SPEAKER_00 1:45

Welcome back to the Hilltop Glove Podcast. Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Robin Bryan. Robin is the founder of HH Mortgage LLC and HH Real Estate and Mortgage LLC, both based in Charleston, South Carolina. She is a 17-year veteran in the real estate industry with 11 years of mortgage experience. I like that veteran status in the What's saying that's that's that's pretty dope. Growing up in Charleston, Robin graduated from Webster University with a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in human resource management. Robin's passion for home ownership and affordable housing propelled her career in the real estate and mortgage industry. With a solid background in real estate sales, she possesses a profound understanding of the home buying process, providing valuable insights to her clients. As an independent mortgage broker, Robin boasts a strong network of lenders, enabling her to secure the best deals for consumers. Robin is dedicated to helping homeowners achieve their financial goals while ensuring that the mortgage process remains as smooth and stress-free as possible. She strives to deliver exceptional customer service, consistently exceeding her clients' expectations. As the owner of HH Real Estate and Mortgage, Robin serves as a vital resource for minorities and underserved communities within South Carolina's real estate and mortgage industry. Stay tuned as we dive into the ins and outs of buying a house with valuable insights from Robin Bryant. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_04 3:17

I am wonderful. How are you?

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Man, I'm awesome, man. I'm pumped. I'm ready to go. Excited. Yes, hey, that's you. You did all that. You did all that. I like the fact that it does say that you're a veteran in the real estate industry because I mean, whatever you do, especially if you're working in industries, I think it's good to let people know that you have experience. And that's one of the things that it helps you to gain understanding and foothold in what's going on. Plus, I like to deal with people that know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Exactly. Especially mortgages and real estate is a constantly changing thing. So you've had enough time now to see some ups and some downs of different little markets. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 3:58

Different client situations. I've I've seen it all. So it benefits me because now I can better serve the community because I've worked with people with challenging situations. So once we figure out how to do that, the next person that approaches me with that, oh, I know exactly how to fix that. That's easy.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

See, that's what you want to do. That's awesome. So we always like to start off with the boring question. How did you get here? Like, where are you from? Where did you grow up? Tell us about your family.

SPEAKER_04 4:30

I am from West Ashley. Um side of Charleston. Yes. Grew up off Magnolia Road, subdivision called Magnolia, right across from East and West Oak Forest. Okay. So um, the school bus I rode, we called it the Oof. I went to St. Andrews High School. And that was the name of our neighborhood, the Oof. The Oof. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

Okay, okay. Any siblings?

SPEAKER_04 4:54

I do. I have two older brothers, Carlos and my older brother Gregory. He passed away when I was in high school. Understood. But um he left me a wonderful nephew. And he also lives in Charleston. He's an attorney here.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Wow. Wow. All right. And then um your parents, what were your what was the life with your parents? What did your mother father?

SPEAKER_04 5:14

So my father passed away when I was um one year old. He was a firefighter for the city of Charleston.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 5:21

Um, and my mom actually was a school teacher. Prior to being a school teacher, she um retired from the disability board, which back in the day was called Hope Center, but now but yeah, now yeah. Yeah. She worked there for like 20 something years. Yeah, Christmas. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

And um, so with that being said, what did you do growing up or in school that led you down to where you are now?

SPEAKER_04 5:50

So growing up, the one thing I remember is we lived in a middle class community, yeah, but we were house poor. I'm talking about we never went out to eat, no movies, no shopping trips. It was just like survival in the middle class neighborhood, you know?

SPEAKER_00 6:13

It's like we're gonna make it, we're gonna make it up.

SPEAKER_04 6:15

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So um I remember um going through the drive-thru window at the bank with my mom on a Friday afternoon. She was depositing her paycheck. So her paycheck was like $400 and something dollars. Now, mind you, this is the 90s, but it's $400 and something dollars for two weeks. That's her net take home. Um, the mortgage payment is $726, and she's bringing in roughly $900 a month.

SPEAKER_03 6:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:46

So you do the math. It's like, no wonder we were poor.

SPEAKER_03 6:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:51

But um, she did receive survival benefits for my brother and myself because my father passed away. So that money helped, you know, buy food, pay the light bill, all that stuff. But at the end of the day, she had a predatory loan. The home she bought in 1981 was $30,000. The math, like to Rogi Henderson say, the math ain't mathing.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Oh no.

SPEAKER_04 7:14

You can't pay $700 and something dollars a month for a house that's $30,000.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

Yeah, that's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_04 7:20

It doesn't add up.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:22

But back in those days, the mortgage industry was not regulated, neither was the insurance. So no protections.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

What do you mean if you don't regulate people, they take advantage of things and try to take care of it?

SPEAKER_04 7:35

That's how the rich get richer.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Really? I I never knew that. Just for y'all out there in TV land. I did not know that. I thought they just would do the right thing.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

I figured maybe if you put people who make mortgages in charge of mortgages, they would just arbitrarily do it the correct way of the way. The correct nice way. Yeah, yeah. So predatory loans.

SPEAKER_04 7:56

Yeah, so I live the life of a victim of predatory loans. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Wow. Now this makes sense. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:07

So little did I know I was becoming an advocate for affordable housing at the young age of 15, 16 years old. So yeah, what an upbringing.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Yeah. I mean, like, you don't, I mean, in in like at that age, like, were there certain things that you would have wanted or that you would have wanted to request, but you knew just based on what was going on monetarily that you weren't able to do it. You just had to be on the outside.

SPEAKER_04 8:32

Yeah. A lot of things.

SPEAKER_00 8:33

What are some of those things?

SPEAKER_04 8:35

I I wanted to play sports.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:38

I wanted to be in band. You know, there's no money to pay to band fees, no money for, you know, field trips. And um, at first I used to be angry with my mother because I thought she was just being mean. But but after seeing her paycheck, I'm like, well, darn, we poor. So there was no need. I never asked her for anything again after that because I knew we really don't have it.

SPEAKER_02 9:04

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:05

Yeah, you understood. Now I know why we don't have cable. Like, that's an actual, you know?

SPEAKER_00 9:09

So, um was it worth it to live in that neighborhood though? In your mind?

SPEAKER_04 9:14

The neighborhood is nice, yeah. And today the homes are selling for over 700,000. Shut the front door! My mom is living good because she doesn't have a mortgage payment, and she gets that good South Carolina retirement. So yeah, so she's living good now. It was a struggle in the beginning, but things are good.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

And that's one thing about real estate, is it's like I don't know, it's it's a long game. It's real, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yeah, it's real, it's always there. It's real money. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

And what's the whole saying that they ain't making any more land?

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Nope.

SPEAKER_04 9:47

That's right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Unless you live in Saudi Arabia or Qatar. Man, I don't want that land that's gonna wash away out of shit. They put it in cow hours. I know, right? I mean, they build land over there, but um, I I I think it's important for people to know, especially our audience, because one thing we're trying to gear this towards millennials and other young folks coming up, so that they can see how people get to where they're getting where they get to and why they're in those industries. And then just to um touch on this even more, I know the the pathway that you took. So, for instance, where did you go to high school? Where did you go to university if you did?

SPEAKER_04 10:25

Yeah, so I went to St. Andrews High School. Um, then I went to USC and Carolina. I actually finished my bachelor's at Webster University here in Charleston. And then I got a master's degree from Webster University as well.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Awesome. And you particularly you knew at that time when you left high school and you were starting to um go for higher education, you wanted to go into what specific, like what was your degree in? Just so it's not.

SPEAKER_04 10:51

Yeah, my degree was in business administration. Um, but at the time I finished my bachelor's, I had already had my real estate license. Oh, okay. Okay. And of course, you have naysayers that say, you know, real estate is just a hobby, you know, it's not a real career. It's not a career for them. But it's, you know, it's my calling, it's my ministry, it's just what I do. And that's how I approach every trans, every person I work with. They're not a transaction, they're a person. I get to know them, know their family, and you know, work out a plan for them to be successful and to make real estate work for them.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

Awesome. Awesome. So what sets you apart? Yeah. This is what we want to know. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 11:41

Yeah, that's um the main thing that sets me apart is it's my calling. So you have some realtors, they're like, oh, I gotta get this check. Right, it's a side gig. Yeah, yeah. And it's not that for me. Um, as a matter of fact, clients that I've worked with 15, 16 years ago, we're still cool to this day. Wow. They'll text me. Yeah, they'll text me. Even um, if there's a situation going on with a family member and they feel a family member is being ripped off, hey, can you look at this? Can you talk to them? Um, and sometimes I can't be the person's agent because they're in a deal with someone else. But I can give them honest advice um and let them know what the South Carolina law is. So um I think what sets me apart is A, I'm honest, I'm always gonna do the right thing because, like I said, I've been in a situation where we've been taken advantage of, and I would hate to see someone else go through that.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

So you do real estate work, but you also advocate for people. I think that's that's a unique thing. I don't know too many real estate agents that would advocate. Yeah. Because you think about it, you're like trying to help your industry. So, like, hey, if you're getting these people undercut, then I'll be able to do the same thing and make more money. Do you think that ever hurts you economically being an advocate?

SPEAKER_04 13:06

It doesn't. So, um, in addition to real estate and mortgage sales, I am an investor. So I rehab homes, I build homes, so I earn money through other avenues in the real estate deal. Well, in the real estate arena, so I don't have to rely on a paycheck from a consumer. There's times on a mortgage deal where I have to get like little or no commission. I'm literally cutting my commission down 70% because they don't have enough closing costs, or we need to get the rate lower to make it affordable for the client. So um I'm grateful that I'm able to earn money in other areas so that I don't have to be one of these people that say mean words. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Well, so now you started talking about uh mortgage rates and closing costs and all of that. And for our listeners that have never bought a house before, uh, I bought my house in 2010 with Obama's tax credit. Obama helped me buy my house.

SPEAKER_03 14:16

Oh, $8,000 tax credit.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

That was a blessing. That was a blessing. I have never regretted that ever. That I mean, you know, owning a house is a lot of work. Um, there's nobody to call and things go wrong. You gotta figure it out yourself or pay some else to figure it out. But it is so much better than paying rent. It is. And then after you've been doing it for 10 plus years, you can kind of look back and be like, oh, I say it. There's there's a little bit of money. Money is safe, yeah. You've done made an investment. Yeah. But for those people who haven't bought a house, you're about to buy a house.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Yeah, I'm about to buy a house. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

So tell us a little bit about the process. Um, because I I think that there's a lot of mystery behind it. I had I had my dad to talk to when I was buying the house. So he was able to walk me through a lot of this. But a lot of people, if it's their first house or maybe their parents haven't owned a house, they don't know all this stuff.

SPEAKER_04 15:04

Yeah. So um, that's what I love. Anytime a client calls me, I can set up an appointment. Instead of meeting at the office, I choose to meet at a nice place, Panera Bread or something like that. Just make it more comfortable. Um, and they have the opportunity to ask whatever questions, whatever rumors they've heard. Um, but I can break down the process. So for most people, most people don't have three to five hundred thousand sitting in a bank to buy in cash.

SPEAKER_03 15:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:34

So now the first step that you want to do is you want to get pre-approved with a lender, someone like me.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

I like you. Now, were you always doing that, or did you just see like a need for that?

SPEAKER_04 15:48

So I've always wanted to get into doing loans. It's just I got my real estate license in 07, and I could never figure out how to get a license to do loans. Well, there was no lender license back then.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Yeah, it wasn't. What?

SPEAKER_04 16:06

Yeah, everybody out here loans.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Yeah, you're right. There was no protection.

SPEAKER_04 16:11

Anybody off the street, this guy told me he was delivering pizza for Domino's, and he went to a mortgage company one day to deliver pizza, and they were like, You want a job?

SPEAKER_02 16:22

Yo, so you have someone with no training, yeah, giving people loans.

SPEAKER_04 16:28

I mean, and they were putting whatever on the paperwork that would make it go through.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

She knows what was happening at that time, though.

SPEAKER_04 16:35

Yeah, that's why we had the crash. Yeah, yeah. So it was totally not regulated. That's why I couldn't figure out how to be a lender.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Because it was another thing. It was done. You can log in and be like, I'm lending.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 16:52

Oh gosh. But yeah, um, I got my mortgage broker license in 2013.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 16:59

So, um, and that helped a whole lot with my real estate clients because we had clients that we would find out on the day of closing. The lender would just say, Oh, we can't get it done.

SPEAKER_03 17:13

It's like, what?

SPEAKER_04 17:14

What do you mean? You can't get it done. These people are packed up, they've already told their families, they've turned in their, you know, their 30-day notice to move out their apartment. Like, what? And that happened like more than three times in a year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

So I was like, those families. Like, what happens to them?

SPEAKER_04 17:35

They have to find a place to stay.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Ouch. You've probably already given notice at wherever you're at.

SPEAKER_04 17:42

And some couldn't go back.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

I mean, closing is like you're ready to go. Like, I put the keys in your pocket and go move in. Ouch. I'm not even putting it in. You scared me right now. You scared me.

SPEAKER_04 17:52

Yeah, so scare me. So it angered me, and I just felt powerless because I'm like, what are these people gonna do? And it's not like it was, I wasn't using the same lender every time.

SPEAKER_03 18:04

Right.

SPEAKER_04 18:05

So it was just a normal thing that was happening.

SPEAKER_03 18:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:09

So when I got into doing loans, it's like, okay, how can we prevent this? A, when you submit the person's loan application, that underwriter is gonna provide you with a conditional approval within two to three business days.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 18:25

That conditional approval states everything that needs to be done for the loan to be funded. So there is no way on closing day that you don't know that that file. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

You set them conditions, that's it.

SPEAKER_04 18:40

Yeah, it's kind of like the Domino's delivery driver. They're not looking at the conditions. It's like, hey, you know, I don't understand the conditions. We we just can't close.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

Yep, we ain't getting no pizza today.

SPEAKER_04 18:51

Yeah. I don't think don't worry.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

Hey, I ain't make the rules up.

SPEAKER_04 18:56

Oh my gosh. But um, but yeah, um, so with the conditional approval, that is a guarantee that your loan is gonna close if you meet the conditions.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 19:07

So um most of the time when I initially meet the client, we pull credit, we look at income. If there are any red flags or anything that looks sketchy, we're gonna resolve it before we even get to underwriting. All right. And that's what makes the process smooth and easy. And then, you know, when we get to the finish line, they're like, I should have been bought a house. Like, this was so easy. Yeah, yeah. So see, I think that's my goal to make it easy for people.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

So getting them from point A to point B, in the middle, I just have to ask, is how do you like so say somebody comes to you and you do see red flags? Like, what are some typical red flags that you see?

SPEAKER_04 19:48

Red flags are late payments, um, which that is not automatically a denial.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 19:56

But if you have more than three late car payments or some type of installment loan, like your student loan payments, if you have more than three lates in a 24-month period, it's probably not going to be approved. Okay. So I usually tell the client, hey, let's focus on getting 12 months of on-time payments.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Um auto pay.

SPEAKER_04 20:21

Yeah, that's the easiest thing to do.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

So that auto pay and then make sure they got a savings account. So don't auto-address have your backup.

SPEAKER_04 20:28

That's the easiest thing to do. Um, another thing I notice is um some people unfortunately file fraudulent tax returns. They will have a W-2 job and they will write off, they'll create a fake business and write off expenses for that business. Just so they don't have to pay taxes. That's a no-no because a client I'm recently. Look at that camera.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Look at that camera. Look at that camera.

SPEAKER_04 20:58

That's a no-no. Don't do it. So I have a gentleman that I'm working with. He made like $70,000 as a truck driver. Okay. He wrote off $48,000 for a business loss. So now his income is $20 something,000. In our market, we can't approve you to purchase a home at $20 something,000 a year.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Shot himself in the face.

SPEAKER_04 21:26

It's just, yeah, it's not gonna work. Because that means you're making $2,000 a month. Right now, to get into a home at $300,000, you're gonna pay at least $2,000 to $2,200.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

That's something, that's something to think about, though, because you know, as a having a small business, like you want to write off everything that you can.

SPEAKER_04 21:45

Yeah. So people that do something up whole. Yeah, people that do own a business. I definitely want to meet with them before they file their taxes.

SPEAKER_03 21:52

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_04 21:53

So we can talk about what's worth writing off. You know, um, there are things like, you know, gas and mileage, things like that. You get credit back for that on your line. That's typically, but just don't go crazy writing off every meal and you know, things like drinks at the bar. Yeah, yeah. Like decals. I'm meeting your client down at Wet Willie's. Oh, it's not wet willies anymore, but you know, if you're missing a client, you're running a tab. Don't write that off.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Yeah, and that makes that makes so much sense. Um, so could you explain this? I know, especially for me, because this is my first time, but what are some of the benefits of the first-time home buyer programs? If you can just discuss a few of those or or maybe one or two, and just how it it is helpful for for first-time homebuyers.

SPEAKER_04 22:43

Okay, so um the first-time home buyer program, people are shocked when I tell them this, but that is a play on words, it's a marketing concept.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Explain.

SPEAKER_04 22:55

Please do tell. So, for instance, an FHA loan. Yeah, people market that as a first-time home buyer loan, but anyone can get an FHA loan as long as they don't already have one.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

What if you pay it off?

SPEAKER_04 23:11

Yeah, you can get it again.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 23:14

Yeah, so that's 3.5%. You do have to live in that house as your primary home for at least six months.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

Okay, right, right.

SPEAKER_04 23:22

And then people do what you wanted it.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

Now, um, I got a house that I bought before I met my wife.

SPEAKER_02 23:30

Okay. Is she still can you hear that on these?

SPEAKER_00 23:38

Because these aren't the other mics. This is what he was talking about again. Those dynamics. Now we do have there are some dynamics here, Kev. Because it shouldn't be able to cut it in post-production though. You can be able because it should be low enough on the register that you can cut it out. Because if it's full range, yeah, and if it's full dynamic range, it's gonna be able to cut it out. I'm not worried about that. Alright, we just had to make sure we piled that out. You ready? Alright, we rock and roll it. Yep. Three, two, and roll.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

Now, um, so I I had a first-time homebuyer credit when I bought my house, but that was before I met my wife. And so we've been talking about looking in the next few years. If she bought the house, she could do a first-time home buyer on the case.

SPEAKER_04 25:00

Yeah, she can definitely do an FHA loan, um, a conventional loan. Um, right now, the convention loan products we have, they're um we have like a rate buy down option where instead of you having to put down 3%, you only have to put down 1%. Now there are, yeah, there are income restrictions.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

What are those of the restrictions? Go ahead and tell me right now.

SPEAKER_04 25:25

So um realistically, you can't earn more than 80,000 and live in the Charleston area and be able to take advantage of that program. Ah, I understand. So yeah, it has to be low to moderate income.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

I'm not angry at that. That's a good thing.

SPEAKER_04 25:41

Yeah, but the down part is you really need to make 80,000 to be able to afford a home.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

So is it combined income? Like so you say there were two incomes.

SPEAKER_04 25:50

It's household income.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Okay. So I wouldn't get it. I'm not angry at it though. I understand. All right.

SPEAKER_04 25:58

You still have FHA. There's also the NACA program. That's 100% financing.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 26:05

For all the veterans out there, veteran VA loan, that's 100% financing. You can live anywhere. There's no income cap. There's the USDA guaranteed program as well as the USDA Direct Program. Um, both are 100% financing. You have to live in a rural area. There is an income cap for USDA guarantee. It's about $120,000 for the family. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

Do I have to buy like land out in the middle of nowhere? Do I got to buy farmland for that one?

SPEAKER_04 26:36

But yes, but it's fine.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

I might want that. You may want it. You may want it. I want to do it.

SPEAKER_04 26:43

It's no longer farmland. Just think about Nexton, Cain Bay, Monk's Corner. Development. Those are USDA areas.

SPEAKER_02 26:51

So shut up.

SPEAKER_04 26:53

Next to it is a USDA area. Yes, sir.

unknown 26:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:56

You can just do it.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

It used to be a farm in there converting it.

SPEAKER_04 27:00

Okay. Yeah, because they want to grow the area.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

Because I know in Columbia, one of the things that has popped out this year is that they have um some of those programs for underdevelopment area, underdeveloped areas. We're looking, this is like the the Richland Northeast. Yeah, like the fault, the the LR, lower Richland area. And then going out towards Newberry. Newbury. Like going out. Yeah. And um, I was just like, don't they realize these places are being developed? No, they're still considering them right now. Okay. Well, that's why they're developing, is because they're doing this stuff. So I'm like, take advantage, right? That's what I was looking at too. I'm like, hey, this might be something that we want to do. But um that that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 27:46

Yeah, you can't beat the 100% finances. You can't. And then you still can add clothing costs into that loan.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

So yeah, let's talk about that. We were talking about 100% financing, the total value of the house. So no down payment. Correct. Which is big because I'm assuming you got some kind of down payment if you're trying to make the move. And so then that could go towards closing costs was paying the lawyers, basically, right?

SPEAKER_04 28:12

Yeah. So the closing costs, that's gonna cover, like you said, the attorney fees. Go ahead. It's going to start up your escrow account, which is a savings account for your property taxes and your insurance. Um, it's also gonna cover any type of prepaid, so your deed stamps, recording fees, the origination fee, the actual cost to doing the loan.

SPEAKER_00 28:37

Um Why does it cost to do a loan? You ready? You know why I'm asking you because I'm a you ready? Can I say it? I get curious on here.

SPEAKER_04 28:45

Because you're a what?

SPEAKER_00 28:46

I'm a bad guy on this one. I I just dislike when I I dislike financial products, the idea of what's called a financial product. It's not an actual product. But I I know, right? But like you said, you're paying a cost to create a cost. It's crazy, isn't it? Just tell me if I'm if I'm wild, I just say it's a lot of paperwork to do a loyal.

SPEAKER_01 29:11

That's what I wouldn't give my money somehow. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

This is and the reason why I'm saying that, especially as a um about to be a first-time homebuyer, is these are some of the things that I don't no one's told. They don't get explained what it is or why it existed, why it exists. And then when you get explained to it, you're like, that don't make too much sense.

SPEAKER_04 29:29

Yeah, the banks are gonna make their money now.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

That's it. Yeah. At the end of the day, it's about your bank.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Home inspections too, you gotta do those.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

That's real. You ready? Yeah, I'm down for home inspection, that's a real cost.

SPEAKER_04 29:39

Home inspection, termite inspections, those are real.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

Even if you're selling, I found that out too. If I'm selling and I don't get a home inspection and the buyer doesn't get a home inspection, they might come back on me on it.

SPEAKER_04 29:50

Yeah, if there's something you don't disclose, yeah, yeah, you have to disclose any type of leaks, um, any floods that happen with the home.

SPEAKER_00 30:00

Hitchback issues, files with the under. Yeah, that makes sense. That makes lots of sense. All right, so back to these uh these costs. All right, so you got these fees, they're making you gotta pay these fees. Yeah, you gotta be fees. Yeah, but that's stuff, it can be um uh those things are not included in those 100% finances.

SPEAKER_04 30:20

They are not included, but USDA will allow you to add the closing costs into the loan. So let's say you have a seller that's not willing to negotiate seller paid closing costs.

SPEAKER_03 30:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 30:35

Well, if you don't have the closing costs saved, USDA will roll the closing costs into your loan. So on average, closing cost is about six, seven thousand. Unless you're buying down your interest rate, it can be a little more.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

Tell me about buying down your interest rate. Because when I bought low rates were low, low. So I ain't gonna do that.

SPEAKER_04 30:54

Like 2% those days.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:58

So um, with every lender, the rate cost is different. Okay. So I know places like NACA and other places, they have a standard formula for buying the rate down, but it's different with each lender. So every day the rates come out, and right now most of my lenders start at like 5.375, and the average cost to buy a rate to that is about 15,000. Okay, and then the rates go up to about 7.5.

SPEAKER_01 31:28

So you would just lock it in at a rate that's lower than what it is now, and then you'd pay that one for the rest of the life alone.

SPEAKER_04 31:34

Yeah, so the client actually chooses what rate they want. Got it.

SPEAKER_01 31:39

But you gotta pay up front for that.

SPEAKER_04 31:41

Yeah, that's something that's paid at closing. So if you choose the 5.3 or the 5.7, yeah, it's gonna allow you to purchase more of a home and it allows you to have a lower payment, but your closing cost is going to be more money.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

And you would need that to have that saved up, ready to roll.

SPEAKER_04 31:57

Yeah, or get the sellers to pay it if they're nice.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

Ah, so there is negotiation that goes back and forth, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:05

And you can, you know, if they're yeah, and right now, the way the um the climate of the market, the sellers know that they have to contribute closing costs because the interest rates are high. Oh so, in order to get the rates down to, like I say, affordable high fives, low sixes, they clients do have to buy the rates now. And they're so most sellers are willing to cover closing costs to help with the rates.

SPEAKER_00 32:32

And what does that look like when they help to cover closing costs? Are they covering that the entire closing costs or your closing percentage of it?

SPEAKER_04 32:38

Sometimes it just depends on what you negotiate. So um right now, any client that I have, I'm trying to get them at least $10,000 in closing costs.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_04 32:51

So one of my agents, she was able to write a contract the other day where the seller contributed $15,000 in closing costs. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

So that's how you that's why you were saying that number six to sell you can get it down. So you have that. Oh, you gotta have a good person in your sweet pays to have somebody. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don't want to do that by yourself.

SPEAKER_04 33:13

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You definitely want to use um a realtor or a lender that knows the market. Because you have some people that are licensed and just they don't know, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 33:25

It's just right, right. Because there's more to it than just showing a house. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

That's what they show on TV. If you watch AG TV, stuff on TV. They only show that part. Yeah, they never show people sitting down with paper in the back room or talking on the phone trying to figure that stuff out. I wish they had a show that was just that. You could be on it and you'd be a great star.

SPEAKER_03 33:43

Y'all produce it for me.

SPEAKER_00 33:46

What do y'all do? We're following her around, H H H is what we're doing. Yo, be quiet. But um, so talking about the market and um the people always hear this certain like specific jargon, the buyer's market and the seller's market, right? Can you explain like what does that mean and where are we at right now?

SPEAKER_04 34:11

Okay, so it's standard supply and demand. Yeah. Um yeah, I'm crazy. Yeah, yeah. But um a seller's market is pretty much when there is low inventory and a lot of buyers.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 34:33

So that means buyers will pay more than fair market price for the home.

SPEAKER_02 34:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 34:40

Because there's not enough home and everyone wants it.

SPEAKER_02 34:43

Boom. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:44

So remember when the rates were two to three percent? I mean, my God, we had clients, we were putting in 10 offers on like every client. Just praying, offering more than what the house was worth.

SPEAKER_00 34:56

Like ouch.

SPEAKER_04 34:58

Oh, we worked.

SPEAKER_00 35:01

I earn my money. I earn my money.

SPEAKER_04 35:05

And then um, of course, the buyer's market is when there's a whole lot of inventory and not that many buyers. Not that many buyers. So um, when there's a lot of inventory like that, then you do have the opportunity to negotiate more with the sellers because everyone wants to sell their home.

SPEAKER_02 35:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:25

So sellers know this, so they're more willing to negotiate pricing and closing costs.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Okay. So where are we at right now, in your opinion? Or for what does the market say?

SPEAKER_04 35:34

Right now, I believe we are in a buyer's market. It's kind of balancing out to where it's gonna be fear for everyone. But right now, you can, as a buyer, take advantage of getting that closing cost and negotiating on the price of the house.

SPEAKER_00 35:51

Wow, and that's interesting to hear because I guess it doesn't feel that way. But it has been changing. I know I've been paying attention to it. And I think one of the things um that has caused me to feel or or think that way are the fact it doesn't seem like there's enough housing available. Now, is that just how would you say, is that do you think that's based in reality, or is that just bad information being given out by news outlets?

SPEAKER_04 36:21

In our area, I think we have enough housing.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

All right, you want to go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 36:27

The prices are high.

unknown 36:28

Ah.

SPEAKER_04 36:29

That's the killer part because to get into um, you know, Nextton and some of the new neighborhoods, you really need to be at like 400,000. Okay. That's gonna be a house payment of about 3,000 a month.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

Keep whistling. I'm telling you, uh, more money than we make here. Jesus. Jesus. So, question the people, and and and I want to talk about this too, because I know we're gonna talk about a little bit of like issues with discrimination, etc., in um the market. Do you think like these houses that are being built, are they being built for people that live here or are they being built for transplants? Be honest. Because where are they paying for the people? Yeah, where are they paying people that in South Carolina? I don't know if you've seen the wages yet, but I've I've seen what kind of jobs?

SPEAKER_04 37:16

That great.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

What are they doing?

SPEAKER_04 37:19

Well, what I've noticed, it's a lot of people from the north.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Tell it, tell it, shame them, tell it, just tell it. Tell it.

SPEAKER_04 37:28

Yeah, so when they sell their home, they're making, you know, they're walking away with 500 plus. Now they got cash and they can come and just spend that money on a new house. So the locals, we can't afford to, well, some of us, you know, we can't afford to just go out and buy a five, six hundred thousand dollar house.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

I gotta get a job in New York and work from home in order to afford a house here so I can compete against somebody from New York that moved down here.

SPEAKER_01 37:56

That's what people are doing. It's colonialism inside the country.

SPEAKER_04 38:01

Yeah, that's one of my cousins that said he works for a company in Chicago and he lives here. Yeah, so he only travels to the office like three to four days out the year. That's that's what I'm gonna have to do.

SPEAKER_00 38:15

I've been thinking about that. No, I've been thinking about that hard um as a possibility because I was just like, well, one good thing is if get first of all, get in the house. I want to up my income, but McWork already worked on the credit part, did that other stuff. I was just like, the income part is a challenge because even living here in South Carolina, having a degree, being able to work and get an experience, one thing I realized is that you have a threshold on pay because like they'll tell you, well, our pay to you all is based on South Carolina's market values. And I'm like, what do you mean? They're like, well, this is how much it costs to live here. I'm like, no, that's a lot. Because these people are coming from here and they're crazy driving up home prices. You got to be able to compete with people from California, New York, Texas, state of Washington, Illinois. And I'm like, well, why don't they stay over there where they got what they got? Why aren't they staying over there? And it's sad to have to sound like that, but I say that because I see the the ill effects that it has on people who live here and want to live here. Because if I actually gotta have to I have to move out there in order to find a place, find get money, and then rent an apartment out there, wherever that's expensive and come back here. Just live to be there.

SPEAKER_04 39:27

There is the USDA direct program. I love that program. Okay. So it's a hundred percent financing and it's alone directly with rural development of the government. So there's no lender.

SPEAKER_02 39:40

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 39:41

Now, the benefit is their interest rate is 4.5% because remember, there's no lender tacking on that additional fee. Um in addition to that, they make sure that your house payment is less than 29% of your monthly income. So they will add an additional subsidy to your payment. So um that's I have clients now that are purchasing brand new homes for $400,000 and they're paying $1,200. The down part, you work in magic, girl. No, no, no, because that waiting list is like a year.

SPEAKER_02 40:18

Oh, I get you.

SPEAKER_04 40:19

So it's a great program, but that waiting list is serious.

SPEAKER_00 40:25

Gotcha. And that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 40:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:27

Because it's such a good deal. Why wouldn't everybody get in line? Yeah, I understand that.

SPEAKER_04 40:32

Yeah, I'm saying, and then sometimes um, if your income is too high, so if you're you know making the $80,000 and you're a family of like four or less, they may say, Oh, you're not low enough, you know. So um it's that aspect.

SPEAKER_01 40:51

More tax write-offs next year.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

No, in that case, you would tell that person or go have another kid. Have another child get right at the level, yeah. So, but before we um wrap up, I know I do want to ask about this. Just some some misconceptions about buying or selling that that you would like to clarify. And then have you ever experienced any sort of racial discrimination within the work you do?

SPEAKER_04 41:18

Oh wow. Yes, yes. Um, racism exists everywhere in South Carolina. I was doing it. Yeah, it does. Um it's sad.

SPEAKER_02 41:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:33

Um I I meet with clients all the time. Just last week I had a client, he had a 680 credit score, truck driver for 28 years. The bank denied him. He didn't have enough credit. What do you mean? Not enough. You got a 680. I'm doing people loans who have a 580. Whoa. Who've been on a job for two years? This man has been working 28 years. But I'm doing their loan now. I'm excited, they're getting a house. But um, yeah, so that's the type of things that exist.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

I'm out with you, yeah. Something like that. Like, like, I don't know, just having a card to put gas on or something, would that make a difference in a situation like that?

SPEAKER_04 42:21

That would help, but he already has credit because his score is 680.

SPEAKER_01 42:25

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 42:25

So he's had like, you know, car loans in the past that he's paid off. Because history has student loans. So that's history. Yeah, it's just a fancy way of denying something. Redlining. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:36

Red taping, yeah, red taping.

SPEAKER_04 42:38

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

So, question you being a woman and also being obviously a black woman, have you witnessed any barriers to you doing your job?

SPEAKER_04 42:45

Oh gosh, yes, all the time. Um gosh. So um when I initially got my mortgage license, um, the thing is, when you get these licenses, you're supposed to hang it under another company. Okay. Well, I could not find a company that wanted to hire me. Like, they would hire that domino driver, but they would not be nasty work. So um, and I knew that it was because I'm black, because I'm going to these companies. Okay, everyone is white, and I'm like, okay, I have the real estate experience, I got these degrees, I have a clean criminal record, so why won't you hire me? And good credit. Yeah, so why won't you hire me? You know?

SPEAKER_00 43:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 43:35

So um, that just forced me to create my own company.

SPEAKER_00 43:38

That's why I asked that. I want to know why you created that. That's why.

SPEAKER_04 43:41

Yeah, and I didn't mind working under another company. It's just they wouldn't hire me. And I just had to create HH mortgage.

SPEAKER_00 43:49

There we go. And what's the what's the HH stand for?

SPEAKER_04 43:51

Higher Heights. Oh, that's awesome. We're moving to higher heights. Here we go.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

I like that. I like that. And I just want people to hear that because I know especially one cool thing that is um we always like to call it a very southern thing, is especially, it doesn't matter where you are, but just like we like to create things and work it ourselves. Like, yeah, we got these other businesses, and I might want to go join an already established uh firm or et cetera. But in the South, we will create things from scratch and work businesses from scratch. How's that experience been working and having your own business in this market in South Carolina?

SPEAKER_04 44:30

It has been wow. It's been rewarding. There are good days, and then there, I guess with anyone that owns a business, there are times when you're not making any money. When you're in the red, you still have to pay office rent, you still have to pay your mortgage at home, student loans, everything. So um there are ups and downs with everything. So the income is not always consistent. Gotcha. Um, and that's where I would tell any entrepreneur to have other things that are gonna bring you in some type of revenue. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:07

And I like that she said that at the beginning. And we want our audience to hear this because that's part of the reason for this podcast. We want people to know the reality behind it. Not sugarcoat things, make things look pute. Like I said, watching HD TV. That's not how it really is. You probably don't want to actually watch it working. Yeah, you gotta watch HD TV and Bloomberg, and then you'll know what it really looks like. Then you'd be like, oh, I don't know if I want to do that no more. Um, but it's good for them to hear it so that way before they decide they want to jump into a career, et cetera, they can, all right, I need to have this amount of stuff going on. I need to have some gumption because I might not hit it the first time. I'm gonna hit stumbling blocks, but I can get over them. So yeah, and you're you're a big you're a great example of what it looks like to be able to do that. Um, and before we finish up, we gotta do this part. Shameless plugs. I want you to go ahead and tell everybody about your business, where they can find you, how they can get. Oh, yeah, you're gonna be looking into that camera. How they can get in contact with you if they need somebody to fight for them for a good loan, if they need somebody to fight for them to make sure they find a house that they can afford, even if they credit score is a 580. Tell them where they can get to you.

SPEAKER_04 46:20

Okay, so my name is Robin Bryant. The company is HH Real Estate and Mortgage. You can find me on Facebook at Rob and Bryant, Instagram, it's HH Real Estate underscore mortgage. My phone number is 843-303-8803.

SPEAKER_00 46:41

Awesome. Awesome. Amazing. Now, we always ask this too, and it's a little different for what you do, but you have anything coming up that we need to be aware of that may be going on in your life or that people should be um paying attention to.

SPEAKER_04 46:54

I am building a house that's about to hit the market. Oh yay. So I'm gonna list it in April. We should be finishing April.

SPEAKER_01 47:04

This is like your project you decided to build one from scratch and then sell it. Oh, that's awesome. The next flipping a house.

SPEAKER_00 47:11

Yeah, yeah. I heard this too before we finish. I gotta ask, it's got like two minutes. I heard from this guy telling me it's easier to build a house than to rehab or renovate a house.

SPEAKER_04 47:23

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 47:24

All right, so I'm learning that. Okay, so that's for real.

SPEAKER_04 47:27

It's real. Even um, it may take you longer with permitting and clearing land and all that good stuff, but it's easier to get a loan on building versus buying a rundown home for a hundred and expecting that lender to loan you another hundred. It's risky. But with new construction, the lender is releasing the money after you complete each phase and after it's confirming it.

SPEAKER_00 47:54

Yeah, it's accountability.

SPEAKER_04 47:55

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

Dang, all right. Because that's what I was thinking about because I was like, you'll just get a new buy, I mean a new bill because it makes sense. Um Wow. Okay, so that wasn't bad information. I may have to listen to this person some more. All right, but I'm gonna go ahead and wrap up for the episode. Um, this is DJ and what? Mike. And our esteemed guests. Oh, wait, wait, wait. We got a special. We got a special person in the background. There we go, Miss Sophia. And our esteemed guest.

SPEAKER_04 48:24

Robin Bryant.

SPEAKER_00 48:25

I want to thank you so much for joining us today on the Hilltime Club Podcast. Oh, I almost I forgot to say this early, but make sure that you tell somebody next to them that you love them, that you appreciate them. Always do that, especially in this crazy world. Plus, just give you a heads up. We're in Lynx, of course. Shout out to Links. Shout out, shout out, shout out.

SPEAKER_01 48:42

Beautiful podcast and space.

SPEAKER_00 48:43

And it is available for you to go on Peerspace and rent out this space for your own use as well if you have any production needs. Um, just please go on Peerspace. Um, what's the uh the information?

SPEAKER_02 48:56

Oh, we'll post it in the post it on the video. It'll be in the video, so make sure you see it.

SPEAKER_00 49:00

Check the description. Yep. Other than that, until the next time, peace.