First-Time Homebuyers' Blueprint to Portland's Housing Market

Join us as we dive into the flood of questions pouring in from first-time homebuyers. Get ready for an information-packed episode where we tackle your biggest concerns and gain clarity on everything from mortgages to neighborhoods.

 Episode Highlights:

 🌟 Mortgage Matters:

Let's break down the world of mortgages together! From fixed-rate vs. adjustable-rate to FHA loans, we'll demystify the jargon and help you understand which option suits you best.
https://vantagemortgagegroup.com/getrates/

💰 Affordability Insights:

Worried about affordability? We'll share practical tips and resources to help you stretch your budget without compromising on quality. Let's explore grants, incentives, and overlooked opportunities to make homeownership more accessible.

💡 Neighborhood Nuggets:

Choosing the right neighborhood is key. Let's discuss the factors to consider when selecting the perfect location for your new home. From schools to amenities, we'll cover it all to ensure you find a neighborhood that feels like home.

🏡 Home Inspection 101:

Don't let the home inspection process overwhelm you! We'll offer expert guidance on what to expect and how to navigate potential red flags. Learn how to decipher inspection reports and negotiate repairs like a pro.

🚀 Hot Market Strategies:

Portland's real estate market is hot, but that doesn't mean you can't find your dream home! Discover insider strategies for navigating competitive markets, making strong offers, and standing out as a buyer in a sea of competition.

Got burning questions about buying your first home in Portland? Tune in now to get expert answers and actionable advice. Don't miss out on this opportunity to gain clarity and confidence on your homebuying journey!

Thank you for listening to this episode. Stay up to date on the latest trends and insights by subscribing to our podcast and following us on social media.

For more information about buying or selling in the Portland Metro real estate market, please visit www.LivPortland.com or contact us directly.

We appreciate your feedback, so please leave a review and let us know what topics you would like to hear more about.

Transcript

00:00:08:18 - 00:00:19:16

Joe Reitzug

Welcome to off the Record Talking real estate with Joe and Makayla. If you're interested in the Portland, Oregon real estate market and what the unvarnished inside scoop, you've come to the right place. Thanks for giving us a listen.

00:00:19:18 - 00:00:24:22

Makayla Mast

Welcome, everyone. Thanks for listening today. Joe, how are you?

00:00:24:23 - 00:00:26:06

Joe Reitzug

I'm good. Makayla, how are you?

00:00:26:06 - 00:00:32:04

Makayla Mast

I'm good. It is Thursday, our podcasting day. This weather is horrible, but.

00:00:32:06 - 00:00:34:04

Joe Reitzug

We're doing the Leap Day broadcast here.

00:00:34:05 - 00:00:35:03

Makayla Mast

Yes, we are.

00:00:35:03 - 00:00:35:16

Joe Reitzug

Happy Leap.

00:00:35:16 - 00:00:36:18

Makayla Mast

Day. Happily.

00:00:36:20 - 00:00:41:01

Joe Reitzug

It was 38 and snowy. Raining just a few minutes ago.

00:00:41:05 - 00:00:42:01

Makayla Mast

Disgusting.

00:00:42:05 - 00:00:44:05

Joe Reitzug

Hang on, people. Spring is coming.

00:00:44:07 - 00:00:45:07

Makayla Mast

I hope so.

00:00:45:09 - 00:00:46:02

Joe Reitzug

Yeah.

00:00:46:04 - 00:00:50:13

Makayla Mast

The groundhog did say that spring was going to be early this year. So leaning on.

00:00:50:13 - 00:01:02:06

Joe Reitzug

That. I'm not a groundhog guy. Why an animal doesn't know is head from his behind. When it comes to weather, wasn't he wrong? And like the last six out of seven or something like that.

00:01:02:06 - 00:01:06:02

Makayla Mast

Yeah but because it's hopeful this year I'm going to lean on that.

00:01:06:04 - 00:01:09:03

Joe Reitzug

it was helpful. And I can get behind them then.

00:01:09:05 - 00:01:40:22

Makayla Mast

Okay, cool. Yeah. Well, I'm really excited about this episode today. I am, as we've talked about this a couple of times, but I think it's important to bring it up again because we have a lot of people who are considering buying for the first time a spring season noise tends to get people excited and back in the market and we've had a lot of questions lately, so we wanted to kind of sum it all up in one episode and hopefully debunk some myths because I keep seeing crazy things on the internet about how hard it is to buy a home when I think it's simpler than people think.

00:01:40:22 - 00:02:05:03

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, and it's an individual thing. I mean, all these discussions and prognosticators and everyone make these broad proclamations on the Internet or on the news or wherever, and it really has no bearing went unless they're talking about an individual person buying a home as an individual thing. Is it the right time for you? Are you in a financial position where you're comfortable with it?

00:02:05:03 - 00:02:22:10

Joe Reitzug

How's your job situation? Can you get out of a lease? Can you? There's a lot of different things, right? And I think it's such an individual thing. And knowing that and knowing the basics that we'll go through here today in the current market, I think people can make good choices to buy homes. And we see that all the time right now.

00:02:22:10 - 00:02:43:12

Joe Reitzug

It's frustrating when there's people that get stuck in the thinking of what they hear or what they read on the Internet and this type of stuff. I think a lot of people would be surprised at the fact that they could afford a home and be in a new home and start building equity and be a homeowner. If they just started the process and started doing the research for what their personal situation is.

00:02:43:16 - 00:02:58:10

Makayla Mast

I agree. And that's why I love buyer consultation, since we can really break it down with people and then make a good recommendation as to if we think it is a good time or not for them to buy. I think a lot of people think if they talk to a realtor or a mortgage broker that we're somehow going to like bamboozle them into.

00:02:58:12 - 00:03:00:21

Makayla Mast

Right. Or pressure them into buying, which.

00:03:01:02 - 00:03:05:12

Joe Reitzug

You did twist that one guy's arm and then make him sign. That was bad, right?

00:03:05:13 - 00:03:06:07

Makayla Mast

Held him down.

00:03:06:07 - 00:03:06:14

Joe Reitzug

It didn't.

00:03:06:14 - 00:03:10:08

Makayla Mast

Happen.

00:03:10:10 - 00:03:30:06

Makayla Mast

But yeah, I think it's worth having the conversation if it's something you're even a little bit interested in. So I want to talk about the pros of owning, because I think first off, there's a pride of ownership of you are prideful of your home and keeping it nice and up to date and doing little projects on it. And I think that's a key American thing, you know.

00:03:30:09 - 00:03:40:02

Joe Reitzug

To be a homeowner. And, you know, I think we've gotten away from that a little bit and it's nice to be able to call somewhere, home, college your own, and be able to make it your own little castle.

00:03:40:02 - 00:04:06:22

Makayla Mast

Personalize it and have that if you want to have pets and all of those fun things. But one thing I always tell people that's nice about owning versus renting is that your monthly payment is going to stay consistent. So when you're renting, you never really know. I mean, every year there's a chance that they could increase rent. So yeah, having that consistency and knowing that you qualified for this certain mortgage amount and it's going to stick around for as long as you want it to, I think is comforting.

00:04:06:22 - 00:04:26:13

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. I remember when my wife and I were renting before we bought our first home and all I could think about was I am paying someone else's mortgage right now and that just that bug me, you know that. And being a young real estate broker and not having my own house, that always stuck with me that I was paying someone else's mortgage that didn't sit well.

00:04:26:13 - 00:04:27:07

Joe Reitzug

So yeah.

00:04:27:07 - 00:04:46:00

Makayla Mast

You're by paying your mortgage, you're paying towards your investment every single month. It's a good thing you're building equity every month. We know that real estate is an appreciating value year over year. It's important to time the market when you do want to sell and make sure that it is an appropriate time and you are going to see a good return.

00:04:46:00 - 00:04:50:16

Makayla Mast

But typically speaking, the trends show that real estate appreciates over time.

00:04:50:16 - 00:05:10:04

Joe Reitzug

Homeownership is a great investment. And in fact, we'll have some charts for you on livportland.com livportland.com. If you go to this podcast episode, we'll have some information to kind of back those things up and also show you what equity can do for you over a certain amount of time, which is always kind of a cool thing to see.

00:05:10:04 - 00:05:20:12

Joe Reitzug

But I think we want to talk about where rates are right now and also look at three and a half percent down versus 20% down, FHA, conventional loans, that type of thing.

00:05:20:13 - 00:05:36:11

Makayla Mast

Yeah, it feels like that's a lot of information, but I think it's important for us to share because the thing that is scaring buyers right now is interest rates. And if they are too high and if this is a good time for them to even be looking into this. So we just we went to our friend Todd Gydesen

00:05:36:12 - 00:05:44:16

Makayla Mast

He's one of our trusted mortgage brokers, and we went to his website, Vintage Mortgage Group, and they have this great strides. Rate tracker.

00:05:44:16 - 00:06:04:05

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, live tracker. It's fantastic. We'll get a link on our website to that, too. Yes. You want to go to Portland and grab that link, but let's take a look at it. So FHA 30 year fixed, it looks like with three and a half percent down, you're looking at about and a PR of right around 7% right now.

00:06:04:05 - 00:06:33:06

Joe Reitzug

So on a $450,000 purchase with 15,750 down, which is 3.5%, you're looking at a 7% monthly payment of about 2800 bucks. Okay. And for everyone, that's all of us are rate sensitive. Everyone wants the best rate. And just a reminder that rates go up, rates go down. Getting yourself into the home as long as it's financially comfortable for you and makes sense locks you in.

00:06:33:06 - 00:06:56:17

Joe Reitzug

Unless you're doing an adjustable rate mortgage, which you know, that's a whole nother conversation. But with what we're talking about right here, you get locked in at that 7%, you know where your payments are going to be. And if it goes down when it goes down, you can always refinance that rate and save yourself some money. And like McKayla was saying, you don't have to worry about, no, my landlord's bumped us up to 3000 or 3100.

00:06:56:17 - 00:07:07:13

Joe Reitzug

Now, you can rest assured you're going to have that payment amount, your building equity, and and you can lower that interest rate at some point down the line. When rates go down.

00:07:07:14 - 00:07:28:12

Makayla Mast

You can refinance as soon as six months two. So if you can at least have a light at the end of the tunnel, you know, maybe being able to lower that monthly payment just a tad, I think that's helpful for people to know. And a lot of mortgage brokers are offering free refinances for the first five years because they know that people are so worried about rates right now.

00:07:28:12 - 00:07:34:07

Makayla Mast

So definitely consider interviewing a couple brokers and seeing what they have to offer with these packages.

00:07:34:08 - 00:07:56:13

Joe Reitzug

Yep. So that's FHA, a 30 year fixed conventional 30 year fixed. Let's look at that with 20% down. Let's say you've been saving you know, maybe you have some people that are giving you gift funds, but you're able to do 20% down on that same $450,000 purchase. Right now, rates are going to be on a conventional 30 year.

00:07:56:15 - 00:08:08:14

Joe Reitzug

You're looking at right around 7.35, somewhere in there with 20% down. Even though the rates higher, your payment is going to be at around 2400.

00:08:08:16 - 00:08:09:13

Makayla Mast

Wow, that's.

00:08:09:13 - 00:08:33:08

Joe Reitzug

Crazy. Yeah. So and maybe you have that 20% down and you're trying to figure out, okay, do I go with the 20% down conventional or do I only do 3.5% and have a little bit higher payment every month? But I've saved my cash to do whatever you need to do with that, including maybe fixing up the home or spending that money on reducing debt or whatever the case may be.

00:08:33:10 - 00:08:45:20

Makayla Mast

I just think that's crazy and important to highlight because the difference to me at least between 60, I'd say round up 16,000 down versus 90,000 down feels so significant to me.

00:08:45:21 - 00:08:46:09

Joe Reitzug

Huge.

00:08:46:11 - 00:09:05:03

Makayla Mast

But the difference in a $400 in a monthly payment doesn't seem as bad, right? Which $400 monthly extra is a lot. But if you can, you know, move some things round or cancel a golf membership or a gym membership, you know, you might be able to make it more feasible. So I think it's good to point.

00:09:05:03 - 00:09:07:18

Joe Reitzug

Out or hold off on those planning classes.

00:09:07:19 - 00:09:14:12

Makayla Mast

Hey, those aren't going anywhere. But that's about what I mean after.

00:09:14:13 - 00:09:22:12

Joe Reitzug

Getting you got to draw the line somewhere. McKayla I understand, but you took a cheap shot when you said doing away with the golf membership that I.

00:09:22:12 - 00:09:25:17

Makayla Mast

Like to write in your. I was too. It was personal.

00:09:25:21 - 00:09:27:13

Joe Reitzug

That was personal. Wow.

00:09:27:16 - 00:09:31:16

Makayla Mast

I think that was more towards what's happened. I mean.

00:09:31:18 - 00:09:37:17

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, spring is right around the corner. McKellar, we need those memberships.

00:09:37:17 - 00:09:39:15

Makayla Mast

Well, you need to make up for it.

00:09:39:17 - 00:09:46:12

Joe Reitzug

we welcome you. Spring comes around. You're never going to see your husband and I. Yeah, we're gone.

00:09:46:14 - 00:09:47:02

Makayla Mast

All right.

00:09:47:06 - 00:09:49:04

Joe Reitzug

We're in the links.

00:09:49:06 - 00:09:50:09

Makayla Mast

Fine, fine, fine.

00:09:50:09 - 00:10:01:03

Joe Reitzug

So let's talk about current market conditions. What are the current market conditions look like? Because we are in a volatile market. They go up, they go down, things change, The things stay the same. What do you see?

00:10:01:05 - 00:10:22:13

Makayla Mast

Well, it seems like the last week of January and on, there's been way more activity in the market than there has been for the last four months. We're seeing lockbox activity up, which is something that we pay attention to so that, you know, we track that to see how many people are showing houses. We've seen more people showing our listings, more people offering on the listings that we currently have.

00:10:22:13 - 00:10:29:20

Makayla Mast

So just more movement in the market in general, but inventory is still really low. So when they're comparatively speaking.

00:10:29:20 - 00:10:52:18

Joe Reitzug

So was that like one month inventory? True. And remember, people months of inventory is defined by if you didn't add any more new homes to the market at the current rate, how fast would the marketplace be out of homes to sell? And it used to be like like one hour underwater. It was so scarce and now it's up to 3.2.

00:10:52:19 - 00:11:07:11

Joe Reitzug

6% is considered an equal balance between buyers and sellers. That's when there's not one side favored 5 to 6 months is usually the benchmark. So it's still very much a seller's market, but it's inching towards being a more balanced marketplace.

00:11:07:12 - 00:11:20:05

Makayla Mast

Thank you for explaining that. You're welcome. Just from my perspective, when I'm looking for on behalf of buyers, it just feels like there's nothing to even go see. So that's where I feel like there's just no inventory. But I think.

00:11:20:06 - 00:11:24:09

Joe Reitzug

Affordable price points are still so incredibly tight.

00:11:24:11 - 00:11:25:19

Makayla Mast

And you just have to be patient.

00:11:25:19 - 00:11:40:02

Joe Reitzug

You know, where I'm seeing a lot of homes come on the market, not a lot, but I consistently see things are hitting. The market is out at the beach and towards the mountain. You know, out of the urban core, things start to feel like there's more and more inventory.

00:11:40:04 - 00:11:43:15

Makayla Mast

Interesting. Yeah, I've been checking my beach houses and.

00:11:43:17 - 00:11:46:04

Joe Reitzug

I keep an eye on the beach and the mountain too. Yeah.

00:11:46:06 - 00:11:54:18

Makayla Mast

I need to peek at the mountain a little while. It's a fun one to look at. We both really want to talk about the current inventory that's available today for first time homebuyers.

00:11:54:23 - 00:11:56:21

Joe Reitzug

I'm going to let you do that because that's pretty cool.

00:11:57:02 - 00:12:20:13

Makayla Mast

I think it's fun to look at and it's encouraging. So I did a little search for a single family homes that are 450,000 or less. And then I also added a filter. You can do an FHA conventional USDA, VA loan. A lot of times homes at the 300,000 price point aren't financeable because they have so much work that needs to happen to them.

00:12:20:13 - 00:12:46:01

Makayla Mast

So maybe, yeah, the roof could be literally caving in and you couldn't finance a home like that. So it completely takes a section of the homes out of your search. So out of that, so we could look at realistic numbers. And there are 102 homes available in the north Portland, northeast, southeast Portland pocket, and then in the Milwaukee, Gladstone Happy Valley Market.

00:12:46:01 - 00:13:07:00

Makayla Mast

There's nine homes on the market for 450,000 or less. And then on the other side of the pond, on the northwest, southwest, south Raleigh Hills area, there were 19 homes on the market today, which is great. Yeah, surprising. And then Beaverton aloha Tiger at Hillsborough Sherwood area. There's 20 homes currently on the market.

00:13:07:06 - 00:13:10:17

Joe Reitzug

That surprised me. I thought there'd be a little bit more in that area.

00:13:10:17 - 00:13:16:18

Makayla Mast

I thought so, too. But I did pull this this morning. So, you know, there could be a little more that.

00:13:16:20 - 00:13:17:05

Joe Reitzug

There could.

00:13:17:05 - 00:13:24:10

Makayla Mast

Be. Thursday is the day that people like to list property, so there could be more. So I thought that those were encouraging.

00:13:24:13 - 00:13:40:05

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. So there are homes out there. You know, you can even go outside of what we just talked about outside Portland Metro. Look at North Plains down to Newberg, McMinnville, CEPU, St Helens, those areas. And I think you'll find some inventory up there as well. Yeah.

00:13:40:07 - 00:14:00:22

Makayla Mast

When we talk to first time homebuyers, something that we always discuss is townhouses and condos and the pros and cons of buying those. And that's something we wanted to highlight today because we you know, previously I've just been talking about single family homes. And I think that, you know, owning a condo can be great for a number of different reasons, too.

00:14:00:22 - 00:14:07:04

Makayla Mast

Great way for you to get your foot in the door. And there can also be more affordable options there.

00:14:07:04 - 00:14:38:09

Joe Reitzug

So, yeah, very low maintenance, easy homeownership. It's interesting. I don't know if a lot of people know this, but during the gangbuster years, 20 to 20, 20, 20 to 2022, 23, early 23, when single family homes residential was going nuts, condos were a little bit depressed and their prices came down. And I think now it's I'd say they're a little bit out of the bottom of the pricing.

00:14:38:09 - 00:15:05:14

Joe Reitzug

They're starting to come up in some places a little bit, but there are still so many great deals on condos that were 100 or $200,000 more in a lot of places. A condo that was 500,005 or six years ago might be 400 for 25. Right. But those prices are now starting to come up because more and more people are saying, okay, if I can't get into a home at this price point, I'll do a condo.

00:15:05:16 - 00:15:10:05

Joe Reitzug

But there's a couple of things you need to remember about that, right? You're going to have some major fees usually.

00:15:10:05 - 00:15:30:12

Makayla Mast

Right? Exactly. Which does not help your monthly payment. So if you are in the market for a condo and you're worried about your monthly payment, we'll just filter it to look for buildings that have lower fees. So maybe they're 100, 200 bucks, but sometimes, you know, if you're in in our downtown area, they could be as high as $600 a month.

00:15:30:12 - 00:15:38:06

Makayla Mast

So definitely something to pay attention to is going to be nice. Do they help a lot with maintenance and amenities? And, you know.

00:15:38:08 - 00:15:40:00

Joe Reitzug

Some have some very nice amenities.

00:15:40:05 - 00:15:57:02

Makayla Mast

So if you're you know, if the building has a gym and then therefore you don't have to pay for a gym payment that could factor in and just all things to consider. And then the other thing we recommend when you're considering buying a condo is to get a good return on your investment. You want to plan on living there a little bit longer than you would a single family home.

00:15:57:02 - 00:16:05:09

Makayla Mast

So single family, we say 3 to 5 years at least. And then a condo, we say closer to 5 to 7 years.

00:16:05:09 - 00:16:23:02

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. And it depends on the situation a lot of times. But typically, if you can be in a condo for five years, you're going to be fine. You're going to get some money out of that. You're going to do you're going to do good. And it's just a matter of like, what building, what area, what's hot, what's not, all those type of things.

00:16:23:04 - 00:16:45:00

Joe Reitzug

And there there are definitely just like different neighborhoods go up and go down. There's buildings and houses that go up and go down depending on things. So let's talk about the overall cost breakdown. What's it going to cost me, Makayla? If I go out, look for homes with you and boom, I found it awesome. Let's make an offer.

00:16:45:02 - 00:16:47:08

Joe Reitzug

What's it going to cost me to get this thing closed?

00:16:47:08 - 00:16:56:17

Makayla Mast

Yeah. So this is something I like to talk about with first time homebuyers, because again, they think we're going to bamboozle them. So I like to lay this all out. I don't know if.

00:16:56:17 - 00:17:01:04

Joe Reitzug

They think that we're going to bamboozle them, but there's just so many questions. And, you know.

00:17:01:06 - 00:17:02:14

Makayla Mast

I think people just don't know.

00:17:02:18 - 00:17:03:16

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, people don't know.

00:17:03:20 - 00:17:04:05

Makayla Mast

Yeah.

00:17:04:05 - 00:17:06:08

Joe Reitzug

So because you're very trusting.

00:17:06:10 - 00:17:07:04

Makayla Mast

I think you.

00:17:07:09 - 00:17:07:23

Joe Reitzug

Seriously.

00:17:08:00 - 00:17:28:08

Makayla Mast

Think you are, too. Yeah. So aside from your down payment, once you do find a home that you love and you offer and you get the offer accepted, you are responsible for paying for the home inspection, which we definitely recommend you to have done. And it is required for the sale when you're financing. Isn't that right?

00:17:28:11 - 00:17:33:23

Joe Reitzug

Well yeah I'm Pessin dry right you know all those things and an appraisal is going to happen as well.

00:17:33:23 - 00:17:53:08

Makayla Mast

So that inspection costs for a general inspection is typically between 500 and $700 depending on the size of the home. So smaller home you might be able to get on the lower end of that. And then like Joe just touched on the appraisal that the bank is going to need, that typically is around $800 and then closing cost.

00:17:53:08 - 00:17:59:03

Makayla Mast

The amount to close the loan are typically around 1% of whatever your loan price is.

00:17:59:05 - 00:18:03:07

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, And those are all things that you got to you got to budget for.

00:18:03:09 - 00:18:31:17

Makayla Mast

So you don't want to be slapped with that when you're already making a significant down payment. So good to know. But there's also first time buyer zero down programs which people constantly ask us about. We are experts in these things, so we definitely help people do research. If this is something that they're interested in. But Portland has a down payment assistance loan program and then you can look at that on their website and we'll post that in the show notes and on our website as well.

00:18:31:17 - 00:18:53:12

Makayla Mast

There's a lot of different criteria that you need to fit in order to apply for those but qualify for those. But I think it's definitely worth looking at, especially if you want to live within the city limits of Portland. It's a little more forgiving. So something to look at and then some VA loans and USDA loans are zero down as well.

00:18:53:13 - 00:19:07:17

Joe Reitzug

VA is a great way to go if you have the ability to use a VA loan. It is That's the first thing you should be looking at because it is a really, really cool way to go. And there's a lot of opportunity there. USDA loans are interesting.

00:19:07:19 - 00:19:10:19

Makayla Mast

It's not quite it's not zero, but it's lower, right.

00:19:10:19 - 00:19:20:15

Joe Reitzug

And much lower. And the qualifications are much easier to get qualified for. But you're not going to be able to buy in city limits, Right? Didn't know that until recently with USDA.

00:19:20:17 - 00:19:32:16

Makayla Mast

It's interesting. And you just kind of have to have the lender run it because it kind of surprised me like there was a home I showed enforced Grove that qualified for it and I kind of thought that that was too close and but I guess it wasn't.

00:19:32:16 - 00:19:38:20

Joe Reitzug

So there's a website where you can pop any address into and it'll tell you if it's USDA qualified or not.

00:19:39:00 - 00:19:40:09

Makayla Mast

Yeah well there you go.

00:19:40:09 - 00:19:46:18

Joe Reitzug

We'll put it on the website before you can go check it out there. And then some banks have programs, too, right?

00:19:46:20 - 00:20:02:19

Makayla Mast

Yeah, I just did a Google search today when I was doing my notes for this episode. And it looks like some banks have some programs. But with that, you definitely want to check for hidden fees. You don't want them to bite you at the end. So yeah, but there can be something out there. It's worth.

00:20:02:21 - 00:20:11:03

Joe Reitzug

It's worth looking into and asking whoever you bank with, you've got money with them. You're a client already. Ask if they have a department that does home loans. Yeah.

00:20:11:03 - 00:20:26:11

Makayla Mast

I think one of the hardest things, one of the hardest conversations I have with people is how do I save for this down payment? It just seems like an astronomical number if you've never purchased a home before to try and save. So what would be your recommendations on ways to say.

00:20:26:13 - 00:20:48:00

Joe Reitzug

Financial literacy is a very difficult thing and being able to sit down and do your budget and figure out how much you can save from your paychecks and how much you can live on and where you can put that money is is a tough conversation. And there's a lot of different resources online. There's a lot of different people.

00:20:48:00 - 00:21:06:21

Joe Reitzug

You can talk to. But in the end, I think it comes down to understanding your own personal finances. And I think being able to look at your bottom line and say, okay, I can save X amount, and then sticking with that and putting it into a savings account or a high yield account that is going to pay you a little bit.

00:21:06:21 - 00:21:28:01

Joe Reitzug

The other thing is there are ways that you can get your funds, you know, parents, grandma and grandpa, all those type of different avenues. And sometimes that's a tough conversation. What I found is most of the people that we work with always say something to the effect of, I was so surprised by my dad, I brought it up with my dad.

00:21:28:02 - 00:21:29:13

Joe Reitzug

My dad was so happy to do it.

00:21:29:13 - 00:21:30:11

Makayla Mast

Yeah.

00:21:30:12 - 00:21:32:12

Joe Reitzug

Almost never a bad conversation.

00:21:32:12 - 00:21:33:03

Makayla Mast

Right?

00:21:33:05 - 00:21:33:14

Joe Reitzug

Right.

00:21:33:14 - 00:21:37:01

Makayla Mast

We're singing and dancing now. All right. Can. Sorry.

00:21:37:07 - 00:21:37:22

Joe Reitzug

Yeah.

00:21:37:22 - 00:21:38:21

Makayla Mast

Look, do what I can.

00:21:39:00 - 00:22:06:05

Joe Reitzug

Yeah. So it's definitely a hard road to go down, but being disciplined and saving in and putting it away for what you're trying to get done is just the best way to go. And, you know, it pays off in the end, especially when you look at buying that first house and you stay there for 3 to 5 years, five or six years, whatever the case may be, and then you turn around and go, I wonder if I can buy a different house and how much is my home worth?

00:22:06:05 - 00:22:15:07

Joe Reitzug

I bought it for 400 and wow, now it's worth 550. So there's your $150,000, you know.

00:22:15:09 - 00:22:17:12

Makayla Mast

Estimated that.

00:22:17:13 - 00:22:39:19

Joe Reitzug

Yeah, yeah. It's a whole nother conversation. But you have that equity right there. So your 15,000 that you put 3.5% down has blossomed to whatever you're paid off in the loan, which probably not going to be a lot of principal in the first 3 to 5 years. But that appreciation lesson will be there for you and you can make some changes that way.

00:22:39:21 - 00:22:42:22

Makayla Mast

It's all about getting your foot in the door. It really is.

00:22:43:01 - 00:22:48:03

Joe Reitzug

TENDON Yeah. So real quickly, what do you need to fill out a loan application?

00:22:48:05 - 00:23:07:22

Makayla Mast

Yeah. So these scare people too. So like we said at the beginning of this episode, I think it's just worth applying. Just see what you know. Yeah. If it makes sense for you. And it's really not a lot of information that you need for the application. So it's your Social security number. Proof of employment tax returns, and then a general idea of your credit score.

00:23:07:22 - 00:23:15:11

Makayla Mast

So you don't need to know to the number, but if you have an idea of what bracket you're in, that's helpful. And then the list of any debts and assets.

00:23:15:12 - 00:23:16:06

Joe Reitzug

Yep.

00:23:16:08 - 00:23:16:19

Makayla Mast

That's it.

00:23:17:00 - 00:23:33:10

Joe Reitzug

It's usually a 5 to 10, 10 to 15 minute phone call with your lender. They can give you a great idea of where you stand, what you need to do, what you need to work on, or yep, you're ready to go and you can afford X and it sounds like you've got this saved away for you down payment.

00:23:33:10 - 00:23:40:02

Joe Reitzug

And this for the closing and you're good to go. Yeah. Which is always a fun thing. Yes.

00:23:40:04 - 00:24:09:15

Makayla Mast

Okay. So on Instagram today, if you don't follow us on Instagram, please do livportland. I did a little Q&A and you know those oops, there we are. Sorry. And I asked you guys are followers if you had any questions about buying a home. And we've got one question. So thank you to this person. And they asked, what is the average price point of a home in the Portland area?

00:24:09:17 - 00:24:10:22

Joe Reitzug

yeah, good one.

00:24:11:02 - 00:24:12:07

Makayla Mast

And it's a great question.

00:24:12:07 - 00:24:13:11

Joe Reitzug

Smart.

00:24:13:11 - 00:24:17:00

Makayla Mast

It's just under 600,005 99.

00:24:17:00 - 00:24:43:06

Joe Reitzug

Yes. Is the average right now in different areas, though, you're going to find different numbers. Obviously, like Hillsboro was, I think 518. Lake Oswego is 823. West Portland, I thought was 670. So it's it's different all over the place. And that, you know, when you're a first time homebuyer, finding an affordable place to live is the key, right?

00:24:43:06 - 00:24:51:12

Joe Reitzug

It's just getting your foot in the door in a place where you can call home and start to build, build equity and start living your life in your new house. Yeah, I love it.

00:24:51:15 - 00:25:05:08

Makayla Mast

Well, we hope this was helpful. If you have any other questions, please I hesitate to reach out, but we will post as much info as we can in the show notes and then also on our website. Like we've talked about homes. Thank you for listening.

00:25:05:12 - 00:25:06:10

Joe Reitzug

Thanks everyone.