A Mortgage Lender Explains Why You Should Date the Rate, Not the Headlines

Juliet Chuang00:00:07

If you're staring at a stack of tax paperwork you have not touched or you just caught wind of a new poll about who's going to pay for Social Security or somebody in your life recently lost a spouse, Stay with us because all three of those show up today and at least one of them could save you real money by October 15th.We've also got a mortgage guy in studio to talk about where rates are actually headed right now and a couple of real questions about buying a first home and getting rid of mortgage insurance.And we're also going to check in on that subscription list you've been building with us all week.

Jason Bochniak00:00:38

Becoming FINANCIALLY Confident.

Juliet Chuang00:00:47

Welcome to BECOMING FINANCIALLY confident.Breaking free from Money Shame.One conversation at a time.We're live every Monday through Friday from 11:30am Eastern.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:00:54

Yeah.I'm Ralph Estep Jr.I'm the licensed accountant on the show and I've got 30 years of experience.

Juliet Chuang00:01:00

I'm Juliet.I don't have a license, but I'm just a person who will have a lot of questions.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:01:05

Yeah.We'll introduce our guest here in just a moment.Jason Bochniak has joined us today.But as you can tell, we're two very different people having conversations about things that affect our money.And we bet it probably affects your money, too.Now, we have two house rules here on the show.There's no shaming anybody about money.No matter what decisions you made yesterday.That was yesterday.Today's a brand new day, and our goal is to equip you to to make better decisions.And nobody's going to be judged for what they didn't know.

Juliet Chuang00:01:31

And if you have any questions that you want to just have conversations about, send it to us at Becoming Financially Confident dot com, no question, is off limits.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:01:39

Yeah.Because wherever you are on your financial journey, know this.You're not alone on that journey.Well, let me first start by introducing Jason.Jason, thank you so much for joining us.We're going to get to talking about mortgages here in a few minutes, but are you cool with going through the headlines with us today?

Jason Bochniak00:01:59

Absolutely.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:02:01

Very good.All right, so here's the first one.The tax deadline for individuals is coming up on October 15th.I can't hardly believe we're almost there.

Juliet Chuang00:02:10

Yeah.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:02:11

Here's the thing I want everybody to understand, even if you can't afford to pay, it is super important that you file your return by the filing deadline.Did you know that, Julia, is that there is a.Okay.

Juliet Chuang00:02:25

I'm thinking about my own situation because I just started really like freelancing in August.Right.So do I have to look at something and pay something before October 15th?

Ralph Estep Jr.00:02:35

Well, what you're talking about is two different things.So what I'm talking about is the tax filing for the 2025 tax year.Now, most people have already filed their return months ago, but if you didn't file Your return by April 15, you filed an automatic extension.That automatic extension went to October 15th.

Juliet Chuang00:02:52

Got it.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:02:53

So here's the thing you need to understand.You need to, because you might have not filed.Like, I had a client in my office yesterday.Husband and wife came in every year, they owe.They were super excited yesterday because I actually found them refund money.Here's the deal, though.A lot of people put off filing because they owe.If you owe money, it's even still better to at least file your return.Because here's the deal.Staying out of compliance is where the guys with the gold badges and guns visit you from the irs.That's the way Al Capone went down.Jason, what do you think about that?Do you.You deal in the mortgage industry.I imagine you deal with this, with underwriting and all those sort of things, people not getting their tax returns filed.So did you can help with them?Right.

Jason Bochniak00:03:34

Well, I'll tell you, it's.It's amazing you bring that up.Tax returns are an essential thing for us.We have that form, that 4506 form.And the 4506 form is a very important form.One of the questions that I ask almost all of my customers is, have you filed your tax return?And it's such an important question.And I almost lead with it because if you don't have a filed tax return, it's almost impossible to complete the mortgage process with our clients.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:04:03

Yeah.And the thing you need to understand is there's a penalty up to 5% per month for not filing to a cap of 25%.So if you don't hear anything else I say today, even if you owe money, get your return filed.You can always work out a payment plan with the irs, but get that return filed.Well, here's the second thing I want to talk about today.Listen to this one.A new poll shows that 89% of people over 65 would rather raise taxes on younger workers than touch their own Social Security.And younger people see it almost the opposite way.Now, I'm not shocked by that, but the Cato Institute put out a survey.This is all money wise.On September 16, it said 89% of those 65 and older said that hey, just raise taxes on younger people.And of course, if you look at those in the, the 18 to 29 frame, only 47% said that.Now, does that shock you, Julia?

Juliet Chuang00:04:57

It does not shock me at all.I think it's just all around hard for everyone because there's always conversations like Social Security money is going to run out very soon.Who knows how long it's going to last?So I'm not surprised by this type of crisis conversation.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:05:09

Yeah, this is a big deal because the people who are older and I get it, like they're collecting Social Security.So their point now is just, I just push it on the younger people.Push it on the younger people.But it's almost like we're getting into this position of revolt right now where the younger people are saying, yeah, well, guess what, maybe we need to trim the, the roles of Social Security.I, I think this is one of the things you're going to see talked about a lot over the next year to, to two years because the Social Security system is going broke.It's just a true statement.And they're going to have to figure out something.I actually think, and Jason, I'll get your opinion on this, too.I actually think what you're going to see is you're going to see the bottom age get raised up.They're going to say, you know, like right now the full retirement age is 67 years old.I think what you're going to see is they're going to raise that up.The second thing I think you're going to see is I think they're going to start looking at if your adjusted gross income from other sources and is greater than X, I think they're going to start trimming benefits.Jason, how does that strike you?

Jason Bochniak00:06:10

Well, I think there is some merit to that.You know, right now the calculations that we use for Social Security are we get to gross your income up.So I don't know if you're aware of that.Currently, right now we have calculations that we use to gross up income to qualify.We use the ability to repay rule as a mathematical rule to qualify individuals.So when we look at someone's pay for the calculation, we look at the, we don't look at the net number.We look at the gross number.So if we have an individual that's on fixed income, we have to make that an equal calculation.So we gross that figure up and the general rule is 125%.But if we have someone that has other income on their tax return, sometimes we can't gross it all the way up to 125%.We have to limit that to 115%.And to further your point, based on that age, I, too am concerned about that because every year it just seems like the government is changing that age based on, you know, something.I don't know what that something is, though.What do you think, Ralph?

Ralph Estep Jr.00:07:18

Now, Jason, in your experience, because you see this all the time, do you see a lot of people taking Social Security at 62, like that first exit ramp?Do you see that in your practice?

Jason Bochniak00:07:28

Quite to the contrary.And I have this conversation.I see a lot of people who are taking the approach that they want to wait until they get much older to get just a few dollars more.And I find myself, because I can't have an opinion with this, I can't encourage anybody to take pay sooner or later.But I do find myself talking with folks because they asked me for my opinion.They asked me, should I take it sooner or should I take it later?And I find myself pushing them back to someone like you.Oh, yeah, you're an accountant.And I don't know, should I be pushing them back to you?

Ralph Estep Jr.00:08:08

No, absolutely.And yeah.And that's a conversation.Yeah, that's a conversation I have all the time.And, and it's such a loaded question because it really comes down to, what do you have saved in other areas?How long do you intend to live?Is there a big difference between you and your partner's age?Because all those things get into this.And what a lot of people don't know Is could be 85% of your benefits could be taxable.That's the thing that a lot of people aren't aware of.

Juliet Chuang00:08:33

Wait, that's a huge number.

Jason Bochniak00:08:36

I have a question, though.I have a valid question here.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:08:38

Sure, sure.

Jason Bochniak00:08:39

You know, are you of the opinion that is it better to take the lower pay now because you don't know how long you will, you know, you'll be here and you know, is there some merit in, you know, hey, let's just get that lower amount of money right now because you can never get that money back that you don't take by waiting to get a few hundred extra bucks down the road?

Juliet Chuang00:09:03

Psychology.

Jason Bochniak00:09:04

What's the answer to that?

Ralph Estep Jr.00:09:05

Well, to go with.Well, I'll tell you this.When a client asks me that question, I get that question at least 10 times a week, to be blunt, is I say to them, hold on a second, let me get my crystal ball out of the drawer and I put my crystal ball on the desk because it's really that simple.Most of the time, what I say to people is, tell me about the genetics in your family.Tell me about how long your mother lived, tell me about how long your father lived.Tell me about your current health situation.If I've got somebody that's staggered into my office with stage two cancer and they're like, ralph, should I take my Social Security early?I hate to be disrespectful, but yes, probably.So it all depends on the individual circumstance.You're not going to go watch a TikTok video.You're not going to watch a YouTube video and get an answer to this.And that's the thing that's really so scary is so many people are getting their advice by the accountant named TikTok or the accountant named Claude or ChatGPT, and unfortunately, it's a depends on your particular situation decision.So it's not that simple.But here's the thing I would encourage everybody to do, because we're going to move on to our next headline, is log into your.My Social Security account.You go to ssa.gov do that this week, check your estimate, what you're actually going to be getting, and then plan assuming it could change, because this is one of those areas that could change.But at the very least, make sure you've got vesting in Social Security, which basically means you've got 10 years of wages.So make sure that the IRS or make sure that things seem to be reported, because I've had situations where people were one or two quarters away from being fully vested.So make sure you do that.

Jason Bochniak00:10:43

Yeah, And I just want to dovetail off to what you said.And I'm sorry, Juliet, I don't want to cut you off.I want to dovetail off of something you said.And I want to talk about how important it is for the partnership and how important it is for what we're talking about.So, so many, and I don't know if there is so many, but there are a lot of mortgage people that may give some information out there that they probably shouldn't.Right.I think the partnership is so critical that a mortgage professional has someone like yourself that they can lean on.And I, I so value our relationship, Ralph, because, like, I would never give that advice to a human being.I would always push them to you.And, and like, I have a relationship with a financial planner, because a mortgage professional should never give financial planning advice and they should never give tax advice.Right.We have these affinity partners to give that Arlene is, is talking about Calculations with ability to repay on mortgages specifically, and maybe talking about where the rates are going and staying focused on that.Our job is to help folks get into a home and working with credit and items like that.And really wholly and solely pushing that other responsibility over to you professionals who are skilled in that lane.And that is where we are safe.And if we deviate from that, you know, just.You know, it would just be.It would be tough, messy.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:12:10

Yeah, No, I absolutely agree.That's why I don't give legal advice, because I'm not concerning.I don't.I don't give insurance advice because I'm not an insurance agent.And I don't give real estate advice because last time I checked, I don't have one of those real estate signs to put out front of the office here.But I think partnerships are really important.Well, listen to this.

Jason Bochniak00:12:28

Are amazing.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:12:29

Listen to this one.AI scammers are mining obituaries to target widows.

Juliet Chuang00:12:35

Oh, have you heard of this one, Jason?

Jason Bochniak00:12:38

I have not.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:12:40

Yeah.So here's what's going on.Scammers are using AI to read obituaries, and they're calling new widows claiming the late husband owed taxes and that they have to pay now to protect the inheritance.Can you imagine?Like, that's the point we've gotten to.But this is the problem with AI tools.These AI tools can go crunch all this data from all over the place and give these people.And what's crazy, these things come within days or weeks after the funeral.And this is when people put yourself in that position like you just lost your spouse.Right.And, you know, here's an example.Moneywise said on an article they wrote on August 24, One widow sent $7,000.

Jason Bochniak00:13:19

Oh, my.

Juliet Chuang00:13:19

No, she sent money.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:13:21

Yeah, she sent money because she thought that something was going on.Older Americans in 2025 lost $7.7 billion.That's billion with a B to Internet crime.That's up 59% from 2024.And, Jason, listen to this.The average case, average loss, $38,500.

Jason Bochniak00:13:42

Incredible.

Juliet Chuang00:13:44

I mean, that's the thing that whenever you talk about scams, right?They are taking advantage.They're trying to manipulate emotionally and taking advantage.And so it's always going to be gross.But this one is gross on a definitely a different level to me.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:13:56

Yeah, this is a big deal.So here's my takeaway for this one.If you get one of these calls, hang up on any unsolicited call about a deceased relative, taxes or estate, call back using a number that you look up yourself, not the one that somebody gives you.And that's the unfortunate part of this.So many times people are very trusting.And this is going to sound like I'm being sort of age discriminatory, but older people, a lot of times are really trusting.And this is one of those things where people are at their worst.They just lost their spouse.A lot of times they lost a spouse that handles the money side of things.And I've actually had clients come in and say, ralph, I don't know whether my husband filed or not.That's a big deal.It really is a big deal.

Juliet Chuang00:14:37

I will say, like, I know a lot of people who are very concerned about, like, our immigrant parents and stuff, because they do.It's easy to take advantage of them.I'm not saying they're the only group.There's like just one big group.And so I do have a. I know a couple of people who are trying to figure out ways like how to educate.Educate the elderly.Because you have so many different other barriers.Like, it's a language barrier, it's a technology barrier, all of these other things.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:15:01

Yeah.And I think that as a young person like yourself, Julia, I think that's one of the things you need to focus on.Educate your parents, educate your grandparents.Share with them those things.Share the show with them.It's a great way to get educated about these things, but have them have some level of awareness, because if they don't know about it.And we're going to talk next week about how some of these AI is actually spoofing people's voices now, and they're getting calls from what sounds like their grandchild saying, I'm stuck somewhere.I need you to wire money to me.This is a big deal.It really is.Now, I want to save some time for our discussion about Jason, so let me move on to this.Here's something a lot of people don't know, and we talked about this a few minutes ago.I am not an attorney, but 70% of people don't even have a will.And it's not because they decided against having one.They just never got around to it.And here's what that costs.It costs probate court.It costs a judge who's never met your family deciding who gets what.And it leaves everybody guessing.Well, here's a way you can solve that problem.Easy.Will and trust handles it online in one sitting for $149.And here's the greatest part of this.It's attorney reviewed and it's built for your state's laws.If you're interested in finding out more information about this, you can go to becoming financially confident.comeasywill Again, that's becoming financially confident.comeasywill.Check it out.And if you don't have a will like 70% of the people out there, again, I'm not an attorney but these folks will help you get to a point of knowing where your money going and you can make decisions about that in the future.Okay, so let's get right to our guest today.Jason, if you just want to tell, give us a 30 second bio about who you are, what you do and then we're going to jump right into our first question for you.

Jason Bochniak00:16:44

Oh yeah, outstanding.So I am a mortgage lender.I'm with a company called Newfound Mortgage Corp. Our company is just based in a culture of family.Our company was founded, I believe back in 2001.We have a four digit NMLS number 1881 which is phenomenal.I love turning that around.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:17:04

Let me interrupt you for one second because we like to break down the jargon.If somebody doesn't know what does NMLS mean?

Jason Bochniak00:17:10

Yeah, it's a, yeah, it's a nationwide mortgage licensing number.

Juliet Chuang00:17:17

Okay.

Jason Bochniak00:17:18

And yep.And if I botch that, forgive me, but it's, it's just all of us, post 2008 we had to become licensed to the federal government and we had, there's just a repository where all that information is kept.So I, I entered the mortgage sphere of the mortgage business in 1998 and yep, I was in the military from 1990-96.And then when I came out in 1996 I really didn't know what I was going to do with my life.Kind of, you know, got into car sales, kind of messed around with financial planning and somehow through all that found mortgage lending.And I just, I've been in, in the lending sphere, in the business ever since 1998.It took me about, it took me about five years to really get my sea legs under me in, in the business because there was no school at the time.And then, you know, many, many, many, many clients later.I've had the privilege of working with so many families and it's been, it's been a beautiful experience.So there, there really isn't a situation or a scenario or any type of transaction that I cannot work through or work with that I'm not able to work with.I have a beautiful wife and daughter.My wife is my business partner.Her name is Dominique.And I've been blessed to be with her for the last almost 30 years.And she's been with me and mortgages for, she's been in mortgages for 20 years.We've been partnered up now for the last two years working together in the business.So she is my partner in crime.She handles all the support side of everything we do in our partnership in the business.And we make it look easy.But taking a borrower from A to Z is difficult.And the process is, with our company, we make it very easy for the consumer.You know, coming through our company is, it's, it's a beautiful process because like I said with our company, our culture is based on family.So when you come through our company, we're the only two human beings that you talk to, my wife and I.But just getting through the compliance piece is a bear.And to talk about what you talked about in the beginning, everybody wants to talk about the interest rate they put so much.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:19:49

And let's start there.Jason, a couple of things.First thing, thank you so much for your service.I just wanna say that my son serves in the Coast Guard and anybody who's, who served in, I just wanna say thank you.But right now, you know, all the news is about this.We have seen this interest rate increase.I hear the buzz about this all over social media.What is really going on right now?And I want you to take the average person, I don't wanna talk about derivatives and I don't wanna talk about Freddie Mac and fixed securities and all stuff, but what does this actually mean to the average person right now who maybe is looking to buy their first home or they're looking to refinance a home?What does this really mean to them right now?

Jason Bochniak00:20:26

Yeah, just to put it in a nutshell, there's a lot of things going on geopolitically.If you look at mortgage rates, if you want a really good resource to look at, this is the easiest way just to bring some calm to everything.Google search Freddie Mac Historical 50 year rate.

Juliet Chuang00:20:47

Okay?

Jason Bochniak00:20:48

It's the best way.And then scroll down a little bit and you'll see an XML file and it'll show you every interest rate for the last 50 years by month.And you can see every rate where it's been.And then think about everything that has happened geopolitically in the world as you scroll through it all.And if you're 50 or 60 years old, or if you're 10, 15, 16, 17 years old, get a hold of a 50 or 60 year old and talk to that person and say, hey, mom, hey, dad, or hey, Grandma, hey, Grandpa.What was going on when this person was the president?Or what was going on when, you know, when you were that age?You know, kind of talk to somebody and say, like, if Carter was president, what was happening when the gas was going on?Or just talk to somebody who was a historian or who was around.Right.And then look at that rate.And that's the easiest way to basically say, hey, what was going on?Because if you go back to where it was, the 70s, when all the gas stuff was going on, you can see on that chart where the rates were.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:21:56

Yeah, because people are losing their mind right now.But I remember my dad was in the gas business when Carter was president, we had gas lines and interest rates for a home were like 15%.So people are losing their mind at 7%.I'm thinking, you know what?

Jason Bochniak00:22:08

I have it memorized, so I can just tell you really quick.If you go look at that chart.That chart goes all the way through.If you go through the Carter years, I think the rates were somewhere in the eights and nines.And then if you go to the Reagan years, they went to the 19% range.And then if you go, like through Clinton and Bush and all that, they cooled off, you know, and they went back to the eights, nines.And somewhere around 2008, everything cooled off to the sixes and fives, fours and threes, and they stayed in the threes all the way through to Covid, where they went to the twos, and now they're creeping up back to the sixes, the fives, and the sevens.And, you know, if you look at all that, it's just a wave, right?So I'm going to give you a real basic mathematical equation just to bring the temperature down.

Juliet Chuang00:22:52

What is it?

Jason Bochniak00:22:53

Okay.This is something to live by.All right?Every eighth of a percent, which is 0.125%, is only $16 a month for every $100,000 you borrow.You can challenge me on it.Get a mortgage calculator and put it in.All right, Right.Now, if your interest rate is 6.875% or seven and a quarter, every $25,000 you borrow is going to be about 175 bucks per month in your payment.Okay?So if.If the consumer just has the philosophy of date the rate.Okay?

Juliet Chuang00:23:28

Date the rate.Is that what you said?

Jason Bochniak00:23:29

Date the rate and date the payment right now.

Juliet Chuang00:23:32

Okay.Okay.

Jason Bochniak00:23:33

We can't control what we can't control.

Juliet Chuang00:23:37

Exactly.

Jason Bochniak00:23:38

We can't control what's going on in the world, okay?But we know that conflict comes and goes.We know that oil prices come and go.But, you know, if you just love your neighbor, love your family and just go on and treat your loved ones with respect and just move on, okay?We just can't.Don't get lost in the noise.Ignore the noise, all right?

Juliet Chuang00:23:59

Just.

Jason Bochniak00:24:00

Just find the home that you love.Move into the place that you want and find it.Don't lose opportunity by sitting around and just waiting.Because opportunity is going to go like this.Boom, boom.Okay?If you sit and wait for the rate to come up, you're going to lose.Other people are not going to wait.So if you think about it, okay, I'm going to buy a house that's going to be at a rate that's going to be a little bit more expensive.So what if you pay 300 bucks more a month and you have to do that for a year?What's 300 times 12?It's 3600.Okay?You lost that on 3600.But the following year, if that rate drops to the point where you save yourself 3600, well, you make up that money next year.But you're in the house that you need.Well, what's going to happen when the rate drops?Well, the home prices are going to go through the roof again.So at least you got in and you made up on it.

Juliet Chuang00:24:53

So what I'm hearing really is like, you have to be like, if you're freaking out about the news these days, right, like, take a little bit of step back and see like the historical of.Of everything, because everything happens in somewhat cyclical cycles.Waves, right.And then use that as, okay, what may happen.But like Ralph has said before, nobody really does have a crystal ball.But you use that to.To like, really figure out what your judgment and what you're going to decide to do now.But, like, don't freak out just on the day to day because something.There's like additional noise happening.

Jason Bochniak00:25:29

Yep.And here's the other thing.I was talking to a colleague, right?And this is this.Now, you know, some people are probably, if they see this, they're going to chastise me for this.But this is.Think about this, okay?Our dollar is no longer backed by precious metals or gold or anything.Right.You know, when.When did Ralph.When did that go away?Did that go away?

Ralph Estep Jr.00:25:48

Oh, now you're putting me on the spot.

Jason Bochniak00:25:50

What president took that away was that.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:25:53

It was.It's been a while ago.Yeah.We have what's called Fiat Money, it's value.Because we say it's, it's money, it's valuable.But there's no gold standard.Correct.

Jason Bochniak00:26:01

So think about this.You have the one camp that oh my God, we're just printing money, right?Okay, well, guess what?We're still going to print money.Okay?Yeah, money's always going to get printed.But guess what?AI is happening now.So whether you like it or not, we're going to go digital real heavy soon, right?There's probably going to be a time, I mean, they just took the penny away.So there's going to be a time when probably paper money is going to go away altogether.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:26:29

Okay, that's a dirty word.Don't say that on this show.Come on.

Jason Bochniak00:26:33

I know, but just think about this, right?We're, we're coming into the digital age.Pretty heavy.AI is happening whether we like it or not.There's a lot of things happening.I mean, you can remember the day when everybody was complaining about email coming into, right.Going out to my customer, right.You know, I'm the paper guy.This is a paper app right here.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:26:53

Right.

Jason Bochniak00:26:53

I don't use them anymore.But you know, just for the show I was looking at my stuff, just trying to get prepared.Prepared, right.

Juliet Chuang00:26:58

Yeah.

Jason Bochniak00:26:58

So, but here's what I want to tell you.Think about this.So paper money is being printed left and right.Right?So the Obama administration used good old fashioned quantitative easing to bring the rates down in 2008.Okay.It was used again in Covid.And it's, it's already been parked to be used again to bring the rates down after all this stuff is done, Right.Well, it requires printing of paper money for all that craziness to happen.They take money from the treasury to bring the rate.It's just, it happens.Everybody does it.You can scream, kick and punch all you want about it, but it's going to continue to happen, right?In our lifetime.Humans only live for so long.It's going to happen, right?So what I'm saying is you can't control that stuff.But what you can do is you can choose to enjoy your family and enjoy the little bit of life we have.So why not do that in the home that you want to live in and have the quality of life that you want to have, right?So that means don't wait, don't listen to the noise, go find the house that you want because supply is limited.And date the rate, date the payment and let us the professionals, ralph me, you let us find the best way to structure that Deal.And make it work for you.Because if you sit on the sidelines and wait, you're just going to watch other people listen to us, work with us, and make that reality a possibility.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:28:25

And Jason, that's a great segue because Juliet's got a question about that whole discussion.

Juliet Chuang00:28:29

So, like, so I have never bought a house.I rent right now.And I honestly have never thought about buying a house.So what are people in my situation who are either thinking about buying a house or wanting to plan to buy a house?How are they actually getting homes?Like, what should they think about when they start working with a mortgage lender?

Jason Bochniak00:28:49

What a great question.So there's three things you should think about.Okay?You should think about your payment.Okay.And think about the payment that you can afford to pay.And don't think about the payment you want to pay.You should think about the payment that you can absolutely.Worst case, stress your pocket to pay.Okay.Put that in your head because that's the date, the payment pay.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:29:15

Well said, Jason.I champion what you just said.Well said.

Jason Bochniak00:29:19

Okay, so nobody wants to hear about.Okay.The last thing a mortgage guy wants to hear is, I want to pay a thousand a month and I've got 2,000 to work with and I want the $600,000 house.It's just wasting everybody's time, right?

Juliet Chuang00:29:31

Okay.

Jason Bochniak00:29:32

Yeah, that's.That's champagne taste on a beer can budget, right?So just being honest, right?

Juliet Chuang00:29:37

Yeah.

Jason Bochniak00:29:38

So think about the.You can't be serious.Boom.

Juliet Chuang00:29:43

Right?

Jason Bochniak00:29:43

Secondly, secondly, you want to think about your overall credit profile, okay?So you want to think about, and I always say this on a one to ten scale, ten being the best, one being the worst.How would you rate your overall credit?

Juliet Chuang00:29:59

Now, are you looking at the credit score?Like, can we, can somebody just look at their credit score?

Jason Bochniak00:30:03

We do look at the credit score, but the credit score, okay, you may have a number in your head, but that number is probably going to be based on something you see on some online credit rating, which is, which is worthless to us.We look at the hard for credit that's rated off of the models that we look at based on long term debt, based on your installment loans, not so much that imaginary credit that you see.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:30:28

And Jason, let me jump in there for a second because a lot of people don't realize there are different scoring models based on.Yeah, there's, there's a. I'll cover those in a second.Yeah, that's fine.But go ahead.I just think that's important because Jason kind of rocked My world Yesterday, him and I are putting a deal together and he told me my credit score.Like, what?That doesn't make any sense.But go ahead, Jason.

Jason Bochniak00:30:47

Yeah, and I'll hit that in one second.And then here's the big one.Okay?Think about the dollars that you have available to work with to put towards the transaction that you can use for a down payment, okay?And I'm going to lay something on you.That's the most important thing.And I want to cover this for the audience.This is the most important thing, okay?So many human beings want to shop for a lender, and it's, it's a malignant way to go about trying to get a house.Everyone should just stop shopping for a lender, okay?Get a referral and stick with that human being, all right?Get a referral and stick with the human being.The days of shopping for a lender, it's got to stop, okay?Every lender.Because every lender does the same thing.Pre 2008.Yeah.You had to shop for a lender because, you know, they could put stuff on the sheet.You didn't see it.You know, they could overprice you, they could put stuff on the rate.But basically everybody's got the same rates within an eighth or a quarter of a percent, everybody's going to have the same fees.Now I'm going to make a statement.It's going to be a bold statement.

Juliet Chuang00:31:55

Okay, what is it?

Jason Bochniak00:31:56

On the day of settlement or three days before, okay, because we no longer have a Truth in lending statement, we no longer have a good faith estimate.We have this new thing called TRID and it stands for Truth and Lending Respite.And I'm sorry, we have this thing called TRID and it's taken up, it's, it's taken over for the good faith estimate.So it stands for Truth and Lending Respiratory Integrated Disclosure.Did I get that right?

Ralph Estep Jr.00:32:24

That's a lot of words, brother.But I knew the old truth and lending thing, the til, we called it.Like, here's the truth about what you're paying for this loan, but it just.

Jason Bochniak00:32:32

The teal is gone, so it's, it's now the Truth and Lending Respiratory Integrated Disclosure.And it's taken over from the GFE and it's taken over for the tila.So the HUD one is no longer around.It's completely gone.Okay?So on the day of closing, okay, three days before settlement and the day of closing, your closer and your title company, they do this thing called balancing.Okay?

Juliet Chuang00:32:57

Balancing.

Jason Bochniak00:32:57

Okay, Balancing.So what Happens is right before settlement, they balance all the fees all the way to the pennant, to the penny.Any fee that doesn't belong on that sheet gets cured.So if there was a mistake on the transfer tax, the mortgage company takes it and they cure it all.If somebody made a mistake and put something on there that doesn't belong there, it gets cured and it gets taken off.So that means that if Navy Federal or Rocket or Chase or one other company put something on her that doesn't belong there, it gets.It gets taken off.So that means everybody's fees, within reason are going to be the same.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:33:34

And it's interesting.I have a story here, if I can tell a quick story.So my first house I ever bought, I was 22 years old.I bought a townhouse and I thought I was setting the world on fire.I paid $83,900, but I can still remember it went to the settlement attorney.Now, they called me a day or two ahead of time and said, you're going to need to bring X number of dollars to the settlement table in order to make this transaction work.So I'm sitting at the attorney's office and I do math for a living.And I'm looking at this HUD one, which is the settlement statement.Jason.I look at this thing and the numbers didn't math up, dude.They didn't make any sense.And I say to the attorney, well, that's what I said to the attorney.I said, these numbers are incorrect.He goes, you're right, these numbers aren't correct.So when I did, Jason, I was kind of ballsy back then.There was a line on there that said attorney's fees, like $400.I crossed that off and said, I'm not paying you for your sloppy work.

Jason Bochniak00:34:22

Oh, yeah.So follow me on this, guys.Follow me on this.At the onset, your mortgage lender, your mortgage loan officer, your mortgage loan officer's job is to estimate at the disclosure of your loan.When you first meet them, is to give you a loan budget.Okay?Is to say, hey, guys, I don't know all the players or characters in this.In this, in this, let's call it a play, right?I don't know all the players in the play, but you want me to give you numbers up front, okay?So I'm going to give you a rough estimate of what I think you should have to pay at the onset.Now, I'm going to set the expectation that these numbers are going to be a little heavy up front to protect you so that we can stress this loan and make sure that the underwriter is going to see that you have enough money to perform all the way through discovery.Meaning we know what the prorated taxes are going to be.We know what the prorated insurance is going to be.We know that no matter what happens through this transaction, if something comes up out of nowhere, meaning you have a tax cover, you got a tax lien that came up out of nowhere, you've got something that we've got to pay.I did something wrong.No matter what, we know that you're covered.Right?

Juliet Chuang00:35:36

Right.

Jason Bochniak00:35:36

I didn't give you a pretty estimate to get your business.I covered you.I did my job as a mortgage loan officer to cover you.Okay.

Juliet Chuang00:35:45

Yeah.

Jason Bochniak00:35:45

On the day of settlement, the closer and the title company are going to balance my big numbers down to a pretty realistic number.But I want to protect you from the onset and make sure that we have enough to get us through.Think of it like we're going camping and I want to make sure we got enough water to get us all the way through the.The excursion.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:36:07

Yeah.Because this is a nightmare.

Juliet Chuang00:36:08

Very good metaphor, because that was so many things that happened, I guess, during compliance with, like, what you do.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:36:14

And that's the nightmare scenario because I've had clients actually call me the day before, set up and said, the attorney just called Ralph.I don't have enough money to settle.This was a thing that happened all the time.Like, there was this surprise, surprise.And so what you're saying, Jason, is that the new way that this is handled is preventing those surprises now, is what you're really saying to the audience?

Jason Bochniak00:36:33

Well, no, what I'm saying is some lenders, some online lenders will give you a loan estimate that's very attractive.And some people still think you have to shop for a lender.And some people will not use a qualified mortgage loan officer that handed the borrower an unattractive loan estimate at the onset because that poor loan officer is trying to set the expectation to their client that this is what you should prepare for.Because, say, somebody else gave a very light loan estimate because they put in the escrow section two months worth of reserves instead of 12.You see what I'm talking about?

Juliet Chuang00:37:16

Yeah.The way that I hear it is, like, for somebody who's going into, like, buying a house or something, that.Right.Like, it is definitely like, what are you going for?Are you going for the cheap?If you're going for the cheap, you may actually be ending up paying more money.But then if you go with someone who's going to give you all this information.We don't know how this journey is going to go.We don't know what things are, what potholes we're going to run into.But be aware that that could totally happen.And let's set you up for success to get you through.

Jason Bochniak00:37:44

I'll break it down even simpler and then I'll move on to the next thing.If you go with a qualified loan officer, and what I'm saying is someone that's been in a business for a long time, a qualified loan officer, wants to protect you to the point where they want to set the right expectation up front.And I'll do a like painting a room analogy.Let's say that we're going to go to Home Depot, we're going to go buy 10 cans of paint because we know it's only going to take five cans of paint to paint this room.But we're going to go get 10 because we don't want to make two trips.Okay.We know that we can return five if we overshot.Okay.So with your permission, let's just go get 10 cans of paint and we know we can bring five back.Right.And then at the end of the day, let's say we use Six Shoe Happy.We bought 10, right?

Juliet Chuang00:38:36

Yeah.

Jason Bochniak00:38:37

Okay.So the idea is, with closing fees and the down payment and everything that we have to contend with, I'm saying, with your permission, do you mind if I budget for 10 cans of paint when I give you this loan estimate to cover your down payment and your closing fees?Knowing what you know, and I know that this loan estimate I'm giving you is going to be real heavy at the onset.But when we get three days before settlement, I promise you it'll have a return policy on it where it's going to be a lot less at settlement.And that's the kind of expectation I'm giving you now, with that kind of trust that we have with each other, we know that all the way through to the end, the underwriter is going to know that you have enough money to close.Everybody involved in a transaction is going to know that we've got you and you're bulletproof.There's nothing that's going to hurt your transaction.

Juliet Chuang00:39:28

So then what?For someone who is applying for a mortgage.Right.What are some things that they should keep in mind even before they go to the mortgage?Like maybe something that they do will alarm the lender?

Jason Bochniak00:39:40

Yeah, that's a great question.So once you have your pre approval.Okay.It's good for Four months when you go with a direct lender.So we're not a broker and there's nothing wrong with brokers.I don't want to say anything like that.Right.So the difference between a broker and a direct lender, a broker is someone that does not have a direct lender connection.What they do is they take your application and then they go to a wholesale lender and they hand the application in.Or a direct lender, we lend direct to Fannie and Freddie and all that good stuff.So one thing you want to do once you get pre approved, you don't want to go open up new credit, you don't want to go buy a car, you don't want to do things like that.Right.So once you're trying to buy a home and you're pre approved, you just want to stay in a non.

Juliet Chuang00:40:24

Chill, chill out.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:40:26

Still, it's a lockdown time.

Jason Bochniak00:40:28

Yeah, lockdown time.You want to save, right?

Juliet Chuang00:40:31

Okay.

Jason Bochniak00:40:31

You want to just, you want to, you want to stay lateral.You don't want to change jobs, you don't want to, you don't want to have a breakup if you're with someone.You want to be in a Zen mindset, you want to stay focused.You don't want to change real estate agents.You want to.

Juliet Chuang00:40:47

Oh, even changing real estate agents would be like worrisome.

Jason Bochniak00:40:52

Well, you see, because you're going to sign.So let's talk about that.So a lot of stuff has happened in the real estate community.So when you partner with your real estate agent, you're going to sign an exclusive buyer agency agreement that's usually right for six months to a year.So that exclusive buyer agency agreement is a bond.You're going to commit to hiring someone that's going to go out there and give their heart and soul to work with you to show you these homes.And we rely on these real estate professionals to be our eyes and ears to go out.These realtors just don't show up and get a commission.They are our extended version of ourselves to go help make sure that the house is safe, it's built of a good construction, do so much for us.Right?Yeah, yeah.So have I answered that part for you?

Juliet Chuang00:41:36

Yes, yes, yes.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:41:37

I'll jump in there with another question because I heard this this morning as I was getting ready for work.I hear a lot of builders are offering to what they call buy down your rate, especially with interest rates going up.So my question for you, number one, what does that mean?Number two, is that a real deal, Jason, or Is that a gimmick?

Jason Bochniak00:41:54

Yeah.So I can answer that.Two things.So builders can do what's called a forward.Okay, Forward.So, yeah, yeah.So it's an internal.It's legal and it's internal language.Right.So take like a Ryan Homes or somebody like that where they have their own mortgage company, they can do what's called a forward.So what they've done is they build into the contract a bucket of money on each of the contracts where they prepaid to pay for a big clump of the interest and they've paid it forward to buy down the interest on that group of loans that are going to be bought on that bucket of homes.And there's a lot more to it than when I just did that high level buy for.

Juliet Chuang00:42:33

High level.High level's good.

Jason Bochniak00:42:34

Yeah.They've just done a buy down on that.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:42:37

What does that mean?If I'm out there shopping new construction and they're saying to me, oh, don't worry about the rates, we're going to buy down your rate.Is that a real thing?

Jason Bochniak00:42:47

So it's not that they're going to buy down a rate.It's a commitment that if you're going into that exclusive community, you are using that exclusive, you're going to sign off that you're using that exclusive mortgage company exclusively in that community.And for that you get the reward of that rate.But it's all built into the contract.You're actually.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:43:07

But they also might be eating you up in fees and what we call junk fees and stuff that you really shouldn't have to pay.Right, Jason?

Jason Bochniak00:43:13

So not necessarily junk fees.When you go into that community, you're signing into the fact that you are buying into that whole.That you're paying for it in the contract.Right?

Ralph Estep Jr.00:43:24

You're paying for it.It's not like they're giving you something for free.They're not saying, oh, look at this beautiful platter here.We're giving you this.You're paying for this.You're paying for it one way or another, right?

Jason Bochniak00:43:32

You are paying for it.But it is, you know, in today's world, if they've got that set up in there now, I would say that that's probably a pretty good thing.Yeah.Now we can do buy downs for you.I want to.This is a great segue and I'm really happy you brought this up.So most Companies are doing 3, 2, 121 and 11 buy downs.And they're paid.Paid by the seller.So I'll tell you exactly what that means.So what you would do is it's paid by the seller and it is funneled into the interested party buy down.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:44:06

But they're just going to add it to the sales price.Jason, Effectively, they're going to say you need money for settlement because you're short on money.The seller's going to say, well, I'll front you some of this money at the time of settlement so you don't have to have the reserv you'd think you'd need to have.

Jason Bochniak00:44:19

Well, well, yes and no.So it's all structuring.Right.So it's not.It's how you want to ask for help in your structure to buy your house.Right.So let's say.Let's use real simple numbers.Let's say you want to buy a house for $100,000, and let's say there's some value in the house.Let's say you have an amicable seller, and let's say that you want to do our.Our three, two, one, buy down.And let's say the cost of that is 2.8%.Right.So the house is selling for $100,000.You would just have the seller push the price up to $103,000, give you the 3,000 back.The 3,000 would pay for the 3, 2, 1, buy now.And let's say your rate started out at 7.Well, you would be at 7, 6, 5.You would be at 5% to start the next year, would go to 6, and then it would go to 7.So the seller takes that 3%, puts it off in a bucket off to the side for you.But it's not the seller.And servicing, it gets put off to the side by servicing.Now, the money doesn't go away.It's the buyer's money.So if the buyer decides to sell, refire, whatever, it goes back to the buyer.But the seller has to pay for it.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:45:21

Yeah.

Jason Bochniak00:45:21

And the thing we need to bring the rate down.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:45:24

Yeah, but you said something important there.You said if the value is there, this is where the appraisal comes in.Because if you've got.Yeah, and see, a lot of people don't understand it.So let's talk about this for a second, because I've been through this process way too many times.Most people say they go and they find.As I say, we'll let Juliet play this out.So Juliet finds the most beautiful place in California, and she decides.She did what you said.She looked and said, this is a payment I can afford.It's not gonna Be I can make this payment every day.I've looked at my credit, my credit is strong, my debt ratios are correct, all that sort of thing.And the third thing she said is, now I'm not gonna go out and do anything else crazy between now and settlement time.

Juliet Chuang00:46:02

Yep.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:46:02

So she goes, hires the best real estate attorney or real estate person she can find.She comes to a meeting of the mines, decides to buy this house, and let's use your $100,000 example, okay?What I've seen happen, Jason, is all of a sudden that hundred thousand dollars doesn't work because the appraisal comes in below the $100,000.Are you seeing a lot of that still, or is that sorted to sign of ebb and go away at this point?

Jason Bochniak00:46:27

Yeah.So you have to do your due diligence.Right.You have to find the property that that's going to work on.Right.So there is a partnership between the real estate agent that you pick and your mortgage professional.Right now we're in the digital age.I mean, there are so many, there are so many online utilities.We have Zillow, we have Redfin, we have, you know, you just have your partners that can go out and, and do a deep dive to see, okay, what's this home really worth?You know, what, what, what, what are we going to get out of this house?I can go on two different sites and just tell you, you know, based on quality of construction, based on the homes that are selling, hey, do you think there's a couple extra bucks here right now?There is a statistic out there that there is somewhere between 20 and $30 trillion of equity in homes sitting right now.There's just, there's a shortage of homes, but the home values are just insane.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:47:22

But that's because people have these low rates right now, and they don't want to get rid of those low rates right now.Don't you think that's part of it, Jason?

Jason Bochniak00:47:30

It is part of it.I think there is a supply and demand issue, but there's still a good chunk of value now that's not going to hold for long.I think you're going to start seeing, because of the rates creeping up, I think you're going to start to see home prices come down a little bit.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:47:41

Just before we run out, before we run out of time today, I want to get to a listener question.I'm going to hit something here, and then we're going to go into our mailbag.We did get a question for you, Jason, so let me do that right Now.

Juliet Chuang00:47:53

Oh, I thought you were going to hit something.All right, our listener question is from someone in Ohio.They wrote, my husband and I are 27, married two years, and we want to buy our first home next year.Everyone keeps telling us about first time buyer programs, but nobody explains what they actually are or whether we'd even qualify.We make about 78,000 combined and have 9,000 saved.Where do we even start?Great question for you.

Jason Bochniak00:48:26

Yeah, that's a great question.Okay, so every, every mortgage program qualifies for a first time homebuyer.But if you're looking for a local first time homebuyer program, what I would tell them to do is get on their computer and pull up their local county or local area and find out what's available in their local county.So they may and low in local states and they may want to pull up their local state bond program and see if they qualify for their local state bond program.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:48:56

I actually did this when I bought my first townhouse.There was something in Delaware called Delaware small money.I don't know if it's still around or not, but it was very cool because what they did was they gave me a $5,000 settlement help, but it was a loan and basically I didn't need to have so much money because they would put $5,000 into the deal.Now of course, when I sold that house, I had to pay that back, but that's the kind of things that are out there, right, Jason?

Jason Bochniak00:49:22

Yep.Absolutely.And if you are, if you have that individual, we have a licensed individual in Ohio, I can definitely put that person in touch with our rep in Ohio that can help that person out.

Juliet Chuang00:49:34

And so you mentioned local county and then like your state.Right.Like they each have their own first time buyer programs.Is it possible to double up or you can only choose one or the other?

Jason Bochniak00:49:45

Well, well, you want to get your information first, so you want to find out what the need is.Right.Okay.So when we talk first time homebuyer program, is this individual in need of some down payment money or are they looking for an income based program to help them with a lower rate?Or they're looking for both.Usually it's a little bit of both.Or here's the other thing too.For me as a loan officer, I like to do a quick interview to find out what that need is.And if we don't have to use a first time home buyer program, I like to stay away from them because free isn't free.And I'll tell you all about that.A lot of first Time home buyer programs want to see the individual stay in the home for a set period of years.And if they don't stay in the home for that set period of years, they want to take some equity from the individual when they go to sell the house, they want an equity share on that.And not all programs are like that.Right, but workforce housing does that.Some of the local state bond programs, if you decide to move out of the house after a certain period of time, they want to have a little bit of equity come back.But there, there's generally a second mortgage tied to that home.There's a restriction with that.So if you move out of the house, you're, you know, you have to pay that second mortgage back.And a lot of people forget that there's a second mortgage tied to the house that they didn't pay on when they're in there.Completely forget about it.So if we can talk to them and we can work on structuring their loan in a way where we can get them in a program that kind of walks and talks like a first time homebuyer program, but we didn't put them in a first time home buyer program.There's no harm or foul.Just because you're a first time homebuyer doesn't mean that we have to put you in a first time homebuyer program.If it gets you in the home and it gets you into a payment in terms that work and doesn't bind you into a loan that keeps you in a home where you have to stay in it and you lose options or you lose rights.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:51:40

Jason, we're running short on time, so I want to get to one more question because we talked a lot about new buyers, we talked a lot about people shopping.But I want to read the next question we got because this one is for the people who already own homes.And this is the question we got.They said, hi, Ralph and Juliet.I bought my condo three years ago with a 10% down conventional loan.So I've been paying what's called private mortgage insurance every month.My agent said now that home values have gone up, I might be able to drop it without refinancing.Is that true or do I have to go through a whole new loan to get rid of it?And that was signed by somebody who said, tired of the extra $140 in Michigan.Jason, what do you think about that?Because this is a big deal.I remember my first house.I paid pmi.Now, pmi, if you want to explain that and talk about how do we get rid of that.

Jason Bochniak00:52:26

Yeah.PMI is private mortgage insurance.And what I would recommend an individual does is contact their servicer.And if they contact their servicer, they may be able to request that they have their PMI removed and it's a application that they fill out.And what they'll do is they'll do a appraisal on their house.They'll have an appraisal come out.And once I believe the value gets to 78%, it's not 80, it's 78% they will, or whatever the terms are of that servicer, that's what they'll determine.They should be able to remove that pmi.There might be a period of time.Now, if they're 10 years, I think they meet the requirement.Generally it's five years.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:53:06

But.But the reason this is important is this is extra money you're paying every month.It doesn't reduce your principal, it just cost you money.Like this particular person is paying $140 a month.This is a big deal.

Jason Bochniak00:53:16

It is a big deal.Now, private mortgage insurance at the onset gave them the ability to be in the house without putting a large down payment down.So, you know, but it shouldn't be punitive and it shouldn't be forever, you know.So if they are.If they are in a position where they feel they are at that equity advantage where they've got, you know, 22% in house, I would absolutely contact the servicer and put that application and have your PMI removed.And if they determine that, that's that, they can have it removed.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:53:43

Awesome.Alison, I'm going to get to our money move and then we're going to do our wins of the week, but let's move on to our money move and we'll talk about that next.So, as you recall, our money move for this week.And Jason, what we do every week is we give our audience a challenge.And each week we have a different challenge.This week's challenge was to write down every subscription you're paying for.And I know you're going to love this from the perspective of what you do.So write down every single one you're paying for and cancel one.So, Juliet, I know I'm going to put you on the spot.I put myself on the spot.How did it go for you?

Juliet Chuang00:54:19

I canceled a few.So I had some, like, apps that I.Do you guys know what alltrails is?

Ralph Estep Jr.00:54:26

Do you know that I'm familiar with that one?No.

Juliet Chuang00:54:28

Do you know that one, Jason?

Jason Bochniak00:54:30

I've never heard of it.

Juliet Chuang00:54:31

So AllTrails is an app.Like, if you're into the outdoor hiking and all that, all trails, just, like, aggregates all of that information, and you get a lot of specifically more so for hiking.And you can have, like, offline maps and all of that if you're a huge hiker.I. I forget how I got onto the premium, but I did, and I was like, I don't need the premium, so I just canceled that one.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:54:50

So how much money are you saving now?

Juliet Chuang00:54:53

I.It's.I believe it's $30 a year.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:54:56

Wow.Hey, that's 30 bucks in your pocket.

Jason Bochniak00:54:58

Yeah.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:54:59

Yeah.

Juliet Chuang00:54:59

And I also canceled another software subscription, and that's going to save me $200 a year, so.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:55:05

All right, well, I got to tell the audience a full confession right now.

Juliet Chuang00:55:09

You didn't do it.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:55:10

It's a flashback to.I went to St. Mark's High School, and the nun, he used to give me a hard time.Because Ralph is one of those people didn't always do his homework.Well, full disclosure to the audience, I did not do my homework this week.I did not get this done.

Juliet Chuang00:55:23

You gotta do it next week.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:55:25

So I have to do this because I know for a fact there's subscription out there hiding.Jason, have you ever done this?I know I hit you out of left field with this one, but is this something you've ever looked at in your own life?

Jason Bochniak00:55:34

Well, I'll tell you what.Ironically, you're bringing this up, and I keep seeing the commercial on tv.Cause because I do watch some news late at night, and I see this one thing come across where this person walks up and he goes, I'll give you $100 to see how many, if you're right on how many subscriptions you have.And the person goes, I don't have any.And they're like, you have 20.You know, so I guarantee there's stuff out there I'm getting hit for.So if there's something I can see to see if I've got subscriptions, I'd love to see it.I know I have many, and I would like to see which ones I'm not using, but I have to go do it.

Juliet Chuang00:56:07

Yeah.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:56:07

All right, well, let's get to our wins of the week.So one of the things we do on the show every week is we celebrate wins.They don't necessarily have to be financial wins.But, Juliet, can I put you on the spot?And you go first with your wins of the week this week again.

Juliet Chuang00:56:26

Okay.Well, I mean, this week I had a lot of Time to hang out with friends.I don't.I don't.Jason, I don't know how your daughter speaks, but it's like time with the girlies, and we're just hanging out and catching up and just, you know, celebrating the world and also commiserating about the world at the same time.So had a couple of those this week, and it feels really good.I feel like my soul is fulfilled this week.Super happy.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:56:49

So I've got a great win of the week.And that is.I haven't really talked to Jason a lot recently, and, man, we are connecting this week.We had some great conversations.I went through a situation yesterday, and Jason was a guy just picked up the phone and called, and, man, he just gave me some great advice.Like I said, in full disclosure, we're looking at doing a deal.We might be buying a new home.So Jason's been great with that.But that's my win of the week is really knowing.Like, Jason mentioned just a while ago assembling that team, and very much so.Jason is a member of my team.So, Jason, that's my win of the week.Do you have a win of the week you'd like to share?

Jason Bochniak00:57:25

I have.I have two.If I could, you know, absolutely dovetail.I love the dumbtail.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:57:29

More the merrier, my friend.

Jason Bochniak00:57:31

Yeah.I have to say that this call and being invited onto this call and meeting the three of you in this format has just been an absolute stunning win of the week.And being welcomed into this open forum has just been just tremendous for me.I absolutely love the opportunity to share.Anytime I can speak about anything I do, I absolutely love it.Anytime I can say anything to help anyone out there, please forgive me.Anyone that's going to critique anything I've said.It's an open forum and I know that I am not a perfect human being, but I come onto the show with the.With the most sincere intention, you know, in anything I say.And, you know, our company is just such a.Our culture is just such a family culture, but I have the most incredible win.So I'm involved in Civil Air Patrol, and yesterday was our physical fitness day.And we were out at McCain High School yesterday, and we had the most abundant turnout.And, you know, the lights went out early yesterday.It got dark really quick.But I must say, our cadets, our youth generally struggle a little bit with pt, and we had a huge turnout of kids that are cadets that really pushed themselves.And we have a set, a setup where the children go back and forth and do sit ups and we had more cadets do 80 sit ups and they fed off of each other.And these are cadets that normally wouldn't do 80 sit ups.So each month we're seeing more and more cadets finish the eight.The max is 80.Right.So it turned out that only two cadets would do 80 and four cadets would do 80 and six cadets, I think we had 10 cadets do 80 sit ups.So I couldn't be more proud of my, my cadets for pushing themselves and really making it hit home.And just to see the growth in the cadets and the camaraderie, it was just such a big win to see that, that last night.

Ralph Estep Jr.00:59:39

And Jason, one more thing before we let you go.How can people get in touch with you?What is the best way to reach out to you if they're looking to do something in the mortgage industry?

Jason Bochniak00:59:48

Yeah, I guess the best way would be my cell phone.And that would be 302-983-6731.And then I also have my email and that's J B O C H N I a k@new fed.com and we'll.

Ralph Estep Jr.01:00:03

Put that in the show notes for sure.But Jason, thank you so much.We're going to do one more thing and then we are going to call it a day.Well, let me talk about what's coming up on next week's show.So next week Juliet and I are digging into the money questions that come up in real life.We're going to start off our Monday with our community mailbag.And if you've got a high end credit card, we're going to look at whether those rising annual fees are quietly eating up your rewards.And if you're thinking about protecting your car, we're going to talk about whether mechanical breakdown insurance is a better deal than an extended warranty.And if a small tax notice lands in your mailbox, I'm going to tell you why you might not want to ignore.So we've got a big show planned for next week.It's going to be great.So make sure you join us every day, 11:30 Eastern Time here on the show.

Juliet Chuang01:00:53

Yes.And that is it for today's episode of Becoming Financially Confident.Thank you so much, Jason, for joining us.

Ralph Estep Jr.01:00:59

Jason, it's been great.We really appreciate it.We'll put all of Jason's contact information into our show notes today.So everybody have a great day today.

Juliet Chuang01:01:09

Bye.

Jason Bochniak01:01:09

Thank you so much.