February 13, 2025 • 25 mins
What if the choice between renting and buying could be guided not just by financial logic, but by faith as well? Joining Shay Cook on this fascinating discussion is Janessa Siegel, one of our Accredited Financial Counselors at Crusaders for Change, LLC. Listen as they explore the complex world of real estate investment versus renting through the unique lens of biblical stewardship. Drawing inspiration from Luke 16:10, they uncover how renting can be a wise and responsible step before transitioning to the commitment of homeownership. Through personal stories, they illuminate the often-overlooked challenges of owning a home, such as unexpected repairs and maintenance, and compare them to the flexibility and convenience that renting can offer.
The episode also delves into how property ownership can be used as a cornerstone for building wealth. They discuss the tangible benefits of real estate, not only as a stable and appreciating asset but as a means to generate passive income and provide for future generations. Whether you're contemplating the leap into homeownership or evaluating the practicality of renting, their conversation aims to equip you with the knowledge and faith-guided perspective needed to make these pivotal life choices.
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Our podcast is proudly sponsored by Crusaders for Change, LLC (C4C) and hosted by our CEO and Founder, Mrs. Shay Cook. At C4C, we provide customized corporate financial wellness programs for businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Our services are tailored to create happier, healthier, and more productive work environments. We also empower individuals and couples to overcome debt, improve their credit, boost savings, and more. Ready to learn more about how C4C can impact your life? Contact us today at https://www.crusaders4change.org/!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shay (00:02):
Ever felt those awkward vibes when religion and money
come up?
You're not alone.
Welcome to Yahweh's Money, thepodcast where we tackle the
crossroads of faith and finance.
I'm Shay Cook, an AccreditedFinancial Counselor and the CEO
and founder of Crusaders forChange LLC.
Join us on our journey as wediscuss topics like tithing,
(00:24):
saving and conquering debtthrough religious perspectives.
Let's get started.
Hey everyone.
Welcome back to another episodeof Yahweh's Money.
Again, we have a special guestwith us today, Ms.
Janessa, one of C4C's financialcounselors.
So how are you feeling tonight?
Janessa (00:42):
I'm feeling good, feeling good, feeling great,
staying warm and staying off theicy roads.
Shay (00:47):
Oh yes, please, everybody be safe out there.
Some crazy stuff going on inthe world with the snow and the
ice and the weather and thefires, and the Lord is working
it out.
We pray for all those families.
If you're affected by it, anddirectly or directly, definitely
Godspeed, and we're herepraying for you.
So, but today we're going todiscuss a big financial decision
(01:09):
real estate investment versusrenting.
So should you own and invest inproperty or is renting a better
choice for your situation?
We'll explore the pros and conseach, how each real estate
investors, or how real estateinvestors can be good stewards
of their profits and then thatword again stewards and all
(01:30):
through a biblical lens.
So stay tuned.
So Luke 16 (01:34):
10 says "Whoever can be trusted with very little
can also be trusted with much,and whoever is dishonest with
very little will also bedishonest with much.
" Amen to that.
We can apply this verse torenting as a wise and
responsible step beforetransitioning to home ownership
and investing.
(01:54):
Wow.
Janessa (01:55):
Yes, yes, indeed, Renting definitely it gives us.
It's almost like a precursor, Ithink, because it shows us the
responsibility of taking care ofa property-ish without the
responsibility of taking care ofthe property, if you know what
I mean.
But yeah, like there's lots ofpros and cons to renting versus
(02:18):
buying or buying versus renting,and one of the biggest, I would
say, pros of renting would be alower initial cost.
So when you're renting, I meanthe initial costs are typically
like a security deposit,depending on your credit, maybe
first and last month's rent, sothat can be kind of high
(02:39):
depending on your situation.
Yeah, of course, moving ifyou're moving from one place to
another, but the renting initself typically has lower
startup costs, which is soimportant for a lot of people
who are looking for housingExactly.
Shay (02:53):
And affordable housing is a big thing in this country
right now.
It's so expensive and a lot ofpeople are going back to renting
.
And you're right, I know, as werented, whether we were with
the military or, you know,outside of the military.
I mean, even renting can bekind of expensive, right, If you
don't have, like we talkedabout before the budgeting piece
of it, if you're not budgetingfor it.
(03:14):
But it's definitely not asexpensive as a down that 10 or 3
to 5 to 10% of 100, 200, 300,500,000.
Oh my God, it's so expensiveand all of the fees that people
do not understand goes into itand the fees.
Janessa (03:30):
That's the part that I think people forget about when
it comes to owning, so, like Ithink of the flexibility of
renting, so you don't have to.
Yes, you sign a lease 12 months, depending on where you're
staying.
Could be a little bit longer,or month to month, but if you're
(03:52):
in a mortgage, you're locked in.
You're locked in, yeah, you arelocked in, like getting out of a
mortgage, mm-mm.
So that flexibility of beingable to move after a certain
amount of time and also changingthe facility maybe you want to
go down to a one-bedroom or upto a two-bedroom you can do that
(04:13):
without having to worry aboutselling a property and taxes and
things of that nature.
So it is nice to have thatflexibility and um and no
maintenance maintenance.
Shay (04:26):
That is the biggest thing about owning, that I like, the
joys of owning there's.
I mean, as soon as we could.
We bought this house two yearsago and, man, it's like, soon as
we buy a house, you figure out,oh, you got a lot of more stuff
to do than you plan.
You know, even if you get thebest inspection and you go
literally we were in this housefor three hours with the
inspector going level to level,room to room, checking every
(04:50):
little nook and cranny, and thenwe get in like, oh yeah, by the
way, it's ac.
Oh, by the way, this thing, bythe way, this thing.
I'm like, oh my god, that'swhat I loved about renting.
You know, people just came inand they fixed things, even
though I have a story to saywhen I was living in Omaha,
nebraska, we were renting anapartment, I was in the bathroom
and I came out, almost knockedsomebody out because they were
(05:12):
in my house trying to fixsomething.
Oh my god, I cussed that manout.
Lord, forgive me.
Lord, forgive me.
Janessa (05:19):
It's okay, girl, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Shay (05:20):
I'm telling you what are you doing in my house right now?
It's like why I knocked.
Well, I was in the bathroom.
What if I came out here naked?
So you know those kind of Imean again, the joy is of
renting versus owning.
At least I know ain't nobodygonna be coming at my house.
I pray to god, you know, whenI'm owning because unless you
got a key, um, but the rentingman, that no maintenance is a
beautiful thing because man,everything's under your, you
(05:45):
know your purview when you'rerolling, yes, I think about when
um it was after I graduatedfrom graduate school and I lived
in the Poconos and I justhappened.
Janessa (05:55):
I don't know what it is about.
When I move, for some reason,the winter of wherever I move is
the worst that they'veexperienced in years.
It happened in grad school,when I was in Ohio.
It happened in Pennsylvaniawhen I moved there it was like a
snowstorm peak of snow, butwhere I lived, the pilot light
(06:18):
for the heat was blown out, so Ididn't have any heat in my
apartment.
Shay (06:23):
Now, if I own that place, I gotta pay for that, you gotta
pay for that you can't just callsomebody or even if you were
renting a house, call yourlandlord, because I've been
there with the pilot line had tocall the landlord.
Right, at least they showed up.
But nah, yes, you own in thatcase?
Janessa (06:38):
yeah, and unfortunately in that case the roads were so
bad nobody could come to thehouse, oh man.
So thankfully they took somemoney off of my rent, because
they're like because they sentsomeone within 30 minutes.
It blew right back out, oh god,and they couldn't get back
because the snow was so bad.
But I say all that to say when,when you are renting, it is the
(06:59):
landlord, the person who ownsthe property, it's their
responsibility to make sure thatstuff is up to code, to make
sure that's taken care of.
Shay (07:08):
When you own it, that's on you that's on you and if you
ain't got, the money orsomething happens like janessa's
saying, and somebody can't comeout for a couple days, which
I've had happen in our lasthouse in odenton here in
maryland.
We were in a town home and Ithink what back, what back to
back, one summer we had no airconditioning for like three days
(07:29):
because they couldn't come out.
It was the hot, deadest summer.
So we were like we all we hadto sleep on the first level
because it was just too hot tosleep all the way up on the
third level.
And then one year we had noheat and so it was like all
bundle up a couple things had toget some space heaters, so and
that was all.
And thank god we had planned,had an emergency fund, but
sometimes you can't even getsomebody to come out because
(07:52):
everybody's affected by the samething.
So everybody ain't got ac oreverybody's.
You know, we were in aneighborhood, it seems like,
because they were all builtaround the same time, so
everybody's ac unit went out thesame time, everybody's back,
everybody.
You know water heater went outat the same time, so Everybody
HVAC, everybody.
You know water heater went outat the same time.
So then now you have everybody.
Everybody's roof had an issueat the same time.
It was just funny howeverything was degrading at the
same time and you're trying tocall people in like, well, I got
all these other tickets and so.
(08:14):
So there's all these differentreasons.
But when you're owning, that'son you.
When they're renting, you have.
There's that responsibility,unless you have one crazy renter
.
You know owners, landlords, andthey ain't going to do what
they're supposed to do, butthat's a whole nother story.
Janessa (08:26):
But then there's legal ramifications.
Shay (08:28):
Well, there is, but then you might not have no money to
do anything, that's true, that'sa whole nother story, but yeah,
it's renting.
Janessa (08:38):
Renting can definitely provide you, you know that
flexibility, low initial cost,low maintenance and in some
places and in some situationsrent is actually cheaper,
Depending on.
I mean now, unfortunately, therent is getting very high, Very
high.
So if you like roommates andyou're okay sharing space, share
(08:59):
some space.
Shay (09:00):
I told my 24-year-old daughter she's like I don't know
when I'm going to be able torent.
I was like you're going to haveto get a couple roommates.
Janessa (09:06):
Look about to be a lot of multi-generations in one
house.
Yes, Multiple roommates.
Shay (09:12):
And that is okay.
Janessa (09:14):
That is okay.
Shay (09:14):
There's nothing wrong with that.
Janessa (09:16):
Being in a community is beautiful, and some of the
happiest places in the worldoften have communal living.
Shay (09:25):
So nothing wrong with living with other people, but in
some cases rent is actuallycheaper.
Janessa (09:31):
Flip side of that rent can go up.
So because someone else ownsthe property, they can determine
how much they want to chargeand unfortunately rent is not
regulated in a lot of places.
So there is that other sidewhere it can go up pretty
substantially depending on whereyou live and also with the
(09:55):
landlord situation.
If you do run into an issuewith the landlord and they're
problematic, if you don't havethe money to take them to court,
you're kind of stuck with it.
So renting can definitely giveyou options, but there are, you
know, the cons of it is becauseit's someone else's property.
If you're in a house, they wantto sell the house.
You got to go, you got to go.
Shay (10:15):
Yeah, I hear that story a lot from our clients that you
know are in that situation.
Or when they tell me about thesize of their apartment or even
their house that they're rentingand their rent is way higher
than my mortgage.
And I'm like girl boy, son,like really, oh gosh it.
It's crazy.
My sister and I were talkingabout that a couple weeks ago.
It was like people's three andfour thousand dollars a month
(10:39):
and I'm like what?
Janessa (10:39):
that's way more than my mortgage what does it come with
the president feeding you food,or something like why is it so?
Why is it so high?
Do you have?
oh my goodness, oh my god I meanthat's why I mean I'm grateful
(11:00):
that you know again to god thatI can own, because that is a
whole another situation.
But you know, long-term wealthbuilding comes from usually real
estate.
Nine out of ten millionaireshave made their money through
real estate.
So you know, but again, god istrusting that in us to be
stewards of that.
Still, like you know, andhaving that real estate is great
(11:21):
, but I mean it does provide astability in life and equity and
appreciation, which is nice.
It's not depreciating like incars, I mean it tends to
increase over time, you know,and equity increases as the
mortgage is paid off.
So that's a great asset to have?
Yeah, absolutely.
I think, when it comes towealth building, owning property
(11:41):
, owning land, should be one ofthe first things discussed
because, like you're saying,it's an appreciating asset and
it's physical.
Yeah, like we don't talk a lotabout the asset and it's
physical, yeah, um, like wedon't talk a lot about the uh.
Don't get me to line about whatthe actual word is.
I think it's a uh commoditiescommodities yeah yeah.
So like having that physicalthing that is an actual asset is
(12:08):
so beneficial because I mean, Idon't want to say what if the
world goes into shambles, but ifyou literally have land, if
anything, you have land you cangrow food on that land, you can
live on that land, it is yoursand wealth wise like it,
appreciates over time, and it issomething that you own.
So having real estate, havingproperty, is so important if you
(12:33):
are trying to build that wealthand generational wealth is
something you can pass down fromfamily to family.
It is something that cancontinue to contribute way past.
you know you being here, but youknow, yeah, that that long-term
(12:53):
stability in life and thatappreciating asset is so huge
with owning that land I meanthat's why I think a lot of wars
are started from the power ofthat and the land.
Shay (13:04):
I mean that's what we're seeing overseas right now.
Right, it's been going on forgenerations is that land god's
not getting, creating more landpeople?
What we got here unless you'regoing to go to another universe
or planet Mars or something, andon this earth we ain't got no
more.
It's there, that's it, that'sit.
Janessa (13:26):
Unless you figure out a way to live in the ocean, I
don't suggest it, ain't notelling what's down there y'all.
Shay (13:32):
I mean especially what's going on right now.
We'll stay away from that.
Janessa (13:36):
It's so big, Like there's so much.
I think they say we've onlydiscovered like 20% Of the 70%
of the world Like?
Shay (13:43):
is winning it like 70%?
Or am I thinking about water orthe body?
Janessa (13:48):
I want to say the majority of the earth is covered
by water.
Shay (13:56):
Yeah, yeah, majority of the earth is covered by water.
Yeah, yeah, only likediscovered or explored 20
percent, right?
I love watching thosedocumentaries on that.
Yeah, I didn't know.
Janessa (14:00):
Nasa was created to discover, to study the ocean.
Shay (14:04):
Oh, initially, yeah, it was originally studying the
ocean.
Janessa (14:06):
Then they decided to study space.
Wow, why?
Either way, unless you canfigure out how to live in the
ocean, there's not going to beany other place where you can
have physical space.
Yeah, exactly.
Shay (14:20):
And so if your family can give you, pass that along, that
is a blessing.
Or if you can go buy some land,buy some property, and now the
property or the houses they puton the land is like you know, I
mean especially here in Maryland.
Yeah, and I'm even talkingabout my own house.
We bought this nice big home,but we ain't got much land
because there ain't much landout here to give, like you know,
(14:42):
so it's.
And if it is, it's not usable.
It's marshes, swamps, it's likeyou know all of that stuff, too,
has to be considered.
So you know, but real estatecan be rented out and generate
passive income too.
So we get, we buy that land, webuy that real estate can be
rented out and generate passiveincome too.
So we buy that land, we buythat real estate.
Now we can rent it out and makemore money, right?
So it helps with thatgenerational or that long term
(15:02):
wealth building.
Janessa (15:04):
Absolutely.
I love the when people want toutilize their property to
potentially bring in additionalincome and then if you have the
ability to buy more than oneproperty, then you're building
that portfolio and buildingmultiple streams of income,
which is very important andhelpful because it allows you to
not be dependent on just onestream.
(15:25):
So yes, renting it out and thetax benefits.
Shay (15:28):
Oh my.
Janessa (15:28):
God yeah those taxes.
Shay (15:32):
If you can get benefits with taxes, get it For real.
We see the celebrities thathave enough money in their bank
account to buy a house, butthey're like nah, I'm buying
this and getting a mortgagebecause I need that tax
deduction.
So there's a reason why thesecelebrities have these mortgages
still because that tax benefitis huge tax benefit is huge,
(15:56):
absolutely, absolutely.
Janessa (15:57):
So, yeah, there's.
There's pros and cons for eachof them.
I think it just depends on thesituation.
It depends on what you canafford.
That's why budget is important.
Um, but then also like goals soyou don't have to like, if
you're renting now, that doesn'tmean you're going to rent for
the rest of your life, yeah, andif you buy a property now, it
doesn't mean you will never rentagain.
Shay (16:17):
That is so true.
Because I know people who havesold their property and went
back to renting because they'relike I just don't want to deal
with it anymore, Especiallypeople as you grow older, like
my mother-in-law and people Italk to, they would love to pass
it along, but they're like youknow, they would love to pass it
along, but they're like youguys are good, you guys got your
house.
Now my mom, she only has onekid.
I only have one kid.
And so you know, and they, mydaughter's like I don't want
(16:43):
this house.
So I was like okay.
So, yeah, she wanted to do herown thing and I appreciate that.
So you know.
Then they're like well, maybeI'll just go back to renting,
cause, as you get older, all ofthe maintenance, all the stuff
we already talked about, it's alot, it's a huge burden.
It's a beautiful burden andbeautiful blessing, I say.
But I was thinking the otherday I was putting up Christmas
lights, I was on the ladder andI was like I'm 46.
And so I turned 46 in December.
(17:05):
It's the last month.
Janessa (17:07):
And so thank you.
Shay (17:08):
And so I was on this ladder putting up these
Christmas lights.
It was funny because myneighbor was like you can do
everything.
I like being outside.
My daddy was one of those.
Get outside, I like to do thegrass stuff.
My husband helps go too.
Anyways, I'm on this ladder andthe ladder is really heavy and
I had to get my husband to moveit or whatever.
I'm like, if I'm 60, 70, I amnot getting up on this ladder
putting up these lights.
(17:28):
I'm not going to be doing a lotof things like when I'm
crawling, like when my bug guycomes and goes in the attic.
I'll go up an attic with himand check things out.
I'm like I'm not gonna want toclimb up in this attic at 70.
No, I mean.
I mean, hopefully God is my bodystill and functioning well, you
know I'm saying that part butI'll just like, oh my god, just
(17:51):
like just filling my knees andyou know all the kind of cramps
and stuff you get now and youget older and um, but yeah, I'm
just thinking about that.
So I'm like maybe I'm gonnahave to rent later or maybe you
know, and maybe still keep thehouse as an asset, rent it out,
but then rent somewhere else, sosomebody can take care of the
maintenance and hire a housemanager or something or build a
tiny house my husband's alwayswatching those videos they're so
(18:16):
cute they're amazing.
Janessa (18:19):
They're amazing and it's like it could be the size
of an apartment.
Yeah, but you own it.
You own it, but yes, that thatdefinitely.
As you know, as we grow olderand wiser, you know we may not
be able to do as many things toupkeep properties.
Shay (18:37):
Yeah.
Janessa (18:38):
Owning that is a long term investment.
Shay (18:42):
Yeah, because while it depreciates in value it still
costs money to maintain it.
Yes, exactly, and people forgetabout all of those fees that go
into.
You know we even talk about that.
People forget about all ofthose fees that go into.
You know we even talk aboutthat.
But owning real estate andoutside of the closing costs is
a you know, down payment.
All that I always tell peopleyou guys need to have some kind
of um oh God, I'm about to blinkon it Um, reserves.
(19:06):
Yes, for all, you know you havean emergency fund.
You need to have a reserve fundon top of that, because when we
was COVID AC, whole HVAC, waterheater, roof we had to replace
all in one year.
Oh my gosh, that's so bad and Iain't rich, okay.
So I was like, thank god.
When USA came out, like, ohwell, some of this might have
(19:28):
been damaged from a stormpreviously, so we'll cover half
of that.
I'm like, thank you, but a roofis like 15 to 20,000.
So we still had to come up like7,000 there.
Then literally the HVAC, andthen I mean all these things
started happening.
But but God right, becauseguess what, A year or two later
we sold that house for recordprofit.
Janessa (19:47):
And because we had all that stuff taken care of.
Shay (19:51):
The new owners come in, or the buyers they didn't have to
do an inspection because we hadall that.
Janessa (19:55):
So God knew what he was doing, he had a plan, but I was
like I cannot believe we werehit with a roof, an HVAC, a
water heater all in one year.
Shay (20:03):
It was crazy.
That's why I told people yougotta have five, ten percent of
reserve funding on top ofwhatever your house costs.
That five ten percent of thehouse value annual savings,
because you never knowabsolutely yeah absolutely like
down payment is not all you needwhen you're getting a house.
Janessa (20:22):
So when they're like, oh yeah, I'm, I want to save x
amount for a down payment, I'mlike, okay, how much do you have
beyond the down payment?
They're like, no, that, that'sabout it.
I'm like, well, you also haveto consider um, you want an
emergency fund.
Shay (20:37):
You also want money for maintenance, you also want money
for closing costs and money formoving, exactly because what
about all the windows that youwant to put in all the
furnishings and?
Janessa (20:47):
all that are you going to be house for?
Shay (20:48):
you're going to be in this house.
You ain't got nothing exactlyexactly.
Janessa (20:52):
There's so much more that goes into owning a house
besides the mortgage.
Exactly that's what.
That's what we have to payattention to.
Like it's great to own a house.
I do think, if you have theability to and the stamina to
own a house, that's great.
But before doing it, look atall of the um, look at all the
(21:17):
aspects of owning a property,because it is just more than a
monthly payment.
It's more than that and that'sthe biggest difference between
renting and owning.
Renting, you just pay thatmonthly payment.
That's it.
Owning it's much more.
Shay (21:33):
It's much more.
Janessa (21:34):
And then what?
Shay (21:34):
if you do have real estate profits, you know God wants us
to be a good steward of it.
So not only should we begenerous as our profits increase
, we should give back and sharewhat God has blessed with us,
but also you want to maintainyour integrity, operate with
honesty when dealing withtenants to keep your property
safe and maintain.
As we said, there are some.
What is they called?
Not loan sharks, what are they?
(21:56):
Landlords?
Slumlords Slumlords that's theword Yep, and so we don't want
to be out here slumming it.
We want to be honest when we'redealing with our tenants and
keep it safe and maintain, andnot just go up on prices just
because you know what theprofits god has given to us, and
we need to do the right thingyeah, absolutely, and and like
(22:17):
with the price gouging.
Janessa (22:19):
Unfortunately, so many people who own properties are
doing that, which is making itdifficult for people to live.
To live like, yeah, if you havethe ability to, if you are
renting out your space andyou're making profits, I think
the best example of if you don'tneed to, why is um, the owner
of the amazon t, who said he'snever going to charge more than
(22:41):
99 cents he's like for makinggood money.
Why would I change that?
If you own a property andyou're making great money, why
price gouge?
Why make it difficult for theresidents, especially if you
have great residents, if you'rea great landlord, you will have
loyal residents.
They will make sure they pay youon time.
If there are any issues,they're going to try to work
(23:01):
with you.
If you create the space thatallows them to live a
flourishing life, then they'regoing to make sure that that
property is also flourishing,because they recognize other
places are not the same.
So please avoid being greedy.
You know, let's not be greedyand it's nice to do updates and
(23:21):
things to your properties.
But getting caught up in makingthings overly luxurious, that's
when you start getting intothat overspending and doing more
than what's possibly needed,because then if you're putting
all that in your house, thenyou're going to start charging
more and you could outpriceyourself.
Now your profit is gone andyou've got this property you
can't afford anymore.
(23:44):
Definitely plan for your youknow plan for your future and
when you're reinvesting,reinvest wisely and try your
hardest to be ethical.
Like, money is an inanimateobject and it's just a tool to
cover needs and wants.
That's all it is.
So if you're able to live athriving and flourishing life,
(24:10):
just ask yourself what would bethe point of charging more or
doing more or making itdifficult for others like what
is the point?
What is the point?
Yeah?
Shay (24:19):
and I'm just going to reiterate what Luke 16
as I said at the top of thisepisode, is "Whoever can be
trusted with very little canalso be trusted with much, and
whoever is dishonest with verylittle will also be dishonest
with much.
" So we want to be, you know,honest, we want to be trusted,
we want to do right with whatGod has given us.
Janessa (24:39):
So yeah, any last words ?
Yes, I would just say, you know, don't, don't jump into
something too fast just becauseothers are doing it.
It's OK to take your time.
Shay (24:51):
Yeah.
Janessa (24:52):
And, like I said, if you want to own a property and
you rent right now, that'sabsolutely possible.
And if you own a property andyou're like I can't do this
anymore, it's OK to sell itExactly.
Shay (25:02):
No shame, no, shame Do what's right for you.
Janessa (25:06):
Back to it Exactly no shame, no shame Do what's right
for you Exactly.
Shay (25:08):
Hey, that's it.
There you go.
Well, that was amazing, Janessa.
Thank you so much.
Janessa (25:12):
Thanks for having me.
Shay (25:13):
Yeah, Y'all have a good day.
We'll talk soon.
A big thank you for listeningto this episode.
We hope you found today's chatabout the intersection of
religion and money insightful.
We would love to hear yourfeedback.
Hit that subscribe button orfollow the podcast and please
feel free to leave us a review.
For the latest Yahweh's Moneycontent, visit us at www.
(25:36):
crusaders4change.
org or find us anywhere youlisten to podcasts.
Until next time, stayfinancially fit and spiritually
inspired and remember it'salways better Yahweh's way.
Ever felt those awkward vibes when religion and money
come up?
You're not alone.
Welcome to Yahweh's Money, thepodcast where we tackle the
crossroads of faith and finance.
I'm Shay Cook, an AccreditedFinancial Counselor and the CEO
and founder of Crusaders forChange LLC.
Join us on our journey as wediscuss topics like tithing,
(00:24):
saving and conquering debtthrough religious perspectives.
Let's get started.
Hey everyone.
Welcome back to another episodeof Yahweh's Money.
Again, we have a special guestwith us today, Ms.
Janessa, one of C4C's financialcounselors.
So how are you feeling tonight?
Janessa (00:42):
I'm feeling good, feeling good, feeling great,
staying warm and staying off theicy roads.
Shay (00:47):
Oh yes, please, everybody be safe out there.
Some crazy stuff going on inthe world with the snow and the
ice and the weather and thefires, and the Lord is working
it out.
We pray for all those families.
If you're affected by it, anddirectly or directly, definitely
Godspeed, and we're herepraying for you.
So, but today we're going todiscuss a big financial decision
(01:09):
real estate investment versusrenting.
So should you own and invest inproperty or is renting a better
choice for your situation?
We'll explore the pros and conseach, how each real estate
investors, or how real estateinvestors can be good stewards
of their profits and then thatword again stewards and all
(01:30):
through a biblical lens.
So stay tuned.
So Luke 16 (01:34):
10 says "Whoever can be trusted with very little
can also be trusted with much,and whoever is dishonest with
very little will also bedishonest with much.
" Amen to that.
We can apply this verse torenting as a wise and
responsible step beforetransitioning to home ownership
and investing.
(01:54):
Wow.
Janessa (01:55):
Yes, yes, indeed, Renting definitely it gives us.
It's almost like a precursor, Ithink, because it shows us the
responsibility of taking care ofa property-ish without the
responsibility of taking care ofthe property, if you know what
I mean.
But yeah, like there's lots ofpros and cons to renting versus
(02:18):
buying or buying versus renting,and one of the biggest, I would
say, pros of renting would be alower initial cost.
So when you're renting, I meanthe initial costs are typically
like a security deposit,depending on your credit, maybe
first and last month's rent, sothat can be kind of high
(02:39):
depending on your situation.
Yeah, of course, moving ifyou're moving from one place to
another, but the renting initself typically has lower
startup costs, which is soimportant for a lot of people
who are looking for housingExactly.
Shay (02:53):
And affordable housing is a big thing in this country
right now.
It's so expensive and a lot ofpeople are going back to renting
.
And you're right, I know, as werented, whether we were with
the military or, you know,outside of the military.
I mean, even renting can bekind of expensive, right, If you
don't have, like we talkedabout before the budgeting piece
of it, if you're not budgetingfor it.
(03:14):
But it's definitely not asexpensive as a down that 10 or 3
to 5 to 10% of 100, 200, 300,500,000.
Oh my God, it's so expensiveand all of the fees that people
do not understand goes into itand the fees.
Janessa (03:30):
That's the part that I think people forget about when
it comes to owning, so, like Ithink of the flexibility of
renting, so you don't have to.
Yes, you sign a lease 12 months, depending on where you're
staying.
Could be a little bit longer,or month to month, but if you're
(03:52):
in a mortgage, you're locked in.
You're locked in, yeah, you arelocked in, like getting out of a
mortgage, mm-mm.
So that flexibility of beingable to move after a certain
amount of time and also changingthe facility maybe you want to
go down to a one-bedroom or upto a two-bedroom you can do that
(04:13):
without having to worry aboutselling a property and taxes and
things of that nature.
So it is nice to have thatflexibility and um and no
maintenance maintenance.
Shay (04:26):
That is the biggest thing about owning, that I like, the
joys of owning there's.
I mean, as soon as we could.
We bought this house two yearsago and, man, it's like, soon as
we buy a house, you figure out,oh, you got a lot of more stuff
to do than you plan.
You know, even if you get thebest inspection and you go
literally we were in this housefor three hours with the
inspector going level to level,room to room, checking every
(04:50):
little nook and cranny, and thenwe get in like, oh yeah, by the
way, it's ac.
Oh, by the way, this thing, bythe way, this thing.
I'm like, oh my god, that'swhat I loved about renting.
You know, people just came inand they fixed things, even
though I have a story to saywhen I was living in Omaha,
nebraska, we were renting anapartment, I was in the bathroom
and I came out, almost knockedsomebody out because they were
(05:12):
in my house trying to fixsomething.
Oh my god, I cussed that manout.
Lord, forgive me.
Lord, forgive me.
Janessa (05:19):
It's okay, girl, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Shay (05:20):
I'm telling you what are you doing in my house right now?
It's like why I knocked.
Well, I was in the bathroom.
What if I came out here naked?
So you know those kind of Imean again, the joy is of
renting versus owning.
At least I know ain't nobodygonna be coming at my house.
I pray to god, you know, whenI'm owning because unless you
got a key, um, but the rentingman, that no maintenance is a
beautiful thing because man,everything's under your, you
(05:45):
know your purview when you'rerolling, yes, I think about when
um it was after I graduatedfrom graduate school and I lived
in the Poconos and I justhappened.
Janessa (05:55):
I don't know what it is about.
When I move, for some reason,the winter of wherever I move is
the worst that they'veexperienced in years.
It happened in grad school,when I was in Ohio.
It happened in Pennsylvaniawhen I moved there it was like a
snowstorm peak of snow, butwhere I lived, the pilot light
(06:18):
for the heat was blown out, so Ididn't have any heat in my
apartment.
Shay (06:23):
Now, if I own that place, I gotta pay for that, you gotta
pay for that you can't just callsomebody or even if you were
renting a house, call yourlandlord, because I've been
there with the pilot line had tocall the landlord.
Right, at least they showed up.
But nah, yes, you own in thatcase?
Janessa (06:38):
yeah, and unfortunately in that case the roads were so
bad nobody could come to thehouse, oh man.
So thankfully they took somemoney off of my rent, because
they're like because they sentsomeone within 30 minutes.
It blew right back out, oh god,and they couldn't get back
because the snow was so bad.
But I say all that to say when,when you are renting, it is the
(06:59):
landlord, the person who ownsthe property, it's their
responsibility to make sure thatstuff is up to code, to make
sure that's taken care of.
Shay (07:08):
When you own it, that's on you that's on you and if you
ain't got, the money orsomething happens like janessa's
saying, and somebody can't comeout for a couple days, which
I've had happen in our lasthouse in odenton here in
maryland.
We were in a town home and Ithink what back, what back to
back, one summer we had no airconditioning for like three days
(07:29):
because they couldn't come out.
It was the hot, deadest summer.
So we were like we all we hadto sleep on the first level
because it was just too hot tosleep all the way up on the
third level.
And then one year we had noheat and so it was like all
bundle up a couple things had toget some space heaters, so and
that was all.
And thank god we had planned,had an emergency fund, but
sometimes you can't even getsomebody to come out because
(07:52):
everybody's affected by the samething.
So everybody ain't got ac oreverybody's.
You know, we were in aneighborhood, it seems like,
because they were all builtaround the same time, so
everybody's ac unit went out thesame time, everybody's back,
everybody.
You know water heater went outat the same time, so Everybody
HVAC, everybody.
You know water heater went outat the same time.
So then now you have everybody.
Everybody's roof had an issueat the same time.
It was just funny howeverything was degrading at the
same time and you're trying tocall people in like, well, I got
all these other tickets and so.
(08:14):
So there's all these differentreasons.
But when you're owning, that'son you.
When they're renting, you have.
There's that responsibility,unless you have one crazy renter
.
You know owners, landlords, andthey ain't going to do what
they're supposed to do, butthat's a whole nother story.
Janessa (08:26):
But then there's legal ramifications.
Shay (08:28):
Well, there is, but then you might not have no money to
do anything, that's true, that'sa whole nother story, but yeah,
it's renting.
Janessa (08:38):
Renting can definitely provide you, you know that
flexibility, low initial cost,low maintenance and in some
places and in some situationsrent is actually cheaper,
Depending on.
I mean now, unfortunately, therent is getting very high, Very
high.
So if you like roommates andyou're okay sharing space, share
(08:59):
some space.
Shay (09:00):
I told my 24-year-old daughter she's like I don't know
when I'm going to be able torent.
I was like you're going to haveto get a couple roommates.
Janessa (09:06):
Look about to be a lot of multi-generations in one
house.
Yes, Multiple roommates.
Shay (09:12):
And that is okay.
Janessa (09:14):
That is okay.
Shay (09:14):
There's nothing wrong with that.
Janessa (09:16):
Being in a community is beautiful, and some of the
happiest places in the worldoften have communal living.
Shay (09:25):
So nothing wrong with living with other people, but in
some cases rent is actuallycheaper.
Janessa (09:31):
Flip side of that rent can go up.
So because someone else ownsthe property, they can determine
how much they want to chargeand unfortunately rent is not
regulated in a lot of places.
So there is that other sidewhere it can go up pretty
substantially depending on whereyou live and also with the
(09:55):
landlord situation.
If you do run into an issuewith the landlord and they're
problematic, if you don't havethe money to take them to court,
you're kind of stuck with it.
So renting can definitely giveyou options, but there are, you
know, the cons of it is becauseit's someone else's property.
If you're in a house, they wantto sell the house.
You got to go, you got to go.
Shay (10:15):
Yeah, I hear that story a lot from our clients that you
know are in that situation.
Or when they tell me about thesize of their apartment or even
their house that they're rentingand their rent is way higher
than my mortgage.
And I'm like girl boy, son,like really, oh gosh it.
It's crazy.
My sister and I were talkingabout that a couple weeks ago.
It was like people's three andfour thousand dollars a month
(10:39):
and I'm like what?
Janessa (10:39):
that's way more than my mortgage what does it come with
the president feeding you food,or something like why is it so?
Why is it so high?
Do you have?
oh my goodness, oh my god I meanthat's why I mean I'm grateful
(11:00):
that you know again to god thatI can own, because that is a
whole another situation.
But you know, long-term wealthbuilding comes from usually real
estate.
Nine out of ten millionaireshave made their money through
real estate.
So you know, but again, god istrusting that in us to be
stewards of that.
Still, like you know, andhaving that real estate is great
(11:21):
, but I mean it does provide astability in life and equity and
appreciation, which is nice.
It's not depreciating like incars, I mean it tends to
increase over time, you know,and equity increases as the
mortgage is paid off.
So that's a great asset to have?
Yeah, absolutely.
I think, when it comes towealth building, owning property
(11:41):
, owning land, should be one ofthe first things discussed
because, like you're saying,it's an appreciating asset and
it's physical.
Yeah, like we don't talk a lotabout the asset and it's
physical, yeah, um, like wedon't talk a lot about the uh.
Don't get me to line about whatthe actual word is.
I think it's a uh commoditiescommodities yeah yeah.
So like having that physicalthing that is an actual asset is
(12:08):
so beneficial because I mean, Idon't want to say what if the
world goes into shambles, but ifyou literally have land, if
anything, you have land you cangrow food on that land, you can
live on that land, it is yoursand wealth wise like it,
appreciates over time, and it issomething that you own.
So having real estate, havingproperty, is so important if you
(12:33):
are trying to build that wealthand generational wealth is
something you can pass down fromfamily to family.
It is something that cancontinue to contribute way past.
you know you being here, but youknow, yeah, that that long-term
(12:53):
stability in life and thatappreciating asset is so huge
with owning that land I meanthat's why I think a lot of wars
are started from the power ofthat and the land.
Shay (13:04):
I mean that's what we're seeing overseas right now.
Right, it's been going on forgenerations is that land god's
not getting, creating more landpeople?
What we got here unless you'regoing to go to another universe
or planet Mars or something, andon this earth we ain't got no
more.
It's there, that's it, that'sit.
Janessa (13:26):
Unless you figure out a way to live in the ocean, I
don't suggest it, ain't notelling what's down there y'all.
Shay (13:32):
I mean especially what's going on right now.
We'll stay away from that.
Janessa (13:36):
It's so big, Like there's so much.
I think they say we've onlydiscovered like 20% Of the 70%
of the world Like?
Shay (13:43):
is winning it like 70%?
Or am I thinking about water orthe body?
Janessa (13:48):
I want to say the majority of the earth is covered
by water.
Shay (13:56):
Yeah, yeah, majority of the earth is covered by water.
Yeah, yeah, only likediscovered or explored 20
percent, right?
I love watching thosedocumentaries on that.
Yeah, I didn't know.
Janessa (14:00):
Nasa was created to discover, to study the ocean.
Shay (14:04):
Oh, initially, yeah, it was originally studying the
ocean.
Janessa (14:06):
Then they decided to study space.
Wow, why?
Either way, unless you canfigure out how to live in the
ocean, there's not going to beany other place where you can
have physical space.
Yeah, exactly.
Shay (14:20):
And so if your family can give you, pass that along, that
is a blessing.
Or if you can go buy some land,buy some property, and now the
property or the houses they puton the land is like you know, I
mean especially here in Maryland.
Yeah, and I'm even talkingabout my own house.
We bought this nice big home,but we ain't got much land
because there ain't much landout here to give, like you know,
(14:42):
so it's.
And if it is, it's not usable.
It's marshes, swamps, it's likeyou know all of that stuff, too,
has to be considered.
So you know, but real estatecan be rented out and generate
passive income too.
So we get, we buy that land, webuy that real estate can be
rented out and generate passiveincome too.
So we buy that land, we buythat real estate.
Now we can rent it out and makemore money, right?
So it helps with thatgenerational or that long term
(15:02):
wealth building.
Janessa (15:04):
Absolutely.
I love the when people want toutilize their property to
potentially bring in additionalincome and then if you have the
ability to buy more than oneproperty, then you're building
that portfolio and buildingmultiple streams of income,
which is very important andhelpful because it allows you to
not be dependent on just onestream.
(15:25):
So yes, renting it out and thetax benefits.
Shay (15:28):
Oh my.
Janessa (15:28):
God yeah those taxes.
Shay (15:32):
If you can get benefits with taxes, get it For real.
We see the celebrities thathave enough money in their bank
account to buy a house, butthey're like nah, I'm buying
this and getting a mortgagebecause I need that tax
deduction.
So there's a reason why thesecelebrities have these mortgages
still because that tax benefitis huge tax benefit is huge,
(15:56):
absolutely, absolutely.
Janessa (15:57):
So, yeah, there's.
There's pros and cons for eachof them.
I think it just depends on thesituation.
It depends on what you canafford.
That's why budget is important.
Um, but then also like goals soyou don't have to like, if
you're renting now, that doesn'tmean you're going to rent for
the rest of your life, yeah, andif you buy a property now, it
doesn't mean you will never rentagain.
Shay (16:17):
That is so true.
Because I know people who havesold their property and went
back to renting because they'relike I just don't want to deal
with it anymore, Especiallypeople as you grow older, like
my mother-in-law and people Italk to, they would love to pass
it along, but they're like youknow, they would love to pass it
along, but they're like youguys are good, you guys got your
house.
Now my mom, she only has onekid.
I only have one kid.
And so you know, and they, mydaughter's like I don't want
(16:43):
this house.
So I was like okay.
So, yeah, she wanted to do herown thing and I appreciate that.
So you know.
Then they're like well, maybeI'll just go back to renting,
cause, as you get older, all ofthe maintenance, all the stuff
we already talked about, it's alot, it's a huge burden.
It's a beautiful burden andbeautiful blessing, I say.
But I was thinking the otherday I was putting up Christmas
lights, I was on the ladder andI was like I'm 46.
And so I turned 46 in December.
(17:05):
It's the last month.
Janessa (17:07):
And so thank you.
Shay (17:08):
And so I was on this ladder putting up these
Christmas lights.
It was funny because myneighbor was like you can do
everything.
I like being outside.
My daddy was one of those.
Get outside, I like to do thegrass stuff.
My husband helps go too.
Anyways, I'm on this ladder andthe ladder is really heavy and
I had to get my husband to moveit or whatever.
I'm like, if I'm 60, 70, I amnot getting up on this ladder
putting up these lights.
(17:28):
I'm not going to be doing a lotof things like when I'm
crawling, like when my bug guycomes and goes in the attic.
I'll go up an attic with himand check things out.
I'm like I'm not gonna want toclimb up in this attic at 70.
No, I mean.
I mean, hopefully God is my bodystill and functioning well, you
know I'm saying that part butI'll just like, oh my god, just
(17:51):
like just filling my knees andyou know all the kind of cramps
and stuff you get now and youget older and um, but yeah, I'm
just thinking about that.
So I'm like maybe I'm gonnahave to rent later or maybe you
know, and maybe still keep thehouse as an asset, rent it out,
but then rent somewhere else, sosomebody can take care of the
maintenance and hire a housemanager or something or build a
tiny house my husband's alwayswatching those videos they're so
(18:16):
cute they're amazing.
Janessa (18:19):
They're amazing and it's like it could be the size
of an apartment.
Yeah, but you own it.
You own it, but yes, that thatdefinitely.
As you know, as we grow olderand wiser, you know we may not
be able to do as many things toupkeep properties.
Shay (18:37):
Yeah.
Janessa (18:38):
Owning that is a long term investment.
Shay (18:42):
Yeah, because while it depreciates in value it still
costs money to maintain it.
Yes, exactly, and people forgetabout all of those fees that go
into.
You know we even talk about that.
People forget about all ofthose fees that go into.
You know we even talk aboutthat.
But owning real estate andoutside of the closing costs is
a you know, down payment.
All that I always tell peopleyou guys need to have some kind
of um oh God, I'm about to blinkon it Um, reserves.
(19:06):
Yes, for all, you know you havean emergency fund.
You need to have a reserve fundon top of that, because when we
was COVID AC, whole HVAC, waterheater, roof we had to replace
all in one year.
Oh my gosh, that's so bad and Iain't rich, okay.
So I was like, thank god.
When USA came out, like, ohwell, some of this might have
(19:28):
been damaged from a stormpreviously, so we'll cover half
of that.
I'm like, thank you, but a roofis like 15 to 20,000.
So we still had to come up like7,000 there.
Then literally the HVAC, andthen I mean all these things
started happening.
But but God right, becauseguess what, A year or two later
we sold that house for recordprofit.
Janessa (19:47):
And because we had all that stuff taken care of.
Shay (19:51):
The new owners come in, or the buyers they didn't have to
do an inspection because we hadall that.
Janessa (19:55):
So God knew what he was doing, he had a plan, but I was
like I cannot believe we werehit with a roof, an HVAC, a
water heater all in one year.
Shay (20:03):
It was crazy.
That's why I told people yougotta have five, ten percent of
reserve funding on top ofwhatever your house costs.
That five ten percent of thehouse value annual savings,
because you never knowabsolutely yeah absolutely like
down payment is not all you needwhen you're getting a house.
Janessa (20:22):
So when they're like, oh yeah, I'm, I want to save x
amount for a down payment, I'mlike, okay, how much do you have
beyond the down payment?
They're like, no, that, that'sabout it.
I'm like, well, you also haveto consider um, you want an
emergency fund.
Shay (20:37):
You also want money for maintenance, you also want money
for closing costs and money formoving, exactly because what
about all the windows that youwant to put in all the
furnishings and?
Janessa (20:47):
all that are you going to be house for?
Shay (20:48):
you're going to be in this house.
You ain't got nothing exactlyexactly.
Janessa (20:52):
There's so much more that goes into owning a house
besides the mortgage.
Exactly that's what.
That's what we have to payattention to.
Like it's great to own a house.
I do think, if you have theability to and the stamina to
own a house, that's great.
But before doing it, look atall of the um, look at all the
(21:17):
aspects of owning a property,because it is just more than a
monthly payment.
It's more than that and that'sthe biggest difference between
renting and owning.
Renting, you just pay thatmonthly payment.
That's it.
Owning it's much more.
Shay (21:33):
It's much more.
Janessa (21:34):
And then what?
Shay (21:34):
if you do have real estate profits, you know God wants us
to be a good steward of it.
So not only should we begenerous as our profits increase
, we should give back and sharewhat God has blessed with us,
but also you want to maintainyour integrity, operate with
honesty when dealing withtenants to keep your property
safe and maintain.
As we said, there are some.
What is they called?
Not loan sharks, what are they?
(21:56):
Landlords?
Slumlords Slumlords that's theword Yep, and so we don't want
to be out here slumming it.
We want to be honest when we'redealing with our tenants and
keep it safe and maintain, andnot just go up on prices just
because you know what theprofits god has given to us, and
we need to do the right thingyeah, absolutely, and and like
(22:17):
with the price gouging.
Janessa (22:19):
Unfortunately, so many people who own properties are
doing that, which is making itdifficult for people to live.
To live like, yeah, if you havethe ability to, if you are
renting out your space andyou're making profits, I think
the best example of if you don'tneed to, why is um, the owner
of the amazon t, who said he'snever going to charge more than
(22:41):
99 cents he's like for makinggood money.
Why would I change that?
If you own a property andyou're making great money, why
price gouge?
Why make it difficult for theresidents, especially if you
have great residents, if you'rea great landlord, you will have
loyal residents.
They will make sure they pay youon time.
If there are any issues,they're going to try to work
(23:01):
with you.
If you create the space thatallows them to live a
flourishing life, then they'regoing to make sure that that
property is also flourishing,because they recognize other
places are not the same.
So please avoid being greedy.
You know, let's not be greedyand it's nice to do updates and
(23:21):
things to your properties.
But getting caught up in makingthings overly luxurious, that's
when you start getting intothat overspending and doing more
than what's possibly needed,because then if you're putting
all that in your house, thenyou're going to start charging
more and you could outpriceyourself.
Now your profit is gone andyou've got this property you
can't afford anymore.
(23:44):
Definitely plan for your youknow plan for your future and
when you're reinvesting,reinvest wisely and try your
hardest to be ethical.
Like, money is an inanimateobject and it's just a tool to
cover needs and wants.
That's all it is.
So if you're able to live athriving and flourishing life,
(24:10):
just ask yourself what would bethe point of charging more or
doing more or making itdifficult for others like what
is the point?
What is the point?
Yeah?
Shay (24:19):
and I'm just going to reiterate what Luke 16
as I said at the top of thisepisode, is "Whoever can be
trusted with very little canalso be trusted with much, and
whoever is dishonest with verylittle will also be dishonest
with much.
" So we want to be, you know,honest, we want to be trusted,
we want to do right with whatGod has given us.
Janessa (24:39):
So yeah, any last words ?
Yes, I would just say, you know, don't, don't jump into
something too fast just becauseothers are doing it.
It's OK to take your time.
Shay (24:51):
Yeah.
Janessa (24:52):
And, like I said, if you want to own a property and
you rent right now, that'sabsolutely possible.
And if you own a property andyou're like I can't do this
anymore, it's OK to sell itExactly.
Shay (25:02):
No shame, no, shame Do what's right for you.
Janessa (25:06):
Back to it Exactly no shame, no shame Do what's right
for you Exactly.
Shay (25:08):
Hey, that's it.
There you go.
Well, that was amazing, Janessa.
Thank you so much.
Janessa (25:12):
Thanks for having me.
Shay (25:13):
Yeah, Y'all have a good day.
We'll talk soon.
A big thank you for listeningto this episode.
We hope you found today's chatabout the intersection of
religion and money insightful.
We would love to hear yourfeedback.
Hit that subscribe button orfollow the podcast and please
feel free to leave us a review.
For the latest Yahweh's Moneycontent, visit us at www.
(25:36):
crusaders4change.
org or find us anywhere youlisten to podcasts.
Until next time, stayfinancially fit and spiritually
inspired and remember it'salways better Yahweh's way.
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