Ep 7322 years old, saved $120,000, and bought a condoYael Ishakis
▶1:22
22 years old, saved $120,000, and bought a condo
Ep 73He bought a $1.5 million home and then couldn't pay his electric billYael Ishakis
▶0:58
He bought a $1.5 million home and then couldn't pay his electric bill
Ep 73"Hashem will help" isn't a plan for a mortgageYael Ishakis
▶0:57
"Hashem will help" isn't a plan for a mortgage
Ep 73Buying a home is the only way for a regular person to build wealthYael Ishakis
▶0:45
Buying a home is the only way for a regular person to build wealth
Ep 73She refinanced every time a kid got marriedYael Ishakis
▶0:58
She refinanced every time a kid got married
Ep 73How to get $32,000 back at closing without hurting the sellerYael Ishakis
▶1:02
How to get $32,000 back at closing without hurting the seller
Ep 73How 15 families turned a $425K house into a $1.2M blockYael Ishakis
▶1:24
How 15 families turned a $425K house into a $1.2M block
Ep 73My rule for any investment propertyYael Ishakis
▶0:41
My rule for any investment property
Try this · top 3
Quotes
“Bottom line is is he could afford the house, but he can't afford his lifestyle.”
Yael Ishakis (on a client who bought a $1.5 million home with a $7,500 monthly payment)
“They go, Hashem will help. I know, but Hashem's helping me put you in your place. You can't afford it. Please don't buy it.”
Yael Ishakis
“It's very hard for a a man to tell his wife, no, you can't buy shoes for your kids because I have to make a mortgage payment.”
Yael Ishakis
“I went to sleep every night earning money because I built equity.”
Yael Ishakis (on her first co-op, bought for $145,000 and sold two years later for $195,000)
“You're fighting about $5,000. It's equal to, you know, $11 a month. What are you doing? Do you want to get the house?”
Yael Ishakis
“If the mortgage payment, let's say for argument's sake, is $3,000, you must have rent at 3,000.”
Yael Ishakis (her base rule for buying a rental)
Takeaways
1 In 2024, rising rates made the jump from rent to mortgage steep, for example $4,500 rent to a $7,200 payment. Rents keep rising too.
2 Her view: if you can afford it, buy even at a high rate. When rates fall, prices tend to rise, and you can refinance later.
3 Expectations have grown. First-time buyers once took a house with one kitchen sink. Now many want to renovate right away.
4 New communities (Haverstraw Fields in Monsey, Manchester near Lakewood) were built by groups committing together. A $425,000 colonial bought there about four years ago now has a similar house selling for $1.2 million.
5 Inventory is low because owners with 2-3% mortgages won't sell. Most sellers now are estates, divorces, or owners who paid off their homes.
6 Foreclosures are rare because owners have low rates and lots of equity. Credit card debt is common, often from simcha costs like weddings and a grandson's bris.
7 Using a home equity line at about 9% to pay off 18% credit cards can make sense. Borrowing against the house to quit a job does not.
8 A DSCR loan qualifies a rental on its market rent, not your income. It needs about 20% down and a higher rate.
9 The US 30-year fixed mortgage protects owners in a way Canada's 5-year terms don't. One Canadian caller saw a payment go from $7,000 to $14,000 a month.
10 Her view: 'no one regretted buying a house.' One mother used refinances and two downsizes to pay for nine children's weddings.