This First House (2026) s01e01 Episode Script

1
-Look
-Look out!
-Look out!
-In
-Look out!
-In 1979,
-Look out!
-In 1979, the
-Look out!
-In 1979, the first-ever
home-improvement show
aired on television --
"This Old House."
-Hello.
I'm Bob Vila.
-Ever since,
a team of real tradespeople
has shared the most authentic,
trusted ways
to renovate
and maintain a house.
-That went pretty well.
-But let's face it. A lot has
changed in almost 50 years.
-John, you've seen
most of the place now.
And what do you think
we paid for it?
-16,000, 17,000 bucks?
-This man knows his business.
17,000.
[ Voice distorted ]
17,000. 17,000.
-$17,000?
-Couldn't even put a roof on
for that price.
For today's younger generation,
buying and renovating
a house for the first time
can feel impossible.
-The home-buying experience,
I hate to say it,
is a little triggering.
Oh, where do I start?
-I'm not overexaggerating.
There's an actual shed
that's going for $550,000.
-That sounds like a good deal.
-And need to do repairs
on them
that we can't possibly afford.
-We've probably looked
at like 40 open houses.
-You're competing against
these multimillion-dollar
companies.
-Yeah, it was basically
like I was at war
for two years
trying to give people my money,
and they just were like,
"No. No, thanks, girl. Next."
[ Laughs ]
-For our generation,
buying a house can be scary.
-Is this an abandoned house?
-It's not sewage, right?
-But it doesn't have to be.
That's where we come in.
We're Camille and Zack Dettmore.
-We're contractors, parents,
and, at one time,
we were first-time home buyers.
I want to take
everything I've learned
over the past 25 years
in construction
and as a builder
for "This Old House"
and share it
with a new generation
of first-time home buyers.
-Just like the O.G.,
we're doing this the real way.
We'll walk you through
the actual steps of buying,
maintaining, and renovating
your first house
using licensed professionals.
-No magic before-and-afters.
No unrealistic budgets.
Just insights from real people.
-Dada!
-We'll follow along
with two families.
Crystal and Jorge are
searching for their first home.
They're starting from scratch,
and they have
a realistic budget.
-A lot of the media we consume
about house hunting
is profiling the affluent.
-I've never seen
what I'm going through.
-Nick and Hannah
have lived in their first home
for a few years, but now
that their family is growing
-We're waiting for a baby.
-they're looking
to finally make
their renovation dreams
a reality.
-No matter what stage
of the process you are in,
we're here to help you
on "This First House."
♪♪
♪♪
-So, we're going to meet
Crystal and Jorge today.
-Yeah.
-What do you know about them?
-I know they live in Bayonne.
They have a couple of
young kids, like we do,
and they really need
a little bit more space,
so they're ready to start
looking for their first home
to purchase,
which is a big decision.
-It is, for sure.
We moved in to our latest house
maybe two months ago with kids,
and we had all the experience
of buying a couple properties
before that.
-Yeah.
-And I fear
for Crystal and Jorge
that they'll make some
of the mistakes we made.
So, when I was 18, I decided
I wanted to buy a house
with my best friend at the time.
Shortly thereafter,
I realized we bought a bad house
because it had been flipped,
so there were a lot of things
that were poorly done.
And I also realized that
I bought it for the wrong price
because the subprime mortgage
bubble kind of burst
right after we purchased
this house,
and that house lost
at least half of its value.
The whole experience
made me super-jaded.
-Right.
-And when you go through
a certain type of trauma,
you want to help other people
avoid that trauma.
I think we can definitely
help guide them.
Moving with kids
is a lot of work.
And buying a house
is a lot of work.
-It is a lot of work,
and there's a lot of change
that comes along with it.
Hopefully we can talk
them through some of
the mistakes we made
so that we're setting
them up for success.
-I think this is it.
-Yeah. Right over here.
-Nice-looking spot.
-Yeah.
-My name is Crystal.
I'm 34 years old.
-And my name is Jorge. I'm 36.
-We met in church
on a Zoom during COVID.
-You know, she was new,
and I was just so taken aback.
We met in September, and then
we got married the next June.
-When I found out
I was pregnant,
I wanted, like, a natural birth,
so we chose a birth center.
-It was Friday morning.
It was rush hour.
-Usually it only takes us
20 minutes to get there.
It took about an hour
to get there.
He's freaking out.
-The midwife is
on speakerphone, and I'm like,
"We're stuck in traffic
and we're not gonna make it."
And she's like,
"Yeah, you are. Keep driving."
-And then my water breaks.
-I'm like, "No, it didn't."
-And then I look down.
The baby came out.
-There was so much traffic.
So he was born --
That's his birthplace.
-Somewhere between
Brooklyn and Staten Island,
he was born.
♪♪
-Hey, Jorge!
-Hey, guys.
-Hello. Camille.
Nice to meet you.
-Hi, Zack. I'm a big fan.
-Nice to meet you. We're so
excited to see your space.
-For me as a fan, a long-time
fan of "This Old House,"
I'm just thrilled to be able to
have him just even for guidance.
-All right.
-All right. Up this way.
-One flight of stairs.
It's not too bad, right?
-Yeah. You'll see.
-Okay. All right.
I spoke too soon.
Is there another flight?
-Yeah, a third flight,
which can be a challenge
when we're bringing
the stroller, the car seat.
-Right.
-Groceries.
-One baby in one arm.
The car seat in another.
-Hey, you. Who's this?
-This is our baby girl, Sadie.
-Hey, Sadie!
-Hi, Sadie!
-This is my wife, Crystal.
-Hi! Nice to meet you.
-So nice to meet you.
-Thanks for having us.
-Thank you for coming.
-Oh, look at this.
-This is our little Mateo.
-This is our son, Mateo.
-Hi, Mateo.
-Hey, Mateo.
-He's 19 months old.
-Mateo is almost 2.
He's 19 months.
And Sadie's three months.
So I'm just running around
after them.
I'm reading to them
while cooking.
I'm, you know,
trying to stay sane.
-The main challenge
is the space
being very small,
very compressed.
-Not having a real living room
or a real couch.
-Also, being on the third floor
with a narrow staircase
and two small children,
it's very challenging.
-Dada!
-So tell us a little bit
about the space here.
-Well, I love my wall kitchen.
[ Laughter ]
-No dishwasher.
-Yeah.
-And then no laundry.
-No laundry. It's a struggle.
-Yeah, that's a big. challenge.
-That's a major one.
-Sometimes we go as a family,
and George is carrying,
like, two loads of laundry.
I'm carrying the kids.
It's a mess.
-But your quads are amazing.
-Exactly!
We get our exercise in.
-Let's get down to it.
You guys want to buy a house.
-Yeah.
-Yes. We're finally ready.
-And what are you sort of most
scared of with buying a house?
-Making the wrong choice.
You know?
Choosing the wrong place.
-I think I'm scared
of, like, a pipe bursting
and not knowing what to do
when you just
You live in an apartment,
and you call a super,
and they fix it.
-So what's your budget?
-We were pre-approved
for $350,000.
-Are you thinking probably
an apartment or a condo
or, like,
a freestanding structure?
-You know, the dream
is a freestanding structure.
You know, that's
the American dream, right?
-Exactly!
Our reality is probably
a townhouse or a condo.
-Schools, I'm sure,
are a thought for you.
-Yeah. Not so much.
-We're planning to homeschool
our children. Yeah.
-So you've met Camille and I,
and you know
we're both homeschooled.
And so do you still
want to homeschool?
-Even more now!
-Wow!
-That's awesome.
-Zack and I met at a camp
for homeschoolers
in the middle of the woods
in Vermont when we were kids,
and we stayed friends,
and we started dating
when we were 18
and kind of never
got sick of each other.
-Once I became taller
than her,
she started considering me
as a reasonable option.
-[ Laughs ]
-We're more concerned
with, like, the neighborhood,
it being family-friendly,
a little bit walkable,
going down with the stroller.
-Parks.
-Parks.
-Safe.
-And do you envision yourself --
Like, either of you are handy?
Are you going to
fix this place up
if you find a dump or?
-George?
-Listen. In my mind,
I'm, like, the handiest person.
-George thinks he's handy. Yeah.
-I've spent my whole life
watching all these shows,
and I like working on projects
and doing things with my hands,
but, you know,
I've come to realize
that I'm not as skilled
as I like to think I am.
But I'm definitely open
to learning,
open to doing the work.
-So maybe it's, like,
looking for something
with some carpet
you can rip out.
-Exactly.
-Some, like, smaller projects,
like cosmetic projects
that you can handle.
-I think you've got reasonable
expectations, though.
Not prioritizing school
is going to work in your favor.
Not looking for
massive square footage
is going to work in your favor.
I have the belief that,
you know, square footage,
like money, only makes you
happier at a certain point.
-Right.
-I think this is doable.
-We know a good realtor
we'd be happy to
get you in contact with.
-That would be amazing.
-Absolutely.
-We're so excited.
-Yeah.
I can't even put it into words,
you know, how meaningful
and important it is.
-Having children
really put a lot of
-Has been the catalyst, yeah.
-Yeah.
-What I'm nervous about right
now is making the right choice.
You know,
I think within our constraints
of location and budget
and what we need,
I'm a little bit scared
that we could make a choice
that we might come to regret.
♪♪
♪♪
-I've been a real-estate agent
for seven years.
What inspired me
to become a real-estate agent
was when my mother
needed to buy a home,
and her budget was really low.
Agents don't typically
work those budgets,
and I thought I could do it
for my mom.
I work in Northern new Jersey.
There's good homes
at a good budget.
90% to 95% of my clients are
all first-time home buyers.
It's really because
I pay attention.
Buying a home
is one of the biggest purchases
a person is going to make.
I take it really seriously
in not pushing them
to make a decision
that they're not ready for.
-Hi, Emily.
Nice to meet you.
-Come on in.
You guys are pre-approved
for $350,000,
and I already know
your wish list.
The first steps to finding
a home is using the MLS.
The MLS is a database
where real-estate agents
upload their listings
and have all the information,
and it's real-life information.
So the first step is that
I'll make a list of homes
in the areas
that we talked about.
I will send you a list of homes
twice a week
of any homes
that come new to the market.
The way that I manage
my clients' expectations
and what their dream home
would be
is really by showing the market.
It's not as easy as it looks
because they're so set on, like,
you know,
the Zillow type of home,
you know, with all
the bathrooms and the pool.
And it's like,
"Does that really work for us?"
So let's go over the first one
that I think will be amazing
for you guys.
This one in Bloomfield.
Two-bedroom, one-bath.
It's open space. Really bright.
And it has the washer and dryer
that you guys love.
-And I see a dishwasher, too.
-Yes!
[ Laughter ]
-So my main question, though,
for every listing is parking.
Because that's my deal breaker.
-So this building has parking,
but the great thing
about Bloomfield
is everything is residential.
-Mm-hmm.
-So you don't have to,
like, look for parking.
There's no businesses around.
So I want to show you
this one in Prospect Park.
It has a garage,
so that's really nice.
-Yeah.
-It's on the first floor.
You have first-floor access.
-Yeah.
-Very nice.
-Yeah.
-This is the entrance.
-Oh, so this is a two-floor?
This has two floors?
-Yes, yes.
-Oh!
-This is a duplex.
-Awesome.
-Yeah. This is a duplex.
-That is, like,
next-level for us.
We would love that.
-Yes.
Two bedrooms, two baths.
-Wow, babe.
-That's pretty amazing.
-I didn't think
we could get that.
-I sent you this.
This is Montclair.
It's a little
on the smaller side,
but the area makes up for it.
Two-bedroom, one-bath.
Let's look at this
in Belleville.
It's been on the market
for 22 days.
Two beds, two bathrooms.
This one has no pictures.
-Usually --
-That's concerning.
-Yeah.
-Sometimes gems
have no pictures.
There might be some room for
us to negotiate a lower price
because usually homes
that have no pictures
a lot of people are overlooking.
A listing with no pictures
can be a hidden gem.
Not a lot of people
are looking at that home
and saying,
"Hey, I want to see that home,"
so, first, you have
less competition.
Number two, a lot of the times
if the home is rented
and is owned by an investor,
they're not able
to take pictures
because the property has items
that doesn't belong to them.
And the house can have
the perfect flow,
actually even be updated,
just not have pictures online.
So I'll schedule those homes
for you guys this weekend.
And I can't wait
to show them to you.
-I think we're feeling
very positive
and excited
about this adventure.
There's a lot more out there
than we thought was available.
-I love Yemily.
She seems really knowledgeable.
And, like, she has
so much experience,
and she's also very optimistic
and encouraging,
which is helpful.
-Yeah. I loved her positivity.
-The market
for young buyers is tough,
but it's definitely doable.
[ Clicking ]
-The only reason you're gonna
need to come down here
and do anything
with these switches
is if you trip a breaker.
That might happen
when you overload a circuit.
You've got the hair dryer.
You have the air conditioner.
Maybe the microwave
is just too much for it.
So you have to come down here
and you have to turn
that breaker all the way off,
and then you can
turn it back on again.
-So, to unclog with a plunger,
you actually don't push.
You pull!
♪♪
-Where are we
heading today, babe?
-We're heading to meet
Nick and Hannah.
They already have a house.
-Right.
-And they've been waiting
to make some renovations to it.
We're in North Arlington.
Such a cute little town.
-The baby boom happened.
They started building
a lot of small houses
like what we see here.
Sort of three-, four-bedroom.
Usually one bathroom.
-Yeah.
-It's cool when you're thinking
of renovating these.
Typically, you don't really
have to brainstorm too much
because almost all
of your neighbors,
they have done different types
of additions,
so you can see they add a level,
they bump out the back.
Probably at one point all of
these houses looked the same.
Oh, it looks like
we're getting close.
This is their street.
-I'm Nick.
-And I'm Hannah.
We met in college.
I saw Nick front and center,
asking all the questions
of the professor.
-I think I remember you
as the person
who came in late most days
in your pajamas.
-But I did get an "A"
in that class.
-So this is a 1951 Cape Cod.
Three beds, one bathroom.
-It was a bit of
a fixer-upper, still is.
Here I was able to really see --
It makes me emotional
to think about.
But I was really able
to see raising a family.
But I remember asking Nick right
there in that hallway behind us,
like, "Will you be able
to take this on?"
And he said he would do it
every other weekend.
-And at the time,
it was naively exciting.
I thought, I can't wait
to be like these people
that I see on TV
and, you know, get back to work
doing the things I used to do
in high school and college,
renovating houses in Florida.
As we've moved to a more
"work from home" culture,
making the home
be functional as a home
but also as something
that works well at work
has been a little bit
of a challenge.
And then making it mesh well
with life
has just been a challenge.
-The other thing I did
just think of, too, is guests.
So, unfortunately,
we don't live close to family,
but we're very close to family,
if that makes sense.
And they've jokingly,
maybe not jokingly, said
that they're not visiting again
until we have a second bathroom.
-The study and extra bedroom
that we currently have
is slated to become a nursery,
and so I will be moving out
to make space for a new person,
and so I'll end up
in the basement.
But the basement is completely
unfinished right now.
-We're waiting for a baby.
[ Chuckles ] Finally.
We're in the process
of a domestic infant adoption.
This will be
our one and only child.
The fact that this
will be the place
we'll bring our child home to
is going to make it mean
so much more.
I'm really excited to begin
kind of the nesting phase,
to get their nursery ready.
I just think of all the memories
that we're gonna make here.
So when I imagine
bringing our baby home
I don't care where we are
in the renovation process.
I would love
to get a call, like, tonight
when we're done with this
to say,
"Your baby's been born.
Come pick them up."
And someday our child
will be able to watch this
and know how we were feeling
and probably tease me
about how much I cried.
I want them to know.
Like, we just can't wait
to meet you.
-It does really unlock the next
chapter of life for us, right?
-Yeah. Yeah.
-[as Tom Silva]
A little Cape Cod.
A little Tom Silva. Cape Cod.
-[as Tom Silva] Cape Cod.
-Hello!
-Hello!
-So good to meet you, Camille.
-Nice to meet you.
-Zack. Nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.
-Welcome to our house.
-What a beautiful property.
-Aww. Thank you.
-Yeah. Let's take a look at it.
-All right.
-Come on in.
-We are very excited
to work with Zack and Camille.
-We watched them
on "This Old House."
And when we came
to do our renovation,
I remember saying to Nick,
"I know it's a long shot,
but we could ask the Dettmores
if they're available."
Now here we are
getting to work with them.
So welcome in.
-Thank you. Ohh.
-Right into our living room.
-Oh, very nice.
-I spend almost all my time
right here.
-I love it.
-This is the bedroom slash
"work from home" study,
but it's slated
to become the nursery.
-A nice size bedroom.
-Yeah, it's actually
the bigger bedroom.
We wanted the kid
to have room to play.
We really just need a bed
in our room.
So that's why we need
to renovate downstairs
so that the function
of this room can move down
and we can be ready
for the baby.
-All right. That makes sense.
All right.
So where's the bathroom?
Over here?
-Yes.
-So the bathroom
is pretty tight and small,
but the main issue
we're actually having
is this toilet seems
to have some sort of
ever so slight leak,
which means that the tile
has become unstable
and the grout
is coming out of its beds.
And so we've actually
regrouted once,
and it's already starting
to come undone again,
so there's maybe
a structural issue,
but at least a water issue.
-Hoping we could get
the new bathroom built
before we tackle that
so that we're not
a zero-bathroom household.
But whatever we need to do.
-[ Chuckles ]
-All right. Maybe we can take
a look at that from the bottom.
-Yeah. Let's show you that.
It's called the haunted house.
Nick, I just noticed
a puddle here.
Do you know what that is?
-A.C. drippage I'm guessing.
I hope.
-Okay. It's new.
-So this is
the main basement level.
-The main attraction?
-The main attraction.
As you can see
-It's something.
-There's really nothing
to see in terms of finishes
because Hurricane Ida
flooded this basement
and we had to get rid
of almost everything.
There's very little left.
Like, old paneling from maybe
the '70s or something like that.
-Right.
-We're hoping this space here
could become the new
bedroom slash study
so that we have the free space
for the nursery upstairs.
-And as far as we know,
a bedroom just needs a window,
which we have.
We actually get great light
because it's south-facing.
And then a closet
under the stairs.
But the other side is where we'd
like to add a few more things.
You can watch the puddle
that just showed up today.
Um, so, obviously,
right now this is just laundry,
but this is where we'd like to,
if we can, fit a bathroom.
If it could have a shower,
that'd be great.
-Everything Nick and Hannah
want to do in the basement
seems completely doable to me.
There's plenty of space
down there.
-Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
I am a little bit more concerned
about what's going on
on the floor right now.
The active leak, I think,
is a top priority.
♪♪
-I can't say exactly
where it's coming from,
so I think we could maybe
stick a camera up there
and see if we can
recreate the leak
when you flush it.
-It's not sewage, right?
♪♪
-It is.
-It is! Oh, gosh. Okay.
-Yeah, it is sewage.
-I feel like
I'm living a nightmare.
-Yeah, it is sewage,
but diluted sewage, right?
-I don't know
that that's a lot better.
-Wastewater, right?
-That makes it sound
a little better.
-Yeah.
♪♪
♪♪
-So, whenever
people have toilet leaks,
it can be scary because you
don't know what's causing it.
You don't know
what's coming out.
But there's a pretty easy way
to diagnose these things.
So, a toilet basically has
a supply line coming out of it
that supplies the tank.
And if that were to have a leak,
it would be constant
dripping all the time
or even, like, gushing water,
and you need to turn it off.
So it's pretty easy if you don't
have that condition of water,
which I'm assuming
they don't, right?
Um, that's probably not it.
The next thing is the tank.
The tank can be full of water,
and then there's little gaskets
between the tank and the bowl.
And if those rot out
you'll get a drip, drip, drip
coming from the bottom.
So we can actually
go upstairs and check
and see if there's water there
to diagnose that.
If that's not the problem,
then it's probably a leak
between the bottom of the bowl
and the flange,
which --
there's a wax ring there.
And sometimes
if that toilet's a little loose
or that flange is too low,
when you flush it,
you get a lot of water
entering that pipe,
and a little bit will escape.
So that's my hunch
as to what it is,
but we need to do
a little bit more research,
so I'm going to get some tools
and get a camera
up under the toilet
and see if I can see
that wax ring
and see a little bit of water
come out
when we flush it.
-Then we know it's sewage.
-Then we know it's sewage.
[ Chuckles ]
-Borescope.
-All right.
So what I'm gonna do, Nick,
is poke this camera up here
and see if I can see
where the leak is.
All right. Let's see if anything
happens when we flush this.
Oh, yeah.
-Oh my goodness!
-There's your problem
right there!
-What is it?
-The leak is actually
in the wax seal.
So, see that seal there?
That orange stuff?
And that is basically
what's leaking.
And that's why water
is getting under your tiles.
Very manageable.
You certainly won't be
without a bathroom
for more than an hour or two.
-Okay.
-That's good news.
-So, are there any other rooms,
any other spaces
we should take a look at?
-We've got some work on
the patio we should talk about.
-All right.
-Come take a look.
-Awesome.
-Take a peek.
-All right.
So let's clean our shoes.
-Mm-hmm.
-If you don't mind, Nick,
don't go anywhere.
-So take my shoes off
and get cleaner, Hannah?
-I guess so.
-Okay.
-So now that we know
that the leak is actually
coming from that flange there,
that wax ring,
this is definitely something
we want to take care of now,
so I'm going to
make a couple of calls,
see if any of our plumbers
are available today
so they can come out and
take care of that sewage leak.
-So this is the wax ring.
It failed right here.
You can see.
And that's why the water
is leaking into the basement.
-All right. So come on out.
-All right.
-Just watch your step, because
that is part of the issues,
is those steps.
-Okay.
-You can see
they're crumbling.
We have a good
little space here.
We've created a fire pit
and a garden,
and we'd love
to do entertaining out here,
but you can see
there's just so many cracks.
The steps, especially, just
probably would not
pass inspection.
Because there was a deck here
that Nick single-handedly
took down.
-Wow!
-But we do have
these ledger boards
which go on top of the siding,
and you can actually see
it's caused
some cracking in the siding,
and so we'd like
to remove the boards
and maybe we might even
have to repair some siding.
We have a few
replacement pieces we can use.
You can actually see
some old deck board here.
Uh, and then, uh,
I guess make the patio
workable and functional,
especially as an entryway.
This is one of the biggest doors
to get things
in and out of the house,
but we can't necessarily
do it safely right now.
-So seems like we've got a nice
lay of the land here now.
Next steps for you guys
would be to kind of
make that list
of all those things
we talked about,
put priorities to them,
must-haves versus
the nice-to-haves.
And, you know, we're really
excited to work with you guys.
This is gonna be so much fun.
-We are really excited
to work with you, too.
-All right. We'll talk soon.
-Yeah.
-Sounds good.
-I think they have some things
to think about,
and I think we have
some things to think about,
and then we can start developing
that budget as a team.
-Yeah, they have to
put their list
of must-haves together
and kind of
prioritize everything.
-Hey, it's a beautiful day here,
and I thought I'd give you
a little house-hunting tip.
When you're searching
for your first home,
you're gonna see it
when it looks great,
when you go to that open house,
but make sure
you go take a look at it
when the weather's
also pretty bad
because you never know
what you're gonna see.
♪♪
[ Beeping ]
-An ice dam is actually
a large block of ice
that forms right along
the lower edge of your roof.
Probably one of the safest ways,
if you have the problem,
is take a sock
and fill it with rock salt
and throw it up on the roof.
-The way a renovation loan
works is they take
the purchase price
plus the cost of the renovation,
and they lump those together.
♪♪
-So, Crystal and Jorge are
already approved for a mortgage,
but today Zack and I are out
here to meet with Sean Kenny.
He's a mortgage broker,
and he's hosting an event.
-His event
is Loans and Lattes,
which is some good branding,
I would say,
but there's a lot of events
like this all over the country,
and the purpose is really
to show first-time home buyers
in a very low-stakes
environment
some of the tools
that are available to them
because it can be very scary
to sort of open up your finances
to someone.
But people like Sean
are professionals,
and, in my experience,
they make it super easy.
-Yeah, it's great to have
a professional on your side.
-I love working
with first-time home buyers.
Your first home purchase
is really
one of the most impactful
financial decisions
you'll probably
ever make in your life.
-Hey, Sean.
-Hey. How are you guys?
-Very good. Nice to see you.
-Welcome to Loans and Lattes.
-Nice to meet you.
-We actually just finished up
the presentation.
-Oh, fantastic.
-I'm excited.
I'm glad to have a latte.
-Yeah, I'm a fan of latte part.
The loans?
-Loans? Kind of boring, but
let's try and learn something.
-It's hard to make
mortgages exciting,
so that's why we add
the latte aspect into it.
-Add the caffeine. Right?
-[ Laughter ]
-So I'm curious --
how do you know if you're just
a first-time person
who's renting maybe --
How do you know
if you can afford a house?
♪♪
♪♪
-Nice to see you.
-Welcome to Loans and Lattes.
-So I'm curious --
how do you know if you're just
a first-time person
who's renting maybe --
How do you know
if you can afford a house?
-I would say the first step
is always to speak
with a loan officer.
Find out your affordability.
Find out what programs
that you qualify for.
How much cash is going to
be needed for this purchase.
And then, more
and most importantly,
that mortgage payment.
Everyone typically has
a number in their mind
of where they'd like
to be around,
so it's important
that we budget for that
as a loan officer to make sure
that we keep them
in that comfort zone.
So the biggest misconception
that people have
is that they need 20% down
to purchase a home,
which is honestly the
furthest thing from the truth.
There are so many programs
out there.
-Got it. Like, an FHA loan.
I know we did that
for our first house.
That's really something
that first-time home buyers
could take advantage of.
It's only for
first-time home buyers?
-Yes.
I would say an FHA mortgage
is the most commonly used
mortgage type
for first-time home buyers
for a few reasons.
One, mainly
the down-payment requirement
is much less -- 3.5%.
-Right.
-So it allows that buyer to keep
a lot of those assets and cash
in reserves instead of
tied up into the deal.
The interest rate oftentimes
is actually about,
on average, half a percent less
than a conventional mortgage.
-Interesting.
-Uh, so that's really big.
And then, lastly,
the credit-score threshold
is much lower
on an FHA mortgage,
which really opens up
the pool of eligible buyers.
-Right. So the people
we're working with right now,
they are -- they're looking
at houses and condos.
Um, is there any considerations
for FHA's
that they should know about?
-Yeah.
So, when it comes
to condos and townhomes,
it is much more challenging,
and I won't get into
that rabbit hole.
Uh, just know
that in the state of new Jersey,
there are very few
townhomes and condos
that are actually FHA-approved.
-Ohh!
-So that's definitely
one thing to consider
if you do have
an FHA pre-approval
and what type of homes
you're going to be looking for.
-There's, like, more hoops for
them to have to jump through.
-Right now I would say
the biggest challenge
for first-time home buyers
is just affordability.
There's just such
little inventory,
coupled with
high interest rates.
Renovation loans
are super-popular right now.
There's a few differences.
One, your loan amount
is going to be higher
because the cost
of that renovation
is now tacked onto
your loan amount.
The only other difference,
really,
is that you do have to
work with a contractor,
and they'll provide you
with what's called
an estimate or a bid.
That is very important
because, as a loan officer,
I need to, "A,"
make sure that you can
afford that extra loan amount
that's going to include
the renovations.
But, most importantly,
I need to ensure
that the buyer is comfortable
with that higher
mortgage payment.
Two other commonly used
mortgage types.
One is a VA loan,
or a veterans loan.
-Mm-hmm.
-We do a lot of those.
So if you have served
in the military,
there are advantages for you.
One of them
is that the down payment
can actually be as low as 0%.
-Wow.
-I can afford that.
-Yeah. Yeah.
-[ Laughs ]
-I would say the other
most commonly used
mortgage type would be
a conventional mortgage.
Those folks that have,
you know, 15%, 20% down,
higher credit scores,
they'll utilize
a conventional loan program
most often to try to alleviate
that mortgage insurance.
Anything 20% or more
in down payment,
you don't have
that mortgage insurance,
which can be anywhere
from $150
to, you know, $300,
$400 a month.
So it's a huge savings if you do
and can afford to do 20% down.
But if you're not
putting 20% down,
most people just stick with
an FHA mortgage
if you're a first-time
home buyer.
-Right, and is there any way
to drop that insurance
or do you need to refinance?
-So on a conventional loan,
let's just say you put down 15%.
Once you get to that
20% equity mark,
the M.I.,
or the mortgage insurance,
automatically falls off,
which differs
from an FHA mortgage.
-30 years.
-So you have to refinance
in order to get rid of it.
-Correct.
So most people use an FHA
as just, like, a tool
to get into the home,
and then within
three to five years,
a lot of them are refinancing
into a conventional loan
where they don't have
that mortgage insurance anymore.
-I think I'm getting
the hang of this.
-Yeah. This makes a lot
of sense. It's fantastic.
Thank you so much
for this helpful information.
-Yeah, of course, of course.
So it's really important
to educate home buyers
and especially
first-time home buyers
that haven't been
through the process before
that there are ways that they
can buy a home without 20% down.
♪♪
-A house tour is a scheduled
time between 15 and 30 minutes
for the buyer
to see the property
with the buyer's agent --
in this case, me.
We'll make sure that there's
no red flags on the property.
That time is scheduled
with the listing agent.
The listing agent will confirm
that we can see the property
with the buyer.
So great to see you guys.
-Hi, Yemily.
-You too. Hey, Yemily.
-Hi!
-We're excited.
-So excited.
-All right. Let's go in.
When going through a tour,
I say the most important thing
to look at is the structure
of the home,
the lighting of the home,
the flow of the house,
and if there's any noises.
But most importantly,
what's the gut feeling?
-Okay.
What do you think
about this foyer, babe?
-Good. Spacious. Not tight.
Right now we're like, "Ugh."
-I know we'd like an entrance.
Right? Like, before you get in.
-Yeah. There's a space.
-Then you come in.
-Nice floors. High ceilings.
-High ceilings.
There's a closet here.
-We could keep
the stroller there.
-You know,
it's pretty spacious, also.
-Mm-hmm.
-It would work.
And then -- Yeah, let's --
-I like that
the bathroom is here.
-Yeah.
-Tucked away from everything.
-And it's kind of big.
-Yeah.
-And what about
this shower tile?
-We're not into
gray or dark colors,
but it'll work for now.
-Yeah.
It looks very updated.
It looks like
there's minimal work to do.
Uh, the layout is very nice,
and I do like that
open-space type of living.
Umokay.
-So living room
dining, I guess, area.
What do you think?
-I think it's very nice,
but I can't help but think
that it's kind of small.
-I think, like, my concern is,
where would you work?
Like, where would you
put a desk to
-That is a valid question.
-Work and school.
Work on your
-Oh! Okay.
-That's a winner.
-This definitely ups the ante.
Oh, my goodness.
The thought of
having laundry inside.
And the kitchen. In pictures --
The pictures
don't do it justice.
I'm likewow!
Like, can you imagine
being here, babe,
like, cooking dinner here?
-Yeah, yeah.
-The kids running around.
-Look. Dishwasher.
-Dishwasher. You know?
It's just like --
It feels so, so spacious.
-I think this is definitely
a good option, yeah.
-You know,
I'll speak for myself.
I don't really like
the dark colors.
-That all can be changed.
-Exactly. We know. Yeah.
-That's a simple change.
-This is great counter space
and great cabinets.
-Those are all
-Easy things to mix.
-Yeah. Cosmetic.
-Yeah.
Another concern was a lack
of space for George to work in.
-Yeah.
-We didn't check out the rooms.
-Oh, yeah.
-Let's look at the rooms.
Okay.
-Okay.
-This feels a little small.
Maybe this is the kids' room?
-A little tight. Yeah.
But I like the carpet.
-Has a closet.
Spacious closet, too.
-A big closet, actually,
for the kids.
-So this is the actual
primary bedroom.
-Okay. Not bad.
-Okay.
-Oh, wow. Look at the closet.
-Oh.
-Yeah. More than --
-That's actually
way bigger than -- Wow.
Just keeps on going!
-[ Laughter ]
This could actually
work for us, babe.
-Yeah.
-Let's go. Let's go see more.
-Yeah.
-Okay.
But this was really great.
-No, it really was. I
I think it has a lot
of potential for us.
-I agree. 100%.
I think it does have
a lot of potential.
And I'm surprised after
seeing it because going into it,
based on the pictures,
I was like,
"I don't think this is
gonna work at all," you know?
And seeing it,
I'm just like, "Wow.
I could actually see us here."
-Yeah.
-This is the development.
-Look at these closets.
-This is the living room.
-I don't know. I feel like
it has good counter space.
-Looks like a good job.
-My first instinct is
this is tiny.
This is the second bedroom.
-Here we have
the kids' bedroom.
-The kitchen looks nice.
-"Nice" is putting it nicely.
-I know!
Overall, this was
a little bigger than I expected.
-Remember. You can be honest.
I'm on your side.
-Okay. There's not much
to see in here, Yemily.
-Yeah.
-[ Laughs ]
[ Chatter ]
-She's very --
-Yeah.
-I grew up with them, and I
-She's
-Yeah. [ Laughs ]
-What do you think, babe?
-Speechless.
-[ Laughter ]
-She's speechless.
[ Mateo cries ]
-Honestly, it reminds me
a lot of our place now.
-Yeah.
-It's all sort of
-One area.
-one area, one space.
-I think this was definitely
worth looking at.
Something to compare
so you can appreciate
what really makes sense, right?
-I think we're done. Yes.
-Yeah.
-Let's go see the other one.
-So there's value
in seeing homes you don't like.
It gives you perspective of
what you're really looking for.
And every "no"
makes the "yes" more clear.
♪♪
♪♪
-Mateo looks so cute.
This is nice.
-This is nice.
If you notice in the other one,
two of them had been redone.
-Oh, okay.
You know, I hate to say it,
but I'm a little bit
more cynical now.
You know, I just --
But I guess it's more being --
also being more realistic.
You know? Like
-I think we've had
a big reality check this week.
We were sort of at the top
of our budget looking at places,
and now we've sort of
lowered it a couple notches.
-Yeah, the reality
of the market is, like,
no, we're competing and we might
not be able to get what we want.
-Wind chimes!
-[ Speaking Spanish ]
-Wind chimes!
-Putting in an offer at asking,
I don't know if it's gonna
work anywhere right now.
Okay. This already has points
for being on the first floor.
[ Chuckles ]
Oh. Mateo.
-Really nice.
-What do you think, babe?
-So far, so good.
-I like it.
I like this entry space.
-Love the natural light.
-Living room.
-You finally get to have
that dining table
that you wanted
-Okay. Cute
-Cute-kitchen alert.
-But also the track lighting
gotta go.
-It's a good sized kitchen.
All new appliances. Yeah.
-I think it's nice.
I like how deep
the counters are.
-That's true. Yeah.
-You get the dishwasher.
-I just want to look
at this closet real quick.
-That's -- Yeah. [ Laughs ]
Good size coat closet.
-Pretty nice, right?
-Yeah.
-And the doors are nice,
right, babe?
-[ Laughs ] Love it.
Love the doors.
-Better than I'm used to seeing.
-What do you think
about the size?
-Okay size.
-Okay size?
-It's not --
-I think a vanity --
Like, an actual vanity
-An actual vanity
would be nicer, yeah.
-Definitely.
-Mm-hmm.
-And we could use the storage.
-Yeah.
Ohh. Look at this. A whole room.
This is my escape.
-Major points.
I know this is where
you're gonna come
to have a moment to yourself.
[ Laughter ]
Very nice.
I think we can make it
a little nicer,
but it's a great space.
-We can make it nicer. Yeah.
-This is the primary bedroom.
-Two windows.
That's really nice.
-Yes. Airy.
-Yeah.
-This has two bathrooms?
-Yes. Two bathrooms.
-Oh! I didn't know
this had two bathrooms.
-That changes things?
-I already liked it, but, yes.
-Yes.
-Yes. I really liked it, too.
But very nice.
-Very nice.
-Pretty spacious.
-Very spacious. Yeah.
-We might even be able
to fit another --
-I think you could
extend the vanity.
-A double vanity.
-Yes. A double vanity.
-Look at the walk-in closet.
-Wow! Okay.
-I knew you were
gonna like that.
-This is a huge upgrade.
-Oh, you went in, babe?
-Yeah. I'm in here.
Me and Sadie.
-I love this.
-Is there another closet?
-Yes, there's another closet.
-Oh, wow.
-Oh, my goodness.
Let's put in an offer.
[ Laughs ]
-I think it's really nice.
-I think so, too.
I think this is very nice.
-And even just walking in to
the buildings was really nice
-Yeah.
-that's in the development.
-And, you know,
we could sort of personalize it
in our own way.
-Yeah.
-You know, with paint and, you
know, maybe some light fixtures,
but definitely it doesn't need
any major work.
-Let's submit an offer.
-Definitely.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
-So, what does submitting
an offer look like?
From the buyer's perspective,
great. They only have to sign.
Um, so I'll prepare the offer,
and the offer will have
the purchase price,
the deposit, down payment,
as well as,
when can the clients close?
Once that's all done,
I'll send it to the buyers.
They'll sign electronically.
I'll attach that document with
a pre-approval from the bank,
and I'll e-mail it
to the listing agent.
The listing agent
will have that print-out
and discuss with their sellers
whether that offer
is right for them.
Would you be willing
to put $350,000,
which is the max
of your budget?
-What -- What's your --
-What do you recommend?
So I'm like, "Should we start
at $345,000?" You know?
-Um, well, I wanted to
speak to the listing agent
and see if they have
any other offers.
-Okay.
-But I just wanted to know
if you guys were willing
to go to $350,000
if we have to
to win the property.
-I think so, yeah.
-Okay. I think so, too. Yeah.
-Yeah.
-Bye-bye, Mateo!
I'll see you in a minute.
-Bye-bye!
-Yay!
-You saying bye?
You're so happy to say bye!
My strategy
when submitting in the offer
is calling the listing agent
and getting a little information
about what the sellers
really value.
Is it time?
Is it a really easy,
smooth closing?
Or are they just looking
to move out in three months
because they need
to find a new home?
These are things
that are really important
to put in the contract
because it'll make your contract
a lot more stronger.
Hi, Eric. How are you?
This is Yemily.
Do you have any offers?
-So, it's gotten
a lot of activity.
At the moment,
no, no offers in hand.
-What is your client
looking for?
-They are trying to buy,
and they'll know more
this weekend.
Flexible timing would be good.
I think it's well-priced if you
see some of the other comps.
I mean,
it's pretty straightforward.
List price
or a little bit above.
I mean, looks like those units
are pretty standard.
-I'll write up the offer,
and I'll send it to you
within an hour, okay?
-Awesome. That's great.
-Yes.
-They don't have any offers.
-Okay.
-He doesn't expect it to go a
really high number over asking.
Just a few thousand dollars.
I think we should go
at $345,000.
-Okay.
-I have a good feeling
about this.
-Very exciting.
-Yes!
-Yes.
-Oh, you do?
-I do. Do you want it?
-Yeah.
-Yes. I'm sorry.
I didn't know you were an agent.
Otherwise, I would
have given it to you.
Yeah.
-There was a woman
outside of the home
when we were discussing
the details of the offer.
Apparently she is an agent
and didn't disclose
that she was an agent,
so now she knows
all the details of our offer.
They can beat it or match it.
Once you have two offers
of the same in this market,
it will turn into a bidding war,
so my only hope right now
is that we are the first ones
submitting the offer.
The listing agent said
if we submit it first
that they will accept
their offer,
so I'm rushing home
to get to my office
and write this offer, and
hopefully everything goes well.
-You know, I'm a little --
I'm still in shock a little bit,
so I don't know
what to make of it.
Like, it's been
physically exhausting
just getting back and forth
from place to place,
trying to get there on time,
taking the kids.
It's been mentally exhausting
because we just
have to think so much
about so many different factors,
whether it's
-And then only to
sort of get outbid.
-Yeah, like, thinking
about location, the size,
the different factors
in every unit,
thinking about the neighborhood,
what it has to offer.
And then emotionally
it's been exhausting
because, on one hand, you sort
of fall in love with a place
and you're like,
"We could see ourselves here.
We could see us
raising our kids here,"
only to find out
that it's no longer an option.
So, you know,
it's been very intense,
but we're sort of
keeping our eye
on the light
at the end of the tunnel
and sort of saying, like, it's
gonna be worth it in the end.
-Yemily's pro tip.
Be flexible
about your closing date.
If you have the flexibility
of staying where you are
a little longer
and making it easy for
the sellers to say yes to you,
I say always
take advantage of that.
You can win an offer just
by aligning with the seller
what is the best time
for them to move out.
-It's Saturday night ♪
-It has a 90-degree angle
right here
and a 45-degree angle
right here.
There's 22 1/2.
Mark that right there.
That angle will be
22 1/2 degrees off of that.
-Most states
across the country
offer some level of down payment
or grant assistance.
This is something you
absolutely want to look into
and most people
don't even know about.
For example, here in New Jersey,
NJHMFA has a wide variety
of programs
offering first-time home buyers
up to $22,000
that can go towards
not only your down payment,
but also your closing costs.
♪♪
[ Baby fussing ]
-Yikes. Sadie woke up.
Just on time.
-[ Chuckles ]
♪♪
[ Line rings ]
-Hello?
-Hi.
-Hi, Yemily.
-Hey, Yemily.
-How are you guys?
-Good. How are you?
-A little nervous but excited.
-I'm great.
I'm great.
I'm happy that you guys
are doing okay.
Nervous? That's okay to be
nervous when buying a home.
The point is that you eventually
will find your home.
So I have two news for you.
Okay?
-Okay.
-Okay.
-Okay.
So I am going to start with
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[ Machinery whirring ]
-You got it there, sonny boy?