Full Transcript is Below:
– [Greg] Welcome to Home Run: Great Client Experiences, a podcast by NFM TV. I’m your host, Greg Sher. We’re going down to Richmond, VA today where we have three very happy parties. We’ve got Meghan Wright. She’s an extremely happy new homeowner. Meghan, how are you today?
– [Meghan] How are you thanks for having me.
– [Greg] Oh, really really good. Thanks for asking I can’t wait to get into your story. We have also Adam Netherland. He’s a superstar loan originator at NFM Lending out of Ben Burkett’s office in Richmond. Adam good to talk to you again.
– [Adam] Good to talk to you as well. Thanks for having me on today.
– [Greg] Of course, and Laura Roesser from Joyner Fine Properties is also on the line and let’s get into this story. Adam, tell us how Meghan and Laura came into your life and how this deal came together.
– [Adam] Yeah, so it’s actually kind of funny. So I connected with Laura kind of through Meghan which is kind of different. Meghan’s a good friend. We have a good mutual friend that we train triathlon before COVID kind of got into the way of everything and my buddy Dan, and we raced Ironman Maine together. We’ve gone on crazy long training rides and runs and everything else. And I met Meghan kind of through the triathlon realm and Dan introduced us and was like, hey, “I have free Meghan, she’s looking to buy a house.” And I think Meghan was introduced to Laura through another person in the triathlon world introduce the Jenny Maraghy team over at Joyner. And Laura is one of the buyer’s agents there and it kind of came full circle and it was one of the easiest smoothest transactions that I’ve had. Found her a house, she got under contract and she’s loving life as a homeowner.
– [Greg] So let’s get right to that homeowner, Meghan. You kind of learned some valuable lessons from this experience. You’re in a super red, hot market down there in Richmond. I know you had your eyes on the prize and in January of 2019, but it took a little bit to get into your home. Tell us about that evolution.
– [Meghan] Yeah. So when I decided that I was looking to buy a single family home, I had owned a condo for five years and was ready to move into a single family home. I started the loan process with Adam because I knew it was important to be pre-qualified before I even started the home process. Just so I wouldn’t miss out on anything or waste anyone’s time. So originally met with Adam, got pre-qualified and then like Adam said, I met Laura and the Jenny McGee team through actually a coworker who I know through triathlon as well. But… So I started the home search process back in January of 2019. And it ended up taking almost a full year to find a house just because of how competitive the market is. But I also was very picky about where I wanted to be. So I luckily was not in a rush to move and I didn’t have to move. So I was again, kind of picky of where what I wanted and where I want it to be, so.
– [Greg] 19 offers on one particular house that must have been pretty overwhelming to get caught in a race like that.
– [Meghan] Yeah, that was my first process or first experience I met with Laura and I remember back in January of 2019 and we went to her house that had ended up having 19 offers and went for something like $45,000, all cash above asking. And I was just extremely overwhelmed by the market but with both the expertise of Laura and the Jenny Maraghy team and Adam, they helped me through the process. And we kind of persevered through the very hot markets. So I was lucky.
– [Greg] Meghan, tell me about the loan process and what that was like in dealing with Adam and NFM Lending.
– [Meghan] The loan process was great from the start. It was extremely smooth. Adam was a great communicator. He was always available day or night to answer any questions. Like I said earlier, I made sure that I got pre-qualified before I even started the home process. But of course, through the process I had to make some adjustments in terms of dropping the contingency things like that. So he was very flexible and always very helpful through the process. So not only just getting that pre-approval but then finishing the whole process. NFM has a great system where they kind of email you steps along the way. And Adam communicated with me every single step and the whole process was very smooth.
– [Greg] Amazing, Laura, let’s bring you in now. So how do you coach people in a market like this? You’ve got rates that are super low. You have inventory, which is super low and obviously both things drive a lot of competition on homes to anyone out there that is thinking about buying a home. What advice do you have for them in terms of being mentally prepared to go through that kind of a bidding war?
– [Laura] Yes. Well, I think the two biggest things are you need to have clear communication and just set expectations right upfront. So with Meghan, you know, I kind of told her, hey, we don’t have a ton of inventory right now. And she was really good too because she knew specifically what she wanted. She had already honed it down, which helped a ton. And I just told her at her price point in the area that she was looking in, there weren’t going to be as many homes that came up and letting that person know that, hey, we’re setting these clear expectations right now. That we might not get the first one. You know, there was 19 offers on that one house. So we might not get the first one but there are going to be others that come up within the market. So don’t get too bogged down in the weeds with the first one, it might take one or two but if you set those clear expectations up front and make it a positive thing if you’re still gonna find a great home at the end of this then I feel like clients don’t get so discouraged and bogged down with the process because it is very competitive.
– [Greg] How long have you been in the real estate game?
– [Laura] I’ve been doing real estate for a little over six years now.
– [Greg] Amazing. Well, you certainly got it in a good time. I wanna just, I wanna hit you up one more time because you just spoke to the mental aspect of just being prepared for anything. There’s also the fundamental aspect of making an attractive offer. So what are some of the things about your offer that you can bring to the table to make you more attractive to a seller?
– [Laura] So with Meghan at first we weren’t sure it was contingent originally on her condo selling in order to purchase something. But once we found something that she liked and there was another offer on it I knew that we couldn’t be contingent on that in order for us to win. So she actually ended up being able to qualify with the existing loan on her condo and what the new loan would be on that house. And we kind of gave her some options too so she didn’t have to make it contingent, you know on selling her condo having an under contract to purchase the home. But for buyers who are looking to buy something and don’t wanna make things contingent because sellers are looking for less contingencies. I would say there are different things you can do. If you have assets borrowing against your 401k, borrowing against an IRA, and borrowing against another home you have. Those are things you can do to make it have less contingencies. And also I have clients who sometimes do get a loan but purchase a home in cash. So that’s another way to kind of be competitive where you’re saying, I have X number of assets that I can pay in cash, but I still want this loan. So just a couple of different ways to think outside the box with those things and just make a cleaner offer.
– [Greg] Yeah, also some things that I know come into play which are advantageous for a buyer in the eyes of a seller things like a larger earnest money deposit, a faster close.
– [Laura] Yes.
– [Greg] Those are some things that really excite buyers because they don’t want any neither-
– [Laura] Yes.
– [Greg] The less strings that are attached to the transaction.
– [Laura] Exactly, yes. And with hers, we did offer a little bit over off the bat which I think is just a little stronger. We did an escalation clause, but just even offering over what the asking price is kind of lets the seller know that, hey, we’re serious. We really want this house
– [Greg] Amazing. Adam, I’m gonna bring you back in here as the loan originator. Tell us about the environment that we’re in right now. And how you’re preparing yourself mentally for these kinds of challenges we’re talking about in a red hot market. And how do you show up during these times in a way that benefits the buyer?
– [Adam] We are literally like, I go through this like mental mental preparation and conversation with my clients. The market is crazy right now. I mean, I have to stress it enough that every single scenario for really any price point and especially in our market, like I’d say the three to 400 price point upper two. So low fours, mid fours, those prices are… I mean they’re flying off the shelves left and right, it’s crazy. But one of the big things that I’m kind of going through right now and talk with my clients are I’m coming back around to working with a lot of repeat customers where, you know I helped them four years ago buy their first house. And now they’re looking at kind of buying a house to settle down in. And you know, one of the big things that I’m talking through with them is take advantage of the rates. And, you know, while you are paying more for the house, look at it. As you know, for example, in late 2018 I was locking in loans at five and a quarter. And I thought if I could get five and an eighth that was an amazing deal. No one was shopping. Everyone was in the fives. It was, you know, it’s what the hand we were dealt. And historically, you know, I’ve only been in the industry since about 2015, I believe 2016. So I haven’t seen the super highs of rates like my parents may have, you know had when they purchased our home. But you know, historically rates in the twos in many scenarios, mid to mid upper twos they’re paying less per month for that house by paying $50,000 more for it than if they bought it at list price in 2018. So I’m really just trying to look at the silver lining in the scenario to make it not as, you know, kind of a hit in the arm for paying way more than what they think it’s worth. I think a lot of times from what we’ve seen in the Richmond market too. Houses are strategically priced lower than what we what the houses are actually going for. And we’re seeing that on appraisals. I mean, we’re having clients buy houses for 30, 40,000 over and they’re appraising for that. So you know that the value, it appears that it is there. So we’re quite all. It is a very crazy market that we’re seeing I mean it’s kind of one of those things that everything’s always changing. So you gotta kind of think of ways to explain it to buyers to, keep them excited about buying and show them the positive sides of everything.
– [Greg] That’s a great segue back to our buyer Meghan. Meghan, tell us about the house. How are you breaking it in?
– [Meghan] I love it. Luckily it was in very livable condition. It was, the woman that owned it did keep it up. I do love DIY projects. So there was quite a bit of opportunity to cosmetically spruce it up but it was in pretty good condition when I moved in. So I’ve had a really good experience so far.
– [Greg] Are you doing that stuff yourself? Are you a fixer-upper?
– [Meghan] I do like that stuff. Yeah. So I’ve done. I’ve done a lot of painting. I’ve put in granite countertops. I’ve changed out appliances, put in gas logs in the fireplace, things like that. So having fun, making it my own.
– [Greg] Now there’s been mentioned by a couple of you of triathlons. Are you all triathletes?
– [Meghan] I have done Ironman and Trap on and that’s how I met Adam through a mutual friend. So, yes.
– [Greg] And what about you, Laura?
– [Laura] Absolutely not.
– [Greg] We’ve got to get you in there. Come on, we got to reel you in. I’ll tell you what,
– [Laura] I wish but-
– [Greg] If you go, if you go, you go I’ll go, okay.
– [Laura] Okay. Sounds good.
– [Greg] All right. We’ll have to talk about that in the future. Well, I really appreciate everybody’s time, Meghan Wright happy homeowner, Adam Netherland, superstar loan officer at NFM Lending. And of course, Laura Roesser, who is an agent with Joyner Fine Properties. If you wanna reach Adam and you want a loan 804-513-8580. You can call him anytime about anything you wanna sell your house, you wanna buy a home, you just have questions about the climate. And his email is anetherland@nfmlending.com. And if you want to buy a house or sell Laura Roesser is your person. Laura.roesser@joynerfineproperties.com I’m Greg Sher from NFM TV. You’ve been listening to another Home Run: Great Client Experience podcast from NFM TV. Thanks everybody.
– [Narrator] Home run: Great Client Experiences is a production of NFM TV and NFM Inc. NFM Inc. does business as NFM Lending. NMLS number 2893. Adam Netherland’s NMLS number is 1591628. This podcast is for informational purposes only. And NFM Lending is not affiliated with any real estate companies. You are entitled to shop around for the best lender and or real estate company for you. The real estate agent is not a mortgage lender. Contact NFM Lending directly to learn more about their mortgage programs and your eligibility for such programs. The experiences of clients appearing on this podcast are individual experiences of those who have used our services. NFM does not provide incentives for testimonials or reviews. This is not a credit decision or commitment to lend. Eligibility is subject to completion of an application and verification of home ownership occupancy, title, income, employment, credit, and value collateral and underwriting requirements. And NFM is not affiliated with or an agent or division of a governmental agency or depository institution. Copyright 2021.