The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom Through Real Estate

Rob (00:00)

it’s my passion about helping the next generation. ⁓ I’m really motivated to kind of make that happen and educating clients and watching them go from, didn’t know what a down payment was or earnest money deposit is to understanding their escrow account and why they have it and making sure their property taxes are paid. And so that’s the part that’s really fulfilling for me is watching people make that huge first step in their financial career.

Quentin (01:52)

everyone. Welcome to the Investor Fuel podcast. I am your host, Q Edmonds. I am joined today by someone who I know you guys are going to get some good information from. Y’all know we always have guests that bring the real. And so today I’m joined by my friend, Mr. Rob Tennyson, who is making some moves when it comes to in the brokerage space, being a mortgage broker. Listen, they call him Rob.

The lender, the man knows what he’s talking about and I can’t wait for y’all to hear from him. So listen, I introduce to some Mr. Rob Tennyson. How you feeling, sir?

Rob (02:25)

I’m good, thanks for having me, appreciate it.

Quentin (02:27)

Absolutely, man. I’m glad to have you here today, And listen, again, like I said, I believe our listeners are really going to love your approach when it comes to helping people get to financial freedom. Like help, mean, like some of us getting out, right? Some of us getting our own way, right? And I think you are the guy that can help us get out of our own way. ⁓ So listen, man, if you don’t mind, I just want to dive in.

Rob (02:41)

That’s the goal, right?

Quentin (02:55)

You know, for people who may not be familiar with you and what you do. Listen, just tell me what’s your main focus these days. And if you don’t mind, tell us what markets you’re operating on.

Rob (03:04)

Yeah, so I’m a mortgage broker. I’m focused in California. I’m in Southern California, Orange County. What I’ve got about licenses in nine different states. It’s really wherever my referral partners need me. But my focuses right now are first time home buyers and investors. I think those are the two that I have the most ⁓ passion for. I really love helping first time home buyers. ⁓ It’s a great feeling when you get ⁓ the family into their first home because it’s really their first step into, like we said, financial freedom.

And lot of people, it’s really scary to kind of make this big financial transaction, especially with a lot of people jump into it, not knowing anything. They don’t know what escrow means and they jump in and they’re going to buy, you know, a 600 or a million dollar house in their first home with some people. And so it’s fun to educate people and kind of get them comfortable with the process. And then once they get their keys, the end is really fulfilling to watch them kind of grow as a family from there.

Quentin (03:52)

I love it, man. I love it, man. One of the things that you said that’s kind of a focus for you guys and a great opportunity is for focusing on this new generation, man. These millennials, man. Like, what’s the passion for the new generation, man? Talk to me a little bit about that.

Rob (04:10)

Yeah, well, one is my generation. So I identify with them. I kind have a good communication style with them. And we see eye to eye on a lot of stuff. But I think it’s a really cool thing to kind of watch because our generation has been kind of stuck behind the boomers for a long time. I mean, there’s a statistic out there that boomers currently own 60 % of the nation’s wealth and they’re one of four generations that are out there. So there’s going to be a big shift eventually, whenever that’s happening. And I know that’s a big reason why our generation has been kind of slow into the real estate market because the generations before us were buying in their

Quentin (04:15)

That makes sense.

Rob (04:39)

know, early to late twenties and you know, we’re kind of getting into it late twenties, early thirties. And so I think it’s, it’s important for us to finally get in and drag the rest of the generation in with us when we do it and really get started on, you know, creating that generational wealth that, you know, sometimes starts with us and gets passed on to our kids. And one of the best ways to do that is with real estate. And yeah, so it’s, it’s been really great to educate these people. And that’s one thing I really focus on in my, in my business is one thing, not everybody.

every mortgage broker does or every mortgage professional does, I sit down with all my clients and I’m going to have a 45 minute meeting with them to talk about the loan process from A to Z, answer every question they have and discuss their mortgage options. Not just give them some people, hey, yeah, you’re pre-qualified for this. Here’s your pre-approval letter. Go find a house. I want people to know exactly what that means. What’s that means for their next step if they’re going to refinance or how they get rid of mortgage insurance and that way, and put them in the best place possible in case

you know, something happens to me and they can’t get a hold of me or they end up moving to a state I’m not licensed in. I want them to have the tools to be able to be successful in real estate.

Quentin (05:39)

Yeah, man, I love it, man. I love it. I love how you said you want them to have the tools to be successful in real estate. I love that, man. And I know we was talking a little bit, and you told me how sometimes people can get in their own way. You know, and so I know it’s not easy all the time in this climate because you have pushback from people who sometimes don’t want to get, just don’t want to buy into what it is that you’re telling them to do. And so.

I would love to know man, what keeps you focused? What keeps you running smoothly, even in the face of opposition and pushback from people getting in their own way?

Rob (07:00)

Yeah, I think this is a question I’ve been asking in those consultations I talked about is where do you get financial advice? And more and more, I’m getting the answer from Google or chat GPT. That’s where they get it. And so, you know, those are good resources to start with, but we’re professionals and I have a job for a reason because, you know, I can maneuver around certain things. I have kind of a specific knowledge about mortgages and how to get them done. So just getting stuff from the internet is not going to be enough. It’s a great place to kind of gather knowledge.

but to actually put it in practice, and the first time you put it in practice, you need somebody there to help you make that happen. And that’s kind what I specialize in. So I spin back.

it’s my passion about helping the next generation. ⁓ I’m really motivated to kind of make that happen and educating clients and watching them go from, didn’t know what a down payment was or earnest money deposit is to understanding their escrow account and why they have it and making sure their property taxes are paid. And so that’s the part that’s really fulfilling for me is watching people make that huge first step in their financial career.

Quentin (07:59)

Yeah, man, I love it. can tell you have ⁓ a heart to serve, a heart to serve people. You want to see people grow. You want to see people get the American dream, right? Get that, like you said, the financial freedom, like to really accomplish something that seems so insurmountable at times, right? Like, know, it’s daunting out there when you’re first time buyer, sometimes it can get very, very scary. And so, you know, I hear your heart. I hear your heart is serving to you.

I hear your heart to really want people to win. And I absolutely love that. And so now, of course, know, there’s moment when things get real, maybe like a deal goes sideways, maybe a time like you got to pivot fast. You mind sharing one of those stories, Rob?

Rob (08:41)

Yeah, sure. mean, it does happen, but you know, if you set up everything up front, that’s why I tend to front load a lot of my work so that that doesn’t happen because being an escrow is very stressful because I’m not the only person calling these clients. There’s a real estate agent. There’s an escrow officer, a title officer, a notary home inspector, appraiser. They’re getting blown up every way on their phone, you know, six days a week. And so it’s, important to make sure you try and make that as smooth as possible. when challenges do happen and they know that you’re on their side, it’s much easier to do after you’ve kind of explained to them, this is why we’re doing this.

So I had one not too long ago, it was a refinance for a first time home buyer couple that I had helped a few years ago. And we were doing refinance with one lender and this is one of the best benefits of working with a broker is that I have access to multiple different lenders. If you talk to a bank or a direct lender, they have the one, sometimes they can broker but most of them don’t. So I had submitted to one lender and this lender was asking for stuff that we just straight up didn’t need. It was about the condom they lived in. And so they’re conditioning us for stuff that was just impossible, didn’t exist.

Quentin (09:11)

Yeah.

Rob (09:39)

And I had asked them, are you sure that we need this? Cause I’m to go back and I’m not sure we’re going to be able to get it. And it came to the point where I was like, we can’t get it. And then they just said, we’re going to waive that condition. But at this point, you know, we’re way behind our lock extension, all this stuff. So it’s going to cost the clients a lot of money to stick with this lender for a condition that we didn’t need. And so since I had a relationship with these people, they knew I had their back. We were able to switch lenders to somebody else who wasn’t going to condition for the thing that we didn’t need in the first place. And we’re actually closing this week. So they’re, they signed their docs yesterday.

Gonna fund on Friday, it’s gonna save them I think about 180 bucks a month ⁓ and they’re gonna reset some of their cash flows, they’re gonna have some additional cash in their bank account because of it as well.

Quentin (10:16)

Yes, sir. That’s what I’m talking about. Rob the Linda coming through, man. Rob the Linda coming through. Now, I appreciate you telling that story, Like you said, you said there’s always a workaround, right? Like we just got to know where to come get the information, all right?

Rob (10:30)

Right, exactly.

that’s why, you know, if you’re doing like an online lender or something like that, you know, I actually did a loan with an online lender back in the day and they just didn’t know what they were doing in terms of mortgage insurance. Cause I was like, I know what I’m doing. I’ve been in the industry. Let me go see what they got. Cause they have the best rates. And so I got probably during that transaction, I think I got 20 different loan estimates in the 20 days that I was in escrow. So it was like, you know, pretty crazy. And they, they ripped me off for, I think it was almost a thousand dollars.

and I ended up saying, you guys are going to fix this or I’m not doing the loan. And they say, so they sent me a check for a thousand bucks, but that’s why you need a professional. Cause if I wasn’t there and I wasn’t as diligent as I was, I would just missed it. And if you get somebody who’s not trustworthy, somebody who’s not looking out for the client’s best needs, which is exactly what brokers do, we’re shopping your loan for you. So you don’t have to go do that. it’s not small circumstances that we’re looking at here. Even if we’re looking at $10 a month, over 300 payments, that’s pretty significant.

we want to make sure that we’re always looking at every detail and trying to take advantage as much as we can.

Quentin (12:06)

There you go. Absolutely. See, that’s the stuff people don’t talk about enough. And honestly, that’s what separates folks from people that just dabble and people that’s in it for the long term, right? That’s in it for the long game. yeah, you listen, people, you heard the man. Google and chat GBT are wonderful tools, but listen, get yourself a professional. And right now we’re talking to my man Rob Delinda. And so now Rob, I appreciate that insight, man. So.

Rob (12:27)

Yep.

Quentin (12:33)

Let me ask you this, what are you most focused on solving or scaling next? Like what’s the real next goal?

Rob (12:39)

Yeah, we mentioned the next generation of homeowners. And so that’s really what I’m focused on. And it’s really a lot of combating misinformation that’s out there because there are certain broadcast systems that won’t name names or networks, but they’re really downplaying the housing market saying, hey, prepare for a crash. So there’s a lot of people that are waiting on the sidelines saying, I’ll just wait for prices to come down. But the only way prices are going to come down if we have a major economic crash. And if you think you’re going to be one of the few people that’s not affected by that and you’re able to buy a house.

great, but the chances are, you know, if there’s a major economic crash, you might be laid off. ⁓ Home prices might come down, but interest rates go up, stuff like that. So there’s a lot of reasons why ⁓ if prices do come down drastically, you won’t be able to buy a house then. ⁓ But it’s also super highly unlikely that prices will come down because we’re in a severe housing shortage across America, especially in my location here. It’s even worse in Orange County. There’s so many more people that want to buy homes than there are homes. And there’s so much red tape around building.

that builders, it makes way more sense for them to build one $3 million house versus four $800,000 houses if they have land for it. So there’s not really a lot of first time home buyer houses being built. So the shortage is not getting fixed. Maybe in other places in the country, but definitely not here. So it’s a big problem to kind of combat all that misinformation and tell people now is a good time to buy and the housing market isn’t in trouble. Even though interest rates are elevated, I think now’s a great time to buy because

you’re not competing with 20, 30 people in a house like you were in 2021. That was miserable. There was houses getting sold for a hundred thousand dollars over appraised price. So say you’re going to buy a car for $20,000 and you’re going to pay $22,000 for it because so many people want that car. That’s not a good deal. It’s the same kind of thing for houses. And so now’s a good time to do that because you’re paying exact what the price is. You’re usually getting some credits from the seller. And if rates do come down,

and the market jumps up a little bit, you can take advantage of those rates when they happen. you don’t necessarily want to rely so heavily on rates coming down because there’s a chance it can never happen. No one’s got a crystal ball, the ball that protects the future. I mean, I do have a crystal ball, but it doesn’t work very well. I’ve tried it. It’s sitting over there. But yeah, so I think the biggest hurdle is telling people you don’t need 20 % down and now is a good time to buy. And it’s hard when there’s so many other voices in their head telling them the opposite of what I’m telling.

Quentin (14:51)

Yeah. Nah, man, that’s, that’s, that’s big, man. That’s, that’s big. ⁓ I love, and I’m, I’m a quote, I heard a wise person, ⁓ say that sometimes they make it seem like visibility is more important than ability. Right. And, and, and that’s, you know, just because you’re out here and you got, you know, good marketing and you’re all over the place, don’t mean that you’re doing it better. And so I.

Rob (15:07)

Yeah.

Quentin (15:16)

hear the passion that you have for the next generation coming through. I hear the fact that you want to educate them. I hear the fact that you want to give them every resource that they can have to, again, to fulfill their dreams. So I hear it, man. I hear it in your message.

Rob (15:28)

Yeah. And so

we’re talking about financial freedom. I like I’m focused on step one, because that’s what my generation is doing, getting into their first home. But the end goal, I think real estate is a fantastic career as an investment. And so I think there’s a lot of people that I work with ⁓ that are transitioning into investors. So they’ve got a good full time job, but they’re buying properties in less expensive areas like Cleveland or Oklahoma, stuff like that. And so I think that’s a really good way to build wealth as well, because there’s lots of tax write-offs that come.

with owning a home, especially with owning a rental property. ⁓ And you know, it’s kind of an investment. It should appreciate over time. And if you can get a good renter in there, somebody else is really paying for it. So I don’t know what other investment you can get that’s gonna have tax benefits and somebody else pays for it.

Quentin (16:51)

Yeah, man, see, like, you know, I’m over here trying to tee you up with the questions, but it’s kind of like, you just teed me up for my next question and statement, Because like, man, you want it, man, we’re here, man. We’re here because, you you’re talking about people making moves, right? And of course we know the next move, it can either compel things or it can create chaos, kind of depending on how you play it. But this is the part that you hitting on because, you know.

Rob (16:58)

Okay, I can read your mind. I told you about the crystal ball I had, right? Yeah.

Quentin (17:17)

You said, you know, you said, you know, people, got it. You got a team around you. So I think a lot of people that are listening to early in their journey, they’re looking to buy, they’re looking to level up, they’re looking to make moves. And I think it would, benefit hearing this from you when it comes to building relationships and growing your network, which makes the biggest difference for you.

Rob (17:35)

I think ⁓ it’s honesty. mean, being transparent with people because a lot of the sales tactics that I’ve learned throughout my career from different people are how to hide this X, Y, and Z. But I’ve found that if I just disclose everything, this is what it is, then people are much more receptive to that. Even if it’s a bad thing, don’t hide the bad. Show them the bad. Show them how to get around it. Because if you hide the bad parts of any kind of sale or any kind of product and then they find out what it is later,

you’ve not only destroyed that relationship, you’ve destroyed your reputation. They’re never going to refer you anybody. They might leave a bad review online. But the big thing is, like I said, just transparency, giving them all the knowledge they need, good and bad. And I think people really respect that. And once I tell them the full truth, not just the part they want to hear, I think people are much more likely to come back and much more likely to refer their friends and family.

Quentin (18:26)

Yeah. See, that’s brilliant, man. That’s brilliant, man. Honesty, transparency, like you can’t think that in relationships, right? Like, you know, I love how you said, like, if you want to be honest upfront, can come back and just destroy a relationship. I said this, you know, on another podcast. I’ll say it now. It’s a saying where they say trust is earned in drops, but lost in buckets. And so it takes you a while each drip.

to gain that trust, but then it can take you just one tilt and the bucket turn over where all the trust is just ran out. And so, man, I hear you on that, man, honestly.

Rob (19:03)

The saying we use is you’re only as good as your last transaction. So I could have a real estate partner that sent me deals for five years, but if I dropped the ball on the last transaction, that could be the last time I ever worked.

Quentin (19:07)

Love it.

I love it. love it. Well, listen, man, I only got two questions left. We got a little bit of time, so I’d love to kind of leave space for this. Rob, is there anything that you have been musing over lately, thinking about? Like, is there any kind of last word of wisdom that you would like to give to someone that’s listening, that’s of your generation? Is there any kind of just, you know, inspiration, encouragement that you would like to give them?

Rob (19:41)

I would say you never know until you try. I get a lot of people that call me and say, you know, I think I’m ready to buy a house, but I really don’t know, or I’m not sure I want to. ⁓ Getting the information, there’s always a way to get you on the path. And so a lot of the consultations that I have with my clients is not, hey, this is what you qualify for now. This is how you’re going to qualify for what you want in the future. And so whether you think you have bad credit, whether you think you’re self-employed and doesn’t show enough income, whether you think you don’t earn enough income or you don’t have enough assets, whatever this is,

There’s work grounds for all that. And if you don’t want to do the workaround, I’m going to teach you how to get to where you want. There’s ways to get it done, but you got to take the first step. think ⁓ someone told me this, that writing down your goal is 80 % of completing it. Once you’ve identified what it is, then you can start working towards it. And most people don’t even identify what it is. So if you want to own a house, then you need to reach out to somebody that’s going to help you get there and identify the steps on how to make it possible.

Quentin (20:23)

Mm.

Love it, man. I love it. So listen, man, before we wrap, if someone’s been watching, they want to connect with you, collaborate, learn more, what’s the best way for them to get in contact?

Rob (20:44)

Yeah, so I go by Rob your lender on pretty much all my social media. I’ve got a YouTube channel, TikTok, Instagram. My website is Rob your lender. My email is Rob at Rob your lender. So that’s where you would find me. ⁓ but yeah, is any way you want to reach out, whatever is best for you. I would say go check out my TikTok or Instagram. That’s where I’ve been posting content recently. If you like longer form content, I do have a decent amount of stuff on YouTube as well. ⁓ but if you have a specific question, I know you, most people don’t want to ask it on a public forum and just kind of display their, their financial status. So send me a direct message or something.

My email address is also on all social media so we can set something up there. Like I said, my consultations are free, it doesn’t cost you anything. If you don’t have your credit ran, it’s fine. We’re gonna get you on the path to achieve what you want.

Quentin (21:24)

There he is everyone, Mr. Rob Tennyson. Listen man, I appreciate you. I appreciate your story. I appreciate your perspective. I appreciate your time. We definitely need people in space like you that’s knowing it the right way. Honesty, integrity, making sure you’re building trust. So again, man, I appreciate you for being here today.

Rob (21:42)

And thanks to you, appreciate you inviting me. Thank you.

Quentin (21:43)

Absolutely. And for those tuning in, if you value this, please make sure you’re subscribed. We have more conversations, just like with my friend, Mr. Rob Tennyson, who are doing business the right way and building something real. So listening to the next episode, I’ll see you then. Have a great one.