Mortgage 101 – keep financial education going year-round | November 2021 Part 8

In this episode of Mortgage 101 with Clinton Wilkins and Todd Veinotte, as heard on CityNews 95.7, the guys spend this last episode of 2021 talking about how important it is to keep financial education going year-round. The two also dive into how buyer’s homeownership wants are changing, how homeownership takes time and planning, and how COVID has changed many things in the industry and market.

Mortgage 101 with Clinton Wilkins & Todd Veinotte: Keep financial education going year-round | November 2021 Part 8

Don’t feel like watching the video? Check out the transcript below.

Transcript:

What’s Clinton’s favourite part of Mortgage 101?

Todd Veinotte: [00:00:00:03] Welcome back to Mortgage 101: Your Guide to Homeownership with Clinton Wilkins and myself, Todd Veinotte, right here on CityNews 95.7. You like saying CityNews 95.7?

Clinton Wilkins: [00:00:10:01] I like saying CityNews. You know, it’s a new brand and I think it’s hard for us, sometimes, to remember. For me, it’s I was on the old green brand for so long that it’s hard to just keep it top of mind. I think it’s probably been a good transition for the listeners. You know, there’s one website, you know, like one email, everything goes to the same place. Like, I can understand why it makes sense. So, you know, I think it was a good transition.

Todd Veinotte: [00:00:33:18] What’s been your favourite aspect of doing this?

Clinton Wilkins: [00:00:37:19] I think it’s really around education. And, you know, I’ll bring it back to November: We’ve done four shows, two live and two of this podcast style, which you guys are listening to now. And it was really was around education. You know, this month we had a lot of great guests, you know, we had guests talking about alternative lending.

We had a lawyer here today and, you know, president of CENTUM Financial Group. We’ve also brought in realtors and, you know, had a lot of perspectives around, what does credit mean, income mortgages for self-employed. We’ve talked about assets and building net worth, and it’s really all been around education, and I think that’s so powerful.

Keep financial education going year-round

Todd Veinotte: [00:01:15:22] So in the last few minutes that we do have drilled home some of the things that you want people to be thinking about here.

Clinton Wilkins: [00:01:21:23] Well, I think that when we, you know, end November and we’re finishing Financial Literacy Month, you know, I think we need to think about ways how we can keep, financial literacy going through December. December can be really a very tough time for a lot of people, Todd. I’m cognisant of that. You know, there’s the holidays, and I think a lot of us tend to kind of overspend even, you know, when we don’t need to. I think the holiday, sometimes it’s about, you know, experiences and it’s about being around friends and family and all these things. And it’s not necessarily about these material things.

And I and I think the last couple of years has really kind of brought that home, at least to me. You know, it’s been a challenging time we’ve been away from friends and family kind of for so long, you know, with COVID. And for us, it’s really about how can we maybe spend that time versus maybe going out and buying these material things. I think for a lot of our listeners, maybe 2022, you know, they may be able to fulfill those dreams of homeownership.

And, you know, I hope that we’ll certainly have more conversations around what that looks like going into next year.

Merry Debtmas coming up in 2022

Clinton Wilkins: [00:02:26:21] And, you know, early next year, we’re going to talk about Merry Debtmas, and I know that’s something that we’re kind of excited about. I won’t dive too deep into it, but, Merry Debtmas is obviously something that we’re super passionate about. And, you know, going into the new year, sometimes people just want to like, lose weight, Todd, or, you know, be more healthy or, you know, pick up a new goal. But, you know, I think the goal going into 2022 and I think even going into this year in 2021 was around financial, health and wellness. And I hope that we added to that.

You know, the other thing that I really hope that we did Todd, honestly, this month, I hope, you know, some of the listeners that are parents had conversations around financial health and wellness and financial literacy at the dinner table. You know, these are not things that we talked about as kids. Like you and I have said this, like our parents never talked about credit. We didn’t talk about income, we didn’t talk about assets. We didn’t talk about, you know, homeownership. And I think a lot of young people today, homeownership is not even on their purview. It’s not even something that they’re even, you know, interested in.

Buyers’ homeownership wants are changing

Todd Veinotte: [00:03:30:27] Well, even beyond that, I don’t mean to interrupt you, but you mentioned that. But people’s needs and wants and whatever the difference is and there is a difference, we’re quite different than when we grew up. I shared a bedroom with my brother. We had five or six of us in a bungalow. A three bedroom bungalow. And I think that that’s been altered quite a bit as to what’s acceptable today and what people will spend money on and prioritize. What are your thoughts?

Clinton Wilkins: [00:03:56:27] Yeah, I think the priorities are certainly different. I think first-time home buyers at one time were first-time home buyers and they would buy that entry level home. You know, it’s the bungalow. Maybe it’s the semi-detached, you know, it’s really what we would consider a starter home. I think for some home buyers today, have different expectations than the first-time home buyers did, even when I started doing this 15 years ago. And, you know, for better or worse.

And you know, people’s obviously their needs and maybe their tastes and these things have changed. But you know, we’ve even talked about like multigenerational housing. That’s not a thing. I don’t know any young people today that really are like, “Yes, my dream in life is to buy a home so I can move my parents into the basement.”

Todd Veinotte: [00:04:37:08] Yeah, but maybe it should be in some cases.

Clinton Wilkins: [00:04:39:11] Maybe it should be. And maybe it needs to be, Todd. Maybe maybe it needs to be for people to become home owners in the future. You know, we need more income. And as the housing prices increase, obviously probably incomes are going to increase. But are they going to increase at the same level?

Homeownership takes time and planning

We oftentimes need, you know, are needing two incomes in a household to make it work. And that’s reality. And that’s where I think we’re going to see maybe the culture change over the next few years. And I think that we need to open our minds to that, but also have those conversations. And, you know, bringing it back to, you know, younger people today and maybe not having that dream to be a home owner, they’re missing out on a huge opportunity to build wealth for themselves.

Todd Veinotte: [00:05:21:17] I think that’s going to right itself?

Clinton Wilkins: [00:05:23:02] I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.

Todd Veinotte: [00:05:26:01] I hope so.

Clinton Wilkins: [00:05:27:07] I think, you know, the needs and wants of people have changed. We’re more of an instant gratification culture, probably now than we have been before. And homeownership isn’t an instant gratification. Sometimes it takes a long time.

Todd Veinotte: [00:05:38:07] Exactly.

Clinton Wilkins: [00:05:39:24] It takes a lot of planning.

Todd Veinotte: [00:05:41:08] Yeah, especially now.

Clinton Wilkins: [00:05:42:14] Yeah, even more. It takes even more planning now.

Todd Veinotte: [00:05:45:16] That’s why people go and buy a new car instead, because, you know,

Clinton Wilkins: [00:05:48:01] You can’t even buy a new car today, Todd! I just read an article online the other day. You need to order a car in some cases a month, six months and sometimes a year in advance. So I think this instant gratification is changing, and I think the culture has changed.

COVID has changed many things

And I think we’re kind of changed forever after, you know, with COVID. We’ve changed the way that we’ve transacted. I’ve changed the way that I’ve done business. We’ve adopted new technology. We’ve done a lot of things, you know, electronically. The means of communication that we’re having with our customers, and you know, for me, it’s pretty empowering.

You know, I’ve been doing the same thing for 15 years. It’s nice to learn a new skill, but it’s also nice to figure out what the needs are for the customer. And I think that we’ve learned even more over the last, I’m going to say almost two years. We’ve learned even more that value is more important than maybe the money. And what value can we add to the conversation and what value can we add to financial literacy and what value can we add to homeownership?

Todd Veinotte: [00:06:49:15] So besides obviously getting information out there and getting your brand out there and doing all of this, you feel as though the last number of months doing this, perhaps there are people out there better positioned, you can say that. I can say that confidently. To purchase a home that otherwise would have been, and that’s a good thing, obviously.

Clinton Wilkins: [00:07:11:00] That is a great thing. And you know what? If people transact with us or transact with their bank or transact with another mortgage broker as long as they got some advice, I am happy and I think that we’ve done our job. And, you know, we’ve broken down some of these barriers and we’ve had some tough conversations. It’s not nice necessarily to talk about some of these things. It doesn’t necessarily feel good. You know, people that go through hardships or, you know, might have been going through a divorce and all these things. But you know, these are conversations that we need to have.

Todd Veinotte: [00:07:39:18] Yeah, absolutely. And in the end, if you’re doing a deal. Get your ducks in a row. Don’t be in too big of a rush.

Clinton Wilkins: [00:07:48:14] Don’t be in a rush.

Todd Veinotte: [00:07:49:17] Our lawyer said that earlier.

“Take a deep breath,” and we will see you next year

[00:07:51:05] Take a deep breath. Yeah. Get some unbiased advice. And you know, obviously we believe in using mortgage brokers. I’m a mortgage broker. I think that obviously, unbiased mortgage professionals provide the best advice. You know, mortgage brokers have access to 40 different lenders, sometimes. And when you walk into maybe the financial institution that you do your everyday banking with, they have one solution. And you know, they have one solution to help you and that person that you’re dealing with, you know, is trying to manage 40 different products. And mortgage lending is very, very complex. And I think that’s more of a reason than ever to, you know, seek the advice of an unbiased mortgage professional.

Todd Veinotte: [00:08:31:12] Clinton on behalf of CityNews 95.7, you’ve been a great partner for a number of years now. And for myself, it’s been a real pleasure working with you, and it’s my sincere hope and our radio station’s hope that we continue this partnership for many years to come.

Clinton Wilkins: [00:08:46:13] I’m super excited and you know, we wish everyone a safe and healthy rest of 2021 and we’ll be back.

Todd Veinotte: [00:08:53:15] We will be back.

If you have any questions, get in touch with us at Clinton Wilkins Mortgage Team! You can call us at (902) 482-2770 or contact us here.

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