Welcome Home with Monique

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Unknown Speaker 0:37
Good morning. This is Monique Buchanan, the host of the welcome home with Monique show. And on this show, I talk all things real estate. Listen, I want to thank you for tuning in. Okay, hello, Las Vegas. I kind of jumped the gun there. Well, I hope you guys are out there surviving this hot hot hot heat. This is Monique Buchanan. Your local Las Vegas Real tour. This is the welcome home with Monique show. And I have yet another great show for you. Now listen, I know it's so hot out there. And I don't know if you guys have heard there's a rapper plies that I was cracking up you guys. He was on IG going off about his $2,800 light bill for his power down there in Atlanta. So apparently it's not just us, okay, it's not just us here in Vegas. Everybody is struggling with these power bills. Because you know, you know as the Earth is warming up, guess what else was going up? The cost of this power, you know, to keep us cool. So that is why I have my friend in the solar power industry, Mr. Bernard, low on again today. And I'm gonna continue to have him come on because I am a true believer in solar panels and solar solar power. I'm getting my tongue. Twisted, Bernard, thank you for coming on.

Unknown Speaker 1:57
Thank you for having me. I

Unknown Speaker 1:58
appreciate very much. Yes, well, it is well needed. Because I'm telling you I'm they've heard me say before, you know when Nevada power sent me that 400 And like $50 power bill. I called him I thought they had made a mistake. They said we definitely have not, you know, and man, I immediately said it's a no brainer. I've got to get solar, there's no way I'm gonna pay over $2,000 Just for the summer for power. Well guess what? That was back in 2017. We just had another rate hike with wouldn't it be energy again? What three days ago? Yes, that's Yes. So tell us a little bit about that. Go ahead and start and,

Unknown Speaker 2:35
and that is a very key point that would make the show very great today is that Nevada energy just got a rate hike, another

Unknown Speaker 2:45
another roommate can continue to

Unknown Speaker 2:48
a rate if you look at buying a home or getting a loan, and the interest rates keep going up. And you can't do anything about it. That's what's happening with the with the power industry right now. Through Nevada energies, the rate hikes are continuing to go up. And it's nothing that you can do about it.

Unknown Speaker 3:11
I like that you know what I'm gonna say about that. I really like that. That's a great way to think about it. Because everybody that was around back in the day when the crash happened, they remember there were those terrible loans out called the arm loans where they just went up and up and up and up. You know what I mean? There was never an ending to it. So people were losing their homes. Well, that's the same thing. Like you just said, there's no stability, there is zero stability with staying with Nevada power, they can continue to raise your power bills,

Unknown Speaker 3:39
right now is an excellent time to go solar. In you can. A lot of people always say that the only reason why they don't go solar is because it's a loan. But if you think about being in a loan, with the interest rates constantly going up all the time, and nothing that you can do about it. You will end up with astronomical bills each and every time so I mean like right now as you were saying earlier, there's people with $700 a month power bills Oh yeah 800 900

Unknown Speaker 4:14
Well in the remember in the energies loan to you because like you said that is a loan whether you realize it or not, you're paying it every month. That's a lifetime loan. And that's a loan with no balance you will always pay and never pay it off.

Unknown Speaker 4:26
We'll look at this. Think about this, okay. Whatever you pay every single month it's mandatory that you pay it if that's not structured like a loan, I don't know what else is right okay. If you're late on that if you're late on that you get charged an interest rate right a late payment have told me that's now a structure like that's definitely sounds like a loan to me, Bernard, if you don't pay it, it gets disconnected. Right? Tell me that. It's not a structure like a loan. That's absolutely if you can tell knew that pattern, it hurts your credit. Yes. Tell me that it's not structured exactly like a loan. So it is a loan, you're just not told that it's a loan, and

Unknown Speaker 5:08
you just have no balance to pay off the loan. Now, you brought a guest on as well, right, Bernard? Yes.

Unknown Speaker 5:14
Now, Terry is a very high knowledgeable person in the industry of solar. She's a great mentor. She's based out of California. She coaches, an extraordinarily large team. And she knows the ins and outs of everything solar. Okay, great. And so we do have Terry on. But before we do get to Terry, let me just let you know that there's no money down I go solar, you

Unknown Speaker 5:44
can always right. There's your company, there's no money to down or the solar, never any money out of pocket. And it's also free for you to come over and give them an estimate. And let them see, you know, what it looks like for free. Exactly. And so they have questions, they can call you over, there's no obligation, let you at least come over and say okay, this is what we got, you know, and this is what it'll look like for you. And that's free of charge as well. Right. Exactly.

Unknown Speaker 6:07
Exactly. You being in the mortgage industry. Do you know that when you do go solar, it increases the value of your home?

Unknown Speaker 6:15
Absolutely. If there, especially if those solar panels are paid off? That is a huge incentive. Because let me tell you, my buyers are knocking down doors that have paid off solar panels. They understand that that's a huge savings for them and for the life of the wild. They live in the home.

Unknown Speaker 6:31
Yes, yes. Now, let's let me introduce you to Terry Loftus. Hi, Terry. Thank you.

Unknown Speaker 6:43
Thank you for coming on. We're excited to hear your knowledge about the solar panels. Yeah, I just want to kind of jump to have you come on and, and talk about the benefits if you can to my listeners, because I already have solar, I've had it for seven years, every house I ever will own will have solar panels down. I'll never go back.

Unknown Speaker 7:03
So, you know, there are so many benefits to going solar, of course, a you know, there's so many, it's hard to list them all. But the the main highlights other than helping the environment is when you go solar, you are taking control, right. So you have some stability, there, you have some predictability. Because, you know, Monique, if you financed your solar, you know what that monthly payment is every month, you don't have that $450 bill right now, and then a $30, late fee. You know exactly what your payment is when you have solar. Yeah. And so it's it's an amazing feeling. No, aren't you Terry don't have to have that stress, no

Unknown Speaker 7:49
more crying at the mailbox, when I open up my Nevada energy bill, and I'm like ready to go shopping. And then I open up my bill and see that power bill. And then I'm like crying all the way back up to my door. No more of that I write.

Unknown Speaker 8:03
I think I think the the benefit that I absolutely love the most is that you don't come up with new money when you finance solar. So when when you go solar. So you'll see, you know, when you get your electric bill, right, and you see how much you're paying every month for that electric bill, when you're financing the solar, that financed payment, you're not coming up with new money. So it's not like buying a car where you have to think do I work weekends, do I have the money to afford this, I've got this extra, you know, $400 payment, or whatever it is, with solar, when you're financing it, you don't have to come up with new money, there's no looking for this money to be able to pay for the solar, you're already paying money for your electricity. So you're just you're just redirecting what you're already spending. So it's not new money. When somebody says they can't afford solar, that just means they don't understand how it works. Because you don't have to come up with new money, you take what you're already spending on your electric bill. And now instead of spending that on the electric bill, you're using part of that for your solar payment. And then what you have leftover, better profit or you're saving and the utilities usually have a small accounting fee. Monique, you probably have a little fee that you pay every month to utility but it's it's you know, very inexpensive. Sometimes it can be like $10 amount that you pay. Yeah, yeah. And then that difference is your savings that you're saving. But the other thing like Bernard talked about is that it's once it's paid off, it's free electricity, like when you own that solar and you've finished paying it, you're all done. That is your power plant and now you have free power and it will last you know the warranty for most fuller is 25 yours. So this could be your solar. And then if you give the house to someone else that can be their solar, I was told their solar in outer space, solar that's out there for 50 years, that still producing power. So it's something that's going to last a long time and at be an asset to the house.

Unknown Speaker 10:21
Absolutely. And that's the thing is, you said, that's the key point, everybody has to understand that you have a balance, you can pay this off, you will never have a balance where you can pay off NV energy, you'll pay that. So when you retire and you're on a fixed income, you still have that power bill that can go up and up and up. So if you were to would have bought in solar, you'd probably be having free power where it's not dipping into your your money every month, you know. So I'm a true believer, and like you said, you're still paying for your power. But guess what, on average, you're paying like 40% less than what you would have been paying. So when you say you redirect that money, you're not bringing new money. Heck, you're bringing half the money you were paying before. So I just don't understand. I'm like, it is a no brainer for me. I will never buy any house I live in will have solar, it doesn't make sense for me to pay, what, two times as much for no reason, and have no balance. Never pay it off. It sounds like a timeshare to me, I'm not doing it.

Unknown Speaker 11:18
Solar is an IQ. Right? It's an IQ. So again, it's just common sense. Right? Absolutely. What makes the most sense to continue to spend with high interest rates, or to save and own. And

Unknown Speaker 11:37
I paid nothing up front when I bought my solar. Yes, yeah, there was nothing upfront, they came, they installed everything. I didn't pay a thing. They put all the stuff in place. And hey, I was I've been happy ever since. So that's why I've been having you know, I wanted to have you and Terry on. Because I'm a true believer, an absolute believer. It's not only helping the environment, you have you have governmental incentives that you can get for having solar, you know, you're you're saving money every month, that's the main thing, right? We need our money, energy, you know, you're not dependent on a company for your energy anymore. You know, you're at their whim praying, they don't go up again. So, yes, I am a believer in solar. And if you are interested in getting in contact with Terry or Bernard, you can reach me at 702-984-3700. I will get you in touch with these folks. They can come on out, go over everything with you for free. And then you can make your decision if you want to move forward or not. Now, I know you guys don't have to put them on top of the house, you can put them in the yard as well, right?

Unknown Speaker 12:40
Yes, you have two types of systems, you have a ground mount, and you have a roof mount, the ground mount for those that don't like the pigeons, and there is a system that we can install the keep the pigeons out. But for the ground mount, it's normally a construction project. Terry talk about that real quick.

Unknown Speaker 13:06
So if somebody just the pigeons, if somebody has pigeons, we can put a critter guard around it. So if they aren't affected by that, if they live in a neighborhood, they're gonna want a roof mount. If they have some property, they can do a ground mounted system. And that's just where we melt the solar on a racking on the ground. It is it is a little bit more because you're actually having to build a structure for the solar instead of it going directly on the roof. But if somebody you know some people will have extra property and they can't have a roof mounted system, we would just put it onto a racking system onto the ground. Awesome. Nice.

Unknown Speaker 13:47
So again, for those out there that are suffering from high energy bills, now is the time to go solar it absolutely. And keep in mind that the rate hikes are not going to stop. And right now the July bill, that high July bill that you will be receiving in August and any time now. You're going to get that August bill that July bill that you're going to open up in August. And when you do open up that bill, you'll be wanting to contact money so that she can contact both myself and

Unknown Speaker 14:22
Terry. Absolutely. You guys seriously no more crying at the mailbox, just go ahead and consider solar if you want to go ahead and move forward with a free consultation. You can reach me and Mr. Bernard and Terry at 70298437007029843700. They will come over Have a seat with you. Go over everything go over all your options. There's no obligation Why not find out about what you've been hearing about okay, but find out from the real true professionals. Thank you, Terry, so much for coming on. Thank you, Bernard, we appreciate you guys very much. And thank you guys for what you do because it's actually helping our environment, and you're helping my pocket. Thank you. All right, thank you. Okay, guys, so listen, we're gonna go ahead and pivot on into the real estate segment of this show. This is Monique Buchanan, if you're just tuning in, I just had my solar professionals on Miss Terry and Mr. Barnard, they were going over the benefits and reasons Nevada power is, you know, is raising their rates every other day. And I just can't take it. I don't know about you. But I switched over about seven years ago, and I will never ever turn back. My monthly power bill is 130. And that's where I like it. And that's where it will stay for 25 years. So anyways, guys, I'm gonna go ahead and introduce you, which you guys probably already. Remember in know, Mr. Anthony Valentino my lender, he's going to come on and give us the update of the market. Anthony, thank you so much. How are you?

Unknown Speaker 16:01
I am fantastic. How are you Monique?

Unknown Speaker 16:03
doing amazing because our clients are happy, happy, happy and in homes. So you want to give us an update?

Unknown Speaker 16:13
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, obviously, you know, I always advise my clients. In order to be informed, you have to be in the know, and you have to surround yourself by, you know, the professionals that are constantly looking up and understanding current events and the markets because it's ever changing. What happens today is different tomorrow. And it's just like a tie. It's just a wave of different things that can affect the market and how it how it's, you know, shown in the current events, and right now, there's a whole bunch of economic warfare going on, in the in the form of, there's just a lot of uncertainty. And so there's a lot of people out there giving their take on what's to come, you know, because it's volatile. Right now, the economy is going through a big resurgence. You know, the the inflation has dropped from, you know, 9.2 this time last year to now it's at 3%. So we've come a long way. And we're only a 1% away from what the Feds want to see the goal. Yeah, the goal, which is 2%. And, and we're right there, we're within 90 days of hitting that goal. And once we hit that goal, you know, we still see insolvencies in the bank. And, you know, Fitch Ratings just downgraded the US currency and marker from triple A to double A plus, but you got people like, you know, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and other constituents saying it's ridiculous that they put down the rating, because other countries are dependent upon us, right? Yeah, they have a higher rating than us. And so it's really just, it's, it's ridiculous that other countries have a higher rating than us when their, their economy is dependent on us. And we're still the number one to go. So in a nutshell, it's true, it's tumultuous right now. But there is a silver lining. And that means by the end of this year, we're going to start seeing rates stabilize, and all throughout 2024 rates are going to come down. And so we are advising our buyers, by now date their age, marry the house, that way, you don't have to fight for the house, and you just have to refinance once the rate stabilized. And you don't have to wait in line with the other 50 million people who are going to jump off the sidelines, once they start seeing these rates come back down. Right. You know, that's the stick there. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 18:40
I like what you said, Anthony told my client, which is so true. And she agreed, you know, if you're waiting around for these rates to drop, you know, you're waiting for a longer line and higher prices. That's what you're literally waiting for. So it's like you're not really saving, you know what I mean? In their minds, they, you know, they're thinking, Oh, I'm gonna wait, I'm gonna wait, because I'm gonna save somehow. But no, I was I went through it, I went through when the rates were 3%. And my clients had stellar credit, and had money to go above and beyond the purchase price. And we still were not getting a home acepted because they had many other people in same position. We were offering 20,000 over list price. And that is what's going to happen again, as soon as those rates drop. So you're absolutely right, don't sit on your hands and wait for the line, the line to become long, and the prices to go up. Because that's what's going to happen. We still have short in inventory, very low inventory.

Unknown Speaker 19:39
We do and when you look at the appreciation historically, you know, just in Vegas alone, you know, we were seeing six eight 10% appreciation over the past 510 years. And so, you know, next year we're only seeing like one and a half 2% But the next five years we're seeing between 22 and 28% So it's going to be a stutter step of appreciation. But that stutter step is still showing an appreciation of, you know, if you buy a house, you know, every 100,000, you're gaining 25,000 A foreigner $1,000 house in 60 months, you're gaining 100 grand. And so, as we see, these rates go down, you're just, it's like right now, like, we're tapping our clients on the back going, hey, well, everyone's sleeping, and not informed. Let's grab the house, let's get it out of low price or what's closing costs? And then that way, once everyone wakes up and realizes Wait a minute, the rates are not going up, they're going down. The biggest thing is, people will Anthony will rates used to be double digits was to say it's not gonna go back? Well, they were double digits in the 70s and 80s, when house prices were like $100,000, right. And, you know, the the inflation and cost of living, insolvency and all that has changed work. If we had double digits with house prices, now you would have a $15,000 mortgage, it's just not sustainable. And in fact, you know, when you look at the what Powell, the head of the Fed talks about last session, he stated, we know that these rates are unstable. And we know that they're not sustainable. But we have to get through this year in order to start back Quantitative Easing or printing money. So even it says, acknowledge that the rates are high. And that should be a green light for our clients ago, if the federal government is nodding their head, knowing that they're going to dip the rates, we should jump in before before the market gets crazy.

Unknown Speaker 21:33
Absolutely. Yeah, there's no need to wait. Because you're not going to get the great deal. You're not going to have the negotiation power, or or should I say, myself as your realtor, I won't have the negotiation power, like, you know, like I would right now. So if you're just tuning in, this is Monique Buchanan, I am talking to my lender, Mr. Anthony Valentino. And we are just going over the current market. And the reason why you should not listen to your co workers or your golf buddies. And our honest opinion is for you to seriously Buy now don't wait for the long lines. And so that's why he's what he's doing is he's giving you the reasons of why you should exactly do that. And then, you know, we've got clients right now that you've been working out, like I've been telling my listeners, my clients are not just settling for this rate, my lender is getting them the lower rate. Can you talk about how you've been doing that?

Unknown Speaker 22:25
Yeah, I mean, it's a testament to you, because you don't just push a button, you go, you negotiate, you press the agenda, you go to the sellers, and you go, let's make a deal. Let's make this happen. You're not just waiting for it to fall in your lap. So and then working together,

Unknown Speaker 22:42
we have to do that we have to work out that deal. Right? Yeah, that's what that's what's your expertise as well, you know, you tell me how we can maneuver and make my client happy and comfortable with their payment. And then that's what I do is I go negotiate it, but you give me that knowledge. So if you want to share that knowledge a little bit. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 23:00
I mean, it's like you said, you know, we don't just pre approve our clients, we fully approve our clients. So they know their payment, they're out of pocket, and they're confident, they know what they're doing at all times. And it's a good experience. And, you know, we talk with our clients, we ask them, what's your story? What are you trying to do, and then we reverse engineering, we don't tell them what to do, we tell them to tell us what to do. Because at the end of the day, we want them to be clients for life, we don't want them just to be a transaction, we want them to like us after this, right. And so it's really important to understand what they're trying to do, they'll come to us and this Anthony, I need this payment, or I need this out of pocket, and we make it happen based off of what they want to do. And that's when I send it to you and you go, Hey, Mo, we we need this much in closing costs. And then, you know, most most agents they go, we can't get 10,000 in closing where you're like, well, we add 7500 to the purchase price, then, you know, their payment, you know, just 15 bucks, but we're dropping the rate by 2%. You are the catalyst to that and and that's where having experts like yourself and I who understand the market, understand the logistics can really set up our clients for success with how we negotiate and how we set up the loan.

Unknown Speaker 24:15
Yes, and I appreciate how you dig deep all my clients just love the how you take the time to not just look at the numbers, but to look at the overall picture with them. They appreciate that. Because a lot of people they you know, they just okay, what are your numbers? What is your credit score, and what is this and what is that? Okay, you're not approved? You know what I mean? And you don't do that. You say okay, know what's going on here, maybe we can refinance this car to get you there. Okay, your debt to income is a little bit you do the work, you don't just, you know, look for the slam dunk client and move on. So I appreciate you for doing that. So let's talk about the bike down a little bit, you know, the bike downs that you've been doing with the clients?

Unknown Speaker 24:51
Yeah, ya know, traditionally, you know, people buy down the rate for the full 30 years and then they have like a four or five year breakeven, meaning how much it costs them upfront versus how much Saving, and then every month they save, they meet up the cost. Whereas now, when the rates are heading down, we know that, you know, within the next 24 months, 100% of all loans that are being done right now are going to be refinanced. And so it wouldn't make economic sense to buy your rate down for all 30 years, right, get a fixed rate, but push all those savings into the first two years. So instead of buying your rate down from 6.8 6.5, you're buying your rate down from 6.8 to 3.8. And then the second year 4.8, and the third year 5.8. And within that 1824 months, you can refinance. So we're leveraging the understanding of how the market is going. And we're making sure that the client is taking advantage of that through being informed. And so I would not be doing my justice, if I told the client, hey, spend 10,000, and fire rate down a quarter percent over 30 years. And then in six months, the rates go down organically to the fours and they go, Well, I just wasted all that money. Whereas if I put all that in the funds, they save all the money up front. And with the buy down programs, whatever money you don't use. So if you refinance sooner than then wait, what you save, you don't lose that money, it goes in it gets applied to the principal reduction. So it's a failsafe and it's a win win

Unknown Speaker 26:18
on all, definitely my hands. Right. So months from now you can refinance. And there you go. And I was gonna say there's no, you know, like whole year waiting period, you can refinance, once those rates drop, they will be able to take advantage of that, because a lot of people seem to think that they have to wait a year or two years to refinance. So can you break up that myth really quick for them? When can they refinance?

Unknown Speaker 26:39
Yeah, you can refinance as soon as it shows that it's economic, you do not have there's no prepayment penalty, there's no weight penalty for conforming loans for the buyer downs, you can refinance as soon as possible, and you don't lose that money, it goes to you, it goes to the reduction. Think of us as like tax accountants, and this is why the rich get richer is because it takes money to make money. Absolutely. They go to the CPAs who understand the tax code, and they find all the loopholes. Whereas if you go somewhere like you know, h&r block, or Jackson Hewitt, they

Unknown Speaker 27:12
just push through by cattle and rush

Unknown Speaker 27:15
you through. Whereas the same goes with who you use as your realtor and lender if you ever realtor that just pushes you into get an escrow or a lender that pushes a button, and they're not following math, you're not getting the best economic situation possible. And that's, that's what that's, that's why you hire busy when most people are not, right, because we care about our clients, and we follow the math. And we're not we're not it's more

Unknown Speaker 27:40
than just a deal. We want our clients like you said to like us after we sell them the home. We want them to still like us afterwards. I don't want them over there eating noodles mad at me.

Unknown Speaker 27:51
Yeah, they're not they're not I tell my clients, you're not a transaction to me. You're my client for life. Right? You know, it's you. We've had our cell phone numbers since we were 16 years old. And you know, that we're going to be talking to them. We know when we're old and gray. And that's the beautiful part about this is it's a people business. You know, we're in the business of people that happen to help people get houses. Absolutely.

Unknown Speaker 28:13
So let me just if you're just tuning in, this is Monique Buchanan with the welcome home with Monique show. I've got my lender on Mr. Anthony Valentina, we're telling you that we are selling homes right now today. And our clients are in the low fours and fives and Anthony is the wizard that is doing this. Okay. It's happening, guys. And he has figured out how to do it. We were sharing a little bit with how he does it and how we can do it for you as well. So if you have been thinking about purchasing a home, or selling a home, you can reach me and Anthony 702-984-3700. Have a great weekend. Thank you, Anthony for coming on.

Unknown Speaker 28:53
You're welcome. It's always a pleasure. All right. Have a great weekend

Unknown Speaker 28:56
everybody. Thank you for listening. Please remember all terms discussed are simply an estimate. My license number is S 1788 46. My phone number if you'd like to contact me is 702-984-3700. You can also find me on YouTube and please join me tomorrow at my church Living Word Church on hassle. I'm part of the EXP Realty Group. Alright, tune in next week.

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