identity was stolen, that my card was hacked? What do I need? Oh, no, nothing. Just write us a letter, we'll fix it. Yeah so this will be to be continued, because I will call and I will get this fixed. There, I'm getting this fixed. This is crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah anyway, but it's not the end of the world. Mortgage wives, oh, especially when it is the first time that it has happened and a simple letter of explanation can address it and fix it. And life will go on.
Speaker 2:Okay, so those important underwriters, yes, okay.
Speaker 1:I said they're our best friends.
Speaker 2:Well then, I need to start calling them.
Speaker 1:Bye.
Speaker 2:Just kidding. Okay, so we'll move out of that, out of my drama, and this is the way my life has been the last like six months. But on to rates. Where are rates today?
Speaker 1:So I mean like they're continuously getting better, but right now you're going to see I hate to put it this way, but ideally no points You're still like what would just call it 6.99. But which is also better than what it was four months ago, even three, two months ago, where they were at 8.125. So, like they are improving, it's still a very healthy market. But I said I wasn't going to share this or whatever. But I do have a client right now who is under contract on a house and she's getting divorced, and so she needed her payment to be at a certain amount, because this is going to be a completely new normal for her, and so we are buying her rate down to the lowest rate option and it is at a 3.625.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow.
Speaker 1:So we got that with the help of seller concessions. So, like which kind of kind of you know moves us on to like what is happening in the current market. I feel like homes aren't selling as quickly depending on the price, but like you can still ask for concessions, like you don't necessarily need to ask for the amount of concessions that this specific client asked for, but the house that she was going after. It made sense. It made sense yeah.
Speaker 2:So I have a question because this came up in our team meeting the other day and I thought it was interesting. So before we would always say like $1,000 more on your contract is about $5 a month for your mortgage, $5,000 is like $20 a month. How does that change as rates change? Cause someone said, like you go by the rate. So if the rate is seven. It's 7% rate. You're looking at $7 per thousand, that's okay.
Speaker 2:Cause that's just good to know. As rates fluctuate and we are using that to negotiate our contracts of well, sometimes it makes more sense to offer more and get more back, because what it's gonna change on your mortgage is so minimal versus the benefit of having less out of pocket.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like over we'll just call it the last like three, four years. If you kind of just stick with that, okay, every per thousand it's going to, you know, increase your payment, decrease your payment. Essentially, you can even say somewhere between, like you know, six to $8. Because you don't wanna go too low, but you also don't wanna go too high.
Speaker 2:But then you also are factoring in, like especially on your side, like you don't know what their homeowners insurance quote is gonna be and then, depending on and that's why it's so important to have sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, but to have a good lender, because I just wrote an offer this last couple of days we won't talk about it cause I'll just go on another rant but the lender that they chose, I said well, did you run these options by them?
Speaker 2:I asked them. They haven't gotten back to me and they never did. And I'm like you guys should just reach out. Yeah, like I'm trying to tell them, like you need to ask them what makes the most sense for you, how is what's going to benefit you the most? On me writing this offer?
Speaker 1:because Other than trying to get an offer accepted.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Because the bottom line number, especially when it comes to a payment, the total out of pocket expenses, like those are important and so unless you're out here like daddy war bucks like but I even feel like to some extent daddy war bucks is worried about the bottom line.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And like it blows my mind when people actually go. And that's fine if you trust this person and you like this place and all this kind of fun stuff, but if your needs are not being met, why are you going?
Speaker 2:Well, and I think that this is again, we always come back to representation and knowledge, but buyers are so rate driven right now, well, rates are high, rates are high, rates are high without the education of knowing that rates have been higher and your rate can be high right now, but again, if you are, Partnering with the right people, you will be equipped with the right tools to put yourself in the right position for your situation and you will be okay.
Speaker 1:Like, you, can always refinance later. Like it, just it blows my mind when, like in that situation, your client is not from the financial side, is not being treated like a client, as like a normal human being. They are being treated like a number and just essentially a transaction.
Speaker 2:Well, and then from a nine to five position as well. And real estate is not nine to five. Real estate is not Monday through Friday. Real estate is every day. We're working at 9 pm. In the summer, sometimes we're working till 10 pm writing offers, negotiating terms, and when you have people who clock out at a certain time and they're like, hey, I'm out of the office, I'll talk to you tomorrow at 9 am, well, I just lost because from 5 pm to 9 am is a long time and a lot of time for negotiating and offer deadlines, and you, as a buyer, you just lost out because you didn't have somebody to guide you through that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And, like, as an agent, I can give all these scenarios, but I'm not the one giving them the money to do so. So they really need to have that person, that lender you educate them along with it. They need that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like it's one thing if you are someone who says like, regardless of whatever this comes out to, I know I'm putting 30% down.
Speaker 1:I've already had my money set aside for my closing costs. I've already taken into consideration. I've asked this person to give me my max pre-approval amount and at my max pre-approval amount, this is what my payment is. We're looking at something that's $70,000. Under that, I know that the payment will be less. Everything else, sure, go with whoever makes you happy, because at that point you don't really need anything updated to do anything. But how do you essentially make best use of your cash right now? Because the house that you have found it has some issues. Seller says that. You know. Every disclosure says it's being sold as is. They're not gonna fix anything outside of the cash you have. You don't have anything else. So how do you structure this properly to again put you in the best position, because this is the house that you said that you wanted, and how do we make this happen for you? I always look at it this way If your needs are not being met, why continue it? And that goes for any relationship.
Speaker 2:Well, and it also goes with, they may not even realize their needs are not being met.
Speaker 1:Correct if they you don't know what you don't know. Yes, James, it's good.
Speaker 2:You don't know what you don't know, and that is part of my job. But there's also a fine line, I feel like, where I can't just continually like push push, push because then they're gonna be like back up, like I know what's best for me.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm just here to guide you. Unfortunately, though, like with these buyers, we did lose in this multiple offer situation. It was a bunch of things and I just can't talk about, but I'm going to use it as a way to say again you guys were offering what you thought was most comfortable for you. I would strongly suggest you talk to some other lenders. I won't even push you again, I mean, I'm gonna send you your info in there again. Talk to them to get better options, because if our offer was structured.
Speaker 2:It costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time to just have an additional conversation and if your credit was just pulled you have that 14 days.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 14 day window.
Speaker 2:Just do it, just shop your rate please.
Speaker 1:And if there's a rate driven, shop your rate, shop your options, shop like.
Speaker 2:Your concession. Like all of it. Your closing cost goes into that, like and but again, you don't know what you don't know.
Speaker 1:And if you're nervous about the home buying process to begin with and sure they're getting advice from you, but then also they're probably getting advice from their friends, their family, whoever, and it's like, okay, well, my buddy did this with X company and so, or my brother, whoever, but if your situation isn't exactly like theirs, it doesn't matter what happened to them and for them, it just doesn't matter If your situations are not truly identical, and if they're not, it doesn't mean that the same thing is gonna be out there.
Speaker 1:Or if they bought a house when a certain program was around and now that program isn't available anymore, it doesn't matter. So it's those things to where, having the conversation, just getting your concerns, your fears, your needs, your wants, all of that out there, and like I'm a straight shooter. So if you tell me, I'm gonna tell you if it's doable or not. And if you say, hey, please handle these people with care, I'm gonna still be a straight shooter, but I'm gonna handle you with care. And so if you are the fragile box, I'm going to delicately carry you across the floor Like it's just I need to know so I can best help you.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Bottom line. I like that one. This episode was a good one, even with your rant.
Speaker 2:Ugh, I'm gonna think about it until it gets fixed too. I can't even get on and check, cause I get so mad. I'm like.
Speaker 1:I'm just anticipating the next phone call.
Speaker 2:Chris. Oh, I'm gonna say they fixed it. My credit will be repaired in 30 days. Well, that's what they originally told me. They're like now just keep in mind it can take 30 to 45 days to reflect on your credit. And I was like, cool, no problem, I have experience, I have all three of them that I check regularly.
Speaker 1:So so did the letter say that they weren't going to fix it? Or they just said that we're only going to report accurate information?
Speaker 2:That they. We're only gonna report accurate information, so unfortunately they cannot fulfill my request at this time, which was to take that back. They did report it zero and my credit went up, but that ain't good enough. No, cause that's on there. And how long does that stay on there? Forever, kind of, yeah, I mean, well, that's wrong.
Speaker 1:If you keep that card open, which I don't necessarily agree with, but it's your oldest trade line, so I feel like you should for a while. It's gonna report this, essentially the last 24 to 36 months, so it'll always show on your credit report that at some point you had a 30 day late. If they don't fix it, but your credit score is only going to Like up or down is essentially only looking at your last 24 to 36 months, especially when it comes to payment history.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm getting it.
Speaker 1:It's annoying, it's frustrating. I get it.
Speaker 2:Well, my stomach is growling, so let's wrap this. I'm starved. So then I'll get even more upset about the situation.
Speaker 1:This is us guys, this is all your information today, friend. Apparently Brea's, like I Didn't eat breakfast.
Speaker 2:I did eat breakfast, which could be a whole nother episode where I'm eating more because I feel like I didn't eat for three months in my metabolism Stopped so, but we are not gonna talk about that, so I will see you guys On our next episode.
Speaker 1:Bye guys, toodles, all right friends, as we close things out today, remember home ownership is more than just a roof over your head. It's a symbol of your strength, resilience and determination.
Speaker 2:Take action, embrace growth and never be discouraged about where you are in your journey.
Speaker 1:And remember to follow us on Instagram at reality of real estate podcast.
Speaker 2:Our emails are linked in the description below.
Speaker 1:You can reach us at Christopher dot Lynch at CCM comm and my email is be layman realtor at gmailcom.
Speaker 2:All right.
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