Latest / Connor with Honor: AI, Real Estate and Real Life / Everything Home Buyers Need to Know: Free 2026 Buyer's Webinar (Santa Clarita & LA County)

Transcript

Everything Home Buyers Need to Know: Free 2026 Buyer's Webinar (Santa Clarita & LA County) · Connor with Honor: AI, Real Estate and Real Life

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the buyer's webinar.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: I've been watching a lot of people publish or say they're basically building a list.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: They say, hey, I have a buyer's webinar for Los Angeles County, Santa Clarita, CMB Valley.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, there might be some value in that, but I don't represent buyers.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I have 22 years representing home buyers, so we're going to get down to the nitty-gritty today in this webinar.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's not something you sign up for.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to be repurposing this and sending it out there so people I can build an interest list.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: This is purely for you.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you see value in it and you think you want to talk to me about getting a good buyer's agent, then you reach out.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: But other than that, let's work through this.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, through the entire presentation, I'm going to be shrinking my picture and I might go away a couple times, but I just wanted to let you know who am I?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Connor McIver.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: I've been selling representing real estate buyers and sellers since 1998, about 2021, made an executive decision to represent sellers only.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm a sellers-only agent.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: But in all that time, 20, I don't know, one or two years, I was representing real estate buyers and also sellers at the same time.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there seems to be some competition in there when you're representing both.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you have multiple buyers looking at the same type of residences, where's your loyalty going?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: All these other things.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I kind of had a moment where I said, you know what, I'm just going to represent sellers.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: And there are agents that I have met since, which is kind of weird the way the uh the law of attraction works.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Agents have now entered my sphere and my domain, and they are buyers-only agents.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: They don't represent sellers.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: So they really know their craft.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that exclusivity, I think that's important in real estate.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: We can get a lot of pushback, but again, who am I to care?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if this is something that you're interested in, let me know.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm going to work through a buyer's presentation from that vantage point.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not here to sell you anything.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here to inform you, especially because I work with exclusively sellers, also what sellers look for and how you can best prepare yourself to enter the game of real estate.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, I know people don't like the word game as it associates with hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, but ultimately we're all in a game.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Those rules are very much applicable to the process.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: So the less emotionally attached and involved you get, the better decisions you're going to end up making as a home buyer.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: The seller might have their line in the sand, you have your line in the sand.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of those lines in the sand equate to ego and are going to cause you problems.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Stress alone is a problem.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, let's move through this.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: So let's see what uh what the next slide reveals.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: All right, I'm gonna go ahead and shrink this down just a little bit to get out of everybody's way.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, this webinar exists because buying a house is not something that should be casual.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Just because your uncle or your dad or your mom said hey, or best friend said, you know what, you need to buy a house.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: It might not necessarily be the right thing for you.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: So figuring that out is an important part of this process.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Buying a residence could be the largest financial transaction that people make.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Huge.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't modify a loan, you keep it the same.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Usually mortgages are 30 years.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I know a few months ago they were talking about a 50-year mortgage.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that, I think that kind of went away, but 30 years, right, of payments.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And when you look at the interest, even if the interest is 2 and 3%, and you calculate that out to 30 years, the amortizations, it's you're paying a lot more for the house than what the sticker price was, right?
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: So 30 years of payments, dozens of professionals within a transaction.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: It is not one chef, it's a whole lot of chefs in there trying to mess with the mix.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: You have your agent, the one that you hire to represent you, your buyer's agent.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: How do they get paid?
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can pay them.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: They can approach the seller and ask that seller to pay that agent.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So and you can split it.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: There's lots of different ways to do it.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Some buyers have a flat fee system or service, some charge a commission or percentages, but all of it, all of it's negotiable.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Me, I don't represent buyers, so I'm not part of your process.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you're looking for a buyer's agent that specifically does buy, give me a buzz, I'll uh I'll track you down somebody in my network.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: So you wouldn't hire an attorney that's suing you to also represent you, so why would you buy a home without somebody that's 100% on your side?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's when uh people say, well, I'm just gonna use the agent who signs in the front yard.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: You you can do that.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's legal in the state of California, it's called dual agency.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's legal to go to the listing agent and have them represent you on the sale of the residence that the sellers originally hired them to sell for the sellers.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's completely legal.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: You have to decide if that works for you.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to maybe do your own research on dual agency.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: There are several states that outlaw that practice.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: California does not happen to be one, so it's legal here.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, what we're gonna cover today, we're gonna look at market data financing, we're gonna look at grants.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's a lot of things out there, a lot of big advertising around grants.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you can get free money from the government to help you buy residential real estate.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Who doesn't want free money, right?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: So buyer broker agreements, we're gonna talk about that.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: How to search for a buyer's agent, what to look for in that persona, inspections, escrow, and every cost you should be planning for.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: My role, I represent sellers exclusively.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: That gives me zero reason to sugarcoat anything for you buyers out there.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: You're getting the raw truth here.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you need a buyer's agent, I do know a lot of them.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't sales pitch, this is education.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: I give away what others are charging for, and if it helps you make a smarter decision, whether you call me or not, I did my job.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a big fallback on Zig Ziggler saying that if you help enough people get what they want, you'll never be hurting for business.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And who knows, maybe I can help you, whether it's real estate or AI technology or AI architecture services, whatever it may be.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, should you even be buying a house right now?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, green lights, maybe this might be the time you plan to stay in the area for five years.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: A stable employment, relatable income, three to six months of emergency reserve after closing.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: You have that debt-to-income ratio under 43%, ideally under 36%, but some lending programs get in the 50s.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to look at what your payment's going to be and do yourselves a favor.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: An all-in payment is what you need to look at.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Not just the mortgage.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean everything.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Taxes, insurance, mellow ruse, HOA, the lawn care, you know, whatever ongoing maintenance, recurring maintenance every month.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: You want somebody out spraying for bugs, you gotta make sure that's factored in.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Tired of building someone else's equity through rent?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's it is a thing, though.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: You have your own house.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: It is kind of a different existence, a different feel.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: There is some pride in there, and of course, well, people with a lot sometimes they fall.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So watch out for that little uh that little little tidbit.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Rates uh near their lowest point in three years.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um right now, today, as I'm recording this, what is this?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: The 11th of March, 2026.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: So this is very timely.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, 6%, that's the overall rate.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna find that when you search, but that might not be your rate.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's all dependent on your credit history worthiness, and these things fluctuate.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: So before you say, or you get online, that's something else, lots of hooks out there.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: You get online, some lender outfits are gonna start quoting these beautiful rates.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, well, I see at 6%, but my God, this guy has a 4%.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's a hook.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Be careful with that.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure if somebody's promised you something that sounds good to be true, make sure they're willing to put it in writing so you can figure out if it's too good to be true.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: If they're not gonna put it in writing, it's probably too good to be true.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Here's some caution flags that might indicate you might not be ready to buy a house.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Rent is throwing money away, maybe more nuanced than that.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: High interest debt is eating your cash flow, job situation may um change in your next 12 months.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's not a good position.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, haven't saved anything for down payment.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Again, you know, scrape and scraping the couch change to try to buy something.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's a tough position to be in.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Buying to keep up.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Competing with the Joneses, you know, Facebook.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody's doing so great on Facebook.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: My God.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: I can't wait to be doing that great on Facebook.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then not sure where you want to live long term.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're just just doing it to do it, not the best place to be.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Owning isn't always better than renting.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not ready, waiting a year and saving aggressively puts you in a stronger position than rushing and stretching thin.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now you say, well, my God, what's gonna happen?
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Where are prices gonna be next year?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody knows.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um they could be somewhat steady, it feels like they're going to be that way.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: More than a feeling.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: It seems like there's more of tension elsewhere than on real estate.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't seem to be a danger of overbuilding.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, interest rates, while they're higher than the people that have the two and the three percent golden handcuff rate, they're not 17 and 19 percent when I was a kid.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: So again, interest rates are what they are.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: So something something to consider.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Are is the market gonna price you out?
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if you look at people that represent buyers, a lot of people doing content, well, okay, you gotta buy now.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you don't buy now, you're gonna lose, right?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, anyway, you have to make those your own decisions on that.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's get to the next one.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, Santa Clarita, Los Angeles County.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: So, Santa Clarita is where my office is or headquartered.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's where I do a lion's share of my business, depending on what that business is.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: If it's A Architecture Systems, that's that's everywhere.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, real estate representation for sellers, yeah.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: LA County, LA City, Santa Clarita, right about that area.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: By the numbers right now, this is March 2026, as I said, the 11th today.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I probably I might update this in a month or two if you're watching this and you're wondering if there's a new update, you can hit me up.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: The phone number's gonna be on the last slide.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: You're more than welcome to give me a call.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Say, did I have any updates from this?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Are there any updates?
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: I don't see the market changing much in this time.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Typically, around March April, more listings enter the market.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't seen this big volley of new listings entering the market.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Typically, that'll start sometime mid in February.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're on March 11th.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the market's a little backed up because of the Iranian issue and these other things going on out there, but I digress.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have to keep paying attention to that.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Median sales price in Santa Clarita Valley, 760 to 855.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna run the six cities out here: Castella, Canyon Country, New Hall, Sagas, Valencia, and Stevenson Ranch.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of where those numbers are.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that 30-year fixed rate, around 6%.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: But again, it's going to depend on your credit worthiness.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Don't get caught up in that number.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Also, the number they give you might not necessarily be the number when you identify the house, write the offer, and have your interest rate locked.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Could be different.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to have that discussion with a lender.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of the things we'll talk about.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Competition score, 54 out of 100.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: So for every hundred residents, there's about 54 active buyers out there.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: We have 150,000 income needed as far as median price point to be able to get into that median sales price.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to look at your numbers.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Best suggestion is be wary on the inline, the online systems that you're requesting information on.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: You get on ZillowRealtor.com.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Understand those platforms are built with selling your personal information to either a lender they have, a real estate agent paying into that platform.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to be careful on who you look at.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: 50 to 70 average days on market right now, 50 to 78.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Sellers are getting almost 100% of what they're asking for.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: So most of the market in Santa Clarita, Greater LA, the sellers are priced right.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: 2 to 4% is a price forecast of increase for this year.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of that guesstimate.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you're, again, getting change from under the couch, you don't have enough money for a down payment.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: You waiting probably isn't going to cut too much into it because you factor that out in the whole house price, looking at whatever the down payment amount might be.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Medium price per square foot.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: The price per square foot stuff that's used a lot more back east than out here, but you know, we have around$424 a square foot.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: How that number fluctuates is maybe condition of the residence.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe somebody has outfitted the residence with mahogany, no, Honduran mahogany.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's pretty fancy stuff.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe marble, high-grade fixtures, these sorts of things.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: That price per square foot could go up dramatically, even if it's the same house, same builder, same year built, same location inferences, corner lot, blah, blah, blah.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to see that that price per square foot, you might see a big difference.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: And typically it has to do with condition and also upgrades and changes in the residence.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: What this means, it's not red hot, not a fire sale right now.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Homes are close to selling, close to asking.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: There's room to negotiate.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Lowball offers usually don't fly.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: It depends on the seller's pain point, though.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Could work.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: Strong pre-approval, clean offer, you'll stand down.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Santa Clarita is six communities, uh, four main ones.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: You have Valencia, Saugus, New Hall Canyon Country, Castac, and Stevenson Ranch.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's the other two.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Acton and Aqua Dulce, again, part of the process.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can look at those as well.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's just south of Palmdale, would be Acton.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Aqua Dulce is kind of between Saugus and Acton off of the 14th Freeway.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh when you start getting out to those areas, bigger lots.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Houses are further apart from each other.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh one of the famous areas, one of the most visited areas in Acton is Star Point Ranch.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Got houses large, single family for the most part, residences, you know, quarter acre, half acre lots, kind of far apart from each other versus coming into Valencia.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: There might be some tracks where you can almost reach out of the window and touch the neighbor's house.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of different area.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Saugus, a little bit more room, Canyon Country, a little more room.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh New Hall, a little older, a little more room, the original community out here.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: And Stevenson Ranch, of course, a little bit, a little bit tighter, maybe.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Castac, maybe a little bit more room.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, just kind of give you an idea on these different neighborhoods out here.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that is going to impact price per square foot and the price of the residence.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Valencia Stevenson Ranch, hottest, lowest, probably Castac Canyon Country.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Castac isn't that much further.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh people seem to think Castac is like forever.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's one more exit past Valencia.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I would do that drive.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, see what that's like.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you're a commuter, something else a buyer needs to think of, if you're going to be driving back down to Los Angeles and that's part of your daily deal, make sure that you do that drive at all times when you're going to be, when you're going to be, before you start spending money on inspections, you want to make sure that this is going to be okay because you're going to be there a few years.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: So anyway, that's important.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Mortgage types, what you need to know, conventional, five to twenty percent down.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: And and these, all of these are variables, but this kind of gives you a little bit of understanding.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: PMI property mortgage insurance, if under 20%.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a higher than 740 FICO score in LA County, um, you're gonna get the best rate on that, the property mortgage insurance.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's not only do you have your mortgage amount for what your payment is, there's also other fees on top of it if you have less than 20% down.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to do that investigation as well.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: You want to see, you want to have the lender prepare for you a sheet, uh truth in lending statement, some kind of a sheet that's gonna show exactly what your payment, how that breaks down.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have an account that you have to make your include your taxes and HOA and insurance payment within your monthly mortgage payment.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Could be.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe your type of loan necessitates that.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: You want to find out what that looks like.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: So FHA, that's probably the least expensive, besides if you're a veteran.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Veteran, that's uh no down typically.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: FHA, 3.5% down, 580 plus credit score.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: And again, all of these are dependent on person.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: VA loans, veterans, active military, 0% down, no PMI, competitive rates.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh VA loan is is a spectacular loan, as are the rest of these.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: You just have to see what fits right with you and if you can do it.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: USDA, this is pimped a lot online, be wary.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Their house has to, this is how people get people in the door, people to reach out because you have a 0% down, kind of like VA, but you don't have to be a veteran, but the house has to be located in a certain area, and those houses, there's not a lot.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when you get out of Santa Clarita, you might find more, but again, right here, just not a lot of those, but your lender and your agent should be able to explain that to you.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: We have different rates, right?
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: So 30-year fixed is a typical mortgage for a home buyer.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: Dad would have been proud of that one.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's what dad had.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Then you have a 15-year fixed.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: So it the payment goes up and interest rate comes down because the length of the loan isn't that long.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: VA 30 year, again, you have this.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: Fed funds rate, uh, you have those particular issues.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: When you're looking at mortgage rates, typically they're tied to the 10-year bond market versus the Fed funds rate.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when you they talk about the Fed meeting, oh, Fed meeting interest rates, they always seem to categorize that with housing rates.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, maybe if it could have some impact on housing rates, but housing rates usually are more dependent on the Fed, the, excuse me, the um, I just said it just a second ago.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry for the glitch.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the 10-year bond.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's where.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of those are selling off.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Usually the rates get better.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of them are not, then the rates get a little bit worse.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: But rates fluctuate quite frequently, not just when the Fed meets.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of how you judge it.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's important that your mortgage lender, whoever that is, and there's different flavors of that.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to your bank, let's say you you bank a Bank of America or Wells Fargo, you can go in there and they have all the pretty pictures of beautiful people buying residential real estate.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: You can go in there and you can uh talk to one of the people.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now they usually pull on their own money.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're gonna go into Wells Fargo, usually they don't broker it out to a lot of different people, so their their choice is Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Bank of America, Union, Union, Citibank, Citibank.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: Mortgage broker is the other animal, the other animal that lends money from lots of different institutions, including those.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: If Bank of America has a really good deal on a loan for somebody wanting to buy a house, then they might say this is your best avenue.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: They might get a few of those loans that are really good deal.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: So they might be able to offer you that from a lending standpoint.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: So my dad would have said, son, you never want to hire a mortgage broker.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: You want to go directly to the source because you're gonna save money.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't, that's not that case anymore.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to mortgage brokers, and a lot of times they are gonna get you a nice 30-year loan from an entity that maybe you didn't hear of or have never heard of.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: But it's the same type of package deal, you're gonna have the same type of payment.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: The only issue is that loan might be sold to somebody else, but the terms and all that stuff don't change.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: You're just sending your check to a different place or your payment to a different place.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's how that works out.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: So don't be shocked.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you buy a residence and you use a mortgage broker and even a regular mainline bank, depending on if it's a credit union, they might hold on to the note or the paper.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: You might pay them for the next 30 years.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you go to a mortgage broker, they might farm it, they might sell it to somebody on another market, and of course, your payment, everything you have stays the same, but don't be shocked if it happens.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people complain, well, you know, then the servicing of the loan becomes more difficult.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the entity that buys it isn't as user-friendly.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, that's all part of the mix.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's move on to this.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's important to get pre-approved as well.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, your agent might be able to give you information on who to contact.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's against the law for lenders to give any type of compensation to a real estate agent that's referring them for business.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: I know one of the big syndication systems seemed to have been on the called on the carpet for that very reason.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's one of these big companies out there.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: So just be wary.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um you have it, you have your choice, right?
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: You can choose who you want.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: But if an agent's going to refer you to their lender, understand that if there's anything going on under the covers, it's against the law.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Can't happen.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't see a lot of that.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: When I was a brand new cop, LAPD, back in 90, you know, cops had a different mentality.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh now it's uh it's a different thought process.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they seem to be a little bit more gangster back then.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing in real estate.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: When I started real estate in '98, it was kind of, you know, a little bit more power in the hands of the agents and the lenders and the appraisers and this.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Seems like that water has also kind of calmed a little bit, not as much power.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: So for people to risk their license, their business, and everything on getting dinner bought for them because they referred somebody to a lender or getting, you know, uh a few hundred bucks as a referral under the table, that's a lot of trust.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Cop World 2.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: If if somebody's doing something shady as a police officer and you're trusting your partner, that's a lot of trust.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it doesn't uh we're not that way as human beings.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's move into this.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: First-time buyer grants and programs, California, Los Angeles.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is us talking about free money, sort of.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's the uh small print.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people that advertise these grant programs for first-time buyers and even regular buyers, it's not true.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: So you've got to be careful.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to find out if in fact it's here and if you fit into the category.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Before giving up a lot of information about you, I'd make that phone call and find out if they can verify what they're saying on their advertising in writing.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: CA Dream for All, there's one.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Cal Hafa My Home, there's another one.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Cal Half a Zip.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'll make this, well, it'd be part of the program.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can stop it right, yeah.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: So teacher program, you can check this.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: LA County DPA, you can check that.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Home Ready, Home Possible.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: These are current programs that are somewhere in existence, whether you can qualify or not.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: Anybody's guess.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: Also, certain lenders might not be able to refer you to these programs.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's something else.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: They might be lender exclusive as well.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to check and find out if, in fact, everybody has access.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: And if you happen to like a certain lender.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say your brother is a lender.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: And you go to him, he says, Well, you know, this California Dream for All thing that you brought to me, Connor,$150,000 for a down payment.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's hogwash, it doesn't exist.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: I I would get a second opinion just to make sure my cousin or brother or whomever isn't trying to steer me away from it because they just don't offer it.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it might be the right thing for me.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: I might be able to get$150,000.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: You see what I'm saying?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: So double check all that.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: I know in this world we should be able to trust everybody at face value, but if you've been on the planet more than 18 years, I think you've probably seen that that's not the case with everybody.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Don't assume you're not going to qualify.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: Good mortgage broker knows every available program.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: Ask them specifically.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then you can do your own research.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: You can take a mead.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can say, listen, this Cat Connor was talking about these programs.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: Do any of these fit?
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: And why don't they fit?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: So explain to me why the CA Dream for All Thing doesn't fit with me.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: And what about this Cal Hafa and Cal Hafa Zip?
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: And well, I'm not a teacher.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's all okay, I understand.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I'm not a teacher.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: LA County, you know, whatever.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you can ask them these questions.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's important as well.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: Costs beyond the mortgage payment, the real price tag, yeah.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: So the sticker price on the house, that's that's the beginning.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: There's closing costs on that, usually uh one and a half to three percent.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: It depends on your type of financing.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna depend on who's paying your agent.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: Are you gonna pay your agent?
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: Are you gonna is the agent gonna ask the seller to pay the agent?
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then if the seller is willing to pay the agent, are you able to finance the agent's fee?
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe some loans would allow for that.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's different ways to do it.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: And what's your agent charging you as a buyer's agent?
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's something else to look at.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Where's the value in there?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: Property taxes or something else that happens after the part of your monthly payments, whether you pay that twice a year when it's due, or whether it's impounded or included into your payment.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: An example.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: All right, I'm gonna jump out of my wheelhouse.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not a lender, but I've been around it for since '98, right?
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: 20, Jesus, 28 years?
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: Seven, five, twenty-eight?
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, a long time.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: With lending, um, if you come in with less than 20% down or FHA or VA, which are usually less than 20% down, usually your payment is going to be coupled with or attached to mortgage is going to be the mortgage, of course, your principal and interest payment.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: Then the property taxes prorated each month.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: So you got every month you're making an installment payment on property taxes.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, your home insurance is going to be part of that payment as well.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now, for property taxes, they're going to pull six months ahead of time.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: So closing costs going into it, they want to have six months worth of property taxes.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: You pay that as part of your closing costs in an account.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: So that's there.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: In case why?
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, in case you default, in case you say, I'm not paying this mortgage anymore, they're covered for six months.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Home insurance as part of the impounding process is the same, but they take a year.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: So let's say home insurance is a grand a year.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm dating myself, but that would be part of the closing cost going in.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's a recurring uh fee.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: So that's going to be part of that.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: Just factor it in.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: If there's a gardener, if there's a pool and you're not a pool do-it-yourself person, make sure you factor in whatever that pool guy costs or girl costs person.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: They.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: Melaruz, yeah, out here in Santa Clara, we have that.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Other cities have it too.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's extra taxes.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: Pays for stuff, uh, infrastructure, schools, uh, lighting, public safety, streets, all these sorts of things.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: It could be a lot.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to find that going in.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you're hunting in Valencia and you want to live in North Park or Northbridge or Creekside or the Summit or whatever, before you go into it, that would be a really good question for the agent you select to represent you as a buyer.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: They should be able to give you the information as to what the Melarus are and if they exist.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: Also, Melarus, a lot of them have a date that they're no longer going to be taking Melarus.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's some talk on the street, you know, this insider garbage talk that people say, well, you know, when it gets close to the point, all that has to happen is somebody has to say we still need the Melarus, the extra tax, and it just continues.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of good to know because if somebody's telling you on the point that it's it's over as of December of 2026 with this particular house you're buying, and it's going to save you$300 a month, and you're buying it now looking forward to when it ends because you're, I mean, that tight, right?
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I'd I'd get that in writing.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: Get everything in writing, in fact.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: If there's one thing you can take away from this buyer's webinar, get it all in writing.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: If your agent is telling you a certain thing, follow up with them in an email.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: Text is okay, but I think it's going to be better for you to follow up in an email.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's easier to prove if there's something to prove.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's much, much cleaner that way.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, we got the Melaruse HOA fees.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but that is going to be what it is.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: You kind of want to see if those can increase, how often they can increase, and how much they can increase.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: It would suck to get into a place and then have the HOA come down and say, well, you know, it's going to be an extra$500 a month because we've got to get all the roofs repaired.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, well, well, that's the first I heard of this.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you should have known it going through escrow.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: They should have disclosed it to you because the seller knew about this six months ago.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then trying to prove that little thing in there, you could have some legal recourse, but you got to be able to prove it.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that's part of that process as well.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, food for thought.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: Insurance, yeah.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_00: The Palisades fires.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Altadena fires, lots, lots going on with fires.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: Almost every residence that gets sold, whenever I'm representing sellers out here, we have to find out early about the insurance.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: What do you have, Mr.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: and Mrs.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: Seller?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: They seller.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: What do you have?
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: And how does it work?
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: What are you paying?
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: And in a lot of cases, the sellers say, Well, I have this now, but this insurer is no longer applying or allowing for insurance to be applied here to this residence.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: Once I'm done, once it sells and I, you know, jump ship, they're not going to be offering coverage for the residents, so the buyer's going to have to find something else.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: So then you need to do that research early if you're a home buyer.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's lots of options.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: I know that there are some other insurance agencies that have now come back into California, maybe for the first time, because there hasn't been insurance available and they see it as an established and good market.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they have a different requirement as far as what fire safety is, fire zones are.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: During your escrow process, you're going to get a natural hazard disclosure, and more than likely, your property, whatever you're buying, is going to be located in some kind of a zone.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: Flood, fire, earthquake.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's there's some houses that are in all three.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a big deal?
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: You have to do some research.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in most cases, I see it's not that big of a deal, but again, if you don't understand it or understand in what way it impacts the property, then you'll be doing yourself a disservice.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: You need to know all the facts before you really start spending a lot of money in the process by home inspection, appraisal, these sorts of things.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: So have your agent and have you do your due diligence in reference to what you're buying.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many moving parts.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: It shouldn't be overwhelming.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Don't stress out about the video, but understand that you need to look at a lot of different things.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: So insurance is important to do early.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Maintenance, we talked a little bit about that.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: Is there some kind of ongoing thing that has to happen?
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: You want to look at that.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you go and look at a property at the very beginning, your agent, the agent you select, should be one that's going to um be pointing out lots of things.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: Not okay.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you need you need that reassurement and how beautiful and wonderful you're gonna look in the house.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I get that.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm all about that.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's better to have an agent that is looking at stuff, looking and seeing what kind of plumbing is installed, looking at the roof with a critical eye, walking into the closets and seeing if the asbestos ceilings, because the house was built in the 60s, if those have also been removed, to see if it's the original carpet, to see if there's any dry rot or wood rot or anything that could indicate some kind of a leak, if there's any kind of patching that was just covered and not painted.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: Things like that.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: How does that hot water heater look?
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: How does the air conditioner look?
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Does it look like a rectangular box of rust?
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: Does it look new?
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, how do the other systems of the residence look?
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: Are the sinks chipped?
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: Is the bathroom porcelain chipped?
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: How do the drains look?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: Are they newer?
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: Is there rust visible?
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: How do the vents in the house look?
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Is there rust and condensation coming through those?
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: Or has everything been repainted, redone, but in a questionable way as if something was trying to be covered up?
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, people know.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: People that have showed residential real estate representing buyers, the people that I know that represent buyers that trust me enough to send them to these people, they know this.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: How's the elevation as far as the ground and the back?
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: Where does the water go when it rains?
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: How does that work?
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: Is the grade in the back and the ground going towards the house so the water goes into the residence?
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then what kind of damage has that been caused, has been caused because of that over time?
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: How's the weep line at the bottom of the stucco on the exterior of the house?
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: Is there enough room there for the walls to breathe so water just doesn't sit there and kick?
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: Or has there been a concrete slab that's been poured all the way in?
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: What about the neighbors?
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: What kind of stuff does the neighbors have?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, besides the kid playing the drums in the garage as you drive by to look at the house that kind of shut down the drugs because they hate the neighbors and they want to get rid of them, they want you to buy the house.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: Besides that, what else do the neighbors' properties are they doing to impact yours?
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see roots coming under the fence?
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Are there massive trees back there that the roots could be coming?
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, do you see anything from the neighbor's house affecting the house that you might potentially be buying?
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: These are really good things to know up front because now if you buy it, you own it, now you've got to deal with a neighbor.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: All that stuff's negotiable, but something to think about.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: I know I'm just spitballing, not spitballing, I'm throwing out just a lot of information.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: You can take this transcript, I'll put this on YouTube, pull the transcript, throw it into your large language model, and have it uh regurgitate.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: No, have it put together something good for you.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: Closing costs, two to five percent of purchase price, like I said.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: Depends on who's gonna be paying your agent, what the lender's charging you, and then uh the other impounding stuff, which is like we talked about, is gonna be uh the insurance for a year and taxes for six months, depending, depending on how your loan's gonna be structured.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, the appraisals, appraiser fee,$500 or more thousand dollars, home inspection fee.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: These are out-of-pocket services, so your home inspector, they're gonna want the money when they do the home inspection.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_00: The appraiser, they're gonna want the money kind of up front as well, so you'll put a credit card for that one or pay it in some way, and um, those sorts of things.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that that's kind of that's pretty much it as far as on that.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's move.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm just I'm the law know this.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: Buyer broker representation agreement.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is new.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: November oh, that's incorrect.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry about that, folks.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: God, you know, that's what you get.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: November 17th, no.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: August 7 August 17th, 2024.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: August 17th, 2024.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was it.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: It was August 2024 for sure.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: A day which will live in infamy.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: That was the day that a lawsuit happened that now is requiring anybody working with any buyer looking at any property, even just one, has to sign a buyer broker agreement or a buyer broker contract.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Don't look at the initials of the second one.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: Buyer broker agreement.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: And they have to sign this and understand what is going to be their responsibility.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: Also, on that, it talks about their agents' responsibility, too.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not just a one-sided thing.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna see on their agent compensation, percentage, flat fee, or hourly, whatever it is, scope of services provided, when compensation is going to be due, how to terminate it, how long the agreement's going to be, and who pays what.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: What you need to know, commission is negotiable, always has been, but now it's in writing.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't like a new thing.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: The new thing is the requirement of this being signed.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's new.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: Sellers may still pay your agent.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: It could happen.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: I see it all the time.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's it moved off the MLS, so you don't see the compensation on the MLS anymore, but it's still part of that process.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's still the negotiation process.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, negotiate shorter periods, maybe, to test drive the agent and feel about, read every word before signing.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you feel rushed, that's probably a red flag, something to consider.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: And good agents welcome questions, bad agents get well, defensive.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: The best buyer's agents aren't threatened by this agreement.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: They see it as a chance to show value up front.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: If an agent can't articulate what they bring to the table before you sign, imagine how they're going to go negotiate with when hundreds of thousands are on the line.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: There you go.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: There's that.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're going to move into the most important hire.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: How to find a buyer's only agent.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: Not all agents are created equal.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: The agent you choose can be the difference between a great deal and, of course, getting taken.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I've dealt with uh my fair share of buyers' agents.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: And now that's all I deal with as buyers' agents, because I don't represent buyers anymore.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to tell you, there's a bunch out there that are just lovely and fantastic and very much in it for the buyer.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: Very much.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: These are some of the questions that you might want to consider.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: Asking, do you work exclusively with buyers?
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: When you do, there's zero conflict of interest.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: There's actually agencies.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't run into one that's actually a seller exclusive agent like I've done.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe people don't want to give up the buyer end of it, but I have run into buyer exclusive agents.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: They they are out there.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: There's like an organization.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: Zero conflict of interest, no listings to protect on your site 100% of the time.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: How many active buyer clients right now?
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: And again, what I put down here, 15 to 20 in March, if they don't have, they might not have time for you.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um you maybe you need somebody else that's gonna be more available.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: You have to think about that.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: What's your strategy beyond the MLS?
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good question to ask because anybody can search Zillow, and maybe that's the trick, maybe that's where you're gonna find your house.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: Just because you beat your agent to the punch, I don't think that's a big concern.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's your agent's performance after the house is identified.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: From that original viewing, you'll see the value.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_00: If they're walking around and talking about how lovely it's going to be for you to, you know, um play pool with your family or enjoy your entertainer's backyard.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: They're not looking at the critic.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can see that.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: You can see that the living room is pretty nice and the kitchen's awesome and the backyard is lovely.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: But what about the other stuff you're not looking at because you're overwhelmed with the house?
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: What about the stuff that's going to cost you problems?
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: Cost you problems.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: Strategy beyond the MLS, anybody can search Zillow, of course.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: That might not be a bad question to ask.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: Watch me, walk me through first showing to close.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's an excellent one, number four.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: Share stories with what's wrong and how you handle it.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: When's the last time you killed something?
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: When you say that to military, police, or special ops, they probably think human.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm actually thinking a deal.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: When's the last time you stopped a deal for the benefit of your buyer?
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's an awesome question.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then who recommends uh the inspectors?
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: How do they find it?
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I have a group of people on the seller side if they want to do a pre-sale in in inspection from a home inspector.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: I use very good home inspectors that I used to use with my buyers when I represented buyers years ago.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: And they they most of those are still in the business.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's not a bad referral.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm sure there's nothing, you have to make sure there's nothing going on, but usually those referrals aren't bad.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_00: When an agent gives you a list, that's that's a powerful position.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's something interesting that you don't see happen very often.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_00: Lists aren't bad.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: Then you get to make a decision.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: And you should call them up and ask.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, listen, uh Connor, ex-buyer's agent extraordinaire, recommended me to call you and you know, just want to ask you some questions.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: How do you work?
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: What are your fees?
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_00: Can you tell me a little bit about your process?
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: What happens if I have questions later?
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: How available are you to answer questions?
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: Or basically are they going to come out and you'll never see them again?
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: And good luck.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: Also, something that I might ask a home inspector would be okay, you lay all this stuff out on a list.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: How is there a way that I can kind of get from you estimates on what these fixes are going to cost in some way?
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: Some home inspectors are also contractors.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: Conflict of interest, probably if they're doing the contractual work, the contracting type work, or they have a service that does that, part of their home inspection service, that's that that would kind of not sit well with me.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um I don't know if there's anything illegal with that, but again, if they're doing the work.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: But if they're just the home inspectors I know, home inspection is their thing.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's what they do.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_00: They don't have any on-the-side stuff.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that being the case, you know, maybe their quotes or estimates of what things cost to get fixed might help you formulate your uh request for repair potentially, or maybe addressing these things with the seller from a more legitimate standpoint versus getting people, actual vendors out there, roofer, electrician, a plumber, so on, to actually respond to the house, which in of itself is also very much a possibility, especially if the house isn't in great shape.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: You might want to have actual contractors come out, look at those services, and write you up estimates, and then you can have those submitted when you make any kind of request for repairs through your buyer's agent to the seller.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: Why you should never use the seller's agent?
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think I covered that.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: You wouldn't hire the same attorney suing you to defend you.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um you buy a pair of shoes, whomever, usually, but a 30-year commit work with hundreds of thousands of dollars, get your own advocate.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: Dual agency could be equated to divided loyalty.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_00: One agent representing both sides can't advocate fully for either.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: They become a neutral facilitator.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: Neutral isn't what you need when negotiating the biggest purchase of your price.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I represent the seller.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: Buyer comes in and says, I want to use your Connor.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: In my world, I say, no.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have to go get your own agent.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I don't have an agent.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: Well, in that case, because I'm representing the seller, you're gonna just have to go find your own agent.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_00: You come to me raw, not on one of my listings, I want a referral to a buyer's agent.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I have a group.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: But it almost looks weird that I say, Well, I don't represent uh buyers at my seller's listings, but I'll refer you.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: For a raw buyer that isn't looking at one of my listings, no issue on a referral, but everybody else, yeah, if they're coming into my seller's listing, yeah, you're gonna have to go get your own.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'll show you the house.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have a problem with that, but I'm not gonna write the offer, I'm not gonna represent you.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_00: I have that choice.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: You can go get anyone else to represent you.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a problem.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean I'm not gonna show you the house.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's my listing, so that's part of my process.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: If your agent's busy or tied up or, you know, busier doing something else instead of spending time with you, fine.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_00: We'll schedule an appointment.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can come look at any listing I have.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: No problem.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_00: And because I'm representing the seller, you don't represent the buyer, we negate any issue.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: So you come, you look, show you the house.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: You can ask me questions, I talk to you.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you're represented by another agent, no problem.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: They're not worried about it because I'm not going to represent you anyway, even if it's not for that house.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a cleaner approach, at least for me.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_00: All right, dual agency, divided loyalty talked about that.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: Information gets filtered, filtered, listing agent knows the seller's bottom line, motivation, urgency.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_00: The knowledge doesn't stay locked away when they're also representing both sides.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: They have to they have to play that, that tightrope walk.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, it just a handful of times, it just wasn't great, any one of those.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: And everybody was on board.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody said, Oh, yes, well, bless it, no problem.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: It just gets weird.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: Save on commission myth.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, listing agent keeps both sides, the savings rarely flows to you.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: Again, something to think about.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about saving more, and it's not about the seller being able to take advantage either.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's important.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, it's up to the seller whether they want to pay anything or not.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_00: Trending, it seems to be that it's still kind of status quo.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_00: But in some cases, sellers are saying, no, we're not gonna do it.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_00: First steps to buying a home here's gonna be your game plan.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_00: Check your credit, pull all three bureaus, dispute errors, pay down revolving debt, 740 plus gets the best rates on credit score.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_00: I I know people that fix credit if you have credit issues.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_00: A lender, the first lender you talk to, usually they're gonna be hungry to pull your credit.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that maybe that's okay.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: Multiple credit pulls, you'll have to verify this with your lender, but multiple credit pulls by mortgage people, if it lowers your FICO score because of the multiple inquiries, I believe they have a mechanism.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Mechanism in place to remedy that.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's called a rapid rescore.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that fixes it.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_00: Cost, I don't know.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if that's still the case, I'm not sure.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_00: But they're having more than one lender pull it, you're probably okay.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: But I I would probably want to have a um work with somebody before I gave them my stuff to pull my credit.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_00: Be pretty sure I'm going to work with them.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think that might be a better place instead of just everybody you talk to, the person your agent sends you to refers you as to a lender, your Aunt Lola that says they have a great lender, and your uncle Tom, me, that says they have a great lender.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: So watch out for that.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_00: You give up all your credit and stuff, maybe it'll be more of a mess for you to try to fix it later.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_00: If you can pull your own bureaus, it might be all right.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of the times when the lender's pulling credit, it's much more, it's much more detailed.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_00: So don't get caught up in, you know, joining these different systems online that are going to give you a credit report.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to still need, you can't just have had the lender you decide to use here, here's my credit report.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: They got to pull it on their own because they have to make sure there's nothing left out, and they also have to make sure that whatever system is pulling it for you didn't modify it in some way, shape, or form.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_00: They have to fall back on that documentation.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_00: Get your pre-approval with a reputable mortgage broker.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about that.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_00: Not just a big bank.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: Brokers can shop multiple lenders.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, ask every about every grant DPA program you might qualify for.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_00: Don't leave any money on the table.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if it's free money, hey, who doesn't like a little free money?
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: Find a buyer's only agent, interview two or three, ask the vetting questions, uh, sign a short-term buyer broker agreement.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_00: But again, you know, if you find somebody you like and you believe that they're gonna be there for you, hey, you know, go all in, right?
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_00: Define your non-negotiables, location-sized school district, commute, everything else is flexible.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're not gonna change the location of the house.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: Those types of things, house you can fix things, you can clean things, you can you can make it more presentable if that if that's what you're rubbing up against.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: But as far as location, commute, all that stuff, yeah.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if it it would appear that there's like some roadway that somebody's working on behind a fence, you might want to ask the question, hey, what are they gonna do over there?
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because right now there might not be much traffic behind your back fence.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_00: But when they open it up, maybe there's gonna be a lot of traffic, case in point, New Hall Ranch Road.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was closed for many years.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_00: There wasn't anything.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was just brush.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: There was nothing back there.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: But now New Hall Ranch Road, right, goes all the way around if you're familiar with Santa Clarita.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: Goes connects to Golden Valley, that goes to the 14.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's it's a massive piece of highway.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, start the search, uh, automated MLS alerts.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: I would give what you're looking for to your agent and have them set up a custom search in the multiple listing service.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_00: You're still going to look on the other stuff.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Zillow has a very beautiful presentation.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: The other syndication sites do as well.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just understand on those, they want you to give up who you are, and I would leave that to my agent.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't do one inquiry on those systems at all because your information now, once you say, God, that looks good, doesn't it, sweetheart?
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you say, you know, I'm gonna just ask and see if they have any offers.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_00: Your information just made its way to 10 or 15 different real estate agents paying that platform.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: It also made it to half a dozen, maybe more real estate lenders, if not their own inside lender.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a lot of phone calls that you're gonna have to entertain.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of emails, a lot of text messages.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would I would that in of itself, and you'll be on these lists forever.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you'll be 95 years old, you'll be still getting calls from these people.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, I'd watch out for that.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_00: Make your offer, agent rights, presents cops, advices on price, contingency, timeline.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: These are all important parts of it.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um escrow's open after that point.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: Once everybody negotiates, don't be scared of the game.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_00: Back to game theory.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_00: Don't be scared of the game.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um sellers like to negotiate.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're the type of buyer that's in a generation.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_00: You can't stand negotiating.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: Why can't I just write an offer and have it accepted yet?
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: There's things to clean up.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they accept your price.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe your agent didn't include particular things that weren't mentioned on the MLS.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe somebody had uh uh maybe the house was a meth lab at one point, and they have to disclose that you might not see meth lab on the MLS.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the house was has spirits or ghosts or whatever, I don't know.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_00: But something of that nature, right?
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_00: So then they might have to counter you with that.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you offered a million bucks, they're okay with a million bucks, but they gotta come back and say buyer just to be aware of poltergeist activity and you know, spaghetti stains in the kit something, whatever.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_00: But you'll you'll understand that that's part of that counter-offering process.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if it's a price thing, going back and forth in price or terms or you know, buyer to increase their deposit, or you know, your agent should be able to walk you through each one of those little changes and whether they're harmful or helpful, whether they're normal or weird, and they should be able to help you with that.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: Open escrow money deposit, I have that.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, escrow uh is gonna hold your deposit money.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: Back in the day, real money was taken in the form of a check, put into a deposit account at the real estate agent's office.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, and then it used to be a copy of a check, and then now that's no more.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's just you have three days to get your check or the funds.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_00: No check, sorry.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I think most escrow companies don't check anymore.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's all wired.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_00: So that's something to also understand.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you're getting your down payment out of some fancy kind of uh a PMA account or some kind of uh uh one of those fancy stock accounts, you might want to make that phone call before you even start looking for real estate because that withdrawal time frame, it might take a week, five business days.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_00: By that time you're over.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_00: That would have to be part of your negotiation up front.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_00: If it's gonna take you five to seven days to pull money for the deposit out of a particular structured account somewhere, then you need to make that offering up front as part of your offer because after three days, basically the seller is almost gonna be not for with, they're gonna be they're gonna have their hand forced and they're going to want to boot you out of escrow because of non-performance.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: You violated the contract because it was more than 72 hours it's taking you.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: Can some of that stuff work out if you screw up?
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_00: Depends on how active the listing was, and it depends on how well your buyer's agent can sell it to the seller's agent and how receptive that seller is to the seller's agent talking about the buyer's agent and you and everybody else.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_00: Open escrow, we got that inspections appraise.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, escrow time, 30 days usually, could be a little bit more.
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it kind of a rule of thumb if it's a government, FHA, VA, USD, it might take a little longer, depending on time of year and market, because those it's not uh a conventional offer, you kind of the lender orders the appraisal and they usually get out there within a few days.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_00: If it's one of those, you're depending on a government entity to issue out the appraiser, have them come to the property, could take a little bit longer.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_00: The reports to be performed and have that stuff turned back in could take a little bit longer.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_00: So in some cases, it could go out 45 days.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_00: Usually, though, on the offer at the beginning, it's established.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_00: Usually your lender on the buyer's end of it, your lender is going to establish time frames.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_00: You, of course, will have your choice, and the seller will have the ultimate choice, and you guys negotiate how long escrow is going to be, but that escrow time frame is going to be part of your offer.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_00: Your agent should be following up with your lender, whether you brought them to the table or they referred you and saying, hey Jack, how fast can you know Britney and Eddie close?
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_00: And they say, well, they I can get them closed in 30 days.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_00: So are you comfortable with us asking for that in the offer that we're gonna make on this property at one, two, three, four, anywhere street?
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm okay with that.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_00: Or no, I think we should ask for 40.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, Britney and what was the other guy's name?
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_00: Britney and her husband or boyfriend or whomever, significant other, they also have to be good at that time frame.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they don't want 30 days, maybe they want 45 days, maybe they want 60.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the seller comes back and says, you know, 30 is a little too soon.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_00: I want 45 days and I want to be able to stay on the property five days after it closes to move out.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_00: That could also be an option.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_00: All this is negotiable.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: Close, sign final docs, wire friends, get keys, agent, escrow, all that fancy stuff.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_00: Inspections and due diligence.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about that.
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_00: Usually you have the home inspector, you also have termite and pest.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_00: These are necessities.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_00: You want both of those for sure.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to pass off on them.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_00: How about new housing?
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, why not?
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_00: I I still think it's good to have a home inspection, new housing.
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I've seen things happen during a home inspection, new housing.
• 53:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um plumbing that was switched in the wrong, they they were in the wrong place, drains that hadn't been connected.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it would thank God it was found because it wasn't it was missing the connection of the pipe.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_00: So imagine you buying a new house, it's all gonna be covered, but all your crap just got wet.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_00: The ceiling might have collapsed.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_00: God forbid if it's over a kitchen, now all the appliances.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_00: So now your inconvenience, of course, it's gonna be covered.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that's worth the four seven hundred dollars, four or seven hundred dollars having somebody go into a new house and do a full inspection, I think.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then you get to have that data, and you can you can go back to the new housing center.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I know they do the walkthrough and they're they're great.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: They're they've all been just lovely.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's important that you might consider that.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_00: Termite pest, probably not in a new house.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_00: On a resale house, absolutely.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_00: There are some termite issues from here and there out here.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's a negotiable item, but it definitely a buyer cost to have the inspection done.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_00: It used to be the seller paid for it, but there's the appearance of evil.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, we'll say that everything's okay.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_00: You just give us some extra money.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if that ever happened, but that's why they made it a buyer's thing.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_00: And it's all negotiable.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_00: Foundation and structural stuff, cracks, settling, hillside movement.
• 54:18
  SPEAKER_00: What'll end up happening is the home inspector, uh, they're not gonna bet their license on it, but they will make the recommendation.
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_00: They'll say, you know, I'm seeing this thing, it's above my pay grade.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think you should get this type of inspector, and then you guys set that up.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_00: Sewer line scope, that's not an uncommon thing.
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's just going to depend on the inspections.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it could be, let's say the home inspector goes out there and they're turning on all the faucets, everything, and stuff is just it's just not draining, folks.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's not, it's not happening.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that could be a recommendation too, and maybe the home inspector has the technology with him.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_00: Not a bad thing to ask.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: Can you look into walls and see moisture, Mr.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_00: Mrs.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_00: Home Inspector?
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_00: Can you look into the attic?
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_00: Usually they crawl up there, but can you look in between the walls and see if there's any kind of moisture or maybe some kind of spore growth or mold or whatever they're going to identify it as?
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_00: Usually home inspectors are very good.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_00: The best home inspectors typically do a recap towards the very end, usually out of earshot of the seller.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_00: Not all the time are sellers present for home inspections, but if they do happen to be there, it's an uncomfortable situation for buyers.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you really I wouldn't want to do that debrief in front of a seller.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen fights break out in front of sellers in my years, because they start getting into that ego-driven contest, just like you shouldn't do when you're buying real estate, and they get into that ego thing.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_00: No, there's nothing wrong with that.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_00: No, it hasn't, I haven't had an issue with that.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, but it's towards its end of life.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's not.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then the fight breaks out.
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_00: So watch out for that.
• 55:51
  SPEAKER_00: It would be best to take it out of earshot of camera and out of earshot of anybody in the property.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_00: Cameras, yes.
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody's got a camera.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of entertaining to watch people come through your house as a seller.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I see it a lot because almost all my sellers get the camera.
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_00: Even if they didn't have a camera before, they got a camera for the showings and they watch buyers.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's amazing what people say.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_00: I've told my sellers, I say, you might not want to listen to the audio from the video.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay maybe to watch the video, but don't let their facial expressions upset you.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so there's that.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_00: So when you're going through as a real estate buyer, understand that there's going to be cameras.
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_00: Permit checks, a lot of the good home inspectors, they'll pull on appliances and they'll know what type of HVAC is in the property, if it's original, what kind of wiring there happens to be.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_00: Is it aluminum?
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_00: Is it copper?
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_00: What is it?
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_00: Are there issues with it?
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_00: What kind of plumbing?
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_00: Is it Korean galvanized?
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_00: Some other issue?
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_00: In these areas, has there been any settling?
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_00: Have they had liquefaction?
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they should know that, especially if it's a home inspector from the area.
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hence, case in point, if you're going to be utilizing a buyer's agent, which you should, you shouldn't use the seller's agent, but I digress.
• 57:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's good if they're from that area because they're going to know a lot of what's happening in those areas.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_00: They've conducted real estate.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_00: Seller's agent, probably not as big of a deal because the seller's going to be giving that agent the information.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times, seller's agent, I've represented people as far as San Jose in selling property.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_00: So that that happens to be a little bit easier to wield than representing a buyer.
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot hinging on that process that it's important that the agent have a lot more knowledge.
• 57:39
  SPEAKER_00: Appraisal, that's something else that you're paying for.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think we covered that.
• 57:43
  SPEAKER_00: Professionals, you got mortgage brokers, lenders, shop rates across lenders, not a bad idea, but giving up that information, what they tell you isn't going to be the rate ultimately you're going to get.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's really no other verification.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_00: Just got to kind of feel it out.
• 57:57
  SPEAKER_00: Escrow officer, neutral third party, holds deposits, right?
• 58:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to get that title company.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to make sure that there are no liens or anything on the property.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_00: So when you purchase it, it's all yours.
• 58:07
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody's going to come back and say, hey, we did a roof on your house.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_00: Title would then enforce that and say these people weren't living here when you did the roof.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_00: Home inspector, that's somebody to look for.
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_00: Vetting them, what kind of certifications do they have?
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_00: Appraiser, that's going to come from the lender.
• 58:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's not going to be your agent, the buyer's agent that meets with the appraiser.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be the seller's agent.
• 58:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if I'm the seller's agent on the deal, I'm going to be meeting with the appraiser, even though it's your appraiser coming from your lender.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_00: Real estate attorney, not required in California, but you know, every once in a while it's very much a necessary part of the process.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you're going to be making an offer, it's not going to be at asking price, it's going to be less.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's good to lead with that data.
• 58:47
  SPEAKER_00: Have your agent put together a report.
• 58:49
  SPEAKER_00: I know when I'm getting offers, I have a listing that might not be priced within the market guidelines.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a little bit higher because that's what the sellers want.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I explain to them all the nuances of all of it.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to price it right, but ultimately, I don't think there's an agent worth or salt that's going to say, well, I'm not going to take your listing.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's a waste of my time.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_00: I have to have the conversation.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_00: If that's what they think they're going to get, I talk about appraisal, I talk about the comps.
• 59:13
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, if it means me not being able to protect them, at least in the other ways, and it just comes down to price, I'm going to take the bullet and say, yeah, we'll do it.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_00: But we need to talk about this if the feedback is it's too expensive or we're not getting offers.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because chasing the market's also another travesty that we will try to prevent.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you're going to be making an offer on a real estate listing for sale, and it's going to be less than what the asking price is.
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_00: And especially if it's like in that first couple weeks of it being listed, you might want to provide real estate data and comparables with that going into it.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 59:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's so easy to have an agent that sends me a well-scribed offer with all of the data that supports their offering price.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_00: I go with the seller, we either sit down over Zoom or in person, and I say, This agent sent this.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_00: This is what their buyer's thinking.
• 1:00:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's why they offered you$50,000 less.
• 1:00:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then I'll also say, and remember, when we were talking about pricing it, I said it'd probably sell for about$50,000 less than where you want to put it, Mr.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_00: Seller.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_00: So that works out good too.
• 1:00:26
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, leading with that is so much better than leading with just good luck, chew on this, and making the offer.
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_00: It just takes your agent a second.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if the agent's good, they're going to do it.
• 1:00:37
  SPEAKER_00: Timing is leveraged, 60 days plus on market.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_00: Looking at the market time frames in any individual market, if you're in LA County, that's that's kind of that sweet spot.
• 1:00:44
  SPEAKER_00: If it's never been reduced, maybe something to think about.
• 1:00:48
  SPEAKER_00: If it's just listed on the market with five offers, maybe now's not the time to hit it low.
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_00: But if you think it's worth lower, give it your best shot.
• 1:00:56
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe everybody else did too, but you don't know.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_00: And also the numbers of offers they say they have to your buyer's agent, there's no um there's no validation, there's no enforcement mechanism, at least at that point.
• 1:01:08
  SPEAKER_00: If they were to put it in writing that they're giving a multiple counteroffer, that means there's at least one more.
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_00: They can say there's a hundred, but at least one more.
• 1:01:17
  SPEAKER_00: If they were to ever to be called on that, they would have to produce proof in a legal venue.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um but other than that, it's anybody's guess, if the agent says we have offers coming in, I think that's boilerplate sales agent talk.
• 1:01:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think that always happens.
• 1:01:37
  SPEAKER_00: Concessions price cuts, sellers paying closing costs, buying down your rate can be worth more than five or ten thousand dollars.
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that might be another offer.
• 1:01:45
  SPEAKER_00: If it's the buyer's market and they're offering you got two houses to select from, and one of them they're saying, you know, we'll pay to buy down your rate for the next year.
• 1:01:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe not a bad deal.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_00: See what that costs.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_00: Ask your lender, what would that normally cost?
• 1:01:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's 15 grand, you know, maybe that's worth considering.
• 1:01:59
  SPEAKER_00: Being willing to walk, most powerful tool, ability to say no.
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_00: Again, like I talked about, never fall in love so you lose leverage.
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_00: There's always going to be another house.
• 1:02:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if this one doesn't work out, it wasn't the one.
• 1:02:11
  SPEAKER_00: I got to fall back on that whole God thing.
• 1:02:13
  SPEAKER_00: Clean offers win, strong pre-approval, reasonable contingencies, flexible closes, earnest money up front.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, of course, cleanest offer beats the highest.
• 1:02:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, sometimes money wins over everything.
• 1:02:25
  SPEAKER_00: It depends on the seller.
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_00: But whenever your agent writes the offer, they'll know what clean means when you have that discussion with them.
• 1:02:32
  SPEAKER_00: They'll know what it means.
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_00: Red flags, things to watch out for.
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_00: If the agent pushes you to skip in sections to skip inspections to win the deal, only recommends one inspector, one lender, one vendor.
• 1:02:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's you feel that one out.
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_00: But again, some agents don't have a list of people.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_00: They have one person they've used forever and they really like the way they work.
• 1:02:56
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's a good thing or a bad thing.
• 1:02:58
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have to be your total judge on that.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't advise because that's ultimately gonna be your selection.
• 1:03:04
  SPEAKER_00: I love the multiple selection process.
• 1:03:06
  SPEAKER_00: Can't explain the buyer-broker agreement clearly.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's weird, right?
• 1:03:10
  SPEAKER_00: This thing's been around forever.
• 1:03:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's only been enforced, a half to do, since August 17th of 2024.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure that's the date.
• 1:03:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's when it would become enforced.
• 1:03:21
  SPEAKER_00: It has to be done.
• 1:03:23
  SPEAKER_00: Agents aren't good at that yet.
• 1:03:25
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, you might, here's this one, you might find an agent that's gonna start showing you houses.
• 1:03:31
  SPEAKER_00: Not the seller's listing because they represent the seller, but showing you a house where they don't have you sign anything.
• 1:03:39
  SPEAKER_00: Understand that's a violation of the rules.
• 1:03:44
  SPEAKER_00: So if they're gonna do that at the beginning, how else are they gonna violate the rules that might impact you even more grossly?
• 1:03:52
  SPEAKER_00: So please watch out for that.
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_00: Gets defissed defensive about experience questions.
• 1:03:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, maybe they're not gonna explain themselves.
• 1:03:58
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't return calls within a reasonable window, that's another one.
• 1:04:02
  SPEAKER_00: Pressures you to waive contingencies, says, trust me, more than showing the data.
• 1:04:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, trust.
• 1:04:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's another thing.
• 1:04:09
  SPEAKER_00: For the property, um, if there's unpermitted additions or conversions, let's say the garage is now a living space, something to think about.
• 1:04:18
  SPEAKER_00: Fresh paint, new flooring over problem areas, you can kind of tell.
• 1:04:22
  SPEAKER_00: You can kind of tell.
• 1:04:23
  SPEAKER_00: If all if all the house is in kind of crappy shape, but you got this one room that was repainted recently.
• 1:04:28
  SPEAKER_00: I wonder what that's all about.
• 1:04:30
  SPEAKER_00: Seller refuses early disclosures.
• 1:04:32
  SPEAKER_00: There's a time frame the seller has to get disclosures to the buyer.
• 1:04:36
  SPEAKER_00: If it tarries, if it takes too long, maybe, maybe there's something there.
• 1:04:40
  SPEAKER_00: Melarou's not disclosed up front.
• 1:04:42
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times that discovery, the agent, your buyer's agent, should.
• 1:04:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's kind of the first thing when I was representing buyers.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, this has this has Melaruz here.
• 1:04:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is located in an area in Valencia that you're paying double taxes to live here.
• 1:04:56
  SPEAKER_00: So 1.25 for LA County with an additional almost 1.25 with the Melaruz taxes.
• 1:05:04
  SPEAKER_00: Is that okay?
• 1:05:05
  SPEAKER_00: And the house prices usually are somewhat in accordance with the extra Melaruz, because the price per square foot is much lower in those areas because the extra Melaruz.
• 1:05:15
  SPEAKER_00: But again, talking about that, as is sale with no inspection period.
• 1:05:20
  SPEAKER_00: All California real estate is sold as is, everything else is negotiable.
• 1:05:23
  SPEAKER_00: There are certain things that the seller has to do: hot water, heater strapping, carbon monoxide, fire, fire, uh, fire, sm uh, fire alarms.
• 1:05:32
  SPEAKER_00: Other than that, if it's LA City, low floor toilets, other things, but it's kind of geographically dependent, but that's most properties are sold as is besides the have-to's.
• 1:05:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you go in and say you want the roof replaced because the inspector found this, or you want the plumbing replaced or a leak fixed, or mold remediated because you found this during the inspection, seller can say no, and then you can back out.
• 1:05:56
  SPEAKER_00: The only thing you've lost at that point, depending on when your contingencies were immediately.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's something else.
• 1:06:01
  SPEAKER_00: Once you get past the time and you sign something that says you're going to hereby remove all of your contingencies, those are reasons to back out, and you back out after you sign that, you lose your deposit.
• 1:06:13
  SPEAKER_00: So understand that.
• 1:06:15
  SPEAKER_00: Don't be pressured into that.
• 1:06:16
  SPEAKER_00: All your stuff should be done with enough time so you can make good decisions.
• 1:06:21
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're coming up on the time that you need to remove your contingencies and you're not ready to remove, then your agent needs to ask for an extension to the process.
• 1:06:34
  SPEAKER_00: And depending on the reasons, usually that's not a problem.
• 1:06:37
  SPEAKER_00: But the seller could say, yeah, that's a problem.
• 1:06:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then they can give you a notice to perform that gives you 72 hours to either do it or don't do it.
• 1:06:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't do it, they're going to kick you.
• 1:06:49
  SPEAKER_00: But if you haven't removed your contingencies, you cancel for whatever.
• 1:06:54
  SPEAKER_00: It also depends on the contingencies.
• 1:06:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's different contingencies, there's inspection contingencies, appraisal contingencies, and so on.
• 1:07:01
  SPEAKER_00: So that's like the danger point of the process.
• 1:07:04
  SPEAKER_00: All that should be explained to you as a real estate buyer.
• 1:07:08
  SPEAKER_00: Active or undisclosed insurance claims, depending on the insurance company, they're going to do something called a clue report.
• 1:07:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if that's still what it's called.
• 1:07:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's still called a clue report.
• 1:07:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the insurance company is going to pull the last five years of claims.
• 1:07:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's how they charge you in accordance with the property as well.
• 1:07:26
  SPEAKER_00: So most of the insurance companies are going to pull it.
• 1:07:29
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:07:29
  SPEAKER_00: Big insurance companies, we have the broker issue there with insurance companies.
• 1:07:33
  SPEAKER_00: It could be the insurance company is somebody that just works with State Farm or Farmers or Allstate or AAA or they're in their own wheelhouse.
• 1:07:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's the insurance they sell.
• 1:07:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're insurance brokers.
• 1:07:47
  SPEAKER_00: You've got Scott Wilk out here, got a lot of other people that are very good at that.
• 1:07:51
  SPEAKER_00: They pull on a lot of different insurance companies.
• 1:07:54
  SPEAKER_00: In some cases, those are going to end up being better and less expensive, but it depends.
• 1:07:59
  SPEAKER_00: It depends on the property, depends on the insurance company who's prevalent in that area.
• 1:08:04
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of factors, but something to consider when you go in with insurance, you want to do that early, like I said, kind of towards the beginning, because God forbid you fall in love, do inspections, and find out the insurance is such an ungodly rate.
• 1:08:17
  SPEAKER_00: At no reason, it's not like you went there and there was this massive hillside behind it that was filled with thick brush that hasn't burned for 100 years.
• 1:08:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's different.
• 1:08:28
  SPEAKER_00: You should have an idea, or somebody should have told you, oh, this hill is going to be a problem from an insurance perspective.
• 1:08:36
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're a tracked house with other tracked houses in an area that's all tracked houses, you wouldn't think it's going to be a problem, but still do the insurance.
• 1:08:46
  SPEAKER_00: Still verify.
• 1:08:47
  SPEAKER_00: If something feels wrong, it probably is.
• 1:08:50
  SPEAKER_00: A good agent validates your gut with data.
• 1:08:54
  SPEAKER_00: A bad agent tells you just to ignore it.
• 1:08:56
  SPEAKER_00: Escrow and closing timelines, escrow's open, earnest money deposit goes in.
• 1:09:02
  SPEAKER_00: You'll know what that number is.
• 1:09:03
  SPEAKER_00: Usually now it's 3%.
• 1:09:05
  SPEAKER_00: There was a time years ago and it wasn't really that long.
• 1:09:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, five grand, seven grand did it.
• 1:09:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's usually three percent.
• 1:09:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty much stuck with.
• 1:09:14
  SPEAKER_00: Your inspections, depending on what you negotiated up front, as far as the days to have inspections, could be up to 17.
• 1:09:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's usually that time frame, but it depends on what you negotiated.
• 1:09:25
  SPEAKER_00: If the market's hot and there's a lot of offers on the property, you might shorten particular time frames in order to get your offer accepted and looked at more by the seller.
• 1:09:34
  SPEAKER_00: Just make sure it's enough time to get the things done.
• 1:09:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's important.
• 1:09:38
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to feel like you're pressured and then start making mistakes because you didn't allow yourself enough time.
• 1:09:44
  SPEAKER_00: But you also want to be competitive.
• 1:09:46
  SPEAKER_00: A good agent's gonna be able to balance that.
• 1:09:48
  SPEAKER_00: A 7 to 14, the appraiser's gonna get out there.
• 1:09:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, the lender orders it, the seller's agent will meet the appraiser.
• 1:09:56
  SPEAKER_00: Loan processing, lender's gonna be handling that, but sometime 14 to 21 days.
• 1:10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Loan approval will be coming close to the date of closing.
• 1:10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Funding and uh the money moving and the title recording into your name, two-day process in most of California counties.
• 1:10:14
  SPEAKER_00: One day the money's gonna move, next day it's gonna record a little bit of information.
• 1:10:18
  SPEAKER_00: You as a buyer, if you close, if the money moves on a Friday, you're paying interest Saturday, Sunday till the property records on Monday.
• 1:10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So if you can help it, maybe have it close in a different way.
• 1:10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Or that Saturday and Sunday, you're paying interest on a property most likely can't occupy.
• 1:10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Something to consider.
• 1:10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Two-day process.
• 1:10:40
  SPEAKER_00: So you have Saturday and Sunday sandwiched in between the Friday and the Monday.
• 1:10:45
  SPEAKER_00: So if it funds here, or funds how are you watching this?
• 1:10:48
  SPEAKER_00: If it funds here on Friday, that's a working day.
• 1:10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Saturday and Sunday don't count.
• 1:10:55
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't get the property here.
• 1:10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Monday it records sometime between 9 and 5 p.m.
• 1:11:01
  SPEAKER_00: is when this recording is going to happen.
• 1:11:03
  SPEAKER_00: And depending on your agreement and the offer is going to be when you're going to occupy it.
• 1:11:07
  SPEAKER_00: The moment of recording, you get the notice, you get the property.
• 1:11:10
  SPEAKER_00: You have to wait till 5 or 6 or 8 p.m.
• 1:11:12
  SPEAKER_00: or whatever it happens to be on contract.
• 1:11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Something to consider.
• 1:11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Day 28, sign and fund, final docs at escrow notary, all the fun the money moves.
• 1:11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Day 30, recording and keys.
• 1:11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it could be that you don't get the keys that day.
• 1:11:27
  SPEAKER_00: It could be up front the seller negotiated a couple days after escrow for them to retain the residence so they can move out.
• 1:11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Not uncommon.
• 1:11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Five days, not uncommon.
• 1:11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Usually there's a seller in possession of property document that's also filled out just in case something terrible happens.
• 1:11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Do buyers agree?
• 1:11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Depends on the market.
• 1:11:47
  SPEAKER_00: If it's a buyer's market, probably not as negotiable.
• 1:11:51
  SPEAKER_00: If it's a seller's market, yeah.
• 1:11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sometimes they agree.
• 1:11:55
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Sellers only means, well, this is me, more about me, more buyer.
• 1:12:01
  SPEAKER_00: We already talked about me.
• 1:12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Don't need more about me, wrong way.
• 1:12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Buyer's checklist.
• 1:12:06
  SPEAKER_00: We have this one, we have this one rundown for your buyers out there.
• 1:12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Credit check, get pre-approved, not pre-qualified.
• 1:12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, some of the ones it's nice, it's nice to have a local lender.
• 1:12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now there's big lenders that are online, and I see those coming across my desk with my sellers, and they're fine too.
• 1:12:24
  SPEAKER_00: What irritates me as a sellers agent is when I try to call the lender representing the buyer and some mortgage company online, and I've seen them, all their ads at 3 o'clock in the morning when I can't sleep, they're all right there.
• 1:12:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I call them and I say, I'm calling on John and Beth Smith.
• 1:12:43
  SPEAKER_00: They wrote an offer on a listing I have in Valencia, and I have the credit report with your name on it, you're Samantha Howard or whatever, yeah, and I just want to check in on them.
• 1:12:52
  SPEAKER_00: What was the name again?
• 1:12:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I give them the name again.
• 1:12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let me let me look.
• 1:12:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I get they're busy, but it's so nice when I hear, oh my God, Johnny and Samantha.
• 1:13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, yeah, great people.
• 1:13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh two kids, right, with a dog named Waldo.
• 1:13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, wonderful.
• 1:13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, what can I tell you about them?
• 1:13:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, oh.
• 1:13:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel good.
• 1:13:14
  SPEAKER_00: So then I go back to my seller and say, this offer, this offer, the lender knows these people, knows their family, knows the dog, knows everything.
• 1:13:21
  SPEAKER_00: This makes me feel good.
• 1:13:22
  SPEAKER_00: These other buyers, they have these different mortgage companies that, well, how do you feel about them?
• 1:13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, they actually didn't know who they were.
• 1:13:29
  SPEAKER_00: They had to look it up in a file, and they're located in Nebraska.
• 1:13:33
  SPEAKER_00: So again, the lender, the other lender of these people, he's here.
• 1:13:37
  SPEAKER_00: And all things being equal, maybe my advice is going to be, it doesn't mean it's gonna go, but you see the point, my advice is gonna be, well, I know this guy.
• 1:13:47
  SPEAKER_00: If we have an issue, if it's not closing and the lender's screwing something up, I can go bang on his door.
• 1:13:53
  SPEAKER_00: I can say, hey, listen, Johnny, what the hell?
• 1:13:55
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on with these people?
• 1:13:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm representing the seller, of course, but I'm kind of a part of the transaction.
• 1:14:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm representing the seller.
• 1:14:02
  SPEAKER_00: So he's got to tell me what's happening here.
• 1:14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Are we am I being avoided because the buyer's got cold feet and want to pull out?
• 1:14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Then grow some and call me so we can hash this out with the seller and make it work.
• 1:14:14
  SPEAKER_00: But again, I digress.
• 1:14:17
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:14:17
  SPEAKER_00: Don't ever skip inspections, make verify permits, check Melarue's HOA.
• 1:14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Don't use the seller's agent, get your own, ask your agent the hard questions up front.
• 1:14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Don't change phone.
• 1:14:27
  SPEAKER_00: Oh you're buying a house and um uh you go, you're passing by the Ford dealership, and you see the Raptor.
• 1:14:37
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my God.
• 1:14:38
  SPEAKER_00: All in 140 grand or the Escalade or whatever, whatever your flavor of expensive car is.
• 1:14:47
  SPEAKER_00: And you just gotta have it.
• 1:14:48
  SPEAKER_00: And you think to yourself, you know, I got that good 5% raise, and I think I'm gonna be able to swing it in the house.
• 1:14:55
  SPEAKER_00: You're not.
• 1:14:55
  SPEAKER_00: Don't do it.
• 1:14:56
  SPEAKER_00: Don't pay off a credit card.
• 1:14:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you got a$500 credit card, a JC Penny, and you just want to wipe it out, don't you dare.
• 1:15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Before you change anything financially, make sure you get approval from your lender.
• 1:15:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't mean on the phone.
• 1:15:10
  SPEAKER_00: You don't call them up and say, hey, I'm about to pay off a JC Penny card.
• 1:15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Is that okay?
• 1:15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because who knows what they're gonna say.
• 1:15:17
  SPEAKER_00: And if it comes back to them later that, oh, you lost your ability to finance because you paid off a JC Penny card, they might not recall this conversation as me talking into my, what are these things?
• 1:15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeti.
• 1:15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, yeah, yeti.
• 1:15:30
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe that's the case, right?
• 1:15:32
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to make sure that you follow it up in an email.
• 1:15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, Stan, thank you very much for talking to me today.
• 1:15:36
  SPEAKER_00: I was gonna pay off my JC Penny card.
• 1:15:38
  SPEAKER_00: You said it's not gonna be a problem.
• 1:15:40
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to verify I understood it correctly.
• 1:15:42
  SPEAKER_00: I can pay off the$500 today, she penny and call it.
• 1:15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Or I went by the Ford dealership.
• 1:15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for your talk, Stan, and I saw that$180,000 raptor.
• 1:15:50
  SPEAKER_00: It always gets more expensive, and I want to write, I'm gonna, I'm gonna buy it.
• 1:15:53
  SPEAKER_00: You said it's not gonna hurt my credit, it's gonna be no problem.
• 1:15:55
  SPEAKER_00: I can still close my residence, and he blesses it.
• 1:15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Get an email, get a response.
• 1:16:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's with everything.
• 1:16:01
  SPEAKER_00: If somebody tells you something too good to be true or anything, it's really good to follow up.
• 1:16:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's free advice, and you gotta do it.
• 1:16:08
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:16:09
  SPEAKER_00: Last case.
• 1:16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, that's the last slide.
• 1:16:12
  SPEAKER_00: How great was that?
• 1:16:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I did this in two parts because I had to go to the restroom.
• 1:16:16
  SPEAKER_00: There's that unneeded bit of information you didn't need to know.
• 1:16:18
  SPEAKER_00: This is it.
• 1:16:19
  SPEAKER_00: This is a buyer's webinar.
• 1:16:21
  SPEAKER_00: This is gonna have everything you need, a lot of what you're going to need to be able to purchase a house in the best way possible.
• 1:16:28
  SPEAKER_00: LA County, Santa Clarita, a lot of food for thought in there.
• 1:16:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think it went probably an hour, 40 minutes.
• 1:16:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna cut anything out because we're just gonna give it to you live and unabated.
• 1:16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna post this at where?
• 1:16:38
  SPEAKER_00: What am I gonna do?
• 1:16:39
  SPEAKER_00: buyers.connor.
• 1:16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, we'll figure it out.
• 1:16:47
  SPEAKER_00: Connor, let's go buyers.connorcoded.com.
• 1:16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Buyers.connorcoded.com.
• 1:16:54
  SPEAKER_00: So you can go and that's C-O-N-N-O-R.
• 1:16:56
  SPEAKER_00: You can go there, it's up here at the top.
• 1:16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Look at that, you got that.
• 1:16:59
  SPEAKER_00: So you can go here and look at this later.
• 1:17:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to pull information from it, you don't remember, it's not gonna have me talking here.
• 1:17:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is only gonna be on the video portion of it.
• 1:17:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'll leave this site up for up.
• 1:17:08
  SPEAKER_00: I coded it myself.
• 1:17:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'll leave it up here and you can go through it and see what you think.
• 1:17:13
  SPEAKER_00: You just skip back here with these arrows.
• 1:17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Here you move back through uh the website.
• 1:17:18
  SPEAKER_00: There was one error that I'll have updated here.
• 1:17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Where was it?
• 1:17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, this is actually, you know what?
• 1:17:27
  SPEAKER_00: It was approved August.
• 1:17:28
  SPEAKER_00: I guess that is right.
• 1:17:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was approved August and became law in California law AB2992.
• 1:17:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's when it came in.
• 1:17:36
  SPEAKER_00: The the it was agreed upon August of 2024, January 1 of 2025, it went into effect.
• 1:17:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that is true.
• 1:17:45
  SPEAKER_00: So we're good on that.
• 1:17:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's it.
• 1:17:49
  SPEAKER_00: Very good.
• 1:17:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Connor McIver.
• 1:17:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you need me, uh reach out.
• 1:17:52
  SPEAKER_00: My phone number is uh on the last page, and I will, I'm sure, talk to you soon.
• 1:17:57
  SPEAKER_00: I do a lot of AI talk as well.
• 1:17:59
  SPEAKER_00: You can find uh go to Connorwithhonor.com and you can see more information.
• 1:18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh coded by Connor as well.
• 1:18:09
  SPEAKER_00: I have this uh system up and running also, and you can come here and see uh see some of the other stuff I do.
• 1:18:15
  SPEAKER_00: All right, very good.
• 1:18:15
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate you watching.
• 1:18:16
  SPEAKER_00: Take care, and uh we'll see you in the next one.