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Home Buying and The American Dream
11 Plays1 month ago
🎧 Welcome to Thoughts For Rent — the podcast where real estate gets real (and local)!
Hosted by Jenni McKenna, a Las Vegas born and raised seasoned broker, and Owner of McKenna Property Management, this show is your inside look at what’s really happening in the Vegas property management and real estate world. With over 20 years of experience herself - Jenni brings not just knowledge, but heart to the conversation.
Whether we’re talking market trends, property tips, community happenings, or just the everyday quirks of Vegas living, this podcast is all about keeping you in the know.
💬 Real talk. Local stories. Professional insight – provided from a company who has their boots on the ground and hearts in the community.
In this episode, we’re covering if buying real estate is part of the American Dream, and if the American Dream is in fact still alive.
McKenna Property Management, proudly managing Las Vegas homes since 2005 (and loving every minute of it).
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:19
Irelynn Zurflueh
da but ah but but but Welcome to Thoughts for Rent. Realtors keeping it real. I am Max Zerfli with the McKenna team at Keller Williams Realty. Sitting next to me is Jenny McKenna, the owner broker of McKenna Property Management. Wow.
00:00:36
Irelynn Zurflueh
I didn't know that we had started when you were singing. Oh, yeah.
Is Buying Real Estate Still the American Dream?
00:00:40
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's the ah intro to the Johnny Carson show. Okay. For those of you who, we watch that together. What are you talking Just towards the end. Anyway, we're here to talk about real estate, life, and all other things that pop into our mind.
00:00:56
Irelynn Zurflueh
But today, we're kind of going to talk a lot about real estate, I think. Yes. Because we have a topic, and Jenny is going to break it down for us. Yes. Did you tell everybody that this, our podcast is Thoughts for Rent?
00:01:06
Irelynn Zurflueh
Realtors Keeping It Real? Yes. That was the first thing I said. i wonder if it was because the music threw me off. I didn't know if I had heard that or not. I'm going to do that all day now. But anyway, what are we talking about today, Jenny?
00:01:17
Irelynn Zurflueh
I want to know, is buying real estate still the American dream?
00:01:24
Irelynn Zurflueh
You're asking me? I think that's what we should dive into. Yeah. I think so too. That's a great topic. The American dream.
Personal Experiences with Homeownership
00:01:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
First of all, the American dream is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, by way.
00:01:37
Irelynn Zurflueh
Some people think it's life, liberty, and happiness, but no, it's the pursuit of happiness because happiness is not guaranteed, but that's neither here nor there. What we're talking about is buying a home and making that part of your American dream.
00:01:49
Irelynn Zurflueh
Well, I know that when I was growing up, and of course, my father is a real estate agent, so a lot of real estate, you know, verbiage was going around my house at dinner table. I was always told that buying a home is the American dream.
00:02:03
Irelynn Zurflueh
And you got to try and buy it as quickly as you can. And then of course, if you can hold it, ah you hold the first purchase and you rent it out and then you go get your second purchase. Now we should have done that when we bought our first house.
00:02:17
Irelynn Zurflueh
We bought our first house and then we ended up deciding to sell it to go get into the bigger house. and what I know. I know. I know. Yes. Everybody has that story. If you've been in living in homes or investing in properties or everybody can talk about when they had their first house and then they sold it to go by their bigger house. And then 15 years later, that first house was worth so much more money. I shouldn't have sold it.
00:02:39
Irelynn Zurflueh
It's a common. Actually, I was just talking to a client today who said the exact same thing. I think we've heard it a lot. We've said it ourselves. I hear it all the time. We may be getting ahead of ourselves. Why? Because that's that can come later. That's a little bit about how real estate can make you money.
00:02:52
Irelynn Zurflueh
I gotcha. I think, first of all, we need to talk about what it means to own a home. Because I grew up in a family where my parents were married. We had a home.
00:03:02
Irelynn Zurflueh
When my brother and I were born, we had a home. They owned it, and they got divorced. So they sold that home. My mother... remarried, and went on to always buy the home they live in. Okay.
00:03:14
Irelynn Zurflueh
Like they never rented. But my father, for the next 50 years or so of his life, never owned a property. And he was a veteran. He was a veteran. That's crazy.
00:03:25
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's crazy, Max. But that's mentality. We're talking about the mentality of home ownership. My father didn't want to worry about any of that. He said, I'll pay my rent. Someone else can take care of maintenance. I don't want to own a home.
Benefits of Homeownership
00:03:37
Irelynn Zurflueh
Yeah, but, okay, so the American dream means that when you buy that property, it's a significant um like thought of success.
00:03:49
Irelynn Zurflueh
You're no longer paying somebody else's mortgage. That is your home, your walls, your backyard. i mean, yeah, granted, there's repairs that need to be done, but I mean, the the research shows that home ownership is what you really need to start wealth.
00:04:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
To have legacy. Well, my dad, he's passed away. Rest in peace. What, are getting him? you going to let it go or what? I mean, geez. Okay, let's just unpack that. If I hadn't met you, I might be doing the same thing. Who knows? Well, let's unpack it.
00:04:16
Irelynn Zurflueh
Your father had a VA eligibility. He could have bought a home for a dollar. Correct. One dollar. As he would say, correct it. i know. I don't know why he didn't do that. And then on the other side of the coin, my my mother and my stepfather, and where they were would they' we lived overseas for a while. than that We rented there just because of certain parameters. But since coming back to America, it's always own, own, own, own. own You and I got married. I was 27. You were, what, about 14? You were so young. I can't remember. I wish. You weren't 14. You were 21. No, I was 23. You're 22.
00:04:49
Irelynn Zurflueh
i no I was 23. You're 22. he tried to twenty three you're going too It was 23 when we bought our condo. Yeah, when we got married. Okay. We bought the condo. right I'm like, what for me, I was like, ah, what are we doing? Buying something? Geez.
00:05:03
Irelynn Zurflueh
Because I was so, I had seen my father's experience. But then we bought that one. we bought it home. We bought it next time. we've I think we've moved like six times since we've been married. So we're a realtor's dream. They love us because we keep...
00:05:14
Irelynn Zurflueh
Buying new homes. This is true. The average is supposed to be around seven years. I think it's kind of gone up lately. But that's the thing. We decided we're going to go for home ownership, thanks to you. And we've gained wealth through that.
00:05:25
Irelynn Zurflueh
Which takes me to the next thing is that home ownership leads to personal wealth. And legacy wealth.
00:05:36
Irelynn Zurflueh
What's that? That is when you pass it on to your family. No, we're spending every dime. Okay, you and I think differently, but the truth of the matter is, is when you have properties that are appreciating, yes, you can, you and I, let's just use our example, we can utilize that wealth during our lifetime.
00:05:54
Irelynn Zurflueh
But during our lifetime, if we pass and we have children, they will actually benefit from that wealth. So that's the legacy legacy that I'm talking about. I like it. If you take...
00:06:06
Irelynn Zurflueh
averages around the country. The estimated net worth of somebody who rents is around $8,000.
00:06:15
Irelynn Zurflueh
If these numbers are not right, I'm sorry. I'm not taking them. but not I don't promise. The estimated net worth of somebody who owns a home is $400,000. The average. So the average estimated net worth is like $400,000 more if you own a house, if you take that plunge.
00:06:32
Irelynn Zurflueh
because when you talk about Let's talk about the benefits. Just okay real quick about owning a property. One, the appreciation, obviously. And never sell a property when the appreciation is not what you want it to be. Just hold on to it.
Challenges of Owning a Home
00:06:45
Irelynn Zurflueh
Two, it is your property, so you never get kicked out. If the owner, if you're a renter, you know how owners will kick out renters. You'll never have to worry about not having the roof over your head because it's your property.
00:06:57
Irelynn Zurflueh
Absolutely. Three, you get to decide what your wall colors are, what your decor is, what your carpet is. Everything is very is very much your decision. So that becomes more personal for you. When you walk through the door, it's a whole different feeling when it's your property compared to a rental.
00:07:17
Irelynn Zurflueh
Let's not talk about, or not less. Is there a four? year Let's talk about the tax benefits that you get when you buy a property compared to when you're just renting a property.
00:07:28
Irelynn Zurflueh
Are there? i don't really know. i'm not a tax accountant, but I guess you can deduct some of your interest you pay and her all that stuff. Correct. We're realtors, so we get extra tax benefits. Yeah. I know. Because once you're licensed realtor, there's kind of little category that helps us on the taxes.
00:07:42
Irelynn Zurflueh
So those are some pros. You got any cons for owning a house? Well, the only con that I could ever think of is the fact that I'll say two cons. One, in order to buy the property, there is a bit of a sacrifice that needs to be done because there's that down payment.
00:07:57
Irelynn Zurflueh
So it's hard to get that down payment. And I will tell you right now, your mortgage is probably going to be more than what a rent would be for the same property. That's a rough con because you're getting money to put into a house that's going to be equity or building. And so it's that's a sacrifice, maybe not a con.
00:08:16
Irelynn Zurflueh
Okay, but at this point in today's world, a $2,100 mortgage on a townhome, that same townhome, I would only rent out for $1,900. Okay.
00:08:28
Irelynn Zurflueh
Okay, so that's where that difference is. And depending on where interest rates go, depending on where affordability goes, where prices go, that can fluctuate. Sometimes a mortgage can be more. Sometimes rent can be more.
00:08:39
Irelynn Zurflueh
I would say that in all my 30 years of being in real estate, there was only a time where your mortgage was actually less than a rental. And that was when the mortgage rates were two and a half percent.
00:08:51
Irelynn Zurflueh
that's And it really was almost equal. It didn't even go below. It was just kind of fluctuating. it Okay. What's your other con? Repairs. Oh, knew you were say like to say that a house is a living, breathing thing.
00:09:04
Irelynn Zurflueh
I know it's not a human, but it is. It needs work all the time. And naughty. It can be naughty person. It can be hot water heater breaking down, air conditioning breaking down, roof caving in.
00:09:16
Irelynn Zurflueh
And natural disasters. I mean, Las Vegas, not too bad, but if I rent a property somewhere and say ah hurricane territory and a tree falls in the roof, I don't have to pay to fix it.
00:09:27
Irelynn Zurflueh
The owner does. But if I own it, then I'm going to have to pay for that. So you're right. The house is a living, breathing thing and it can, it can treat you wrong sometimes. And I that you're saying like big things, like you're talking about, like we're falling in and stuff. This is what I've noticed.
00:09:41
Irelynn Zurflueh
A home is built in a certain year. So let's use 2025 as an example. So this home is built in 2025. everything is in twenty twenty five Okay.
00:09:52
Irelynn Zurflueh
In about seven years, everything starts to fall apart is what I found. Really? Your water heater probably will go between seven and 10 years. Your AC is usually between nine and 12 years.
00:10:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
Those are your big ticket items. You've got, you know, the garbage disposal that's probably going to You've got a dishwasher that is now seven or eight years old. You know, refrigerators right now are only lasting about eight or nine years.
00:10:18
Irelynn Zurflueh
So I feel like a lot of times. Ridiculous. Things should last longer. They should. But I think that that's where people get a little discouraged in homeownership when everything starts to fall apart at the same
Generational Perspectives on Home Buying
00:10:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
time. Could be. Well, why aren't people buying homes?
00:10:34
Irelynn Zurflueh
what's Do you think less people are buying homes today? I think, and this is just my opinion. And opinions are like other things. We've all got one. I think that when the recession hit, a lot of the later twenty s group right now... 07, 08, 09? Mm-hmm.
00:10:54
Irelynn Zurflueh
Saw their parents lose their house. Saw their parents... You know, with that terrible bankruptcy or foreclosure or whatever was going in financially during that time, they watched their parents go through that. And all of a sudden it jaded the American dream.
00:11:13
Irelynn Zurflueh
I wonder. The American dream is no longer what we. You think young people were paying attention to that? They were. You think so? I really do because think about it. If you're 12 or 13, so you're right on that cusp of watching your parents cry and be upset and have to move out of the home because they couldn't afford it, that leaves a mark.
00:11:34
Irelynn Zurflueh
And I think that's- Okay. I'll take that as a reason. that's- give you another reason. give another reason? Yeah. Another reason is that the youth have been coddled by their parents. Yeah. And they have become accustomed to relying on their parents. I agree. People are moving out much later, if at all.
00:11:53
Irelynn Zurflueh
We've got three adult kids. All three of them moved out. That's because I kicked out. Yeah, she did kind of kick People that we know do not have adult children who have moved out. They're still there.
00:12:06
Irelynn Zurflueh
And we've talked to them. And they say things like, well, they're just not ready. or we They have been coddled. How about this one? Yeah. my sister used to be when you got to be 21 do i pay do i rent or buy now it's do i rent buy or stay on my folks And they stay with the folks is a lot cheaper, right?
00:12:22
Irelynn Zurflueh
Yeah. and And their laundry gets done and they probably get food every night. So why would you not do that? Okay. But laughing aside, my sister has a son that is getting married.
00:12:34
Irelynn Zurflueh
And one thing shocked me when I was talking to her and she said, Oh yeah, for the first six months of their marriage, they're going to go live at the wife's parents' house.
00:12:46
Irelynn Zurflueh
And after that six months, We're going to have them live in our basement at our house. Right. well that And that's crazy. Right. But the reason behind that is they're just getting started. they need They're going to need that support. That's the thought pattern.
00:13:00
Irelynn Zurflueh
In 1975, 1950, because when you talk about the American dream, I think of a white picket fence, 1950s home. Wife's got the apron on. Husband comes home with the briefcase. You know what saying. You know what I'm saying. Yes, you did. 1950s. Leave it to Beaver. Come on.
00:13:17
Irelynn Zurflueh
All right, all right. But even in 1975, 1985, 1990, when you and I got married, there was no expectation that we're going to live with our parents after we get married. I would never live with my parents if I could avoid it. So that whole switch in sort of society and how people take that approach is interesting.
00:13:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
And I think it falls on our generation. our Our parents started the trend of coddling and we took it to we took it to an amazing level. Yeah. agree with you. I agree with you So that's probably halting homeownership little bit. So that's from the standpoint of two things, thought pattern, you know, the psyche of what happened, maybe watching the parents lose a house. Second thing, parents making it really easy for a child to stay at a house.
00:13:57
Irelynn Zurflueh
I get that. There are a couple other things that are pretty big.
Impact of Interest Rates on Housing Market
00:14:01
Irelynn Zurflueh
Are these your opinions are they actual facts? they're actual. Okay. People were used to the low interest rates. They got used to the two and a half, the 3%, the 4%. But that's really not. You're in the industry, so you know that's hogwash, right?
00:14:14
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's not reality, though. I know. Historically, right now, where the rates are at right now, it's really low. I know. But that's what the problem is. People don't think it's really low. They're like, I got to wait till it gets back down to 4%.
00:14:27
Irelynn Zurflueh
Don't wait till it gets back down. It ain't going there. No. And then you're going to look back three years from now when the rates are even higher than they are right now. And you're going to be like, darn it. By the way, what will happen if the rates go down a point and a half?
00:14:40
Irelynn Zurflueh
Will homes become more affordable? No, they won't. Say no. they Why not? They won't become more affordable. You know why? Because more people will be buying homes, so there'll be a larger demand and less supply and prices will go up again.
00:14:52
Irelynn Zurflueh
So if you take the interest rate and the home value, if the interest rate goes down and the home value goes up, it's a wash, baby. i agree. i agree. But what will happen...
00:15:03
Irelynn Zurflueh
if the interest rates go down just a little bit is some of the people that are on the fence, we'll jump off the fence and get into the home. behind Okay. So then what will happen? I said, what happened? What happened? I agree, but you'll at least get a a surge in the marketplace. You'll get a surge of the real estate market, which is good.
00:15:20
Irelynn Zurflueh
Right. I was talking to Scott Gillespie, Evergreen Home Loans. We don't get paid for that ad, by the way. um He said to me, he and I agree that if we get down below six, like five, seven, five, we'll probably see a pretty significant bump in activity.
00:15:36
Irelynn Zurflueh
Right now we're just below seven. If we get below six, I think mentally people will start to go, oh okay, I can do this. Okay. We're getting closer to that where it was before, but it's staggering. Your father, when he bought his first house, it was 18%.
00:15:49
Irelynn Zurflueh
When we bought our condo, it was 9%. And we we bought that down, by the way. I think we paid for a quarter of a pot. Yeah, a quarter point buy down for that to stay at 9%. So, yeah, the interest rates are, yeah, you're right. They affect things. and and and But affordability overall is what is gonna help determine whether people can but can buy a house or not.
00:16:11
Irelynn Zurflueh
Because you also gotta take into consideration salaries, home values, interest rates, and all the other things I gotta pay for. Inflation happens, everything costs more, you got less money available to buy a house with.
00:16:21
Irelynn Zurflueh
Now, um salaries have not gone up in proportion to what home values have gone up. Correct. Or other, the cost of other goods have gone up. So it's a little unfair, which is, you know if life was unfair, if life was fair, then the horse would ride half the time.
00:16:36
Irelynn Zurflueh
Correct. Right? Life's not fair, but it's it's more difficult. So that's affecting people's ability to pursue the American dream as far as home ownership goes. So my question to you, Max, is your flu? That's me.
Steps to Achieve Homeownership Early
00:16:48
Irelynn Zurflueh
Today, 2025, you sacrifice own the American dream? do you sacrifice to own the american dream
00:16:57
Irelynn Zurflueh
You should. how can start? You start by going out less. Let's say I'm 25 years old. Buy less $25 cocktails. by you know Go get my own food instead of paying an extra five bucks to DoorDash to have it brought to me.
00:17:14
Irelynn Zurflueh
I'm sitting around the house. We were somewhere on vacation with the kids and we were in a house and somebody rings a bell and Kai had ordered McDonald's. I go get the car go get it. Anyway, so that's just one example.
00:17:27
Irelynn Zurflueh
You know, we talk about making it easy, coddling kids, but not just parents, but the whole society. I got a phone now that I could do everything from. Right? yeah So the the generation that should be looking at buying homes now Maybe thinking it's a little too difficult. It's a pain in the butt. I can't just can't just put an app on my phone and buy the house.
00:17:46
Irelynn Zurflueh
Now, people like Zillow and Homes.com, they would love for you to just buy your house on the app. But it doesn't work that way. Correct. It's a lot more to it. So I think you should buy the american dream you should pursue the American dream by home ownership.
00:17:58
Irelynn Zurflueh
I think everybody should because I have and you have and we're in a much better spot today than we would have been if we just decided to rent. Well, and let me piggyback off of that. The quicker you can be a homeowner, the better because the sacrifice is less.
00:18:12
Irelynn Zurflueh
So right now I'm a 24, 25 year old, which I'm really not. um You look like it. Oh, thank you. 24, 25 year old. And I sacrifice. I don't go out every weekend clubbing and drinking and i I save my money and I get that down payment and i buy that first initial property.
00:18:29
Irelynn Zurflueh
I have less sacrifice because I don't have the spouse. I don't have the children yet. Now you go later in life, you wait, Oh, I'm going to buy my American dream. It when I'm 30, when you're 30, now you've got a child possibly, or you've got a significant other. And now the sacrifice is even harder.
00:18:46
Irelynn Zurflueh
There's a lot more to spend money on you. Start young, start young. And I think that so many people, really rob individuals of the opportunity of the American dream by not being honest about the fact that, yeah, it is a sacrifice, but it is so worth it. It's ah it's a whole dialogue.
00:19:06
Irelynn Zurflueh
As a parent, we should be encouraging our children to buy a house. But parents also sometimes go, oh, that's ah it's ah it's a risk, honey. I don't know. i don't know if you should do that.
00:19:17
Irelynn Zurflueh
But you should, I agree with you. You just got to you got to make the plunge. i mean, how old were you when you got your first property? 18. 18. eighteen See that? I was 27, by the way. And the first time I got it, it was really interesting because my dad didn't even show it to me.
00:19:30
Irelynn Zurflueh
He said, you can buy this property by putting $3,000 down because we assumed a VA a loan, aha not even being a VA. And so we used, I put the $3,000 down and and we bought this.
00:19:42
Irelynn Zurflueh
Beautiful. We assumed the loan and we bought this property. And that's how I got into and not only real estate, but that's how I got my property management experience too. Right. And don't don't get all caught up in the numbers of, oh, if I buy this and I rent it out, am I going be making enough on rent to pay for everything?
00:20:02
Irelynn Zurflueh
Don't get too caught up in that, because if you can buy a property and your your mortgage and your HOA and whatever cost you have almost cover the rent. say you're upside down 200 a month. Do it.
00:20:14
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's okay because somebody else is making your mortgage payment for you. So don't get discouraged if you, you have a house and you're like, got to sell it because I just, I will be upside down. No, find the nice renter.
00:20:26
Irelynn Zurflueh
Let McKenna property management take care of it for you.
Financial Strategies for Buying Homes
00:20:28
Irelynn Zurflueh
And over five, 10 years, you look back and go, Oh crap, I own, I'm worth a hundred thousand more. And the other thing is, is you're, you're right. A lot of people go, I can't rent the property cause I'll be upside down $200 even on the best month with no repairs and vacancy.
00:20:43
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's okay. Most of the time when you purchase a property and you put it on the rental market almost right away, you're never going to break even those first couple of years. You should always look at the first couple of years as being, I'm going to come out of pocket for this investment. It's just the way that it is. by the way, you talk about a $200 upside down each month.
00:21:02
Irelynn Zurflueh
Have you been to IHOP lately? I know. it say i went with four people. It's 80 bucks. I know. So you just can't, you should cut out two meals away. cut out two or three meals or maybe one night out at the, at a bar with your friends and you're going to cover that.
00:21:15
Irelynn Zurflueh
So i'm from a financial standpoint, you can do it. You can do it So I'm going to end by saying owning real estate is still one of the best ways to build stability, wealth, and generational opportunity.
00:21:29
Irelynn Zurflueh
I wrote that down. Good for you. That's perfect. I thought i love it. And it's true. Buy real estate. You can buy dirt. isn't that what one of them songs? I love that song.
00:21:40
Irelynn Zurflueh
I mean, we got a president who's a real estate guy and he, he, he says you get rich through real estate. There's that guy that everybody always listens to. we Warren Buffett, real estate. And what's that one guy everybody listens to. I forgot his name. Whatever.
00:21:54
Irelynn Zurflueh
What's his name? You don't know. i okay We could be here all day trying to figure out so many financial people say buy real estate. Real estate, it's not going to go bankrupt.
00:22:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
You can buy a stock and the company can go bankrupt and your stock can be worth a goose egg. You can buy a house and the market can drop and it'd be worth less worth less than what you paid for it.
00:22:16
Irelynn Zurflueh
But she's coming back up. but Yep. Buy real estate. Buy a house. Pursue the American dream by buying and owning
Conclusion and Encouragement
00:22:26
Irelynn Zurflueh
a home.
00:22:26
Irelynn Zurflueh
How about this? The American dream hasn't died. It's just evolved.
00:22:33
Irelynn Zurflueh
Okay, good one. Sorry, I should have reacted better. thought that was really good. I thought we need to end our No, the American Dream has not died, you're right. But it's evolved in a way that's stopping people from pursuing it as much as I think they should.
00:22:47
Irelynn Zurflueh
They should. The best way to end our broadcast is to say,
00:22:53
Irelynn Zurflueh
thanks for tuning in. We're going to see you next time. And if you can, Buy dirt. Buy a home. Oh, sorry. thought you wanted me to go to the country store. Be an owner, not a renter, if you can.
00:23:09
Irelynn Zurflueh
right. Until next time, I'm Jenny McKenna. This guy is Max Zerflu. And this is Thoughts for Rent. Realtors keeping it real. See y'all. Bye.