Misty SOLDwisch & Heather Burnside talk about an event to help give people an idea of what it is like to be in real estate, then talk about mortgages with Chuck Simmons of Motto Mortgage Midwest.
Speaker 1:
It’s time for the Central Iowa Real Estate scoreboard right here on 1460 am and 106.3 FM, KXNO. Now Misty SOLDwisch and Heather Burnside.
Heather Burnside:
Good morning and welcome to the Central Iowa Real Estate scoreboard. Today’s guest is Chuck Simmons from Motto Mortgage Midwest. We’re going to be talking to Chuck a lot coming up here is sounds like Misty.
Misty SOLDwisch:
I’m so excited about it.
Heather Burnside:
Misty’s mic isn’t on. It doesn’t look like it’s on still. There it is now. All right.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Here I am Heather.
Heather Burnside:
Here you are. So yes, we’re going to be talking to Chuck coming up in a little bit about the do’s and don’ts, the ins and outs of financing your new purchase. But in the meantime we want to talk about a meet and greet event that you have coming up on Monday at 6:00. And normally this is something you would do in person but because of the pandemic you’re going to do it by Zoom correct?
Misty SOLDwisch:
Exactly. So every few weeks we do basically career event. Everyone’s always curious about, “What’s it like to be in real estate? What do I need to do to get a license?” And I always have people asking what it’s like on my team versus being a solo agent. And so we have an event called a meet and greet that I tell a little bit about our company’s story, my story and philosophy. You get to meet several of our team members and hear their experience and find out what it takes to get your real estate license.
Heather Burnside:
Joinmistysteam.com to sign up for this Zoom. But in the meantime, and I know we may give away a little bit of the content but I’m curious to know what is it really like to be in real estate?
Misty SOLDwisch:
So, I know you love watching shows on HGTV about real estate, it’s nothing like that. It’s nothing like that.
Heather Burnside:
Okay. Okay. Oh, so you mean David from Love it or List It isn’t, that’s not how it always works out?
Misty SOLDwisch:
I wish it did. There’s a lot more to it than that.
Heather Burnside:
He always shows them three homes and then by the third one…
Misty SOLDwisch:
Let’s write up our million dollar offer and we’re done.
Heather Burnside:
Yeah.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Exactly. No, it’s not like that. I mean, it is a challenging career but at the same time it is incredibly fulfilling helping people get through to find what’s so important in their life, their home, where they live. So, we give all the good, bad and the ugly. I mean, there’s great things about this career. There’s flexibility yet not the same flexibility that a lot of people think there is because we do need to work with people on evenings and weekends and when they’re available. It’s a lot of problem solving, it’s a lot of helping people navigate the process of getting where they are to where they want to be. But oh gosh I am such a huge believer in the structure that we have with my team. It makes it so much easier for people to be successful quickly and help them focus on the things that they enjoy about real estate and then the stuff they don’t enjoy someone else takes care of for them.
Heather Burnside:
Okay. So what is the difference about being on a team versus going out there just hanging out your shingle and trying to do it yourself?
Misty SOLDwisch:
Well, when you are a solo agent you have started a small business and you are marketing, you are HR, you are the financial officer, you are in addition to helping buyers and sellers. And a lot of people are really good at certain elements of it and really struggle with the other parts of it. So, and it tends to be people that are attracted to the idea of getting into real estate they love working with people, they love the idea of helping with the search for houses, helping get the home prepped properly to sell for top dollar, but they don’t necessarily like the administrative work of it and just all the little details and that’s what my team helps provide for them. And we do it in a way that we have a whole career track that you go through true training on how to become a great salesperson and it’s why my team members have been so successful selling. Oh my gosh, the average agent sells around four homes a year and my average agent sells 36 homes a year.
Heather Burnside:
Wow.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Yes.
Heather Burnside:
Now, and you’d mentioned that there’s people that like working with people, like going through the process, but then there’s other parts of the job that they don’t like but I’m assuming that there must be people on your team that like those parts of the job that you were talking about that other agents struggle with.
Misty SOLDwisch:
They love the details and they love making sure everything stays on track and they really don’t want to be out and about seven days a week. There are people that really love that steadiness of the operation side of the business and really shine there. And we really have top notch people in that area and that really helps our sales side thrive.
Heather Burnside:
Okay. So, if you’re thinking about joining the Zoom call you’re listening right now and you’re thinking, “All right, maybe I do want to be a real estate agent.” How long does it take from the moment you make the decision to become a real estate agent here in Iowa?
Misty SOLDwisch:
So it really depends on how you schedule things out. And of course everything’s crazy right now because they don’t have in person classes they’re done via zoom. There’s also just a strict self study online option but the pretest segment is they call it a 60 hour course. It can be done via a live class or it can be done at your own pace. And then there’s three additional classes that have to be taken, listing practices, buying practices, developing professionalism and ethics, that’s 36 hours of live class. You take an exam. You have to get your fingerprints sent in to the FBI for a background check because we’re licensed by the state. So, the fastest I’ve seen someone go through the process because everything just line up perfectly was around 28 days, that was a record. People usually have, you have to get everything done within a certain time it will expire. So most people I see it takes around four months to go through the process if they’ve got another job that they’re working around in order to get lined up to be in real estate.
Heather Burnside:
Right. And are you noticing that there’s any difference between because you said they’re not taking, they don’t have in person classes right now is that suffering at all between taking it online versus going in person or maybe it depends on the individual as well?
Misty SOLDwisch:
It depends on the individual. The in person classes which are via Zoom right now what I’ve always heard people say they enjoy about that versus the self study is the instructors are very specific on, “Here’s the knowledge you need to pass the real estate exam.” Versus the self study it’s, “We want to tell you everything about real estate and you need to know it.” And so, it’s just the focus that it’s just how people learn and how people take tests too. But it is overall Iowa does not have an enormous, I mean it is sufficient, it gives you general knowledge, it really doesn’t tell you anything about what it’s like to really be a real estate agent.
Heather Burnside:
Like most schools.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Exactly
Heather Burnside:
I just had journalism classes and that’s communication and then I got into it and realized…
Misty SOLDwisch:
You don’t use that all the time?
Heather Burnside:
You really have to probably do it live and in person before you really start getting the understanding but I imagine that’s another reason why working on a team would be beneficial as opposed to even muddling your way through it and then now I’m out there and I’m a real estate agent.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Exactly. I mean, we are there to give support and guidance and really get you lined up with clients right away and show you how to sell and how to help people so it really works great.
Heather Burnside:
If you want to join again it’s joinedmistysteam.com. You can also go to soldincentraliowa.com and I’m sure there’s a link there as well as a lot of information. And coming up in addition to all that information about joining Misty’s team we do have of course the featured home of the week. And we are going to be talking to Chuck Simmons coming up next, the mortgage broker, owner of Motto Mortgage Midwest. That’s all coming up next on the Central Iowa Real Estate scoreboard on 1460 KXNO now on 106.3 FM.
Speaker 4:
As a real estate investor I look for sharp agents who really know their market, agents who do so much business they can find me the right investment property and sell it for the most money without drama. When I need real estate advice in Des Moines and central Iowa I call Misty SOLDwisch. Her innovative marketing attracts hundreds of buyers every month which creates more demand for your home selling it faster and for more money. She guarantees to sell it on your timeline or she’ll buy it. Call the agent I trust Misty SOLDwisch and avoid the drama.
Heather Burnside:
All right it’s time to get Misty with it as Misty breaks down the picture from the central Iowa real estate market this week. What is the latest?
Misty SOLDwisch:
Oh my goodness. So busy continuing to be crazy. July usually isn’t this busy but 384 homes hit the market this past week, 553 went under contract and 500 closed. So like we have been seeing the last several weeks way more homes are going under contract then what are coming on making it more and more a sellers market. So what a great time to if you’re thinking about doing something with a move in this next year check out what your options are. Because with the limited inventory it really gives you some advantages as a seller. The other thing and I think it has everything to do with the statistics that are happening, mortgage rates hit record lows for three consecutive weeks. Means so much buying power and it just, it creates a lot of excitement in the market when rates are really great.
Heather Burnside:
And I think that’s one reason why we have Chuck Simmons in here from Motto Mortgage Midwest. Good morning, Chuck.
Chuck Simmons:
Good morning.
Heather Burnside:
What is the current mortgage rates now for 30 year, 15 year?
Chuck Simmons:
It depends on a lot of things, your credit score, how much are you putting down, but it’s not uncommon right now to see rates below 3% on a 30 year and without having to pay any points and on a 15 year they’re hovering in that two and a half percent range so it’s fantastic.
Heather Burnside:
What is your background and experience? And just tell us a little bit about Motto Mortgage.
Chuck Simmons:
Sure. So I, I got into the business in 1997 up in Minneapolis. I started as a broker up there so I’ve come full circle. I moved to Des Moines in ‘98 and have stayed in mortgage that entire time. And about 12 years ago I started working with my business partner Emily Hemmer. And our business has continued to grow and we had the opportunity to bring the first Motto Mortgage franchise to the Des Moines area and so we opened it up last month.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Yeah. And Emily, your business partner she’s the sweet one?
Chuck Simmons:
Yes. Absolutely.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Tell us the bad news. I’m just kidding.
Heather Burnside:
So it’s a good cop, bad cop thing.
Chuck Simmons:
Absolutely, it works very well.
Heather Burnside:
Yeah. Go ahead Misty sorry.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Well, and what I’ve always loved about working with Chuck and Emily is real estate happens all the time and it is really difficult to work with a lender that has traditional bankers hours.
Chuck Simmons:
Yeah. So, what we do is we know that that our job is to make the real estate agents look like rock stars. We have to be available when they’re available. So, as Misty was saying before were working weekends, were working nights. When those borrowers need us it’s not uncommon for us at 9:00 at night to get a phone call to pre-qual somebody because they are about to make an offer so we make sure one of us is available to do that.
Heather Burnside:
And I’ve been hanging out with Misty long enough and watch enough shows and I’m assuming though that you should probably be pre-qualified and talk to Chuck long before you’re about ready to make an offer but that’s not always the way it works.
Chuck Simmons:
Ideally yes.
Misty SOLDwisch:
We prefer planning.
Chuck Simmons:
We always stress that that’s the first thing you do but sometimes people don’t think they’re ready and don’t plan on buying and then they find that house and all of a sudden they need to get pre-qualified so.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Or they shift gears in the process and just decide on something completely different than what they thought. So, it’s so important to have someone that they can actually talk numbers with.
Heather Burnside:
And I’m assuming that COVID may have changed. Some people have the best intentions or the best planning and then COVID has upended all that. How has COVID affected lending and mortgages?
Chuck Simmons:
It’s done a few things. There is a lot more scrutiny on employment. With COVID there were a lot of people who were furloughed and so in that case we had to wait until they had their steady income back, we could not use unemployment. Credit score requirements have risen in many cases so people who we may have qualified prior to COVID we had to work on getting their credit built back up [crosstalk 00:14:23]
Misty SOLDwisch:
I think that was a big thing that shifted things. As investors changed their requirements people that thought they were qualified and good all of a sudden weren’t.
Chuck Simmons:
March was probably the craziest month I have seen in my 23 years just because everything was changing so quickly, rates were starting to rise because people did not know what to expect and how to handle it. So yeah, it has been an adjustment for everybody. Things have calmed down a little bit now. Forbearance, you hear that a lot and so what lenders have done is they have allowed and the government came through and said, “You have got to allow people to skip payments if they need to and because of COVID they don’t really have to give you any other reason.”
Chuck Simmons:
And so, what we’ve seen are borrowers who probably could make their mortgage payments who called to find out more about it and then the lender said, “Well, why don’t we just put you in forbearance for three or four months and then you can skip payments and make them later?” That has caused an issue because the… And at first again the guidelines have shifted but there are paths to still get people to buy if they catch themselves up right away and it’s not considered a late payment. But I don’t think all the education was out there before everybody started to do that so it made it very tough.
Chuck Simmons:
And then the final thing and this is a quirky thing but we’ve seen it a lot lately I had two this week that were affected by it where we had co-signers that were out of state. And typically what that means is you send that closing package to them a day before, they sign it, they overnight it, then we sign on ours. In both instances UPS overnight is no longer overnight and UPS just throws their arms up and says, “We’re going to get it there as soon as we can.” So we’ve had to delay things waiting on UPS packages as well.
Heather Burnside:
There’s a lot to unpack there in what you just said but I guess I’ll start with somebody that was employed then furloughed and they needed to wait until they were brought back from furlough. I’m also assuming that there were probably plenty of people that while they haven’t been furloughed and they are still employed that they need to take, and this maybe isn’t even something that’s your role, but they need to take an honest look at what their longterm employment chances are before they decide to make this move as well?
Chuck Simmons:
Yes. And we’ve actually had some that have been impacted by that where the borrower still had their job but they just had a feeling, they were hearing things and they did not think that their longterm employment look good so they halted the process and understandable. I mean, they’ve got to be comfortable and make sure they’re not getting themselves in a bad position. We have a lot of people who think, “Well, I’m making unemployment, I’m making the same that way so I should be fine.” And again, unemployment income is not considered stable.
Misty SOLDwisch:
That’s not counted as income?
Chuck Simmons:
It’s not, newsflash. But so yeah, it has been a process of making sure that even if they go back and they’re not at their full time hours if we can qualify them on whatever hours they’re currently working we’ll be fine but we have to have that stability.
Heather Burnside:
And you mentioned credit scores. My first question is what kind of credit score will get you the lowest interest rate I mean just ballpark?
Chuck Simmons:
Ballpark 740 or above tends to get you that lowest rate, 740 to 760, right around there. Then what happens are it goes in increments of 20. So under 740, between 720 and 739 there’s an adjuster, between 700 and 719 there’s a bigger adjuster and it goes all the way down. And that’s not only on interest rates. If you’re putting less than 20% down that’s on your mortgage insurance rates as well. So if you’ve got somebody who is at just say a 680 credit score which isn’t a bad credit score but because of all the adjusters it can make a big difference in your payment.
Misty SOLDwisch:
And that’s something that is newer relatively to the mortgage industry too because I mean, back in our early days that was not the way it worked.
Chuck Simmons:
Right. No, I would say the past eight, nine, 10 years or so you’ve really seen those credit score adjusters go into place and make a big impact so.
Misty SOLDwisch:
But that’s an area where you really shine though, you and Emily with that because you do such a great job educating and not just telling them about it but what are some of the other things that you bring to the table?
Chuck Simmons:
So, one thing we do is we have a credit simulator. So, we’ll pull credit and we pull from the three major credit bureaus Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. We have to use that middle score so out of the three scores we use that middle one. We also can see where their scores could be if they made some changes. So that might be if they pay down some debt, it might be if they pay off a collection and get that removed. And so, we have had in some cases we’ve been able to raise somebody’s credit score about 100 points in a couple of weeks. That’s not common but it just so happened with theirs it was. But what we’ll do is we’ll take a look and if their score is too low to qualify now we’ll show them what it would take for them to be able to get that score up. Or we’ve had some cases where somebody has a decent score, a 700, but we can show them how to get to a 720 or 740 to get those better rates and they’ll work with us and we’ll get that done for them.
Heather Burnside:
Does losing your job do anything to your credit score?
Chuck Simmons:
Losing your job doesn’t. If you can’t make your payments and you start missing your payments that does something to your credit score. So yeah, the income piece does not affect your credit score.
Misty SOLDwisch:
And the last thing that you should not pay is your mortgage payment, right?
Chuck Simmons:
The first thing, yeah the last thing you should not miss is your mortgage payment.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Yes, you were following me. I said it the wrong way.
Chuck Simmons:
I’m like, wait a minute. You always want to make your mortgage payment and you don’t want to miss any payments but if you had to make a choice don’t be late on your mortgage payment because that could set you back years depending upon how much you would miss there.
Heather Burnside:
Is that same as true for rent as well or is that a little different as far as your credit score?
Chuck Simmons:
Rent does not affect your credit score. Where it would affect you is we have to do a verification of rent and if they’ve missed payments then the underwriter that’s going to be a knock on the overall credit. So we not only look at the credit score we look at a lot of other factors, compensating factors, and if they were late on rent then that could cause some problems.
Heather Burnside:
All right. And I’m assuming that there are some things that you should never do once you’ve started the process of buying a home and I was listening to you and Misty off the air a little bit talk about this. So, what are some things that you should never do?
Chuck Simmons:
So, the three main things and this may sound common sense but I guarantee you every one of these things has happened as recently as last week in some cases. So, if you are in the process of buying a home, you are in the process of doing a mortgage, do not change jobs. And again, it depends on how long you have. If you change jobs let your lender know because there’s a lot of extra verifications that have to go. We had a situation where a borrower changed jobs and we didn’t find out until less than a week before closing. We had to stop the process, reverify some things, and it caused some delays. So, make sure if you can hold onto that job just a few days longer just wait.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Just wait a couple of weeks.
Chuck Simmons:
Don’t take on new debt. It’s very common for people to get very excited and two days before closing go to a furniture store and they can defer their payment if they sign up for a credit card and we get notified that that just happened and now we have to stop and verify that debt. Even though there may not be a payment for 18 months we have to build a payment in there and in a worst case scenario if they were close on debt ratios that can cause a really big problem so.
Heather Burnside:
Some of this seems like a no brainer but yet I can see where it does happen.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Well they’re like, “Hey, we’re already qualified and we’re getting ready to close. We need new furniture so let’s buy it now so it’s ready when we move.”
Chuck Simmons:
I had to call a borrower of mine on black Friday and say, “What are you doing?” And they’re like, “Well, the deals are great.” I’m like, “You need to stop because I can see what’s happening so please don’t.”
Misty SOLDwisch:
Stop shopping now.
Chuck Simmons:
Yeah and we touched on this before don’t don’t miss any payments. It’s rare, once we pull credit we don’t have to pull credit again for four months, 120 days. But if you take on new debt we get notified or if your credit expires we’re going to have to pull new credit and if we have to pull new credit and you’ve missed payments then that could cause a problem so we’ve had that happen before too and that’s not a fun situation.
Heather Burnside:
And I’m assuming you have stories.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Well, we have shared stories of these. But it’s never bad intentions but it’s just people get excited and they just don’t realize how it all works and that’s why it’s so important to work with someone that educates you on the process. Even when we do that sometimes people don’t quite connect with it so we say it over and over again because it’s so important like, “Keep your situation the same while you’re waiting to close make all those changes afterwards.”
Heather Burnside:
And I’m assuming too especially when it comes to somebody like you, “Here’s my income, here’s my credit history, here’s my credit score,” but have you ever worked with somebody that you felt like if you go with this price point you’re going to be overextending yourself. I mean, is this where you have to have the hard conversation or say, “This is the price range you should be looking at?” Or like, “You’re looking at too much home.”
Misty SOLDwisch:
Well, that’s where from my perspective as the agent I am talking about what they want their lifestyle to be for the next three years, five years, 10 years and so that is part of the discussion. I don’t know the debt to income stuff the same way that Chuck does and that’s more talking about payments and what you’re comfortable with that’s what he’s really great at sharing.
Chuck Simmons:
The most important question I feel that I ask a borrower is, “What payment are you comfortable with?” I will ask them what price range they’re looking at but really it comes down to what payment they’re comfortable with. And who have said that they are, they want a $300,000 house and they’re comfortable with a payment at a $1,000. And then I have to educate them on how that doesn’t work and we have to find an in between as far as again if they’re comfortable with that payment then we have to lower the expectations a little bit. If there’s a little wiggle room then we’ll find a good in between for them.
Heather Burnside:
And I guess we need to get to the featured home of the week to, 5085 Windsor Circle in Pleasant Hill, this home listing for $449,999.
Misty SOLDwisch:
Exactly. This home just hit the market on Friday. Gorgeous location right on Copper Creek golf course. Great community, southeast Polk schools A one and a half story home and I love one and a half story homes because they’re so flexible for families at different stages. It’s got a main floor master and then three bedrooms upstairs, a whole bedroom suite down at the lower level. But it’s a home that there’s just great spaces to be able to…Oh and it has a dedicated home office which is the hot thing to have right now that’s really nicely appointed with built-ins and all of that. But just a great entertaining space and I just, I love that Copper Creek location just beautiful trails in the area and so convenient to get everywhere in the metro from there.
Heather Burnside:
When you buy a home along a golf course though do you have to take [inaudible 00:26:33] golf balls into account? Does that add anything to insurance when?
Misty SOLDwisch:
If you’re not a golfer too a lot of times when people move they don’t understand what the pathways are going to be and so it is good to have that info homeowner’s insurance does help with that though.
Heather Burnside:
And when you go into a community along a golf course does that include any dues or is it just you own the property or is it part of an association?
Misty SOLDwisch:
Copper Creek has an association but it depends on the community that you’re at.
Heather Burnside:
Great. Well Chuck I know that we’re going to be talking to you again in an upcoming show because I feel like we’ve probably just scratched the surface on mortgages.
Chuck Simmons:
Sounds great.
Heather Burnside:
In the meantime and thanks again. It’s Motto Mortgage brokers here in central Iowa. We will see you again next week on the Central Iowa Real Estate Scoreboard on 1460 KXNO now on 106.3 FM.
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