
Loading summary
Rashad Bilal
Earners. What's up? Look, you know how every new year we set these big goals like saving more money, but somehow life just gets in the way? I mean, how many times have I told myself I'll stick to a budget only to see random delivery fees and subscription services eating away in my wallet? It's like the world is designed to spend our money. That's why I love Acorns. It makes saving and investing automatic so you can stick to your financial goals without even thinking about it. This episode of Earn your Leisure is sponsored by acorns. You've probably heard me talk about Acorns before and I'm excited to share more about how it can help you too. Acorns makes it easy to start automatically saving and investing so your money has a chance to grow for you, your kids and your retirement. Here's the best part. You don't need to be an expert. Acorns will recommend a diversified portfolio that fits you and your money goals. You don't need to be rich. Acorns lets you invest with the same spare money you've got right now. You can start with $5 or even just your spare change. You don't need a ton of time. You can create your own Acorns account and start investing in just five minutes. Basically, Acorns does the hard part so you can give your money a chance to grow. For me, Acorn Acorns has been a game changer. I remember looking at my bank statements and realizing I wasn't making any progress toward my long term financial goals. With Acorns, it was like flipping a switch. Now every little bit of spare change I spend is automatically invested. Over time, those small steps have really added up and it feels good knowing I'm working toward a better future without stressing about it every day. So head to acorns.com or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future today. Paid client Endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns Tier 2 compensations provided investing involves risk. Acorns Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor view important disclosures@acorns.com UIL ever wanted.
David Shands
To explore the world of online trading but haven't dared try? The futures market is more active now than ever. Ever in Plus500. Futures is the perfect place to start. Plus500 gives you access to a wide range of instruments, S P500, NASDAQ, Bitcoin, gas and much more. Explore equity indices, energy, metals, forex, crypto and beyond. With a simple and intuitive platform, you can trade from anywhere, right from your phone. Deposit with a minimum of $100 and experience the fast accessible futures trading you've been waiting for. See a trading opportunity. You will be able to trade it in just two clicks once your account is open. Not sure if you're ready. Not a problem. Plus500 gives you an unlimited risk free demo account with charts and analytic tools for you to practice on. With over 20 years of experience, Plus500 is your gateway to the markets. Visit us.+500.com to learn more. Trading in futures involves the risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Not all applicants will qualify. Plus 500 it's trading with a plus.
Rashad Bilal
Yeah, yeah, we bet, we bet. We back. We back again.
Kiana Watson
Okay man. Yes. Busy week, Busy week. Work.
Rashad Bilal
Don't stop. So we don't stop.
Kiana Watson
Oh yeah. So yes, very timely episode as you. If you've been following us, you know we've been doing these how to series. The last one shout out to Chris saying was how to, you know, start investing in stocks. We've done, we've done one on real estate with Matt. We've done technology, artificial intelligence, we've done taxes, we've done how to teach your kids about money. Variety of different stuff. So this one we wanted to go back to real estate but we want to take it from a different, a different lens. Last time we did like, you know, how to actually buy a home as far as like mortgages and the financial side of that of it. But we wanted to do the things you need to know before buying a home. So it's very, very, very important because a lot of times one of the biggest things that I think people are not fully aware of or educated on is what actually happens after, you know, you get an approval for a mortgage. Right. There's a lot of expenses, there's a lot of nuanced things that go into play and you realize it when it's too late and then it kind of, you know, put you in a tough spot financially a lot of times because you're not prepared or you didn't know or you could have made out better if one thing was done better. So we wanted to have a whole entire live where this is going to go over the things that you need to know before buying a home. So you need to know all of these things because if not then you'll be surprised.
Rashad Bilal
Yeah, I think one of those things is like again, we wish we would have known. I think it's for every level, right. If you're a first time buyer, if You've bought real estate before. Rules change, laws change, provisions change. And so you got to stay up to date with this thing. It's. It's not a game. And again, number one, it's going to save you time, but most importantly, it's going to save you money. Right. Because sometimes you prepare to get the home and everybody thinks, down payment, down payment, down payment. And there's so many other costs and nuances like you said that, you know, that could throw our budget off and we won't even be prepared to have the home.
Unknown
Right.
Rashad Bilal
We get that pre approval letter and it's like, oh, I can get this amount. Not so fast. And so we're gonna go step by step today to help everybody get on the right foot when it gets to having real estate.
Kiana Watson
Yeah. So we're gonna, we're gonna get into it and we have a professional that's gonna walk us through it. Somebody that's extremely qualified to have this conversation. One of the top, when you look at real estate agents, but somebody has actually built the real estate agency. And one of the top in Atlanta, one of the top in America, Kiana Watson, who's been doing this for a very long time and has sold millions, hundreds of millions of probably dollars of real estate throughout the course of her career, like I said, actually has an agency where other agents under her. So she's probably the most qualified person to speak about this from a real estate aspect because that's the whole point of having some. A professional helping you sell your home or helping you buy a home is actually they're supposed to be walking you through all this other stuff. So on one side you have somebody like Matt who's at the bank, who's giving you the finances to actually buy the home. But then you have somebody that's in the field that's actually walking the property, that's actually has to do the inspections, that has to, you know, negotiate with the other seller or buyer and earnest money and all that type of stuff. So you got to hear from both perspective because it's important. So gonna bring her up. And before we do, don't forget, you deserve to be rich. New York Times bestseller. You can go to youdeserve to be richbook.com make sure you get your copy. That's vitally important for your financial journey for sure.
Rashad Bilal
Good place to start.
Kiana Watson
Essential. Essential. Hey.
Rashad Bilal
Hey.
Unknown
How are you?
Rashad Bilal
We are great. How are you feeling today?
Unknown
I'm incredible. Cannot complain. Life is good.
Rashad Bilal
I would never expect anything less from you, Keanu.
Kiana Watson
For sure. So Kiana Watson, friend of the show. She's done several episodes with us before live events, invest fest, you know, the whole gambit. So somebody that has added a lot of value to not only your clients but a lot of people online that have gotten information, inspiration from the real estate cyber also like I said, from the entrepreneurship side as well, as far as I know personally. So a few people that actually have become real estate agents because of you.
Rashad Bilal
Yep.
Kiana Watson
And not even knowing you, just, just following your page, you gave them inspiration to actually become a real estate agent. So first and foremost, thank you for joining us. Appreciate it.
Unknown
Thank you. Thank you for having me. I can't wait to dive into this episode.
Kiana Watson
Yeah, no, I feel like it's important.
Unknown
Information they need to know. It's just so much information online. I think everybody feel like you can use technology and AI, you can chat, GPT, everything, but you really can't. Like when it comes to buying a property and understanding contingencies, financial obligations and all those details, that is not a Googleable, that's not Google information. You need to have an expert that can really walk you through those details and those layers. So I'm ready to share that and really set the record straight so a lot of people won't be so afraid of homeownership but understand the value and what to expect.
Kiana Watson
There you have it. So, all right, so everybody get ready. Hit the like button. Share. Okay, so as I said, you know, Kiana is going to go, so how we going to do this? How we've been doing this is that, you know, we have slides. We'll interrupt the slides and kind of ask questions and then we'll just feed it off now. But I know that you put together a presentation to kind of go over what you think is important for people to know before purchasing a home. So I guess we could jump, we could jump right into it.
Unknown
Okay, let's jump right into it. And this is just introducing myself, who I am, what I offer. I'm glad that you went over that. I do have a real estate company in Atlanta. I have at this moment 20 agents in counting that work with Watson Realty Co. We're here in Buckhead and we also have great partnerships with developers or with a lot of developers to list and sell their properties. But don't be afraid. This how this particular interview is all about first time buyers of people looking to purchase a home. I started my career off working with first time buyers and helping them navigate the process. So I want to make sure you guys understand that I have A training academy agent, Tools for Success where I have mentored several thousands of people across the uni, the United States and outside of the country to really learn how to navigate the real estate world. And beyond that, I've gotten plenty of accolades for marketing, sales recognitions. I do have my master's degree. I clearly understand business real estate. So I want to just kind of dive back right into this and jump into something that I want to say first because we always asking like what are the things? Like what should you know when it's time to buy your first property? And the number one thing that I think that most people need to know is before we just jump into it, everybody does not qualify for down payment assistance just because you're buying your first house. All right, let's jump right into it. Things you, you should know before buying a home. I personally feel like when you're buying your first property, you hear all these stories everywhere and that story is I'm going to qualify for some type of down payment assistance and because I'm buying my first home, the government or some big thing within, within the world is going to give me money. The truth is that is not the case. You do not automatically qualify for down payment assistance or any type of assistance just because you're purchasing your first home. You need to understand that these programs are designed for people that are in low income to moderate areas. So if you are beyond that amount or if you have more than a certain amount of money saved, or if your credit score is not at a certain place, you're not going to qualify. So for example, I'm licensed in the state of Georgia. We have what's called the Georgia Dream. Most people look at the Georgia Dream and say, yes, I'm going to use this to buy my first house. With the minimum credit score you have to have a 640 minimum credit score. You can't have more than $20,000 saved and you have to actually have a, you have to be in a low income to moderate area. So you can't make above like $65,000 in certain areas. And then certain areas you can't make above 59,000. So you have to really understand the qualifying factors for these for to have down payment assistance. So when you're thinking about buying your first home, I always advise you to start with a real estate professional. We get a bad rep, oh, they didn't show me the house, they didn't find me the house. But a real estate professional actually has relationships with a lot of different lenders. A lot of different brokers that can actually guide you when it comes to getting some down payment assistance and then debunk that myth of if you qualify or not. If you don't qualify, then you should be in a position to start saving for your down payment in your out of pocket expenses. So when you're looking to purchase a home, I think it's important that you understand your out of pocket expenses and debunk the myth that somebody is just going to give you money to purchase. Purchase your first home. If you do qualify, it's great. You should be able to utilize it to buy your first property. But if you don't qualify, don't be discouraged and get a better understanding of what you do qualify for. So that's just one of the biggest things I feel like I have to tell first time buyers. Sometimes I have people making over 150,000 a year, like, hey, I want down payment assistance for my first house. You don't qualify, so you have to position yourself to buy your first home and understand the importance of homeownership.
Rashad Bilal
Yeah, there's a piece there that, that gets confusing as well. Right. Like what do I qualify for? Right. So the, the home down payment assistance is one thing, but sometimes people get these pre approval letters and it's like, I'm approved for 400,000. That doesn't necessarily necessarily mean you're getting 400,000. I think there's a common misconception that happens around it. Can you clear that up for us?
Unknown
Yes. The common misconception is they will do an approval. But your approval has to depend on your loan type. Right. Certain loan types will go up to 59% or 60% of your debt to income ratio. Some are going to go 40% of your debt to income ratio. But if you understand how you want to live your life, most people have different, you have different calculations. Like you guys have, you deserve to be rich. And I'm sure you tell them about how you may want to live off 30% or 40% of your income. So if you're living off of that, why would you want your mortgage to take up 40% when your mortgage needs to take up maybe 30% or 25% so you can have the other remaining balance. To do what? To live and pay the utility bills and save and invest. So I would say instead of focusing on what I'm approved for, make sure you guys need to get what is called a gfe. A GFE is a good faith estimate. When you're talking to a lender, you can Go online and put anything in online and they're going to shoot you out an approval. That's a pre qualification letter. They didn't take the time to understand what your debt to income ratio is. They didn't take the time to have you submit your bank statements, submit all of your income that you're making. So they can really calculate what you are comfortable paying per month. So it's not about how much I can spend, it's how much I want to spend. So when you get a gfe, they're going to do an estimate of your out of pocket expenses. It breaks down your mortgage amount. It breaks down the amount of money you have to put down the interest rate at the time. We'll talk about interest rate, ladies. The interest rate at the time and then it shoots out. Okay, based on this, this is what your monthly payment will be with the GFE. It helps you to avoid saying I'm approved for 400,000 where you really need to say I'm ready to spend $2,000 a month on the mortgage and this is how much I need to search for.
Rashad Bilal
Gotcha.
Unknown
So it really helps a lot. I think that so many people are thinking I just got approved for this amount. A lender will approve you for the max. That's their job, is to approve you for the max. It's your job to protect yourself and say I don't want to spend the max. I have a certain budget of what I want to spend per month. And then you go retroactive with that good faith estimate and then your pre approval amount needs to reflect that and you need to stay within that budget because you don't want to be house poor. So as we move on, I hope that really makes sense for you guys. Too many people are just thinking about the total picture and not understanding. Homeownership is designed for you to build wealth. But you can't build wealth when you're putting all of your income just directly into the property. So you have a lot of financial responsibility as well when it comes to being a homeowner. So when I broke that down, what is your budget? You know what your budget is. So if you're already paying rent somewhere, which most of you are, and if you're not paying rent anywhere, calculate what you want to contribute towards your overhead. Because you think about a mortgage, your mortgage payment does not include your light bill, it does not include maintenance, it does not include your water bill, it doesn't include groceries like it. It doesn't include what you need to live. So when you Work on that. Create a very comprehensive budget and don't go beyond that because you have to plan for the long term commitment. One thing I always say about buying a property, that you have to understand the purchase price that you use to buy the property is stuck to you forever. You can't renegotiate the purchase price. You can go back and renegotiate what the interest rate is and refinance and possibly get a lower monthly payment. But the way that the economy is going now and interest rates are going now, who can predict when the rates are going to be low enough to refinance? So always go into it the first time being very cognizant of what you want to spend per month.
Kiana Watson
Okay. All right, let's go. I know you have a slide with some housing related expense. Housing related expenses.
Unknown
Jump to that.
Kiana Watson
So, yeah, let's, let's, let's talk about that.
Rashad Bilal
Yeah.
Unknown
Okay, guys, so let's just talk about some housing related expenses that you need to include. Right? You have your monthly mortgage payment, and your monthly mortgage payment includes your actual mortgage amount that you financed the interest that you're paying back on the loan as well as if you do, if you have to pay private mortgage insurance, that dollar amount will also be included inside of your monthly payment. You have to pay your property taxes, which is considered your escrows and your property taxes. That's one thing that does fluctuate. Your property taxes is one thing that fluctuates that most people do not account for. I saw this big thing on TikTok, so let's just address this head on. People are like, wow, my property taxes went up. My property taxes went up so high. No one told me about it. Well, it's a fluctuating expense. And the reason that it goes up, it goes up if the value of the area that you purchase in actually appreciates in value. So let me explain to you what a value appreciation is. So, you know, no, you may not like increased property taxes, but why it benefits you in the long run. If you buy a property for a half million dollars and in two years, that house is now valuated for $600,000. 500,000. Minus that from 600,000, you have $100,000 in equity. That means your home is now worth an additional $100,000 from the time that you purchased it. So when the tax assessor goes back out to the property and assess your values, they're going to increase your taxes because now your home is valued at more that benefits you. If you want to do A couple things. One, let's just say you suddenly need to sell your house and move to New York. You know, you want to hang out with eyl. If you need to sell your house from and move from Atlanta to New York, you put your house on the market, you have that difference in equity, and you could actually try to make them the numbers in the market. Sell it for 600,000 after agent fees, you'll come home with probably $70,000, right? That is what equity is. That's why it's so valuable. But if you just hold on to the property and in a couple more years, you want to actually do a equity line of credit, a home equity line of credit where you say, hey, bank, my house is now worth 600,000. I need $50,000. Can I leverage this house and get $50,000 to start my own business? That is why equity is so important. So, yes, your taxes will go up because they fluctuate. But getting home equity is something you should be proud of as a homeowner who wants in an area that's not appreciating, that defeats the purpose of homeownership.
Rashad Bilal
So go ahead. Here's the question inside of that, right? Because a lot of people will be doing renovations on their home. They're upgrading their home, right? How often is the tax assessor coming, right? Is it every six months? Is it one year, every two years so that people can prepare? Because a lot of times people will allocate their budget based on what the property tax is. Now, obviously, as you do improvements that will go up, hopefully, if you're in the right area, how often is that guy or that woman coming?
Unknown
They don't actually come out to your property. They look at what has been sold in the area. So you're thinking about a tax assessor. It's all digital. They're just looking at what has been sold in the area. So if your neighbor sells their property and they did some upgrades, it's going to affect you. They're going to look, oh, so this house actually just sold for 700,000. We have no idea what you did inside of your property. But what we're going to do is say, now this area, now this entire area is worth this dollar amount. So when these things happen consistently, the only time someone is going into your property, and I don't want to get too ahead of the game, is when you get an appraisal. You guys know what an appraisal is? So an appraisal will go into your property when you're ready to sell Your property or as a homeowner, if a home buyer, if you have. So if you're ready to buy a property, your lender will not give you any money. There is no lender in the United States of America that will lend you money without you getting an appraisal. An appraisal is a third party company. So no, you can't just say, I'm calling my friend, that's an appraiser and they're going to come out and tell me what this house is worth. That's not how it works. A lender will assign an appraiser to your actual file. The appraisal goes out and they will compare the condition of the property that you're interested in purchasing to three other properties that have sold on the market. When you get your appraisal back, they're going to measure the square footage of the home, they're going to look at the condition, they're going to look at market conditions, and then they're going to tell you if you, let's say you place an offer on a house for 500,000, the appraiser is going to say, hey, this house is worth 500,000, which is great. Or they're going to say, hey, you got a deal, this house is worth 550,000. That means you have instant equity. Or if they come back and say this house is only worth 475,000, let's just say that does happen. That means it's coming in below the actual price that you said you would purchase it for. That is your agent's responsibility to submit an amendment to reduce the purchase price, a copy of the appraisal, and advocate on your behalf to say, they're not going to pay the difference, the lender is not going to pay the difference, and I'm only going to buy this property for what it is worth. So that kind of leads into why you need a real estate professional. A lot of times y'all don't understand the contingencies when you're supposed to get money back, what you're supposed to do, and that's what happens with an appraisal. So all of that kind of leads into not your taxes. But to further answer the question, yes, it is important that your home is appraised at value when you walk in, so that way you can have appreciation and equity when you have in the instance you're trying to get out of it.
Rashad Bilal
Yeah. So let's talk about some of these other fees, right, because we know about the mortgage, some people know about the property. Tax, we know about homeowners insurance, but there's some other fees that, but wait.
Kiana Watson
But before we go to another slide, so, because we didn't, we didn't. I just want to make sure people get that, the whole thing. So can we go back to that? Can we go back to the slide?
Rashad Bilal
Yep.
Kiana Watson
So utilities is a big one because this is why a lot of people using, you know, different type of energy efficient things for their homes and that, that, that can save a lot of money. Right. And even setting up utility a lot of times as a process, water, gas, all that type of stuff. And then of course the homeowner's insurance. But the homeowner's insurance is vitally important now especially you look at California fires, you look at Florida, you look at floods. So okay, their taxes, we, we just talked about that, that's important. The mortgage is pretty going to be straightforward as far as on the bank side, you should understand those terms. But this homeowners insurance and the utilities, can you, can you talk about that? Because that's, that's something that people need to really have an understanding of what they're getting themselves into before they actually get the home.
Unknown
Absolutely. So let's jump into utilities. If you're looking for a single family home, it would be ideal. And I want you to write this down. Oftentimes agents don't do this. Ask the previous homeowners to provide you with a statement of what their utility bills are. Like, what are they paying on average for their light bill, what are they paying on average for their gas bill. Those are two controllable expenses that you don't really consider when you're buying a home. Why is this important? Let's just say you're buying a 5,000 square foot home on a basement and you're have you, you're coming from a two bedroom apartment that's maybe 1300 square feet. The difference in the amount of heat that's required to heat that space, the amount of H Vac that's required to cool that space, it could be almost the cost of it could really be thousands of dollars. So while you're out here assessing what your expenses should be, ensure that you call, you get that, get that information from the current homeowner before making your purchase. So utilities are such a big deal. And then when we talk about homeowners, homeowners association fees. So you guys are in New York, so a lot of times you guys are buying, not y'all because you know you deserve to be rich. But a lot of people are buying condos, townhouses, things like that. And there a lot of times those fees are included. So you get into a hoa, they'll say, here's an additional. I saw a condo here in Atlanta where the HOA fee is $1400 a month, but it includes the utilities and then it includes amenities. So it includes. So it kind of offsets. But you have to understand how that will affect your monthly payment. So ho HOA fees is a huge deal. I think we get a big, like, bad rep. I don't want a house in the hoa. It's good to it and it's not so good. The good parts of the HOA is if you are in a neighborhood, a single family neighborhood, and everybody has to maintain the exterior a certain way, everybody has to maintain the grass, their yards a certain way. It actually helps with your value appreciation. You're going to hear me say value appreciation a lot because I want you to understand that is the number one reason for getting into real estate and owning a property is value appreciation and ownership. That's it. So of course, HOA fees is something you need to consider and see what they're. What's included in that. And then routine maintenance. I most recently was consulting with someone and they have to get an entire new H VAC system. They got a quote for $20,000. Like, you can't call the landlord. You are the landlord. You are in charge of those fee of. Of that maintenance. So getting routine maintenance on your property and accounting for those additional expenses. I hate to scare people. Everybody has this scare tactic. I'm going to tell you, and I'm this is not even like, look into any type of home warranty companies that offer complete protection. So when you get a home warranty company that helps you with the routine maintenance. So instead of you being responsible for that $20,000 fee to replace the system, if you were paying a monthly fee into a home warranty company, then you could call them the same way you would call your landlord. Why do I want to say this? Because I'm sick of people trying to scare people into not owning a home, saying, my landlord can pay for that. Well, if you were paying a $50 fee per month and your H VAC system went out tomorrow, you would be able to call your home warranty company to cover it. So don't allow these expenses to scare. Be very aware that these expenses are there. So your job is to protect yourself. So again, unexpected expenses are going to happen. You're going to have to get your gutters cleaned Every year you're going to have to get your exterior of your property pressure washed every year. Some people do it every quarter. You have to consider that you want a home inspector to come inspect your property every single year, not just when you buy the home. When you initially buy the home, you do get a home inspection because you're negotiating with the seller for any defects in the property and you don't want to purchase a property with the defect. But what happens when you live in a home? There could be underground leaks that you are not aware of that continue to happen. Your H Vac could be at the bottom of like at the end of its lifespan. So you get a home inspection every single year. That's about five to six hundred dollars. But what it does is preventative maintenance. That preventative maintenance. Now you can call your home warranty and your handyman to address issues before they become too expensive. No one talks about that type of maintenance, but that's what it requires to maintain a home. So outside of that, you have the utilities, you have the just maintaining the integrity of your property. But then you also got to account for certain things. And I'm going to focus on single family homes because it's completely different maintenance than having a condo. A single family home you may want to take into your budget. At what point do I have to replace the roof? An average roof span is 15 to 25 years. So you have to think about that. At what point do I have to replace the H Vac system? They keep changing the Freon and different things in the H vac system that's typically five to 10 years. Years. Some of them are saying 20 years. So what you want to do is budget that get, and I will not stress this enough, get a home warranty. Get a home warranty and then make sure when you purchase your property you're getting scheduled and consistent maintenance of your home. That is not.
Rashad Bilal
There's a part here like we talk about the homeowner's insurance, but most people don't know about mortgage insurance. And I'm assuming if a lot of people are doing are being first time home buyers and they don't have the 25 down payment or 20 down payment, they're going to fall in this category. So talk about what that is and kind of give it like a explanation of what mortgage insurance actually entails.
Unknown
Yeah. So mortgage insurance covers the lender. Mortgage insurance does not cover your property. It covers the lender in case you default on the loan. So when you're paying mortgage insurance, a lot of People are like, do I have to pay it? Yes, you have to pay mortgage insurance. Unless you're putting 20% down. If you're putting less than 20% down. At some point though, what does happen? You do pay the private mortgage insurance, but at some point when you have invested more than 20% towards the principal of your mortgage, you can actually call your mortgage lender and say, hey, I have invested this much. I want the mortgage insurance to come off. The mortgage insurance will not cover your house if it's damaged. The mortgage insurance doesn't cover your house. God forbid, if there's a fire. It only covers the lender because the lender is taking a chance on you because you don't have enough skin in the game. You have enough skin in the game for them to say, hey, we're going to give you this, this, this mortgage. But you're putting less than 20% down. So we need insurance. On top of what, on top of what we're giving you just in case you default and you cannot satisfy the loan. That is what mortgage insurance is and you can't get around it.
Kiana Watson
So what's some best practices as far as for the homeowners insurance? Right, for the homeowners insurance. What's best practices that people should be aware of when getting a homeowner's insurance policy?
Unknown
You get what you pay for. Cheaper is not always better. And I feel like oftentimes when you're shopping with different home insurance companies, and I have great relationships with homeowners insurance companies, you're just thinking, this is going to affect my monthly payment. It is. They take the, the calculation of what it will cost you for 12 months and then you're paying on it every single month as a part of your escrows. Your escrows include your insurance and your tax taxes, right? So when you're thinking about, okay, I have to pay this amount, I would say shop and tell them the truth. If you have three Rolex watches in the house, right. And you just did an upgrade in your kitchen and did soft closed cabinets and wolf appliances, you need to tell your insurance company about this because what happens is you're getting insured at the house. Let's say you buy a house with, you know, GE appliances, you're just happy to own a home. You read the book I deserve to be Rich. You, you do a stock option play and now you want to renovate your kitchen. Now you and you go and do this whole renovation. It's a hundred thousand dollar renovation and you don't report it. To your homeowner's insurance company, what happens in the interim if your house catches on fire? Like I said, like what happened in LA and things like that, if you never paid the difference in that cost, it's not covered. So that's why keeping up with your homeowner's insurance and making sure that you tell your preferred insurance agency the truth about your assets, they can understand how much it would cost to, to actually re rebuild the property. Because there's different levels to insurance. Cheaper is never better. I will always say be educated about the level of insurance that you receive so in case something happens, because that is what insurance is for, you're covered.
Kiana Watson
And then also it's important because they had a study that like I think 30% of homeowners actually, they're paying more money in all the ancillary stuff than the actual mortgage. So you gotta have a budget, you gotta have an idea of how much money you're going to spend. Because if not, if your budget is like 2500 and your mortgage is 2000, you think that I got a 500 surplus. But then when you add all these utilities and the taxes and then the insurance and then you know, maintenance upkeep and the budget is actually your two thousand dollar a month mortgage actually turns into 4, 500amonth that you actually end up spending. That causes a lot of problems.
Rashad Bilal
Yeah, and one of those taxes that I don't even see in there is school tax. Right? Like everybody wants to live in a great neighborhood and go to the great school. Well, that costs. And so that, that's something that's getting paid semi annually or sometimes quarterly. So just keep that in mind. Like when you want to move to that great neighborhood because it's procedure. School, the people that own property there, they're paying school taxes, which is another amount that you're gonna have to put into that, that, that budget that you apparently thought you had when you were starting the buying process.
Unknown
Oh, and this is one thing I want to tell you guys, that I'm a, I'm a professional, right? So it shouldn't have happened to me, but it happened to me too. With homeowners insurance, one of my investment properties. I'm just like, why is this monthly note so high? What happened? Right. I did put down 20, so I, I just pay yearly, I pay annually. And, and it slipped my mind to renegotiate the terms of my homeowner's insurance policy. So they increased my homeowner's insurance policy beyond the limit that I wanted was comfortable with. So always remember you have to advocate for yourself. And every year when it's time to renew that policy, you do know you don't have to be stuck with who you started with. You can actually shop around, let them know you're shopping around. Shop three different people, tell them you're shopping, get the lowest rate and then every. But get the lowest rate that has the highest coverage. Let me say it one more time. Get the lowest rate that has the highest coverage and that will help with controlling your overhead expenses.
Rashad Bilal
Highly important, vitally important. All right, so how do we avoid overextending ourselves?
Unknown
Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. I'm serious. We have to stop. I, you probably, you're probably going to look at my page and say, who is she to talk all she posts these multimillion dollar properties. Well, that's how I started it. That's not how I started. You know, and you got to understand, your first home, depending on who you are and where you are in your life, may not be that multi million dollar mansion that you want, but that starter home will set the foundation for you to get to that next level. So assess your budget. You know, there are so many rules about how much you should save, how much you should live off of and how much you know you should invest in just your overhead expenses of living life. Ninth. So what is your budget? Is it going to be the 30 rule? You know, if it's like 30, you know, everybody has a different rule that they live by. I saw someone that said they're living off 30% of their income. They're investing, do you hear this? They're investing like 40% of their income. And then they're just saving the remaining balance. So what is your. Assess your real budget and don't go beyond it. And I would say add a contingency of about 5%. So if you think you can live off 30% of your income, reduce it to 25%. That way you can account for inflation. We are living in the day and age of inflation. We cannot control the cost of gas, groceries and living expenses. Next up, have an emergency savings. Have an emergency savings because things can happen. As a homeowner, as a homeowner, you are responsible for any of the overhead or any expenses to maintain your property. So make sure you have enough money to save and just consider the future changes that you, you may have in your life. So don't always think that this is going to be where I always am going. You know, where, where I start is where I'M going to finish. Real estate is nothing like that. You, you can start with a townhouse that's affordable. You can live in that townhouse. You can start with a multi family home, which a lot of people like to house hack. That is affordable. Live in one side, have the other side covering the mortgage. And then by, by the time you're ready to move on to your next level because you have invested in a business or you've gotten a promotion at your job, you can now elevate to the next level by selling that property, leveraging it as a rental and build your wealth and, and not feel. Feel. So would you build your wealth and not feel like I'm behind? That is why most people over leverage. You feel like you're behind and you're not. If you just bought one property, you're ahead of most of the people in the world. So just buy that property and not. Don't worry about keeping up with the Joneses.
Rashad Bilal
That's a fact.
Kiana Watson
It's good information. Okay. All right. So then we have to understand the cost of homeownership.
Unknown
Oh yeah.
Kiana Watson
Vitally important, yes.
Unknown
The cost of home ownership is. It depends on the program that you get. Right. There are so many different loan programs that are available. Let's just go over them. You have FHA financing, which is the most popular financing. That financing requires 3.5% as a down payment. However, your one time cost is going to be your down payment and then you have closing costs. Down payment, closing costs. So when you're getting a loan, FHA financing, 3.5% down. You have conventional financing, which is 20% down, 5% down, or 3% down, depending on the program that you use. You have VA financing, which is 100% financing. I'm only talking about the down payment. We're not talking about closing costs. So those are like the three different financings that you can use. Then you have one time costs. Those one time costs are your closing fees. What are closing costs? Closing costs are the cost for them to run clear title on your property. You're paying attorneys fees, you're paying any HOA fees, any activation fees. That is what goes into your closing costs. And they can typically be between 2 to 5% of the the entire purchase price of the home. Right. Your home inspection fees. You have to pay that you're still going to pay for your home appraisal. Your home appraisal is ordered through the lender, but you pay out of pocket for a home appraisal. And then you have to pay your moving Expenses of course you're going to have to move, transfer and get utilities in your name and maybe hire a moving service. Unless you're going to hire some of your friends. Right. But the ongoing cost of homeownership is property taxes and they will go up. Property taxes is something that's ongoing. Another ongoing expense is going to be maintaining the property. Maintenance of the property is something you are responsible for as a homeowner. You are always going to have to pay for homeowners insurance. That is ongoing expenses you are responsible for as a homeowner. And of course the mortgage. Because if you don't pay the mortgage, the bank is going to take the home back. So you're being foreclosure. So when you're thinking about the ongoing expenses and then the one time upfront expense expenses, be prepared to handle both.
Kiana Watson
Well, let's also talk about, I skipped the one important one, the dti, the debt to income ratio. So let's, let's, let's go over that if we can.
Unknown
Yeah, so most people think like how do I get approved for the mortgage? It's how they calculate your debt to income. Your debt to income is how they're going to say how much more money, how much more debt can we approve you for? Because getting a mortgage is a debt but it is a good debt, right? So to calculate your debt to income ratio you need to take your monthly recurring. Monthly recurring debt payments. So let's just say you owe, I'm going to make it simple. $10,000 in student loans. But you pay $100 a month. So you got that $100 a month that you're paying. Let's say you have a 300amonth car insurance, car payment that you're paying. So recurring bills are what they count to your debt to income ratio. And then you divide that by your monthly income. And when you divide make that division, that is how much they say okay, this is your calculation for your DTI ratio. And then they input that in the system and say well based on this amount we can approve you for this dollar amount. That's how you get these automatic approvals. But you still need to remember, get a what gfe, A good faith estimate. Make sure a lender does not have you just out here with the pre qualification and putting your hard earned money at risk. And you, let's just say you've paid. You know you people are paying earnest money. They're paying for home inspections and appraisals. And then a lender never did the detailed work and when they do a deep dive into your file now all that money is wasted because you technically don't qualify for the loan amount. So it's better to do all that upfront, submit your paperwork up front, be transparent about your income, your debts. So that way the calculation makes sense and you don't be house rich and income poor.
Kiana Watson
But then also it's important to do your own as well, because especially if you come from, if you come from renting, like if you rent an apartment for $2,000, you pay $2,000. And nowadays even luxury apartments, like before, you used to have to pay first and last month rent. But like with the luxury apartments now you just pay 500. So you pay a security deposit of 500 and, and you, you get the apartment, now you gotta pay the electric. There's usually like something like kind of maintenance fee, trash removal, like 150. But what I'm saying is this, if you get approved for $2,000, if you get approved for the mortgage, that doesn't mean that you can actually pay that mortgage, right? You gotta, now you gotta factor in all those other things. You, if you live in an apartment, you're not gonna be paying an additional $2,000, but you could be paying an additional $2,000 as a homeowner. So if you go into it and you just think it from like a renter's mindset of like, okay, the mortgage is $2,000, I'm gonna go and pay $2,000. I might add a couple of hundred in for, you know, now you might have that, you might have to add an additional fifteen hundred dollars in. So if you look at it from that standpoint, like the bank, even though the bank gives you this approval and says that you're qualified for this, like, you should do the numbers on your own as well to see what the real cost is going to be every month. Because that can be something that, you know, can really put you in a bad financial situation.
Rashad Bilal
Yeah, we, and we talking payments like for mortgages and insurance. That's not even including, like you have to live, right? And you may have children and you may have credit card debt, and you may have student loan debt, right? Like, all those things have to be taken into account. And so it's important before you make that decision to make sure that you lay this all out. The next thing obviously is your credit score. It's like, that's important for a multitude of reasons. I think everybody understands that, that. So imagine this, right? Like I, I know my credit score, right? I've been Trying to get this down payment. 20 has been the number, but I can't really get to the 20. It's tough for me to pay my rent, pay my student loans, all my debts and try to save to get to 20%. What are some of the procedures or some programs that I can, if I don't have 20% down to buy this home?
Unknown
If you don't have 20 down, I would say you first want to figure out what mortgage type you would approve, could be approved for. There are conventional financing programs that are really good programs and there's a 3% down home ready program that they could qualify for that is a conventional loan product. Or you could do a conventional product that's 5% down. You're putting 5% down. But just keep in mind you're going to have to pay that private mortgage insurance again because they're taking a risk on you. But if you're in a position where it's like I cannot save 20% down, but I have saved quite enough, you need to meet with a lender. And I say this all the time. People are so afraid if they pull my credit then my score is going to go down so much. Throughout the process of buying a home, they're probably going to pull your credit three times. So if your score, if you, your credit cannot handle a one time pool pull to prepare you, then you're mentally not ready for home ownership. I would tell them to give you what is called a home ready plan. So when they do a home ready plan, what is that? Tell them, tell your lender, listen, I want you to give me a home ready plan. In a homeready plan, they're going to run your credit, they're going to assess all of your income, they're going to do your debt to income ratio, they're going to talk to you about how much you want to spend per month. And if your score is not where it needs to be, they can do what is called a rapid rescore. A lender has the options to do a rapid rescore where they'll tell you where you could focus your energies. Like maybe you're paying debt down, but you're paying debt down in a, to a credit card or to a space that doesn't affect your score going up. But a lender will tell you exactly where to allocate those funds so they can get your score exactly where you need it to be and then connect you to the right loan program. You think that it's just one person? No. When you met, when you're Working with the mortgage broker, they're shopping your profile to several different lenders that are willing to take a risk on you and then they'll understand your buying power. That is how you empower yourself. You empower yourself by taking the first step. You can do as much as you want to in the background. But if you, if I were you and you have at least $25,000 saved and you feel like I can't get further and I have like a 620 credit score, but buying a house is on my goal list, now is the time to consult with the lender because home prices are not going down. We see that. So if you can get in early enough, that helps you because what you. But negotiation power is high. So you can negotiate. I just ran some numbers and again I can only speak for the metro Atlanta area, but I have agents in every city, especially New Jersey. I got a lot of agents in New Jersey and they are telling me they're able to leverage and negotiate and get more concessions from the seller and actually are getting more people to reduce the asking price because there are not many buyers on the market right now. Right. So you can leverage that to reduce your out of pocket expenses. And when you get a seller concession, what is a seller concession? Let me tell tell you a seller at concession is saying in exchange for you purchasing my property, I'm going to contribute this dollar amount towards your closing costs and that reduces your upfront out of pocket expenses. So and typically depending on the loan type, they can go up to 3%. Remind as a reminder, they cannot go above 3% of the purchase price, even a dollar above it. They have to reject it from the lending standpoint. So when you're using, you're leveraging the negotiating power. You're the out of pocket expenses and you're reducing the cost to just the home. Even with interest rates being where they are. When rates go down a point, my hope, my rule is at least a point and a half because you'll see a difference. If rates go down a point and a half, call your lender refinance. Now you're able to get a lower monthly payment, even lower than you already allocated. But you've already used all your leverage to negotiate the purchase price, which will never change, and then the reduction of out of pocket expenses, which will never change. That is how you win in today's market when you are a buyer.
Kiana Watson
No, that's, that's good information because you said all this stuff is stuff that nobody really knows. You just go and buy a home and you just winging it. And a lot of times, man, it puts you in a lot of trouble. Even could cause somebody to foreclose on their home. Let's talk about the different types of loans if we can. I know it is absolutely.
Unknown
So there are, technically there, there are different loan types. You have FHA financing. FHA financing is really kind of put together for, it's like first time for, really designed for first time home buyers. But you can be a second time home buyer and use it. You can have low credit scores. You can have a low credit score as low as 500. I've seen people offer the program and your down payment is 3.5%. Now you can put down more. That's the part people don't know. You can put down more which will affect your monthly payment. But typically you can put down as little as 3.5%. They actually are a little bit more lenient when it comes to your debt to income ratios. And you can use this loan type to purchase a home, a multifamily, up to four units. So FHA is the most popular loan type for first time home buyers. A lot of the down payment assistance programs that you heard me speak of, they're attached to the FHA financing. So I would encourage you, if you are a first time home buyer, meet with the lender, get with a professional and find out what your full picture is and what you're approved for. So that's one loan type. The next loan type is going to be conventional financing. Conventional financing is the traditional financing and there's several different conventional financing. Most people are using conventional financing to purchase their homes. They have the home ready program with as little as 3% down. You have your jumbo loans and the jumbo loan is a loan where you, you're absolutely more than likely putting 20% down. You're buying a home that is actually higher than what they will allow you to loan on. And so you get jumbo loans within a conventional financing program. You have a 5% down payment in the conventional financing program. They actually have a higher credit score minimum. But it works best for people with strong credit. And you are going to have the option if you put 20% down to not have the private mortgage insurance. So that is why when you're doing a FHA loan, you have to have private mortgage insurance. You don't have a choice. Right? Then another loan type is going to be your VA financing. And this is for veterans. If you're a veteran and you're looking to purchase a home, they have lower credit scores. And as you can see, it's about 580 on the credit score. But you have no down payment. You're only responsible for the closing costs. That's right. No down payment. Let me say this one more time. Zero down payment. You're only responsible for the closing costs. But what happens is when you're getting a conventional loan, you have to put 3% down. You pay that at the closing table. The VA financing says we're going to do no down payment. But there is a funding fee. But the funding fee is wrapped into the loan. So you don't have to pay it out of pocket, but you're still responsible for your closing costs. So keep that in mind. And this is only for military veterans. Veterans. So I really think that the VA benefits in the VA loan is underused. I'm from Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is a military town. I think that anyone that served in the military should use their VA benefit. You deserve it. You worked hard for it. It's the only financing that is giving you 100 financing. A very lenient back end system. And you're able to get in with very little money out of pocket. And that is the goal. As little money out of pocket up front as possible, you can become a homeowner.
Rashad Bilal
And this, this loan is for primary residence, correct?
Unknown
This is not like primary residence. It's your primary residence.
Rashad Bilal
And quick question. When you talked about the jumbo loan, seriously, what is the threshold? Because I feel like obviously it changes over. So what is now the threshold for a jumbo loan? What, what is the, the amount that you have to have in order to qualify?
Unknown
It just depends on the lender. Jumbo loans, they, they should shift, right? So when people say I was approved for a loan, right? It depends on your lending. So let me give you an example. I closed the deal in December. The house was $3 million. But the lender, based on the risk and the profile of the client was like we're only able to lend them based on what their debt to income ratio and their profile. 2.5 million. So the difference between 2.5 million and the 3 million, they had to bring a half million dollars to the closing tax table. So a jumbo loan is when you're buying homes that are multiples of millions of dollars and depending on the risk that you are, the lender is going to shop that around. But you are always going to at minimum put 20% down no matter what on a jumbo loan. But it could be more depending on your profile. And Your debt to income ratio, because the lender is the one taking the risk on that, on that jumbo loan. So your state, your, your state, you're in that, that fluctuates how much you can qualify for for a jumbo loan. Because they take into account like California, of course, the lending is higher. New York, the lending is higher. Atlanta, they're going in alignment with what the lending should be here. Then your credit profile and then what your debt to income ratio. That is how they calculate it.
Kiana Watson
So going off script, let's talk about some things like what is best practices to negotiate, like if somebody's buying a seller, because I know there's earnest money, sometimes you can negotiate different fees and stuff like that. So from a negotiation standpoint, what are some things that can be negotiated or at the very least looked at when purchasing a home from somebody?
Unknown
Let me break down what the buyers are responsible for when it comes to buying a house. I think that really helps. Let's start with number one, with this new segment from the national association of Realtors. What has happened is, and this, we didn't speak on this enough, but we need to. People used to say, hire me as your buyer's agent. My, my services are free. And now with this new lawsuit, the services were never free. The sellers actually did a lawsuit against the national association of Realtors saying, listen, when we sell our property, we're paying for seller agent representation. So when a buyer is in the field looking to buy a property, they should pay for their own buyer agent representation. So now you are responsible for the compensation of your buyer's agent. Unless your buyer's agent can negotiate it from the seller. We are no, we no longer advertise or market. Like when I list a property, I'll say, well, I'm going to pay a buyer's agent this percentage in order to bring me a buyer. We can no longer negotiate that. So you're responsible for that. And typically that fee is, can be up to 3%. So how do you negotiate? You let a buyer's agent know, listen, I'm only willing to pay you whatever that percentage is and you sign a buyer compensation agreement agreeing to that price. But also they are going to advocate for the seller to pay their compensation. So that's going to be the first thing that you need to actually negotiate. Secondly, you can save money. I personally don't feel like you should. Your energy is best used and you're negotiating the seller to contribute to your closing cost. When you're thinking about earnest money, earnest money is actually Applied to your. Your bottom line numbers when you get to the closing table. So if you want to win an offer and you're like, listen, as long as I have an agent that I trust and I can just say this, I have never lost a client's earnest money. I know the dates, I know the timelines. I know the rules.
Kiana Watson
This happened with Jada. You familiar with this?
Unknown
I know exactly. Let me. Let me. I wanna. Let me be as vague as possible. And you know, in Atlanta, that was not my deal, but I can tell you.
Kiana Watson
Well, she said it publicly. That's why I was speaking about it.
Unknown
Let me tell you what happened.
Kiana Watson
All right?
Unknown
What happens is this. There's contingencies to the contract. So when you saw that Jada lost her earnest money and she didn't want to move into the property. Property, there are contingencies. So a contingency is the timeline that you have to meet that all parties can use to get out of the contract, specifically the buyer. So when you submit 25,000 in earnest money on the. Let's just say for a contract, you have a couple contingencies. One, you have your due diligence period. A due diligence period in the state of Georgia and most other states do have, this is your time period to inspect the property and negotiate repairs prior to moving on to the next contingency. So if you have a 14 day due diligence within that 14 days in the state of Georgia, again, keeping up. And other states do have this too. If you get a home inspection, you get a roof inspection, and you come back and say, hey, seller, I did not like this inspection. I want you to make these corrections prior to closing, and your agent puts down those corrections. If the seller does not agree to it, it you can terminate your contract within that due diligence period and get your money back. Once you pass the due diligence period, then you have the financing contingency and the appraisal contingency. The financing contingency is the time period that the lender has to provide a letter of commitment to the loan. So when you first get your mortgage approval letter, that's an approval, but they have to now take the actual binding contract that you signed. And now they start submitting that binding contract along with all your other documents to an underwriter. And an underwriter will come back and say, this is a letter of commitment. We are committed to actually funding this property. Then you have your third one, which is your appraisal contingency. And we spoke on that. So in that Appraisal, contingency. If the home does not appraise that value, then your agent needs to do an amendment to reduce the purchase price. The seller does not. Let me say this again. The seller does not have to agree to reduce the price. They do not. So if you paid for a home inspection and you paid for the appraisal and the seller say, I don't care what your appraisal said. My home appraised at this value, you can terminate the contract and you can get your earnest money back. But all the other expenses that you spent to purchase the property, you will not get refunded to you. So in the case of Jada, I think it was a little bit of buyer's remorse probably when she was under contract to purchase the property. And I think it was like, like thinking about the exposure, you know, of buying that property. I don't think that. I think it. This is what happens when you buy a property. You need to work with an experienced agent that understands how to protect your privacy. So you should. If you are a celebrity or a semi celebrity, we have this issue all the time, and I hate to say it, especially when you guys are working with us and we're very social on social media people, and that's how we get our business. But when you're protecting the best interest of your clients, the number one thing they should be doing is purchasing the home in the name of an anonymous llc, or they should also be buying it in the name of a trust. And then the second layer that you need to add, I have closed plenty of deals that y'all know about that nobody else will ever find. Get it out of my name. Because anything that I sell is public knowledge. So what I do is I don't close the deals under my name. I close it under the name of the other agent on the other end. So when someone comes to my page and try to see who she worked with, they can't find it. It and you can't find them. And I think she had an issue with her privacy being exposed. She was afraid of the, of the, of, of actually closing on that property because she is a single woman in Atlanta. And I don't think that she felt comfortable. So she passed all of her contingencies. So when you. She should have made that decision within. For the state of Georgia, within her due diligence period, you can terminate for any reason. You can wake up and say, I just decided I don't want this house. And you get your earnest money back. It doesn't have to Be a in the state of Georgia, she passed that contingency, then she changed her mind. And her agent should have explained that to her. Like I always explain, as soon as your due diligence period comes, the day before you get an email, this is the last day to terminate. Do you still want this house? My team calls, do you still want this house? Otherwise, when you pass this one contingency, the only way out of the contract is what, what financing or appraisal. So she passed the contingency and she changed her mind. And that's okay. But you got to do that within your due diligence period. That's why it's important to take your time when buying. And also, if you are a public figure, take the time to make sure the person that's representing you understands how to protect you. Because I want to. I got to just say this. As a minority business in Atlanta, I see it happen so often. We're popular. I'm popular, and then I work with other popular people. And there's so many other people that are minorities, too. We want to get the luxury business right, but we can't put them out there. We got to be comfortable with our names being in the rooms instead of our blasting their addresses and their personal information all over social media. Which is probably why she ended up having the remorse she did have and she got out of that con and she decided to terminate the contract because she wasn't comfortable. She did subsequently end up buying something after that, though, and I think they followed those rules and it made her more comfortable.
Rashad Bilal
So let's protect each other in. In terms of inspection, because you brought this up and this is important. If I'm going, I'm looking at a property. Some of the things you can see with your eye, right? Like, I can see like the roof may need to be repaired, but then there's some things that you're not going to see. So what are the questions that we should be asking while expression has happened? I'll give you a prime example. I'm in a home right now. My plumbing right to the city line had a belly in it. Right. That repair cost me over $20,000. Right. That's not something I can see with the naked eye. So what are you telling clients as you're going to inspection? The questions that you should be asking, obviously, age and condition is important, but what are some other things?
Unknown
There are different levels to home inspections, right? So let's just say you buying a new construction property, you can just literally get the general inspection of the Property. But if you are buying a property that is a little older, you need to get a home inspector, you need to hire an engineer and you need to hire a plumber, a plumber that will actually inspect the pipes that actually go from your house to the road. When you did do an inspection from your house to the road, because that's what you're responsible for then, right? Where I know exactly what you're talking about and we're right where the city is responsible. Before you're responsible, if it's on your side, you have to pay for the repair. If it's on their side, they have to pay for it. But because you probably just did the general home inspection, it was missed because you need to actually do though it costs a lot of money to buy a house. So most especially if you're getting an older home. So I'll have a whole list. You can get a higher, an individual roof inspector, a plumbing inspector, a general home inspector, a H VAC inspector. So when you're getting all these inspections, it can cost you up to fifteen hundred dollars. But it protects your best interest in the long run. Whatever you don't do up front, you pay for in the end, as you're seeing for yourself. Had you paid for that inspection for the plumbing where they use one of those lights to go down the plumbing hole, you would have saw this and you could have negotiated this with the seller prior to closing.
Kiana Watson
What do you, what do you say about a real estate attorney? How important is that and how do you get the right one? Because then you got look at looking at the land and making, doing like the geo, the GE geological test on, on the land and stuff like that. So that's important as well, right?
Unknown
Yes. So if you're looking to purchase land and doing genealogical tests, keep in mind every state is different. So where you all are in like New York, the attorneys negotiate the contract. In Chicago, the negot, the, the attorneys negotiate the contract. Here in Atlanta the agents negotiate the contract. Our closing attorney doesn't come into play until it's time, until we're under contract and they're just running clear tight. Right. So how important is it to hire the right people? So if you're getting land and you know you're buying land to build a home, then you need to hire an engineer. So that way someone can actually look at the land. And you should also, if you should, you should know, hopefully you know, if you're going to build, you know exactly who you want your builder to be so they can do the soil test. Or you can hire someone to do the soil test and then also make sure that whatever you want to build on the lot, the setbacks that it's also set up, the setbacks. Understanding what you can build in the area, that's when it comes to actually hiring a professional, your attorney is not going to know that information. Now, you can order your own survey, but nine times out of 10, the average person doesn't even know how to read the survey. They don't know what they're looking at. But when you get. But if you hire the right people up front, I feel like what happens is again, this is Google University. It's like, oh, I could buy my own land. And then you get the land, you do the soil test. Now the house that you want it to be, skills you can't build on because you tried to save money up front by not hiring a professional, and now you got to go back and hire a professional.
Rashad Bilal
In the end, you, you, you are preaching right now. Topography reports, I didn't realize was so important. And even when you're buying a home, right, you think you can build things that you want on the land. And it's like, well, you got to get permits for the, like, even the permit process. Talk to people about that. I don't think people really understand that process. Right. To do everything.
Unknown
Yeah. I think that we, again, we have to realize that there's a reason that there, there are people that, that have dedicated their lives to doing those jobs. So you buy this land and you're told that you can do a adu, right? So I could just build me a little house in the back of my house because I got all this land. And then you go to get the permit and there's like, well, we're zoned this. And now you got to get it rezoned for that. And you got. They're not trying to help you because they work for, they work for the city. They just like, here's the paperwork. Let me know when you get it submitted before you, you, this is what you should be doing within your inspection period. It. This is what you, this is why you should be. If you know that you are buying a property and you got four acres and you want to build a pool and you want to do an adu, you should hire a general contractor to walk you through that process, pay them their fee, whatever that fee is, so that way you understand where you are and what your limitations could or could not be on that property. You can't just get land and Start building. It doesn't work like that. I mean, we wish it did. It doesn't work like that. Not in the state of Georgia, not New York. Now, there are certain areas that don't. They don't require GCs, like Texas. Texas has different zoning laws, but they still have processes. And I think the best way for us to avoid the pitfalls of buying land, thinking we can build whatever we want to do, or buying land to build a big house and then not hiring, not getting your, your own inspections. I represent developers, but I can tell you right now, if I was buying a house from any person, I don't care what developer it is. I'm going to get, get. If I'm buying land, I'm getting my own soil test with my own engineer. I don't care what you give me. I'm getting my own survey with my own surveyor. I don't care what you give me. Because you have to keep in mind, you're the one responsible for paying the mortgage, not them. This is your, this is your asset. So why are you putting it in the hands of someone else? You should always make sure that you're financially prepared to invest in yourself and in your own knowledge and in the own paperwork you need. So in the event it doesn't work out and you're within your, your due diligence period, you can terminate and move on and get your earnest money back.
Kiana Watson
What are some red flags to look out for if somebody's buying a home?
Unknown
Ooh, I would say the number one red flag to look out for is one, when you're walking into the property, make sure that you take a second just to look into the utility closet kind of look at it. You're not, you're not. You may not be an H vac check, but I can tell you water should not be dripping down from anything. So check into that if you have an opportunity. Turn the water on in the bathtub. Turn the water on and see how the water pressure is. That helps you. If it's low water pressure in certain bathrooms and it's high water pressure in certain bathrooms, that could be a plumbing issue. When you're in the living room, like, not stop hard. This is like, this ain't like stomp the yard or nothing, but stomp down a little bit on the, on the subfloor to see if you could have like a squeaky or an uneven floor and you possibly could have a subfloor issue issue. Those are things I would look out for, especially if you're getting a resale home. If you walk into a basement and it's done, but you're like, hey, this looks like a done basement, but it just seems like the quality of craftsmanship is not there. Look up, go look that address up with the city and see if they ever got permits to complete that basement. And then ask the seller to provide you with any permits they did to complete the basement. Because if they hired just some Joe Blow to do some things and it wasn't permitted per minute work on the basement, it's hard to record that actual square footage. So now the, the square footage is not recorded with the city because it was never recorded. So you can't even use it for your value appreciation. And you want to check behind the work. Those are things that you can easily do on your own when you're looking at property.
Rashad Bilal
You spoke about this, and I think it's probably one of the most important pieces of the process. People overlook it. They don't really, you know, adequate enough money toward it. And that's the closing cost. Oh yeah, talk about that. The time it takes, what you should be doing to prepare for it, the best strategies when getting to that point. Because again, this is something that if you're not in this process and you have to get to the, you never get to the closing point. You really don't have a good idea of what it takes.
Unknown
This is what you should do. If you know that you want to buy a house and it's 500,000, you need to calculate. So you're, and let's say you're getting a conventional loan. So go ahead and calculate 5% of half a million dollars. That's your down payment. And now calculate 3% of a half a million dollars. That is your closing cost. Then calculate, don't forget, another 3% for buyer's agent compensation. You are now responsible for that cost. Now, I don't want to scare you, 99, 99 of sellers are still paying buyer's agent compensation because they under, because it has been embedded in them and they want to get their property sold. But buyers need to know, based on that new lawsuit, that is your responsibility. So 5%. 3%. 3%. So if I were you, I would calculate 10% of whatever purchase price to be. And that is the amount of money I need to have saved. That's what, that's what you have to have saved. That's including all of the expenses. And then think about it as a plus if you save on that dollar amount, because now your agent has advocated for you and now you don't have to pay a buyer agent compensation that takes away 3% and they're able to get 1.5% from the seller towards your closing costs. Now you're, you know, you're up four and a half percent rent, but the money is still in your bank account. Good for you, now you have some savings. But don't go into buying a home thinking you don't need any money. We used to say that and we used to do that and times have changed. This is how to buy the house in 2025. This is not how to buy a house in 2020 during the pandemic. This is completely different. So you need to be financially prepared.
Kiana Watson
Another thing that people don't really fully comprehend, especially like I said, if you just come from an apartment apartment is furnishing the home, right? Interior design, what. So obviously you know, that's going to depend on how big the home is, your taste, what you. And then you know, of course you can move some stuff in, even that's an expense moving, but you gotta move some stuff in. But if you move it from like an apartment to a home, you're gonna have to buy some stuff. You're not gonna be able just to fill a whole home with just a one bedroom apartment furniture. So what should they expect? And, and what's some, what's some best practices as far as, you know, furnishing homes?
Unknown
We don't want to get into more debt, do we? And I mean it's like you don't want to get into more debt on average to furnish a home. And it's just like an average home. You could use Wayfair, you know, Amazon has all these things, great products, you got a lot of different, different places you can go to Raymore Flanagan. But even if you go on the lower scale for a 3,000 square foot house, furnishing it with kitchen, a kitchen, table, chairs, couch, televisions, owner suite, king size bed, you can do twins or maybe queens and the other ones, it's $25,000 that is on the lowest, lowest end. And if you know what your furniture looks like. Who wants to put a very small love seat in the middle of a 3,000 square foot living room with top with, with two stories, two story windows, right? You're gonna have to account for that. I think we just need to save for homeownership and stop. I don't want it to be like it's easy peasy. It can be, it can be easy peasy, but you should save for it. And if you're responsible and you want to get like, like different accounts with these furniture companies and you feel like you can pay off the debt and this debt is going to help help you and you want to consider it positive debt. Then finance the furniture. But I wouldn't recommend it. I rather have the money saved to buy the furniture outright. So you again are not putting yourself into more debt. So you do have to furnish the place. And I know you've seen that expense about. I keep up with y'all renovation.
Rashad Bilal
You watching my story.
Unknown
Just know I get the marble floors.
Rashad Bilal
But that's important though, right? And sometimes relationships is important that that can help you in this process. Right. Sometimes having people that work in real estate, they have trade accounts and you know if you have a trade account, then you're gonna get, you're gonna get 20 down. I know that for R H, like even now, like you can pay toward that and now you're a member and you get a trade account as just being an individual. So there's some ways. But again, 25, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's real minimum. If you're trying to furnish something. 3, 000 square feet.
Unknown
Yeah, exactly. So you have to prepare for these expenses. You know, I've seen the videos where people walk into these empty houses. Like I used all my money on my down payment and now I'm sleeping on the air mattress. It should still be an accomplishment if you all. If all you have is a bed and now you have bought, purchased a home that you can afford and you're able to make enough money and you're have making enough money to save, leave and then spend a certain amount and take your time to furnish the place. Take your time. You know, Rome wasn't built in a day and you don't have to build your house in a day. But you do want to be realistic about how you need to live as you're purchasing these assets.
Kiana Watson
Yeah, I think you could definitely furnish a 3,3000 square foot house with $20,000. But. Absolutely. But the thing is. So it's also. All right, so we painted a very discouraging picture for homeownership. But it's a realistic picture. But I think for my philosophy, I. I think this speaks to the point of going down is, is helpful for the average person. Meaning if you get approved for a 500, 000 mortgage, try to buy a home for 300000 because you're going to have all these other expenses and as we say all the time, you don't want to be house rich and cash poor. And that's something that I saw firsthand when I was a financial advisor. People cashed out their 401ks, literally, they have no money money and they spend every dollar that they had to buy a home, just to buy a home. And then all this other stuff. So that's a trap for you to, to have debt for your whole entire life. And that's not a, that's not a pathway to financial freedom. So that's just important for people to keep in mind. Like just because you get approved for something, that doesn't mean that you have to go to that same amount. Right? Like you can go lower than that and then have excess money to do all of the renovations and buy furniture and pay, you know, the taxes and all that stuff, as opposed to going up to that max, liquidating all of your savings, borrowing money, and then you, you know, you're in a home, but as soon as something happens, then you're screwed. But then I gotta ask you this too. Well, you wanna say something?
Unknown
Yeah, I'll say this. It depends on what, how you see the value of homeownership. Like, I worked for a corporation when I purchased my first property and I did take money out of my 401k, but I didn't take all of my money out of my 401k. I leveraged it towards the down payment of a property which subsequently became a rental property for me. And then like six years later, when I finally did sell that asset, I made about $160,000 on selling that asset, which was pennies compared to the $19,000 I took out of my 401k at the time. So being smart. But that asset was actually less than $200,000. Now that was obviously a long time ago, but that goes to show that when you're looking to buy your first property, if you're keeping up with your own budget, you understand your entry and your exit strategy and you're buying this property to one build your own internal wealth and you no longer want to rent. You understand the value of home ownership, then use a portion. I'm okay with using a portion of your 401k, but you don't wipe it out trying to buy a million dollar property that you know you cannot afford. That is what happens. That is why that, that's what normally happens when people are buying a property. It's like they're trying to get something they can't afford to flex on People that don't care, like you should be only flexing on yourself. And if you are proud of yourself and what you've purchased, I don't care if you're sleeping on an air mattress mattress. Be happy that you purchased an asset and then you're leading your way and you're working with your way towards wealth. The hardest thing for most people to recognize is the houses that you see that are the things that you want to see. That's like, wow, that's a beautiful house that gets the most likes on social media. That's not going to be the house you buy and you live in. There are people that are making the millions of dollars that refuse to buy those type of assets because they see it as liabilities. At that point, they're only buying certain things within a bare minimum of their budget of their income income. So stay within your own budget and then you'll be just fine with understanding the value and seeing the value in home ownership.
Kiana Watson
And then I gotta ask you this before we wrap this is that for people, you're a real estate agent, right? So for people understand that they don't need a real estate agent because they're going to save money that way or they want to negotiate real estate agents prices. So what's, what's, what's the commentary for that?
Unknown
That I think that you have to assess the risk. That's how I feel. Assess the risk. If you want to work with an agent, there are agents out here and there are different companies that have flat fees. That basically means you kind of net they just do just enough to keep you within to tell you what you should expect on the contract and you can negotiate a flat fee as an buyer. I have had this happen to me a lot because I represent a lot of sellers. And so they'll come and say, well, I don't have an agent. And so therefore they think that they're going to save money. So the way that I do my listing agreements is there's a fee that I'm going to get paid regardless. So they come in, they negotiate their fees, they advocate on their behalf, and now there's a delay or let's say they're asking for certain things during the home inspection period. Well, they're asking me how do I read this Home inspection or what should I ask? Ask. I'm sorry, I, I don't represent you. I represent the seller. You are a customer. Tell me what you want me to ask them. That's how it goes. Tell me what you want me to ask Them. I'm not here to advocate for you. I don't represent you. When I'm representing the buyer, my job is to protect your best interest and save you as much money as possible. When I'm representing the seller, I'm there to advocate their best interest and make them profit the most money as possible. So if you feel like you're, you're savvy enough to understand these contract laws and what you read, then try it yourself. I can say nine times out of 10 doesn't work.
Kiana Watson
Is it a conflict of interest if, if the agent represents the buyer and seller?
Unknown
I do it all the time. It's called dual agency. It's allowed in the state of Georgia where the, the seller is going to be my client and the buyer is my customer. I'm always fair, but the advocate. But when it comes down to it, I'm advocating for the person that hired me and that's paying me the compensation, which is the seller. And that's what normally happens a lot. So when, seller, when sell, when they're coming saying, hey, I'm gonna save you some money. And then they're like, well, what's going on in the contract? The way I broke down due diligence periods, financing contingencies, Nobody's breaking that down to you. I hope that you know what those periods are, because if I'm representing the seller, I'm going to make sure that by the time you, if you, you submit your inspection a day after the due diligence period, I'm going to tell you, sorry. Thank you for providing us with this. However, your due diligence ended yesterday and we don't have to make any changes. You want to terminate, you can terminate. We're going to retain your $25,000 earnest money. I wish you the best on your home. Home buying journey. That's how it goes. So you're not saving, but you, you only, you know, assess the risk.
Rashad Bilal
Assess the risk. Here, here. Here's one of those things. And people get this confused, right? When we think about real estate, we think about our pathway to home ownership. People will sign the title. Some people end up on the deed. Talk about the difference between the two, because it is, there is a difference. And if you end up on one or the other, it could determine a lot of things in your future.
Unknown
Well, what happens is this. People always want to be on the title and the deed. When you're buying the property and you, it's in your name, right? You finance it through the mortgage company, you get it all financed you're, you're going to be on the title. That's, that's how, how State of Georgia is. You're going to be on the title and on the deed. But let's just say you're married and the wife is not on the mortgage, but the wife wants to be on the deed. Like Tyler Perry say, make sure your name is on the deed. Cool. You add the wife to the deed. The benefit is if you cannot sell the asset without the per. Both people that are on the deed signing off, you cannot sell it. But let's just say you go into foreclosure. Both people that are on the deed are now in foreclosure, even though the person that's on the deed is not on the mortgage. So the upside is, okay, I'm going to make sure I'm on the deed because he ain't going to make no changes without me. Forget that. That works. But then if a negative change happened, it also affects you negatively as well. So, so consider that when you're adding yourself to the deeds, it's like you, you do have the responsibility. As long as the mortgage is in good standing, it doesn't show up on your, in your name. And that's how people try to kind of house hack marriages. I don't know how to explain it, but like offset the debt. So like, the husband can buy the primary property, the wife can buy the secondary property, and it's offsetting the debt. But in the event, in the event there's a foreclosure or bankruptcy, everybody on that deed is responsible.
Kiana Watson
So, okay, it's a lot of information, valuable information. And then like I said, I think we, we kind of, you know, it's realistic. But I don't want to discard people from buying a home because it is still, you know, a valuable asset that goes up over the course of time as long as you buy correctly. But it is important to buy correctly and it's important to actually use professionals so you don't make mistakes, you know, using the wrong lawyer, using the wrong real estate attorney, using the wrong. Anybody that's in the process can actually cost you hundreds of thousands of millions of dollars of mistakes. So you, you know, as far as you actually are in the field. So I would say, the last question I would, would go to how can somebody know if they're using somebody that's good as far as a real estate professional agent, obviously they should use you if they're in Atlanta. Eight if they didn't land. Metro, metro area. And I'll let you say your information, but what are some things that you should ask a real estate agent or somebody in your profession to know? Like this is the person that I want to work with.
Unknown
I think oftentimes we're going too quickly. If I was a buyer in this market and the agent that wanted to represent me on the largest purchase of my life didn't have the time to sit down with me and, and explain to me the purchase and sell agreement, which is something you're going, you're going to see this as you're writing offers. You may write four different offers on four different houses. And if they've never explained to you the simple purchase and sell agreement and the contingencies and the timelines in your state, whatever your state is, your agent should be able to tell you at what point do you get your money back or what point do you not get your money back? So you're very aware of the contingencies of the, of the agreement. Then they also need to have an understanding of appreciation value. So whatever area you're looking to purchase in, they should be able to tell you what the appreciation values are in the area and what the market trends are in the area. That way you're actually going into an area where your asset is going to appreciate and you're going to see more value. They should know that. And then beyond that, you should make sure they don't have what we like to call commission breath. And it happens all the time. Someone trying to force you to hurry up and make a decision because they need the commission. We are all salespeople, but we should be advocates for our clients. So you should feel like they're advocating on your behalf at all times, actually, as a buyer fighting to save you money and showing you the proof of them trying to save you money. Emails, text messages, advocating letting the seller know who you are, why you deserve to get this concession. What's wrong with this property? Getting a, a mass negotiator is so important because it saves you thousands of dollars. Because I can tell you sellers are not just going to give you any, anything. So you should look for those, all of those qualities. When you're looking to hire an agent and ask them, can you show me your track record of sales? Like what is your track record of sales? I think it's okay to ask that question and look them up. I always tell people, you can Google me. I forget social media. You, you could go to Google and you can see my reviews right there. Somebody. What other people say about you is more Important than what you say about yourself, Yourself. And I just wouldn't trust someone that I didn't feel like had my best interest at heart. I know they're getting paid, but they're getting paid to perform a service. And that service is to advocate on my behalf, save me money, and get me in an asset that is going to be a positive asset for me.
Rashad Bilal
AKA Kiana says she popping in real life, y'all. But you know what? I'll end with this. A lot of people, and we run to a lot of people all the time, they look at real estate as the place that they're going to go when their career, you know, may not be something that they thought it would be. I'm going to get into real estate because they think it's. It's a way to make money, and they think it's an easy way to make money. I've seen you work, I've seen your agents work. The amount of dedication that y'all put into it. What's your advice for people getting into this space? What's the things that. The misconceptions that they should know?
Unknown
Oh, and I like MJ says Keanu is your fault. It's your fault. You're floating in the room, you're wearing jackets on your shoulders. I'm doing it right now. I give it, I take. I will take full responsibility. I'm a glamour person. Whether I was selling real estate or whether I was working at the McDonald's, drive through this, who I am as a person. But the knowledge that I have about the market, my invested interest in understanding real estate in all, at all facets of real estate, that is something that you want to have when you get into here. 75% of agents last year didn't even close a deal. They're leaving the industry because the influx of people that came when we had the pandemic and what happened was there were more buyer demand, interest rates were low. All you had to do was post a picture with your arms crossed, and boom, you could get a client. And everybody was just trying in a frenzy. Now it's like the cream of the crop is coming to the top. And because of that, if you want to get into this industry, take it seriously, know that it requires way more due diligence, way more negotiation skills than it did before. And it's not something that I would say would be, I'm getting into real estate because, you know, this is my way out of where I'm at. When it's 75% of licensed real Estate professionals that actually closed a couple deals, couldn't close the deal last year. I hope that you come into this industry with a different mindset that I'm ready to serve the best interest of people and advocate on their behalf and understand the hot, the contrast contracts, understand the contracts and be able to negotiate. Don't come here thinking it's a cute picture and I'm walking around with a Chanel bag and some Lubitins all day. That is just not the reality of what really happens behind the scenes. If you don't get a good grasp on both. I tell people that social media post is to grasp your attention. I need something. You gotta. Yeah, press the button in my bio. But when you reach out and you go through my assistant and you go through my admin and I go through my, my onboarding process and, and I explain the contract, I explain the liabilities of the contract, I make sure you understand exactly what you're getting into. I am like a human computer working on your behalf to protect your best interest. As you're buying a home. You can't be a hobby. This can't be a hobby for you. This is people's livelihood that they're investing in. They're using that last 20,000 or 30,000. The least you can do is be educated and make sure that you're advocating for them. So if you want to get in this industry, I don't discourage anybody but take it seriously.
Kiana Watson
How can people find you and how can people work with you?
Unknown
You can find me on social media. My name is Kiana Watson. You can link in my bio, go to my website kianawatson.com. everything is Kiana Watson. It's easy to find. Go to my website, click my contact page, call me 404-983-6380. We are ready to work with you. I have my agents here at Watson Realty Co. I we work with all price points, all budgets, investors, first time buyers, luxury clients, listings, developers. You name it, we can service it. So we look forward to you guys reaching out to us especially in the metro Atlanta area.
Kiana Watson
Is it outside of Atlanta or just Atlanta?
Unknown
Oh, no worries. See, I got you. I have a training academy of over 1500 agents throughout the nation. Some are even in Jamaica. I have some people outside of the country, Toronto. So with that being said, no matter where you're looking to purchase the home, if you reach out to me, I can connect you to a licensed agent that has been through my training that actually understands the process and they're looking to advocate and serve your best interest. So make sure you contact me for whatever state you want. So I just sent someone a referral to Dallas, one to Miami. I sent another referral to another client looking in Birmingham, and New Jersey's on lock. I tell you, I got such. I have to go. The only reason I do my events in D.C. is the middle of New Jersey, so I always tell people.
Kiana Watson
You actually got me somebody in New York. Oh, yeah, I forgot.
Unknown
Yeah, I did get you somebody in New York and they was in my training academy, so.
Kiana Watson
Yeah, so you definitely connected. And yeah, Kiana is somebody that, you know, definitely been a one from the beginning. So always appreciate you coming in and dropping information. But yeah, if you're in the home buying process or you're looking to rent too, I think you help people out with rent. I think your agents.
Unknown
Absolutely, yeah. My agents can assist you with rentals. I think that that's a bridge way. Everybody is not in a position to purchase. Who are we to judge? I think that we all need housing, and that's our job and advocate as real estate professionals, is to give you housing and make sure you understand how that works.
Rashad Bilal
Absolutely.
Kiana Watson
Or if you're looking to sell your home, you might need help too, so.
Unknown
Absolutely. Oh, you're gonna need help to sell it. I'm gonna tell you that right now. You will need help. We represent buyers and sellers. You will need assistance. And mostly, as you guys can see, if you look me up, I work with a lot of developers. They're developing, building, which is why I'm pretty abreast of the building process. So even if you're looking to build a custom home or you want new construction, I can assist you there as well.
Rashad Bilal
Yes.
Kiana Watson
There you have it.
Rashad Bilal
Congratulations on all. All the developments that we've been watching on social media as well.
Unknown
Congratulations. Oh, I know your wife. I'm aware. I know who's watching and why you making those design selections. They look good.
Kiana Watson
Yeah. Always. Always a pleasure. All right, thank you guys for rocking with us for listening. We'll see you guys back here next week. Hopefully you got your pins and pads and watch this episode a few times so you can get all the information that's important. And download the app for the podcast app too. If you listen on the audio side on itunes or Spotify, but. All right, guys, spin Real peace.
Unknown
Bye.
David Shands
Ever wanted to explore the world of online trading, but haven't dared try? The futures market is more active now than ever, and Plus500Futures is the perfect place to start. Plus500 gives you access to a wide range of instruments, S&P 500, NASD, Bitcoin, gas and much more. Explore equity indices, energy, metals, Forex, Crypto and beyond. With a simple and intuitive platform. You can trade from anywhere, right from your phone, deposit with a minimum of a hundred dollars and experience the fast accessible futures trading you've been waiting for. See a trading opportunity? You will be able to trade it in just two clicks once your account is open. Not sure if you're ready. Not a problem. Plus500 gives you an unlimited risk free demo account account with charts and analytic tools for you to practice on. With over 20 years of experience, Plus500 is your gateway to the markets. Visit us.+500.com to learn more. Trading in futures involves the risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Not all applicants will qualify. Plus 500 it's trading with a plus.
Earn Your Leisure Podcast Summary
Episode Title: What to Know Before Buying a Home: Hidden Costs, & Secrets to Save Big with Quiana Watson
Release Date: January 31, 2025
Hosts: Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings
Guest: Kiana Watson, Top Real Estate Agent and Founder of Watson Realty Co.
In this episode of Earn Your Leisure, hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings are joined by Kiana Watson, a distinguished real estate professional based in Atlanta. The discussion centers on essential considerations for prospective homebuyers, particularly focusing on the hidden costs associated with purchasing a home and strategies to save significantly during the process.
Key Insight: Pre-approval letters can be misleading regarding the actual amount a buyer can comfortably afford.
Notable Quote:
Rashad Bilal [05:03]: "We wish we would have known... it's not a game. And number one, it's going to save you time, but most importantly, it's going to save you money."
Discussion Points:
1. Property Taxes and Appreciation
Key Insight: Property taxes can fluctuate based on property value appreciation, impacting long-term affordability.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [17:24]: "Value appreciation is the number one reason for getting into real estate and owning a property is value appreciation and ownership."
Discussion Points:
2. Utilities
Key Insight: Utility costs can vary significantly based on the size and efficiency of the home.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [23:15]: "Utilities are such a big deal..."
Discussion Points:
3. Homeowners Association (HOA) Fees
Key Insight: HOA fees can substantially impact monthly expenses, especially in condo and townhouse purchases.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [24:10]: "HOA fees are something you need to consider and see what they're including."
Discussion Points:
4. Home Maintenance and Warranty
Key Insight: Regular maintenance is crucial to preserving property value and avoiding costly repairs.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [27:00]: "Routine maintenance is something you have to pay for as a homeowner."
Discussion Points:
5. Mortgage Insurance
Key Insight: Mortgage insurance protects lenders but adds to the buyer's monthly expenses.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [29:49]: "Mortgage insurance covers the lender in case you default on the loan."
Discussion Points:
1. FHA Financing
Key Insight: FHA loans are accessible for first-time buyers with lower credit scores and smaller down payments.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [48:29]: "FHA financing is the most popular financing for first-time home buyers."
Discussion Points:
2. Conventional Financing
Key Insight: Conventional loans offer flexibility in down payment options but typically require higher credit scores.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [48:29]: "Conventional financing works best for people with strong credit."
Discussion Points:
3. VA Financing
Key Insight: VA loans provide significant benefits for veterans, including no down payment requirement.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [48:29]: "VA financing is exclusively for military veterans and offers 100% financing."
Discussion Points:
4. Jumbo Loans
Key Insight: Jumbo loans are designed for high-value properties but come with stricter qualification criteria.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [52:10]: "Jumbo loans require at least a 20% down payment and are subject to stringent debt-to-income ratios."
Discussion Points:
1. Earnest Money and Contingencies
Key Insight: Understanding the role of earnest money and contractual contingencies is vital to protect financial interests.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [55:56]: "Contingencies allow buyers to terminate contracts under specific conditions without losing earnest money."
Discussion Points:
2. Seller Concessions
Key Insight: Negotiating seller concessions can substantially reduce upfront costs.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [44:02]: "Seller concessions can cover a portion of closing costs, easing the financial burden on buyers."
Discussion Points:
1. Real Estate Agents
Key Insight: Experienced real estate agents advocate for buyers, providing expertise in negotiations and contract management.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [79:02]: "An agent should advocate on your behalf, saving you money and ensuring favorable terms."
Discussion Points:
2. Real Estate Attorneys
Key Insight: Legal professionals ensure that all contractual aspects comply with state laws and protect buyers from potential disputes.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [64:05]: "Hiring the right attorney is crucial, especially when dealing with land purchases and complex contracts."
Discussion Points:
Key Insight: Comprehensive inspections identify underlying issues that may not be immediately visible, preventing costly future repairs.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [62:21]: "Hiring specialized inspectors ensures that all aspects of the property are thoroughly evaluated."
Discussion Points:
Key Insight: Accurately estimating and preparing for closing costs is essential to avoid financial strain at the final stages of purchasing a home.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [70:07]: "Calculate 10% of the purchase price to cover down payment, closing costs, and agent commissions."
Discussion Points:
Key Insight: Moving from renting to homeownership often involves significant additional expenses related to furnishing and personalizing the new space.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [72:30]: "Set aside funds to furnish your home without accruing additional debt, ensuring financial stability."
Discussion Points:
Key Insight: Homeownership is a valuable asset-building opportunity when approached with proper budgeting, professional guidance, and informed decision-making.
Notable Quote:
Kiana Watson [74:10]: "Stay within your budget and avoid the trap of being house rich but cash poor."
Discussion Points:
The episode underscores the complexity of the home-buying process, highlighting the importance of understanding hidden costs, securing appropriate financing, and leveraging professional expertise. Kiana Watson's insights equip listeners with the knowledge to navigate real estate transactions confidently, ensuring that homeownership serves as a stepping stone to financial prosperity rather than a source of financial strain.
Further Resources:
Remember: Purchasing a home is one of the most significant financial decisions you'll make. Equip yourself with the right knowledge and professional support to make informed choices that align with your financial goals.