Yo! In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock and not at a home of your very own, interest rates are hovering at all time lows. This means if you’re looking to buy or sell a home, or refinance your existing loan, there’s no time like the present.
Except the part where as soon as you go to a website and make the mistake of inputting your contact information into a random loan portal you get deluged with solicitations from the most unsavory of folks. I made this mistake and was sent ‘official’ looking paperwork from rando companies attempting to compel me to contact them.
When it comes to these types of decisions, I’ve found it best to work with someone I know and/or someone who is referred to me by someone I trust. In this case, Eric Vaca from Finest City Home and Loans, serviced our initial home loan and works closely with my cousin, real estate agent Vincent Ramos, to help his buyers get into their homes. Eric helped us get into an incredible re-fi that puts us on course to pay off our home sooner and more cheaply.
I recently sat down with Eric to learn more about how his business operates and why someone would consider working with Finest City when there are so many damned options.
1. Explain your job like you were talking to your daughter’s 5th grade class.
Finest City Homes and Loans services our clients with buying, selling and financing residential real estate.
We help first time home buyers purchase their first home, families purchase their move-up homes & investors alike purchase multiple properties to build their real estate portfolio. We sell entry level condos to multi million dollar estates.
FCHL is truly a one stop shop so home buyers can handle the financing in house which streamlines and simplifies the process for our clients.
2. What role does your company play in the home buying process?
Finest City Homes and Loans is one of the very few brokerages that offer both home and loan services to our clients. Having knowledge of both of the major moving parts of a transaction gives our clients the edge they need to successfully close transactions with ease and simplicity.
3. Tell us about your company. How many years has it been around? How many employees? What makes you most proud?
Established in 2005.
Boutique RE company with personalized service.
Seasoned Real Estate and Loan Officers all 10+ years of experience
We have about 15 RE agents , 10 loans officers and 6 employees as a support staff
I’m most proud that we have built a business off integrity. All my agents/Lo’s are relationship based. Meaning we put the clients best interest first and the rest is easy. We ALL do not do any marketing other than “by referral only method” Most of my agents ( including myself) have grown with our clients. Being in the biz 20 years I have sold first homes to some of my first clients, we are now on their 3-5th+ property. Have treated our clients like family over the years.
Additionally most of my staff/collegues have all worked together for 10+ years.
4. Define a few terms. What’s a lender? What’s a broker? A loan officer? How do they all work together?
Lender funds/finances the loan on the property
Loan Officer consults with clients to help them determine which loan product best suits their needs.
Loan Officer works on behalf of the client to package their file up and put the client in the best position to get the client the best loan product.
5. If I’m buying a home, what are 2 things I should look for in a lender?
Best service and ability to close as promised.
6. If I’m refinancing, what are 2 things I should look for in a lender?
Product knowledge and confidence the company / LO has my best interest.
7. What’s one sign that you might want to consider another broker/loan officer?
Inconsistency , not delivering as promised whether it be interest rate, costs and/or meeting time frames.
8. What’s one common mistake you’ve seen people make when borrowing money for a home?
Not consulting with a wholesale mortgage broker. Wholesale mortgage brokers do the shopping for the consumer. Big Banks (Chase, Wells Fargo , Us Bank ETC) put their interest first. We are Brokers , We are Better.
9. When there is so much competition in your industry, how do you continue to grow?
FCHL grows organically. Growth is not our concern. Servicing our long history of trusted clientele is our number one priority. The growth happens organically.
10. What’s the market like in the final quarter of 2021? Who should consider borrowing or refinancing?
Market is HOT. Inventory is at an all time low while rates are historically low. Despite the pandemic RE is booming. Its important to be teamed up with an excellent Real Estate and Loan Agent in order to successfully navigate a closing in this market. Product knowledge in the loan world is crucial. This is the time to set up the best loan rate in our lifetime.
When it comes getting that paper, you can keep it real or you can keep it real estate.
Big Brown Dad recently chopped it up with Realtor Vincent Ramos to get an update on what’s happening with housing in the San Gabriel Valley.
It’s November 2020, what trends are you noticing in the San Gabriel Valley housing market?
Great question. But the SGV is a large market with a tremendous range in both price and style of homes. Both have an impact on trends. The San Gabriel Valley includes multi million dollar estates in cities like South Pasadena, La Canada Flintridge, Claremont, Diamond Bar and Glendora to name a few. In those cities properties will sit on the market a little longer and take some real effort on the part of the agent to get them sold. But they do sell.
On the lower side of the spectrum, the SGV also includes entry level cities like Baldwin Park, La Puente, El Monte, Pomona and others. In those cities, properties that are priced appropriately, sell very quickly and sometimes for far more than the appraised value. I’m seeing 20k+ and more on average.
Historically low interest rates continue to drive buyer purchasing power up and up. As the rates go down, the buyer’s affordable sales price keeps going up. (the Fed justdropped the rate again by .25%). We will however see a reduction in the number of homes sold over the next 3 months. That is not to say we will see a price drop. Just less inventory.
It happens every year. Real estate agents go on vacation and stop doing good business over the holidays (the bad ones at least). But, this presents a great opportunity for savvy buyers. Just like the average realtor going on vacation over the holidays, so does the average buyer. That means less competition in the market and a great opportunity to score a deal!!!
2. What’s the most popular misconception prospective buyers have about the purchasing a home?
That you can buy a home for less than you rent today.
I don’t understand why so many of my colleagues continue to perpetuate this myth. You CANNOT buy a home for less than you can rent. Not the same size home in the same market you’re currently renting in. That’s for sure.
Sure, you can buy something in Victorville for about the same as you pay in rent in Alhambra. Maybe. I wish my colleagues would stop with this nonsense. It does a massive disservice to the public.
Having said that, another popular misconception is that buying a home is hard. It isn’t. You just need a plan. After my clients sit down with my lender (or over the phone), they can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve helped some buy their 1st home 3 months after meeting them. They often believe homeownership is out of their reach. It isn’t.
Some see that light is years away. I tell them “Time is going to pass anyway. Either time is going to pass by and you’re going to be ready at the end of it, or time is goingto pass by and you’ll still be in the same situation. The choice is yours.” I’m a no pressure agent. I’ve been doing this for 17 years. I’ll still be doing this for years to come. I’ll be ready when they are.
What was the last home you helped someone sell?
Last property I helped somebody sell was a four bedroom two bath home in La Puente for $555,000. Sold with only two days on the market.
What was the last home you helped someone buy?
Last property I helped Somebody buy was a 5 bedroom 3 bath 4 car garage 3500 square foot property in Riverside for $682,000
What’s a current problem you’re helping a current client solve?
My clients are generally unaware of problems in a deal. Most of the time problems arise from a lack of communication or a lack of experience in real estate. I like to prevent problems more than fixing problems, though i’m good at fixing them as well. It’s important to be clear and transparent from the start. We are not selling pies here. Real estate tends to be the largest financial transaction most people will be involved in. You must be truthful, honest and efficient in any real estate transaction. I’m great at all 3.
Educating the client about the process and the potential pitfalls in any deal goes a long way to preventing potential problems in the first place.
I do help clients solve problems outside of a deal all the time. Problems with their credit or financing tend to be on the top of the list. But just like during a deal, a little education and communication go a long way.
I have been known to out maneuver newer or less experienced agents often. Saving my buyers and sellers thousands of dollars in most cases. These contracts we use to write up offers allows for several places to take advantage of these part time agents. Contingencies, inspection times, request for repairs and many more allow a contract expert like myself the opportunity to provide more value for my clients. I won’t be out maneuvered in a deal.
What’s a tell tale sign your prospective real estate agent doesn’t have her shit together?
They work for a discount brokerage!! Stay away!!!
They work real estate part time.
Check their online reviews.
See how long it takes for them to return a call or text. Follow up is massive in this business
Talk to them. You’ll know within minutes if they are full of shit or not. Go with your gut.
If you’re interested in buying or selling a home, reach out to Vince below.
Tell’em Big Brown Dad sent you and he’ll take you out to eat to discuss your options.
“I only want my almond butter and jam sandwiches on brioche,” my son declared to me as I was making his lunch the other day.
Growing frustrated with her brother for spending too much time bouldering, my daughter turned to me to and explained her preference for the much taller climbing walls. “The auto-belays are so posh daddy,” she said.
“Are we going to Telluride or Moab this weekend?” asked my son.
These are all things my children have said to me in the last few months. My son has a preference for nut butters AND he has a preference for bread types for different sandwiches! My daughter, at age three, uses words like “posh” and has her own membership at a climbing gym! They go on vacation—and not just to see family members out in the middle of nowhere!
In the past, on multiple occasions, some folks have threatened to invalidate my Chicano-card. I prefer flour tortillas to corn. I would rather have the fake yellow velveta cheese—San Anto style—on my bean and cheese tacos than queso fresco. And, I’ve been snow and water skiing before. But, my children are reaching a new level of bougie.
When I was my son’s age, there was white bread and wheat bread. I would beg my mother to buy us Iron Kids bread at the store. She always said no. Sometimes, when we went to the day-old-bread-store, she would let my sister and I take home a bag of 1-day-expired powdered sugar donuts as a treat.
And that was still better than what my parents grew up with. To this day, my dad swears that mayonnaise and jelly in a warmed corn tortilla is a tasty treat. I’ll take him at his word. I’ve never tried it. He used to eat it as a kid because they were so poor there was hardly anything to eat in the house.
Growing up, summer vacations weren’t really a thing. We spent a week every summer in El Paso, Texas with family. Every year. Every Summer. No matter what. El Paso. I heard that other people and other families went to exotic and fun places, but not us. Nope, just El Paso.
At times, I’m uneasy about the life of privilege that my children live. I have misgivings that are tied to troubled notions of authenticity. I’m apprehensive about narrative and timeline—both cultural and genealogical—that plots a line from poverty to pretentiousness, that celebrates consumption as a stand-in for success.
I’m worried too because eating barely-but still-expired donuts with your sister in the back of the car forges life-long bonds. Going to three Walmarts in small towns and bringing home something under a couple of dollars, teaches you that memories are valuable and stuff isn’t.
But at the same time, I’m happy that my kids know that there are more than two different kinds of cheeses—shredded or sliced, like my wife and I used to think. I’m happy they’ve had different kinds of breads. I’m happy that they’ve had experiences and seen the world that their great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents could only peek at.
The Chicano historian, George J. Sánchez (no relation) wrote a book called Becoming Mexican American. In it, he explained that a generation in the mid-twentieth century born in the U.S. but to Mexican-born parents began to create a new culture, a new identity, out of two separate nations and cultures. They began the hard work of making a new world of possibilities for those who came before and those who came after. The “becoming” in the title emphasized that this was a process, a never ending series of actions meant to create and recreate the world of opportunities.
My kids aren’t putting on airs. This isn’t affectation. This is their life. Their chronology isn’t one of penury to pomposity. Instead, they’re part of a long historical tradition of creation and recreation, from being proletarian to becoming bougie.
Aaaron Sanchez is a professor, historian and editor at Commentary and Cuentos. Follow Aaaron on Twitter at 1stWorldChicano
This is what happened in 2007 when Current producer Ben Stein reached out to Big Brown Dude and asked if I had an idea for Super Bowl content.
The fact of the matter was I needed a new TV but I didn’t have the feds to make it happen. So, I devised a plot…a plot that would involved jeopardizing my good name and Donald Quintana’s good, er, OK, job at Circuit City.
As the legend goes, Donald Quintana’s co-workers saw the video on air and reported his Circuit City wearing shirt ass neck back to his supervisors.
Don’t cry for Donald Quintana–he’s since gone onto producing for real TV shows (big ups Grammy Awards this month!). Don’t cry for me, I’ve since gone onto multiple flat screens and a HOUSE (although, our LOFT was MEGA).
On the economics on this pods, they paid us about $1500 for this one. Donald and I would go on to produce over a dozen pods for Current TV. And to think, we had the choice of launching YouTube content careers or produce for Al Gore’s new TV network–and we rode with Al.
In the course of a dad’s life, he will run out of clean drawers. In such emergencies, dads of various stripes have resorted to all manner of unhygienic and ill-advised maneuvers.
I’m here to lay down the law for those dads looking to live a more distinguished life.
In descending order, here are the only options available to those dads o’ dignity:
1. Tattered Drawers
The first garment in our line of defense are those drawers previously set aside because of loose waist bands and frayed inseams.
2. Ill-fitting Drawers
Those old pair of boxers you planned on throwing away but kept at the bottom of your drawer for dusting, try them on.
3. Novelty Drawers
Christmas-themed boxers have saved many a moon.
4. Basketball Shorts
We’ve entered Defcon 2 and it’s time to source non-drawer drawers. The super extra baggy jawns aren’t going to work too well–they’ll gather and bunch your bunch and lead to severe chafing–or so I’ve heard. Look for those ABA thigh-high jammies and hope for the best.
5. Inside-Out Steez
When times get hard on the boulevard, you’ll have to do what you gotta doo-doo.
6. Drawerlettes
Break glass only in emergency.
7. No Drawers
To be clear, if you opt for choice #7, I will deny knowing you.
My wife is Class Mom for Maya’s kindergarten class…and she has a Pinterest account. So, when her duties required her to make sandwiches for the Holiday Party, she wasn’t bout to come with that weakness.
But her artwork did present us with a few questions. Were we going to throw away the PB&J remnants? And how about the strips of cheese clinging to the crust of discarded slices?
give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses
This was not only an economic issue but an ethical one.
But wait, there’s more:
sit, bro-bro, sit. good-boy.
Now, excuse me, I have some jelly flavored croutons to create.
We left Home Depot with a little over $60 in drought tolerant plants as well as some lettuce and cauliflower for Big Brown Dad’s ruffage patch.
Let me guess. You want me to drive, too?
We’re converting the borders along our backyard, one small section at a time. Apparently, fallen leaves with orange peel on dusted mulch isn’t a Home and Garden approved aesthetic.
Two interesting notes about Home Depot:
1) They have a year long plant guarantee. If your plant dies within a year you can bring in the dead plant remains with proof of purchase for an exchange. Morbid much? But I see right through this coy marketing scheme. For starters, most people aren’t keeping receipts around for that long. Even more, if I kept my receipts, I’d be too damned ashamed to walk the length of the warehouse head-hanging into the garden section with dead plants. Well, maybe not that ashamed.
2) If you’re looking to engage the services of day laborers stationed outside, you’d be wise to familiarize yourself with union-breaking tactics as the would-be employees have colluded to set minimum wage at $15 p/h. Act like you know.
When we got back from Home Depot, my wife tilled the soil while I posed for pictures. She wanted to take full credit for whatever success might follow. I wanted photographic evidence that suggested she had help.
Suffering Succatash
Stage 1 Succulents.
These should live and we should propagate. But the 12 heads of lettuce and 6 head of cauliflower I bought had grimmer hopes.
And lest I be blamed for their death, I enlisted help. Meet my scapegoats:
Exhibit A
I think I overwatered them while they sat in their trays. The plants, people! Not the kids. Those kids never get water, dammit!
I hesitate to post pictures as it might reify their fate but alas consider it a hope against hope.
See you on the other side, bitches.
Now… excuse me but I have a receipt to fish out of a trash can.
