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
Embracing the Present on the Path: While Maintaining a Healthy Sense of Self
"Embracing the Present on the Path: While Maintaining a Healthy Sense of Self" encapsulates our commitment to not only guiding our listeners through the intricacies of real estate but also nurturing their personal well-being along the way. As we delve into the practical aspects of homeownership, we intertwine these discussions with reflections on the importance of staying grounded in the present moment and fostering a healthy sense of self amidst the hustle and bustle of property transactions. Join us as we navigate the challenges of the real estate journey with mindfulness and intentionality, offering insights and anecdotes that not only inform but also inspire.
The pathway to homeownership is fraught with decisions and strategies, from the timing of tapping into home equity to the essential need for home inspections. In this episode, we navigate these practical aspects, sharing our experiences and the stories of clients who've braved the current competitive market. Whether you're facing bidding wars or weighing the risks of "as-is" listings, we offer our insights to bolster your resolve.
Together, let's cultivate a harmonious balance between professional success and personal fulfillment, ensuring that every step on the path to homeownership is not just a transaction but a transformative experience." Stay tuned for a candid conversation that promises to enrich your understanding and prepare you for the triumphs and trials of the property world.
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. I saw Michelle Williams last night at the palace.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I hadn't even.
Speaker 2:I hadn't had no clue, I was actually, at one point yesterday I was like I wonder if Chris and Hayley are going to be there. I knew Lucas would, I didn't even ask him and I was just like Lucas and Danny would be there. I've you know, whatever.
Speaker 1:But you didn't think Tiff would go.
Speaker 2:I did. I thought the whole crew would be there. I thought, like Lucas Live Media would be covering it. So when I saw Danny stand up and ask her question, I was like hey, I knew it. It was so good.
Speaker 1:I'm Jelly Belly.
Speaker 2:It was a free event unless you did VIP. She was there talking about her book called Checking In All Mental Health. It was literally therapy. Like I left there, like whoa, I feel different, like I really took stuff from her, so it was good.
Speaker 1:Did you wake up different?
Speaker 2:No, I did. No, I ordered her book. I ordered it. I didn't know, after Coachella, when she went with Beyoncé and Kelly obviously, that she checked herself into an institution for depression right after and they were like whoa, I didn't know. Actually, I felt like she kind of shaded Beyoncé a little bit. She didn't say anything about her, but she was like, after I checked in after Coachella, my sweet friend Kelly Roland reached out to me and we were all sitting there like what about Beyoncé? She didn't say nothing. Maybe she's not allowed to speak her name at her event. So too.
Speaker 1:Well, I feel like that might be the case, because even when Kelly does interviews- she doesn't talk about Beyoncé. She doesn't and she like or she shuts it down. But it also was like very clear that Kelly and Bey are like real best friends and they look at each other as sisters.
Speaker 2:Right, and actually to your point with that. Maybe she's so sick of it being like clouded by Beyoncé, but that's fair.
Speaker 1:I mean, she does have her. I don't even know what the commercial is.
Speaker 2:The Uber commercial, oh yeah but I mean yeah. So that's true, that is fair. She's probably like I'm here to talk about my book, my Success, the next chapter in my life. Beyoncé is amazing.
Speaker 1:We love her, but that's not here, yeah because that's when Kelly talked about her movie on Netflix and Charlemagne had asked her. She immediately shut it down and she was like that's not what I'm here for. You ask her. I'm here to promote my movie, and so on and so forth. And she was like stop asking me about her. You want to know, ask her. And I was like all right, cool, fair. So maybe it's a little bit of that.
Speaker 2:Yes, but one thing that she talked about last night that like pertains to our businesses is actually it was one of the questions that were asked is like, how do you separate yourself, like you know, as singer, grammy award winner, to Like an actual human being, to like the next steps? And I thought about that, like in our careers, how do Real estate works all the time, and I've had moments where I am in my business has actually defined how I felt about myself, where I'm like, wow, I'm really slow, I must not be good at this. Or like, wow, I didn't hit my goal, I didn't work hard enough, I didn't do this, and it just was like really a moment for me last night where I was like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, you can be an amazing. I'm so an amazing agent. I know I am yes.
Speaker 2:But I still have this life and this child and there's a balance between it. So I was just like that was really good. I was glad I went to that and that's good Got a little healing there, because it's easy to get wrapped up in the numbers in the market and the business, and when the ebbs and flows and the waves calm, it's yeah easy to get, like I mean, we live in this disgusting comparison society and you are constantly like Looking at, even like if it's just on Instagram and not even about the business.
Speaker 1:But it's like, okay, you feel like you're working hard, but obviously it's not hard enough because, like, this person is doing this and they have this, they have that, and it's like what have I done?
Speaker 2:right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, like that's really good, and I actually had posted something on Facebook yesterday that just says you know, and all things, give thanks. Because I Just think that a lot of us just sometimes forget to be grateful and to lead with gratitude. Yeah, and grace, basically for ourselves and every Season of your life, because it's always going to be different and you can have incredible year seasons or you know just Moments to where it's like okay, like I did that, but we're always also like what's next?
Speaker 2:right it, and we have talked about this on this podcast where in the real estate and lending world were months ahead? Yes, I'm looking at April, I'm looking at May. I'm already through another quarter of the year in my mind. Yes like where's my business coming from? Where am I called to? You know what are we doing. Yeah so it's very easy for us to get wrapped up in that instead of being very present. Yeah she's eating her moments.
Speaker 1:You know I put my phone on, do not disturb.
Speaker 2:And a parent, yours, I thought it was mine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but apparently I'm just gonna put it on sleep because, then I thought you weren't even getting them anymore. And look at you, those she, this girl does not have three lashes, as usual, she actually has a full set. I was gonna say, but you said that I'm not getting them anymore. No, no, no, no, but here she is.
Speaker 2:Nikki, don't listen if you're listening.
Speaker 1:She's got 48 lashes on each eyelid.
Speaker 2:So people are really here to listen about it's real estate. You said you had some things to talk about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I had to remember that it was, you know, professional and that was like, okay, yeah, I did post these on like my personal tick-tock, but it was like a clip from one of our previous episodes about that consolidation and for people who just are um Kind of overextended. Yeah and two people. I won't say like their usernames, but we're just like no f that and I mean like a good Thank you so I had to like.
Speaker 1:Pull myself back in. Just like, no, like Professional person has to respond to this because it is a professional video, but One a HELOC is. It's not always going to be for everyone, same way that a cash out refinance isn't going to be for everyone. But I also would say that you as an individual and your situation isn't everyone's situation.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So I'll even use myself for an example is that, like I bought my house in 2021. I have a very low interest rate when they were basically, you know, get those little penny stores.
Speaker 1:That's what I feel like interest rates were back then Um and so for someone like myself.
Speaker 1:No, it wouldn't necessarily make sense for me to look at a cash out refi if I needed to, but what would make sense is for me to tap into the equity in my home and use a home equity line of credit, and they are a little bit more flexible Just depends on who you go through Like, ccm offers one that it allows you to draw from it for five years, so which means that you can actually pull money from the line of credit for up to five years, but it has a 30 year repayment plan, and sometimes that's just what people need, whether you're doing home projects or you need to pay off debt, and it's at a very reasonable interest rate compared to rates that you pay on credit cards and even sometimes on, like, personal loans.
Speaker 1:But the other big thing that I just don't think that people take into consideration is that not everyone qualifies for credit cards, not everyone qualifies for personal loans, but when you own a home and if you can meet their credit score requirements and their debt to income ratio requirements, mortgages are always going to be more flexible than those options, right? So instead of just looking at a video, making an assumption that doesn't obviously apply to you. Does it apply to anyone else in your life? Right, and be the resource to share the information with that person, because I guarantee you that two best friends. Nothing is going to be the same Right.
Speaker 2:And I think too, like to all of that. Our purpose of this is everybody's situation is different. We've said that a lot of different times. There are people who are in positions where I have told them I think right now, just stay put, just wait. Like everybody's situation is going to be different and we're not speaking to the masses. I mean, we are speaking to the masses, but not as a generalization.
Speaker 2:We're just saying like here is the information, here's the knowledge we're educating. We're trying to educate. That's our goal here, and if you have questions or like we talked about something that doesn't seem like it fits your life, reach out to us and we can talk about it. You know, so we're always going to have those people. I'm kind of flattered that we had our first like troll, that's cool yeah, because when I saw that.
Speaker 1:That's what world are we in?
Speaker 2:where it's like, if you're getting trolled, that's it yeah.
Speaker 1:Cause, when I saw that and it was like, but like F was like literally there was I don't know how many use were in it, and I was like, all right, calm down bro, because so that's good, though, that our algorithm is hitting people we don't know yeah, but yeah, it just I had to calm down.
Speaker 2:All right, chris, like you can't respond the way you want to respond a stranger that you don't know and you're just like whoa, where did you come? Why are you so mad?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're just out here doing our things and then the other person was just like.
Speaker 2:You know, they need to look into a personal loan but again, not everyone qualifies right and it doesn't make the most sense, like what's the interest rate on a personal loan versus like pulling out a whole Mac.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cuz I mean, like, if you can get a Helock interest rate at, we'll just say somewhere between like seven and nine percent, but then depending on where your credit is that and if you're gonna be paying 15, why even say like 12 to 15 percent on a personal loan, like as an interest rate? The helock is still your better choice, and Especially like you can even pull in like the snowball effect. So if you can get a lower payment, but like if you can pay what you were already paying, you're going to basically help yourself in your situation immensely, just because you're gonna be able to take care of it, and A lot sooner than you would be, because that payment is going to be a fixed payment and it's not going to be like, okay, like if you have nine thousand dollars on a credit card but in reality your minimum payment is two hundred and sixty three dollars and Maybe you're paying three hundred bucks on it a month. The majority of that is interest and it's really not making a dent in it, and so you would need to start making larger payments.
Speaker 1:But again, if you're not in a position to be able to do that, that's where a helock becomes your best friend. But we also have the ability to, where, like I, can do a debt comparison analysis with you. I can show you. Take in an average of what you're paying and on personal loans, credit cards, and Look at what it would be if we had to explore a cash out refi. And so I was professional and kind and said that our purpose is to Educate and just provide the knowledge, because not everyone knows all of this stuff.
Speaker 2:Right and not everybody has been through that, or is in a position where they have the option for either, like you said so. Alright, so my question is someone closes on their home. Obviously you have to have equity for a helock. Is there a minimum time frame that you can cash it out? Because some people we've seen buy houses recently and they have it quite a bit of equity.
Speaker 1:So um, the best rule of thumb is is that you want to try to make sure that you have owned your home for basically at least six months. Now there are some companies out there that will allow you to do it right away, but I Look at it as six to twelve months of you owning that home, independent on what you put down. Then you can consider it from that perspective. But I actually just was talking to a guy this morning and he bought his house in February of 2023 for like 220 thousand dollars. It's now worth like 275 and If he would want to, he would have the ability to where it's not going to be a large line of credit, but most helocks to let you go anywhere between 80 to 85 percent loan to value.
Speaker 1:So you would just have the ability to wear. Basically, you take 85 percent of that 275 and, depending on what he owes, just subtract that out and then, as long as it meets the minimum Line of credit, like loan amount requests, he would be able to tap into it. So you can look at it from that perspective. But I have a guy right now who is already thinking about doing a helock, but he's also putting 40 percent down. But he just wants something to have just as an emergency, like backup right.
Speaker 1:So like we'll look at it for him Somewhere between, like the next four to six months and just say, hey, like do you feel like you still want to consider this, and not based upon the fact that you are gonna close next Friday and You're just like, mmm, I'm getting ready to put all this money into it, sort of a thing. So we just look at it from that perspective and again, everyone's situation is different. That Answered your question.
Speaker 2:I did answer my question. I'm trying to think because I had another question but I got wrapped up in that.
Speaker 1:So you needed some coffee and not your usual trash coffee. Like good coffee.
Speaker 2:What is my trash coffee?
Speaker 1:I won't say their name.
Speaker 2:Starts with an S.
Speaker 1:Well, no, that's just because of where you go. It's trash, because it's never hot.
Speaker 2:That's true. I said it starts with an S of people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's not like you never mind, so I wanted to ask you and it's been a question that has come up lately.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm I.
Speaker 1:And this is just part of a recap from episodes ago. But, like how do you view home inspections? And like what does that conversation look like if you have someone who is just like I don't really have the money for a home inspection and if I do, then I need to talk to my lender because it's just gonna change certain things and like what does that look like? Or whatever.
Speaker 2:So a home inspection is something that we talk about from the very beginning in our buyer's consultation too, Like we had talked about in our last episode of getting like the expenses upfront, like prepare for it, Because it is important and I always suggest that my buyers have a home inspection. This is what we see with our eyes, is not gonna be with the inspector sees. You know they're gonna go in, they're gonna really check all of the appliances. They do check appliances, but I mean, like the mechanicals is what I was trying to say the HVAC, the hot water tank, make sure that the well is good, Like all of the things that you're gonna wanna make sure you are prepared for if something goes wrong. Like that you're preparing for the future.
Speaker 2:So there are typically, I would say, anywhere between like 350 and 500 for a general home inspection, depending on the company, using what that includes. One of the things that I talk to my buyers about and I feel this way, very much is okay. So say, we go in, we spend $500 worst case scenario on some inspections. That does not include well and septic but then we release from the house. You spent $500 and saved a whole lot more yeah $100,000, $200,000, whatever the cost of the house is.
Speaker 2:We have a conversation about what to expect in a home inspection you're gonna get. It's very rare I get a home inspection and it's nothing on it. I mean, that's never happened. There's always gonna be something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause it could even be a brand new home. Oh yeah, new builds have stuff all the time.
Speaker 2:Nobody's using it, like in a new build. Nobody has used it yet.
Speaker 2:So, once the inspector gets in there, like, oh, this faucet is leaking, or oh, this outlet doesn't work, it's not wired correctly, things like that. So, being prepared, the difference between like this is just a general maintenance of the home. These are things that, as a homeowner, you're going to keep up with, so be prepared for that. And then these are major things that we should address or look into. And then something that we're seeing a lot recently I would say me personally in listings it will say selling as is, like seller will make no repairs. So knowing that doesn't mean that we can't have a home inspection you always have the right to an inspection. But still, looking at it that way too, being a little more objective as we go through knowing that, hey, the seller's already set up front, they're not willing to do it. So are these things that you're gonna?
Speaker 1:Be prepared to take on Be prepared.
Speaker 2:yeah, have the funds to do it. Like one thing, I just had one where the furnace was old, like it was very old but it was still functioning very well, and the inspector's like I would just budget for it the next few years, and they're like, yeah, we can do that. As long as we're not coming in tomorrow, we can budget.
Speaker 1:Nice, I like that. I've actually had three clients find out, thanks to a home inspection, that it was well water instead of like city water.
Speaker 2:Interesting, so it was marked wrong on the disclosures.
Speaker 1:Yeah, on three and and like the one, actually the inspector couldn't tell cause it had access to both, but we didn't know until we got the appraisal and it was just like if you don't know, you don't know, and if it's not, on the disclosures correctly.
Speaker 2:It's interesting that the seller didn't know Were they like estate properties, were they?
Speaker 1:The one that they did not know. It was actually just it was bank owned.
Speaker 2:Okay. And so it made sense, and that's especially, I would say, bank owned properties and stuff you want to have inspections cause of situations just like that, where they genuinely don't know, because they're sitting at a desk somewhere. They're just an asset manager.
Speaker 1:And how do you suggest if a client should do like a rate on?
Speaker 2:So I get this question almost every time and it's so like, yeah, because for me personally, okay, I can't even give my opinion on it. I just have to give them the information and say here's some information about rate on, what it is, how it works. It is in your discretion. We can ask the seller if they're going to be willing to fix it. If not, is this a deal breaker for you or are you going to be able to budget if rate on is high? Cause if it's over 4, 4.0 in Ohio, that is technically high.
Speaker 2:So for people who don't know what they do during a rate on inspection is they put a little monitor in the basement over a 48 hour time and it's like constantly reading the levels of rate on. If the average is over 4.0, then they say it's considered high and they would recommend a mitigation system. They can range from 900 to, I would say, 1500 on the high end to have a mitigation system installed. So is this something you're willing to budget or is this going to be a deal breaker for you? If it's going to be a deal breaker, we need to have it tested and negotiated, and I usually have that conversation with the listing agents when I'm putting rate on a contract. It is the one inspection that they push back on because there's so many opinions on it. Some sellers are like this is so stupid. Other sellers are like, hey, we already had one installed, or we're willing to work with you, you know so.
Speaker 1:Like things like that are so fascinating to me cause I'm just like okay, well, like did you grow, like you know a third year or something because of it.
Speaker 2:Well, and it all depends too. I've had buyers where they had rate on it was very high and they're like we're not going to use the basement, Like we're not finishing the basement, we don't care. But that's not. Everybody stands on it and it's fair If you're going to have a kid living in the basement, okay, fair.
Speaker 1:Or if, like that's like a kid or a family hangout spot, then sure. Or if your laundry is down there and if you're someone who you know is a saint, who you know like, folds laundry as it comes out, as it's done in the dryer, and you do it like while you're at the washer and dryer.
Speaker 2:Sure sure.
Speaker 1:But I don't know, I don't know. It's just, it's fascinating to me that it gets pushed back on. But also if someone says like hey, it's been an issue and people are just like I don't know what I'm supposed to do, and then if they ask me and I'm like I don't know what you're supposed to do either, and legally I can't tell you, what to do.
Speaker 2:I've had buyers say well, what would you do? And I'm like I would research, I would form an opinion based on facts, and that's all that I can, all that I can offer for you, cause it's this is your home.
Speaker 1:So Good old. What would Jesus do for you? What would you do?
Speaker 2:I would research, I don't know. So that's a good question.
Speaker 1:You're an overthinker, so I don't know what that research would be.
Speaker 2:So I would go back and forth a hundred times before I made a decision.
Speaker 1:And you mentioned something that, like you know, properties being sold as is. Do you feel like that is going to continue to happen and that buyers could technically be in a position to where it's something that they should prepare for?
Speaker 2:So as we head into spring, we are very hopeful that the market picks up right, that rates are going to come down a little bit. We're going to sell their houses. We're going to see that I could see a world again where it is actually buyers saying, hey, we're going to have an inspection, but it's for our knowledge only.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And some sellers. I think that we're always going to see that, but I'm very hopeful it doesn't go back to where they are having to waive inspections to win in multiple offers.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I'm sure that will still happen.
Speaker 1:honestly, Okay, before, like we wrap this up, one thing I will say is that because inventory is so low and I had three of the same people right on the same house recently, I also had that's stressful. It is stressful, but it's different because everyone's situation is different, so it's like I can only guide you to fit your scenario. And then also I had someone who lost on a bid. He went $35,000 over asking and he was one of 11 offers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yep, that's back too. So yeah, I'll put that on the next.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's just Buckle up, buckle up.
Speaker 2:We're ready.
Speaker 1:We're ready. We'll talk to you guys soon.
Speaker 2:Very soon Toodles.
Speaker 1:I can't stand you 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. You can reach us at Christopherlynch at CCMcom. And my email is blaymanrealtor at gmailcom. All right Toodles.
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