The following is a transcript taken from Roni's Facebook Live Friday Market Update on 1/28/22 at 10:30am.

Roni:

Happy Friday friends, Roni Haskell here @ThatSCrealestatechick at @KellerWilliams. I can't believe another week has blown past us. It's fun to be able to bring these videos to you with content and some market updates. First though, I have my great friend Kellie Collins here. Hi Kellie.

Kellie:

Hi, Roni. Thanks for having me.

Roni:

You're welcome. I gave her a whole maybe a half a day's notice.

Kellie:

Yes!

Roni:

... to be able to join us. And so thanks for being impromptu. But it's fun that you're here and I have a few questions for you. I’ve got 10 questions I want to pose to you.

Kellie:

Okay.

Roni:

So, those that don't know Kellie, she is with Cornerstone Home Lending. She's a great friend of mine. We do social life together. Our families have been connected for as long as I can remember. And now we get for the last year or so we've been doing business together. She's housed here at the Keller Williams office. She has one of her locations here, as well as she has another location as well here in Summerville. So she is a busy lady and she has a team over there.

Roni:

So let's talk. All right, so 10 questions that I want to pose to you. And we'll do this back and forth and then as others are joining us and thank you for joining. If you are on the air, I appreciate you. Make sure to share, tag somebody if you feel like they might be interested in the market update as well. Because I'm going to deliver all those numbers here in just a little bit.

Roni:

All right, Kellie.

Kellie:

All right. I'll get to the quiz.

Roni:

All right, so you are a mortgage lender. Tell people, how does that differ from a banker?

Kellie:

So I specialize only in mortgages. I'm a professional at mortgages. I do not get distracted by also having to open checking accounts, or bring in assets, or do auto loans and things like that. I get to work just on mortgage lending, which makes me the expert.

Roni:

The expert. All right. Well, just so you know, I do have friends that are bankers as well, and I appreciate their business also.

Kellie:

Absolutely.

Roni:

I think they bring a different level of value, sometimes different opportunities that they can do. But I think there's strong value. And what I tell people is that you work the same hours I do.

Kellie:

Unfortunately, yes.

Roni:

And so when people say, "Well, we can't get our preapproval over the weekend." I'm like, "Well, yes you can, because Kellie works seven days a week like we do." I think that's one of your strongest values, and communication too.

Roni:

All right, number one challenge with getting a buyer qualified?

Kellie:

So the number one thing is I don't just qualify somebody because I talk to them and they told me what they made. So I collect documents and that is the number one challenge of collecting. Self-employed borrowers, I need tax returns and I need pay stubs.

Roni:

So you're saying people are not forthcoming with their information?

Kellie:

Sometimes, no.

Roni:

I get it. I can see how that would be, and it's hard to tackle the task of going back and finding all that stuff, especially if you're in the midst of moving, and if you're not an organized person.

Kellie:

Exactly.

Roni:

So number one thing is getting those documents.

Roni:

All right. This will be a fun one. You and I have been friends for a long time. So tell those that are watching something about me that maybe they don't know.

Kellie:

Something we don't know about Roni. Well, something I didn't know about you, I was a little intimidated by you the first time I ever met you, because you're this gorgeous, very put together woman. And then I got to know you and you're silly and adventurous, and I love that about you.

Roni:

Well, thank you Kellie, for all your kind words. And I can be very silly and adventurous and I'll drive my kids nuts with my silly singing sometimes in the mornings. But, we'll save that for another day.

Roni:

It's a stressful job dealing with people's finances and the emotions that come behind it. What do you do as your outlet?

Kellie:

My outlet is really, I work out. So I love to do yoga and lift heavy weights, and throw medicine balls and things because it's a hard, frustrating job. But when you get those endorphins pumping, it just makes everything better.

Roni:

Yes.

Kellie:

[Crosstalk] care of it?

Roni:

It's a good stress reliever. I can attest to that as well. You and I have that in common, liking to work out.

Roni:

All Right. So what would you say is the minimum credit score to get the best interest rate in today's market? What is the minimum credit score that somebody needs to

Kellie:

So the best interest rates typically go to those 740 and above.

Roni:

All right.

Kellie:

But there're some situations where 680 will get you the same credit score.

Roni:

All right.

Kellie:

So try to be around that 680 or higher. And if you're not quite there, I can help with that. Because sometimes if you use all of your monthly expenses on a credit card, then sometimes we’ve just got to pay it down, that a little bit and knock them up your score 40 points and get you that better interest rate.

Roni:

And that brings up a good point. You do counsel people in the buying process. That's another differentiator between Kellie and some other lenders. You do a great job of that.

Kellie:

Thank you.

Roni:

And that's one of the things that I appreciate about you. All right. So what would you say is the minimum credit score that somebody's got to have to even qualify at all?

Kellie:

So technically, there is no credit score, so I'm saying that first. But FHA ask for about 580. If you're strong in other areas, we can qualify you. But if we're looking at conventional, we want to be more around that 640, but again, don't go by what you're seeing, ask me and I can help.

Roni:

Yeah, all right.

Kellie:

Because you never know what your credit score actually is.

Roni:

She's got to get involved very early in the process. One, I'm not even going to show you a house unless you're prequalified because it's not in your best interest to do that. Because I don't want you to get your hopes up for a specific home that you can't buy, all right? So number one, we got to get you prequalified and that starts with Kellie getting involved in the conversation very early on.

Roni:

All right. So let's see what else I've got here for you. One thing that a banker can do that you can't do, since we talked about that differentiator before, what's something that a banker can do that you cannot do Kellie?

Kellie:

I've got some great banking friends and great banking relationships because I don't do lot loans. And I don't do home equity lines of credit. And those things go together with the mortgage process and with making your whole financial life work. So I work with some of the bankers, some of the same ones you work with to make it all work because it works together like that.

Roni:

Well, relationships are key. And the longer I'm in this business, the more I can appreciate that. And that's truly one of, I think my biggest values as a real estate advisor and real estate agent in this process is the relationships that I have with my pool of people. If you ever hear me say that, that is like, Kellie's in my pool of people. I've got bankers that can do the lot loans and the HELOCs, and things like that. And if I don't know the right person, I go to one of my pool of people, one of my professionals and I ask, all right?

Roni:

So I think that whatever your mission is, and you don't do commercial loans either, do you?

Kellie:

I do not.

Roni:

So that would be another instance where we might have to turn to a banker or somebody else to get that accomplished.

Roni:

All right. Well, let's turn it back to me and lighten it up a little bit. What is one funny story that you can tell? Now, we've taken some fun trips together over the years. Gosh, we've spent time out at the lake together with our families, we've been in business and dealt with some pretty challenging stuff. But what would be one funny story that you can tell about me?

Kellie:

Oh my goodness. Let’s see here. So I go back to when we were in Key West.

Roni:

Oh lordy, we're going to go to Key West time. This was a 40th birthday trip, mind you. And I don't know where this is going. All right. Yes, we're in Key West.

Kellie:

We were all there, bunch of gorgeous, powerful women there to celebrate our friend Roni. And we took this sailing trip to the mangroves and we all got in these kayaks or canoes, I think they were canoes. And we're going through, and I was in one with our friend Elizabeth, and we're going in circles, and we have to go all the way back to this boat. And the tide is fighting us and we're both just fighting. And then we get there and Roni goes, "Well wow, that was easy." And we're sitting there going, "What are you talking about? We're all exhausted." And Alison was behind her going, "Well, that's because I made Roni put the oar up because she wasn't doing any good." And it was just the funniest thing.

Roni:

I was the birthday girl. I was the birthday girl. I was not feeling y'all's pain that day. I was sitting back relaxing and enjoying the ride. Thank you, Alison. Yes, that is true.

Roni:

Let's see, so it is said that people have more equity in their homes than ever before. You do a lot of re-fis. So, from what you've seen is that the truth? Do people have more equity in their homes than ever before? And if so, what are people doing with that money when they do refinance?

Kellie:

Oh my goodness. So yes, everybody has equity. If you have equity, one, because the market is just great, which I know you're going to talk about in a minute, but also because if you've lived in your house anytime you've paid down your mortgage. So one of the biggest things that people can do with their equity in their home is work to get out of debt.

Kellie:

So I help a lot of my clients and I counsel them and I actually worked with one couple, a few months ago. They were just in a lot of debt. They lived in their home for five years and they're like, "You know what? We're just, we're tired." Because it's stressful not having to balance credit card debt and car debt. And oh my goodness, saving for student loans and all that fun stuff.

Kellie:

So I ran an analysis for them. I've got so many great tools and I plugged in all their credit card debts. I plugged in their car loans and everything, and I ended up saving them on a cash out refinance. We lumped everything together in a one payment, they saved about $2,000 a month in payments.

Roni:

Wow. That's huge.

Kellie:

Yeah.

Roni:

That is huge, to be able to consolidate debt and pay some things off. And because interest rates are still, even though we've heard them talking about ... Listen, if you turn on the news, you're going to hear them talk about the interest rates are ticking up. Well, all right. But the average interest rate right now is expected to be at 3.75. That's still historically low, correct?

Kellie:

Yes. That is super low.

Roni:

I want to make sure that [crosstalk]. So it's still really, really low, and it's much lower than many other debts that you may be in. So, that's a great use of funds. Refinance the house, use that equity to pay off some other things or consolidate and get out from underneath other debt. Save some money, go on a great trip to Key West, right?

Kellie:

Go on a great trip to Key West. Save for college. Or use some of that extra money just to give yourself some breathing room and better class of life, I mean, really.

Roni:

Yes. Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. All right.

Roni:

So let's see, last but not least, you were telling me yesterday about some power poses, Kellie.

Kellie:

I should not have told you that.

Roni:

So, show me, and the reason, let's start with what is the reason for these power poses?

Kellie:

All right. So, if you're just having a bad day.

Roni:

Yes.

Kellie:

And life is just coming at you because we're in a stressful business.

Roni:

It is, it can be. It can be a joyful business, but it can be a lot of stress too.

Kellie:

Yes. And so if you're just having one of those bad days, we were doing research and I love self-help. That's what I do in my free time. So we learned that power poses, standing in a power pose for two minutes will raise your testosterone. It will help get your endorphins moving, which are those happy hormones. So then you're more willing to take a risk. You're more aggressive in just getting your stuff done. So that's why you do a power pose.

Roni:

All right.

Kellie:

I knew you're going to make me do this and I should have told you no.

Roni:

Oh right, Kellie.

Kellie:

Let's do our power pose.

Roni:

All right. [Crosstalk].

Kellie:

We stand up.

Roni:

Okay. All right, we're standing up.

Kellie:

We're going to pretend we're superwoman. So you know that when the superhero walks in, they put their arms on their hip and they put their chest forward, and they just stand there.

Roni:

Stand proudly, right?

Kellie:

Yes. You stand [crosstalk].

Roni:

Talk about women bosses, that's what we are.

Kellie:

Exactly.

Roni:

Yes. And it does, it makes you feel powerful and confident, which is exactly what we need sometimes.

Kellie:

Exactly. Sometimes.

Roni:

Well, thank you for participating in my 10 questions today and for letting our viewers get to know you a little bit better. And in essence, getting to know me a little bit better. I love doing life with you. And I love doing business with you.

Kellie:

I do too.

Roni:

And it's fun to do it together. Speaking of which, doing business together, we've got an event and if you have tuned into this last week, the last couple of weeks, you've heard about me talking about the event that's coming up tomorrow here at my office at Keller Williams. And it's how to build wealth in real estate. It's great if you've bought your first house, if you haven't, we're going to touch on that maybe just a little bit of what you need to do to accomplish that goal.

Roni:

But tomorrow's meeting, or session really is about how to build wealth in real estate by buying second homes, which is a huge thing right now. It's about buying investment homes, you can get HELOCs, be able to use funds from your existing house, because again, you've got equity, whether you have been in your house for a short amount of time or not, you've got equity built into that house. So take out a HELOC loan, use some of those funds to buy an investment property. And some of the tax advantages and just different things that you can do.

Roni:

Kellie's going to be there tomorrow to talk about the financing side of it, which is a big piece to it. And I'll be there to talk about the opportunities that we have in our marketplace to be able to purchase. I've got team members that are buyer specialists that are in place to help find, they hunt down properties. That's what we do. And so the combination between the two is going to really do well for you, if you are looking to take that step. Maybe you're a year out from being able to buy your first investment property.

Roni:

Now's the time, again, counseling early on will put you into a good positive light and put you into a good place to be able to accomplish that goal, all right? So we will be here starting at 10:00 tomorrow to be able to answer questions, talk about the amount of knowledge that we know. And hopefully those that are in attendance, we've got, I think, what is it, Kim? We've got like 13 people signed up right now. There's still places for you to be able to join. Click the link, it's attached to this. Click that link, join, let us know that you're coming so that we can be prepared for you. And then also, if you will, if you want to put into the comments down below, any questions that you might have for us so that we can be prepared in answering those and addressing those tomorrow, all right?

Roni:

So real quick about a market update, because that's what we're here for. I, as your real estate advisor here in the Charleston market, I like to watch the numbers. I have an investment. I don't just preach about building wealth in real estate, I participate in it. And it's what I do every day in counseling buyers and sellers of what the right time to sell is, what the right purchase price is going to be if you're buying. So I keep a very close eye on the market. I watch economists, I get a weekly contingency report. And so to be able to provide this information to you, whether you're buying or selling right now or not, if you own real estate, you need to know what that market value is.

Roni:

And I'm always happy to run a CMA, a comparative market analysis for you so that you can know what the value, the market value of your property is. But we are only, and I mentioned this in a Live that I did earlier this week, but we are only a couple of sales away from last year's numbers. So we're three weeks into this year, actually four weeks now, aren't we? I mean, gosh, the time is flying by and we know that 2021 was a historically outstanding year for market values and sales in our area.

Roni:

Well, it is no different in the start of 2022, only being a couple of sales off from last year. All the projections are leaning towards this being a very similar year from last year, okay? So if we can and keep sales, and it's a misconception, yes, our MLS is low with inventory, historically low. What is a healthy market? What we're normally at is 5800 listings at any given time in MLS. And right now we're sitting at about 1200, that's low. So you're going to hear about it. And it is true. That does not mean that listings are not coming on the market. They are, we've just got a higher percentage of buyers in our marketplace right now, than we do sellers. So when things do hit the market, the buyer pool is jumping on it and it's not sitting on the market very long. So that's why we continue to see that MLS listings are low.

Roni:

So there're opportunities there though. And I can advise you of how to go about ... If you think this might be the year to purchase, we need to line you up for that success. Maybe you have another house that you're needing to get out from underneath in order to purchase? Well, we know that it's not the right climate to put a contingency to sell onto a house. So how can we meet that goal of being able to get you from one house to the next, without putting that contingency on there?

Roni:

All right, I've got a great solution to that, and I'm happy to walk you through how to accomplish that goal. I do it every day for clients. We can meet that. We just need to have a separate conversation, okay? So there're ways to get you, if you want to sell, jump into the market. Maybe you want to downsize. Maybe you need to upsize. Maybe you need to move communities because the schools. There's lots of reasons why, and we can meet those goals for you.

Roni:

Here's a fun fact. Median sales price in our market in 2007 was $210,000. In 2007, it was $210,000. Right now our median sales price in our MLS is $351,000. That's a huge climb. That's why you need to jump into the market and buy. Whether if you're renting, your rent is going up, it's going up at a higher percentage every year than what our values are going up. So if you are renting, you need to make that first home purchase and we can counsel you into how to accomplish that goal. If it is investing, now's the time to do it because your rate of return on that investment is going to be outstanding.

Roni:

So all of this, again, we're going to be talking about ways to accomplish these goals in tomorrow's session. If you cannot join us for that though, reach out to me please. And Kellie and I will personally sit down with you and we'll talk through the same content.

Roni:

Thank you so much for watching. I'm always here for questions. I'm always here to provide service, whether you're buying or selling. Or if you want to refer a friend to my team, we are never too busy for your referral. We appreciate you so much, and have a great weekend.