Come To Find Out
Welcome to Come To Find Out- your resource for all things real estate. You can come here to find out about the current market, terms that you see and hear during a transaction, things to do and not to do when you're in contract. The show will also feature interviews with industry partners and leading experts to help you choose who you want on your home buying journey with you. The home buying, selling and investing process can be so overwhelming, so this guide is meant to make it just "whelming."
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Come To Find Out
Financing Your Home with Purpose: The Tithe Lending Difference
Steve Greaves reveals the powerful story behind Tithe Lending – a mortgage company built on giving 10% of revenue to community causes. This principled approach doesn't just feel good; it transforms lives by funding organizations tackling homelessness, supporting education initiatives, and even helping human trafficking survivors.
What makes this conversation particularly enlightening is how Greaves and his brother identified industry inefficiencies and restructured their business model to make this significant giving sustainable while remaining financially sound. "We wanted to make a lasting impact with our jobs," Steve explains, "instead of it being like you do your job and then on the side you do your other stuff."
Beyond their charitable mission, Tithe Lending offers innovative solutions for homebuyers facing today's challenging market. Their "Homes for Heroes" program covers costly appraisals for teachers, first responders, and veterans, while their various down payment assistance options (including grants up to 3%) make homeownership accessible without depleting savings. For buyers concerned about timing the market, Steve offers practical wisdom: "If you can afford the payment at the interest rate right now, get in now, wait for rates to go down, and then refinance."
The company maintains ongoing relationships with clients through their "rate watch" program, proactively notifying homeowners when refinancing opportunities arise. Some clients have already saved $300+ monthly by refinancing from last year's 7.5% rates to today's lower rates – funds that can be strategically applied to principal to save tens of thousands in lifetime interest costs.
Ready to work with a lender whose mortgages fund meaning? Visit tithelending.com to learn more about their programs or tithefoundation.org to explore partnership opportunities with their foundation.
Steve Greaves
steve@tithelending.com
314-221-8252
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092691292376
https://www.instagram.com/steve_greaves777/
Tithe Lending
https://www.facebook.com/tithelending
https://www.instagram.com/tithelending/
Sarah Thress
614-893-5885
First Time Home Buyer course: https://sarahthress.graphy.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarah_thress_realtor/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SarahThressRealtor/
https://www.youtube.com/@LIFEINCOLUMBUS
Hi and welcome to this week's episode of Come to Find Out. This week we have Steve Greaves with Tithe Lending. I know a lot of people have a hard time, you know, when they read tithe they are like is it teeth, is it whatever? But it's Tithe Lending and it's named that for a reason and it's one of the reasons why I really, really love working with Steve and everyone at Tithe Lending. So, steve, thank you so much for coming on taking time out. I know you've been on a few times, but I really appreciate you taking time to come back out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no problem. I always like being on here and I think this podcast is a great resource for people who are getting into home buying for the first time, or even now that they've owned a home, but now they're coming back in. There's a lot of really good information on this podcast. So, yeah, whatever subject you're looking for, you guys have pretty much covered it, so it's awesome.
Speaker 1:Thank you, I appreciate that. So let's get started with tithe lending, like what does that mean and what is the concept behind it? If anybody listening hasn't heard of you or doesn't know what tithing means and anything like that, I'd love for you to just kind of walk us through that because, again, I think it's really cool?
Speaker 2:Yeah for sure. Yeah, I appreciate having the opportunity to talk about it Basically, Appreciate having the opportunity to talk about it Basically. My brother and I started our own brokerage with the concept of tithing. So the word tithe means one-tenth, and it's a biblical practice. So if you're a Christian, you probably have heard of it.
Speaker 2:It's basically your first fruits, meaning when the income comes in, the first thing you do is you give 10% of your income back to God, in some way, doing the things that we're called to do as Christians.
Speaker 2:So that's really what we do is we take 10% of our revenue before expenses and give it to the foundation, which then can distribute to nonprofits that are doing good work in our city. So a lot of the stuff we do is helping homeless, you know, helping them get back on their feet, helping them with meals, things like that. We also do things for children, education, and then there's a really cool nonprofit that we've given grants to that are helping people that are victims of human trafficking, things like that. So there's a lot of things that we can help fund like that. So there's a lot of things that we can help fund. What we found when we started this is there's a ton of places that are doing really good work and they could do more if they just had more fuel. So that's all we exist. To do is to give more fuel to those places.
Speaker 1:So I love that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So it's basically. It's just you know from day one, if you structure your company to do that, you know you find a way to make that work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, which I think is so amazing, especially in. You know, I never want to get like political or anything, but just in the climate that we're in right now, with a lot of uncertainty and a lot of negative, a lot of negativeness out there, I just think it's amazing whenever you know companies can stick to those values and stick to you know, giving back to the community, making things better. You know, like scattering kindness, like that's our big thing and Red Frog is scatter kindness. You know, and how can?
Speaker 1:you bring joy to people's lives, and so I love that you guys structured your company in that way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and one thing that we noticed, you know, before we started this company, you know my brother was running, he was the president for a mortgage company and you know kind of you can start to see, okay, where are the inefficiencies at and how can we structure our company in a way that, you know, giving that 10% away isn't going to make it so that we're, you know, in financial trouble. You know we're. We're still very solid, very. You know the numbers look good, um, and we're still able to do that and make an impact. So that's really what we wanted is, you know, make a lasting impact with, with our jobs, instead of it being, like you know, it used to feel like, hey, you do your job and then on the side you do your other stuff, and now it's all kind of incorporated into one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that, and I think it's just amazing that you guys took the industry knowledge that you already had and created a way that it fits the mission that you all are called to do, Because I feel like we all are called to do something. You know it's not all the same thing, but we all are called to do something. You know it's not all the same thing, but we're all called to do something, and so I love that you guys answered that in a unique way that is giving back but still, you know, obviously provides for your families.
Speaker 2:Right yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. Yeah, well, so in addition to all of the amazing stuff you do for the community, I know you also have, you know, some great programs, especially for, like, first time homebuyers, for veterans.
Speaker 1:You know, I kind of like to call those like the underdogs of the housing industry, because those are the ones that are having the hardest time, you know, finding a house or getting approved, or you know every single penny counts. So I'd love for you to just kind of not that every penny doesn't count for everyone, but I'd love for you to walk us through some of the you know, some of the programs that you guys have. Like what are some things that are super unique to Tithe, and programs that you have that help people.
Speaker 2:Yeah for sure. So one of the things that we do that helps the heroes we call it, you know, homes for Heroes is what it's called. We do that program where you know, one of the out-of-pocket expenses that a lot of people don't budget for is the appraisal. You know nowadays you're looking at 600 bucks for appraisals, most of the time pretty expensive. So for teachers, first responders, firefighters, you know, police officers and veterans those people we cover that appraisal costs for them. So that's a big benefit.
Speaker 2:And then we also have some programs that help with that down payment side of things. If it's somebody who you know, hey, I want to buy a house but I don't want to liquidate what little money I've been able to save up. Typically the minimum downpayment for a first-time homebuyer is like 3% for a conventional loan. We have a program where we can give you a grant up to 3% to cover that entire cost. We have other grant options where you could do 2% of the grant a little bit more aggressive on the rate for that one. And then we have the FHA programs where, if they want their down payment covered, there's a forgivable option so that grant will be forgiven. But there's also an option, again more aggressive on the rate where that second mortgage they get.
Speaker 2:Basically, that down payment is financed in and it really isn't that expensive because it's, on a 15-year note pretty low rate helps people get into the home. So what we look at is if you're going to be buying a house, let's take a look at what that equity level is going to be in a couple of years. We have a really good tool to project that for people and when they buy that home with that down payment assistance, we can show them hey, you're not going to be underwater for very long Within a few years. Here's how much your anticipated value is going to be. So then you can refinance it in the future or just know that if you need to sell, you're not going to be in a tight spot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that and I think that's so huge because that is one of the biggest barriers to, you know, getting into homeownership is the you know the down payment cost and the closing costs. And you know how am I going to come up with all of that? And you know, like, sometimes people can pull it from a 401k Great. Sometimes people can get it from a gift from a family Awesome. Some people have been saving for a while and they're able to do that. That's awesome. But there are the majority of people that don't have those options but still are tired of renting. Know that they, you know they fully understand that owning something is a great way, to you know, develop wealth and to, you know, have an asset and things like that. So I love that you guys have those different options. You know, it's kind of like choose your own adventure, like what's going to work for you, is it this, is it that? And you know you weigh and measure everything. So I really love that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, and that's really important. What you said there is. It really is going to be dependent on the client and the house. You know what package is going to make the most sense. So it is important to you know, get pre-approved so that the lender can actually take a look at that and guide you through it. Because you know, I always tell people this.
Speaker 2:It's like, hey, how many times have you closed on a house? Maybe once or twice. How many loans have we closed on? Thousands. So we've seen it all. We know what works and I also used to work just doing refinances of people who bought one or two years prior. So I could look at the profile and see like, hey, what's your future going to look like, because I've seen you on the other side of it. So giving good advice in that way too, to help people, you know, stay in a good financial position. But the other thing I wanted to bring up with the VA loans too, those are a hundred percent financing. You know most lenders have that program. The biggest difference with us is what I've seen anyway is, you know, rate wise, we have really aggressive rates on that and we can also give some lender credits to help if the, if the veteran can't cover the closing costs. So yeah, we look at all that stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that and I love that it's not just like oh, you're a veteran Cool, here's this. Oh, you're a first time homebuyer, here's this. It's really like you know what is going to make the most sense for you and treating everyone as a human, not just a number, and you know, getting to know them and having you know those conversations.
Speaker 2:Right, Yep, Yep. And that's why it's also important to have a great realtor like you. That could you know every, every client I've ever talked to that's worked with you. They feel like you're their best friend, so that helps so much with just knowing that. It's not about hey, I need to get this closing. It's about, hey, I need to help this person, and that's great.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's such sweet feedback. Thank you, because, yeah, I do try. I didn't know. It's like it's your timeline, it's not mine. Like I'm not here to, you know, force you into anything. I'm not here to, you know, make you close something. Just you know I'm not, I'm not out chasing commission, I'm out trying to help people. And if that means that we look at 100 houses and you know we get in and out of contract a few times because it just wasn't the right fit, okay, that's fine, no big deal. Like we'll keep moving on and you know. So I love that you gave that feedback, thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. But that that also brings up, you know, the point of you know, knowing that you as a, as the realtor, you know, you know the market. The market's ever changing, especially here. You know. We just saw there was a month or two where things were a little slower and the direction we would give people to go on, where to list their house or what offers to make, that's going to change depending on the market. So, knowing that you have someone that with so much knowledge on your side, that's going to help make those decisions. But I always say it's important that that client listens to the experts you know of, like how you tell them. You know, like, for instance, where to where to place your uh sales price to get the most competition to drive that sales price up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's such a good point and I appreciate that. Um, you know, because I do find that, especially in this market. You know, uh, yes, it's still very much a seller's market, but it's a picky buyer's seller market, and what I mean by that is people are like, if I'm going to pay this high interest rate, I want this house to be move-in ready. If I'm going to pay top dollar, Otherwise, like, your house may sit for a while, or, um, you know, you're gonna get offers that are are less. And so you know, really, uh, you know, paying attention to what your realtor says you know whether that's me or anybody else, but paying attention to what they say, like they're not just choosing.
Speaker 1:I'm not just choosing, I can't speak for everyone, I'm not just choosing a number out of there like, I'm literally looking at the market, I'm looking at what it's telling me and you know I don't have a crystal ball, but I can always say, like I feel that, based on what I'm seeing now, this would be the best place to list your house.
Speaker 1:Sometimes people are like, nope, I want to list higher and I'm like, okay, it may sit longer. That's up to you, you know, like, if you're okay with that, but if your goal, as you told me, is to sell as fast as possible, then let's do this price and it may be a little less than what you want, but what we're seeing is that those are the houses that then get the multiple offers and they end up getting more than what they listed for, or at least getting what they listed for, versus setting it on the market at higher, having to lower the price, and you know sending the message that like hey, like we're just going to keep reducing, so just give us whatever offer, we're going to take it. You know, like those are the messages you send.
Speaker 2:So yeah, and I can think of several examples where I got a call from a buyer and they said, wow, this one's perfect. And I look at it and I'm like, hey, this is listed low for a reason, like this realtor is playing the I've heard some realtors call it the price discovery game. So if they think they can sell it for a half million, maybe they're listing it at 465, even like pretty low. And even when they do that, they still push that price above what they thought they could have got it for if they listed it high. So, yeah, that strategy seems to be actually working better than anything else I've seen on the buy side of things.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, and I think that's great. That's great feedback as well, that buyers are asking feedback as well, that you know buyers are asking lenders. Because that is something that you know, you should be utilizing all your team and you know your lenders on your team, your realtors on your team. Like you should be using your team you know your financial planner, if you have one, your accountant, if you have one, like all the things to make sure you're making the best decision for yourself. But ask your team, you know, hey, like, do you think this is a good, you know price for this?
Speaker 1:Like a realtor can pull comps. You can pull comps. You can say, oh, you know, actually it looks like that's listed kind of high. I don't know that it's going to appraise for that or, hey, they listed it really low. I bet you're going to need to make an aggressive offer, like you know. So those are like things that people should lean in on their team to ask those questions, cause that's what we do all day, every day. That's not what the typical buyer. You know. Unless you're an investor, you're not closing a bunch of houses every day or every week or every month.
Speaker 2:So Right, yeah, and one of the tools I give all my clients and, um, you know, even even anyone who just wants to know hey, where do you think my house could appraise at? You know, because I get people coming in for refinances as well. I have a program called House Canary that's what it's called and it has tremendous data, super powerful tool, and what I've seen is like I don't know, I'd probably put it up there. At 85 to 90% of the time it's spot on where an appraiser is going to appraise that house. So, like you said, it does help when you're trying to decide hey, can we make a appraisal gap offer? We'll have at least a good idea of where it's going to appraise, even if you're going over.
Speaker 2:And same thing with refinances. People might say, hey, is it the right time? Well, let's see, maybe your house went up enough that we can get the PMI off and get you a better rate. At the same time, you know all kinds of things we can use that report for. So that's been one that's been big for me, that a lot of people have been asking for it and I can provide that to anyone. It's it's free to you.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I love that. I love that. Well, since I don't have a crystal ball, I'm pretty sure you don't have a crystal ball. I do want to ask you, though, like and I say that we don't have crystal balls, so it disclaims that we are not, by any stretch of the means, telling you what is going to happen in the market or what we're going to see, because we don't know but what do you foresee happening in, like, the spring market, like, do you think it's going to be like our rates going to come down, is it? You know, like anything that you have from your, like, your industry knowledge, anything that you'd like to share, and you know, just kind of your predictions and again, we're not holding you to any of them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, you know, what I like to do is I like to look at the the the market history of like hey, have we been in an environment like this before? And if we have, what happened, we can probably expect similar things to happen. Right? Well, if you look at where we're at, this market right now is so similar to what we had last year and the year before. As far as where rates are, you know they're. They're a little volatile, but they're not really going higher than this mid sevens and they're not, they're not going below six, so it's in that one and a half percent range A lot of people expected for those two years in 23 and 24, they expected that to mean less people are going to buy, so less competition, prices are going down.
Speaker 2:But what they didn't anticipate, I think, is less people are listing. So even though there might be a smaller pool of buyers that can qualify, there's also a smaller pool of sellers, so the supply demand is still there. I think we're going to see very similar stuff to last year, where you're going to see a lot of houses go over asking price in desirable areas, multiple offer situations all the time and then, if we get lucky which you know you could call it lucky. Or you could say now, if rates come down, which you know people want, you probably are going to see more people list, but then more people, more buyers, are going to come into the pool too. So it's just in Columbus specifically um, a lot of other cities are similar, but Columbus specifically, this market I think we're still going to see that same kind of as over asking price and multiple offers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that too. Um, you know, cause I've got some people that have been waiting for the spring market. You know. Know which I was like, if you don't have to sell right this second, don't do it in the winter. Like, wait until the spring, because it is a much better market. But I do also tell people, stop trying to time it based on your like, based on the interest rate, because first of all, you can't time the market, but when the interest rates drop, you know, to your point, more people are like, ooh, now I want to buy. So then you know, yes, like the interest rates lower. But now, with all the interest, the prices are going to keep going up, which means, even though your interest rates lower, you're likely going to pay the same amount of money as you would have at that higher rate, or maybe more.
Speaker 1:So you know it's like kind of pick your poison, I guess you know in my mind I just think if you can afford the payment at the interest rate that it is right now, you should get in now, wait for the interest rate to go down and then you're going to save money. But you already know you can afford it at this rate, so that's awesome. So I'm not saying to go out there and you know, stretch yourself so thin and cross your fingers and hope that, you know, interest rates come down. But just, you know, really, again, talk to your lending partner, find out what your comfortable number is for your monthly payment.
Speaker 1:Because, again, we all know that whenever you're pre-approved or maybe we don't all know, but when you're pre-approved generally it's like, hey, you're pre-approved for like $500,000, you know, just as an example, and it's like, cool, but what's that monthly payment? Ooh, yeah, I can't afford that. I would be more comfortable with this. Cool, then you should be looking at like $300,000 houses instead of 500,000. So you know, again, that's where, having that lending partner talking to you, figuring out what makes the most sense for you and instead of trying to time the market, just do what works for you and your personal situation like put your blinders on, don't look at the rest of the economy, what makes sense for you? Period?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I agree. And we have a cool, a really cool tool as well, called quick fall. It's like a you know pre-qual, but it it lets the lets the buyer have the driving seat on their side when they're you know, hey, now I'm looking at a house that's you know three, 80, changing that purchase price, updating that down payment, they can see exactly how that's going to affect their payment, which is way better than using, like, the Zillow calculator. That thing's always wrong. So they use ours. They'll know it's tailored specifically to them and their program and they'll be able to see those numbers.
Speaker 2:But I agree, I would encourage people to focus more on the price of the house as far as, like, does it make sense to buy it, and as long as it's in your budget, like you said, instead of waiting for rates to go down for a payment to maybe be a little less if you can afford it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the refinance thing is going to be huge Once rates come down. It's going to help so many people free up extra money in their budget. I actually, I actually refinanced uh, six people this month that had bought last year when base hit that seven and a half percent mark, we were able to get them down into the low sixes, very low costs. Uh, they had. They didn't have to bring any money to closing and they saved, you know, 300 bucks a month, which for them, was huge. So, um, another thing I show people when they refi, though, is like that $300, instead of just putting that in a piggy bank or something, you can apply that to the principal and then that shaves off. Sometimes, you know 80, $90,000 of interest on your loan. So a lot of cool things you can do once, once rates drop a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, and I think that's so smart and you know, it's almost like the snowball effect. It's like you already had that in your budget. So now that you've saved that money, cool, now use that to like pay off your mortgage faster or pay off other debt faster or whatever Like because you've already got that money allocated over here, so you know. Or put that in savings so that you know you've got like a big nest egg and you know for any surprises or whatever. So you know, I think that's really good. And again, that's where having a knowledgeable lending partner you know like yourself.
Speaker 1:It comes into play and helps you to make these decisions that you and I. You know that the average person that doesn't do this all day long, every day, wouldn't think about you, know they'd be, like cool, we're saving $300. Like now we can go out to eat more, you know, and it's like good, or you know you could also put that towards your mortgage to make it go away faster. You already have it in your budget.
Speaker 2:Right, right, yeah, and it's important to to have you know your if your lender is keeping an eye on your stuff for you. I mean, I love refinancing people. There's a lot of lenders who focus so much on just like the purchase business that sometimes opportunities come up and they miss them because they're more focused on that. I always have every single thing. I have actually a rate watch program where, if the market looks like it's beneficial, I always reach out to the clients and show them like, hey, here's what you can do right now. They don't always say yes, but at least they know what's out there as the market's moving.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, and I think knowledge is power. So I mean, I think even that you do that is huge, because you know to your point, not every lender out there is doing that and you know, like some, some are just focused on the homeowners and that's okay, like they don't have systems in place like you do. So I think that's, you know, another really good selling point for why they should work with you and why they should work with you know, tithe Lending, because you do, you know, do that that extra mile.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love it. Well, I will make sure that everything, um you know is in the show notes so you know how to work with you. Um, you know, do you have a like on your website? Does it talk about your foundation and like the? Um you know, I know you guys are getting ready to have, like, a foundation grant night, which I think is so cool. Um, do you guys have that on your website where you talk about like, or is there a foundation website? I just want to make sure everyone kind of knows about the. You know the impact that you are making, um, and I just want to, you know, make sure that they see that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure, uh, yeah, the foundation is tithefoundation. Uh, and then tithelendingcom has links to that as well. And I'll just say, you know, if you're someone who is listening to this and you're like, hey, you know, I want to be part of that, we do take business partnerships, uh, where you can become part of the foundation. Uh, if you just pledge a certain amount of your, you know it doesn't have to be a percentage or anything like that, but if you pledge a certain amount per year, then you can be part of that and come to the grant nights and vote on who gets the grants and those kind of things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm so excited that I get to be there you know, next week or two weeks from now? No, next week.
Speaker 2:Next week the 20th, yeah, yeah. Next Thursday, I think, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I'm super excited about that, cause I'll get to see that and, um, you know kind of uh see firsthand all the stuff that you guys do and um, you know and talk about uh getting involved, cause again, I just think it's, it's such a great mission that you guys do and it really aligns with, um you know, a lot of my values and everything.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I'm excited for you to come because I want, I want to see you know your, your brain of you, know your nonprofit brain, that you have so much experience, and I just want to see any, maybe some. Maybe we can learn something from you and, you know, get some suggestions from you. That'd be great. I talked to my brother about that as well and he was like, yeah, I'd love to sit down with her and just pick her brain on anything we can do to just make me. I mean, we want things to go as far as possible. You know, like let the dollars do as much as they can. So, yeah, that'd be great.
Speaker 1:I love that. Yeah, I'm super excited. Well, thank you so much again. I know you're super busy, so I appreciate you taking time out to record this and, um, you know, just help me get information out there to help people because you know, like I said, knowledge is power and I just think you guys are doing such cool stuff that I wanted to make sure that you know the first time homebuyers and sellers and you know, even if they're not first time homebuyer and seller, but they haven't bought or sold in the last five years, this is still really good knowledge and really good information. So, thank you so much for everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no problem, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course, and, like I said, I'll have everything in the show notes, so anyone that's listening, you know, if you weren't able to scribble down anything, just go to the show notes. You can click on stuff. You know, I'll have links to your socials as well.
Speaker 2:Awesome, thank you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely Well. Thank you so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it. Please, really appreciate it. Please make sure that you are leaving a review. Five star would be appreciated, but that review and feedback is a gift, so it's the greatest gift you can give us. Please make sure that you are sharing this with others, because that is the greatest compliment that you can give. Steve and myself is sharing this, and make sure you're following along so you never miss another episode. Thanks so much and we'll see you next time on. Come to Find Out.