Real Estate Agent Glennda Baker on Finding Deals in This Market, Why Divorce Can Leave You “House Poor,” and the $47 Trillion Reason You Can't Buy a Home Right Now

25:04Why are they going to be taxed on it? That doesn't make any sense. Like I've already paid all the taxes. Like why do that? So if you put it in a trust and they're the beneficiary and you leave it there, then you don't have to worry about that taxable, that taxable, that taxable event going through probate. Exactly. And on top of that, have a very honest discussion with your children. I sat Victoria and Lucas down and I said, this is what I have done because there's, there's multiple properties. And I, and I said, this is what I have done. You're getting this one. you're getting this one you're getting this you're getting this and the reason that i'm doing this is because of x because i don't ever want there to be a rift in between my children and that sit talk openly to your children about money talk open if you don't have kids talk to your siblings Talk to your partner.

26:03You need, everybody needs to understand what the expectation is of the other person. Because you think about it. If me and you were in a relationship and you think, oh, if Glenda passes away, I'm going to get 123 Banana Street and I leave it to Victoria and Lucas. You're mad at me and you're mad at them. And you think, well, I lived here and I helped and I contributed this money. So before you and I buy 123 Banana Street, let's have a conversation. Let me say, hey, Nicole, like, look, I'm going to put this much into it. I'm going to have this 50 percent, this 70 percent, this 30 percent. I want that percentage to go into my trust for my kids.

26:46Nicole Lapin:And I think, look, people, as you said, have the best intentions and sometimes don't act in the best way that makes sense to fulfill those intentions. The path to hell is always paved with good intentions, as we know. A lot of families will put the house in the kid's name, thinking that's the right thing to do, thinking that's the intention. I want the kids to have the house. So that isn't that a good thing. but what ends up happening is they go sell the house and they're going to have to pay capital gains taxes if you put it in a trust instead you get this step up in basis you avoid probate and so i think the education around what those intentions are is what you're helping hopefully i'm helping to do to actually get people to act in accordance with those intentions in the law well absolutely and putting the house in your kid's name think about it if i put the house in Victoria's name and then Victoria and her husband go through a divorce, then that house is part of the marital property.

27:48With that house in a trust, then that person, that spouse has no claim to that because they're a renter in that house. And so that's the thing is that, and you know, and I'll be honest with you, I know I'm conservative. Like I like to have my money, I like to look at it. If I want to buy a house, I want the money to go buy the house, do whatever renovations. I know that about myself. And, you know, I made a video about rather than contributing to a 529, go buy an investment property. Because especially in today's world, you have a child. If you don't go buy a house today for your child, the likelihood that your child will be able to afford a house when they're ready to buy is probably going to be slim to none.

28:38And so I made a video and I said, hey, if your kid is five years old, four years old, six years old, go buy a house, make it an investment property, put it in a trust, make your kid the beneficiary. If they want to go to college, you can take a home equity line of credit out of that. If you don't have it paid for, you paid down equity over the last 14, 12, 10 years. Then if they go to college, who knows? Do you honestly even think there's going to be college for your child? Like, do you even think that the education system is going to be the same? I mean, hello. Like, if there isn't something that you can't Google, you can damn sure AI chat GPT it.

29:17So that's the thing is like, where is the education system going? And is the 529 where you want to put it? To me, I can see the house at 123 Banana Street. And then if Lucas doesn't want the house at 123 Banana Street, he can sell it. He can rent it out. He can live in it. He can do whatever he wants to do with it. It's not in some account and it's appreciated. It's a cash flow item. It's an investment. And I went toe to toe with Dave Ramsey's daughter about this. And she's like, who's this woman think she is? This is the most, this is the worst advice ever. Well, excuse me. I'm not living in a$15 million house in Nashville, Tennessee, ma 'am.

29:57Like I sell houses to the regular Bobby and Susie. Like I, my people, they need to be able to create generational wealth through real estate. we're not living off of our daddy's trust fund so and that's what makes my head spin around snot fly to my nose is a lot of the people that give advice give advice for people that are rich like i wasn't rich when i started i'm not rich now i'm doing everything that i can to build generational wealth not only for my kids but for my grandkids and for generations to come and that is critical to me and i and i think that it is especially important for women to do that because you don't know if someone else is going to be there to help you take care of your kids.

30:39Nicole Lapin:Advice for sure is absolutely different when you come from that privilege. And I oftentimes, and we can get into this because the math is clear, investing in the stock market will yield more over time than the housing market, but it's not tangible for a lot of people. A lot of people don't feel like they can get into the stock market and the housing and 123 Banana Street is something that you can grasp and understand and hold on to. And that is how a lot of people do build generational wealth. The last time I checked, you can't live in a stock certificate, number one. Number two, if you bought a$300 ,000 house and you put$10 ,000 down, you invested$30 ,000.

31:22If you held that$300 ,000 house over 20 years, that house is probably now worth$900 ,000. That's a$600 ,000 gain on a$30 ,000 investment, not a$300 ,000 investment, because you only put down 10%. So when people talk to me about, oh, but Glenda, the stock market is a better return on investment. I understand that. Stocks are not my primary tool because I know that 123 Banana Street is going to be there. And all of those people that invested in Blockbuster damn sure thought that it was going to be there. All those people that invested in Kodak and Xerox all thought that that was going to be there.

32:08123 Banana Street is going to be there come hell or high water. And if it's not, it's insured.

32:15Nicole Lapin:that's a whole other podcast we have uh speaking of some of what people have seen from your videos uh a game called tiktok trend or truth okay if you could pull out some of these big tiktok trends oh my gosh i can't date and then either tell us if it's a trend or if it's actually truth we play this with barbara corcoran too you can get a home before it hits the market by writing a letter to the current owner all day, every day, and twice on Sunday. Barbara did this to get one of her houses. Oh, my stars and stripes. So the house that I just, grandma's house that I just bought, I bought off market.

32:54Like, I mean, literally. I mean, that's the thing that, I mean, people do not realize, like, if you give a compelling story to the owner, you never know where they are. This lady is one step into the nursing home. And so that's the thing is like people buy and sell real estate 365 days a year, no matter what the market. Death, divorce, disability, distance. I mean, there's so many reasons that people buy and sell real estate. So, yes, you can buy off market all day, every day and twice on Sunday. I get to do another one.

33:28Nicole Lapin:Yeah, there's a bunch in there. Oh, my God. I'm so excited. I love games. I love games. I took my kids on a game weekend to Lake Oconee and we played games all weekend. And I won every game except for spoons and Nikki won spoons. But we had so much fun. And Lucas was like maybe 12 or 14 years old. And he was like, mom, he's like, do you really think that you should just absolutely hammer us in every game? I'm like, yeah. Well, look, there's a whole other game you can take. Yeah, I love this. This is so awesome. Okay, take out a HELOC and use it to put a down payment on your next home. Well, I'll be honest with you.

34:06We have Francis that's done that. We have Kevin that's done that. Thank goodness that Kevin did that because you won't believe this. Sit down and grasp tightly. Kevin, I said to him, I said, look, I know you don't need to sell to buy, but why don't you just go ahead and take out a HELOC? If you need it, you've got it. and then just worst case scenario, you never know what might happen. His house flooded. There was like a sprinkler malfunction. And had he not taken out that HELOC, we couldn't put it on the market to sell it because it had been flooded. So him taking out that HELOC gave him the down payment for the next house without us having to sell it and without putting him in a crunch position.

34:52So yes, you can. Yeah, it's truth. If you're buying an investment property, buy it through an LLC all day, every day, and twice on Sunday. And don't use one LLC. So I have 123 Banana Street, LLC. 125 Banana Street, LLC. 127 Banana Street, LLC. I have every single thing in a separate LLC in a separate account. And the reason that I do that is, number one, it protects each house. If Bobby or Susie falls at 123 Banana Street, then they're not attaching multiple houses to it, number one. Number two, it keeps all the accounting very, very good. All of the expenses, all the money comes in and all the money goes out.

35:32It's just very crisp for your money. Can we hear another one? Yeah. Oh, my gosh. This is so fun. I love this and I love this little pouch. A mortgage broker can help you buy a house if you have poor credit or a wonky financial situation. Okay, so look, let's be honest, because everybody's not. There was a mortgage broker in Atlanta that really catered to the Hispanic community. And they had, you know, one case in particular that I knew of, which there were hundreds like this, hence the fact that he's no longer a mortgage broker. But he had gotten people into houses and was charging them like 21 % interest.

36:20Nicole Lapin:That's not typical because traditionally mortgage brokers or insurance brokers are paid by the financial companies. Correct. But he was doing some things that were very off the books. He was really doing hard money lending because their financial situation really did not put them in a position to purchase. And again, even myself, I remember after I went through the divorce with Victoria's father, I had had to file bankruptcy. I hadn't paid my bills. I had a secured credit card. I couldn't even get a credit card. and because I was so embarrassed about my financial situation I didn't talk to the right people to help me clean it up to help me get it straightened out and I fell victim to one of those car loans that was very high interest predatory very predatory and a lot of people are embarrassed or are shameful.

37:30Look, first off, find somebody that you can sit down with and be honest with that is reputable and tell them what your situation is so that they can give you the steps to help yourself before somebody takes advantage of you.

37:46Nicole Lapin:Okay, so it's true to work with a mortgage broker if they're not charging hidden fees. Correct. If you're really clear. I work with a mortgage broker. He's my absolute favorite and I love him and I send him all my clients and I love him because he has the ability to look at a lot of different loan products. He's not, he's like your big box lender, like ABC bank, like, you know, they have a very defined, um, program that they can provide for you. Whereas a mortgage broker has the ability to look at a lot of different people and a lot of different things and a lot of different sources. The most important thing is you want to use somebody that's reputable.

38:24Okay. So truth with a caveat. 70 % of Gen Zers would buy a house with someone other than a romantic partner. Is this a good idea to go splitsies on a house with your friends? No, I don't think it's a good idea. I just don't think it's a good idea. That's probably me being too conservative. You know what? I mean, I think about like Lucas and Jack. Like they're best friends. They've been best friends forever. You know, do I want Lucas to get into a financial situation with Jack? you know I'm probably too conservative to say yes but it probably might not be a bad idea but again I go back to everything should be in writing so everybody understands the rules of the game where they are on the playing field and what if Jack got married and that girl didn't like Lucas and she started creating a problem there's never a problem until there's a problem and when there's a problem, it's usually a big ass problem.

39:24It's a no for you, dog. It's a no for me, but that's probably because I'm old.

39:29Nicole Lapin:Do you think people are better off renting or buying in this market? And not everybody should buy. Right. Not everybody should buy. To be clear. Yeah. Buying is for some people, if it makes sense for your situation. So, you know, oftentimes, I'm sure you get asked, is this a good time to buy? I always add, like, for me, is this a good to buy for my family yeah not in general what is your strategy what is your goal what is your motivation to buy that that really should dictate if you should buy okay because you think about it you're 27 years old you just started a job at Pricewaterhouse or Ernst & Young the likelihood that you're going to stay in Atlanta for the rest of your life probably slim to none do you really want to own a condo in a high rise in Atlanta, Georgia, that literally it'd be easier to like pull teeth out of a snake than it would be to sell that thing.

40:28So, and this is the thing is like, I always tell people the most important thing when you are buying is the best time to think about selling. So when you are going to buy one, two, three banana street and you're like, Glenda, I love 123 Banana Street. This is the house for me. I want you to think about if we had to sell it today, how easily could I sell it today?

40:53Nicole Lapin:It's important to keep in mind that you need to typically stay in a house for five to seven years. Nobody does that anymore. To break even, you know, after transaction costs and all that because mortgage interest is, of course, front loaded. So you're paying interest for five to seven years before you're touching that principle. And if you're talking in your example about younger people who are maybe not going to stay in Atlanta, it's probably good for them to rent. Well, you look at Owen. Owen bought 18 months ago. He thinks he's going to be in Atlanta because the movie industry is in Atlanta.

41:26He is lighting for all of the movie industry. And now the movie industry in Atlanta is not going great. And where is he going? He's going to L.A. And what's he doing? We just put his condo on the market for sale. And are you right? Is he going to take a loss all day, every day, and twice on Sunday? Was it the best time for him to buy at the time that he bought? It was because he thought he was going to stay in Atlanta. But, you know, who knows what's going to happen, especially at that period of your life. And then, you know, I look at people like that are my age. Well, the boomers are the worst because they've got$47 trillion in equity that they're sitting on.

42:09I want those people to go rent, go rent at some luxury 55 and older place and get out of your house so we can have that transference of the real estate industry. I mean, do you understand there is$47 trillion in equity that is being sat on and not moving? It is literally just sitting there. And so that's why I can't find Bobby and Susie a house.

42:36Nicole Lapin:I mean, is it a myth that there are starter homes in this market? You're in L.A. Give me a break. Like, a starter home here, you couldn't buy a hut here for$500 ,000. Like, the driveway, your driveway's probably worth more than$500 ,000. And that's the thing is, like, can you find a starter home? And this is what just makes me insane with Bobby and Susie, is that Bobby and Susie think that they need to live in a$700 ,000 house, but they only have$500 ,000. Like, you don't need to live in some fancy-ass house. Like, you think about, like, when my generation bought their first house, it was a little tiny house.

43:25Like, now, Bobby and Susie don't want a little tiny house. They want 3 ,000 square feet. They want a two-car garage. They want a fenced backyard. Like, you need to adjust your expectation for the lifestyle that you're living and stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. Because this is the thing, is literally, if you bought small and stayed there two years, you could flip out of that, keep that as an investment property, and then buy your$700 ,000 house, and then you'd have a million dollars in real estate. Like, do you get that? Like, no, they don't think that. They want to keep up with the Joneses.

44:00They want to have Joni and Johnny over for dinner on Friday night to their$700 ,000 house. And they're poor as a damn church mouse.

44:09Nicole Lapin:Jason Oppenheim was here, I think, last week. And he was saying the same thing, that we're not comparing exactly apples to apples for the previous generation. So what does your budget need to be, do you say? Well, whatever is your budget, it needs to not make you house poor. like this is the thing is you if you go to a lender and the lender says oh you can afford three thousand dollars a month what you don't understand is that the air conditioner when it goes out is seven thousand dollars that when the roof on a on on a five hundred thousand dollar house if you need a new roof it's fifteen thousand dollars like if there's problem with the air conditioner there's problem with the plumbing the dishwasher the refrigerator leaks like do you like get?

44:54Like how much it costs to keep that up? How much does it cost to heat and cool it? How much are the property taxes going to go up? You bought grandma's house. When you bought grandma's house, the tax assessment was$200 ,000. You paid$500 ,000 for it. Her taxes, because she was 65 years old, are$871 a year. Your taxes are$6 ,000 a year. Are you budgeting for every single thing that it's going to cost you to live in that house? So what is the price range that you need to be? In my opinion, you honestly need to be 20%. Your payment needs to be 20 % of your monthly income, period, bottom line. That gives you plenty of room if something goes wrong.

45:35Because what they would say, what your lender is going to say is, you could buy up to 28 % to 32 % of what your monthly income is. Well, you shouldn't buy up to 28 % to 32%. Because if you do, you leave no room for insurance and taxes to go up. And you can't turn on the heat and it'll get cold in Atlanta. You can't turn on the air conditioning because it's going to get hot in L.A. Like, you need to think through all of the cost.

45:57Nicole Lapin:All of the cost. The total cost to own. The total cost to own isn't the$3 ,000 mortgage payment. And that's what you think. Forget about insurance. Oh, my stars and stripes. I mean, my insurance, you can't even imagine. My insurance went from$34 ,000 to$52 ,000 to$7 ,500 over the last three years. I haven't even had a claim. Yeah. I haven't even had a claim. It's insane. But that's why when people say renting is throwing away money, I always disagree. Because when you're buying, you're throwing away money. You're not going to get a lot of these fees back. Homeowners Association, property taxes, interest payments.

46:38And renting is not always bad. It depends on where you are in your life. Where are you in your life cycle? What are your goals? Like this is the thing is if you travel a lot and you know, you're 27 to 32 years old and you're traveling a lot. Do you want to be, you know, having to take care of one, two, three banana street. If you're 65 years old and you're going on a three month cruise, do you want to be stuck in some 8000 square foot mausoleum that you don't even use half of anymore? Because your kids are grown and gone and your grandkids aren't coming to visit you because they live in Montana.

47:14I think you bring up a really interesting point is to play out what that lifestyle looks like.

47:19Nicole Lapin:Play out all the scenarios. Even when you're investing in real estate, investing in real estate is not the same as the house that you're living in, of course, because you're trying to have an income producing property and have cash flow. But that cash flow is not free. And all of a sudden now, if you rent out a house, which is a, you know, a tick tock thing that everybody is talking about, you now have to service the toilet if it breaks. You have to deal with people that might not pay rent on time or whatever else. There's just a lot of other factors than the glitz. Tenants can be difficult. I mean, they can be difficult.

47:54Number one, I mean, we had a shower that needed to be replaced. Okay. Well, we don't want to be displaced. You know, this is our busy season. We don't want you to come in and fix it. And now, well, you can only, the house has three bathrooms. one bathroom the shower needs to be replaced like i need to get in and do it to for your safety and to preserve the safety of the house and you don't want me to come in and do it and then you want me to put you in a you know zillion dollar rental for the eight days that my guy is there i mean it's just like and then you go to put it back on the market and you know who knows how they've kept it we've got a client right now that wants to sell their rental and the people are living in there like my god like hoarders so like i can't show it i got to get the people out so you and that's the thing is a lot to think about and when you're buying a rental you know oh these short-term rentals airbnb arbitrage like oh you can make all this money because the world cup's coming and the olympics are coming and you're going to make a zillion dollars on your on your short-term rental no matter what you are purchasing as an investment you need to look at it three different ways Number one, what does it look like as a short-term rental?

49:11What are the county and city ordinances? How likely are they going to change? Is there an HOA? Who has the ability to limit what you can do with the property? You need to understand that. Long-term rental. What is it going to yield you as a long-term rental? And what is the likelihood that you're going to be able to use it as a long-term rental? Are people really going to rent in that area? And then if you had to sell it tomorrow, how easy is that product to sell? So I tell every single person that I sell an investment property to look at it as a short term rental, a long term rental. And if you had to sell it tomorrow, could you sell it?

49:51That's the way I want you to think about investments all day, every day and twice on Sunday.

49:55Nicole Lapin:Where would you invest in real estate right now? So I personally think that the best place to invest is the South. because I think that the weather is good. I think the cost of housing down there is still affordable. I love Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia. I love that pocket. Why? Because I know more about it, maybe, but also because a lot of people are moving in that area. Taxes are favorable. Insurance costs, you're not close to like, as long as you're not on the coast, you're not close to like a hurricane or flood or anything like that. But if you can get somewhere, number one, that is affordable.

50:38When I say affordable, I'm talking$200 ,000 to$400 ,000. Something that you could rent or that you could sell easily if you needed to. And something where the insurance cost or the tax basis is not unreasonable. And those two things are the biggest variables right now for people looking to invest in real estate. In Florida, between HOAs and insurance, I understand that people are like, oh, Florida's a great place to invest. To me, there's too many factors that could really change very quickly. And think about the OnlyFans tax. I just saw that in a video, that if you are on OnlyFans, they're going to take 50 % of your income as taxes.

51:22I mean, Sophie Raines, she needs to move to Atlanta. And if she needs a real estate agent, I can help her with that. Like, I'm just telling you right now. I mean, think about you made$53 million last year and they're going to tax you 50 % because it was on OnlyFans. That's completely and totally ridiculous. You're open for OnlyFans business, Glenda. I'm telling you right now, if I could make$53 million, I'd be the most recognized tits and ass in real estate on OnlyFans. I'm telling you, I don't criticize anybody's business model. Whatever is your business model is your business model. Praise the Lord and pass the money.

51:56I don't begrudge anybody an opportunity to make money as long as they are making an honest living and not hurting somebody else. But you think about Jason Tatum. You think about Jalen Brown. You think about some of these athletes and what their body goes through. And here's Sophie Rain who put out 195 pieces of content, 41 videos, and made$53 million. dollars I want to know what's the secret to her damn success I mean I know that there's a lot of skin showing but I mean 53 million dollars I mean I think I should charge you 49.99 to respond to

52:31Nicole Lapin:your DM too so do you think there's going to be a big exodus from Florida of only fans and you want to take their business come to Atlanta we would welcome you hell we have magic city Monday we We love a scandal in Atlanta. I think there is a big debate, too, about this affordability crisis. So I'm glad that you underscored getting something affordable. Of course, that's different for everybody. But what do you think about the affordability crisis debate? And I know you have some thoughts about private equity's role in this. Don't even get me started on private equity because my head will spin around, it's not a fly out of my nose, because Atlanta is an area that has been really hard hit.

53:10People say, oh, well, Glenda, it was only 23 % of the homes that were sold were sold to private equity in 2025. Excuse me, 61 % of zero to 500 ,000 sold to private equity. And my biggest concern with private equity is how they come up with the valuation. So are they self-valuing these properties? Are they getting an appraisal on them? are they taking the loss or are they augmenting the pricing it depends on what they want to do with the portfolio to me anytime that one entity owns 18 000 units in an area that is a big damn

53:50Nicole Lapin:problem well also then you control the comp so the way to price your house is understanding the comp of the market right but then you own the whole market yeah so i mean literally you paid three hundred thousand dollars for it for it and then you sell it to your private equity for five hundred thousand like hello like in in make that make sense to me it just i you're never ever going to convince me that private equity owning um that much of the housing market doesn't keep bobby and suzy on the hamster wheel and create a renter nation for the rest of their life you're there isn't any argument that you're you'll ever be able to come to me with because i have seen in real life from the front row that Bobby and Susie are outbid on zero to 500 ,000 everyday houses in Atlanta, Georgia, because private equity comes in and buys them as is and pays cash.

54:47So that is definitely very, very near and dear to my heart. Now, affordability. I think that it is critical that people understand affordability. You go back to Bobby and Susie that have a beer budget and champagne taste. Are we really having an affordability issue or are Bobby and Susie spending$7 at Starbucks every single day? Because you think about it, I wasn't spending$7 at Starbucks every single day when I was looking to buy a house. So have their expectations changed and have their lifestyle change? And is that why the housing is not affordable? I don't think that's as much the case as I think that wages have not gone up enough equal to what the housing market has.

55:34The housing market has, in my opinion, and I'm a real estate agent, is falsely augmented. I think that people paid more than houses were worth to get the house and they had the money. You think about people who moved from California people who moved from the Northeast, especially during COVID, nothing did more for Atlanta appreciation than the California buyer because you cashed out here with Monopoly money. I mean, you think about it. I had somebody come from Huntington Beach that sold a 1 ,400-square-foot, $2 million house and bought a 7 ,000-square-foot on an acre for$1.4 million in Atlanta.

56:15So they're living large. And that's the difference is that, you know, you have run the pricing up. Wages haven't increased. I mean, eggs, butter, things that regular food that people need to have to eat have gone up so much. So I think that there's affordability across many levels that are challenges. But for me, I think that it is a multi-pronged approach that will help affordability. and that is what is the lifestyle what are you willing to give up to afford what you want that's that's really critical how are you going to live and are you willing to live in something that is not exactly what you want today so that you can get something better tomorrow yeah i think

57:06Nicole Lapin:there are definitely different prongs not all of them are weighted equally i think the yes you know you want to make sure that you are living below your means, especially if you're saving up for something big, I wouldn't blame the latte. I would for sure more blame the wage crisis. Well, it's wages, but think about social media. I mean, we all want to keep up with the Kardashians. Like, I want a Kris Jenner facelift. Like, I mean, hello? You don't need a Kris Jenner facelift, Glenda. I mean, but think about it. I mean, you're, especially our youth, like houses over handbags. Like really, I mean, I mean, we have a shirt that says stocks over stuff.

57:51That's the thing. It's like, I want you to think about every time that you buy that fancy pocketbook. Like, do you understand that the majority of Louis Vuitton pocketbooks are equal or more than a house payment? like really i want you to think about that you you can go today and you can buy a three thousand dollar pocketbook or you can make a house payment it's your choice which do you prefer are you going to be the little old lady who lived in a handbag i mean that's the thing is like and i think that you're exactly right wages have not kept up and yet social media you can't wear the same thing twice that's why i've got a closet full of star sweaters because i don't want everybody to see the same star sweater over and over again on social media so what are we teaching people is that you got to consume more consumables what are the richest companies in the world i mean my god that louis vuitton brand they're making more money than anybody people are holding on to their

58:56Nicole Lapin:mortgage rates as well yeah uh that's at 47 trillion dollars and so we've we've seen that phenomenon but you do say that there is turnover because of the four d's so what what are the four d's so there's death divorce diamonds diapers distance downsizing and disability oh there's 70s there's 70s okay and you really i mean you really think about like desperation you could really put desperation to make it eight but you think about it and you and people say diapers well if if you have a kid and you're living in a one-bedroom condo you probably need to move or I hate to say this if you're 85 years old and you're going into diapers you probably need to be going into assisted living so diapers get you coming and going I mean diamonds you get married you want to buy a house you get divorced you got to sell a house I mean you think about it you got too much debt you can't afford to the landscaper the pool guy you can't afford the taxes the insurance debt and distance like you want to be closer to your grandkids like you need to be closer to your parents disability like you can't go up and down the stairs anymore you need a primary bedroom on the main downsizing you're living in an 8 000 square foot house it's just you and your husband your kids already grown do you really need that and so in desperation like how desperate are you do you really want to be an owner right now or would you rather be a renter so I mean we we people buy and sell real estate 365 days a year because of the d's of real estate I can go through all 18 closings that I had in March and I can give you a d for the reason that those people sold and I can and I could go through the 11 listings that I've got coming same exact thing people buy and sell real estate all of the time it's really good framework and I I love alliteration.

1:00:48Nicole Lapin:Nationally, there are nearly 50 % more buyers, according to Redfin. They say it's a buyer's market. Do you agree? I think that it's a buyer's market. It depends on what the market is. It depends on what the product is. um it's interesting that we have seen more deals fall through in atlanta in q1 than ever before that we've been keeping statistics yeah why they think that they paid too much they wanted to renegotiate on inspection they didn't really love it and they found something that they liked better there's people people have a tender mentality with housing because they think that if they continue to swipe that there's something better coming and it is and zillow has really made people think that there is an endless supply of houses because you just oh i can just swipe on that one because there's another house that i like better and really i think that that is just a mental state that people are kidding themselves.

1:01:59Because if you can't be satisfied, are you ever going to find the right house? Like, I mean, we've got somebody right now, we're under contract on a house. I think they're getting a screaming great deal. They're getting a phenomenal deal. And they're trying to get$11 ,000 more out of the seller. And are they going to lose the house? Yeah, probably. and they won't ever be able to get that house again for what they're under contract for. But the house is under contract, right? So it's showing in the MLS that it's under contract. So the buyer comes back to me and says, well, Glenda, if your people don't give$11 ,000, you're going to have to put it back on the market.

1:02:39So she's really trying to bully me into talking my seller into taking it Because is the stigma of going back on the market going to play in her favor or the favor of the seller? It's going to play in her favor all day, every day, and twice on Sunday. So that's the thing is you've really got to think through strategically, manage people's expectation. And we told her, look, you're kicking the shit out of us on the front. You can't do it again on the back. And if you manage the expectations better on the front, I think that it gets people to the closing table. But I mean, you think about it. In 2021, I had two deals fall through.

1:03:22I've had two deals fall through in the last two weeks. The mentality of buyers and sellers. Sellers are like, oh, that's ridiculous. And I'm thinking to myself, your house has been on the market six months. You need to sell this house worse than you need to take your next breath. Like this person is the highest bidder. If you don't sell your house, you're the lucky winner. You get to keep it. Is that your goal? Like, I mean, at some point, you know, you need to figure out what is the motivation of each party.

1:03:52Nicole Lapin:Is it better to ask for that$11 ,000 off the purchase price or to ask for what? You always want closing costs because, and you think about it, this buyer is putting down 10%. So 10 % of$11 ,000 is nothing. But$11 ,000 in closing costs is real less money that she has to bring to closing. So you always, you all. This is such an important point. Say it again for the people in the back. 99.9 % of the time, you always want the seller to pay the closing costs because that is actual real dollars that stay in your pocket. If you took$11 ,000 off of the price, it is just the percentage that you're putting down.

1:04:40Nicole Lapin:And you're also lowering the value. Yeah, you're lowering the value and you're only lowering your payment$3. So that's the thing. The$11 ,000 is real money that you get to keep. It's tangible in your hands today. And what's the best way to make sure you get that? is that you put it in closing costs and that you put a special stipulation because usually closing costs are use it or lose it. So we just had a, we represent the seller, we just had a closing and they asked for$26 ,400 in seller closing costs for the buyer. Okay, their closing costs were$22 ,000. So they lost$4 ,000, lost it. Whereas if they had had a special stipulation put in that they could buy down the rate, if they had put a special stipulation in that it came off the price, if they put a special stipulation in that it could have been reimbursement for inspections, then that would have covered that.

1:05:43But they did not put in that key special stipulation. And that goes back to it matters who you work with. because you may think that your mother's brother's sister's best friend needs the business, but they may not know their head from a hole in the ground. And that's the thing is that costs that buyer$4 ,000. That's real money.

1:06:07Nicole Lapin:And on a$400 ,000 house. So, okay, exactly what should we be asking for? You want, so you want, you, you want to ask the seller to pay your closing costs. You want a special. And that happens a lot. Oh, yeah, especially in the everyday Bobby and Susie houses. You're buying a$5 million house, six in one, half a dozen in the other. $11 ,000 isn't going to be a drop in the bucket. It's a completely different thing in that price range. But you're talking about$0 to$700 ,000. $11 ,000 is$11 ,000. And so this is the thing. is that you want a special stipulation that says that if any of the closing costs go unused, that you can use them as a price reduction or as a reimbursement to any other costs or a buy down of the rate.

1:07:01That they can be used at the buyer's discretion for anything. Period. Bottom line. All day, every day, twice on Sunday.

1:07:11Nicole Lapin:Linda, we end all of our episodes by asking our guests for a final tip, money tip they can take straight to the bank. Don't buy based on emotion. Buy based on strategy. If you control your time, your money, and your emotions, you can control anything. Always buy based on strategy, not on emotion. Perfect. I'm taking it to the bank. And was there a time that you specifically needed money rehab? I mean, I think about when I had$44 and I was feeding my kids Panda Express. I think about all the money that I pissed away trying to impress other people. I think about that I was too embarrassed to be honest with myself, much less anybody else about my money.

1:08:03And I want to encourage people to educate themselves to understand the money yourself. Don't take anybody else's word for it, whether it is your partner or your spouse or your CPA. I want you to make sure that you understand firsthand where is your money and how is it working for you? And does this align with your strategy today, tomorrow, and next year?