Come To Find Out

How To Decide If Refinancing Your Mortgage Actually Saves You Money

• Sarah Thress • Season 3 • Episode 12

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Ever wonder if refinancing right now actually saves you money—or just sounds good? We get honest about the one test that cuts through the noise: your break-even. By anchoring the decision to your real costs, monthly savings, and how long you’ll stay in the home, you can act with confidence instead of waiting on a prediction no one can guarantee.

With Brendon Bland back on the mic, we map out the practical reasons to refinance—rate-and-term, term changes, and cash-out—and when each makes sense. We also open the hood on what’s pushing mortgage rates day to day: mortgage bond demand, market jitters, and delayed economic data. That mix has nudged top-tier 30-year fixed quotes toward the low 6s, but volatility remains, so we talk through scenarios where locking now beats trying to call the bottom.

If you’re buying, seasonality is your friend. Late Q4 into early Q1 often brings longer days on market and more room to negotiate. We share specific ways to turn that into savings—rate buydowns, closing cost credits, and flexible terms that can outperform a simple price cut—plus a game plan to prep financing so you’re ready when the right home appears. For sellers, we get real about pricing, comps from the last 90 days, and why online price reductions don’t equal falling values. Strategy and transparency beat wishful thinking in a choosier market.

New or nervous about the process? We created a free on-demand First-Time Homebuyer master class that walks through credit, budgeting, and step-by-step prep. Tap the link in the show notes, follow Brendan for smart mortgage breakdowns, and then tell us: are you refinancing soon, buying this winter, or holding your position? If this conversation helped, subscribe, leave a quick review, and share it with a friend who’s weighing their next move.

To connect with Brendon:
Brendon Bland
614-747-3530
bbland@neighborhoodloans.com
https://www.instagram.com/mortgagemademodern/
https://www.facebook.com/brendon.bland


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

SPEAKER_01:

Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of Come to Find Out. Uh this week we have the amazing Brendan Bland. Um, if you are a longtime listener, you will know that uh this is not his first episode by any stretch of the means. Uh he's one of my favorite people to have on uh because he just kind of takes the information that we all hear out there uh and he makes it to where we can understand it. Um even me, uh, which is so great. So uh thank you so much, Brendan, for uh agreeing to come back on and um share your wisdom with us.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh you're welcome. You definitely don't need me to help you understand what's going on, but I'm happy to fill in some gaps.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I appreciate it. Um, and if you have listened before, I have given shout-outs to uh Brendan's social media because I do love the way that he takes these topics that may be so freaking boring. It's what you need to know, but when you start reading it, it just you know starts sounding like uh the the teacher from uh Charlie Brown. But whenever he does it, he makes it so exciting and interesting. And so recently he posted uh where he was wearing a lemon shirt and squeezing a lemon, which I thought was so genius. Uh and he was talking about, you know, refinancing and is the juice worth the squeeze? So I'd love for you to, you know, just kind of share that with us and and talk about it because it has to do with refinancing, you know, because a lot of people have heard that interest rates have gone down a little bit. And so, you know, they're like, oh, is now the time to refinance? So I'd love for you to just kind of walk us through your thought process on that.

SPEAKER_00:

For sure, for sure. Well, first thing, I whenever I'm talking mortgage to people, um, I I can definitely see the eyes start to glaze over. And I I feel like I am turning into either a combination of one of the parents from um from uh Charlie Brown or uh what's the teacher from um Ferris Bueller's Day Off for you? So yeah, I listen, it's um mortgage financing is not everyone's favorite topic in the world, but yeah, if we can do some things to I think make up more relatable and funny, then you know we'll do it albeit full. So it's fine. I'll I'll do it uh for the sake of education. But yeah, um to your to your point, uh, I think one of the big questions that I've been getting here the last six months is you know, from either my my current clients, um, my current homeowners, um, friends, family, uh, random people at Starbucks while I'm waiting in line, is hey, um, what's going on with mortgage rates? And is now a good time to refinance? Um, if I own a house, should I wait to refinance because are rates gonna keep coming down? Um and I yeah, and that's I think that's that's the million-dollar question, right? And I think we talk about it all the time in terms of you know, if if I knew if rates were gonna keep going down or if they were about to go up, um, you know, I would tell everybody I wouldn't hoard that information and I would, you know, hopefully play the lottery too and make a lot of money during that. But um, so it's it's hard to do.

SPEAKER_01:

We'd be doing this podcast from our yachts if we knew that.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right. That's right. Jordan Belfort, Jordan Belfort. Um so, you know, to that, I think to that end, on you know, is is now a good time to refinance or not. Um, I I think for the first thing, you know, when I'm talking to someone about it, um, and then I'll get in kind of the metaphor is the juice worth squeeze, is you know, hey, what what's what's the goal, right? Because um there's different reasons why people are going to refinance a mortgage. Um, some people will do what's called a rate and term refinance, which is probably the most straightforward, which is like, hey, I have a 7%, I see rates are at 6%, I want a lower rate, lower monthly payments. You know, that's a great reason. Um, some people will refinance because they want to change the term. Either they want to um give themselves more flexibility with the longer term, or they want to kind of put themselves in the position to pay the home off faster. Um, so that that can be a reason to refinance. Um, some people will refinance to gain access to the equity in their home, um, which is called like a cash-out refinance, um, which is where you know you can use that equity to do a home renovation, you can do it to maybe purchase another home, um, you can do it to consolidate debt, so which will help save you money over time. That's a very common thing that people do. Um so there's a bunch of different reasons why someone might refinance. And I think just understanding what the reason is that you want to refinance is I think that's step number one. Um, and once you've identified that reason, then you can have a conversation about is it now is now the right time or not to do it. Um, I think, Sarah, the majority of people right now who are asking me about refinancing are people who have purchased a home in the last few years. So maybe 2022, 2023, 2024, or or maybe even the first part of 2025, um, they they've heard that rates are coming down. Um, and they want to know, like, hey, does it make sense? Can I save money? Um, if I if I have that 7% rate or high six sixes rate, um if I were to take today's you know mortgage rate, would that save me money? Um and then that kind of gets gets me into what I was thinking that video about is you know, is the juice worth the squeeze? Um because I think no, once again, like if if I knew for for a fact that rates were gonna keep coming down for the next two years and by how much, um, I can tell I could tell people, hey, no, don't refinance now. Wait six months because I have this crystal ball and I know that rates are gonna be half a percent lower in the next six months. So just wait. Um, but I don't know that. Um, and no one knows it. No matter, you know, you know, I I listened to a lot of really, really smart people who who have given really what I thought were coherent predictions about what's gonna happen with rates, and they were flat out wrong. So so it you know, it is it it is it is hard. I mean, we can look at different um indicators to let us know what rates are gonna do, but we don't really know. So so I guess I'll get to the point, which is is the juice worth a squeeze. So um, you know, when I'm looking at someone's situation and we let's say they, you know, they're they have a 7% on their current house right now, their current mortgage is sitting at 7%. They bought a couple years ago. And let's say when we look at you know their their opportunities or their options right now, let's say we can get them to a six percent, right? Um, for some people, they'll say that's kind of the number in their head, like, okay, if I can drop my rate 1%, that then I would do it, right? What's the logic behind that? Uh, I don't really know if there is any logic behind it. It just sounds good, like I'm dropping my rate a percent. Um, but I I don't I don't think it's a bad way to look at it. But um, but let's say, you know, we want to dive a little bit deeper to understand does that actually make sense to do? Um, so let's say in that scenario, we go from a 7% rate to a 6% rate. Whenever you do a refinance, um, there is going to be some kind of cost to doing that refinance. There's going to be um a loan cost, there's going to usually be a title company involved, um, and there are fees involved in there. Um, no matter how we slice it or dice it. I know a lot of lenders were talking about completely free refinances for a long time. Um, I that's not a realistic representation of what's happening. There might be discounted options out there. Some folks feel like our company, you know, we have an option where we'll we're excuse me, where we will waive. That was a tongue twister, like uh our our origination, you know, in certain circumstances, um that that fee. But there's still going to be a cost. No matter how you slice it or dice it, there's gonna be a cost of doing a refinance. So what we want to understand is, you know, how long um do we need to stay in that loan and stay in that house for that refinance to make sense? So for example, we go from a 7% rate to a 6% rate. Let's say in that example, we're saving$200 a month. That sounds really good. And it is really good. Um, and let's say that the the actual cost of doing a refinance was about$5,000. Um, whether you pay that out of pocket or you roll it into your loan, which is an option, um, that's still a cost that you're going to feel and experience. So it's a pretty simple calculation. We take that$5,000 divided by the$200 per month that we're saving. And in that situation, we would see that it's just over two years. That's how long we would need to stay in that mortgage and stay in that house for that refinance to make sense. So if Sarah was sitting down with me right now and said, hey, Brendan, this is what I'm thinking about doing this, you know. My first question is, do you think you're going to move in the next two years? And if the answer is, well, yeah, I think we we might move in the next six months to a year, well, then I'd say it probably doesn't make a ton of sense, right? Because ultimately you're gonna say, yeah, you'll save money month to month, but you spent money in the beginning. And so it just doesn't the numbers don't number, right? So, but it but if the answer is yes, I'm going to be in this home for the next three, four, five years, um, then I think that's a real, that that's a real opportunity to consider this, this could be some savings, right? This could be some real savings that we'll experience over time. Um, and that's kind of I think where I think if we can just start the conversation there and understand, okay, here's how much it's gonna cost to do the refinance, here's how much we're gonna save. And if we're gonna be in this home for at least that amount of time, then yeah, I think there the c the answer can be yes, the juice can be worth the squeeze. Um and then from there, that's that's when you have to make some judgment calls. Do we do we think rates are gonna keep going down? Do we want to wait and see if that happens? Um, or are we just happy knowing that, hey, we're gonna be saving a couple hundred bucks a month right now. And if rates go down, so be it. If they go up, then obviously, you know, you'll be like, well, I made the right decision. I'm very smart. So um but that's I think really kind of that's how I try to keep it really simple, you know, and just like, hey, are are we saving money? Are we saving enough money over time for this to make sense?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I love that. Well, and I know the last time that we talked, um, you know, there was that Fed rate cut, and you know, everyone was expecting interest rates to go down. And, you know, you explained that interest rates actually had already gone down in anticipation of the Fed cut, because that's not actually what directly affects, you know, mortgage rates. And so, you know, um obviously if someone wants to learn more about that, please listen to the uh previous episode that I recorded with Brendan, and you'll be able to hear all of that. Um, but then I've also seen, you know, I know whenever we talked, we talked about how interest rates may not go down anymore. You know, they may go down more before 2026 and they may not. Um, you know, and it sounds like they maybe are going down. Can you kind of talk to us right now about like kind of where rates are and you know, if you've heard anything else in the mortgage world about it, you know, going down? Obviously, no crystal ball involved.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, 100%. So yeah, I think, I think right now, um it's um depending on how closely you pay attention, you you may notice rates go down. You may, you know, if you kind of dip your toe in today and then don't look again for another month, you you know, you may have missed out on a small drop and then rates came back up a little bit because we're we're on a little bit of a volatile period of time right now. There's um a handful of different factors that are really pushing mortgage rates around. I think overall any kind of instability in financial markets um is an opportunity for mortgage rates to go down because um once again, people can invest in mortgage bonds. Mortgage bonds are very safe to invest in. So when other investments don't feel so safe, i.e. the stock market or um, you know, let's say um in the past couple days that there there were some there's some news about some some banks that you know that financially weren't doing very well, that presents concern on how financial markets are doing. So, so that puts money into the mortgage bond market, which then pushes rates down a little bit. So, so right now there's a couple things going on like that where there's just kind of onesie twosy um, you know, financial market not great news things happening that make investors say, hey, we're not really sure what to do with our money, so we'll just put it in mortgage bonds for now. And that's pushed mortgage rates down a little bit here over the over the last couple of weeks. Um right now, uh, I was just looking earlier. The the 30-year fixed average for a top-tier scenario um is right around a 6.2, 6.25. Um, which you know, uh there was a lot of headlines about that being near three-year lows. Um I think that the the three-year low in uh over the last few years would have been in February of 2022, where rates were just below six percent. Um so we're we're making progress for that. Um now there are a few things that could pop up here that could really drive rates in either direction. Um one of the bigger pieces of data that's that has been driving rates has been um job reports and inflation reports. And right now, um those reports are those reports are created with data that comes from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, which is a government organization, which is currently closed. So um, so those reports that come out that would normally drive rates in one direction or the other um aren't being produced um right now. Um and so that's kind of keeping rates at a little bit of a standstill because once again, these these investors um who would normally use that information to make decisions, they don't really have that information. And then I think something that's gonna be interesting to see over the next month or two when the government does open back up, um, which it will at some point, um how much do we trust the data? Because you know, a lot of that data could be partial data. Um, because the the folks who actually gather that information to then create the report that then gets used to make decisions about mortgage rates, we may not have all the information. So it'll be an interesting, I think, end of the year for mortgage rates to kind of see what happens. Um, because there will be reports that get put out about jobs and about labor and inflation. Um, but it's hard to know exactly how trustworthy that data is gonna be, at least as it initially trickles out. So um we'll see. I guess as well as once again, it's it's hard to know. That's why, you know, right now, if someone asks me, hey, Brendan, are rates gonna keep going down through the end of the year? Should I wait to refinance? I don't know. I don't know. And I it's I as as a as a person who does this for a living and you don't want to say that, but I don't know what's gonna happen to rates through the end of the year. Um, I could see two scenarios happening where rates either go up or go down. Um I know that's kind of it seems like a cop-out, but truly, it's it's really gonna be dictated by by data that comes out and how that data is interpreted by people who um invest in mortgage bonds. So so we'll see. Um, I would say, you know, right now, if you're in the market to buy a house, um, rates are as low as as low as they have been in the last few years, which is great news. Um and you know, once again, uh waiting isn't always your friend from that perspective because we just don't know exactly what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, exactly. Well, and it's interesting because you know, the uh there's that saying out there that, you know, uh you can't time uh the market, you know, uh you just have to kind of go based off of what is, you know, what your current situation is. And so, you know, don't wait to buy, uh, buy and wait, you know. So, you know, obviously the the best time to purchase is when it makes sense for you personally. And, you know, whenever that makes sense, then you're putting your money into an asset which is going to continuously grow. And, you know, so you're not throwing your money away. So sometimes instead of trying to time the market, you know, I just tell people like if it makes sense for you and what you're going through right now and you can afford it, then yes, now is the right time. And then, you know, like later on, you know, maybe something else happens and you know it lowers down to to 3% again. Who knows? Like, okay, cool. Then you get to like go back to that. Probably not, but you know, yeah. Um never know.

SPEAKER_00:

We never know. Never say never.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Well, and we're now going into winter market, which historically is a slower time, which is better for buyers. Uh, you know, especially uh it's not so awesome for sellers because you know, they're like, hey, my house is sitting, why? Yeah. And you know, this market has been so weird because I have, you know, I have five listings right now and they're just sitting. And, you know, people are like, why is my house not selling? And I'm like, well, it's not 2020. And, you know, there's a lot more, uh, we have a lot more inventory out there. So there's more choices. Whereas, you know, back in 2020, it was like, do you want this house or not? Like, you know, either give your firstborn child and get this house or like, you know, keep moving. So um, you know, it's just a totally different market. But I think, you know, talking with a lender, making sure that you can financially afford, you know, at the rate that it is now, uh, you know, it makes the most sense. And then, you know, you have all these options to go out there. So, you know, I think setting someone up for success right now is talking with a lender, getting locked into the lower rate, and then working, you know, with a with a good builder that can take you to show all, you know, show you all the different things and help you to make a decision, but you have a little bit more time now because it's winter, it's slower, and we have more inventory out there.

SPEAKER_00:

So let's not say it's winter yet. It still looks pretty fally outside. Let's not I I know we tend to think a couple months in advance, but yeah, I don't I don't want to I don't want to think about walking through the snow yet. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01:

I don't either. I don't either. I've had to start like putting on sweatshirts and coats and stuff, and I'm like, ugh, why?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, 100%. No, I I a hundred percent agree. I I think um the the fourth quarter of the year and then the very beginning of Q1, um, you know, if you're someone who's trying to time the market or take advantage of the market, I I think this is this is a really, really good time. Um because to your point, you know, uh homes do sit longer. And that's not, I don't think that's a uh a right now phenomenon. I think that's a that's a seasonal factor, right? Um you know, uh there there are less people interested in buying those times of year. So if you are interested in buying, you have less competition, and you know, the the folks who are selling are selling for a reason, right? Um so they're they're motivated. Um I was looking at this. There was actually a um uh I don't know if it's I don't know if it's called I guess it's a site uh that I got put out by um Lending Tree uh that came out I think either earlier this week or later last week. Um just talking about um based on a few different metrics. Um January is by far the bet the most productive time for for home buyers um with respect to being able to negotiate um to get the best deal. Um and so to your point, I think you know, where we sit in the middle almost to the end of October, um starting the process now, if you haven't started, uh to if you're interested in buying um and you want to take advantage of that market, um, starts today. Uh if you start if you start in January, you're you're kind of behind the ball. Um so I think starting now, getting your ducks in a row, um, to your point, getting connected with a really good realtor who can get you set up on a search, get you familiar with the different opportunities that are out there, um, getting your financial ducks in a row. So that way when a when a really great opportunity does present itself, it's not, okay, I gotta, I gotta figure out my stuff. It's like, no, I know exactly kind of where I stand and you can just move forward. Um But yeah, a couple stats that they put out from this article. And obviously, you know, real estate's hyper local. I mean, when we look at um even the data for central Ohio and the different markets in central Ohio, um, you know, days on market is going to vary pretty greatly um from you know zip code to zip code. But they but you know, Lenningtree, you know, it's they're trying to put out you know national statistics. So uh what I think is this ports over pretty well. Um it's it's said, you know, on average in January, newly listed homes um sit on the market for an average of 75 days um before going into contract, um, which is the slowest time of year. And then if you compare that from April to June, on average, um, you're looking at under 50 days. So, you know, that's a huge swing in days on market. And then if we just think about the psychology of that situation and kind of who holds the cards when a home is sitting on the market for 75 days versus, you know, for a third of that time or two-thirds of that time, uh, once again, as a home buyer, you're gonna you're gonna hold the cards um in those scenarios. Um, and that can look like, you know, um negotiating on when you're gonna take possession, price, closing costs, rate buy downs, all kinds of stuff that can really make uh maybe a home that wasn't affordable before all of a sudden affordable. So um, yeah, I don't, you know, if if anyone if if people are trying to tell you that there's no deal to be had um as a home buyer, I I I don't think that's accurate. I think there's a lot of opportunities. Um and to your point, um, with some of your sellers, I'm I'm I'm sure they wouldn't they would definitely invite you know a buyer to come in with a with a creative option or creative offer, right? So um so yeah, so I I think it's a great time um that we're heading into for home buyers. And if that's that's you and you're interested, um, yeah, I would get the process started sooner rather than later.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I totally agree. Yeah, with sellers, I'm just letting them know, like, hey, things are sitting and you know, it's not so it used to be so easy to list a house and within you know the first week, you would know if you had priced it incorrectly, either, you know, like if you had priced it too high. And uh because then you know no one was coming to see it. Uh, you know, if someone was, they were given the feedback that it was, you know, just priced too high or whatever. Um, you know, or if you were getting zero showing requests, then you know, you could tell. But now, like there, that isn't true. You know, your house could be priced perfectly and there it's just a just a slower market. I think a lot of it has to do with, you know, the the volatility around uh, you know, our government and just with every, you know, you can't you can't predict anything. Not that we could predict it if we had a you know a different government at this point, but um, you know, there's just so much out there that is, you know, just up in the air that it makes it very difficult, you know, for people to to pull the trigger and be like, yep, it's time for me to, you know, buy the house. Or like, you know, they're like, well, what if I lose my job? Or what if, you know, like there's so much out there and this is just a weird, a weird market. So, you know, it's still very much a seller's market because we don't have enough inventory out there. So if you're going by the traditional rules of sellers and buyer's market, we still don't have enough out there for it to be uh, you know, a mixed market or a buyer's market. But um, you know, because if we have way too much out there, then it definitely turns into a buyer's market. But I will say it's feeling more and more like a hybrid where it's more of a buyer's market, even though traditionally it's considered still a seller's market. Buyers are able to go in and ask for um, you know, for like the two one buy down where the seller pays, you know, for their rate to be lowered, two percentage points the first year, one percentage point the second year, and then the third year on, you know, you're kind of locked into whatever rate, you know, the 6.25 or whatever it is that you qualified for. So that's a great savings versus just asking them to take, you know,$10,000 off the price or whatever. You would end up saving more if you had them buy down your rate. So, you know, there's definitely more creative things that buyers can do now in this market uh versus whenever it's a true seller's market, like back, you know, in 2020, 2021, whenever, you know, you couldn't ask for anything. Like you better be waiving all contingencies, just you know, giving away the farm, you know, to be able to purchase this house or sell. Um, you know, I think that uh, you know, to your point, like now is the right time for buyers if they're thinking about it, because you know, there is so much flexibility for them.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you think I'm I'm curious, um, when you're when you're working with sellers and potentially listing their house, especially this time of year, um, and I know you're a very data-driven person, and so you're, you know, you're you're looking at the market that they're in and kind of what's going on and um, you know, the days on hand, like the typical days on hand, especially for homes that are similar to theirs. If you're if you know that right now, homes in a specific zip code that you're gonna be able to sing a home at are sitting a little bit longer, um I from an expectation standpoint, you know, um what what what would you like if you were trying to set appropriate expectations with a seller? I mean, like how how how would you do that? And kind of what it if if someone's listening to this and they're thinking, hey, I want to sell my home and you know, my my neighbor, you know, two streets over, their house has been on the market for a month and a half, you know, what would you how how would you kind of help them understand, like, hey, here's here's what you're gonna be walking into, and here's some of the things I think you should consider. Um, because I I love what you talked about with, you know, being creative with like things like two-on-by-downs. And I think it might be sense that I want to hear your answer, is you know, if if from the beginning sellers can be open to different ideas about what they may end up needing to do to get their house in contract, I think if they if they can accept that from the beginning, it's gonna be less, less painful um in the middle of the process. Um, so just just curious, you know, uh how you know, if if you were talking to a seller right now in that situation, kind of how would you help set appropriate expectations of them?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know, to your point, um, what you said earlier when talking with buyers, you know, it's really just figuring out what their uh, you know, what what's their motivation to sell? Um, you know, have they found a place that they just absolutely love? Uh are they downsizers? Can they no longer afford their house? Can uh, you know, did their uh did they add to their family? You know, so now they need a bigger house. And, you know, like so there's so many different things to just kind of understand like why they're selling. And so then, you know, and then I just let them know, like, hey, here's the data from your neighborhood. You know, nothing has sold uh in your neighborhood in the last, you know, three months. Uh, or, you know, I don't go further back. Six months is about the most I'll go back. But in this market, really, like, you know, three months uh is probably the best to give them the best picture of what we're looking at. And then I'll show them, like, you know, look, this house is, you know, like it doesn't have very much update. Uh it's been sitting in the market for, you know, 75 days, whatever. Um, so let's take that into consideration. Let's look at your house. Um, you know, just because your neighbor sold last year uh for top dollar doesn't mean that you're gonna sell for top dollar right now. It's just, you know, you might maybe, you know, maybe you updated every single port, you know, like every single thing in your house, like everything's been touched and everything's been updated. Then, you know, yeah, there is a greater chance because again, buyers get the option to be choosy and they would much rather have a house that they can walk into that's been fully updated and, you know, and they will pay more for that. But let's say that you're in a situation where you're like, hey, like I can't afford to do anything to this house. I also just need to get out. Um, you know, and in that situation, then I'm like, okay, well, then here's where we should probably price it. And it may not be where they want it to. Um, you know, and ultimately it's up to the seller to decide. You know, they can say, hey, I saw your data, screw that. I'm still, I still want to, you know, I still want to lose my house if this is a high number. And I'm like, I mean, we can, but like realistically, it's likely not going to sell at that. But if that's truly, you know, like if you need to learn the hard way, sure, let's do it, you know. Um, because I I'm not here to talk someone into, you know, or out of what they what they want to do because it's their their house, but I am here to guide, give all of the information. And if I've given you all the information and you still are like screw that, okay. That's on you. But yeah, but I I just always try to let them know, like, hey, look, on average, houses are, you know, here in central Ohio, like, you know, there are still some areas that literally you list a house and it's in contract within the first few days. So that's great. But most areas here in central Ohio, you know, like it's on average, it's like 50 days right now. Um so you know, it just, and that's not to say that yours wouldn't sell faster. It might, you know, but again, depending on how your circumstances and how fast you need to get rid of it uh and get moving to your next, you know, destination, uh, you know, we may be doing um price improvements more often than you know, than out anybody else out there just because. You know, a lot of times people are like, hey, you know, even though my house has been sitting here, I'm not willing to go below this. And, you know, that's fine. They still may end up selling it, but it may end up being, you know, 80 days, 90 days, 100 days in.

SPEAKER_00:

So Yeah. No, I you know, I'm not selling my house today, but if I if I were, I may I I definitely would rather have, you know, Sarah Tress who's telling me the truth versus, you know, Joe Schmoe, real estate person who is just gonna do um what I want to hear. Right. Um, and so I I think that's I think that's key too. I mean, if I was selling my house today and you're someone who's thinking about selling your house is, you know, make sure you're working with a realtor who's not afraid to tell you what's actually going on, right? If if they're just nodding their head at everything you say, you know, um, I I would look for someone who's who's gonna who's gonna use real data to help inform the the decision about how to market your home. Um because that will that will self-aster for hire versus you know someone who just is just you know shooting in the dark. So it's really, I think because it because this sounds like you know, it's it's so interesting. As long as we were doing this podcast like three years ago, it was like, hey, we're really trying to, you know, keep our buyers motivated. And now it's a little bit reverse, like, hey, we gotta keep our sellers motivated, right? Because it, you know, things like things can change and they will always change. Um, but I you know, when I I was talking with someone else the other day, like, I was like, hey, this is a reminder, man, you know, you bought this house in 2017. Um 2020, 21, 22. Like you had double digit appreciation those years. Um so yeah, like in 2025, did your house appreciate for 15% like it did in 2021? No. But like on the whole, over time, like sellers who sell today who have been in their home for a reasonable amount of time, like they're they're making money. Um, right. I mean, there are some of those unfortunate situations, you know, where someone, you know, is moving in and out really quickly, and that, you know, may not be ideal, but by and large, you know, real estate prices are stubbornly strong and they continue to go up. So, you know, I because like you know, people say, oh, hey, I see these price price reductions on Zillow. It means housing market crashing or prices coming down. That's not what's happening. I mean, we are seeing home home values, you know, home from from where they're listed to where they go in a contract for, you know, in in a handful of scenarios be less. But if we look at the value of that home over time, the value of that home has gone up. And so I just think that that's the reminder is that just because we're seeing prices be reduced from where they originally listed, that doesn't mean that housing overall is slipping backwards. It's quite the opposite. Trust me. Ask anyone who's trying to buy a house today versus five years ago. So it's you know, housing prices are still strong, they're still going up over time.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, no, absolutely. And I think that um that reminded me of another uh thing. I had a uh seller the other day reach out and they're like, hey, I got something in the mail that told me that my house is, you know, uh gone up in value. Uh so you know, I want to go ahead and sell. And, you know, they've only been there for a couple of years. And uh, you know, and so I said, okay, great. Like, let me look at it. Well, you know, where this person is, nothing has sold in over a year in that area. So finding like a true comp is very difficult. So I had to open it up to the zip code with, you know, um similar properties with the same uh bedroom, same bathroom, same square footage in that zip code, um, which also, you know, can give you a good picture, but it's still not a crystal ball. So, you know, I was like looking at those, you know, those houses are now selling for less than what yours is selling for. Now I'm not telling you that we couldn't list it for, you know, for around what you paid for it, but uh, you know, unfortunately, like I don't have a crystal ball. So, and they're like, well, but I got this thing in the mail. And I'm like, well, I'm I'm real glad you got that thing in the mail. But, you know, the biggest thing that I always try and let sellers know is that a house is worth what someone's willing to pay for it. Like, yeah, it doesn't matter what you list it for, it doesn't matter what Zillow tells you, it doesn't matter what, you know, an appraiser tells you that it's worth, it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. So even though you may think that it is the most amazing piece of property you've ever lived in in your entire life and someone should be spending millions on buying it. If someone else that's ready to buy doesn't see that that value, then it's not going to sell at the price that you think it should sell for. So 100%. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Brendan, thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it. Um, as always, you gave some amazing advice and made things um make sense. So uh, and if you're listening to this and you are a first-time homebuyer and you are still thinking, holy crap, I don't even know where to start. Uh, Brendan and I have created a uh a master class where you are able to log in at any time it's free. Uh, and there's the link in the show notes, but also uh you can go to my social media pages and there's always a link there. Um but again, I'll make sure that it's in the show notes. But uh that class literally walks you through what goes into getting ready to be a homeowner, um, what goes into credit, um, you know, all the super fun things, but it's on a recording, so you can go back and watch it as many times as you want to make sure that it makes sense for you. And then obviously you can always reach out to either one of us uh with questions. All our information is in the show notes, so you can reach out at any time. Uh, and like I said, you definitely want to be following Brendan Bland's social media uh because he brings some really good information in a really uh you know humorous way, or at least, you know, he makes it as fun as you possibly can make mortgage.

SPEAKER_00:

Fun as you can. As fun as you can. That's always for my home buyers. It's like I'm gonna make it as fun as possible to borrow a few hundred thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_01:

So yes, exactly. But yeah, like I said, uh click on that uh if you're interested. Uh it's free. And uh, you know, we're always here to answer questions. And definitely if you enjoyed this episode, make sure that you leave a review. Five star uh review would be amazing. Um, you know, rate and review, and then share it uh with anyone that you think might be interested in this information. So thanks so much for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on Come to Find Out.