Here's Why Some Feel It's Better To Just Rent For 1 More Year...  

...and are giving up on buying a home right now

Time and Money

it always comes down to those 2 things

price and value always need to make sense on a BIG purchase

and timing is a huge part of any decision

for those that are renting right now

and have an affordable place to live that works for them

they could absolutely be tempted to avoid the time and cost of moving

rent + security deposit + moving truck can add up quickly

and it can cause a lot of people to feel stuck where they are

the question then becomes

when will the circumstances ever be 100% perfect to make the big leap?

the answer is that its unlikely that things will ever be pefect

there is a 1 time pain to own a home

and it involves some change, in order to break a cycle of renting

despite all of the challenges, there are still some that are focused on buying

let's take a deeper look at the true cost of things

• 1st month rent can be similar to 1st mortgage payment
• security deposit from your current rental is refunded at move out
• you may have friends with trucks to avoid the cost of a moving truck
• you typically don't have a mortgage payment due the 1st month

there are a number of scenarions where the cost owning a home

is about the same as it costs to rent a home

there are still people that believe that you need a 20% down payment

to purchase a home with a mortgage

when in fact that are a variety of options avaialable with 0%-5% down payments

and in many cases, a monthly mortgage payment is similar to renting

today's podcast get's down and dirty with the numbers

and breaks down the financial impacts of renting vs buying

Back To School Moves AFTER classes Start...

...is happening more this year than in the past

moving during the break between school years

has tradtionally been the preferred path for most families 

The Summer of 2025 Buying season was really drawn out

and in a lot of markets, it never really happened

it wasn't out of laziness or lack of desire to move

but rather due to economic uncertainty

whats interesting to me

is that the number of home sales that took place in August

that will close in September

is larger than usual in the markets that I work in Florida

where the school year has already started

why now?

• Fed interest rates have remained unchanged all year
• home prices have increased - not decreased
• its inconvenient to move once schools starts

my suspicion is that many have tired of waiting out the market

and have made a decision to move now

as the pain of living where they are at currently

is greater than the discomfort of making a move

in less than ideal circumstances

this is true for both buyers and sellers at this time

yet each side is taking a 2nd look at things

and are finding deals that can make sense to both sides

and with that there is more certainty on what to do next

which is what causes markets to move

listen in for all the details on where the market is heading

Mortgage Rates Hit A 10 Month Low...   

... even though the Fed hasn't dropped interest rates in 2025

So what is causing this to happen?

I have some ideas

• pent up demand
• banks pricing in future rate cuts
• a slowdown in mortgage applications
• alien intervention

The reality may just be 3 of the 4 things above are working at the same time

Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke at the Jackson Hole Meeting

and intimated that a rate cut may be on the horizon

leaving many people to believe that rates will be lowered

at the September 16-17 Fed Meeting 

and if there is a .25% rate drop at that time

rates many not drop afterwards

as it appears that the market is already pricing that in to rates

so it may need to be a .5% rate drop to see further decreases for consumers

change is on the horizon

It is abundantly clear that there will be a new Fed Chair in early 2026

and its looking like there will 1-2 rate drops between now and the end of the year

a lot of home buyers got tired of waiting around for a small change in rates

and have moved forward on home purchases at the prevailing rates

many plan to refinance down the road

while others feel that they may only be in the home for a few years

and would rather own than rent

today's podcast talks about the dynamics in place for those watching interest rates

It might make sense to pay PMI when you buy a home... 

...despite what you may have been told

Private Mortgage Insurance is used when a home buyer

is financing a home with less than a 20% down payment

It is not homeowners insurance to help the owner if there is damage

It is a safety net for the lender of the home loan

in case the buyer doesn't pay the mortgage and goes into deafult

mitigating the risk of lending money with a low down payment

it allows more people the opportunity to become home owners

lets face it, it takes a long time for most people to save for a down payment

lets examine a home purchase of $300,000

a 20% down payment would be $60,000

and "guesstimate" closing costs, insurance, and lending fees of $10,000

that is a total of $70,000 that the home buyer would bring to the closing table

what if the buyer wanted to use a lower down payment of 5%

a 20% down payment would be $15,000

and "guesstimate" closing costs, insurance, and lending fees of $10,000

that is a total of $25,000 that the home buyer would bring to the closing table

a whopping $45,000 difference in the cash needed to close

in order to do that, mortgage insurance would be put in place

and it would add a cost of about $200 per month to the monthly payment

thats about $2400 per year more paid out for the home

and for many people, it's an acceptable tradeoff

in many cases the home buyer can get rid of the PMI somewhere down the road

• they can pay down the loan so there is 20% equity
• they can do some renovations to add equity
• they can refinance the loan in the future
• they can sell the home and buy a different on with 20% down

Click Here To Run Some Numbers on a Mortgage Calculator

tune in to today's show to learn more about PMI strategies

If I Was Going To Use An FHA Loan To Buy A Home... 

...I would be looking at the 3.5% down option

FHA Loans have been around since 1934

They are sometimes called a 1st Time Buyer Loan

The fact is that they are available to anyone

But with the low down payment it

is particularly attractive to 1st timers

Sellers are allowed to help the buyers with closing cost assistance

which lowers the barrier to make a home purchase

most common is a 3% credit that can be used for:

• closing costs
• prepaid items such as insurance
• interest rate buy down

lets examine a scenario where the purchase price is $300,000

the down payment would be $10,500 ($300,000 x 3.5%)

and if the seller is crediting the buyer 3% of the purchase price at closing

$300,000 x 3% = $9,000 credit

so the actual $$$ to the seller is $291,000

before they pay commissions/closing costs

the buyers lender will do an appraisal and it will need to come in at $300,000 or higher

if the appraisal came in lower, such as $295,000

the bank would only be able to lend based on that amount

this situation could be resolved in a number of ways:

• the buyer could pay the $5,000 down payment gap in cash at closing
• the buyer could ask the seller to lower the price by $5,000
• the seller could reduce the price $5,000 and reduce the credit $5,000
• they could each contribute toward the $5,000 

Listen in to today's show for all the details

If I Was Going To Use A VA Loan To Buy A Home...

...I would be looking at the no $$$ down option

VA Loans are available to Veterans that have their

• D214
• Eligibility Certificate

A program like this is a great way to get thank our Veterans

Another great feature of this loan

is that it is allowable for the seller of the home

to help pay for the closing costs

up to 4% of the purchase price can be credited back to the buyer at closing

which can be used for closing costs, and prepaid items such as insurance

the $$$ could also be used for an interest rate buydown

which would lower the monthly payments

and save on the cost of interest paid on the loan

to give an example of how this works

lets examine a scenario where the purchase price is $300,000

and the seller is crediting the buyer 4% of the purchase price at closing

$300,000 x 4% = $12,000 credit

so the actual $$$ to the seller is $288,000 before they pay commissions/closing costs

the buyers lender will do an appraisal and it will need to come in at $300,000 or higher

if the appraisal came in lower, such as $295,000

the bank would only be able to lend based on that amount

this situation could be resolved in a number of ways:

• the buyer could pay the $5,000 down payment gap in cash at closing
• the buyer could ask the seller to lower the price by $5,000
• the seller could reduce the price $5,000 and reduce the credit $5,000
• they could each contribute toward the $5,000 

Listen in to today's show for all the details

If I Was Going To Use A 401k To Buy A Home...

...I would start by learning how much tax would be owed when I take the $$$ out

and I would definitely contact your 401k plan admin team for more info

I always find it interesting when home buyers tell me

that they are going to use their 401k to buy a home

It's not that I think that its a bad idea

as it can make a lot of sense in the right situation

but rather that they have no clue that they will have taxes dues

when they take the $$$ out

quite often, its a clear case of amnesia 

when they put $$$ into their 401k

it went in before taxes were paid on those earnings

check your paystubs if your don't believe me

the taxes due are deferred until the $$$ is taken out

and when a large sum of $$$ is taken out

a shocking amount of $$$ can be due at tax time

lets suppose that your are in the 15% tax bracket

and you want to take out $100,000 to buy a home

$15,000 in tax is due

and if the home that you want is $300,000

then $45,000 is due if you take out the full amount

if you are a high wage earner in a tax bracket above 30%

then you are looking at a tax bill of about 100k

that would cause most people some discomfort

most 401k plans have a way to take a loan out against your 401k

and that can be used for the down payment on a home

and a mortgage could be used for the remainder of the $$$ needed

that is a strategy that works for many people

today's podcast unlocks more tips on what goes into tapping into your 401k

If I Was Flipping A Home Today...    

...my main focus would be the location of the home

and it would be a desirable area for someone to live in

so that I would have a large target audience

when it was time to put the renovated home on the market

this doesn't mean that the home needs to be

in a $$$ million $$$ neighborhood

an ideal location may very well be

where homes are selling below the media sales price

it would be attractive to a wide audience of owner occupied home buyers

and would also be interesting to investors that want turn key rentals

starting with the end in mind makes complete sense

I would want to consider the marketing strategy to sell the home

as I select the right home to flip among the many options on the market

as well as when making the home improvement decisions and the materials to be used

money is made and lost when it takes too long to sell the property

the clock starts ticking the day that you purchase the home

costs for labor and materials are obvious expenses

in addition to that are taxes, insurance, permits, taxes

and at the eventual closing you will be commissions and fees

all of which eat into your return on investment

tune in for all the details as I break down the path to profits when flipping a home

US Home Prices Are Up...

...and so is consumer confidence

despite the Fed Stubbornly refusing to lower interest rates

The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) recent report

shows that while home prices were down .2% in the month of May

but they are up 2.8% between May 2024 and May 2025

Separately, The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index

rose 2 points from 95.2 in June to 97.2 in July

all the while the Fed once again refused to lower interest rates at their July meeting

interestingly, there were several rate decreases before the Presidential election

and zero reductions since that time

read into that what you want

what all of this means to me

is that the bottom hasn't, and won't be, falling out on home prices

home values are on track to be up the 3% in 2025

that I predicted here before the start of the year

and it we ever see an interest rate reduction

it will likely push home values a little higher

as home buyers monthly payments become a little lower

listen in to today's show for my analysis of what is happening now in these areas

Time Will Defeat $$$ In August...

...as many with their move on hold are done waiting for interest rates to change

we are seeing very clear signs that there will be marriages of convenience

as we enter into the latter half of summer

the reality of summer vacations ending soon

and the start of a new school year on the horizon

creates a growing number of delayed home sales gaining momentum

and for that segment of the market

the cost of the time spent waiting out the market

is far greater than the hope of saving some $$$ with lower interest rates

and as this swing occurs

we are finding that there is a developing sweet spot

where sellers are getting enough $$$ for a sale to make sense

while buyers are getting a price low enough to seal a deal

this is not a market where everyone will get 100% of what they want financially

but buyers and sellers get to move on to where they would rather be living

than continuing to live in a place that no longer meets their needs

whether the move is to upsize, downsize, relocate, or change an investment strategy

the movement is about to move forward