First-Time Homebuyer Money Basics

We catch up on life outside work, then shift into the money questions first-time homebuyers ask when the real estate market feels calmer but still uncertain. We break down how down payment assistance, earnest money, appraisal fees, and closing costs actually work so you can budget with confidence and avoid surprises at the closing table. 
• Mud run recap and why a Spartan race sounds tempting 
• How a healthier market gives buyers more leverage while sellers can still move homes 
• What drives mortgage rate swings and why small drops can change demand fast 
• First-time homebuyer programs through state agencies and conventional options like HomeReady and Home Possible 
• Why bigger down payments can reduce program benefits and change the rate math 
• Balancing a comfortable monthly payment with keeping cash for repairs and life surprises 
• Earnest money as a credit toward what you owe at closing and when it can be refunded 
• Appraisal and inspection fees as prepaid costs that do not count as down payment 
• Closing costs versus down payment and how to communicate your total cash budget early 
• Why asking questions early reduces stress and prevents end-of-transaction surprises 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Hey guys, we are back and I'm back with Cody, not Corey for an episode of Venture with Joe and Cody. Welcome back, my man. How was your break from me?

SPEAKER_03 0:59

It was it was wonderful. So relaxing. No, it was good. It was Yeah, seriously. It was it was nice. It was they were kind of like the the fun work event things. You know, a lot of work is is the I don't know if you want to call it the the paperwork side of it. It's more of like the in-depth stuff. This was like had a couple fun events to do that were that were work related, but they're kind of fun events too. So you kind of get that um the fun outside of the office side of things. So had a couple fun things, played some golf, played

Welcome Back And Catching Up

SPEAKER_03 1:36

some cornhole, kissed some babies, you know, did the whole thing. Yeah, good.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Yeah, you're gonna be a politician soon. I think I'm ready.

SPEAKER_03 1:44

Yeah, I love politics.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

So uh that's good. I um I didn't tell you in our live stream. Uh it's good. Uh and I didn't, again, I didn't tell you in my live stream, but we did my niece forced me into a uh mud run, like a fun run. Yeah. Um like one of those 5K, you know, obstacle course things, kind of this fun rudder, mud rudder or whatever it is, whatever whatever the heck it is. Um so I had no experience with it, and I was like, I was not motivated to do it. Um, but it actually was a lot of fun. This one was very muddy, like it was it was focused more on the mud than like obstacles. It did have like I want to say six to seven obstacles, you know. Um but uh it was actually fun, which got me thinking, and this could be my midlife crisis thing, is I want to do a more difficult one. So I started looking up, um,

Mud Run Sparked A New Challenge

SPEAKER_01 2:38

I started looking up the the mud runs or things like that to kind of like because there's some that are super physical and whatever and obstacles. I love the challenge of it when I was because at my age, like you just don't do that stuff anymore, like climbing up walls and trying to get up, you know, like those things just don't happen as much. But it kind of I was like, that is cool. It was a lot of it was a lot of that. It wasn't a yeah, it wasn't like a super difficult necessarily. Um, but it I was like, okay, I could do a little more challenging one. So I looked up uh the events and there's a Spartan, it's called the Spartan run. Um, and there's one uh in Arizona in February. So I'm thinking, and it's close to my parents' house. So I lodging, you know, for free. And I was like, okay, this one's a little bit more of a challenging kind of you know, one. It's still a sprint. I think it's a 5k. I think I want to start with 5k and C and then go 10K if I, you know, if it okay all goes well and I don't die. Um yeah, so I'm I'm looking to do the Spartan run, which I it sounds like way tougher than it probably is. Like it sounds like it's a super manly event, but uh yeah, I'm I I was excited about it. I'm glad she got me into it because I was like, I'm kind of tired of running. Like I don't a 10k to me doesn't really excite me uh as much as it used to, and so I was like, this one actually excites me, it gives me something like a challenge of you know pushing my old man body to do things I haven't done in a long time. So sure.

SPEAKER_03 4:09

Yeah, I think I'm that's kind of fun. There's one at the uh Washugle motocross track that they do. And really, it's a yeah, I haven't done it, but I know people that have gone out there, which is probably a challenging one, I'm guessing, because there's a lot of elevation changes and you know, just the natural dirt and jumps and everything from the track itself. Um, but it it always looks fun. I've never done it, but it looks like it's a fun time.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

You'll have to send me that. Maybe that is a Spartan one, because I think there was one in Washington.

SPEAKER_03 4:41

Yeah, there's I know they do the one at the out at the track every year. It might be a Spartan one, I'm not sure. Okay. My brother, he does.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

Well, I want to like if I do that one, I want to Oh, jeez. Yeah, I know. That's not that's not gonna happen.

SPEAKER_03 4:57

The last one he did, I don't remember. I think it was in Idaho somewhere, and he did it. Or no, that one was in that was Southern California, and he he shaved off like an hour of time from what his previous one was, but then he was breaking down like the time the duration of time of running and biking and swimming. Yeah, and it's like dude, you just spent the last eight hours doing nothing but running, swimming and biking. Yes, that sounds I couldn't do that. I just couldn't do that. Like, and and I mean, to be fair, he trains for it and he he enjoys it. It's like it's given him something to train for as opposed to just trying to train to stay in good shape. So it works for him, but I'm like, man, that's a that's a different beast.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Well, and he does he uh his training, it's it's full time, like not full time, but it's I remember my buddy uh did it and it's like takes time away from your family training. Like it's not just like oh I'm gonna go on a little run, like you know, at the end of my work shift. It's like yes, they he trained at least like morning, like for multiple hours, uh evening multiple hours, like so. Luckily, his wife is the same, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:13

They his wife's really into fitness too, so they just kind of do it together. They don't have any kids, so it's like fitness training, all that it's just part of their fun.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Much easier, yes.

SPEAKER_03 6:23

Yep, yep, yeah. So they both do she does like fitness modeling stuff, and he does Iron Man stuff, and I'm like, I don't know how I don't know how you guys do it. Keep doing it, but it works. They're motivated.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Well, I feel I feel like if it's my midlife crisis to go and do this sort of stuff, it's much better than uh my Corvette.

SPEAKER_03 6:44

Um the Corvette and the drugs and everything, like you can just Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

So I can do a Spartan run, a 5K Spartan run.

SPEAKER_03 6:54

Yes. And it sounds I mean, it does sound kind of funny playing in the mud.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

Yeah, it was. It was like I still have mud in my fingernails, like I can't get it out. It's like that was a muddy event. Like it was you have to embrace it, and that's hard as an adult, too, to be like, I'm gonna get muddy, like on purpose. Like it's what I'm going to do. Um, so it was it was difficult to get used to that. But uh, once you did, it was it was kind of a fun event. And it was fun with my my niece and my brother-in-law and Christina. So yeah, that's cool. Um, so yeah, so uh other than that, uh though, everything's everything's trucking along, man. The market is kind of I I believe a healthier market overall. Um, I think buyers have uh more of a say in this market than sellers. Um, not to but sellers also can sell their home pretty easily. It's just uh being a little bit smarter and a little more strategic with how you sell it and things like that. But yeah, other than that, there's not a really a crazy, crazy events to report in the real estate world, uh, besides that it's kind of that pendulum swinging uh towards the buyers.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

Yeah, I agree. And I think that whenever, and we've talked about this for years now, whenever the rates shift down a little bit more, because we're still kind of at this in-between stage where they're they're you know, they were a little they were lower in February, and we were starting to flirt with like this could really spark quite the market because we were down in the low sixes, high fives, and

Buyers Gain Leverage As Rates Stall

SPEAKER_03 8:17

things were starting to really kind of pick up, and then the war and everything, and we're kind of still just like teetering on this this like mid-six, low six, depending on where you're at with everything. Um so to your point of the shift of everything, the buyers shift, it's like as soon as those rates start to come down, if we get another half a percent off, it's gonna start to I think the sellers are gonna probably enjoy that a little bit more because I think that I mean we already saw a lot of activity as they continue to come down for those months. Um, and it's just a waiting game now. So I don't know, it's hard to keep track of is there a ceasefire? Is there not? Is there still what's going on? Because every time I read something, it's like keep track of it.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:01

It's like, okay, this is finishing. Oh, wait, now they just bombed this place. Okay, so now we're not, and then oil prices go up and then they're down, and now I like it.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

But they're still in a ceasefire, even though there is firing going on.

SPEAKER_03 9:12

Yes. It's like, oh, that that doesn't count. That bomb doesn't count. The ceasefire is still good. But it hasn't really made much of a drastic impact on the rates lately. I feel like maybe there's maybe the markets have kind of just started to say, all right, well, we're gonna we can't just keep overreacting to every little thing that's happening, which you know, who knows? But it's it's been pretty stable the last I'd say month, even though it's been unstable from the from the rate side. There really hasn't been a lot of like big movement that's happened. So kind of just plugging away with everything.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

Yep. Well, cool. Um, speaking of uh buyers and sellers market, we've I we were kind of talking off air about talking about first-time home buyers, and I had a couple questions. Um first time home buyers are a unique thing for us, and it's not unique in the sense that we don't deal with them, but it kind of I love them because one, they're generally just more positive, they're excited, they're they they love the process generally, they're they've got lots of questions, and I love it. Like I I forget how much I love being with a first-time home buyer um through the process. So we've got that. Um, but there's also tons of questions that come with that from home buyers that we, you and I, and every other lender and agent take advantage of that we're like, oh, they wouldn't know what earnest money is or escrow even

First-Time Buyer Programs And Who Qualifies

SPEAKER_01 10:39

means or what all the stuff that comes with that. So I figured today we'll kind of go over some things. I'll ask you some questions that I have been getting recently from first-time homebuyers that are completely valid. Um, but just kind of remind both of us that, like, okay, what is what do we do here? So my first one maybe is a little bit more complicated. Uh, but if you have so you guys have first-time homebuyer programs, different mortgage places have different programs, like uh for for first-time home buyers, generally lower down payments, better rates, whatever, whatever it may be. Um first, if you can explain kind of like the more on an overview of your company's first-time home buyer programs and what you provide, but also does that change if a buyer specifically has a large down payment versus does not have a large down payment? And would you say and to add to that question, would you then tell a first-time home buyer, save your down payment and go with a program because it's better?

SPEAKER_03 11:40

Hmm. Good questions. That is a conversation that does come up periodically. Um as far as the different programs that that we have, so most places uh have access to different types of programs. Um, and a lot of us have access to the same types of programs, but not every single company has access to all of the things. So ours are primarily state-based agencies. So, like we can do um, like for me, more Washington Bond or the Washington State Housing Authority. Um, it's a down payment assistance program for Washington. Oregon bond, we call it the bond loan. Um, they have a down payment assistance program as well that we use. Um, and those are depending on the program, like Washington's is not, you're not required to be a first-time home buyer. You're just required to be to be purchasing your primary residence. Oregon, they have two versions of it. One of them, you do have to be a first-time home buyer. And if you are a first-time home buyer, you do get a better rate. If you're not, you can still use it, but they just put you in a little bit of a different box. So your rate's a little bit higher, um, but you can still use it. There's also um ones through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so for conventional loans, called Home Ready and Home Possible. They're not down payment assistance programs, but they let you put down 3% and you get a better interest rate. So to kind of parlay that with your question of larger down payment, if you if you are using any type of low down payment type of program, when you start to put more down, you start to lose that benefit of the lower rate. Because where you're getting the the benefit is by putting that little bit down, it's it's factoring that in into the way that the loans are priced out, the way that the rates are structured, that you get your biggest benefit at that low down payment, because that's kind of who the program is intended for. So once your your down payment starts to go up, you start to lose a lot of that benefit, and then your rate ends up being just what it would be for anybody else. So a lot of that stuff you can still do it, but now you're not really it's it's not providing you any benefit. Yeah, you could still do it. It's like this, it's essentially the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

So I know that you have um, you know, this is this is for each individual specifically and what their goals are, but would you say that it's better? So say I have you know, say I have two hundred thousand dollars to put down that I have available to put down as a down payment on a home on our first home, and it would be six hundred, seven hundred thousand dollar house. Um would you suggest, generally speaking, that hey, keep that money in your pocket for a rainy day or whatever and use the first-time home buyer program because it's better, or would you say it's better to throw down that money?

SPEAKER_03 14:41

Uh I would say it's probably gonna be a mix because I think that you're by financing all of it, your payment's

Big Down Payment Versus Cash Cushion

SPEAKER_03 14:53

gonna be up, probably pretty high, you know. Say in that in that situation where you're you're financing six hundred thousand dollars or so, um, you're probably gonna have a pretty hefty payment. So part of it would be what do we need to figure out to get your payment comfort to where you can handle it? Ideally, I would say I would not want to put down all of that money because one, you're gonna be your all your money is tied to the house, which is not that big of a deal. But now, in order to get that money, whenever you do, you're either gonna have to do a cash out refi or maybe a you know, maybe get a HELOC set up. Um, yeah, but I'm always a fan of people being able to keep some of their money for uh you know rainy day stuff, incidentals, like you just never know when your car's gonna break down, you never know when some weird thing's gonna happen. You got a tree that falls on your fence or something, and it's like, well, now there's eight grand that I gotta spend on my fence. And there's just so many incidentals that come up that I think we don't expect them to happen, but they just they they always happen at the wrong time. So I always like the idea of having that. Um, especially when you have all that money, I think it would be a hard thing to go through of we have all this money and now we put it all into the house, and now we need money, and I don't have the money because it's all sitting there in the house. Yeah. Um, so I I I would try to really kind of nerd out a little bit on the numbers of what's a payment that's comfortable for you. Let's see what we can get to without using all your money, and if we have to use all your money to get you there, then you know what's what's most important to have a comfortable payment with no money in the bank, or maybe split the difference and try to get something where, you know, maybe you're paying a couple hundred dollars more a month that you want to, but you've still got fifty thousand dollars sitting in the bank. Um so I I lean towards that, but I'm more of a I'm probably more of a cautious wait for something to happen just because it's like you know, you go through life and and the the things that end up happening that make you need the money are when you don't have the money. So for sure. Absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Well, what would you say about uh well what I would say is is the same thing. I always say you you think that you have that down payment, and you do have that down payment, but save some you if you're getting a new house, you're gonna need new furniture, you're gonna need new, you know, you generally want new bet new bedding, new appliances, you know, whatever that may be, you don't want to be broke for the same reason as be like you want that money to be able to buy that stuff and not be putting it on a credit card because you just put everything on that uh on the down payment. So I I kind of go the same route unless the unless the down payment program or first buyer homebrown program is just smoking, it's just not yeah, it's it it's a it's a balance. Like see if you I always lean to like see if you can do it with the least amount unless your goal is to pay off the mortgage. Like if you're like my sole goal is to pay this house down, then you probably just want to max out your down payment so you can kind of have the most equity. But if you if your goal, like 99% of people in society, is to just have a payment that you can manage, um, then you kind of play with those numbers and say, hey, if you can keep a hundred of that thousand and work with that, you know, using a first-time home buyer program or whatever, then just do that, you know. So yeah, that's my thoughts.

SPEAKER_03 18:14

And it's and it's a very different situation too. Like if the conversation is we have fifteen thousand dollars or twenty thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_02 18:21

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:22

Because then I'm probably gonna push them much harder to think about doing the down payment assistance stuff because it's like you're gonna you're gonna zap all your and that took you a long time to save that up and get that there. Your payment difference, because you're if you're only putting down the minimum down payment, anyways, your payment difference is gonna be very, very minimal. So you might as well take the the money that's that's there, for sure. Um, and and use that rather than then clearing it out. If somebody's got a lot more money, that's a little bit of a different conversation. But yeah, if it's like I can scrape up enough to get a down payment, I'd be like, dude, let's just let's just go down payment assistance. Like, yo, too. Yeah, you've you've worked hard to get this, let's keep it in your account.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Yeah, your options open up uh significantly when you have um that much money. You have you know 20, 30% down, you know, you have options work out a lot to to talk to a lender, don't just assume that you should throw it all in there because yeah. You know, you may be able to keep $50,000 and nothing really changes on your mortgage, you know. Right. Um or your payments. So um then you have that $50K in cash. So um things like okay, uh a couple other things, earnest money. So earnest money um is money that they put down once you, you know, go under contract with a house, you're putting down a certain amount of earnest money towards uh, you know, to show that you're serious about buying this house. And it normally goes to the title company or escrow company, they're both kind of intertwined as as terms. Um, one of the questions I get asked a lot though from first-time homebuy is Is the earnest money part of the down payment? So say I have $100,000 as a down payment, I'm gonna put down $10,000 of earnest money. Where does that earnest money fit in in the final numbers?

SPEAKER_00 20:15

Hmm.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Good question. I get that one asked a lot too. Um, that one, yes. I it's gonna go towards your down payment. And say,

Earnest Money Explained In Plain Terms

SPEAKER_03 20:24

in a situation like we were just talking about, where it was down payment assistance, and there's no down payment that's required from you as the buyer, and the closing costs are being paid for by the seller, you would get your earnest money back at the end because you would not have any money that was due from you. Your earnest money essentially was gonna go towards the down payment, but in this case, it wouldn't. So it's gonna come back to you. If you're putting your own down payment down, then you're gonna that's just gonna be ten thousand dollars that you're gonna be coming to closing with. Since you've already put it down, you got 10 down, you're gonna come to closing with 90. Andor if you have extra closing costs, it is essentially going to be applied to whatever money you have left due at closing.

SPEAKER_02 21:09

So it's like your security deposit.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

And the on that note, then is that the same thing go for the appraisal? Uh, you got to put earnest money down with the first within the first few business days, generally speaking, and it goes to the title company. Title Company holds on to all of your money and kind of handles all the mortgage, takes all that stuff and holds on to it. Is that the same? I know that an appraisal, you know, you get asked a lot from first-time home buyers. I see that the appraisal fee is due now. Does that go towards my down payment as well, similar to earnest money?

SPEAKER_03 21:46

No. The appraisal fee, like that's gonna go straight to it right from the get-go. So the appraisal is prepaid, kind of like the inspection, like the home inspection. So it's just gonna be deducted from your closing cost at the end because you've already pre you've already paid for it up

Appraisal Fees And Other Upfront Costs

SPEAKER_03 22:07

front. Um, so and depending on the situation, if there's seller credits where they're covering stuff, um, then we don't have to get payment up front from them because we're gonna credit that from the seller. But if the seller's not crediting anything, then the buyer has to has to pre-pay for that appraisal. Um, but it will get knocked off the the number at the end because appraisal fees right now, for the most part, in the general kind of Portland Vancouver area, are usually like around 600 bucks.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 22:39

So it's gonna reduce their number to close, but that's not because they don't have to pay it anymore, it's because they already paid it up front.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

Yeah. So Well, this is this is a leads us into a perfect segue because we're talking about two of the terms that get very intertwined and confusing. Um you have a buyer that says I have a hundred thousand dollars down payment on the home. Then lender and real estate agent talk about, okay, closing costs are you know twelve, fifteen thousand dollars and appraisal fees six hundred bucks, there's an inspection. I think the two terms that get confused with the most with buyers in the or and with everyone really is closing costs and down payment. Like are they the same? Are they intertwined in any way? What does it mean? So, say for example, walk us through a buyer that says I have a hundred thousand dollars down to purchase this house, no, no give gimme's from the seller, let's just make it a clean deal. 100,000 down on a house. What do they need to bring to the table?

Closing Costs Versus Down Payment Clarity

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Because we talk, you're like, oh, closing costs is this and this and this. Is that down payment or is that separate?

SPEAKER_03 23:51

Sure. Yeah. So they're gonna be separate, but I know exactly what you're talking about because sometimes you get people that are like, I have a hundred thousand dollars and I'll ask them. Usually it's just a lot of asking questions to kind of uncover what they're thinking, because sometimes it's a hundred thousand dollars in total. I don't want to bring more than a hundred thousand dollars. So let's do down payment of X amount plus closing costs to equal a hundred thousand dollars, um, which is usually what it ends up being, um, because a lot of times people don't really know, or maybe they've just gone off the numbers of I'm gonna put 100,000 down, and whatever the closing costs are, we'll kind of figure that out. But they are two very separate things. So the down the closing cost number doesn't really change that much. So it's kind of you know, depending on the title company, depending on the appraiser, depending on the lender, they're gonna vary a little bit, but overall, like generalized, it's gonna be pretty similar. The down payment, though, you can change that, modify that. So if they decided, hey, I want to put down $100,000, and we figured out you'd you really want to put down like $85, and that extra $15 is going to go towards closing costs. That's a very easy number to change and kind of modify. Whereas the closing costs, we can't really modify that a whole lot. Those numbers are going to be pretty well set. So it's either going to be some form of combination of numbers, but I usually try to drill that down with people early on because I'll ask them, you know, hey, how much how much money do you have set aside for this transaction? And it's usually, oh, we're planning on putting down $100,000. Okay, perfect. Do you want to do $100,000 down plus the closing costs, or do you want to do $100,000 out of your bank account total? Because we'll try to get it as close to $100,000 as possible with everything. Um, so usually it's it's that tends to be the number because that's I think a lot of times people will have a number of what they can afford to part ways with for the transaction. Yes, but it doesn't usually include closing costs. It's like, okay, we've got a hundred thousand, we're gonna put a hundred thousand down, and then it's like, oh wait, there's still twelve, fifteen thousand dollars that somebody's gotta pay for.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

Um so that's at the closing table, correct? Like when we say closing table, that's at signing. You need to either have your funds wired to the title company or have a uh cashier's check, whatever they require uh of that money. Um, and that's it's it's interesting because even you explaining it, it I knew I know it, but it's good to hear the explanation because I and I think you put it in a good way, because I think that of the vast majority of people, including myself, are like, We have we have $200,000 we can put down, Cody, on this house. And you're like, Cool. And if you didn't explain that, and then it's like we get to the table and you're like, Hey, we have two hundred thousand dollars. Oh, by the way, you have two hundred and fifteen thousand dollars because you have to pay closing costs. I'd be like, No, no, no. Like, this is yeah, I told you what I had. So it's very important if you're a first-time home buyer to listen to this part portion because really tell the lender what you have total to spend and go over those details of the amount amount that you're gonna have to bring to the table. Because I I think that and it's not wrong on them. I think the majority of people go in saying, I have a hundred thousand dollars in my bank account, this is what I can spend on a down payment, not knowing that closing costs are separate of that. They come they come along with the down payment because you have to pay it all at the same time, but they're different fees that aren't that like clean, just this is what I'm paying on the home.

SPEAKER_03 27:21

So sure. Yeah, and and you start to run into it because I think that there's like you look at it and you're going, okay, we've got a hundred thousand to put towards this transaction, but I think even just the mental side of you got the earnest money, that's that's an out-of-pocket kind of thing early on. You have appraisal fee, you have inspection fee, you have maybe additional inspection fees. And I think even just that alone is like it kind of adds that extra little bit of stress if it hasn't really been gone over, because you're thinking in your head, all right, we've got 30 days or 20 days or however long before we part ways with this money once everything is done. But in the moment, you're like, oh man, okay, there's another check. There's another check.

SPEAKER_01 28:05

And then you're like, okay, I don't have $100,000 down if you're not prepared for what you have to have to do then.

SPEAKER_03 28:12

Yeah, yeah. But it's it's a good conversation thing. And I feel like for for a lot of us, it's it's just going through those situations over time where you do have somebody that's like, hey, you why didn't you tell me that I had why didn't you tell me that there were going to be this much in closing costs? And um, and in my head, I'm like, well, I thought we did, but I must not have gone over it clearly enough.

SPEAKER_01 28:33

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 28:34

Of like, hey, here's here's just kind of a walkthrough. So I feel like over time you just start to notice those little things and go, it's like my wife always says, you know, like communication is key because I'm not I'm sometimes you just kind of take things for granted or you're a good category. Yeah, I should.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

I thought you knew that. Like I assume you would know that.

SPEAKER_03 28:52

It's like okay, cool. Yeah, no, that's a good reminder. I need to go back to like base level, and you tell me if you've already heard all this stuff. You tell me to shut up if I if you've already heard this. If not, then I'm gonna go through this like you're a first-time homebuyer, even though you've owned five homes in your lifetime. Because the reality is if you don't do it all the time, it feels like a whole new experience, even if it's been two years since you purchased, because chances are the rules have changed a little bit, you forgot some of it. It was either a really in your head, it was a really easy experience or a really difficult experience. So the next time you go through it, you're like, Man, I don't even remember what happened. I just remember this sucked.

SPEAKER_01 29:29

Yeah, and it was really easy and great. Yeah, I'm like thinking of the conversations of just I've been having recently, and it's just so it's cool because it does you. I even start Christina's in the mortgage industry, so she'll start talking on the phone about like blah, blah, blah, on your APR and blah blah blah, and down payment and blah, and and you can I can't even see them, but I know they're getting confused. Like, sure, it's not Christina's fault, but I'm like, this is not, you know, because we're like, and then you put this in escrow, and then your earnest money is this, and oh, you might want to address this because closing costs would be this. And they're like, What? What all these terms you just keep saying? Uh, like, I have no idea what anything. So it it's a good, it's good to to have them. I I just love first-time homebuyers. I love them. Uh and I think that on that note, as we close out, this is like it's very important to talk to the lender and the agent about these items. Do not do not feel stupid. And if your agent or lender makes you feel stupid or cannot explain these things, you need to find a new one because this stuff is complicated. Like, I think it reminds me that this stuff is complicated. Um, because it, whenever you get into something and you get into a routine, you just know what to do, you know. And yeah, first-time homebuyers have really they're great at reminding me that this process is not easy and it's very convoluted, and there's a ton of paperwork, and there's a ton of questions that are asked of you, and there's a ton of things going on. And it really is important to have a team in place that is going to explain this to you and not make you feel like

Ask Every Question Before The Finish

SPEAKER_01 30:58

an idiot with it because you're not no one like you said, Cody, you've worked with people like five, six homes that don't know what they're doing because they don't do it often. Even five or six times is not often in this world to be like, I'm an expert at what this does, you know, uh, or what went on here.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

So and I can guarantee that the person that asks all the questions and and gets everything figured out by the end is much happier than the person that's like because I've ran into that too, where people will wait till towards the very end to start asking some questions, and they're like, Well, I thought I knew it all, I thought I knew everything, but yeah, as more stuff went on, I realized I I I don't quite understand some of this stuff. I you know, I think we both are probably pretty good about like, hey, do you have any questions on this? Like af after you walk through whatever the situation is, and they're like, No, I got it. And so I'm like, Okay, cool. I'm assuming that you've got it.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

And then I think it's a protection mechanism. It totally is. I think as adults, they kind of feel like if I don't know this, they're gonna think I'm stupid, you know, and trust me, you're not stupid. Like there, I and you can say it all the time, and I'm like, guys, just ask, like it's not a dumb question. None of them are dumb questions. So right. Um if we leave this podcast, it's like ask everything, everything you want.

SPEAKER_03 32:15

And for us, we would much rather have that addressed at the time of too, because towards the end of the transaction, things just get a little more stressful. So if it's like, you know, you don't understand something or you're not sure, or this number was different than what you were expecting, but you didn't say anything two weeks ago, it just kind of builds the stress on it. So asking it while you're feeling it makes it so much easier, and less and less surprises that happen towards the end.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

And yeah, and there's less and less you can adjust to in the end, like towards the end. And there's a lot more you can adjust if you're like, oh, I didn't know that. Cody, can you change this? Like, can we is there a way to adjust this? Or yeah, because I I wasn't aware that that was gonna be an outgo right away, or you know, uh those sort of things. So yeah. Anyways, I love first-time homebuyers.

SPEAKER_03 33:00

So me too. Me too.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

There's um it's good they bring it all back for us. Yes, yeah, exactly. Um, I love it. So okay, well, that's it, man. Um, it was good to see you. Um by the time this airs, I know that I don't think well, no, you're uh World Cup. Are you following the World Cup?

SPEAKER_03 33:19

I am casually following it. Yes. I did wear this for Team USA today. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Um it's not a USA shirt, but it's yes, we're filming today, but it's like, or we're filming on the day the US uh is playing, so yeah, it will be rec it'll be out on uh Friday. So we won't know. We'll know by the time this airs who won. And I'm hoping it's the US, but I already know. Okay, well, I think we should just celebrate the win right now. Like two to one, two to one, or or again US wins. Well, I am uh I don't follow soccer ever, but the World Cup either, and Rory, Rory hates it. Um and I I just it it is a

World Cup Talk And Goodbye

SPEAKER_01 33:58

long time of a lot of like non-scoring, but I'm like, it's just it's it's fun when the US is in it and it's just uh and Scotland was in it, and so it's like I had that too. So um I think it's been fun, but Rory is like, I was like, You excited for the US game? He's like, No, like I'm not excited. No, dude. He's like, it's soccer. I was like, Rory, it's still cool, it's sports, you're an athlete, right?

SPEAKER_03 34:18

Gosh, yeah, I know, and it doesn't mean you have to sit there and watch the whole game, but you can because that well, like we have it on at the office, and it's like I'll peek out there and look for watch for two minutes, and then I'm like, all right, well, go back to work.

SPEAKER_01 34:30

Yeah, for sure, for sure. Yeah, and then we got July 4th by the time I see you next. So you have a happy July 4th, 250 years of the US uh dominating. So that's good. Um and I love it. Uh that's pretty much it. So until next week, man, thanks so much for meeting up and we'll talk to you soon.

SPEAKER_03 34:47

Yeah, thank you. Sounds good, man. We'll see ya.

SPEAKER_01 34:49

See ya. All right.