[Music] hey everyone and welcome once again to the healthy living podcast I'm your host Gina heran today we're going to Pivot a little bit and talk about healthy Finance which is one of the pillars of healthy living and to help us today we have the lovely Anna garoth you are the president and CEO of the living mortgage and that's out of Mount Dora correct it is yes well welcome Anna welcome to the podcast thank you for having me um it's my pleasure of course now I would really love to talk about finance and mortgages of course which is scary for a lot of people but let's start with your background you have a really interesting backstory you didn't grow up or you didn't you weren't born here in the US you came here as a kid if I'm correct tell us about your story and how you came to the states so I was born in Romania during communism and my parents uh they had one goal um to legally immigrate to the United States and legally was very important to them my father was an aerospace engineer so it was important that he continues that passion and that just his life in in designing planes so we were lucky enough to be able to get political Asylum from Romania and we actually it and I've never heard this it's definitely not common but uh my mom came over first and she was pregnant with my brother um ended up being highrisk I mean the moment she landed it was just a nightmare for her and she was by herself um so when she came um knowing she was coming under political Asylum and she was the first and being by herself she barely spoke any English and she was just okay one goal I'm in the hospital and um I've got to just learn what these doctors are telling me this they didn't find her high-risk status in Romania even though she had gone to doctors and we were well off in Romania so it wasn't for the lack of Medical Care correct now what year was this by the way this was um in 1987 that she came oh I see so it was in the thick of things over yes so she came one year before our oh I'm sorry about 2 years before the Revolution uh my brother was born that January 1988 so she came actually on her birthday in November yes um and my brother was born and thankfully they both made it through just fine and um but we barely got a chance to talk to my mom while she was here so in Romania they would monitor your conversations if you had a phone call come in from out of the country they would listen in 100% of the time so my parents imagine having your wife wife you know just across the world and you're at home with your only child you never never met your son and then the government finds out that your wife is in the US and she gave birth and now the US government did something that was unprecedented they requested my father and I to be released and sent over from Romania wow and the hell were you at this time I was seven during this whole ordeal so you remember yes when we came in '89 um I was 8 years old we came 2 months before the Romanian Revolution and when we left with just one suitcase because we were escorted um it was just get on a plane the US government has requested you to be sent to them um so we were terrified I mean I remember thinking as an 8-year-old going oh my gosh we're being escorted by you know the Communist police onto an airplane wow um so it definitely I can't imagine from a parents perspective now I've got you know four kids of my own three additional with my husband's children and it just it makes me cry there's a lot of emotion that you know just talking about all that but um we came to the US and my parents swore they said you know we're leaving all that behind and we are American so for this country to have gone above and beyond to save our lives we knew that it was just embracing this culture and embracing this life and Mak making it better for those people that we interact with because at the end of the day there were people that didn't know us that did so much for us so my parents excelled uh my mom became a registered nurse and she took care of uh patients that had traumatic brain injuries um my dad um ended up working for Boeing and designing airplanes actually um he still does to this day he came out of retirement to go back to work at Boeing so that's why so you ended up in Florida and then okay um I ended up in Florida because of my own choice ironically enough I I had to have heat um everybody laughs at me I'm so tiny so I'm like if it D Drops you low 70 I'm like no no no no no I I need like sweaters long pans I can't handle it so you love Florida did you graduate so did you end up growing up here and graduated from high school where no no so we were in Michigan during a lot of my childhood and then so it's freezing there freezing and I'm talking snow I remember a little kid walking through snow and those those parents that say hey I had to walk through like 2 feet of snow to get to school um yes I have done that I've done that and that's a real story for you that's a real story for me I remember walking to the bus stop and going okay the snow is coming up to my thighs like this is crazy okay um so I make fun of my children now all the time because they have no idea what that actually means and it's a legitimate thing for me but we moved to Seattle uh when my dad got hired on a Boeing and spent a lot of time there and and it's beautiful it's unfortunately overcast all the time so it's still too cold for me and I made my way to Texas and that was great and that's where I had three out of four of my children so that state is near and dear to my heart but I would vacation to Florida probably twice a year for years and I finally said you know what I'm in real estate and finance I can just pick up and move like what a concept like I can actually do that I've built this business where I can just shift it and so I finally made it home um and that was um I I remember my kids going mom what do you mean you made it home when we got here I was like no you don't understand the feeling like I'm home Lake county is home so and so when exactly did you move did you move right to Mount Dora or you've been all over Lake County or um a little bit all over Lake County I started in South Lake so we moved to the Claremont Groveland area that's gorgeous it is and we were blessed to find a beautiful home and it was just it was an easy fit for us um and then I got remarried and John is a North Lake boy so I lost that argument real quick and we immediately moved to North Lake and I was like okay wait this is this is a great area this I had never been I mean South Lake and North Lake you would think it's well it's all beautiful I mean let's face it you can't go wrong in any of the Lakes no no you can't so so talk let's Okay so let's transition you started Ed um so you already were a mortgage broker and you were into real estate and finance how did you start the living Mortgage Group like how did that come about because it's so it's so beautifully you know said the living it's like you're living and then on your website you say I am the living Mortgage Group which gave me chills when I read that because it's you can just tell you know that you really mean it and it seems like you do so talk about how all of that you get to Florida you're in your beautiful marriage now and you've got your extended blended family now what so now it was uh transfer from one mortgage company to the other and the more Jonathan and I kept talking all I ever talk about is Florida living and what it means to live in Florida so when I talk to my clients especially from out of state or even here ask them what's important to them what does it mean let's let's start there so that's you know it's my my family they always say with the ones that are still Remia they go you live in the tropics you live on vacation I said okay that it started honestly from that concept this is Florida living this we are blessed to live here yes we've got storms and hurricanes and it's humid and my hair never acts properly in the summer um but it's Florida living and every state has its beauty so the living Mortgage Group stem from where we live we live here this is our life and if we want to make our community better if we want to help the Next Generation then we've got to pour our heart and soul into wherever we live so if it's in Georgia then it's Georgia living and let's strengthen that community so for me it's Florida living so so so and then Lake County obviously has its own little niche what would you say is Lake County living definite Lakes oh my gosh we're boating all the time which was never a thing for me and now this is Lake County it is very family oriented which I love especially with all the kids that we have um it is very open to first-time home buyers which is what's near and dear to my heart when I do mortgages that's that's the first one I jump at the harder the loan the harder the firsttime home buyer situation I that's the one I love the most um but it's being able to get out there and enjoy nature I one thing we're blessed with in Lake county is we're Central Florida so we get to either stay here and enjoy its beauty or we get to drive an hour and a half to either coast and see the beautiful beaches of Florida so well we're going to stop right there and take a quick break Anna but we when we come back we're going to have Anna talk about how I might be able to actually buy a house what when we come back on the healthy living podcast don't go [Music] anywhere is pain or restricted range of motion keeping you on the sidelines get back in the game with expert Orthopedic care from UF Health Medical Group Orthopedics UF Health Medical Group orthoped pedics provides robotic cystic surgical joint repairs and Replacements postoperative care and inpatient rehabilitation services all close to home right here in Lake and Sumpter counties and for those unexpected injuries UF Health Medical Group Orthopedics offers convenient walk-in and same day appointments to learn more or to schedule an appointment with one of their Specialists call 352 323 5665 hey everyone welcome back to the healthy living podcast I'm Gina heran here with Anna garoth from the living Mortgage Group you're out of Mount Dora so lovely Lake County okay Anna I'm going to put you to the test you talked earlier about your passion being helping firsttime home buyers and you can tell like you just want to talk about it all the time I can tell that it's very genuine so let's just say I at 58 single lady never owned a house at pretty decent credit talk to me about your plan for me so my first would be asking you have you been renting if you haven't been renting then I would assume that you're living rent free so I want to have a path for you before you jump into a pre-approval I'm sure you make enough money and you qualify on that aspect but what about your daytoday and how you spend your money and can we analyze that are you going to be prepared for the mortgage for Rising insurance cost for Rising property taxes and the what ifs oh you're putting me on a plan already which I love I'm also a little scared because when you start talking about plans and money my eyeballs start to go so and which most people oh yeah which is why you're here okay so first of all thank you so you put me on a plan talk about that like specifically so first step you'll fill out an application you we do a soft pool so I don't ever want to hurt anybody's credit at least not until you're in a contract to purchase we're not touching that credit okay so the soft pull won't affect it at all but it shows me absolutely everything then we're going to look at what is truly your comfort zone for your monthly payment what does it look like today as far as your comfort zone and what would it look like a year from now if you have Rising insurance cost and property taxes so we look at that two-part um figure and see where would you truly be comfortable are you okay if it rises an extra $100 a month or $200 in some instances it could be $400 or $500 after a year of you living there so if you are fine at hypothetically let's do a round number $2,000 a month okay I say great for the next six months I want you to take $2,000 and you put it in a savings account we're for practice we're practicing paying your mortgage okay I love it okay and after you do that I want you to take at least 10% of that and put it also in your savings account this is for unforeseen incidentals what if you need to call a plumber how much is that going to cost what if you need somebody to service your AC you're a homeowner right so you are now responsible for all of that so you're like practicing owning a home with me like you're helping me along the way okay keep going um so during that six months you and I are in constant contact usually this is every single week of me just being your new best friend and I call you and I'm like hey how's it going how are you feeling about this do you need to set aside money with each paycheck or are you to just move one big chunk like making your monthly mortgage payment I've got people who go hey I love the idea of splitting my payment during each paycheck great oh you can do that you can because I so not when you make your mortgage payment but I train you and I hate to use that word oh no I love it train away that's to put that amount in your savings account and you know that with each paycheck you're going to need to set aside this $500 that will equal your 2,000 if you're paid we we L and you're prepared for your mortgage payment for the next month without having to go oh my gosh I overspent I went on vacation and I swiped my debit card you know what happens then well you've already prepared yourself you can even get to where your bank just automatically moves that amount from your paycheck into a savings account so I help you with all of that and getting your life situated for paying your mortgage payment okay so I let's say I'm pretty responsible which I am and I'm by myself so I don't have anybody depending on me and I've been around the block a little bit so I know if this is my life at my age buying a house I'm obviously very serious about it and so I will you know give up everything you know all the goodies and fun and buying shoes or you know the glass of wine or whatever but talk to me about uh a couple in their mid 20s with a couple little kids who maybe have only rented for a year or maybe they've been living with their folks and they don't know this like the first time they're ever having to be that disciplined and also they have kids so the money is just going out the door every day what would you tell them it's honestly it's the same thing so we have to look at can you afford it what is your spending habit so I'll dive in and be really invasive especially if they're a younger couple and I see that money comes in money comes out then we need to do a little bit of financial education without being too critical or judgmental I mean just requires discipline let's face it it does but and we're in a position as mortgage Brokers to provide that lesson we don't need to just automatically say hey great you make enough money let's go buy a house and let's max out your debt to income why not you know and overp purchase let's make sure that you're going to be comfortable and that sets the tone for that young couple to be fiscally responsible for the rest of their life let's train them to where they understand how to manage their money correctly and what's a necessity in purchases I've met a lot of people that are are just starting out and like me even at this point in my life I will go to Starbucks so much and then I look at the end of the month and I'm like oh my gosh I can single-handedly carry that Starbucks location just with the amount of coffee I get right when you add it up you think wow I spent $400 on Starbucks and when it looks like $400 it looks like a bill almost right so I show them this that they're spending habits and go hey what if you do it this way I know Starbucks is easy and maybe it tastes great how about you do this and just by giving them the option it also allows them to not just gain more insight into their finances but become a little bit more mature and understand you know how can I take this money that I'm investing in Starbucks and maybe allow it to make more money for my family and my children's future so then we start talking about yes you're a first- time home buyer what are you going to do after you purchase that home and you've got this beautiful home for your family where your kids are going to grow up and are you going to buy more properties to allow for passive income on rental properties or short-term rentals or maybe investment purchases in land or so we start talking with our first-time home buyers right out the gate and it's sometimes it's a lot of information so I tend to just break it down each conversation I have a different topic where are we at financially and where are we going to go from here so I want you to succeed not just today and being a first-time home buyer but maybe 10 years down the road where you own 10 properties great how did you get there and how are you going to set up your children to be financially successful as well so one of the scariest things I think for me is that meet finding someone who's actually G to care because there I mean let's face it you can't drive down the street without seeing 50 Billboards and ads and so on so it's kind of like you know who do I pick who do I trust and it seems to me that your approach is a little more on the trust side where you do the work and you genuinely care how important is it you know to kind of care instead of just being a like I don't want to be a number nobody wants to be a number how how passionate are you about that um this is my daily life so I started in finance because I so I've been in real estate so let me backtrack I've been in real estate since 1999 that's how I started and being a realtor it was about wait 1999 what were you like 18 oh my goodness I was like what were you like okay so you got into this right out of high school right out of high school yes um so I always laugh about it because my mom and my stepdad were like Anna I don't know what you're going to do with your life just try real estate for a little while and until you figure out what you are passionate about I was like okay great I will never left so I yeah I I have them to thank for that and at the same breath I'm like oh my gosh you guys put me in here now I don't know anything but this so right yeah so you started in real estate and then you you decided to kind of up the up the game so I transitioned and added um The Lending world to my knowledge base because every lender that I would partner with for my clients it was just about well they can get pre-approved for 400,000 and they're maxed out on their debt to income ratio that's not financially responsible so as I started arguing and saying no I want to pull my clients back from over spending just because they're qualified doesn't mean that's the right fit for them I was realizing that they were just pushing for more because they were making more money off of that so I took this license and I learned this path just to bring people back more to reality and say is this right for you because it's not about the money yes great I make money this is my living this is how I feed my children and I pay my bills but at the end of the day did I guide you correctly did I do what is the right thing as a human being and a member of this community in order to see you succeed because if you succeed then I succeed and it's just a Snowball Effect of I I sound sappy but of just helping each other and and doing better as people so yeah that's not a bad thing actually and it's actually quite you know Illuminating because again a lot of people especially I mean I really I'm so I get so bored when you know people start talking about money it's like H wake up you know so to have someone like you who is personable and not just throwing numbers at me you know actually helps and I'm curious I've only understood this phenomenon through documentaries but you were around in 2007 and 2008 and I didn't I've never owned property like I said so I was just kind of looking in at this craziness and going why did everybody what happened you know so has there anything since then you know because I guess there were a lot of weird mortgage is happening has anything happened to alleviate people's anxiety of buying a home because that's all they think is a mortgage so unfortunately during that time the mortgage industry was not regulated you could honestly just go and do a mortgage you didn't need a license you weren't monitored you would just go work for a company and you could have been a telemarketer yesterday or you could have worked in a coffee shop it doesn't matter you could have done somebody's mortgage and had their private information and unfortunately over pre-approve them and then they will get into trouble now on the other aspect what also wasn't regulated was how much money the mortgage broker would make off of the deal in some instances they would charge as much as 10% in commission which is that a lot oh my goodness it so look at it from the average home price even during that time let's say 150,000 they would charge you $155,000 in points up front to do your mortgage wow and that's not saying what the lender would charge you this is just your origination fee so the cfpb stepped in and we are now regulated so so you're glad about that oh my gosh yes yes it took a lot L of the uncertainty and a lot of the um well the lack of trust in mortgage brokers it took all of that out so now we go like Realtors and we have to do our CE classes we have to make sure we're ethical we are overly scrutinized and it's great it's unfortunately yes we submit a lot of reports and we have to show proof of applications coming in why what why were they denied we have to um we're maxed out on our commissions which is awesome um and making sure that even the lenders that charge the points for your loan which is to lower your rate so the points have to do with where your rate is um and there's a lot of financial lingo but at the end of the day it's part of your closing costs and you don't want to have to come up with a down payment and a huge amount of closing costs the average person doesn't necessarily have that and with the rising inflation can you afford to put aside 8% which is the typ iCal down payment closing cost combo towards buying a home are you able to do that when a lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck or they're struggling to save a lot of money you want that Advocate there which ironically is the cfpb and they have stepped in to protect consumers so what happened in 2007 isn't going to happen again because we had an unregulated industry and even our appraisers during that time were were unregulated we would get appraisal appraisers call us and say what do you need this to appraise for as Realtors and we would say well we need x amount all right well I don't have comparables but I'll make it work that was the industry that led to that big downfall so you must be happy now because it gives you credibility and it helps you know your people and it's really cuts out all that you know it does shenanigans it does yeah all right Anna we will take one more break and when we come back we're going to listen to and follow some of Anna's daily tricks and tips of how to save money and get through every day we'll be right back don't go [Music] anywhere are you ready for your future to take flight whether you're graduating high school or looking to level up Lake Sumter state college offers affordable degrees and certificates that will punch your ticket to success in a rewarding career plus with programs like direct connect to UCF your opportunities with lssc are endless so what are you waiting for join Us in lebur Claremont sumterville four corners or online learn more at lssc.edu welcome back everyone to the healthy living podcast I'm still here with Anna garoth and one last question sort of about how to help people in their the pre- buing stage you know a lot of people especially younger buyers or maybe even second time buyers start to spend a little money on the toys and the things what advice would you give them about you know their spending habits and how to maybe curtail those or divvy it up or pivot it's almost like a do and don't list uh so what do you want more do you want the toys or do you want the house do you want the nice car or do you want the house what's more important um I've had potential home buyers even first time or repeat as you're saying doesn't matter if it's their fifth house or there it's about to be their first house and pull their credit and you see payment plans on three different toys if they got the side by side the boat the motorcycle I'm like well is that important to you and how important is it so we have to have that discussion right up front with people because just because they will qualify doesn't mean that again it's the right fit yeah does it help or hurt their credit I'm not sure CU I don't have any toys I so installment loans actually help credits installment loans are great if you want to build credit get an installment loan um if you want to get approved for more credit make sure you have an installment loan so for in since your car loan is an installment loan oh is it okay it is and um I tell people you want to build that credit what's the quickest way so we'll even go and we'll fix uh borrowers credit scores and we can raise scores and help them out with that um but you can do it on your own over time so having an installment loan that you pay on time very important timely payments um is very important to the way even the automated underwriting system looks at somebody's ability to own a home have you been making your payments timely and how long have these accounts been open for so for instance if you purchased a vehicle when you were 18 years old and now it's two years later and you've been making timely payments great that's a great thing you did during this time did you also buy three or four more things um well it can still help your credit if it's installment but it will also lower your uh buying power so your purchase power goes down because we count those monthly payments against that's an income okay now let's talk about credit scores cuz I have no clue at all and I'm always like wait a minute I just paid off a credit card but my score went down and then I lived in a big city so I didn't have a car for 15 years right so I thought well I have no debt I have no car payment my credit score must be through the roof and it was like very average and so talk to me about how I can build credit cuz I honestly don't know so if you don't use your credit your credit score is going to be average or below average uh the way that seems very weird it is it it does it's the opposite of the way it should be P off your credit cards and you're being such a good citizen you're you'd be like at 850 all the time but that's not how it works is it so I'm going to make this statement but take it with the follow-up statement uh don't pay off your credit cards um really it comes down to don't pay them off in full so if you've got a $1,000 balance on there don't pay off the whole $1,000 pay off 98% of it leave $200 leave $100 that will hit your credit and in doing that eifax Experian and Transunion say oh she's using her credit she is going to be financially responsible so your score goes up you don't want to have the $1,000 that's not the way to go but have a little bit of revolving debt I will tell people if you open up a credit card in order to raise your score put $10 on there and have it go over until the next month and report on your credits then your score will go up so there's a lot of training to do with people first-time home buyers especially or people who have had setbacks if they've had a bankruptcy or if something has happened in their life where their credit score took a hit or like in your situation where you thought hey I'm not using my credit I'm not hurting myself but in reality it still hurt your credit score yeah I did not know that so thank you that's something that I'll definitely take home because I thought oh PID it all off and but um okay well thank you for that now Anna we're going to hit the speed round of questions so there's some really great information on your website about things we can do tips and tricks we can do every day to sort of either save money or help us along so here's a good one when is the best time to either buy or build or both a pool so that's a little bit of a lowly question um so to build it the best time is obviously the non-rainy season it's our drought season so you want to actually be building it during the winter however price go up on pool builders Builders during the winter because everybody calls during that time so they'll call the the pool contractor right around August September it's been a hot summer everybody goes okay we've saved enough money let's build the pool or I was able to get the loan or the home line of credit to build the pool so they get over hired for lack of a better term during that time and yes it's the easiest time to build it because the rainfall but you're going to spend more so the goal is get your pool design probably around November December January okay and then make sure your finances are an order pick your pool contractor around that same time and they'll start or break around usually about two to three months later which is when they slow down too okay so they'll slow down around May June July because it's hot people are going on vacations there's a lot of rainfall so there's a lot for them to have to configure it doesn't get built as fast but you're likely to save more money okay that's a good that's a good one what about we live near the villages and there's a lot of you know retirees or empty nesters what do we do with our spare room Anna so I am the the fiscally minded one so I will tell you please rent it out I mean there's so many snowbirds that come wait rent out the whole house or just the spare room it's a great thing to do so it's a way of also offsetting your cost especially you're talking Villages so you're talking HOA fees just the cost of living um at that age group is astronomical compared to what Social Security is and what retirement is um if you are able to rent out that spare bedroom it's an income it it's this added finance that comes in you can do the fun stuff too so it can be set aside for grandkids I mean you know it's it can be a great crafts room but I want to help people even in their golden years make a little bit more money so do you help them also find that perfect roommate because that must be the challenge so that is on our real estate side too so because we own or I own a real estate brokerage and mortgage brokerage we tend to help from both sides um and yes so we do assist with finding the short-term renter that will come in obviously that homeowner is going to pick and choose who their best fit um a lot of times though they don't even ask for our help if it's the villages they already know somebody or somebody's family member comes into town or whatever the case is but that's a great way of having just a little bit of extra cash and then finally we talked a lot about firsttime home buyers and maybe second time but talk a little bit about you know um property that you want to rent out so you want to buy a second home to rent out or a lake house or there's so many lake houses around here what about that second property uh that people want to invest in so there's two ways of doing it you can purchase a second property as your second home as a vacation home but that one hits your debt to income so we will have to qualify you on you being able to carry your primary home and your second home the best way is doing a uh dscr loan and those are investment property loans um you will place 10% down to purchase it however it doesn't count against your debt to income we look at the potential rental value and if that rental value comes in at your mortgage amount that you owe every month it completely offsets so it doesn't hurt your ability to purchase more properties you as long as you have that 10% down you can buy multiple properties and we've had clients do that to where they do it once a year they'll buy another rental property and the goal while we work with them is saying okay if you're going to save 10% per year how are you going to do that do you ever help people flip houses or we do so we've got flip loans we've got private lenders that we work with um we have construction loans to help people actually build and resell and that's where we opened up Construction Company too because we saw the need for that as well so I tend to be a little bit of a workaholic and if I can add more value to somebody's life I will and if I saw a need I I will want to fill it um but for instance Fix and Flip properties they're going to be coming up and being more uh prevalent in our Market over the next few years as people unfortunately um since they overbought the last few years will tend to lose their home or have to sell then with the market the way it's kind of Dipping down a little bit and property value is coming down a little bit then they lose their value and they may have to short sale their home where that flip property will come into play as well but we have loans for those and to rehab and to help sell and well it's like a OneStop shop Anna G well Anna it's been a hoot can you please tell us uh how or tell people how to get a hold of you I know that you you don't mind when people try to get a hold of you so where can we find you so I actually have a business phone number I believe that people should text and reach me whenever they need me so it's my cell phone it's my personal line I know it's a little scary for some um but my number is 813 89511 18 awesome and we can also go to the website the uh the living Mortgage Group it is living mg.com we try to to keep it simple um but it stands for living Mortgage Group Well thank you so much I learned so much today I'm telling you because I have no clue about half the stuff you said but now I'm a little wiser and I hope our audience as well that's another edition of the healthy living podcast we'll see you next time