How to Buy a Home in 2026 w/ MG The Mortgage Guy

Summary

Earn Your Leisure Podcast Summary

Episode: How to Buy a Home in 2026 w/ MG The Mortgage Guy
Date: January 21, 2026
Hosts: Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings
Guest: Matt Garland (MG The Mortgage Guy)

---

Main Theme / Purpose

This episode centers on the real estate market in 2026, unpacking whether it's a good time to buy a home, how to navigate affordability challenges, the impact of economic policy and interest rates, and practical strategies for buyers—including new updates in financing options and group purchasing. MG The Mortgage Guy brings over two decades of direct mortgage experience, aiming to demystify the market for both new and seasoned buyers.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Will Home Prices Drop in 2026?

[06:31–08:56]

• Market Outlook: MG asserts that a housing market crash is "unlikely" in 2026 due to persistently low inventory and stable demand.
  • “There’s not enough supply out there or inventory out there for home prices to really crash like the Internet is telling you.” —MG [06:49]
• Price Growth: National home price appreciation remains positive, albeit slow (~1.7% YoY for 2025, compared to the long-run US average of 3%).
• Compound Growth: Emphasizes the ongoing net worth benefits of owning real estate, due to compounding appreciation.

2. Interest Rates & Federal Policy

[08:56–11:39]

• Current Rates: Rates recently dropped to around 6%, with some buyers able to secure rates in the high-5% range.
• Federal Actions: MG notes that the Fed resumed buying Treasuries (resembling a “QE lite” policy), and potential government intervention (Trump’s proposed $200B Fannie Mae bond buy) may bring rates even lower.
  • “I think 2026 is going to be a great year for interest rates.” —MG [09:21]
  • Predicts rates could reach low-5% or even high-4% by 2027.
• Refinancing Surge: Application volume is up 120% as rates fall; more buyers expected as further drops occur.

3. Is Now a Good Time to Buy?

[11:39–14:23]

• Affordability Threshold: The best time to buy is “when you can afford to buy it”—putting personal finances above market timing.
  • “There’s no better time to buy real estate than when you can afford to buy it, right?” —MG [12:17]
• Negotiation: 2026 (with rates not yet at lows) is a rare window for buyers to negotiate, which vanishes if rates drop and demand surges.

4. Overcoming Affordability & Creative Buying

[14:23–23:18]

• Affordability Crisis: First-time homebuyer age is rising; homes increasingly “feel” like luxury goods.
• Supplementing Income: For those who feel priced out, MG advocates developing new income streams (e.g., learning to invest in stocks).
  • “If you can’t afford to buy a house right now, that’s okay. Learn how to trade and watch Market Mondays... Learn how to create another source of income.” —MG [15:07]
• House Hacking & ADUs: New Fannie Mae rules make it easier to add and finance accessory dwelling units (ADUs), using rental income to help qualify.
  • Up to two ADUs now possible on single-family homes, and part of rental income can count towards qualifying.

5. Group Buying & Multigenerational Strategies

[23:25–31:26]

• Cultural Models: Many immigrant communities pool resources to buy, live together, and build collective wealth—MG encourages this approach.
  • “It gives you the opportunity to have group economics… I am 100% with it as long as you got your paperwork together.” —MG [25:06]
• Ego & Pride: MG argues that pride prevents more Black families from leveraging collective buying, encouraging listeners to set ego aside for greater gains.

6. Policy & Institutional Buyers

[28:03–31:10]

• Ban on Institutional Homebuying: Recent political moves to curb large investors (e.g., companies with 1,000+ homes) may be more “good press” than substance.
  • “If you look at institutional investor, it’s a small piece of the overall pie… I think these institutional investors are smart and they’re going to find a loophole.” —MG [28:22]

7. Owner-Occupant vs. Investment Property Debate

[33:25–40:27]

• Challenging the "Never Buy Where You Live" Mantra: MG counters Grant Cardone’s notion that only investment properties build wealth.
  • “Stop letting these people like Grant Cardone trick us out of our generational wealth… We have people that died before us to give us the right to buy homes.” —MG [34:10, 39:53]
• Access & Equity: Historically, homeownership fueled generational wealth, especially for Black families.
• Asset Reality: Most first-time buyers can’t access 20–30% down payments for investment homes, nor qualify for commercial loans.

8. Programs, Resources & Tactical Tips

[40:40–43:08]

• Down Payment Assistance: Hundreds of programs available; use HUD.gov, local government portals, and AI tools for research.
  • “You got chatGPT… it’ll give you all the information… 2026, this is the easiest in the world to become a millionaire.” —MG [41:04]
• Programs like NACA: Offers 100% financing, proven as a stepping-stone to more advanced real estate moves.

9. Mortgage Mistakes & Planning

[42:59–45:11]

• Self-Employed “High Income” Pitfall: Mistaking gross receipts for net income; banks lend based on taxable net, not revenue.
  • “You make $2 million a year. We see your taxes, you make $25,000 according to what you told the IRS.” —MG [43:08]
• Specialty Loans: P&L and bank statement loans can help self-employed buyers.
• Strategic Planning: Urges listeners to treat buying like a business, with annual “mortgage planning” alongside CPA, realtor, and loan officer.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Seven straight summers. Critics might not admit it, but nobody in financial literacy did it quite like we did it.” —MG [05:39]
• “There’s not enough supply out there or inventory out there for home prices to really crash like the Internet is telling you.” —MG [06:49]
• “Appreciation... is compounded. That’s the beautiful thing about investing, right? Everything compounds.” —MG [07:38]
• “If you can’t afford to buy a house right now, that’s okay. Learn how to trade... create another source of income.” —MG [15:07]
• “Accessory Dwelling Units... are a game changer... you can get 100% of your rehab costs. This is a home run.” —MG [17:43, 23:18]
• “Ego and pride, we need to cut that. We need to leave that back in 2025 and be smart about buying real estate.” —MG [27:30]
• “Stop letting these people like Grant Cardone trick us out of our generational wealth.” —MG [34:10]
• “My overnight success took me 23 years. A lot of y’all trying to get it in 23 seconds.” —MG [42:12]
• “You have to do a mortgage plan every year... you are the CEO of this real estate business.” —MG [45:11]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro/Chit-chat: [04:28–06:31]
• 2026 Market Outlook: [06:31–08:56]
• Interest Rates & Fed Policy: [08:56–11:39]
• Is Now the Right Time to Buy?: [11:39–14:23]
• Affordability Strategies/ADUs: [14:23–23:18]
• Group Buying & Multigenerational Living: [23:25–31:26]
• Ban on Institutional Investors: [28:03–31:10]
• Owner-Occupant vs. Investor Debate: [33:25–40:27]
• Down Payment & Program Resources: [40:40–43:08]
• High-Income Mortgage Mistakes & Planning: [42:59–45:11]

---

Takeaways

• The real estate market in 2026 remains under-supplied; expect steady or slowly rising prices, not a crash.
• Lower rates are reshaping buying opportunities; act before increased competition returns.
• Creative approaches—ADUs, group buying, and new guidelines—can unlock new paths to ownership.
• Wealth-building includes both real estate and stocks: “It’s not or, it’s both.”
• Use all available resources, plan with professionals, and reject “get rich quick” mentalities.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone anxious about entering the housing market or curious about what new options and policy shifts will mean for homebuyers in 2026.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Guaranteed Human well, the holidays have come and gone once again. But if you've forgotten to get that special someone in your life a gift, well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday offer of half off unlimited wireless. So here's the idea. You get it now. You call it an early present for next year.

[Facet Financial Planner]

What do you have to lose?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Give it a [e-mail] switch limited time.

[Podcast Host]

50% off regular price for new customers. Upfront payment required $45 for 3 months, $90 for 6 months or $180 for 12 month plan taxes and fees. Extra speeds may slow after gigabytes per month when network is busy see Terms this episode is brought to you by Kleenex Lotion Tissues Cold season has a way of showing up like an unexpected plot twist right in the middle of big moments, good stories and days that are already full. That's why it helps to keep a little comfort close. Kleenex Lotion tissues help protect, soothe and moisturize your skin, giving you the support you need right when you need it. Whether you're commuting, binge, listening to your favorite show, or managing a little family chaos, Kleenex lotion Tissues are made with coconut oil and aloe. For whatever happens next, grab Kleenex.

[Facet Financial Planner]

When it comes to your money, confidence changes everything at fasst, you get flat fee financial planning from a certified financial planner. No commissions, no hidden agendas, just objective guidance that covers everything your money touches. With a personalized roadmap and help to stay on track, you'll feel confident you're making the right decisions with your money. Facet Financial Planning for the life you want. Visit facet.com to get started at a.

[Podcast Host]

Sponsored by facet, an SEC registered investment advisor. Not an offer to buy or sell securities, nor is an investment legal or tax advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.

[Public Investing Representative]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, LLC SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comdisclosures Earners what's up?

[Co-host Rashad]

You ever walk into a small business and everything just works like the checkout is fast, the receipts are digital, tipping is a breeze and you're out the door before the line even builds. Odds are they're using Square. We love supporting businesses that run on Square because it just feels seamless. Whether it's a local coffee shop, a vendor at a pop up market, or even one of our merch partners, Square makes it easy for them to take payments, manage inventory and run their business with confidence all from one simple system. One of the things we love most is seeing neighborhood businesses level up. There's this West Indian spot right in our community that started with a small takeout counter. Now with Square, they've been able to expand into a full sit down restaurant and even started catering events across the city. That's the kind of growth that inspires us. And it's powered by Square. Square is built for all types of businesses from the corner bagel shop that turned into a local chain to to the specialty market with thousands of unique items to the stylist who's been holding you down for years. If you're a business owner or even just thinking about launching something soon, Square is hands down one of the best tools out there to help you start, run and grow. It's not just about payments, it's about giving you time back so you can focus on what matters most. Ready to see how Square can transform your business? Visit square.comgoeylash to learn more. That's square.com go backslash eyl don't wait, don't hesitate. Let Square handle the back end so you can keep pushing your vision forward man.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

What's good?

[Co-host]

What's good?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

What's good fellas?

[Co-host Troy]

What's up my boy?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

My brother.

[Co-host Troy]

How you doing man?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

We are blessed. Thank God for another day. What's poppin?

[Co-host Troy]

Love to highly favor my brother.

[Co-host Rashad]

Don't be mad at me man. I meant to text you that that TSM thing man, it just.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Yeah, I'm looking in the group text right now And I'm seeing that return group text.

[Co-host Troy]

Dry as hell, right?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Yo, I just saw that it was the WI fi. Damn, that is crazy, bro.

[Co-host Rashad]

But I have called you. I have called you.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

So shout out to Troy. I'm on my Troy ish for 2026. Stay low, keep firing. You might not see me aftermarket Mondays tonight, live or anything for the rest of the day while I do a deep dive and get things right on my end. So shout out to Troy. I'm taking the page out of his book for 2026. And maybe for the near future, I might post once every other week and it might just be some fly pictures of me and myself. You never know.

[Co-host Troy]

But just the personal time. Keep to yourself, my brother.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

I'm just going to keep everything to myself.

[Co-host Troy]

I'm mad at you.

[Co-host Rashad]

Stay low.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Key firing.

[Co-host Rashad]

That's a fact, my guy. Welcome back to the show.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Look, seven straight summers. Critics might not admit it, but nobody in financial literacy did it quite like we did it. We did it like seven straight summers. There's nothing no one can tell me. I want to hear no foolishness in 2026 from nobody.

[Co-host Troy]

Thank you.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

It's seven straight summers. Get your numbers up.

[Co-host]

That's a fact. That's a fact. So Matt Garland, licensed real estate professional loan officer, friend of the show, has been on every platform that we've ever had. Invest fast, earn your leisure market Mondays. I don't think you've been on blackout. That's probably the only.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Blackout. I got something I got some ish to talk about for blackout. That may be the only other time you see me on the Internet this year. Let's set it up.

[Co-host]

So let's talk about real estate. We haven't talked about real estate in a while. Okay, so we talk about stocks all the time. Is it a good time to buy stocks? Is it a bad time to buy stocks? So 2026, we here right now. Will home prices drop in 2026?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Good question. In my professional opinion, no. There's not enough supply out there or inventory out there for home prices to really crash like the Internet is telling you. Look, a crash is unlikely, right? So 2026, I believe it's going to be a flat year. Existing home sales right now are still at a 3 low territory. The national medium home price in 2025 is still up year over year, 1.7% year, year over year. It's slow growth, but if you look at the historic growth of home appreciation, if you look back like 65 years, homes generally appreciate around 3% on average, right? What we saw during the pandemic was a unicorn years when homes were appreciating 20 plus percent. But nationally, where we have 1.7 on average, is still appreciation. And it's compounded. Everybody type in chat compounded. That's the beautiful thing about investing, right? Everything compounds. So appreciation, whether it's slow growth, whether it's flat, whether it's skyrocketing, you still gotta account for the other years prior to it, right? And the people who are in the market, meaning they own real estate, those are the ones who are gonna win. And the people who are gonna sit on the sidelines and try to double dutch they way into, you know, you know, double dutch, right? Everybody from the hood, when you kind of like, you know, I'm saying one foot in, one foot out, you double dutching it, right? You folks are going to be the ones who are going to lose out on this appreciation, lose out on this potential to change your net worth. So I would humbly say I don't think home prices are going to drop. I don't think there's going to be a crash. I'm kind of like a broken record when it comes to the subject, and I still haven't wrong. I've been saying this for five years, six years.

[Co-host Rashad]

These are facts. MG when we talk about investing, we always talk about catalyst events. There's a couple things that are coming up this year. We're getting a new Fed chair. I know you were excited about this $200 billion mortgage bonds thing that Trump is talking about. All that's going to affect interest rates. We're down here. Was it today's the 19th at 6%. How do you see interest rates heading into the rest of 2026?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Man, I love anytime I hear the government talking about buying bonds or buying Treasuries, which not for nothing, since December of 2025. What a lot of people don't even realize is that the Feds have already started buying Treasuries again. They quit quantitative tightening back in December and they not calling it QE anymore with the easing. It's like, I like to call it QE light, what they're doing right now, because you remember during pandemic, they were buying trillions of dollars, billions of dollars worth of bonds. And that's why we saw this significant drop in interest rates the way we did. But the Feds is already buying Treasuries right now since December. And when Trump came out and said that he wants Fannie mae to buy $200 billion worth of bonds. That hasn't happened yet. But if you add that on top of what the Fed is already doing, I think 2026 is going to be a great year for interest rates. You know, rates hit a three and a half year low recently. They're right around 6% right now. But you can definitely get, if you're looking at a 30 year mortgage for a primary residence, you can definitely get in the high fives, mid fives, just depending on the product, the program and your credit score. So rates are definitely lower than what they were a year ago. And if you look at refinance applications, refinance applications up like 120%. December home sales, you know, one of the best numbers of 2025 was in December for the amount of homes that sold. So with rates coming down and, and Trump keep talking about the housing market, man, I love it. Anytime he's talking about the housing market, man, I get a rush because I already know it's just a matter of time before the floodgates open and there's going to be a lot of buyers that are going to hit the market once they start seeing rates in that mid low fives on a regular basis. And that's just going to bring a lot more competition out there. So I think rates by this time next year, by 2027, we might be in the high fours, low fives. Beautiful thing.

[Co-host Troy]

Okay, how much do you think appreciation will happen in houses? And then for anyone who's new tonight, and maybe they haven't heard you speak, is now a perfect time to buy? And can you talk to them about how important it is to not miss out on this opportunity because the prices of homes have gone up so much in the last five or six years.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

So. That's a good question. I think there's always an opportunity cost for anything that you do, right? A good friend of ours hit me up tonight, was telling me he just got an offer on the house that he's not even trying to sell for a million dollars more than what he paid for two years ago.

[Co-host Rashad]

That's funny.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

I told him to call you, shout out to the good friend. He called you too. Yo, good friend is making his rounds and calling the experts, you know what I'm saying? But like, and guys, I'm glad this, I didn't know he called y', all, right? But that's just what's happening. He has time in the market and people are, are out there wanting to buy. We're not talking about, you know, a small house. We talking about you know, multimillion dollar home. So if folks are new to me, please understand there's no better time to buy real estate than when you can afford to buy it, right? I don't care what the market is doing. You got to look at your individual goals, right? Look at your credit, look at your assets, look at your income, your job security if you're self employed, look at your business, look at your net if you're self employed to see if you can really afford it. Because home homes are not just your mortgage payment. You have expenses that come with maintaining that house. And especially the way taxes and insurance are increasing rapidly across America. It's not about what that payment is for your first year. You got to be looking at five years down the road. So if you can afford real estate, then I believe absolutely you should go ahead and buy. But buy smart, right? Stop buying at market prices, stop buying at these retail prices. You can look on Zillow and MLS and work with realtors, but you got to learn the art of negotiation. Right now the ball is in your court as a buyer. But that is going to be short lived if these rates go down. Because as these rates go down, it's going to bring more buyers into the market, which is going to create bidding wars. And I don't want to hear nobody in the comments talking about, oh, he's crazy. There ain't going to be no bidding wars. You ask some Realtors in some of these markets today, they still have bidding wars happening and they, they haven't dropped down over the past couple years. Now every market is different, every market is local. But you know, I definitely think people should definitely buy if you can afford to buy.

[Co-host]

Real estate is fastly becoming a luxury item. The average home, first time homebuyer is in their 40s. For the first time ever, less and less people are buying home, can afford to buy a home. So, okay, for the people that said, okay, I understand real estate's an investment, you know, but how can you, how can you buy a home? How can, how can, how can the average person buy a home in today's economy? Like, what are some programs, what are some tips, what are some hacks? What is some advice that you would give somebody that just feels defeated in the, in, in the, in the marketplace?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Good question. If you feel defeated and you don't know if you can afford to buy the home? Because let's face it, affordability is definitely an issue in most cases. But I'm gonna be real with you guys. I've been doing this for 23 years. 2026 makes 23 years I've been in the mortgage business. I'm not just a content creator. I am a licensed professional. Allow me to reintroduce myself. Matt Garland and MLS number 58700, better known as MG the Mortgage Guy. Doing this for a long time. This is my Jordan year and since I've been in this game, people couldn't afford a house. There's always been an affordability issue just depending on where you live and where your income is. I think where people got to focus. If you can't afford to buy a house right now, that's okay. Learn how to trade and watch Market Mondays, big facts and. And learn how to create another source of income. Like you guys were talking about all these great stocks earlier, right? Let's talk Munich, right? Cause Troy hit me a couple weeks ago about mu and I'm gonna just keep very transparent with everybody here tonight. We have how many people? Almost 5,500 people watching us live right now. When I looked at the contract price, I kind of took a step back. I said, holy smokes, this thing's expensive. And I think it was at like 260 at that moment. Troy and I text her, I said, yo, bro, I got a lot going on. I don't know if I want to buy a couple contracts of this right now. But what I said to myself, I said, you know what, Matt? Scared money don't make money. Let me at least put it in the stock. Let me not buy some contracts because this is a long term play. So I'll start feeding my long term portfolio and I put a couple, a couple dollars into it so that way I can have time in the market. Even though I didn't go for the options, I went for the stock and fed my long term portfolio. That one stock right now was up 29% since I purchased it and I have some gains right now. So if you're someone who cannot afford a home and maybe you have 10,000, you have 15, you have 20,000, you have shows like Market Monday out here that's teaching you every single week for free, for free. And giving you plays and things that you can now go ahead and research and now you can make extra money, right? So that's for that crowd. For the folks who don't have the money, who may have limited savings, you have to learn how to invest and pick up this skill set. Because even for myself, y', all, and I'm being very transparent with y'.

[Co-host Troy]

All.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

When I saw that, I said, you know what, Troy? This is my year when I'm going to learn this game like I know real estate. And by this time next year, I'm going to beat the S and P by a landslide. I even told y' all when I came on this backstage, like, this is my year to beat the S and P by a landslide. Because I am a believer in this and I'm a believer in y' all teaching, right? So that's number one. Rashad, learn how to learn a skill set to make more money. Now, if you are someone who can buy a house, but you feel like it's still not affordable, and you might not want to be the person who wants to house, hack your way to wealth and do the 4, 3, 2, 1 strategy or buy multifamily and things like that. Well, the ad, the zoning laws are changing nationwide where many cities and states are now allowing not just for one adu, adu, for those who don't know, is an accessory dwelling unit is basically like a tiny home in your house, on your house, on your property, Right? So many of us live in these states where even New York just approved, where you can have an ADU in your backyard or convert your basement into adu, Right? Because they understand affordability is an issue. These states have these options to where you can have ADUs, but Fannie Mae just came out a couple weeks ago, and now they have expanded their ADU rules, which allows you now, and they will give you the money for rehab as well, where you can now have a single family unit and put up to two ADUs on that property. Right. And Fannie Mae will allow you to use one of the ADUs, rent, at least 30% of that rent, to allow you to qualify for the mortgage as well. So if you're buying a primary residence and you have the capability in the town allows you to have an adu, whether it's a detached garage, attached garage, a basement, you can build it on your property. This is a great way for someone who probably can't afford to live on their own or afford that mortgage 100% to now supplement their income on a single family. And if you are someone who lives in an area where there's a lot of duplexes, Fannie Mae allows you to now put up to 2 ADUs on that duplex as well, as long as you don't exceed 4 tonal units on the property. So what we're starting to see on the mortgage side, mortgage guidelines are now starting to catch up with the times because they realize Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, fhfa. They realize that the times are changing and we have to make things happen for the consumer in today's 2020.

[Facet Financial Planner]

When it comes to your money, confidence changes everything. At Facet, you get flat fee financial planning from a certified financial planner. No commissions, no hidden agendas, just objective guidance that covers everything your money touches. With a personalized roadmap and help to stay on track, you'll feel confident you're making the right decisions with your money. Facet Financial planning for the life you want. Visit fast.com to get started at a.

[Podcast Host]

Sponsored by Facet, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Not an offer to buy or sell securities, nor is an investment legal or tax advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.

[Public Investing Representative]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, LLC SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not invested recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures hey.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

This is US Olympic gold medalist Tara.

[Public Investing Representative]

Davis Woodhull and I'm US Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

As athletes, our lives are about having a clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust. So when it came to getting the best mortgage, we chose PennyMac. PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you.

[Public Investing Representative]

Learn more at pennymac.com PennyMac Loan Services.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

LLC equal housing lender NMLS ID 35953.

[Public Investing Representative]

Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

And Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply.

[Facet Financial Planner]

So you want to start a business? You might think you need a team of people and fancy tech skills, but you don't. You just need GoDaddy arrow. I'm Walton Goggins, and as an actor, I'm an expert in looking like I know what I'm doing. GoDaddy Arrow uses AI to create everything you need to grow a business. It'll make you a unique logo, it'll create a custom website, it'll write social posts for you and even set you up with a social media calendar. Get [e-mail] Arrow that's godaddy.com airo6market so.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

To me, I think this is a home run and you can get 100% of your rehab costs. This is a game changer right here.

[Co-host]

Well, let me. Let me just follow up if I can, because what do you think about from a standpoint of group buying as far as like, you actually, you deal with people that get mortgages, right? So I'm interested to see your perspective as far as I'm assuming a lot of your clients are black. Because I'll never forget, in our neighborhood, it was a house. A Mexican family moved in years ago and it was a joke at first because it was like eight cars in the driveway. But then every year the house got bigger and then eventually there wasn't as many cars. So other communities buy real estate in tandem, like, and then they live in it together and then they might refinance or get on their feet and then they. I don't really see too many people in our community do that. So is that something that I think needs to at least be thought about? And another thing that needs to be thought about as well is the encouragement of marriage. If you really think about it, marriage is something a lot of people think like you. You, if you don't have money, you can't afford to be married. It's actually the exact opposite. If you on a lower economic spectrum, that's like one of the first things you should do because that's actually going to help your situation from an economic standpoint is two incomes as opposed to one. Like, the less money you have, that should be the more reason why you're actually getting married.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Facts.

[Co-host]

But you see this. So what do you think from. Just from that social construct, man, I think it's.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Look, if we look at our Hispanic brothers and sisters, they've been doing this for decades. This is nothing new. Right? This is something that's been happening all over New York, where we from. I love it personally. It gives you the opportunity to have group economics. Right? It's just another form of it. Now obviously you gotta have your paperwork together, you have your agreements, you know, have an attorney kind of write something up and make sure that you protecting your interests as well. But we're starting to see more co buying that's happening. Especially if you can get a duplex. You know, you have basically two. Two families and two households are putting their money together and now they're in a duplex and each has one side. Right. So I love it, Rashad. I think it's something that we're going to continue to see a trend. I'm starting to see a lot more marketing around that. Like what? We starting to have more like family compounds and I'm starting to see more listings being sold like that. Shout out to Boosie too. I know Boosie has a family compound. He brought a couple acres and like a whole neighborhood just for him and his kids and his family. But even if you see just regular houses, I've seen a lot on Tick Tock just in Florida, like multi generational living, right? Like that's just becoming a thing because it's just more affordable for everyone to live under the same roof. Because look, you said earlier, Rashad, that housing is a luxury. I think the opposite. It's a necessity. Because if you don't have a home or if you don't rent somewhere where you gonna be homeless, right?

[Co-host]

So it's like having a home is a luxury.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Correct? Correct, correct. But being a homeowner. Being a homeowner is definitely a luxury, but I think it's also a necessity in my opinion. Right. Because I. I'm just an advocate of ownership. Just me personally and I encourage people to buy buy smart. And if co ownership, multi generational living situations works for you and yours, then I am 100 with it. As long as you got your paperwork together.

[Co-host]

Because Indian, Indians do that a lot also.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

The Indians do it a lot in Queens too. And like you said, it'd be like a whole three, four families living in a one single family, four or five bedroom house and they chop the whole house up and they stack their money, then they help the other person get the other house and then it just continues to cycle. You look up five years. Everybody is a homeowner, right. I just think in our community we have too much ego and too much pride and we need to cut that. We need to leave that back in 2025 and, and be smart about buying real estate.

[Co-host Rashad]

MG Something happened last week I would love to get your opinion on. We saw the administration put a ban on large institutional investors from buying single family homes. I want to know your thoughts, good, bad and different. What does that mean for pricing? What does it mean for inventory? Just your thoughts around it.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

They talking about it, but nothing has happened yet. I think if you really look at institutional investors, and when I'm saying institutional investors, I'm saying folks who own a thousand plus units, that's only 1% of the buyer pool, right? I think everybody, let's call a spade a spade, right? And folks probably ain't gonna like what I'm about to say right now. But like, if you look at institutional investor, it's a small piece of the overall pie of what's being purchased right now in certain states like Atlanta and Sunbelt, states like, like, like Arizona, things like that, you might have a higher population, you know, certain parts of Florida, a higher population of institutional investors buying up real estate. But if you look at the grand scheme of things, there are more mom and pop investors buying investment properties than there are institutional. And for me, I'm curious to see how they will regulate that or what's going to be the government's definition of institutional investors. Me personally, I think these institutional investors are smart and they're going to find a loophole and they're still going to buy. So I don't think it's going to stop anything. It might slow down until they figure out all the mechanics of how to get around it. But I don't think it's going to stop anything. I think it's good for the press and I think it's good for, you know, trying to get votes. And short term, short term, I think it's good market manipulation too. At the same time, I mean, I think we got to pay attention to that because who are these institutional investors? They're the ones who put, they're the biggest donors too at the same time. So you think, guys, let's be real here. Do you think the money is going to let, let anybody stop them from getting money? Like that's going to hurt folks politically when it comes to raising funds, right? These are the masters of the universe, for crying out loud. So like you got to really look at what's really happening. And I don't think it's really going to do much. I think if anything, once you start having that level of government intervention, there's nothing stopping them from trying to stop the everyday mom and pop like us from buying homes. What if they come back and say, well, if you buy over 50 units, you are now institutional investor. Now we're all screwed because everybody wants this. Well, not gonna say everybody, but most people, as you start growing and growing, you want to continue to grow and grow and scale, why not? Right? So me personally, I want to see how that plays out. But right now it's just a rant on social media.

[Co-host Troy]

Listen, I never heard you talk about this compound and generational multifamily house play, right? How do you structure, let's say I want to buy a compound for me, Xander, my mom, dad, cousins, in terms of financing, how do you structure that?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Good question. Good, good question. So first, first things first, you will have to get a, first of all, you have to find the land that can fulfill that, right? And let's just say if you're going under 10 acres, under 10 acres is easier to get funding. If you want good financing, like good construction loans, you know, a paper type of rates and stuff like that, under 10 acres is doable. You have to get a construction loan to do something like that. You probably wouldn't be able to get a construction, a permanent loan, but you'll have to get a construction loan which is typically like 12 to 18 months. But most lenders who are going to do something like that, they're going to fund the first initial house, right? That primary house is going to be the one, you're going to get the construction loan and build that up. And then when you want to do the other, other homes on there, you will have to get separate loans for those. If you, you know, if you want to get financing for it, you have to get loans for those properties to now do the construction for that as well. So it's not something that I've seen happen like right away when people are doing these family compounds. That's why, look, look how many years Boosie has been talking about the family compounds and he's been slowly but surely just building, building, adding to it, adding to it. It's something that takes time and a lot of capital because construction, even if you are getting loan, you're always paying for something out of pocket. So if someone is looking to do a family compound, you better have some capital with you because there's a lot of expenses out of pocket that you're going to have to cover too. But it's not too far fetching. It's, it's something that we're starting to see all over because there are, there are areas where you can get 2, 3, 4, 5 acres and start building and build your compound.

[Co-host]

The growing theme on social media is that it does not make sense to buy a Home to live in. It makes sense to buy a home from real estate from an investment standpoint. But if you should rent, you should rent where you live, invest your money, stock market, other investments. And if you do buy real estate, the real estate, that real estate should be an investment property because you're not generating cash flow from where you live. It's not a good investment. The taxes is going to kill you over the course of time. What do you say to the people Grant Cardone's champion this for a long time that say you buying real estate and living in that property that you buy is a bad decision.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Okay, let's talk about this. I'm glad you brought this up. So first of all, rest in peace, Dr. King, right? This is MLK Day, everybody type MLK in chat. 68 years ago, a week after Dr. King was assassinated, they passed the Fair Housing Act. Right. We are now what, 58 years later. And if you look at the homeownership rate, Rashad, 42% in 1968. And if you look at 20, 25, we're around 44%. 45 maybe. So in 58 years, our homeownership rate only went up 3% compared to our white counterparts like Grant Cardone, who by the way purchased his first home. And if he's vocal about how that got him started in real estate. Yeah, right. Our white counterparts were in 68, they were what, 65%. And now today they're standing at 75% homeownership rate. So I think what we have to start doing as black and brown people is stop letting these people like Grant Cardone trick us out of our generational wealth. Because these folks have their generational wealth. And if you look at someone like Grant Cardone, and I think Grant Cardone is a very smart businessman, but you have to look at everything with a grain of salt.

[Co-host Troy]

Yeah.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

First of all, if you are a first time home buyer and you are out here trying to buy a rental property, first things first, banks don't like you. You're a first time home buyer. Banks don't like to fund investors if they're a first time home buyer. And when I hear folks say, oh, your first deal should be commercial, it should be six units, it should be 10 units, you definitely ain't going to get no loan from doing something like that. Because the banks don't want to mess with a rookie. You have no skin in the game. Where's your experience? Right. So you have to look at from a funding perspective, what they are saying is that even Reality or is it just for likes and views? Now what you're saying, okay, your home is not an asset, the expenses go up, it's going to keep, you got to keep paying for it, it's not an asset. But if it grows in appreciation and you're able to tap into that appreciation, pay for your college, pay for a business. Right. Invest into other real estate, is it not still some sort of an asset? Now I get the whole, if it's, if it's not paying you, it's not technically an asset. But I think as black and brown people, we can't go by that. Our circumstances are completely different. Talk about another thing. To buy a rental property, how much down payment do you need? 20%, 30%? Folks can't even come up with 3%.

[Co-host Troy]

Yeah.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

So how the hell do you think they're coming up with 20%, 30%, 40% down in today's market to buy an investment property when they ain't got it? And then that's when you see people doing all the credit card plays and the business funding and now getting themselves into that matrix of debt. Because like you said, Rashad, I see this firsthand. People call me every day, all day, crying about their debt because they did all these different plays or they listened to this person and they thought it was going to happen the way they thought it was going to happen, like they said it was going to happen and it didn't. Right? So I think we got to take everything with a grain of salt. And this is why I say said earlier, you should only buy real estate if you can afford it, right? There's nothing wrong with renting, absolutely nothing wrong with renting. You need a place to live. And if you are going to rent, I think you should look into real estate investing and learn about real estate investing. And if you have an opportunity to buy an investment property or investment property in a place like Ohio or Michigan or somewhere where it's cheaper, and if you don't have to put so much out of your pocket to acquire it, and if you can get some sort of funding for it, great, terrific, go for it. But for the average person who is afraid of out of state investing, who don't live in these cities, who live in New York, they live in dc, they live in la, they live in Florida and they want to be in their hometowns, like you're not buying an investment property first, you can't afford to for the most part. You could barely pay your down payment and closing costs now. And there's no down Payment assistant for investors. And don't get me started on trying to raise money like Grant Cardone and a lot of these folks out here do. Like, yo, a lot of the shit that these people are saying is to get you to give them their money, invest with them, to invest with them, because they know you can't afford it. They know you ain't got the knowledge. So wake up, people. Stop letting these people trick you out of your God given right to buy real estate. Look, we have people that died before us, literally died before us to give us the right to buy homes. Like, look, the Fair Housing act was passed a week after Dr. King was assassinated. They fought for us to have this right. And some of y' all just sitting on the sidelines listening to folks telling you, don't go buy a house, go buy an investment property. Go buy a 10 unit house.

[Co-host Troy]

All of them have homes.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

They all have homes. Every single person that says that.

[Co-host]

But from a mathematical standpoint, if you invest your money into the stock market over the course of time, you, you will make more money in stocks than in real estate.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

That you can't live in that stock.

[Facet Financial Planner]

All of that.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

No black people. Listen to me. It's not or it's both.

[Co-host Troy]

I'm with you always been both. I've always said that. It's not.

[Co-host Rashad]

You talked about people not having it. I'm with you.

[Co-host Troy]

Right?

[Co-host Rashad]

Because it is, it is. It's tough times, right? And we talked about FHA, we talked about all those things. I wonder in 2026, are there programs, are there initiatives for first time buyers that they may not be aware of, Right? Like are there programs that they can say, like, yo, there's download down payment assistance program. Like are there things that they should be made aware of that they probably didn't know in this, in 2026?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Yeah, I mean there's hundreds, literally hundreds of down payment assistant programs that's available. All you guys got to do is just Google down payment assistance. In my area, you can go to hud.gov and hud.gov has a list of, if you type in your state and your city, it has a list in your state of city of all the down payment assistant programs that's available, right? You got chatgpt, there's AI out here. You could just put it in there and it'll give you all the information with all the websites. Like 2026, this is the easiest in the world to become a millionaire. No matter if it's stocks, whether it's real estate, you don't Even have to pick your poison. You can do both if you do it the right way and if you use the technology that's in front of us to go ahead and do it. So the, the, the, the people that sit in the back say, I don't have the information or I didn't know. Shame on you. Like you in the back of the class not paying attention. Like, you gotta, you gotta get in the game. So yes, Troy, there's tons of down payment assistance. You still have programs like NACA that's out there that offer you 100 financing, right?

[Co-host]

We have an episode on NACA with Dre.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Yeah, Shout out to Dre, right? Like, and if you look at even like Dre, right, Shout out to Dre from Chicago, like, he went from NACA and house hacking NACA to now he's doing development all within 10 years, right? So you got to look at the stepping stones of this, that we live in such a microwavable society right now where people just want to put, put get rich quick in 60 seconds. Like, no, you gotta take time. I tell people all the time, my overnight success took me 23 years. Like a lot of y' all trying to get it in 23 seconds. You got to calm down, follow the blueprint, and trust the process. And then my Trayvo voice, stay low, keep firing.

[Co-host Troy]

Yeah. What's the biggest mistake? What's the biggest mistake you see high income earners making when they apply for a mortgage?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

The biggest mistake I see hot income earners make, oh, man, it's tons of mistakes they make. Most hot earners think, especially if they self employed, they think whatever their gross is, that's their net, right? And that's not the case. You know, I have, I have business owners all the time and come to me like, Yo, I made $2 million a year. We see your taxes, you make 25,000 according to what you told the IRS, which you're taking full advantage of the tax code, right? Which is a beautiful thing. But now I can't go traditional. Full documentation, conventional loans. But thank God we have programs out there like P and L loans, bank statement loans and things like that out there where we don't need tax returns, where we can use your monthly deposits in your business, and we can use that as your income. So I think one of the biggest mistakes that I see, not only hot income earners make in, but everybody who's looking for a mortgage, they don't do a mortgage plan, right? You always hear people say, you should do financial planning and stuff like that, but where does the mortgage plan that come into that? If you know you're looking to buy not just one house, even just one house, right? You should be sitting down with someone like myself and have your put your team together, your cpa, your realtor, your loan officer, and make sure everybody's on the same page so that way you understand exactly what your buying power is, what's the tax benefits behind it, and how do you really scale that net worth to the highest levels? Right? You have to do a mortgage plan every year. And if you're someone who's looking to scale and grow a portfolio, you definitely should be doing a mortgage plan with your team of professionals every single year to go over where you stand and what is my goals and how do we as a team get to that next level? But have to remember that you are the CEO of this real estate business, right? And you have to lead the professionals like myself in the right way so that way we can help you achieve your goal to the highest levels possible.

[Co-host]

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen.

[Co-host Rashad]

Economics M Jizzle. This episode is brought to you by PNC Bank. A lot of people think podcasts about work are boring. And sure, they definitely can be. But understanding a professional's routine shows us how they achieve their success little by little, day after day. It's like banking with PNC Bank. It might seem boring to save, plan and make calculated decisions with your bank, but keeping your money boring is what helps you live a more happily fulfilled life. PNC Bank Brilliantly boring since 1865 Brilliantly boring since 1865 is a service mark of the PNC Financial Service Group Inc. PNC Bank National Association Member FDIC.

[Facet Financial Planner]

Imagine knowing you're doing all the right things with your money. With fasst, you will. Facet's Roadmap Builder shows you the impact of every decision before you make it. A certified financial planner helps you with every facet of your life with flat fee pricing that doesn't rise as your money grows. Financial planning for the life you want. Learn [e-mail] ADA is sponsored by FASST.

[Podcast Host]

An SEC registered investment advisor. Not an offer to buy or sell securities. Nor is it investment, legal or tax advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance at cvs. It matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and reward, rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit [e-mail] or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

I already love same day delivery was Shipt, but it's so much better since I signed up for target's circle 360. Why? Because I no longer pay price markups from the majority of stores through Shipt. Only a handful of alcohol retailers and items don't count. That means no markups on groceries, pet food, even home goods and makeup. So to recap, I have more time to catch up on life while someone shops for me and I spend less. It's a win win. Order [e-mail] 360trees apply.

[Podcast Host]

Wasn't that delicious?

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

So good. Your bill, ladies. I got it. No, I got it.

[Podcast Host]

Seriously, I insist. I insisted first. Don't be silly. You don't be silly.

[Co-host Rashad]

People with the Wells Fargo Active Cash credit card prefer to pay because they earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

Rock, paper, scissors for it.

[Matt Garland (MG the Mortgage Guy)]

Rock, paper, scissors.

[Co-host]

Shoot.

[Co-host Troy]

No.

[Co-host Rashad]

The Wells Fargo ActiveCash credit card. Visit Wells Fargo.comActiveCash terms apply.

[Podcast Host]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.