Episode Transcript
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Kelli Green (00:00):
Welcome back to an episode of the Live Better
Podcast by Centric, and I'm yourhost and Centric Senior Vice
President of Marketing, KelliGreen.
I'm so excited that you're here.
Every month, we post a newepisode where I'm joined by
guests to chat about financesand all things living better.
Subscribe today so that younever miss an episode.
Today, our guest is AshleyOwens.
(00:21):
She is Vice President ofMortgage, and she's going to be
here to help us debunk mythsabout home ownership.
Well, good morning and welcomeback to the Live Better podcast.
We are joined today by AshleyOwens and we are tickled to have
you.
You are a recurring guest andwe're so grateful for you, so we
(00:41):
know that there's so manydifferent things that people
probably come to you and thinkmortgage is a oh my gosh, is
this terrible process?
And they are worried and scared.
Ashley Owens (00:54):
They are.
I call them nervous Nellieswhen they come in but I also
tell them like hey, we're here,we're here to hold your hand and
walk you through the process.
Wherever step you may be in theprocess, we are definitely here
to assist you along the way.
Kelli Green (01:07):
Yes.
Well, that's very comfortingbecause I was just talking with
you this morning and really kindof going through this.
You have walked us through homeconstruction twice, then into a
full mortgage twice, and it wasa really seamless process for
us.
I know we've asked you amillion questions and you're
(01:27):
always there and available, andI think that speaks true not
only to you, but even for yourteam.
Ashley Owens (01:32):
Yes, and definitely that helps not only
the buyer, it also helps us tounderstand what you don't know
and what you do need tounderstand, because definitely
questions are there to beanswered, because you don't do
this every day.
We do this every day and youdon't do this every day.
And it could be somethingsimple as what's PMI?
Am I going to have PMI?
(01:52):
You know, you always hear thislingo, but that's not your world
and that's our world and that'swhat we're here for to explain
that to you.
So we're always here to helpyou.
Kelli Green (02:02):
I love it.
Well, and so just kind of tellus a little bit too, for our
listeners that may have justjoined on and they may have not
have heard any of our previouspodcasts, but tell us a little
bit about who you are and howlong you've been here with us.
Ashley Owens (02:14):
Well, my name is Ashley Owens and I have been
here a little while.
We have gone through a namechange.
We were Forest Craft when Iinitially started, so I have
been here the Monday afterThanksgiving in 2007.
Kelli Green (02:29):
Wow!
Ashley Owens (02:30):
So I have been here a little while and I have
enjoyed every moment of it.
We are definitely afamily-oriented company and we
are here to help our members aswell as our team members here at
the credit union.
I enjoy doing what I do helpingpeople get in their homes.
I enjoy helping them creditcounsel.
If they're not ready Right now,we can definitely look at their
(02:53):
credit and see what they needto do to get where they need to
be.
So I just enjoy helping peoplehere at the credit union and I
think that speaks volumes of whowe are here at the credit union
.
We're in the business of helpingpeople.
Kelli Green (03:07):
That's the truth, and you guys get to do that
every single day.
I love it.
We're glad to have you here.
You're just a couple years shyof 20 years.
You started when you were five.
That's what we're going to say.
We're going to stick to it,okay, all right.
So here's a few things.
We're going to run down acouple of myths.
Are you ready?
I am ready, all right.
So let's think about this.
(03:28):
Do you actually need 20% downto buy a home?
Ashley Owens (03:33):
Absolutely no.
A lot of people come in it'slike well, I don't have 20% down
, I don't have a huge ton ofsavings.
Can I get money from 401k?
You can definitely get moneyfrom 401k, but the truth is you
do not need 20% down.
You can have as little as 0%down.
USDA, VA and our very ownfirst-time homebuyer loan
(03:57):
program does not require you tohave a down payment at all.
Now there are other loanprograms out there.
FHA requires you to have threeand a half percent down, now
conventional.
You can do as low as threepercent down on conventional
depending on your income, so wecan also look at that, but
normally on conventional theyrequire five percent down.
(04:19):
So there are a ton of differentoptions and that's what we're
here for to see what best fitsyour needs.
Kelli Green (04:25):
Gotcha.
So if you're in the market fora home and you've been thinking
you're not a homeowner and youthink, oh my gosh, I have no
savings, what can I do?
There is still an opportunitythat they could become a
homeowner.
Ashley Owens (04:39):
It is, it is definitely an opportunity and
even if you don't have the moneyin your savings accounts, we
can look at exploring otheroptions.
As far as Malmol Papaw givingyou gift funds, Sure.
We can get money out of your401k.
So there are options and alittle wiggle room for that down
payment option if you have togo that route, so come in and
(05:01):
talk to us.
Kelli Green (05:02):
What I love, what you said earlier is talking
about the financial counseling,because when you have folks come
in and they're asking questionsabout the down payment, maybe
they maybe because of theirincome, they don't qualify per
se for these and they wouldrequire a larger down payment.
I love that your team isequipped, as financial certified
financial counselors, to say,hey, here's what you can do to
(05:25):
start saving.
And here, if you start today,here's your plan Right, and you
give them.
You know they're able to seethat right away, and sometimes
it takes just a little bit oftime so that they're completely
prepared.
So I love that, absolutely loveit.
All right, so we're on toanother one.
All right, here we go.
So do you actually need perfectcredit to be a homeowner?
Ashley Owens (05:46):
Absolutely not.
We encourage you to have, youknow, the higher credit scores
because, as we know, highercredit scores mean lower
interest rates and in return youget a little bit better payment
monthly.
But you do not have to haveperfect credit.
Actually, with our lender rightnow, you can have a mid score
of a 580 and purchase a home.
(06:09):
It does have to be an FHA loan.
You do have to verify that youhave are paying rent monthly and
you have not been 30 daysdelinquent on your rent.
You cannot have gift funds, sothe money does have to come from
your source as far as bankingaccount or your 401k.
So there are options and youdon't have to have perfect
(06:30):
credit.
Normally, your credit score hasto be around a 620 or better
Gotcha.
But there are other loanprograms out there that can take
you a little bit lower.
Like FHA is a 580.
So all you have to do is justcome talk.
Kelli Green (06:44):
That's it.
Come talk to us.
That's it.
And it can be either in person,over the phone, even a Zoom, if
you want to meet virtuallythere's so many different
avenues for folks to reallycommunicate with you and your
team.
And no question is off thebooks.
Right, yeah, it's anything youwant, anything goes.
You know you got a question.
No question is to.
(07:04):
You know people think, well,this is a silly question, or, oh
, people aren't going to thinkI'm smart enough or that it
doesn't matter.
I think the worst thing we cando going through life is if we
have these questions and wedon't ask, because a lot of
times it could save you money.
Ashley Owens (07:18):
It definitely could save you money.
Or just general conversation,just being transparent with your
loan originator.
They could find out a lot moreinformation from you and about
different loan programs that youmay qualify for, because in
conversation, if you nevermentioned like, hey, I've been
in the military, we may can seeif you qualify for VA loan with
(07:38):
no money down.
So just having a conversationwith them, it just brings a lot
to light.
Kelli Green (07:44):
I love it, oh, I love it.
Ask the questions no one isperfect, right?
And again, to kind of go backto that about do you need
perfect credit?
The answer is absolutely no.
And you think about the higherthe credit score, the lower
interest, which means you'regoing to pay less every time.
That's correct, love it, okay?
(08:04):
So let's talk about this.
Give me a little bit ofinformation around.
Like a pre-qualification versusa pre-approval Are they
different?
If so, kind of tell me a littlebit about that.
Ashley Owens (08:17):
They are different and in the eyes of lenders or
in the eyes of realtorspre-qualification and
pre-approved they give you alittle bit.
We gather a little bitdifferent information.
Pre-qualification kind of givesyou a broad overview of okay,
yes, this is the informationthat you've given me.
You do pre-qualify.
(08:38):
Pre-approval is a little bit instone.
Information has been verifiedand it gives you a little bit
more buying power when you go toyour realtor and you say, hey,
I'm pre-approved rather thanpre-qualified, because we dig a
little bit deeper in apre-approval rather than a
pre-qualification.
Kelli Green (08:56):
And so when you're saying this really means a lot
to a realtor, take this theoryyou can just kind of share with
our listeners.
If they are maybe a first timehomebuyer or are considering
homeownership, what's the firstthing they should really do
before?
Should they go talk to arealtor first, or should they
come talk to you first?
Ashley Owens (09:15):
I think they should definitely talk to a loan
originator first, because ifthey go talk to the realtor
first, they're going to turnthem around unless they're
friends with them and say, hey,let's see how much you're
pre-qualified for, because youdon't want to be looking at four
or five $600,000 houses and youonly qualify for 300.
So you don't want to walk intoyour dream house and say, oh,
I'm ready to move in.
(09:35):
And then come talk to your loanoriginator and you're like I'm
sorry, you only qualify for thisamount and so your dreams are
crushed.
So definitely go talk to yourloan originator, get
pre-qualified, talk about allthe things money down, your
budget, your closing costs, howmuch you think that you want to
pay monthly, and also look inthe future as far as what if my
(09:58):
payment goes up.
Am I prepared for this?
Because my homeowners insuranceand my property taxes is going
to increase, so next year mypayment may increase - $200,
$300, $400.
Am I prepared for that?
Do I want to max my stuff out,so it's so many questions that
can be talked about during theprocess.
So definitely talk to your loanoriginator first.
Kelli Green (10:18):
First step talk to the loan officer.
Okay, Loan originator is who wewant to talk with.
So here's a couple of things Ireally want to kind of talk a
little bit maybe about renting,if that's okay with you.
Okay, so I've always.
You know, the myth that's outhere is that renting is always
cheaper.
Is that true?
Ashley Owens (10:41):
It depends on the area that you're staying in.
I believe renting candefinitely be cheaper, depending
on if you're in a rural area,or it may depend on what your
budget is.
So it depends on you and whereyou are in your life.
I believe renting could be thebest thing for people that are
on fixed income, as they don'thave to worry about keeping up
(11:02):
maintenance on their house.
They don't have to worry abouttheir homeowner's insurance,
their property taxes increasingand their payment increasing
from year to year, um, becausethey are on a fixed income, so
they don't have any more moneyto put into a morthg
Kelli Green (11:16):
That's right.
mortgage T T mortgageToer vee rent versus the mortgage is
cheaper right um, definitelyyour mortgage.
You're building equity in yourhome, um, and you have that
money available in their incomeis not increasing like the
working class of people.
Um, so, it just depends onwhere you're at if the rent
versus the mortgage is cheaper rum.
Du year efinitely m do own it?
(11:37):
Um, but you also have to keepin mind about maintenance on
your house right you have mynest eggs set aside to fix my
home and roof on my home.
I mean all the things that comeinto play with.
ou're.
So I definitely think it's aself decision on do I really,
can I really afford to not onlybuy a house, pay for a house and
(11:59):
have maintenance on the housefrom year to year?
Yeah, so that's.
You're the thing is just, sometimes people think,
well, you're a renter, you know.
Then that is just almost feellike, oh, what's the word?
Maybe people feel like, well,oh, I'm not in a position, you
know, I can't necessarily affordthat.
This is, you know, not a goodthing.
You know, maybe I have notaspired to, you know, achieve
(12:20):
this particular dream.
But homeownership is notnecessarily everything people
think it is.
It's not necessarily just anAmerican dream.
While it is an American dream,you know, there are several
things that renting couldsafeguard folks from.
Ashley Owens (12:35):
That is correct.
Kelli Green (12:35):
Yeah, one of the things I'll share too, just on
this, from a personal standpoint.
You know my mom she's retiredagain, like you mentioned,
living on that fixed income.
So if she were to, actually youknow she sold her home because
she knew, as she's getting older, she thought, you know, this is
something I really need tothink about from a standpoint.
She lives alone, so if she hassomething that breaks or you
(12:57):
know she would have to paythat's an additional expense out
of her pocket.
So I think it's definitely inthe timeframe that you're in.
What does your savings looklike?
Does your budget allow for youto have emergencies like that?
Because fixing a roof, sure,you've got like an insurance
deductible for that, you know.
And so it's um conversationsthat we have with members often
(13:18):
is, you know, more than half,about 60% of our members can't
necessarily afford a $400emergency.
So in those situations, homeownership is not something that
we would recommend.
Ashley Owens (13:31):
Yeah, and maintenance happens when you
least expect it.
Kelli Green (13:36):
I mean.
Ashley Owens (13:36):
I'll take it back to me.
Our AC went out and my husbandwas off hunting.
I'm like the AC is out.
Kelli Green (13:43):
What do we do?
Ashley Owens (13:44):
And it's a weekend .
So if you call them on theweekend, that's extra.
Do you have that fixed intoyour budget?
And it could be somethingsimple, like mine was the
capacitor on the AC unit I mean,it was a quick fix.
It didn't take him but 10minutes, but that was $250 later
.
That's fix.
It didn't take him but 10minutes, but that was 250 later.
That's right.
Kelli Green (14:03):
You know, that's 250 dollars in grocery for some
people, or that could be theirmedicine, you know, you just
never know.
Ashley Owens (14:06):
So I have people that come in to me and talk to
me sometimes and say what do youthink is in my best interest?
Do you think I should sell myhouse, um, or can we look at
doing a second mortgage on my?
House just so I can have somecash flow.
And so you just have to havethose conversations and hard
conversations sometimes withyour members to just kind of
(14:27):
guide them with the knowledgethat you have.
Kelli Green (14:29):
Wow, I love it.
I love this that you're sharingwith our folks today, and it's
the first and most importantthing that we want to get across
.
And I know, ashley, that youkind of you live and die by this
is like just talk to me, right.
Just talk to me, yes, have theconversation.
Come on over here at mid city.
You are located here at midcity in the Monroe office.
(14:51):
I think that is what is is.
You make yourself available forfolks and people trust you.
You've been in the business foralmost 20 years, working in
mortgage, and it just you bringabout a sense of ease to folks
whenever we work with you andI'm speaking personally, you
know, and so I do hope that ourlisteners will take advantage of
(15:12):
just having the opportunity tospeak with someone.
I think that would be theabsolute best thing.
Just give you a call.
Ashley Owens (15:18):
Yes, give us a call.
Kelli Green (15:20):
Yes, well, is there anything else you want to share
with?
Ashley Owens (15:25):
our listeners today, I think, just being
transparent with your loanofficer student loans let's talk
about that.
I know a lot of people havestudent loans and some people
say, oh, I can't get a loanbecause I have student loans.
Well, that's not true.
Depending on what loan programyou are exploring depends on how
we calculate your monthlypayment.
(15:45):
So definitely have aconversation with your loan
officer when you're talkingabout your student loans,
because they are definitelycalculated differently as far as
monthly payment, if you don'thave a monthly payment on your
credit report versus if you doso, there are a lot of factors
that go into student loans.
So definitely have aconversation with your loan
originator when we're talkingabout getting a mortgage and you
(16:05):
have student loans, becausethey definitely play a factor in
your pre-qualification of yourmortgage that you're trying to
get.
Kelli Green (16:13):
Talk about a myth.
Ashley Owens (16:14):
Yes.
Kelli Green (16:15):
Because we see people with student loan debt
day in and day out.
Ashley Owens (16:21):
You do and they say, well, I'm not paying it
right now, or no, you're notpaying it, but we are required
to add half a percent or onepercent of your balance for a
monthly payment depending onyour loan program and that can
knock some people out of youknow, out of purchasing the
house, that they really qualifyfor Sure, if you know they could
have no debt.
Kelli Green (16:41):
And then if we're doing 1%, that's a lot for some
people, depending on how muchstudent loans you have.
Ashley Owens (16:48):
So even talk to students that are in high school
when they're going into college, or college kids about hey, you
know, try not to take out asmany student loans as you want
you know, get what you need.
That's exactly right If that'ssomething that you have to do,
um, and I always explore optionsof scholarship, so that
definitely needs to be aconversation to high school kids
and college kids absolutely.
Kelli Green (17:09):
It's so important you know when people are going
and and taking out a studentloan.
Just because you can doesn'tmean you should.
I remember I made my dad what Iwas.
Very fortunate that you know,he covered the cost, the expense
of my education.
But there was one fortunatethat you know, he covered the
cost, the expense of myeducation.
But there was one semesterwhere my grades dropped and he
said all right, kid, you're onyour own.
And I'm like, oh my gosh, youknow what do I do.
And so throughout that you know, he said here's the deal You're
(17:32):
going to have to go to afinancial institution and you're
going to tell them you take in,you show them, take your
invoice for your that semesterand you tell them you want a
loan for just this amount.
Right, and that's what a lot ofpeople don't understand.
You can do that.
You can say hey and just takeout that amount.
I always say I'm with you onthis and I know you and I can
(17:54):
speak from this personally.
But even as we're talking toour kiddos, it's so important
that they understand if you canlive at home and go to school,
why not?
Ashley Owens (18:04):
Yes.
Kelli Green (18:04):
Why not, that's?
Ashley Owens (18:05):
what I'm preaching right now.
Kelli Green (18:06):
Yes, it's so important you get the same
degree right.
I mean, you just kind of haveto look at it.
I think it goes into.
It may vary a little bit whenyou're looking at specialties
and so forth, but we are sofortunate in Northeast Louisiana
to have multiple institutions,from ULM to Grambling, louisiana
, tech, delta.
You know, you think about allthese institutions, from a trade
(18:29):
to a full degree, I mean, andthen some it's all right here
you don't really have to goanywhere and we're fortunate to
do that.
Right and they have options thatthey can do and we're fortunate
to do that Right and they haveoptions that they can do
Absolutely and make a greatcareer, so much so I am just so,
so grateful for this time thatwe've had.
You know, guys, I hope that youwill go back in, subscribe to
(18:52):
us, but also listen in and goback a few months, because we
typically have actually in.
We talk quite a bit about thisbecause homeownership is
something that's so critical,but there are so many scary
untruths that are out there, andso I just thank you for your
expertise.
Ashley Owens (19:05):
You are so welcome .
I love it If you're thinkingabout something or you're
thinking well.
Is this an unknown?
Is this a myth?
Hey, just give us a call, comein and see us, send us a text
email, whatever you know, youcan get in contact with us and
we can definitely have theconversation with you guys,
that's right.
Kelli Green (19:22):
Well, just for our listeners, it's 318-340-9656.
You can text that number to getto Ashley.
You can also call directly andthey will get you directly to
her line.
And you can always visit usonline at mycentricorg.
Ashley Owens (19:36):
That's it, yay, come see us.
Kelli Green (19:39):
Perfect.
Thank you for listening to ourpodcast and tune back in next
month for another episode of theLive Better podcast.
Don't forget to subscribe onyour favorite podcast platform
and to ensure that you nevermiss out on helpful tips.
Like us on Facebook at Centric,federal Credit Union and find
us at MyCentric on Instagram,pinterest, tiktok and YouTube.
(20:01):
You can find information abouttoday's topic, our monthly blog
and more at MyCentricorg.
Centric is federally insured bythe NCUA.
Welcome back to an episode of the Live Better
Podcast by Centric, and I'm yourhost and Centric Senior Vice
President of Marketing, KelliGreen.
I'm so excited that you're here.
Every month, we post a newepisode where I'm joined by
guests to chat about financesand all things living better.
Subscribe today so that younever miss an episode.
Today, our guest is AshleyOwens.
(00:21):
She is Vice President ofMortgage, and she's going to be
here to help us debunk mythsabout home ownership.
Well, good morning and welcomeback to the Live Better podcast.
We are joined today by AshleyOwens and we are tickled to have
you.
You are a recurring guest andwe're so grateful for you, so we
(00:41):
know that there's so manydifferent things that people
probably come to you and thinkmortgage is a oh my gosh, is
this terrible process?
And they are worried and scared.
Ashley Owens (00:54):
They are.
I call them nervous Nellieswhen they come in but I also
tell them like hey, we're here,we're here to hold your hand and
walk you through the process.
Wherever step you may be in theprocess, we are definitely here
to assist you along the way.
Kelli Green (01:07):
Yes.
Well, that's very comfortingbecause I was just talking with
you this morning and really kindof going through this.
You have walked us through homeconstruction twice, then into a
full mortgage twice, and it wasa really seamless process for
us.
I know we've asked you amillion questions and you're
(01:27):
always there and available, andI think that speaks true not
only to you, but even for yourteam.
Ashley Owens (01:32):
Yes, and definitely that helps not only
the buyer, it also helps us tounderstand what you don't know
and what you do need tounderstand, because definitely
questions are there to beanswered, because you don't do
this every day.
We do this every day and youdon't do this every day.
And it could be somethingsimple as what's PMI?
Am I going to have PMI?
(01:52):
You know, you always hear thislingo, but that's not your world
and that's our world and that'swhat we're here for to explain
that to you.
So we're always here to helpyou.
Kelli Green (02:02):
I love it.
Well, and so just kind of tellus a little bit too, for our
listeners that may have justjoined on and they may have not
have heard any of our previouspodcasts, but tell us a little
bit about who you are and howlong you've been here with us.
Ashley Owens (02:14):
Well, my name is Ashley Owens and I have been
here a little while.
We have gone through a namechange.
We were Forest Craft when Iinitially started, so I have
been here the Monday afterThanksgiving in 2007.
Kelli Green (02:29):
Wow!
Ashley Owens (02:30):
So I have been here a little while and I have
enjoyed every moment of it.
We are definitely afamily-oriented company and we
are here to help our members aswell as our team members here at
the credit union.
I enjoy doing what I do helpingpeople get in their homes.
I enjoy helping them creditcounsel.
If they're not ready Right now,we can definitely look at their
(02:53):
credit and see what they needto do to get where they need to
be.
So I just enjoy helping peoplehere at the credit union and I
think that speaks volumes of whowe are here at the credit union
.
We're in the business of helpingpeople.
Kelli Green (03:07):
That's the truth, and you guys get to do that
every single day.
I love it.
We're glad to have you here.
You're just a couple years shyof 20 years.
You started when you were five.
That's what we're going to say.
We're going to stick to it,okay, all right.
So here's a few things.
We're going to run down acouple of myths.
Are you ready?
I am ready, all right.
So let's think about this.
(03:28):
Do you actually need 20% downto buy a home?
Ashley Owens (03:33):
Absolutely no.
A lot of people come in it'slike well, I don't have 20% down
, I don't have a huge ton ofsavings.
Can I get money from 401k?
You can definitely get moneyfrom 401k, but the truth is you
do not need 20% down.
You can have as little as 0%down.
USDA, VA and our very ownfirst-time homebuyer loan
(03:57):
program does not require you tohave a down payment at all.
Now there are other loanprograms out there.
FHA requires you to have threeand a half percent down, now
conventional.
You can do as low as threepercent down on conventional
depending on your income, so wecan also look at that, but
normally on conventional theyrequire five percent down.
(04:19):
So there are a ton of differentoptions and that's what we're
here for to see what best fitsyour needs.
Kelli Green (04:25):
Gotcha.
So if you're in the market fora home and you've been thinking
you're not a homeowner and youthink, oh my gosh, I have no
savings, what can I do?
There is still an opportunitythat they could become a
homeowner.
Ashley Owens (04:39):
It is, it is definitely an opportunity and
even if you don't have the moneyin your savings accounts, we
can look at exploring otheroptions.
As far as Malmol Papaw givingyou gift funds, Sure.
We can get money out of your401k.
So there are options and alittle wiggle room for that down
payment option if you have togo that route, so come in and
(05:01):
talk to us.
Kelli Green (05:02):
What I love, what you said earlier is talking
about the financial counseling,because when you have folks come
in and they're asking questionsabout the down payment, maybe
they maybe because of theirincome, they don't qualify per
se for these and they wouldrequire a larger down payment.
I love that your team isequipped, as financial certified
financial counselors, to say,hey, here's what you can do to
(05:25):
start saving.
And here, if you start today,here's your plan Right, and you
give them.
You know they're able to seethat right away, and sometimes
it takes just a little bit oftime so that they're completely
prepared.
So I love that, absolutely loveit.
All right, so we're on toanother one.
All right, here we go.
So do you actually need perfectcredit to be a homeowner?
Ashley Owens (05:46):
Absolutely not.
We encourage you to have, youknow, the higher credit scores
because, as we know, highercredit scores mean lower
interest rates and in return youget a little bit better payment
monthly.
But you do not have to haveperfect credit.
Actually, with our lender rightnow, you can have a mid score
of a 580 and purchase a home.
(06:09):
It does have to be an FHA loan.
You do have to verify that youhave are paying rent monthly and
you have not been 30 daysdelinquent on your rent.
You cannot have gift funds, sothe money does have to come from
your source as far as bankingaccount or your 401k.
So there are options and youdon't have to have perfect
(06:30):
credit.
Normally, your credit score hasto be around a 620 or better
Gotcha.
But there are other loanprograms out there that can take
you a little bit lower.
Like FHA is a 580.
So all you have to do is justcome talk.
Kelli Green (06:44):
That's it.
Come talk to us.
That's it.
And it can be either in person,over the phone, even a Zoom, if
you want to meet virtuallythere's so many different
avenues for folks to reallycommunicate with you and your
team.
And no question is off thebooks.
Right, yeah, it's anything youwant, anything goes.
You know you got a question.
No question is to.
(07:04):
You know people think, well,this is a silly question, or, oh
, people aren't going to thinkI'm smart enough or that it
doesn't matter.
I think the worst thing we cando going through life is if we
have these questions and wedon't ask, because a lot of
times it could save you money.
Ashley Owens (07:18):
It definitely could save you money.
Or just general conversation,just being transparent with your
loan originator.
They could find out a lot moreinformation from you and about
different loan programs that youmay qualify for, because in
conversation, if you nevermentioned like, hey, I've been
in the military, we may can seeif you qualify for VA loan with
(07:38):
no money down.
So just having a conversationwith them, it just brings a lot
to light.
Kelli Green (07:44):
I love it, oh, I love it.
Ask the questions no one isperfect, right?
And again, to kind of go backto that about do you need
perfect credit?
The answer is absolutely no.
And you think about the higherthe credit score, the lower
interest, which means you'regoing to pay less every time.
That's correct, love it, okay?
(08:04):
So let's talk about this.
Give me a little bit ofinformation around.
Like a pre-qualification versusa pre-approval Are they
different?
If so, kind of tell me a littlebit about that.
Ashley Owens (08:17):
They are different and in the eyes of lenders or
in the eyes of realtorspre-qualification and
pre-approved they give you alittle bit.
We gather a little bitdifferent information.
Pre-qualification kind of givesyou a broad overview of okay,
yes, this is the informationthat you've given me.
You do pre-qualify.
(08:38):
Pre-approval is a little bit instone.
Information has been verifiedand it gives you a little bit
more buying power when you go toyour realtor and you say, hey,
I'm pre-approved rather thanpre-qualified, because we dig a
little bit deeper in apre-approval rather than a
pre-qualification.
Kelli Green (08:56):
And so when you're saying this really means a lot
to a realtor, take this theoryyou can just kind of share with
our listeners.
If they are maybe a first timehomebuyer or are considering
homeownership, what's the firstthing they should really do
before?
Should they go talk to arealtor first, or should they
come talk to you first?
Ashley Owens (09:15):
I think they should definitely talk to a loan
originator first, because ifthey go talk to the realtor
first, they're going to turnthem around unless they're
friends with them and say, hey,let's see how much you're
pre-qualified for, because youdon't want to be looking at four
or five $600,000 houses and youonly qualify for 300.
So you don't want to walk intoyour dream house and say, oh,
I'm ready to move in.
(09:35):
And then come talk to your loanoriginator and you're like I'm
sorry, you only qualify for thisamount and so your dreams are
crushed.
So definitely go talk to yourloan originator, get
pre-qualified, talk about allthe things money down, your
budget, your closing costs, howmuch you think that you want to
pay monthly, and also look inthe future as far as what if my
(09:58):
payment goes up.
Am I prepared for this?
Because my homeowners insuranceand my property taxes is going
to increase, so next year mypayment may increase - $200,
$300, $400.
Am I prepared for that?
Do I want to max my stuff out,so it's so many questions that
can be talked about during theprocess.
So definitely talk to your loanoriginator first.
Kelli Green (10:18):
First step talk to the loan officer.
Okay, Loan originator is who wewant to talk with.
So here's a couple of things Ireally want to kind of talk a
little bit maybe about renting,if that's okay with you.
Okay, so I've always.
You know, the myth that's outhere is that renting is always
cheaper.
Is that true?
Ashley Owens (10:41):
It depends on the area that you're staying in.
I believe renting candefinitely be cheaper, depending
on if you're in a rural area,or it may depend on what your
budget is.
So it depends on you and whereyou are in your life.
I believe renting could be thebest thing for people that are
on fixed income, as they don'thave to worry about keeping up
(11:02):
maintenance on their house.
They don't have to worry abouttheir homeowner's insurance,
their property taxes increasingand their payment increasing
from year to year, um, becausethey are on a fixed income, so
they don't have any more moneyto put into a morthg
Kelli Green (11:16):
That's right.
mortgage T T mortgageToer vee rent versus the mortgage is
cheaper right um, definitelyyour mortgage.
You're building equity in yourhome, um, and you have that
money available in their incomeis not increasing like the
working class of people.
Um, so, it just depends onwhere you're at if the rent
versus the mortgage is cheaper rum.
Du year efinitely m do own it?
(11:37):
Um, but you also have to keepin mind about maintenance on
your house right you have mynest eggs set aside to fix my
home and roof on my home.
I mean all the things that comeinto play with.
ou're.
So I definitely think it's aself decision on do I really,
can I really afford to not onlybuy a house, pay for a house and
(11:59):
have maintenance on the housefrom year to year?
Yeah, so that's.
You're the thing is just, sometimes people think,
well, you're a renter, you know.
Then that is just almost feellike, oh, what's the word?
Maybe people feel like, well,oh, I'm not in a position, you
know, I can't necessarily affordthat.
This is, you know, not a goodthing.
You know, maybe I have notaspired to, you know, achieve
(12:20):
this particular dream.
But homeownership is notnecessarily everything people
think it is.
It's not necessarily just anAmerican dream.
While it is an American dream,you know, there are several
things that renting couldsafeguard folks from.
Ashley Owens (12:35):
That is correct.
Kelli Green (12:35):
Yeah, one of the things I'll share too, just on
this, from a personal standpoint.
You know my mom she's retiredagain, like you mentioned,
living on that fixed income.
So if she were to, actually youknow she sold her home because
she knew, as she's getting older, she thought, you know, this is
something I really need tothink about from a standpoint.
She lives alone, so if she hassomething that breaks or you
(12:57):
know she would have to paythat's an additional expense out
of her pocket.
So I think it's definitely inthe timeframe that you're in.
What does your savings looklike?
Does your budget allow for youto have emergencies like that?
Because fixing a roof, sure,you've got like an insurance
deductible for that, you know.
And so it's um conversationsthat we have with members often
(13:18):
is, you know, more than half,about 60% of our members can't
necessarily afford a $400emergency.
So in those situations, homeownership is not something that
we would recommend.
Ashley Owens (13:31):
Yeah, and maintenance happens when you
least expect it.
Kelli Green (13:36):
I mean.
Ashley Owens (13:36):
I'll take it back to me.
Our AC went out and my husbandwas off hunting.
I'm like the AC is out.
Kelli Green (13:43):
What do we do?
Ashley Owens (13:44):
And it's a weekend .
So if you call them on theweekend, that's extra.
Do you have that fixed intoyour budget?
And it could be somethingsimple, like mine was the
capacitor on the AC unit I mean,it was a quick fix.
It didn't take him but 10minutes, but that was $250 later
.
That's fix.
It didn't take him but 10minutes, but that was 250 later.
That's right.
Kelli Green (14:03):
You know, that's 250 dollars in grocery for some
people, or that could be theirmedicine, you know, you just
never know.
Ashley Owens (14:06):
So I have people that come in to me and talk to
me sometimes and say what do youthink is in my best interest?
Do you think I should sell myhouse, um, or can we look at
doing a second mortgage on my?
House just so I can have somecash flow.
And so you just have to havethose conversations and hard
conversations sometimes withyour members to just kind of
(14:27):
guide them with the knowledgethat you have.
Kelli Green (14:29):
Wow, I love it.
I love this that you're sharingwith our folks today, and it's
the first and most importantthing that we want to get across
.
And I know, ashley, that youkind of you live and die by this
is like just talk to me, right.
Just talk to me, yes, have theconversation.
Come on over here at mid city.
You are located here at midcity in the Monroe office.
(14:51):
I think that is what is is.
You make yourself available forfolks and people trust you.
You've been in the business foralmost 20 years, working in
mortgage, and it just you bringabout a sense of ease to folks
whenever we work with you andI'm speaking personally, you
know, and so I do hope that ourlisteners will take advantage of
(15:12):
just having the opportunity tospeak with someone.
I think that would be theabsolute best thing.
Just give you a call.
Ashley Owens (15:18):
Yes, give us a call.
Kelli Green (15:20):
Yes, well, is there anything else you want to share
with?
Ashley Owens (15:25):
our listeners today, I think, just being
transparent with your loanofficer student loans let's talk
about that.
I know a lot of people havestudent loans and some people
say, oh, I can't get a loanbecause I have student loans.
Well, that's not true.
Depending on what loan programyou are exploring depends on how
we calculate your monthlypayment.
(15:45):
So definitely have aconversation with your loan
officer when you're talkingabout your student loans,
because they are definitelycalculated differently as far as
monthly payment, if you don'thave a monthly payment on your
credit report versus if you doso, there are a lot of factors
that go into student loans.
So definitely have aconversation with your loan
originator when we're talkingabout getting a mortgage and you
(16:05):
have student loans, becausethey definitely play a factor in
your pre-qualification of yourmortgage that you're trying to
get.
Kelli Green (16:13):
Talk about a myth.
Ashley Owens (16:14):
Yes.
Kelli Green (16:15):
Because we see people with student loan debt
day in and day out.
Ashley Owens (16:21):
You do and they say, well, I'm not paying it
right now, or no, you're notpaying it, but we are required
to add half a percent or onepercent of your balance for a
monthly payment depending onyour loan program and that can
knock some people out of youknow, out of purchasing the
house, that they really qualifyfor Sure, if you know they could
have no debt.
Kelli Green (16:41):
And then if we're doing 1%, that's a lot for some
people, depending on how muchstudent loans you have.
Ashley Owens (16:48):
So even talk to students that are in high school
when they're going into college, or college kids about hey, you
know, try not to take out asmany student loans as you want
you know, get what you need.
That's exactly right If that'ssomething that you have to do,
um, and I always explore optionsof scholarship, so that
definitely needs to be aconversation to high school kids
and college kids absolutely.
Kelli Green (17:09):
It's so important you know when people are going
and and taking out a studentloan.
Just because you can doesn'tmean you should.
I remember I made my dad what Iwas.
Very fortunate that you know,he covered the cost, the expense
of my education.
But there was one fortunatethat you know, he covered the
cost, the expense of myeducation.
But there was one semesterwhere my grades dropped and he
said all right, kid, you're onyour own.
And I'm like, oh my gosh, youknow what do I do.
And so throughout that you know, he said here's the deal You're
(17:32):
going to have to go to afinancial institution and you're
going to tell them you take in,you show them, take your
invoice for your that semesterand you tell them you want a
loan for just this amount.
Right, and that's what a lot ofpeople don't understand.
You can do that.
You can say hey and just takeout that amount.
I always say I'm with you onthis and I know you and I can
(17:54):
speak from this personally.
But even as we're talking toour kiddos, it's so important
that they understand if you canlive at home and go to school,
why not?
Ashley Owens (18:04):
Yes.
Kelli Green (18:04):
Why not, that's?
Ashley Owens (18:05):
what I'm preaching right now.
Kelli Green (18:06):
Yes, it's so important you get the same
degree right.
I mean, you just kind of haveto look at it.
I think it goes into.
It may vary a little bit whenyou're looking at specialties
and so forth, but we are sofortunate in Northeast Louisiana
to have multiple institutions,from ULM to Grambling, louisiana
, tech, delta.
You know, you think about allthese institutions, from a trade
(18:29):
to a full degree, I mean, andthen some it's all right here
you don't really have to goanywhere and we're fortunate to
do that.
Right and they have options thatthey can do and we're fortunate
to do that Right and they haveoptions that they can do
Absolutely and make a greatcareer, so much so I am just so,
so grateful for this time thatwe've had.
You know, guys, I hope that youwill go back in, subscribe to
(18:52):
us, but also listen in and goback a few months, because we
typically have actually in.
We talk quite a bit about thisbecause homeownership is
something that's so critical,but there are so many scary
untruths that are out there, andso I just thank you for your
expertise.
Ashley Owens (19:05):
You are so welcome .
I love it If you're thinkingabout something or you're
thinking well.
Is this an unknown?
Is this a myth?
Hey, just give us a call, comein and see us, send us a text
email, whatever you know, youcan get in contact with us and
we can definitely have theconversation with you guys,
that's right.
Kelli Green (19:22):
Well, just for our listeners, it's 318-340-9656.
You can text that number to getto Ashley.
You can also call directly andthey will get you directly to
her line.
And you can always visit usonline at mycentricorg.
Ashley Owens (19:36):
That's it, yay, come see us.
Kelli Green (19:39):
Perfect.
Thank you for listening to ourpodcast and tune back in next
month for another episode of theLive Better podcast.
Don't forget to subscribe onyour favorite podcast platform
and to ensure that you nevermiss out on helpful tips.
Like us on Facebook at Centric,federal Credit Union and find
us at MyCentric on Instagram,pinterest, tiktok and YouTube.
(20:01):
You can find information abouttoday's topic, our monthly blog
and more at MyCentricorg.
Centric is federally insured bythe NCUA.
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