Deals Aren't Dead - They're Just Different - How to Win in 2026

Ever feel like the housing market is a maze with moving walls? We brought together a 20-year realtor who treats every purchase like an investment and a lender who rebuilt his playbook around non-QM lending to show exactly how buyers, sellers, and investors can win right now. No fluff—just the strategies that still close in a high-rate, low-fit inventory environment.

We break down the real dynamics behind “high but not the highest” rates, why inventory feels wrong for most budgets, and how buyer hesitation often kills good deals. You’ll hear how remote work and 1099 income changed underwriting, why DSCR, bank statement, and 1099 loans matter, and how to structure tough files using grants and seller credits without smoke and mirrors. If you’ve wondered whether to wait for rates to dip, we map the tradeoffs: when financing costs fall, demand and prices usually rise. Renting remains 100% interest; ownership gives options—refinance later, sell, or rent out your home if life shifts.

We also get tactical. Learn the duplex house-hack that boosts buying power on day one, the exact steps for clean documentation and fewer last-minute surprises, and the simple process upgrades—like group-text introductions and a short video walkthrough of the closing disclosure—that reduce anxiety and speed up closings. For agents, it’s a masterclass in fundamentals and staying in your lane; for lenders, a reminder to own cash-to-close clarity and communicate early. For renters and first-time buyers, it’s a clear path from fear to a plan.

If you’re serious about real estate in 2026—buying, selling, investing, or staying sharp as a pro—this conversation gives you the mindset and the tools. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs the nudge, and leave a review with your biggest question—we may feature it next.

 Quote Cards for Social

Mark Jones
🗣️ “You’re not working in the same market—we’ve got to stop acting like we are.”
🗣️ “Build a bigger box instead of thinking outside it.”

Cynthia Ramona Gomez
🗣️ “Every market is a good market—for someone.”
🗣️ “I don’t advertise. 100% referrals. That’s the brand I built.”

Waseem Bari
🗣️ “If I can’t do your loan—nobody can.”
🗣️ “You’re paying 100% interest when you rent.”

Chapters

• 0:00 Daily Improvement Mindset
• 0:38 Show Open And Sponsor
• 1:52 Meet Cynthia And Wasim
• 3:46 Cynthia’s Path To Real Estate Investing
• 6:07 Wasim’s Shift Into Lending And Entrepreneurship
• 10:04 Today’s Market: Rates, Inventory, Sentiment
• 13:42 Investors, First-Time Buyers, And Skepticism
• 16:14 Non-QM Lending Becomes A Lifeline
• 20:53 Remote Work And Underwriting Realities
• 24:04 Realtor Attrition And Surviving The Slowdown
• 27:12 Back To Basics And Brand Building
• 30:12 Solutions Over Nos: Structuring Tough Files
• 34:06 Tough Conversations And Full-Doc Scrubs
• 38:25 Extensions As The New Normal
• 41:44 Renter Fears, Equity, And House Hacking
• 46:38 What Lenders Must Explain Better
• 50:20 Time-Saving CD Walkthroughs With Video
• 54:28 Systems, Teams, And Leadership
• 58:10 Rapid Fire: Myths And Buyer Mistakes
• 1:02:20 Action Steps For 2026 Pros
• 1:04:25 Closing Remarks And CTA

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

At the end of every day, look at yourself in the mirror and ask, did I get better today? Monday, get better. Tuesday, get better. Wednesday, get better. If you do that for five years, ten years, fifteen years, how much better will you be? Are you getting better every single day? That's the real question. And it all comes down to taking small steps. You don't have to accomplish everything in one day or even one week. Just focus on getting a little better every single day.

Mark Jones: 0:38

And welcome back to another episode of Real Estate AF, where the AF stands for and finance, and I'm your host, Mark Jones, and we are powered by Lone Bot, Smarter Mortgage Matching, now available on the App Store and Google Play. And in today's discussion, we are going to be talking with two individuals that I personally have never met before. So this should be interesting. We're going to be chatting about the current market that we're in as we roll into 2026. And I've got perspectives from both the real estate and lending side. And I like to always do that devil's advocate thing. But without further ado, let me introduce my guest today. I've got first to my right, I've got Cynthia Gomez. How are you? I'm doing well. Thanks for having me. Doing well? Good. And then I've got Wasim Barry. How are you doing, man? I'm doing good, man. Doing good? Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01: 1:27

Absolutely. You came all the way over here from Houston, H Town. Uh, yeah, no, I got here pretty quick too. Yeah. No traffic. So it was it was good. It was good. But I like it. I like it to, I was gonna make it a long weekend anyway. So there you go. Not a bad place to come, right? No, no, it's it's always a good thing.

Mark Jones: 1:41

Very good. So at the beginning of every discussion, especially with folks that are new to the podcast. Let's see, hold on. Yep, we're good. I want to give a little bit of time to tell us about yourself, but ladies first. So Cynthia? Oh, you want to hear about me? Absolutely. Tell me about you. Let's start with where you're from and what led you into real estate.

SPEAKER_05: 2:04

All right. So I moved here from Tucson. Okay. And what led me into real estate was I was getting divorced and I took a look at a property and it was a duplex.

SPEAKER_04: 2:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_05: 2:16

The guy who showed me the duplex was a CCIM, certified commercial investment manager. And up until that time in my life, I thought that real estate was just something that you bought to live in.

SPEAKER_04: 2:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 2:28

So this guy showed me how to make money. And everything changed.

Mark Jones: 2:32

Just mind blown.

SPEAKER_05: 2:33

Yeah, I was just like, okay, I need to do this. So I got my license, and here I am 20 years later. Still rockin' and roll. Also a CCIM candidate.

Mark Jones: 2:42

Yeah. Okay, very good. Very good. So was it just the fact that you saw potential dollar signs in that? Because I'll be honest, I same thing, got into mortgage side because of the money, but it changed as I went further and all that jazz. But was it, yeah, what were you doing before real estate?

SPEAKER_05: 3:01

I I had a different business. I had a delivery service. Okay.

Mark Jones: 3:04

So self-employed. Self-employed. I was all my life. Okay. Then that in itself is a very, I'm not going to say an easy transition, but I will say that most realtors are not jumping into this with the mindset of it being my own business until they realize it at a certain point of I'm self-employed. Yeah. For you, you're a bit ahead of it. I was born for entrepreneurship. Love that. Yeah. Very good. Cut out for it.

SPEAKER_05: 3:31

Yeah. And every real estate purchase is an investment. You always have to have an exit strategy or know how to leverage it into something more. Amen. Later on.

Mark Jones: 3:41

We're going to get into more of that. I like that. So what's going on, man? Tell me about yourself, please.

SPEAKER_01: 3:47

Man, I've been in I've been in lending for I want to say four uh 13 years now. Okay. 13, yeah. So got in in 2012. Yeah. Uh right after. No, I'm sorry, uh 2014. I got into it. Yeah. So 12 years. 12 years. 12 years. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But before that, I was in oil and gas. Okay. And then and then also like like like her, I've been an entrepreneur my whole life. Like so my dad owned a small business, and I kind of ran that for a little bit. And then I got into the merchant service uh side of it. Selling credit card services. Yeah, credit card services. And and then every when the when everything popped in oh nine, you know, the bubble popped, everything went went crazy. Then I got into oil and gas and I was an investment consultant for an oil and gas company. And then kind of did that my own thing from there. And then that popped in. You know, uh it's funny saying most good things must come to an end. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And that popped in 2012, and then I didn't do anything for for a while. I thought I was gonna come back, you know, pretty quickly. Yeah. And so then I was like, well, I gotta do something. And so buddy of mine was all like, Man, you need you need a you need to become a like a loan officer. And I was like, Man, you know, I don't have a degree. I don't know, I mean, I don't know anything about that. And he's like, you know a lot more than you think. You're a smart guy. And I was like, all right, cool. And so you put me in and never looked back. And then three years ago, I went on my own and started my own on my own shop and never looked back. Very cool.

Mark Jones: 5:13

Yeah, what a scary journey that is. I myself have been in those shoes for quite some time now, and it is gratifying, but not easy.

SPEAKER_01: 5:22

It's not easy, man. Yeah, any entrepreneur knows that I think we we all have like this little group, and we're always talking about like, man, if I can only just go back to just going in and out, clocking in and out, and just being like, hey, I'm gonna take my week vacation and come back to work, it'll be so and then you're like, no, the money's good. The money's good. I like the stuff.

SPEAKER_05: 5:41

I have never said that. I've never said that.

SPEAKER_04: 5:45

I've never had that thought.

Mark Jones: 5:47

Yeah. Clocking in. Yeah, no, I I I honest, honestly, I'm with I'm with Cynthia on that only because I've been doing it for quite some time. Not just the lending thing, but the the entrepreneur, self-employed, making your own destiny, being you work this hard. Well, you're gonna get what you put into it. And that has been true thus far. Now, mind you, I will go as far as to say that that part that I was talking about, it not being easy. It's very true. We're the last to eat in most case scenarios. If you have employees, most of the employees' operations staff in the mortgage industry has no idea that for the last two years, their boss or boss's boss has more than likely cut their comp dramatically.

SPEAKER_01: 6:35

Yeah, for sure.

Mark Jones: 6:35

Right? It's not something we talk about. No, but we still got to produce, we still gotta be encouraging, we still gotta show up as your best person.

SPEAKER_01: 6:43

For sure.

Mark Jones: 6:44

So that kind of leads into the discussion for today, which is about today's market. And I want to start with you, Cynthia. What what are you experiencing in today's market? We have a situation where rates are high, not the highest. They really aren't. We've got mixed feelings on the inventory. And when I say mixed feelings, I mean there's plenty of inventory out there, but not the inventory that people want or can afford in many cases. Then you've got a lot of sellers that are at their wit's end on keeping it on the market and waiting. So they're starting to pull some of them off the market. And you're getting this buyer sentiment that is very skeptical. They're unbelieving that rates are going to come down, that property values are going to stay up. So they're like, well, we'll just sit on the sidelines a little bit longer. But then you also have investors that are, and we're talking mom and pop investors, guys, that are buying and buying and buying. And then you've got your first-time home buyers that are educated enough to do their own math, their own logic, and seeing their parents and going, well, at the end of the day, they still had equity after all those years. That being the frame, what are you seeing out there?

SPEAKER_05: 8:08

And the youngs are savvy. Yeah. Yeah. They uh they know what they're doing, they do a lot of research, and there's the the people that I've worked with are saving money and they're beginning to build a life.

SPEAKER_04: 8:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 8:21

As far as buyer skepticism, man, I've been doing this for 20 years, and I think that there's always a class of buyers that's skeptical. And I remember when rates were 3.9, they're like, Well, I'm gonna wait till rates are two and a half.

Mark Jones: 8:36

I'm like, like, you know, that's free money, right?

SPEAKER_05: 8:39

Yeah, I bought my first house at seven and a half. Like, buy the house. You can always refinance if rates go down. Yeah, you don't know. You know, you know, rates can always go up.

SPEAKER_04: 8:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 8:48

So buyers, you know, there's a saying buyers are liars.

Mark Jones: 8:52

It's true.

SPEAKER_05: 8:52

Yeah, they don't know what they want sometimes. It's how it is.

Mark Jones: 8:56

But you know what? The ones that are sellers are liars too.

SPEAKER_05: 8:59

The ones that are the the buyers who are investors, though.

Mark Jones: 9:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 9:02

Something that I learned.

Mark Jones: 9:04

Pull that mic closer to you.

SPEAKER_05: 9:05

Sorry, something that I learned early on is that every market is a good market for someone.

Mark Jones: 9:11

Oh, that's there. You go.

SPEAKER_05: 9:13

There you go. You have to know where the opportunity lies. There's an opportunity in every market.

Mark Jones: 9:18

Yeah, it's like that saying there's a someone for everyone.

SPEAKER_05: 9:21

Yeah. And like you said, there are investors who are buying right now. That's right. Yeah.

Mark Jones: 9:26

I would go as far as to say that on the lending side, and you can tell me if I'm wrong or right on this, most lenders that wanted to make it through this market learned how to do non-QM loans.

SPEAKER_01: 9:39

Oh, that is a hundred percent true.

Mark Jones: 9:42

So tell us a little bit about what you're seeing, because I will tell you, Cynthia's coming from a realtor side, so she doesn't get to see the the crap.

SPEAKER_01: 9:52

Oh, yeah, for sure. So when I started, when I started my company Jetmo, yeah, I was an A-paper loan officer. Okay. You know, I was bullets, everything bullets. Bullets, bullets. You know, like if you didn't have a 680 credit score, like I probably didn't do your loan. You know what I mean? Okay. So I rarely did FHAs, didn't even touch VA loans. I was like, no, I don't, I don't, like, and I was I was closing 30 million, 40 million a year. Right. And so it was it was a great, a great time. And then rates just went through the roof. And then it was like, what are we doing? And what made me open up my own company was the the bank that I was with, they were like, don't touch non, they were like, don't touch non-QM, don't touch any of that. A paper is always gonna be there. You just focus on it, focus on it. Don't even worry about realtor business. Just call your leads, call your leads, call your leads, call your leads. And I was like, I saw the I saw the horizon. I was like, these guys are these guys are like drinking their Kool-Aid way too much.

Mark Jones: 10:53

Yeah, you know, yeah. And so would you mind shedding light on it because you mentioned bank? Were they a bank?

SPEAKER_01: 10:59

Or they were a bank, yeah. Okay. They were they were a direct lender. Okay. So you have correspondence, you have brokers correspondence, and then you have direct, right? So so they were a direct lender.

SPEAKER_03: 11:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 11:10

One underwriter, you know, mortgage bankers. Yeah, yeah, mortgage bankers. Just one underwriter, IMBs. Yeah, there you go. So and I was like, no, man, this is this is not gonna work. Like I saw the light and I was like, no, this is not gonna work in in a year. Like, either I'm not gonna make any money or or like I gotta find a new job because the bucket of the borrowers are gonna just close in, right? So when I started my company, the first thing I did was I was like, I want to know everything there is about non-QM. Like, I want to know the investor programs, I want to know bank statement programs, I want to know, you know, DSCRs, CRs, everything, PL loans, 1099 loans. Like, then you got to remember at that time the COVID boom was still like in in in a like kind of aura, but you had so many traveling nurses that were getting paid 1099s and stuff like that. So I was like, oh, I have a program for you, like let's let's go. And that's how I built my business. Was I was like, hey, I had a phrase, I was like, if I can't do your loan, no one can.

Mark Jones: 12:13

You have that too, right?

SPEAKER_01: 12:17

That's awesome. But but that's not a good question.

Mark Jones: 12:19

And you're right about matter of fact, you touched on something that I don't think I've mentioned on this podcast before, but it is the idea of how we evolved employment-wise. Many people are now weak working from home that that type of job typically doesn't.

SPEAKER_03: 12:38

Correct.

Mark Jones: 12:39

So the idea that you're moving from California to Texas, but you are working from home, typically we would have to go, okay, are you transferring? Yeah, uh, what is the proof that you're actually able to work from home? All that there's so many extra that came in way of guidelines that weren't there before because of the new way of life.

SPEAKER_01: 13:00

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Like um, I don't know, but like now you see a lot more of like, hey, I have an FHA, I have two FHA loans, and it's because, and you know, the the leniency is there now because like, okay, well, I'm working from home now and I don't have to live 20 minutes away from my job. I want to move to the beach area, you know, and and I want to buy another FHA home. And it's like, okay, wait, I gotta explain this. Correct. This is this is a weird situation, and I gotta get on the phone with the underwriter, and then I gotta get on the phone with FHA. Yep. Because I'm like, hey, like have you guys seen this before? Yeah, have you seen? Yeah, and then you gotta sell it to them. You're like, and you're like, oh, but please, like this mr. Like, you know what I mean? And then, like, did they have another baby? And I'm like, yep, yep, yep, yep, yeah, let's go. Checking all the boxes, checking all the boxes, let's go. But I did.

Mark Jones: 13:49

So as we fast forward, now that underwriters are becoming more accustomed to the new way of life, new way of uh people are the way people are working today, the way they're able to work. What are you coming in contact with in regards to let's say how because we have a realtor here, I'm sure you work with plenty of real estate partners. Oh, for sure. My wife's one. Okay, very good. Same here. What are you seeing in regards to the realtor sentiment? Because we can't go with just what Cynthia says. We're sitting here with a rock star today. Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 14:30

I I think that it's a lot harder for realtors in this in this market. Some of the realtors that I that used to send me like three to four deals a month are like sending me three, four deals a year. Yes. You know, yeah. And it's like, what happened? You know, there's some realtors that I'm like, hey, like I call them up and I'm like, hey, like, you know, what happened? They're like, oh, I'm out of the business. I'm not even in real estate anymore. Absolutely. You know, and it's kind of like it's it's hard out there to close deals. I have realtors that never had to buy leads now, starting to buy leads and trying to, you know, trying to, you know, to stay alive and and things of that nature. But I think the way the market is now, if you've been doing this the last two years, I think, and you've been able to sustain, I think you've passed the, I think you're you're you're in a good point at this time.

Mark Jones: 15:23

Hallelujah. Yeah, for sure. Most definitely. No, and and it is true. Now, I will tell you you being in the business for as long as you have, I would hope that you've built a brand, you've built a reputation, you've built a referral base. And that is something that I think as we were heading into this new market, uh, some of us had never experienced it. I had been in the business since 2012, I had never experienced what we went through in the last two years. It was just like, what's going on? Right. But since that is the case, and and I I kind of want to ask you, Cynthia, are you feeling as though realtors are not understanding what back to the basics means?

SPEAKER_05: 16:16

Man, I can't even begin to tell you what other realtors think. I love that.

Mark Jones: 16:21

Badass.

SPEAKER_05: 16:23

But I've always been a back to the basics kind of girl. Like I'm traditionalist through and through. So I do have a brand that I've built over 20 years. And I don't advertise. Okay. Lots of repeat business. Right. I keep in touch with my people, I serve the community, and I mean, I do basic kind of things. So and I don't hang out with a lot of other realtors. I hang out with my clients.

Mark Jones: 16:51

There you go. There you go. Now let me ask you, digging a little bit deeper, diving down into some deep waters, what do you feel or believe is something that is separating you from the pack in regards to the basics of that? Because for me, and I'll frame it a little bit better, for me, when it was time to roll my sleeves back up recently, I was able to do that without any hesitation. The idea of going back to open houses, the idea of reaching out to your referral partners, reaching out to your book of business, doing what you say you're gonna do when you say you're gonna do it, setting proper expectations. I would go as far as to say that in the last two years, we have seen the most extended contracts that we had ever seen. We've seen the most canceled transactions on the silliest things that we've ever seen. So that being the case, what what do you think is separating, you know?

SPEAKER_05: 17:53

Same thing that always had. There's there, what, 8,000 realtors, or there used to be 8,000 realtors? Something like that. How many goods? Where here? In San Antonio.

Mark Jones: 18:01

Okay, I was gonna say in the United States, there's over 1.1 million.

SPEAKER_05: 18:04

In San Antonio, but how many good ones? Good point. How many full-time realtors? Another good point. Yeah, so I'm a full-time realtor, it's all I do. I've been doing it for 20 years. And I think what separates me from maybe people who don't do what I do is I mean, I can get your house ready for market from beginning to end. Like I get it ready to sell. Yeah, I know what sells, I sell it. And when it comes to buyers, is that I mean, my buyers know that I'm not in it for me, I'm in it for them. So I'll be the first one to walk away from a house if it's not a good one. That's awesome for my clients. Yes. And it's and they appreciate that.

Mark Jones: 18:43

And it's great that you're able to stand behind what you're saying there.

SPEAKER_05: 18:46

Yeah, well, and also experience like I have an experienced eye. I know what a good house is. Yes, yeah.

Mark Jones: 18:52

Oh, that's good. Now, for you, how are continuing what your realtors are feeling? Because I just pulled up here on the board. Amy, would you throw that reference up? Boom. So I looked up to see how many realtors have left the business since 2023 in the United States. And we're looking at National Association of Realtors, had about 1.6 million members at the peak of 2022. That's everybody and their mother was like, I'm gonna be a realtor too. You know, and then from 2022 through 2024, members membership declined by 85,000. That's not a ton as of mid-2000. You know what? I I don't even think it will be able to give me the data that I'm trying to research here because and you can kill that. You know how they say the top one percent does most of the business all the time. And I think that is very true, and even more true in the last two years.

SPEAKER_01: 19:52

I think to be honest, um don't lie to me. I think to be honest, like you but you also have the the it's The lending, I don't know about real like real estate is just real estate, right? But you have a lot more, like just like real estate had to change, like you had percentage uh brokerages and things of that nature. Now you've seen a lot of flat fee brokerages, and it's like, hey, you know, like come like you see a lot of smaller brokerages correct coming out of the you've got the exp, the reels, all that absolutely. Yeah, exactly. And I think in the same in the concept of lending, it's it's kind of becoming where bankers did majority of the business, you know, and then now because of these like programs that just opened up, and uh now you're seeing a lot more small broker shops open up, and realtors are actually like wanting the information, they're kind of like many trying to become they're hungry for for a closing.

Mark Jones: 20:43

So it's like, how is there a possibility for this client that we're told no by the bank? Right, exactly to still get finance, to still get finance.

SPEAKER_05: 20:52

Yeah, I think that the being solutions-oriented is also the key. I was raised by a Marine, and it's the tenant is adapt and overcome. I thought it was simplify that one too, yeah, simplify, but it's adapt and overcome, right? And so no matter what the market is or what the lending strategy, like right, finding a solution, finding a way. And if if you have a lender or you have a realtor who's willing to find the way, take the extra step. That's the person you want on your team.

Mark Jones: 21:22

Whatever it takes.

SPEAKER_01: 21:23

Yeah, whatever it takes, and that's whatever it takes. That's what's really separating the market now, is from people that are actually still closing deals. It's like they team up with people that are like, hey, you have the same mindset as me. Yes, sir. I want to close this loan. How are we gonna get this client to the finish line? Absolutely. It's like, don't, don't tell me no, tell me what's the possible way. And then there's plenty of times where I'm like, tell me how, tell me how. Like, what do we need to do? Hey, I need$20,000 in concessions. Go get it. You know that's right. Okay, so don't show them this house that's been on the market three days. Go show them a house that's been on the market 60 days that the seller's willing to give up something and do something. Oh, you have no the client has no money and no down payment. And okay, well, here, look, I structured the deal. This is a three and a half percent grant that they're getting, yep, right. And get me$10,000 in closing costs and and tell them to borrow money from their mom or get a gift from their mom. And now they're coming in with no money down, no money out of pocket, you know, and so and if you market yourself and you be the solution solver, then all of a sudden it's like, cool. And then a lot of lenders are are kind of stepping, stepping out of the game because they're like, I don't want to deal with this client. It's hard, it's a hard client. I'm not used to it anymore. I've been so on autopilot that it's like I don't want to deal with this. And it's like, oh, I'm not returning a call for two weeks. I had a wow, you know what I mean?

Mark Jones: 22:45

Wow. Well, well, to your point, I've got two things, and hopefully I can remember them by the time we get through this. Number one, the reason why I know that you separate yourself as a lender and an expert lender is you're not afraid to have the tough conversations. Correct. Okay. There are a ton of loan officers out there that maybe know how to make the deal work, but they're terrified of telling their customer, hey, you got to sell this car.

SPEAKER_01: 23:12

Or pay off your car.

Mark Jones: 23:14

Or pay the car off. Or any of the things that we've done to be able to suggest to a customer that you may think are outlandish if you were to hear it on the phone, somebody talking about it. Right. But guess what? That's what it takes. And thus far, that buyer, that consumer has not been told that. Correct. They've just been told no, not right now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 23:36

Or they've been told, so like, and I and when I guess as a lender, like I look at the big picture, like I look at your overall scenario. Right. Like, I think outside the box. Like, hey, let's let's have a conversation. I got one for you. What's your goals?

Mark Jones: 23:50

You know, instead of thinking outside of the box, just build a bigger box to think about.

SPEAKER_01: 23:53

Exactly. Yeah. So I like that. I'm gonna use that. You will. I'm good with it. I don't own the trademark. Go for it. I like that. Yeah, but like I have a client right now, calls me. The the realtor actually calls me. She's one of my preferred realtors, right? Okay. And she calls me up and she's like, hey, they came with the pre-approval already. And I'm like, Okay, that's cool. All right, you saved yourself because you're supposed to be sending me all your deals. Correct. But they came with the pre-approval already, and I, you know, then this, that, and the other. All right, this is I got on a flight December 3rd. I was coming from Detroit to Houston. And I got on the flight and she calls me. She's like, hey, uh, this guy hasn't picked up, like, he hasn't done anything. They're they're closing in a week. Oof. And the appraisal hasn't even been ordered. Whoa, they're not closing in a week. And I was like, I was like, okay. And they're like, what's going on with the file? And then she's like, I don't know, but you need, can you call them? Can you figure something out? And I said, Yeah, I'll call them. I'm on the in an airport. I'm in an airport. And I'm like, all right, let me stop and let me get my laptop out. And then I call the client. I'm like, hey, you know, what's going on? This and he tells me the scenario, whatever. From and I basically told him, like, hey, you're you're buying another FHA home, and the problem that you're gonna have is the house is not 50 miles away from your current resident. Like, what happened in your scenario that you deserve another FHA loan? Correct. And he's all like, Well, I have three kids now. And I'm like, the other lender didn't ask you this question? Wow. No, no, he didn't, he never asked me. I was like, he just took an application and then that was it. And I'm like, okay, I got you. I'll fix the problem. I got a CTC in nine days. Okay. So appraisal order, very good.

Mark Jones: 25:36

So for the folks that are tuning in listening, I want to put this in perspective for you because there's a lot of instances, just like I mentioned when he said he's a week out from closing, and I said, That's that's not gonna happen. But it can be close. And what it took for that to happen is he needed to set proper expectations. He needed to make sure that they got all of their documents in, he needed to scrub those documents to make sure that if in those documents it didn't require additional documentation, and if it did, you got that shit too, right? Up front. That's exactly correct. That is the piece that is missing from most loan officers' business model is they take the application, they run the credit, they take what the borrower says as gospel, even though the borrower doesn't know how their bonus, their commission, their this is calculated, maybe they're W2, but they don't work consistent hours. Okay, well, guess what? We can't use your full base pay if that's the case. But it tells me that you are doing the steps that it takes, regardless of how difficult it is to get your borrowers in the right place, to impress your realtors, to make your brand stand out even more, all of the things that come alongside that in a difficult market.

SPEAKER_01: 27:00

Oh, for sure. Right.

Mark Jones: 27:02

Now, I had asked Cynthia something before you got here, and it was a I wasn't expecting the answer that I got, but I'm gonna ask you within the last two years, and this is me personally, I would go as far as to say that most, if not all, of the deals that are closing in today's market are difficult buyers, meaning their situation, their scenario requires something that didn't allow them to purchase in 2020 and 2021.

SPEAKER_01: 27:34

A hundred percent accurate. A hundred percent. I have the most there's there's smarter, there's there's a smarter pool of buyers, yeah, but they're just more whether it's because of the financial situations that gotten harder or the interest rates are higher, and there's just more programs out there that they can do research on, they become more picky, they become more selective. Selective, I'm sorry, yeah, you're right, absolutely right. I like that selective, or they're just they're they're self-educating themselves way too much that they're just like they're they're like getting in their own way. They're getting in, yeah, they're getting in their own way, and it's like, okay, when like where did you get this information from? Well, I got it from Chat GBT saying that this, this, and this, and this. And I said, Well, I understand I understand what you're saying, yeah, and I and I don't mean to to correct you. Yes, I do, but I I mean to correct you.

Mark Jones: 28:28

Why? Because I'm the expert. You go to WebMD and then take that to your doctor and say, WebMD's right.

SPEAKER_01: 28:33

Well, according, well, my wife thinks that she has scarlet fever at one point in time because of WebMD. And I was like, Well, we've all been there. We've all been there. But but it's so true that the the the it's been difficult to to get them into the right program for them because they've done some kind of WebMD research. There's like, no, this is the program I want. It's like, that's not the best program for you, though. Right. Like, I'm not gonna put you in a conventional loan with a 620 credit score. Boom. Yes, you know, I'm gonna put you in an FHA loan because your MI is gonna be a lot cheaper, you know, and this is this is gonna be your best case scenario. So, yes, I agree. And on the real estate side, uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but they'll walk away from a house because of a window or because the you know, like didn't I say that, you know, and it's like, wait, what? We didn't talk, I don't know him.

Mark Jones: 29:23

I do now, but yes, and that's my homeboy now.

SPEAKER_05: 29:27

I've had those buyers. I've had those buyers. I was I I was telling Mark, yes, I'm just so fortunate at this time in my life to be working referrals, yeah. So they trust me, yeah. In in I'm I in addition to working for people who know more than I do, right?

Mark Jones: 29:48

And let me ask you this. Or they think they do, you know. On all of those buyers, were they coming pre-approved? Did you send them to your preferred lender? What was that? You don't even have to tell me who or anything like that. I just want to know what that process was.

SPEAKER_05: 30:04

This is such an interesting question. Okay, because my last four buyers have all are all friends with each other. And they each came with a different lender, but I'm the only realtor.

Mark Jones: 30:19

That's that's that's that's something that says something about for sure. Yes. And and here's where I'm going with that.

SPEAKER_05: 30:26

And the reason why they all came with their own rent lender.

Mark Jones: 30:29

The reason why I asked if they were prior pre-approved coming to you is let's say prior to almost let's say 2022, the way that a buyer would procure financing is they would get it from their realtor. Absolutely. They'd come to the realtor all the time. I want to buy a house. Correct. As evolution and everything became more accessible, that demographic, the younger generation, went, Well, shit, let me do my research. So instead of them looking at pretty houses, which that's what sells, is the sexy part of our industry is the houses. No, they're looking at their money, they're looking at their finances. Yeah. Hence the reason why shameless plug, we came up with review my mortgage, launched into Lone Bot because Lone Bot is amazing. This is what consumers are actually looking for. Yeah. Right? Yeah. So you got a a what is that called? A not a downfall, but the opposite of a downfall, like a I don't know, you got a little come up or something with that group of buyers that all birds of a feather flocked together, guaranteed they were talking about it. And one of them went, Yeah, I'm already pre-approved. The other went, Oh, you know what? I need to do that too. They went through that process getting their documents in line, their approval, went over what kind of programs they qualify, et cetera. And then they went to go look at the house.

SPEAKER_05: 31:55

Yeah.

Mark Jones: 31:55

Right?

SPEAKER_05: 31:56

Well, they saw each other's houses too, because they all hang out. So, like, oh, you know, so they've they've seen natural pissing content. Yeah, yeah, they've seen the house, which is kind of what the Joneses, yeah.

Mark Jones: 32:07

I know what that's like. No, for sure. Last name Jones. So that being said, and and and I think because I was thinking the other way around, if you had said, okay, no, I sent them to my lender, then I was gonna say, you know what, you got a damn good lender that handles all of that stuff behind the scenes, doesn't get you involved, and just wreck shop until the end. But that's not the case. It was they came to you pre-qualified, which makes sense. And also why I have been able to ask that question of past guests for the last goodness, almost two months now. And they've all said the same thing is not only are they difficult, but sometimes we got to drag them across that finish line too.

SPEAKER_05: 32:51

Yeah.

Mark Jones: 32:51

Which is where my my idea of the most extensions and the most understanding sellers that we've been encountered or in contact with why the alternative is what put your house back on the market, try your luck with another one, and then you get under contract again so that it can maybe fall apart, versus a lender saying, Hey, I just need two more weeks. That we're waiting for this pay stub, or we're waiting for this deposit to hit their account, or whatever the case may be. Are you finding that that is very similar?

SPEAKER_01: 33:24

I feel like in this market, uh extended contracts is just a new norm. Yeah. It's just the new norm. Yeah. I mean, they're still writing 30-day contracts, but you know, once they once they realize, like in this market, that there's a lot of other resources, there's a lot of other programs, you know, once you get on the phone with the listing agent, you're like, hey, this is the situation and this is where we're at. Yep. And I just need, you know, another four days or another five days because they're getting a deposit and they're getting this and they're getting this, and they're pretty understanding about it. They're like, look, man, just get this thing closed, please. You know, and it's the similar conversation. It's like, I don't ever want to step on my my realtor's partner's toes because you know, you they do a great job of of you know doing that part aspect, but sometimes it just takes a second of voice to kind of assure the the listing agent, like, hey, look, this is gonna close. Absolutely. And I just need this because this is the situation. And I think in this market, because it's it's such a volatile market and there's so much stuff out there that they're more understanding. Whereas, oof, even a year ago, maybe it was like, no, 30 days, that's it. That's all you get.

Mark Jones: 34:39

21. You're right. 21 days. That's exactly right. Yes, and and it's strange how things are shifting and and and will it last? I don't know. The market does what it does, sellers do what they do, and it's not just like San Antonio Soil. There you go. Yes, that's very good. And okay, so let's take a step back now. And I want to ask you both, because we know kind of the grand scale of buyers right now and the amount that are sitting on the fence. My question to you, and there's no right answer, we don't know. What do you think that buyers' biggest fear is right now? What are what are buyers afraid of in moving forward? What are renters afraid of in moving forward? That kind of concept. Uncertainty. Okay. It's just plain elaborate losing their job. Oh, okay. That's a part of the uncertainty.

SPEAKER_05: 35:34

Yeah, losing their contract. I mean, San Antonio is full of people who have government contracts. Those contracts end.

SPEAKER_01: 35:41

Yeah. Or deportation. Or that. You know, uh, Houston's a huge market for undocumented. Uh we have a lot of, like, I do have a lot. Yeah. You know, and I've lost like my real I called a realtor partner, and she's like, she does mainly I-10 loan, uh, mainly I 10 borrower clients. And they're like, yeah, like they're just they're not gonna buy a house because they're just afraid that you know no one's going out, no one's doing anything. Sure. Fun fact the modelo, like modelo, yeah, they've lost, they've lost the percentage of business because nobody's having get-togethers at the houses or anything like that. Swear to God. Wow, you know, wow, so Mexicans stop partying, right? I don't believe it.

Mark Jones: 36:27

Mentiroso. So I mean, I do believe that though. I mean, that's just humanistic characteristic. We tend to be more fearful regardless of circumstances in most scenarios. A matter of fact, that's kind of why there is a 1%. That's why there is the top 10%, does 90% of the business concept? There's plenty of professionals that have been able to overcome their fear, get out of their comfort zones, etc. But how do we convey that to the borrower? How do we educate them? And I'm gonna shut up to let you guys tell me.

SPEAKER_01: 37:11

Go ahead. I'll I'll let you, I mean, I think for me, if you're renting a house right now, you are paying 100% interest. Facts. It doesn't make sense for you to pay 100% interest for anything. Yeah. Unless, and you know, whether they come out with this 50-year mortgage that they're talking about, whether they do anything to different in the market to help the consumer, that's great. Or whether you think it's wrong or right, you will all in this country, you will build equity in this state. I'm just talking about this state.

Mark Jones: 37:41

Yeah, you will real estate is local.

SPEAKER_01: 37:43

Yeah, you're right. And so in this state, you will build equity. So for the renters that are on their fence saying, hey, well, I want race to come down, or I don't know about my payment terms, or I don't know, I don't have money saved, or whatever the case may be, the time is now because number one, prices are gonna go up.

Mark Jones: 38:03

Now, question I'll pause you there. Don't stop your thought, but why are prices going to go up more than likely when rates come down?

SPEAKER_01: 38:12

Because affordability will be there, and then and it's like it's just supply and demand.

Mark Jones: 38:19

Supply that's what I was looking for.

SPEAKER_01: 38:21

Supply and demand. Yes, cost of goods will go up because there's gonna be more houses being built. Yep, and there's gonna be uh so labor is gonna go up, cost of material will go up, rates will come down, everybody will be on the market again, and then boom, you're in the you're just in a vicious cycle. Yeah, right. And then the consumers thought it's gonna be, well, now it's rates are at 3%. I'm gonna wait till 2.99 or 2.5 or whatever. Yes. Or I'm gonna wait till the COVID days where the interest rates were 1.9%. Yes, you know, and I'm like, don't you wish that on me, Ricky Bobby? Yeah, exactly. You know, but for the people that are renting, stop paying 100% interest, just pull the trigger. There's plenty of programs out there right now, and we don't know when these programs are gonna come on and off the market. Right now, take advantage of what you see and don't worry about what you don't see. So here's devil's advocate. But Wasim, what what if I lose my job? Then you have equity in your house that you can sell and and and and you know, get a little savings account going for you and and and rethink your options. Rent your house out. There you go. That's what I was looking for.

Mark Jones: 39:29

Amen. That's true.

SPEAKER_05: 39:30

You have to live somewhere.

Mark Jones: 39:31

That's correct.

SPEAKER_05: 39:32

Might as well be your own home.

Mark Jones: 39:34

And what I want renters to understand is there will always be opportunities to rent your home out. Why? Because there will always be a market for renters, period. Right. The idea is is to move yourself past that line to the owner section. And hey, you lose your job. Okay, stuff happens when Stuff hits the fan, you've got an out. It doesn't mean sell your house. Let's get with an experienced realtor, run some comps, determine how much we need to get in rent. And if I can't cover the whole damn thing, guess what? Now I've got a savings account that I put$200 away in every month, and the renter is paying the rest of it.

SPEAKER_01: 40:20

Correct.

Mark Jones: 40:21

In addition to a tax shelter, now I can receive write-offs. Now I can learn a little tax strategy, pull a little Trump move on them, right?

SPEAKER_01: 40:29

There you go.

Mark Jones: 40:29

You know, these are things that we are hopefully empowered to educate our buyers with.

SPEAKER_01: 40:35

Yeah.

Mark Jones: 40:36

And I feel like you both probably do that with your clients, which is how you're making it through this market today.

SPEAKER_01: 40:42

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. You have to. You have to. You have to. Yeah. It's it's it's yeah, it's it's there's a there's plenty of ways to skin a cat, but if you're just if you're in that just that one circle, you're just going round and round and round, you gotta take that one step out the circle and say, okay, I'm gonna do something, you know, like let's do something different. Absolutely. Buying duplexes, genius, genius. Genius. Like that's the best way to build build equity, and somebody else is paying the interest.

Mark Jones: 41:11

As a matter of fact, I because I work with a lot of first-time homebuyers still to this day. There's not a single first-time home for first-time home buyer that I don't go over that hack. Yeah. There is not a single one. We're on the call, and I don't even ask them if they're interested in becoming a landlord. I just go straight into hey, here's an alternative that I want you guys to consider because it opens up your pool in what you can buy. And they go, huh? What do you mean? Well, when you're in a duplex, you've got one unit that's paying income to the other one. And that allows you to technically increase the buying power day one. Really? Now they're asking questions. Now I'm educating. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 41:56

And in a time of uncertainty, you're afraid of losing your job, having somebody else pay half or most of your mortgage is a no-brainer.

Mark Jones: 42:05

Pretty good spot to be in.

SPEAKER_05: 42:06

Yeah. Like I've got tenants paying most of my mortgage. That's right.

Mark Jones: 42:10

So now let's see if we can add some controversy to this episode here. For Cynthia, this is for you to tell us about because we're the lenders in the room, right? If there was something, and I don't know what yet, because it's coming from you. What do you wish or would like to see lenders in general explain better, do better? I mean, if there is something. What can lenders do? Okay.

SPEAKER_05: 42:45

Cash to close.

Mark Jones: 42:47

Okay, great.

SPEAKER_05: 42:48

And get that closing state. Like, go over the closing statement.

Mark Jones: 42:52

I love that you mentioned that.

SPEAKER_05: 42:53

In time.

SPEAKER_03: 42:54

Yep. I love that you mentioned that.

SPEAKER_05: 42:56

You're supposed to get it three days before close, I think. I don't get closing statements sometimes till the day of yeah. So and then the lender doesn't go over them. Like I don't need to go over your closing statement, and neither does title. I mean, I think the lender should go over it.

Mark Jones: 43:12

No, you're on the money. You're on the money. Absolutely. Now, Wasim, do you go over the closing disclosure with your borrowers?

SPEAKER_05: 43:20

So I'm actually hot seat.

SPEAKER_01: 43:25

I have I have uh I have an assistant. Stutter. I knew this was gonna be good. No, I am so here we go. I have an explanation for why lender's see what had happened was what had happened was. No, I I'm guilty. I'm guilty. And I I'll be the first one to say. I appreciate the honesty. I appreciate and I'll I'll be the first one to say I can I can do better. Now, yes, the CD is supposed to go out three days before before closing. Most of the time, I send out a CD at the time of approval. Okay. At the time of approval, uh a CD will go out, and I'll go and I'll tell the client, like, hey, this is just a formality for your three-day trade. But these numbers are not balanced with title, these are not accurate numbers. I will send you more accurate numbers closer to the date of closing.

SPEAKER_05: 44:23

And that accuracy, just so people know, is just like the prorated taxes.

SPEAKER_01: 44:28

Correct.

SPEAKER_05: 44:28

The prorated tax, insurance quote, the credits from the seller, right.

SPEAKER_01: 44:33

Things that the seller's responsible for, the survey, you know, things of that nature.

SPEAKER_05: 44:37

But it should be a ballpark.

SPEAKER_01: 44:38

It it usually is. It's it's up or down, maybe a couple grand, you know. As I've gotten busier, now I have assistants in place. I have a system in place. I have an assistant, and she typically goes over my CDs with my clients. And if they don't understand it, then they'll call me and they'll say, Hey, I don't understand. Go over it with me real quick. So that's what I do. I personally don't go over a CD with my client. Maybe 80% of the time, my assistant will do it, or or it gets done at the time of approval. Okay. Like when the approval goes out, the a draft a CD will go out because there are some times, especially in the broker world. I'm not talking about bankers, I'm talking about brokers. We work with several different investors, and we have to kind of we have to play their game sometimes because sometimes their systems are not the best, but they're giving the client the best deal. That we have to kind of like be on them to say, hey, I need this now. And we're on kind of like their little, you know.

SPEAKER_05: 45:42

Sure.

SPEAKER_01: 45:43

You know, so so I understand your frustration. Trust me, I get it all the time from my wife too. Like, hey, like, what the hell? Why are they calling me? I'm not the loan officer. What's that like going home? I know my wife is a realtor too. Man, at two o'clock in the morning, she's like, Did you did you are we gonna close? And I'm like, it's 2 a.m. Like talk to me tomorrow. Yeah, talk to me tomorrow. Or like, hey, did you call that client? I'm like, I'm sitting next to you at dinner. Like, when did you want me to call them?

Mark Jones: 46:10

Turn it off, baby. Turn it off. So I'm gonna give you a little nugget here today, and you can add it. Like I always say, if you stole it from me, you stole it twice. Okay. I mean, I got it from somebody else. Amy, if you can throw that up on the screen, there you go. So every single client of mine, still to this day, uh I've got multiple businesses that I I own, partners with, et cetera, et cetera. That's not to say that I'm good. I'm not toot my horn. I'm talking about time, right? Because we have minimal time that is the most valuable commodity anybody can. You don't get any more.

SPEAKER_01: 46:45

Correct.

Mark Jones: 46:45

So me being A D D A D H D A F, and that stands for and finance also. I have to be very regiment about my time and my time blocking, etc. So the idea of what I'm showing you here on screen, this is Loom. You can use any kind of format you want that allows this, but every customer initially they get their closing disclosure a couple days beforehand. Typically, it's not accurate. We know that. You tell them this is not accurate, but in the next two days, I'm going to be sending you a video that explains the entire CD from start to finish. And if you have questions, hit rewind. What that does for me, since I started doing it for the past three years, four years, is allows number one, me to do it one time and it's done. The borrower gets it, they can hit rewind. So now they kind of feel silly asking questions after they have something that is broken down completely, and it saves me a ton of time. You do it once, you're done. So essentially, I am going through this closing disclosure, and I do this for every single customer. Just straight up. Here's every single line, including the realtor's commission. I'm kidding. I don't point that out.

SPEAKER_05: 48:08

So you this is an app and then you upload the So I'm a tech nerd.

Mark Jones: 48:14

This is just something that will allow you to record over whatever is on your screen. Yeah. So I pull the closing disclosure up, boom, my camera, got my microphone, and I'm scrolling through the CD as I'm in. Okay. And then I will send, if I could put it on the screen, I will send that in a group text message to the realtor, the the buyer, etc., all together.

SPEAKER_01: 48:38

No, I will. That's a good tip. It is, but I will play devil's advocate. Please do. Okay. So the devil's advocates. I love devil's advocate. Yeah, devil's advocates of that is you weren't, it's not personable. What are you talking about? Let's let's hit play.

SPEAKER_03: 48:55

Let's hit play. How do I get this thing to talk? Let's see. It'll do it. Hold on. Um oh, that's why. Hello.

Mark Jones: 49:10

Hey guys, I wanted to finally say congratulations. We have finally reached the finish line. We have you fully approved, and the documents are already sent to the title company, ready for your closing tomorrow. We just wanted to make sure we went over all of the figures to make sure you knew what all went into this. So we've got our purchase price of$380,000,950,000. So if you have any questions, make sure to bring two forms of ID to the table. And no need to bring any funds because instead of you bringing$762,000 like this is showing, you're actually getting back$500, which is your initial earnest money. So congratulations and thank you for already sending us people that we can help. You know anybody else, send them our way.

SPEAKER_01: 49:58

I stand corrected.

Mark Jones: 50:01

I wasn't doing that to prove you wrong or right. It's just an educational moment where we go, well, shit, that is super simple. Why we are going through it every day. You don't very often get to work on your business. You're always working in your business, right? Being that I was in the leadership role that I'm in, I wanted everybody to adopt most of the things that I do personally to give me back time, if that makes sense. Once I discovered that this works, it was like everybody should be doing this that's in my branch because guess how much time it saved me. Well, what do you mean? Okay, how many times have you sent a closing disclosure to a borrower? They call you and ask a question, and next day, next 10 minutes, they call you back and ask another question and then another question. Versus, let me break this damn thing down within five-minute conversation that I get to control. And I promise you, it's human nature. We're embarrassed to now ask questions if you've got it in front of you. Does that make sense? That makes so much sense. Just use just using that human innate feature that we have. Yeah. Curiosity, but also the what is the word I'm looking for? They don't want to be embarrassed.

SPEAKER_01: 51:25

Does it work with engineers?

Mark Jones: 51:26

Sure does. It sure does. Absolutely. Attorneys, doctors, engineers. Matter of fact, I do not treat a client differently based on their freaking title.

SPEAKER_01: 51:35

Yeah.

Mark Jones: 51:35

I've had it. I can't believe I'm gonna say this. I've had it one time where I had a doctor come into my office, and this was a long time ago. Gosh, I was young, didn't have any gray, but doctor sat in front of me. This was back when we were meeting with people face to face. Yeah. And he was acting like a complete asshole. Just the whole time was acting like his shit didn't stink. Okay. I printed my W2 and slapped it on the desk. And I said, I'm sure you're good at what you do, but I'm great at what I do as well. So would you like me to help you, or would you like to find someone else to help you? Guess what? We closed on him and he sent me plenty of business. Yeah. And I think the reason I wasn't doing it to be a dick, but I was tired of that person treating me like a paper pusher.

SPEAKER_01: 52:26

Yeah.

Mark Jones: 52:26

Does that make sense? For sure. Oh, I've been there done that. It just I had reached my end. It was like, okay, I make more money than you, sir.

SPEAKER_01: 52:35

Yeah.

Mark Jones: 52:36

What are we doing here?

SPEAKER_01: 52:37

Yeah, exactly.

Mark Jones: 52:38

No, you know?

SPEAKER_01: 52:40

Yeah. No, I just analytical analytics, I think people and the reason why I say engineers because they're so analytical. Very they'll they'll like they'll do the math.

Mark Jones: 52:49

They'll dissect on dissecting.

SPEAKER_01: 52:51

Yeah, they'll dissect on dissecting. There's like, I need to plug this into my spreadsheet that does the calculations for me. Yes. And if we're off by a penny, like I want to call you and talk to you about it. And I'm like, it's a penny. Like, you know, like no, you're right. So I mean, I just you know, I just want to know, like, if they if they can if they can do that from that video, then I'm all for it.

Mark Jones: 53:09

Absolutely, yes. And now, even let's say you have one out of the next 10 customers that end up calling you after the video, no, I won't say it. That's not too bad. Okay. Versus 10. Okay. There's always one. Yeah. But that that that leads me into this next question, which is now that we are in a a reality, a world, along with an industry that is very, in my opinion, dependent upon the tools that we use to help streamline, to help give us back time, that kind of stuff. What are you guys using in your business today that is helping you be successful? And that can be anything from a calendar scheduler to anything. What are you guys using? Because I'm sure the folks out there, you two are both killing it in today's market, regardless of the thermostat or the weather or whatever the climate of our industry at the moment. So I want to know what are you guys using?

SPEAKER_05: 54:18

So remember when we said that I was a traditionalist and I back to basics? Yes. I have a TC. Okay, I have a human being. Okay. A transaction coordinator, and she does all the stuff that I when I'm in the field. Yeah, she does all the admin work. Okay. I don't know what tools she uses.

Mark Jones: 54:39

So I would I well, I'm gonna I'm gonna paint that as the following. You know exactly who you are and what your strengths are. Yeah, you don't waste time or bother with trying to pick up things that you may not even be good at them once you finish learning them. So what am I doing?

SPEAKER_05: 54:57

Yeah, I have a girl who loves this stuff that that ad she loves admin.

unknown: 55:02

Okay, okay.

Mark Jones: 55:04

What and your referral base, so there's no legion, there's no word of mouth tools, things like okay. You're gonna love Lombot then.

unknown: 55:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 55:12

I yeah, I pick up the phone and I call people. Correct. I host parties.

SPEAKER_01: 55:16

You're awesome. I want that job. Me too. Me too. I gotta talk to a bank every day. No, as an entrepreneur, I think this is true in any business. If you're an entrepreneur, your true entrepreneur is you gotta put on the entrepreneur hat and let other people put on the hats that they're good at. Yeah, right. It's like, you know, it's like I didn't call it, I didn't graduate college. Me neither. But I have degrees of at Yale, Harvard, and and and Stanford because they all work for me. You know what I mean? Boom. Okay, you know what I mean? That's the same concept that I that I that I think of, right? Because they're good at what they do and they've actually they know so like my I have a team, you know, same thing as her. Like I have a uh I made a system, okay, and my team follows that system, right? Yes. So it's just pretty much like, hey, I was the one that created the system. I have the CRM in tool place, I have the systems of what banks we use, I have the systems of everything because I created it. Yeah, but I'm not a processor, right? I'm not gonna, I don't like not I don't want to do income calculation, and nor should I have to do income calculation. My job is to go out there and generate business. Correct. But my processor loves to calculate income. Yeah, so that's the perfect role for her. Absolutely. And you treat people well, and when you find someone that's good at what they do, you place them in the position that they're gonna succeed in, and you and you and you reward them. You know what they call that? Oh leadership. Exactly. There you go. Thank you.

Mark Jones: 56:49

Absolutely. So and I'm sure your employees, your family, your work family, they love that. Oh yeah. It's it's uh what we do, it's a very thankless job. And I say that our borrowers thank us. Our employees, they think every once in a while, but it it's it's a tough task to go through what we're doing every day because getting the business, that's that's not easy. No, it's not it's not easy unless you got a spigot of referrals.

SPEAKER_05: 57:20

Just Am I hearing that you'd like to receive more gratitude from the realtors?

Mark Jones: 57:25

Nope. I don't need any of that.

SPEAKER_05: 57:26

But would you like to would that be No.

Mark Jones: 57:30

To be honest, I I am appreciative of what relationships that I have that are still growing. I'm appreciative of the new relationships that have been started, and I'm more appreciated of appreciative of the borrowers and their experience.

SPEAKER_05: 57:48

I think it's good. There's a lot of I think that in every transaction, there's room for gratitude all around. I agree, including the agent on the other side. Amen. It's all a team. Title, lenders, we all have to work together to get to the finish line.

Mark Jones: 58:01

And I don't think people realize what you just said enough that it truly takes every person within that transaction. It's a collaboration, yes, ma'am. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 58:10

And buyers and sellers don't realize all the stuff we do behind the scenes, how all the things that get answered and the problems that get solved that they didn't never even heard about. Yeah.

Mark Jones: 58:20

Because we got it done. That's very true. Amy, how are we doing on time? Where are we at we're about where? Okay. So now let's wrap this up with some rapid fire questions. Okay. I just you tell me what first comes to mind when I I ask you the following. You guys ready? Okay. Okay. What's your favorite color? I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Okay, so give me one myth that you would like to debunk or say opposing for today's market. One myth. One myth? Yeah, one myth. One thing that buyers perceive, sellers perceive right now that is completely inaccurate.

SPEAKER_01: 59:11

That now is not the time to buy. Beautiful. And why? Because you don't know what tomorrow holds. And if you're renting, you're paying 100% interest. Love it. Okay. Cynthia, what about you?

SPEAKER_05: 59:25

I echo that. You can't echo that. Well, I mean, that's the We're in the same room. That's the most obvious answer. It is. It is.

Mark Jones: 59:32

But he nailed it.

SPEAKER_05: 59:33

Yeah. What's another myth? I mean, that's by far the greatest misconception.

Mark Jones: 59:43

I'm trying to think of one as well, so I can add it.

SPEAKER_05: 59:45

Yeah, it's not the right time. It's it is the right time. The time is now.

Mark Jones: 59:51

Yeah. The idea of You know what? Here's one. 2020 and 2021, partial 2022, bred a mindset that you can make money with your house because equity was jumping so quickly. So people still believe that you can just make this quick money with your house, and I need them to change their mindset on that. If you're buying a home for investment purposes, yes, your goal is to make money at some point in time, exit strategy, all that good stuff. But if you are buying a home to live in, stop thinking about it as I'm going to make money on this. That's what I think, in my opinion. Why? Well, because you still need to live somewhere.

SPEAKER_05: 1:00:42

Yeah. Would you agree? Well, yeah, I always tell people don't expect to make any money until five years. Yeah.

Mark Jones: 1:00:49

Good point. Okay. Next one. What mistakes are buyers making right now? Can't use the same thing. What mistakes are buyers making right now?

SPEAKER_05: 1:01:05

Walking away from good deals.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_05: 1:01:08

Walking away from a good house.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:10

Yeah.

Mark Jones: 1:01:11

And and if you could elaborate a little bit on that. Why do you feel like they are walking away? Because you are right. Matter of fact, you mentioned it. I confirmed it. They're walking away for the smallest things.

SPEAKER_05: 1:01:30

Yeah. They think that there's gonna be something better, or they don't realize that that house is not gonna be available when they come back, or maybe when they go home and think about it, somebody else put an offer in and now they have to compete. And I mean, I've seen that happen. It's weird, but I've seen that happen in this market where a house is on the market for 67 days, and they think, oh, well, there's no hurry. This house has been on the market 67 days. I can think about it, I can lowball. They come back and there's two offers on the table. And now instead of being having leverage and being able to negotiate, now you have to compete.

Mark Jones: 1:02:12

You are on the money. So that's a mistake. Throw that reference up there. Quick question for the congregation. How many times have you encountered a property that has been on the market, let's say a hundred days, and your buyer puts in an offer, and all of a sudden it's multiple offers.

SPEAKER_05: 1:02:33

You know, it's a law of attraction. It happens all the time. That's exactly that's how it works.

Mark Jones: 1:02:38

Yes, and it's strange, but it does happen.

SPEAKER_05: 1:02:41

Yeah, because in any market, real estate, the properties on the market are like pieces of fruit on a tree. That's right.

Mark Jones: 1:02:48

I put that video out yesterday.

SPEAKER_05: 1:02:50

Oh wow, yeah. So I think that's a mistake that buyers make because they walk or they see a house that's good. They might even know that they like it, but they don't, they hesitate. Yes.

Mark Jones: 1:03:02

They hesitate.

SPEAKER_05: 1:03:03

They hesitate, and that's a mistake. When you see what you want, you go for it.

Mark Jones: 1:03:08

What about you? What do you think?

SPEAKER_01: 1:03:11

And then I've got one more question, and we're gonna wrap this up. I think that stop looking at the price tag. If you're like, so a lot of a lot of clients, when a lot of buyers are scared of the the 350 price tag. I'm just giving I'm I'm giving you a rough number. I'm like this is nowhere near accurate, like math for you know, loan officer math or whatever. This is just I'm just throwing numbers out there. But the difference between 325 and 350 on the price tag is$25,000. It seems like a lot of money. And buyers are like, first-time homebuyers are like, that's$25,000 more. Da-da-da-da. Like, it's not a lot on payment. You're gonna get a better house, you're gonna build better equity. It's not$25,000 is maybe six dollars or seven dollars a month on your payment. That's right, it's not gonna make a big difference. Instead, ask for that ten thousand dollars in concessions or or you know, or something else to bring your cash cash down so that way you walk in with little to little, little to you know, no money down if you're doing a down payment assistance program or whatever.

Mark Jones: 1:04:14

Did you know that after year two, most buyers regret not buying that little bit more house? Yeah, I don't know if it's a fact, but I'm convincing myself that it is. Yeah. It's because we've encountered it. Why is it that two years later they're calling us back?

SPEAKER_01: 1:04:32

Yeah. I mean saying, hey, it's time to sell. It exactly. Well, I mean, I'm okay with that too, because then you know they need a new loan. Right. Um, but the I think the biggest the the that buyers are making mistakes on is they they're looking at their interest rates and they're saying, oh man, that payment's gonna be crazy high. And it's like, buy a little bit better house and and you know, let's not go out to eat maybe you know, this week. And you know, let's eat at home in our beautiful house that you know, we sacrificed$25,000 more on the purchase price, but we're only sacrificing$10,$20 more on the on the payment, you know, and and then you know, let's not just let's skip McDonald's this week. Let me ask you, uh, you've been in the business for a while.

Mark Jones: 1:05:13

Have you ever had to straighten out a borrower and meaning jump on a Zoom call and literally go through their bank statements to show them where the savings is?

SPEAKER_01: 1:05:24

I had a and I I guess we're picking on doctors today. Yeah, let's go. I had a doctor, I had a doctor, super, super wealthy guy. Okay, super like me. So he owned his own practice. Yeah, he owned his own practice, and he was buying this three million dollar house, and I was doing his loan. Okay, and he was like, and I was and he was like, I want to do 10% down. Well, that's our you're buying a three million dollar house, and you automatically told me you want to put 10% down.

SPEAKER_03: 1:05:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:05:57

And I was like, okay, cool. I was like, that's okay. So I started taking the application and going through it. And when I pulled his credit, this man was leveraged to the hilt. Max, max, max leverage votes, McLaren, you know, like crazy. And I'm like, and he just had a huge cash flow problem. Right. And I was, and I finally I had to sit them down and I said, This is what we're gonna do. I said, your house that you have right now that you know that you're renting, yeah, I said, you are going to refi out, you're gonna cash out refi on it. Yeah, you're gonna pay off all your debt.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06:36

Beautiful.

SPEAKER_01: 1:06:37

And I was like, and you're gonna pay off all your debt, and then we're gonna go ahead and we're gonna put 20% down because your rate's gonna be a lot better. And I'm gonna show you that, and he's like, but my rent is not gonna cover my the the rent received the rent received is not gonna cover the mortgage anymore. And I said, You're saving twenty thousand dollars a month on your debt, yes, sir, and your rent is off by three hundred dollars. Yeah, I said you went to Mastro's and you spent twelve hundred dollars on a state dinner. Like, are you really gonna feel the three hundred dollars a month? It's perspective. And he's like, You're absolutely right. I was like, I'm saving you 20 grand.

Mark Jones: 1:07:23

Yes. See, and I think a lot of folks in our industry from our seat, okay, and you don't get to deal with this stuff too, too much, right? But for us, we go into doctor, engineer, attorney, etc., thinking that they know everything. They know what they're good at, which is being a doctor, being a this, being a that. Most are not very financially savvy. And they do need someone like us that can sit them down and with confidence and with good intentions coach them into a better future. Does that make sense? Correct. And the fact that you're able to do that even tells me more about you.

SPEAKER_04: 1:08:07

Yeah.

Mark Jones: 1:08:07

Truly. Okay, last question. What's one thing and you can pick realtor or lender? Matter of fact, you're gonna tell me what realtors can do better in 2026, and you're gonna tell me what lenders can do better in 2026. Okay, who wants to start? Suckers.

SPEAKER_05: 1:08:29

I already said, you know, the about the you can't say the same thing.

Mark Jones: 1:08:33

Okay, yeah, come on. We need new content. You're gonna have a whole bunch of clips of this stuff. You don't want to have the same clip. That's true.

SPEAKER_05: 1:08:40

All right, well, I love what you guys are doing already about seeking out new programs, having more options, yeah, being more solution oriented, thinking creating a bigger box. Yeah, I like that. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01: 1:08:56

I think realtors here it comes. Um, I think to be honest with you, I think realtors let us do our jobs all the time.

SPEAKER_05: 1:09:10

I don't like that.

SPEAKER_01: 1:09:12

But we're speaking to a veteran. So she does that already. I guarantee it. Yeah, but just let's stay in your lane. Stay in your lane. Like, I I I have some realtors that I'm like, you know what, we're not a good fit, you know. Like, let me let me put you in with with with with one of my LOs, and and you know, you can, you know, you can you can deal with him. But like, oh, don't talk to my client. You talk to me and I'll talk to my client. That doesn't work. No, it doesn't work. Like, no, it doesn't work. I I need to talk to your client. I need to talk to your client about, you know, because at closing, they're gonna call me and they're gonna say, why am I why is this off? Or what there's too many, too many miscommunication between that, you know what I mean? And follow the system that your loan officer has. I agree. Like, you know, like I work with 50 agents and I tell all my agents, like, hey, look, here's your here's your here's your custom link. Right. Yeah. If you send me a if you text me, hey, Joe Garcia is gonna call you, how do I know that that Joe Garcia is not another Joe Garcia that another realtor is texting me on or whatever? Like, I, you know, I take 50 applications a month. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like, like follow the system that we're gonna follow the direction.

Mark Jones: 1:10:24

And I'll I'll think I'll piggyback on that because for many years when I first got into the business, realtors would dictate that initial contact, but it wasn't really dictating, it was more so, hey, here's my client's information. Call them, give them a call. My as I progressed in my career, we gained more confidence, et cetera. The next question to them was are they expecting my call and when? No. Okay, well then, because what's gonna happen is I'm gonna reach out to them, they're not gonna answer, and then you're gonna think I'm not doing my job, or you didn't hand them off properly, et cetera. Why not put us in a group text message? Let's get this all out in the open. I can set the expectations in the text and let them know that I'm available at this time, this time, and this time for a quick chat. Yep. Oh, wow, really? Yes, absolutely. So that we're on the same page. Yep. Exactly. We're a team. Let's let's play off of each other, let's not play against each other. Yeah, no, I or like so logical.

SPEAKER_05: 1:11:29

Weird. Who doesn't do that? Or like I even but it's true, it's true.

SPEAKER_01: 1:11:35

But I even took it another step. I gave them their own personal link. It's like, hey, I gave them their own, I gave them their own personal link, and in that link, like they the they can put the client's information right and it goes into my CRM. Yep, and with if if I'm on a flight, somebody's calling that lead. You know what I mean? Like it's not you've got your systems in place, yeah. Just follow the system.

SPEAKER_05: 1:11:57

Yes, yeah, they worked hard on that.

SPEAKER_01: 1:11:59

Yeah, like just follow the system. Like, yes, you know, and and realtors, every single realtor can be successful. You just gotta surround yourself with great people. Yeah, and you know, like you want to. I always believe this. You want to see yourself. Where do you want to see yourself in the in the next five years? Look at who you're hanging out with. Agree one thousand percent with that. You know what I mean? Like, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. Agree, you know, agree.

Mark Jones: 1:12:22

Yeah, no, that's great. So, you guys, this has been great. From walking in here to not knowing you from Adam whatsoever. I think you guys are pretty cool people, and more so, you're experts in your field. And that gives me a ton of hope, being that I'm able to have folks in here that were recommended to jump on the podcast and they know what the hell they're talking about without any kind of, hey, let me like guide you to the white answer. No, no, no. You know your shit. And that is again, it gives me a lot of faith in what we do as professionals and that our industry will continue to help more people grow their wealth. That is just unless you're inventing something, I don't care who you are, you could work your ass off making great money, but most of the time we end up spending that money.

SPEAKER_01: 1:13:12

For sure.

Mark Jones: 1:13:13

But if you're putting in real estate, you're gonna have an opportunity to leverage the real estate, multiply the real estate, pass down the real estate, the list goes on and on. So is there anything that you guys would like to tell the listeners out there? This goes out to YouTube, Spotify, Apple, buyers, sellers, realtors, lenders, and renters.

SPEAKER_01: 1:13:37

Yeah, Jetmo, Jetmo, Jetmo. Jetmo. If you're in the tech if you're anywhere in the state of Texas and you're trying to buy a house or you're trying to invest in real estate, call me and we can talk and I can give you advice and I can show you exactly where you if you tell me what your goals are, I will get you there. There you go. Either with real estate, real estate agents or buyers, renters, investors. I'm fully 100% transparent. I want everybody to succeed. So just give me a call. I love that. I love that. What you got?

Mark Jones: 1:14:12

Merry Christmas. Amen. I like that. Okay, guys. So those of you listening, amen to that too. You guys listening out there, I will continue to provide you with guests that have value to provide. The goal in real estate AF is to give you transparency, it's to give you value, it's to give you the raw truth without any kind of ulterior motive or anything of that nature. Like I always say, this is cheaper than therapy. So I promise I will continue to do it. You guys, thanks for joining. Matter of fact, if you could throw the up on the you love, I love she's awesome. We are now at 34.6,000 subscribers. A year ago, we were going, can we at least knock on the door of a thousand? And here we are. So um, I appreciate you guys for continuing to tune in, um, share, like, subscribe, all that jazz. Um, but we will catch you on the next one.

SPEAKER_00: 1:15:10

And it all comes down to taking small steps. You don't have to accomplish everything in one day or even one week. Just focus on getting a little better every single day.