The Morning Formation Podcast
Hosted by KP Phillips—a U.S. Army combat veteran, former law enforcement officer, and seasoned instructor in tactics, firearms, and combatives—The Formation Podcast is built on the core pillars of Survivability, Situational Awareness, and the mindset to Adapt & Overcome.
Drawing from over two decades of real-world experience in combat zones and high-risk environments, KP leads authentic conversations with warriors, protectors, and everyday individuals who’ve faced adversity head-on. This podcast is more than content—it's a movement for those who understand that the fight begins before the event.
Through storytelling, lived experience, and expert insight, The Formation Podcast equips its listeners with the mindset, tools, and awareness to remain vigilant and prepared—whether on the battlefield, in the streets, or in everyday life.
The Morning Formation Podcast
VA Loans & Building a Future with Army Combat Veteran Robert Tolan
Have you ever wondered what it truly takes for veterans to transition from military life to civilian society? Join us as we uncover the emotional and practical challenges faced by veterans like Robert Tolan, an Afghanistan war veteran who found his calling in helping others navigate the complexities of civilian life. This episode paints a vivid picture of Robert’s journey, from battling the aftermath of the Afghanistan withdrawal to leading multiple nonprofits that provide essential support to fellow veterans. His story is not just about overcoming personal struggles but also about finding fulfillment and healing through community engagement and advocacy.
Discover the underutilized benefits at veterans' disposal in today's digital age. Highlighting the power of social media in 2025, we explore how platforms are revolutionizing the way veterans understand and access their benefits. Robert shares valuable insights into the nuances of VA loans, debunking myths about credit scores and illustrating the flexibility these loans offer. With heartwarming anecdotes and expert advice, we aim to empower veterans with the knowledge needed to confidently pursue homeownership and financial stability, emphasizing the critical role of VA loan specialists in this journey.
In this compelling exploration of veterans' post-service opportunities, we discuss the broader implications of homeownership and financial planning. Robert dives into the world of real estate investment and career diversification, offering strategies for financial growth and career advancement in trades and skilled work. Through his involvement with organizations like Honor Flight Central Coast, Robert shows the transformative power of community support, emphasizing the importance of leveraging available resources to build prosperous futures. Tune in to learn how veterans can transform their lives by embracing the support systems around them and turning challenges into opportunities for growth and success.
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All Roberts links on LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/roberttolan
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Episode Powered By Act Now Education
This episode is powered by ActNow Education. Go to wwwactnoweducationcom for free, comprehensive educational resources and opportunities for active duty veterans, military spouses and children. Warriors fall in. It's time for formation. So today I'm going to be talking about VA loans and the importance behind VA loans. And I've got an expert with me today, mr Robert Tolan, who is an Afghanistan war veteran stationed down at Fort Hood as a Cav Scout and had deployed to Afghanistan. So he's a combat war veteran, but today he now focuses his entire energy on helping veterans utilize the VA home loan. So, robert, I really appreciate you joining me on the morning formation today.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you no.
Speaker 1:I'm super happy to be here. Listen, man, it's, it's, it's the honors all on this end of the mic and camera. You know, I just want to start out by talking about your transition to the civilian life, which. I think for some folk can be the most challenging part. But in your, in your opinion, in your opinion and in your experiences, what was the most challenging part of transitioning out of the military to the civilian life and how did you overcome that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you know my transition was probably a little bit different than most, and what I mean by that is it was probably a little bit easier, because I started a nonprofit when I was 16, a veteran nonprofit and so when I was transitioning out I had the support of that nonprofit but we still had the struggle or I still had the struggles of going from that very disciplined waking up doingt in the morning and you know people just following orders properly, and you're going to the civilian world and having a job where people you know just don't really respect higher-ups, um, you know, like managers and stuff like that. So I feel like that's kind of my transition. I also refused to think that anything was ever wrong with me. I I was just like oh, I have plenty of support, I don't need help, I'm going to focus on helping others. And you know that's a whole different story. But we had, when the whole Afghanistan withdrawal happened, I had a major episode take place and I finally had to seek help. But we're talking years and years later of finally going to do that.
Speaker 2:I think one of my big issues with my transitioning out is everyone kind of saw me as the leader of a venture non-profit, and so everyone, when they had issues, was coming to me and asking for help and I was sending them to get the help, but then I was refusing to go because I had that mindset that I'm not going to take someone else's spot. I wouldn't get that filled with another veteran, and it took me until 2023. I got out of active duty in 2015. So it took till 2023 for me to finally go. You know what I need to finally get to these programs, get to this retreat. That was one of the best retreats I've ever been on and actually focus on myself for a little bit. And so there was this like that long transition period where I thought everything was fine and then, boom, it just struck pretty hard.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, I think we all go through that process. At least most of us do. I know I did. When I got out, I took all my gear, anything that reminded me of the military, and I just like shoved it in a tote and shoved it as far back in the attic as I could. As a matter of fact, when I went through a divorce, I took my class A's and my deserts and everything and just literally threw them in a dumpster because I just wanted to move on, man and you know, and I wanted not to be looked at differently than everybody else. But at the end of the day, here I am, you know, back at the table again looking to help others, you know, and I think it helps me cope. Do you feel like that's kind of your case too? Like helping, reaching back and helping veterans sort of gives you a little bit of soul fulfillment, a little bit of coping mechanism.
Speaker 2:Yes, I tell people that the reason I do so much because I'm I think I'm I'm now running for non-profits right now and they're always like asking me, like, why do you do all this plus your day job, and I'm always like, well, it's because I'm the most selfless person in the world.
Speaker 2:It helps me. It really does, and it's it's something that I'm going to always continue to do, even if I scale back on the amount of work I want to do. I'm never going to give it up all the way if that makes sense. And it's because it does help me. It helps me cope when I see the emotions of these veterans or I see them get to the other side Like we just had our big Veteran Angel Tree program and seeing those veterans' faces who are not doing well program and seeing those veterans faces who are not doing well but we're able to go in there and and give them, you know, grocery gift cards for so they can buy christmas dinner or we bought gifts for their kids and that's going to be the only gifts that those kids get like that makes me feel good.
Speaker 1:You know, I love seeing the reactions on their face and it you know it just it helps you know and, with that being said, robert, uh, what, what overall would you say specifically inspired you to start focusing on helping veterans with, specifically, va loans like? Can you walk us through your journey into into this space here right now?
Speaker 2:yeah. So when I got out of of active duty, I actually was, uh, a winemaker. I made, made wine. I I operated a vineyard for a local mom pop shop. I loved it. Uh, it was a very hard-working, laborious job but very rewarding, um, especially when it comes to, you know, on the money side as well. And of course it's alcohol. So you know when the va always asks like, do you drink? And and I'm like, well, yeah, but I get paid to do it. So is it really drinking, like you know?
Speaker 2:So what happened was is I went to go purchase my first home and I will name the company, but it's one of the largest VA companies out there that we all probably have heard of. They sponsor, you know, a few stadiums on bases and stuff. But totally got screwed over and I started to study the VA loan at that point. And so I studied and studied, because then people were coming to me asking questions because of the nonprofits, because my first nonprofit it's called Welcome Home, military Heroes. So sometimes people think that we're doing stuff to get veterans to purchase homes, which we're't we're not. But people were coming to ask me questions. So I studied it, studied. It was continuing to making wine. And then this company learned about me doing this and so they actually started sending someone to really just try to get me. And at first I was like, no, you guys are just trying to profit off veterans. I can't stand that. Like, how dare you make money off vets to profit off veterans? I can't stand that. How dare you make money off vets. It's just a huge scam. Well, finally, I just started listening to him, realized that he was an army combat vet and he started showing up to all my nonprofit stuff, and so I finally was like you know what, I'll make the jump because my mom's in title and escrow, so she's kind of in the real estate side of things, and I'm like, well, if I need help, my mom can be there to help guide me in a certain direction. And so I just jumped full force into it.
Speaker 2:And April 2021, I am with a different company now but I've realized that there's a major, major lack of education when it comes to, in my opinion, one of the best benefits that we get. Yes, getting a disability rating is great. Yes, going to healthcare is great, but none of those really set you up for great financial success in the future. Yeah, a disability rating, especially if you're 100%, it's going to help. But we're talking like building equity over time and starting real estate investing.
Speaker 2:If that's the route you want to take, you can do all of that, and I wish I was taught that while I was in the military so I could take advantage of the VA loan while I was in. And so to me, it's about education. That's my number one focus. Yes, I can do the loan, but my main concern is that you're not getting screwed over by another lender. You know someone who's just trying to make money, or they tell you that you're denied when in reality you shouldn't be denied because there's extra rules on top of VA loans. So it's like, yeah, they added extra rules, but you actually still qualify. You just need to go to someone who actually specializes in VA, because we're going to tell you if you qualify, you know, because of, or if you don't qualify because that's what the VA is telling you or that's what the individual company is telling you. So it's just education and that's what it comes down to.
Speaker 2:I teach it once a month and in person, and another one also over Zoom, and I just love it. I just love helping and the other reason I got out of the wine side too is because I was like I need to do more with veterans. There's not a lot of veterans in the wine community, like very, very little. There's a little bit more in the last five years, at least locally. Uh, to me, like EOD sellers, you know, I'll say by name without you know that's veteran, but other than that there's really no one one, and so I kind of didn't feel I need to move over to the veteran side is what I want to do.
Speaker 1:I just want to focus on on bets. So let me get this straight. So someone goes to a lender, they go, uh, and utilize the va loan and then just to check everything off to make sure, um, that there's quality assurance, quality control. They would take that information to you and then you would make sure that there's quality assurance, quality control. They would take that information to you and then you would make sure that everything is, I guess, optimal and maximized to its fullest.
Speaker 2:Correct. I always so, even in my classes. I tell veterans and their families I say, even if I can't do this, so I'm only licensed in California right now but my Zoom class I get people from all over the country. I tell them I can still be a third party. I'm not charging you a dime, nothing. I want to make sure that you're not getting screwed over.
Speaker 2:I'll look over your loan estimate. I'll make sure there's not junk fees in there. If there is, I want to let you know about it. If you think it's a junk fee, I could probably tell you no, that's normal. That's going to be on every loan application. That that's part of the buying process. I will still be there for you. I'm not going to charge you a dime. I don't charge a dime for the classes. The only time I ever make money is if the loan closes and the veterans don't pay me at all. I broker out loans, so the individual lending company that we end up sending that to will pay me. So the actual veterans don't pay me. Pay me a dime and, like I said, I don't care if I get paid or not. I I'm 100 va, disability, wife's workings, uh, you know, all I care about is that you achieve the american dream of home ownership and doesn't mean I need to get paid for not as long as you get a home, I'm happy that's huge man.
Speaker 1:So the years, would you say? Approximately how many folks have you helped out within the community?
Speaker 2:Oh, wow.
Speaker 1:Just estimate.
Speaker 2:Well, on my education side, I'm probably over a thousand veterans that I've taught. That doesn't include their family members and stuff that I've done as well. My first company I worked for it was a national organization, a newer, up-and-coming national organization, so I was able to do loans in all 50 states at the time. I am with a mom and pop shop now and this company is only licensed in California. But actual loan-wise I think I've closed probably over 40-ish or something like that, which most of that's come in the last year or two.
Speaker 2:It's really hard to get, but most of my business actually comes from real estate agents and any lender is going to tell you that it's the agents.
Speaker 2:And when I first started on the loan side, I only focused on TikTok. And so because I was like, oh, I'm 50 states, I want to do education on TikTok, I blew up. So most of my leads were coming through TikTok, but then when I switched companies, it was only available in California. Almost none of my leads came from here and no real estate agents really knew me because I would sit literally behind a camera like this and make videos. And so the last year really November of 2023 is when I really started hitting it hard locally and I worked with vandenberg space force base, um, with the commander and all that, and a lot of them are starting to send, uh, these, you know, people pcsing to vandenberg to me, which is really cool to build that relationship, you know yeah, I'd say the best part of my job is that I get an opportunity to speak to folks like you, man that are you're an inspiration to me and and I can't think of how much time, energy and sacrifice you've done for our community.
Speaker 1:So I just want to reiterate again, man, I want to thank you for being on the podcast today. Your online presence is awesome is awesome.
Speaker 2:Um, thank you. Yes, I, you know, and it's to me it's not. You know, nowadays people are like, oh, I'm trying to be an influencer because I want as many followers, blah, blah. In my mindset I'm like I'm just trying to get the word out about benefits to veterans. And the one thing I'm changing in 2025 when it comes to social media is I want to start having, you know, our vso off, you know on or whatever. Like I'm gonna start actually having short little clips about how to file for disability claims and I want to start having our VSO on or whatever. I want to start actually having short little clips about how to file for disability claims or funeral stuff.
Speaker 2:I get calls about that all the time, because my first nonprofit, my baby nonprofit, I call it is we do funerals, and so it's like all right, how do you get the free American flag? How do you contact the military if they have earned that right to have the military come in? Or how do I contact a nonprofit to come in and do the honors if the military doesn't come in? You know, it's just like little stuff like that that I want to make sure we're getting to worry about, and not just California. But you know I'll be mostly focused probably around the Central Coast because that's where I'm at, but a lot of this stuff is also the same across the country.
Speaker 1:So it's just educating veterans on stuff. Some of the stuff that veterans don't understand, like as far as how to something as simple as how to get my DD-214, are questions I get asked all the time, Just simple stuff like that. I'm like really, Like that's not, that's a piece of cake, Like just call this number and you know, and they'll, they'll send it to you. But to go even two or three tiers deep into that and start talking about, like funerals, uh, burial rights, uh, you know, VA loans and things like that, that's, that's a huge asset to our community as far as getting that knowledge and as far as the VA loan stuff, and what would you say over the years that you've encountered as common like misconceptions that veterans have about the VA loans, that you could clear up for us?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the number one, like just right off the top of my head, is it's the credit score. The VA does not have a minimum credit score. Now, if you have a 400, you're more likely not going to get a home loan, right, okay, but my record is 517. What we look for is, or what the VA is looking for, is the last 12 to 24 months. Have you been on time? Have you maybe only had one 30 day late, or are you like seven months into not paying something? That's what we're looking for, and so I'm actually going to tell the story, because it's a very heartwarming story, and this is a great example of why the VA does not set a minimum credit score.
Speaker 2:We had a veteran came home from deployment Wife. He was probably 30 or maybe 29 at the time, and so was his wife. She just didn't wake up one day, right next to him. I mean, he's only been home for like three or four days and died from natural cause. I forget the end of being. It wasn't natural cause, it was something. Anyways, something happened. She passed, he did what, I think, what any of us would do Buried his head in the sands and he stopped making payments, he stopped working, he was grieving and they were high school sweethearts, so all he knew was her, and then to be gone for nine months and come home and she passes in a few days, I can't even imagine. Well, he finally started getting back up on his feet and he was a year. His old job hired him back and he started making payments. He started getting on a plan and a year later his credit score never recovered. But he showed a history of making his payments back and then we just documented why he stopped making payments and the underwriters came back and said deal, we're giving him a house like that. He went through hell. We understand he. He's back on his feet. He deserves to be in a house and not to be homeless. Um, and there's a lot of stories like that right, like you get wounded, oh you, you're not focused on your credit card payment or your card payment or we've all heard the stories about you know, john doe, right, like cheating and and taking all the money and then maxing out the credit cards. Like the VA knows. Like you know, the VA is run by veterans, the people who do care, especially on the loan side of things. It's people who really do care, and so that's why there's no minimum credit score.
Speaker 2:Some of the other misconceptions is that there is no down payment. You can make a down payment if you want, but you don't have to, and usually I kind of steer away. Even if you have the money from down payment, I usually talk to you about buying your interest rate down instead, because it goes a lot farther. But there is closing cost. I always get the comment well, my dad, when he bought his home, didn't have to pay closing costs. I'm like well, that might be true, that just means the seller covered it. Someone paid it. So either the seller came in and covered that or like, if you bought a brand new home, sometimes builders, if you're buying directly from the builder, sometimes they cover those fees, or they gave you a lot higher interest rate to cover those fees. There's ways around it. But no matter what, there's closing costs on a loan. You have escrow, title appraisal, company, property taxes. You have all of these fees that all these people want paid, so that, no matter what, there's closing costs. And so I think that's always.
Speaker 2:My next question is and I try to hit that up front too, when I'm doing my initial phone call like hey, do you have the money for closing costs, and if they don't, it doesn't mean you can't get into a loan. I have people all the time who get closing costs covered by sellers or we try to work around it, and so sometimes they're moving into a home without spending a single dime, which is amazing. Well, they might pay for a home inspection, which is usually a few hundred dollars, but other than that, there's sometimes veterans getting into a home without spending a dime. That's what I did. We got a seller to cover closing costs and no down payment. We moved in. The only expenses I had was putting gas in my truck to move from. We were living in a trailer, so we had to move our stuff from that trailer into the home. So that's all I spent.
Speaker 1:That was in California.
Speaker 2:That was in California, yes, and that was in 2019. And so it was right before the housing market went insanely crazy.
Speaker 1:Right, you know, and speaking of that, the housing market going extremely crazy. I'm sure that you hear that question all the time Like, well, now is not the right time, now is not the right time, I'm going to wait until interest rates time. I'm going to wait until interest rates fall. I'm going to wait until I mean, I've known guys that have that have and and and gals that have sold their houses and have lived in like RVs, just waiting for the right time. What do you ever tackle that? That question, like well, now is not the right time where I'm going to do this or I'm going to do that. Like, do you ever have to encounter that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, all the time, literally every day, comments on my social media when I make a post or in classes or just walking down the street. People always tell me especially when they learn I'm in mortgage they always go ah, I went a terrible time to buy, what a crappy time to be a lender, which, honestly, it's not the greatest time to be a lender. The market is not the greatest in the housing community, but there's a few ways to look at that. If you're trying to be a real estate investor, yeah, it's probably not the greatest time to buy. Rates are high, all of that. But if you're trying to move into a home, this is going to be your home long-term.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's expensive to get in, but look at a few years ago, when rates are in the 2% range. People then were telling me no, home prices are going up too high. I'm going to wait till home value come down. Well, guess what? Home values aren't going down, they're still going up. They're just not going up as fast. But now rates are 5%, 6%, 7%. I mean, some companies on VA were hitting 8% earlier this year. Now, you definitely can't afford it because rates are so high. So I also tell them I was like you need to go back and look at the history of this country Other than 08 and then one other occasion made in the 80s. Home prices are going to continue to go up. There's really not a bad time to buy. We always have a saying in the mortgage industry date the rate, marry the home. We always have a saying in the mortgage industry date the rate, marry the home, get into the home.
Speaker 2:Because, especially here in California, my house from 2019 to 2022 went up $150,000. And I bought that home at $395,000. So we went and took that money, we cashed it out and I paid off all my debt. I paid off all my credit cards my wife's medical, because we were having kids at times. We paid, took that money, we cashed it out. I paid off all my debt. I paid off all my credit cards my wife's medical, because we were having kids at times. We paid off that stuff, remodeled this out of our home and then was a little selfish and went on vacation.
Speaker 2:We had that extra equity to do that. Yes, I went with a little bit higher rate, but now I don't have any debts. We were paying $2,000 a month in credit card debt. I had a brand new truck. That was like almost $1,000 a month. We got rid of all that, so now I'm pocketing that extra money. Getting into a home is very important to not throw your money away. I mean, especially here in California. If you're paying $30,000 a month, you're literally you might as well just burn the money You're paying someone else's mortgage. So you might as well go get in a home and start building the equity for yourself, because it's going to help not just you, it's going to help your next generation as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it can be kind of a cumbersome event to buy a home, like everything you're talking about, like going through all the process and all the headaches and understanding the ins and outs and everything but the long term. I mean even where I live at here in los angeles, there are people in my neighborhood whose parents bought their houses for, you know, around fifty thousand dollars back in like 1960, 1970, and those houses today are are well over a million dollar homes and they're passing it on to their kids and, in a sense, when folks talk about life insurance, like that is your life insurance, like that's your whole term life insurance that you hand off to your next generation, to your kids, and not only that, but you live in it your whole life, like the memories and everything, and so it's yes raise their kids in it.
Speaker 2:yeah, my grandfather lives uh, we're not too far from santa barbara and that's where he's living at, and he bought his home after he got off the air force for sixteen thousand dollars and I bet you if it got a praise we're probably, he's probably sitting at. If he's not at at 2 million, he's pretty dang close at that, at $2 million, which is insane. I mean, it's Santa Barbara, you know it is. I mean, it's just like a lot of places down in LA area, you know Orange County, home prices are through the roof and it is a scary process. It doesn't matter where you live. More likely it's going to be the most expensive purchase you ever do.
Speaker 2:And you're talking about a 30-year mortgage. I mean, yeah, there's other mortgages, but most people are going with 30-year, especially on the VA side. It's nerve wracking because you got the set payment. You think you're stuck. You have the mindset that, well, if the market just tanks and I always have to tell them well, if the market tanks, it doesn't matter. I mean, unless you plan on selling right then, and there you're going to be on a fixed rate anyways, because I don't recommend an adjustable rate. So I'm like you're on a fixed rate, your mortgage payment's not staying so as long as you don't sell, if the market does go into the trash and the housing market.
Speaker 2:But it's scary and that's what I'm here for. I'm helping to guide you all the way through, even if you're not on, even if I'm not your personal lender, even if you're going through a big bank or another big company. Instead, I want to make sure I help you, guide you. I'm going to tell you the process and that's what I teach in my class. I teach you the process, what's going on. If you're having issues with your real estate agent, give me a call, I can help with that, and then so, and then just even putting out offers out there is scary as well. So I understand, because I did it before I got in this industry.
Speaker 2:But I always like to tell people yes, because, like your question about you know how do you talk to people? People I already know will come back and say, well, he's a salesman, of course he's going to say buy a home now. No, I'm not a salesman. I hate salesmen. I think most of us vets hate salesmen as well, like that's all we were. We're always just getting sold stuff or the spam. You know crap that we're always getting. I can't stand it. If you tell me you want to wait, I'm going to honor that and I always tell you this is the fact. These are the options you, as a family, need to make the decision.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to sit here and try to convince you one way or the other. You need to take these facts and make a decision on your own. Yeah, definitely. And for the folks out there, for your average veteran out there that hasn't utilized their VA loan yet or is too afraid to because of the process, what advice would you give them to get the best possible deal, aside from linking up with you? How do they get started in that process?
Speaker 2:Well, the first thing is so, before I got to this company, I would tell you to shop around to different lending companies. First off, I would go local. I wouldn't go national. I love USAA. I have a credit card through them, I have a bank through them, my auto loan is through them, my homeowner's insurance is through them. I love them Loan side not so much. And that goes with all the other big banks. And, by the way, when I say when I was talking about big banks earlier, I'm not talking about USA, but they're just not the greatest and I understand the love connection for them.
Speaker 2:I would go local. The reason I would go local is because you get to look that lender directly in the face and you get to wheel and deal with them if you can, because you are seeing them. It's someone that you're going to see in the community. They're going to recommend the best real estate agents to work with or the best home owners insurance to go with, all type of stuff. So I would go local. I would also try to go to someone that can broker, because if they're going to broker like an insurance broker right, like you contact them they're going to shop for the best rate fees for your current situation. It's the same thing in the mortgage side. So instead of contacting and applying at five or six different places and providing documents for five or six different places and providing documents for five or six different places and having conversations with five or six different people, I would go to the broker side Plus, if you're in a weird scenario like it could be you just had a bankruptcy last year or just anything weird going on a broker's gonna be good too, because they're able to look at all the companies that they work with and see where you slip in and fill that in. So that would be my advice. Also, I would ask them a few questions on the lending side. First off, if they tell you to go get your own certificate of eligibility, I would run. The reason is is because if they can't pull in a certificate of eligibility for you, they don't do enough VA loans.
Speaker 2:You do want to go with someone who specializes in VA, because VA is a whole different animal compared to any other home loan. There's lenders that have been in for 20, 25 years that tell me stuff. I'm like you know that's not correct, right? That's not even true and it's nothing really against them. It's the companies that they've worked for. They have their own added on rules that have made them think that's the way the VA is. But it's not.
Speaker 2:I've had other lenders tell me I'd rather not do VA. It's too difficult. Of course I'm like it's the easiest one to do. I was like I will lie, even though I can do all home loans well, because conventional or some of these other home loan products out there. I always tell clients hey, I don't specialize in this. My team does, like my boss, they all specialize in this. But if you have a question for me, I might have to go seek that information. But if it comes to VA, I got you, I got you covered. I can handle all of that.
Speaker 2:So you definitely want to go to someone that specializes in VA, especially if they're telling you you don't qualify. Contact a VA loan specialist and there's an amazing website Veteran Mortgage Advisors. Look them up because they have listed on there veteran. These are lenders that have gone through a several hour sorry, it's way more than several hours but it's a course that teaches them everything they need to know about VA. They teach, or they have a weekly class together where all the lenders come together and we learn more or we learn about weird scenarios that another lender and how they reacted to it, stuff like that and if there's any changes to the VA because VA is changing it's government right. They're changing every day, coming out with new regulations, so you definitely want to go with a VA specialist. It's like if you're doing a 10, you know, if you're trying to reverse mortgage or get a HELOC, you probably want to go to someone who specializes in that to make sure you're getting the best deal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely, that definitely matters for sure. I mean, hell, even getting a contractor and making sure that contractor understands how this, how city hall expects things. You want someone that understands city hall, right, so it's the same thing with with the va loans. I mean, you want someone that specializes in that.
Speaker 2:No doubt about it yes I've heard and make sure you look at reviews. You know like reviews are big. I mean I know there's. I guess people are able to buy reviews and stuff. I know locally here we don't really deal with that, that issue. I'm sure probably on LA you guys probably deal with that a little bit more because you're competing with tens of thousands of lenders. But look at reviews and then, like I said, if they're questioning someone or have questions, contact me anyways because I can look up other stuff, because I can actually look up if they do do a lot of VA, because they're always going to tell you yes, Do you do VA? Yes, I do. All right, what's the percentage of the business of VA? I saw a stat the other day that said most lenders are only closing one or two VA loans a year. You might want to go with someone who are 90% or maybe even 85% of their business is VA, Someone who's actually dealt with some weird stuff and had to be on the phone to VA Like does this does?
Speaker 1:this work. Yeah, I have a buddy of mine who's in real estate and he's a veteran and he gets really upset when a I guess someone that hasn't served before is sporting the flag and they're saying that they care about veterans and all this stuff but really they're really just going for the business. They really don't have any type of, I guess, self-fulfillment to truly help veterans like yourself, Just like you're doing right now for our community.
Speaker 2:Well, the other issue too is and I got a lot of flack over this it wasn't this last Veterans Day, it was 2023. I can't remember exactly how I worded it, but it was pretty much saying Ray, a lot of real estate agents follow me I mean a ton and so I posted right. Here comes all the real estate agents saying, uh, happy veterans day, and how much they love veterans, but then they won't accept the va loan offer, and that caused a huge oh boy fire. But actually it helped me with business this year, because then I started getting calls from real estate associations to come in and teach VA and really tell them why they need to be accepting VA loans. My real estate agent classes are three hours and an hour of it is really hammering down why you accept a VA loan and you need to stop listening to the misinformation that's out there.
Speaker 2:You need to educate your sellers too, because there's just a lot of misinformation out there. Yes, there has to be pest inspection, but if you're really worried about that, maybe you should take care of that before you possibly sell your home. Obviously, there's situations where you just need to get the home sold, but there's ways around that too. The veteran can come in and pay for that. If you really don't want to pay for it, they can pay for it. Or you just have the termite company charge escrow. You're like, oh, I don't have the 10 grand to tent a house and fix the wood rot, that's fine, charge escrow, they'll just take it out of your check, your seller's check. So there's little things like that.
Speaker 2:That real estate agents go, appraisals always come in low. Actually, no, on VA, appraisals come in higher than conventional and the VA is also the only home loan product that allows you to fight the appraisal. So if the appraisal comes in low, you can first go back to the appraiser and say, nope, these are our comps, this is why we think it should be at that price. And even if that appraiser still says, nope, I don't see it, we're worth $20,000 lower. You can go back to the VA and say, hey, we don't agree with this. Can you override the appraiser? And 79% of the time the VA raises that price. So it's just like stuff like that and it's just about getting out there and educating. I'm only one person. That's why I try to. I always tell veterans hey, I need you to also go out and teach, especially if they're on active duty. I need your help now. Please go out and tell everyone that you serve with that. This is the way the VA loan actually is.
Speaker 1:You know what man, knowledge is? Power? That that's for sure. And for folks out there there, here's a hot take.
Speaker 1:I mean, there are a lot of flag wavers out there there are there are a lot of folks out there that will say we are veteran friendly, we welcome veterans, we're hiring veterans, but then you show up and it's like not exactly what you thought it would be as far as like the actual job or position or the support that's being provided. So, finding someone with the authenticity, ideally with the background, someone who maybe who's been in the military before Um, I hate to say that, but that is true, like you have to have been there to have a true appreciation for it and to truly care about it.
Speaker 1:But overall, what would you say to folks who think that they live in like a high property value area? Not think, but they know they do, like LA Southern California, who think that they're priced out, that they think that you know, hey, there's no way I could get a VA loan because the property values in my area are way too high. I mean, is there a ceiling on that?
Speaker 2:No. So on VA, one of the other misconceptions is that there's a county loan limit and you can't go over that county loan limit. There's several misinformation within that, or what people believe within that statement. Some because on your certificate of eligibility it says $136,000. And that's what's the original. Okay, back when it came out in 1944, that was the original loan amount. And instead of the VA changing it on a certificate of eligibility, it's become a formula now which I don't teach that formula because we'll let lenders stick to that.
Speaker 2:You can still go over county loan limits and county loan limit only comes into play if you're going to use your VA loan again and you're keeping your previous VA loan. So let's say you bought a home in LA and you want to keep that home and rent it out and you still have the VA loan on it and you want to go buy a home in Santa Barbara. That's when county loan limits come into play. But even then you can still go over the county loan limit. You just have to come up with a 25% guarantee of the overage. Okay, so the VA guarantees 25% to every lender. So if you foreclose on a home, that lending company gets 25% of that original loan amount, so original loan amount. So even if you lived in it for 20 years and you don't owe much on it, the lending company still gets 25% plus they get to sell the home with today's value. And that's why rates are lower on VA, because it's not as big of a risk for lending companies. That's why VA does. That is because they want. They want to make sure lenders are doing VA loans.
Speaker 2:But anyways, to answer the question about like high property values in certain areas and really being scared about it, you know, most of the time when people tell me that, oh, I can't, I'm priced out, I can't afford it A lot of them actually can. They just don't think that they can. And I'm like well, how much are you paying a month? And this is a conversation I just had this week. I'm like how much are you paying in rent right now? He's like 5,500. I was like 5,500. I was like 5,500? I was like man, my mortgage payment's not even 5,500. And he was in Bakersfield, so home prices are way cheaper in Bakersfield. I was like man, you can get a pretty decent size house for that amount. But even if people don't qualify or they're not up to the loan amount that they want. So let's say they only get approved for 500,000, but they want to be in the $800,000 range.
Speaker 2:Most lending companies. Well, the bigger the lending company, the more likely they're just going to say, hey, you don't qualify. They're going to kind of kick you to the curb because they got way too much stuff going on. We're going to sit there, we're going to go through your credit, we're going to go through your income and we're going to get you on a game plan to get to the level that you want. Or, hey, man, you didn't make a payment for the last three months. That's okay, we're going to get you next year. Let's work on your credit for the next year. Get it up, no late payments. We're going to get you on a game plan.
Speaker 2:And most people, I would say on average, are only six months out. Well, you know, if it's an income issue, perfect, okay, I only make $20 an hour. Guess what. Let's get you to a different job. That's making you pay more.
Speaker 2:If you're wanting to, obviously, if you love where you're at, that's one thing. But if you're willing to make a move, go on to US government jobs. You know, go on there. A lot of them are paying way more than that. Like around here.
Speaker 2:I'm like dude vandenberg, space for space. Right here we have spacex, we have all these companies out here that are hiring good, and we also have diablo nuclear power plant. I'm like man, go work security starting pay is like 175 000 or I might be a little exaggerating there, but it it's a. It's six figures of starting pay. Like you go work out there, boom the second you get that job. Or you get that job offer letter, contact me. We're getting you into a home because we just got your income up. So most people are within range. Every once in a while I get the one where you know they're making minimum wage and they're living in Newport Beach. You're going to have to move if you really want to buy. That's just the way it is, unfortunately. But we're going to be there step of the way to help them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's incredible For folks out there that from my understanding now from my understanding if you utilize a VA loan, it has to be a home that you reside in. You can't just buy this for investment property. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:Correct. So the key word that the VA uses is you must intend to utilize the property as your primary residence for at least 12 months. Now you're going to hear lenders out there tell you there is no 12-month requirement. You're going to hear others that say it's more. The reason you're going to hear people say that there is no 12-month requirement is because of that word attend. You must attend to occupy the property.
Speaker 2:I had a Vietnam vet that purchased a home up here next to Camp Roberts and somehow during the whole process he didn't realize that he was moving in where they practice firing tanks and he was only, I think, two weeks in at the time and they started their summer training and his PTSD just went through the roof. We got him out of there and into another home within 45 days and the VA has no issue with that. Now if they see you keep doing that it's mortgage fraud, they're going to know like, oh, you're clearly doing this for investment opportunities. This is not what the VA loan is geared towards, but there is a way to start real estate investing with the VA loan. I always tell those on active duty every place that you go to, if your unit obviously allows you, if they're going to give you VAH. I know my unit would never allow me to go live off property if I wasn't married. They just they didn't allow that.
Speaker 2:Here is Vandenberg. There's not enough housing on base, so they pay BAH to the majority of the airmen, or this, I don't know. You call them space cadets. They're not space cadets, but anyways, those in the Space Force. I tell them buy a home here and then when you PCS somewhere else, buy a home there. And when you PCS somewhere else, buy a home there. And then when you're getting out at 15, 20 years or however long you want to stay in, at that point you don't have to go work. You're making money off the rental properties and then you can get more into that as well.
Speaker 2:So there's several people. There's actually a really awesome group on Facebook. I'm not sure if they're on other platforms. I'm on their Facebook page. It's called Military to Millionaire and one of their focuses is utilizing your VA loan to own multiple homes. The guy who founded it I think I forget what the numbers is, but he has millions of dollars worth of property now, again, I wish I taught this when I was in.
Speaker 2:I wish I taught it when I was getting out as well. They never did. When I was ETSing, they literally said I got so excited because, like, ooh, va loan class. We walked in, waited 20 minutes for them to come in and they go hey, the VA loan is not through the department of the VA, it's through a private mortgage company. Have a great day. And they walked out. I was like you know, at the time I'm like young and dumb, right. So I'm like, oh cool, I'm going to go home now. So I go back to a unit Awesome, I get free time. But they don't. They don't teach it. And so that's why there's people like me who are out there who are really hammering it hard to change the lives financially for for our military.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I actually had a buddy of mine, uh, javier. He was a special forces guy, did 20 years and he did, he did just that like when he retired he had five, five properties that's amazing out. Yeah, it's absolutely amazing and I wish I had you can also buy up to a fourplex.
Speaker 2:And so that's why I tell a lot of these guys I'm like, hey, we can take that income. So you have to live in one of the units. So we're going to take those three other units and help qualify you because you're like, oh man, I can't afford a fourplex. I'm like, well, we're going to take, we're going to send an appraiser out there. He's going to appraise what you think you can get. You know rent from and then if you never rented before, it's only 70%, so it was a thousand. We only can use $700.
Speaker 2:No-transcript. That has 50 apartments in it. I mean, also, you can't use a VA loan with it. But he built up such a big portfolio at that point he was able to go buy 50 apartments. Amazing, absolutely amazing. And it's not in the greatest part of the country. Actually, I think it was up in Flint, michigan, I think is where he bought it. But he's got income coming in from 50 people all of a sudden. And it's amazing. And he did all that utilizing his VA. Again, he didn't use VA to purchase that property, but because he utilizes VA loans with all the other properties, it got him to that point to purchase that property, but because he utilizes VA loans with all the other properties, it got him to that point to purchase that property which is really cool.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. I always tell people that if you go into the military and you manage yourself properly, you can walk out of the military with your bachelor's degree, possibly your master's degree. You can walk away not even having touched your VA, education stuff, and the same goes for this If you utilize your benefits, you can walk away from the military as a property investor across several different properties, and it's all about managing your benefits and managing yourself for the long-term view.
Speaker 2:Correct and your TSP account. The one thing that got me into financing right away is I grew up because my mom was in the real estate side of things. I grew up in 08. I watched our family suffer and be extremely poor during those times because we had no income coming in, and so we went through Dave Ramsey's class. So I started teaching Dave Ramsey. I don't agree 100% with everything of Dave Ramsey, but when it comes to debt payoff, you know that's an amazing platform. But then I started teaching the TSP.
Speaker 2:How do you utilize your TSP? Well, in the military the majority. I can never get people really into these classes. I was teaching on 4hood because everyone would be I'm not living. I'm not gonna live to 40. Why do I even care? I'm like no baby. I'm serious.
Speaker 2:I ended up getting about 50,000 in there before I. I got out and I don't have it anymore because it saved my butt. I don't recommend doing this. But 2023 was really when, on the leading side, it got insanely bad and we just had a baby and wife wasn't working anyway. I mean, it's a whole long story so I had to cash it out to get through, but it saved us, if that makes sense, and I'm very grateful I did it during that that time period to save us in the future.
Speaker 2:But if you don't, if that I mean that money by six years old is millions of dollars, and so it's like get started, put money in your TSP, get your education, I mean. And the education doesn't have to be, you know college, you can go to a trade school. You know, if you want to be a plumber, electrician or welding, they also offer that. At least they do. I don't know if they still do, but I know when I was getting out they were offering auto mechanic training, welding and IT, if I remember correctly, and welding.
Speaker 2:I got denied my unit. We brand new commander came in. He actually canceled my orders to go to that welding class, but I had someone who went through it and now he works out here at spacex making 350 000 a year and he's only been out there for a year and a half. Man and no prior education to that, only served one contract in the military and sorry, I say I like this bad day. That's what I did like. There's nothing wrong with that. But what my point was is that he did that, took that training there at the end of his contract and now look at him he's making a ton of money being a welder on the launch pad.
Speaker 1:It's really cool it's all about proper management. I'm glad you underline you underline the trade school thing because that's huge man like I have two master's degrees and because I come from a time where it was all about college, college, college. I got out in 07 and I wasn't even thinking about that. But if I could go back I would love to get like HVAC, uh, electrical, you know, certification, to just kind of make myself a little more lateral, lateral, uh, laterally mobile, like professionally, um, and I guess I could now, but I utilized all my gi bill for that stuff um, yeah, there's a guy that I served with in the reserves over here in bakersfield and he was working for a.
Speaker 2:Um, why am I trying to blink? Uh, ac, ac and heating. Yeah, hvac, hvac. Thank you, hvac. He's working for that company and we brought in a small business loan. A guy who specializes in the veteran loan Not home loans, but he specializes in small business loans for veterans Came to a class and that was probably two years ago and he owns his own company now. I think he has about 25 or 30 employees in a building and just killing it, especially on the AC side, because he lives in Bakersfield.
Speaker 1:Yeah, anywhere here in Southern California or mid-California you need that. So yeah, it's all about spreading awareness, man. That's why I'm glad I got you on the show today, robert. And just to make things clear, if somebody is interested in taking advantage of the VA loan, they could come see you directly. You can do the lending, you can do everything.
Speaker 2:I can do everything. If they just want to learn right now, just hop on. I actually don't have any classes up right now. I take December off because my December classes I wasn't getting anyone to attend in person or even on Zoom. I guess on holidays I totally understand. Plus, we get so busy with our Vegetch an Angel Tree program that I kind of am not able to do it anyways. But I will start it up again in January. But if people are like, hey, I want to buy in January, we'll just schedule an appointment together and I'll just teach them one-on-one. It's faster that way too, because you know, when I have a bunch of people on, I go to the whole class. When you come on one-on-one, I ask you questions like hey, were you in the reserves or the guard? Oh, you weren't. Okay, I'm gonna skip that portion. This portion doesn't really fall into your, your camp. Now some people want to learn anyway so they can tell people about it because they know people you know who fall in that situation. But yeah, I can do the loan, I can do the education for you.
Speaker 2:I post on social media all the time and then you know, I love here on the Central Coast just being a resource where, really, with anything that you're related, it can be oh, I'm struggling with PTS or I'm you know, I need help filing PA disability claims, all that I mean. We have connections. We host veteran resource fairs almost every month Not me personally, but I work with the BSO office and other organizations who put it on. I am actually going to be putting it on my own a few times in 2025, but those are also pretty much every month. Either it's in surfing or go right um horseback riding.
Speaker 2:I mean there's all of these resources to get out there and do things and do things as a family or get the actual help that you need. So I love being that resource here on the central coast and but a lot of it. Again, we get calls all over the country asking for resources too. I always get messages and it's not hard for me to typically research for them, but if they can't, I usually tell them. I find another organization in the area and I say, hey, please contact them because they're local. They're going to know more than what maybe my Google search is popping up.
Speaker 1:I'm so glad that I got you on the show, man, because you are fairly local to me. I do get about like who in LA or who in the Southern California area, do you know? Dot dot dot, and so thank you for coming on the show and I want to give you an opportunity, man, to talk about Operation Angel Tree.
Speaker 2:Yes, so my first nonprofit Welcome Home, military Heroes. We started off just doing the welcome homes at the airports, train stations, all that. The very first one was very awkward. Welcome Homes at the airports, train stations, all that the very first one was very awkward. I was 16 at the time and it was literally my mom, my dad and myself and we took the American flag down. And so there's like these three random strangers there going Welcome Home. And now it's the nonprofit has expanded a lot. We have 12 different missions within Welcome Home. That includes care packages. We've sent about 24,000 care packages.
Speaker 2:We do venture vehicle salutes because of COVID and we started about seven years ago the Veteran Angel Tree Program. We had a local business who was putting up a Christmas tree for children or seniors I can't remember what it was for and it wasn't going well and they were like, well, maybe I can do veterans. So they contacted us and I'm a yes man. I mean I'm trying to stop that. My wife wants me to stop that. But I was like, okay, let's take it on. And so we started off with one tree and what you do is the community comes together, we put tags up of veterans who are in need. You know, it doesn't matter if it's just for a short period of time or it's been a long period of time. If they're struggling right now, we're going to help them. And so they give us a list of what they want. It's never a laptop or a flat screen TV, it's always. I need a grocery gift card. Can I get a gas card Because I'm having to walk to work because I can't afford gas? Or I need boots, or can I get a bike so I can ride to work? It's stuff like that. It's actually very humbling to see these tags. You know, every once in a while we get something like an air fryer or something like that, and we have people who will go out and buy it. But the community comes together. So we put them up on a tree. Community them up on the tree. Community grabs a tag, they go purchase it and then they return it and then we wrap it and we distribute it to the veterans. We're up to eight trees both uh, we have them in san barbara county and san luis bispo county.
Speaker 2:This year we wrapped 1300 gifts and it's just it blew up so on that those 1300 gifts helped 425 veterans, so a lot of them were. I can't afford gifts for my kids. What can you guys do? And so you know, a lot of those kids were given two or three items, items for, and then we're we're given the grocery gift card on top that or a target gift card on top of it. But the years prior we were in the 200 range and it just boom, bumped up to over 400.
Speaker 2:And I think it has a little bit to do with the economy. And I think it has a little bit to do with the economy. I also think it has a little bit to do that this is getting out to the media now. I mean, we had, we were on our local ksby news four or five times in a 10-day period and so it was just like people were getting hammered with it. It's just a very humbling experience. I we have 40 plus volunteers that come into it. I don't do much with the program and what I mean by that is I do all the marketing stuff, get the news there, do the social media stuff, and then I just kind of oversee operations because we have a committee chair who runs that, just to see. I got super teary-eyed when we started dropping off.
Speaker 2:We work with seven or or no. I think it's six. We call them partner agencies, so they're either another veteran non-profit or their government entity, so it can be the va bash good samaritans. Now I'm trying to blank some of the others names, but we have a um organization up here called cap slow and they have a veteran department. They do most of the vetting for us so they make sure they're real vets. They make sure that they're actually a veteran who is struggling right now. We work with the VSO offices in both counties to get names of veterans as well. So we're expecting this to blow up even more.
Speaker 2:We're going to open up a new tree in Santa Barbara next year, another one way up in Paso, which is the northern part, and we're talking like. I think it's like a 200 mile distance between the two. I actually think it's more than that and I have volunteers who will pick up anything and go help wrap, deliver tags, pick up those gifts. We work with the Combat Veteran Motorcycle association to honor these businesses and these trees. We do like a veteran angel tree ride now and we drive around to all the locations. We got santa with us.
Speaker 2:It's just, it's an amazing program. And not this, not 2024, but starting 2023. My dream was to always to take this program year round, and what I mean by that is no, we're not putting up Christmas trees all year round, it was. I want to continue helping veterans who are in need all year, and we had an amazing fundraiser at the end of 2022 to finally allow us to go year round, and we're still able to do it. So we work with a lot of these government agencies or nonprofits that house veterans. So when they house them, they need a couch, they need a microwave or a bed to sleep on, and we get the community to come in to either purchase it, donate it, and if they don't, then we go out and we'll purchase those items.
Speaker 1:So that's actually called Veteran in Need or Operation Veteran in Need, and then Operation Veteran Angel Tree falls right underneath that program, as well, wow, there's so much to collect here, man, and you're total inspiration man, because I want to definitely put this in the show notes everything that you've mentioned here today and how to contact you, and everything for our community. And, like I said before, the best part of my job is I get to talk to inspirational folks like yourself to help spread that awareness for a community out there.
Speaker 2:Well, crazy is that that's only one of the four nonprofits, so that's insane. That's just. That's just the one I I'm with Honor Flight as well. Do you know what Honor Flight is? Yeah, I do. Yeah, so I'm Honor Flight Central Coast on the vice chair for here. But you know, I'm getting to a point in some of these organizations where I'm kind of just overseeing and then I kind of just show up during the fun times, like I'm not afraid to admit that. I feel like I've gotten to a point, to where we've gotten these organizations to that point. We have amazing volunteers. I can just kind of like oversee it, be the one that goes out and does the talking or the speeches when I get asked to go and talk on behalf of these programs. That's probably my favorite thing.
Speaker 2:Honor Flight, oh my gosh. Be able to travel to DC with these veterans and see their emotions on the wall, going to the wall or going wherever. I recommend anyone who's listening to go as a guardian to get on a flight. Be a guardian for a veteran, be a war to Korean or Vietnam veteran. It's an amazing experience. I get to ride on every single trip and I've probably been on 10 or more. Every single one's different. You always have an amazing story that you get to hear from someone and you guys sit down. Well, at least for us, we do allow drinking um at the hotel, and so then we I always go out, and a few of us go out and buy the drinks for all the beds and we get to sit there and just hear their crazy stories, whether that was in the military or their life after the military yeah, man, there's just.
Speaker 1:There's just too much to talk about. Man, you know, I'd love to have you back on the show ro, the show Robert, to talk more about some of the other things that you're involved with as well and spread that awareness.
Speaker 2:Yes, I would love that. I love talking. I mean you probably can tell I love talking about all this stuff especially. I mean I love talking VAs too. But I definitely love talking about the nonprofit side of things as well. Or even people contact me to speak on behalf of their organizations as well, or even people contacted me to to speak on behalf of their organizations as well now too. So, um, and I do all that for free uh, kind of usually when I go to those places they provide me free food, so I guess I get something out of it, but yeah, as you, as it's well deserved, man, because definitely if you're using your time and energy, you know they need to be at least feeding you.
Speaker 1:So, yes, well.
Speaker 2:I think it's like you know, you are younger, you know all these these organizations. You typically, when they're coming in, they're they're a lot older veterans coming in and speaking. And I think a lot of them get shocked when I show up, especially. I mean I'm 31 now, but when I was in my 20s and I was showing up to do these things, everyone was just like what the heck? Yeah, you're the one coming. Are you the right person? I yeah, you're the one coming in. Are you the right person? I'm like yes, now that I'm getting the gray in my beard, people don't quite question me as much anymore.
Speaker 2:But it's fun, I love it, I get it. I've gotten to travel. I'm down, actually, in LA or Orange County often. I've taught a few classes down there as well. I plan on doing a few more classes down there this year. So I've got to travel to meet amazing veterans. It's so cool to be able to help them. When they get denied on something or they get told that they went to a certain organization for disability and I ask them what process they went through, and I'm like so you didn't provide a letter, you didn't do this, you didn't do that. And they're like no, I was never told to do that. I'm like all right, let's get you to an organization down here or your local VSO office, make sure they actually get you.
Speaker 1:It's all about the connections, right, and the networking. It's all about the connections, yes, yeah. So, hey, man, listen, let's do another show together. I would love to talk more about the other stuff and for anyone that's listening to this podcast right now, please go down to the show notes. If you're watching this on YouTube, go down to the description at the bottom. You're going to find how to get a hold of Robert and to link up with him. Connect with him, find him on Instagram. You're still on TikTok, right?
Speaker 2:I am yes Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, until it's banned, I guess. Until it's banned in January, right, so we'll see what happens with that. But, robert, thank you so much for your time today. Man, I really appreciate all the information, knowledge and all the work that you're doing for our community.
Speaker 2:No, thank you Again. I'm very honored that you asked me to come on and, of course, thank you for everything that you're doing and getting the word out. I've only for a while, so seeing the people that you're getting on the podcast and getting their story out as well is really cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, no doubt I love doing what I do, but for everyone else out there, no-transcript.