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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Kristen interviews Fred Wikkeling, a seasoned real estate professional with 49 years of experience. Fred shares his journey into real estate, his passion for helping first-time homebuyers, and insights into the current market dynamics. He discusses the importance of understanding the home buying process, the opportunities available for first-time buyers, and his mission to promote affordable housing. Fred emphasizes the need for mentorship and knowledge in navigating the real estate landscape, making this episode a valuable resource for anyone interested in homeownership.
Resources and Links from this show:
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- Investor Fuel Real Estate Mastermind
- Investor Machine Real Estate Lead Generation
- Mike on Facebook
- Mike on Instagram
- Mike on LinkedIn
- Fred Wikkeling on Amazon
- Fred Wikkeling’s Email Address: [email protected]
- Fred Wikkeling’s Phone Number: (408) 813-6609
- Fred Wikkeling on Facebook
Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode
Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Fred Wikkeling (00:00)
You can, depends on your qualification, what you purchase, you get up to 17%. So basically you only have to have 3 % down as a buyer, and then Silicon Valley Housing Trust will give you 17 % up to $200,000.And the payback structure is very, very lenient. Virtually you don’t have to make any payments if you don’t want to for 30 years. So it’s really a silent second. So you can use that to your benefit.
Kristen (02:00)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m Kristen and I’m here with Fred Wikkeling. He has been doing real estate for 49 years, investing, selling. I mean, he has a lot to share with us and he has a new book out on Amazon, Home Buying, The Secret Process. It’s for first time home buyers. So we’re going to talk a lot about that. Thanks for being here, Fred.Fred Wikkeling (02:19)
good good well thank you for introductionKristen (02:21)
Yes, so 49 years, that’s a long time to be in the industry. What got you into it in the first place?Fred Wikkeling (02:28)
Well, very interesting. My dad had bought a piece of property in Sacramento and ⁓ during the summertime it was real nice. It was like a desert and in the ⁓ wintertime it was like a…river and ocean and so his best friend sold the property and I said you know I want to make sure I’m gonna help people so they don’t get flim flam during transaction and that’s the first thing and then when I finished college I had a job at the Sounds of Mercury News and one of the guys I worked with couldn’t do his job but he had his real estate license and I said if that dummy can have a real estate license this dummy can have it too and that’s how I got into the business.
Kristen (03:05)
It’s funny. Yeah, hey. And then you’ve obviously been able to have longevity in the business. What keeps you going?Fred Wikkeling (03:15)
Well, case we go and I guess the market, you you work for yourself and I quit working at the Mercury News in 1973 and what I said was is that, you know, when I quit working there, you know, I haven’t worked, know, real estate is not working when you do something that you like, you know, it’s not like it’s working, you know, and so, yeah, it’s like I’m talking to you, I’m working, but this is not work. So talking, sharing information, I just sold a piece ofstate and $4,900 lot just recently. I’ve seen the property but I did the paperwork so you know we get paid to do paperwork you know, PIN. So I mean that’s a knowledge, sharing knowledge, that’s what we get paid for.
Kristen (04:01)
Amazing. Well, I mean that’s so impressive and I’m sure you just have so many tips for people I know that your passion right now is really helping first-time homebuyers How did you kind of get interested in that sector?Fred Wikkeling (04:16)
Well, ⁓ the way I got involved with it is first of all, buying my first house was very exciting. ⁓ I had saved three years for it. I got my real estate license. I was my first client. And that whole process stood in my mind. I didn’t know what I was doing.But since then as a lender, I’ve got involved with first time home buyer programs like the Silicon Valley Housing Trust. ⁓ There’s all kinds of programs and I find that first time buyers need somebody to lead with them and it’s a relationship building. So I like that part. And then when you finish the transaction, then you go on to the next one. But I love helping people into homes and seeing them get equity and build,
foundational wealth for the family.
Kristen (05:57)
Yeah, and what are some, I’m sure you see the same mistakes over and over. What are some things you wish more first time home buyers knew?Fred Wikkeling (06:06)
Well, you know, that’s why I wrote the book. ⁓ I want them to know it’s a process. I relate. Buying a home like having a baby, it takes nine months. And you just don’t decide one day, I’m gonna buy a home. You gotta figure out what the process is. Unless you had all cash, which most people don’t, it’s a process.Kristen (06:33)
Absolutely. And yeah, tell us about this book and how long it’s taken you, you know, getting it out there. That must be very exciting.Fred Wikkeling (06:43)
Yeah, so this book literally took me four years to write. I started it right before COVID and I had set a goal to write it for the end of the year. And like any project goes, I mean, I started it. I’ve had people, know, pay people to work on it and stuff. And writing a book is a process because you depend on other people and to edit. And so long story short, ⁓ the thing that really helped at the end is having AI to help with the editing.Kristen (07:04)
Right.Mm.
Fred Wikkeling (07:13)
Andthat’s putting on the last couple of minutes. So that was really a lot of growth. yeah, I’m really excited about it. A lot of good information, yeah.
Kristen (07:24)
Yeah, and with first time home buyers, ⁓ just talk about where the market is right now. I know there’s a lot of people very maybe nervous to get into the industry, don’t really know what’s going on, or not the industry, but the market. ⁓ Can you kind of give some clarification of what you’re seeing? Because I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of ups and downs in the market.Fred Wikkeling (07:46)
Yeah, yeah, big thing is…The interest rates really drive the market. know, like, and I talk about it in the book, you know, right now the interest rates are hoovering 6 % and, you know, couple years ago it was like 2.5%, 3%, which means people’s payments doubled. And I talk about that where, you know, affordability. So if the interest rates go down, people can afford payments. And that’s what people are waiting for on the sidelines right now. And the feds are lowering the
Prime rate so things are coming down slowly and ⁓ Yeah, everybody’s waiting for it and some people are jumping in and we have a saying in real estate You know you marry your house, but you date your interest rate so you can always refinance
Kristen (08:34)
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Can you talk about kind of the ups and downs you’ve seen in the market over the last 49 years and the resilience of the industry?Fred Wikkeling (08:43)
Yeah, so it’s very interesting. When I started real estate in 1976, the McEwen condominiums here in Blossom Hill, and they’re all over the Bay Area, even Sacramento, they’re four plexus, one in the front, one in the back, upstairs, and two on the sides, and they were going like for $14,000. And when I got in, it’s like…All of a sudden they started going to 15,000, 16,000. And what happened is people were literally walking away from their homes because it was cheaper to rent than owning a McEwen condominium. And so then when I got in, people started buying the condominiums. And so what I learned is that the gauge to market, ⁓
If there are lot of condominiums available on the market, that means it’s a buyer’s market. If there’s few condos on the market, then it’s the seller’s market. It’s the supply and demand. And so I watch it over time. then…
Kristen (09:35)
Mmm.Fred Wikkeling (09:45)
In about 82, 83, the market slowed down and it came like a standstill. Nothing was happening. And if you don’t remember, but I do, but the interest rates were there, 17, 18, 19%. And then, yeah, then in 82…things were between 80 and 82 the interest rates were up and then slowly started coming down and I say you know once interest rates go up they never come down but I got into the mortgage business and then about 80, 485 we saw interest rates drop and become single digits and they predicted it’s going to be single digits interest rates again I didn’t believe it and so we did a lot of refinancing
then market started going up again and then in the 90s, 93, the market’s real slow again.
Yeah, and then back in 2001, and then it goes, so you know I used to say it’s a seven year cycle, but it’s more like a, last time was like a 10 year cycle. So we’re into about four or five years. So learning the cycles, and I talk about the book, and you gotta watch it. If you’re gonna buy and sell real estate, you really gotta know what the market is, and it’s invisible, but you just gotta study it.
Kristen (11:34)
Absolutely, I think it’s good perspective that I mean the interest rates have been much much worse and we’ve bounced back from that. Yeah, so not to give up hope in the market and it’s always a good time. It’s good to get in to real estate for sure. ⁓Fred Wikkeling (11:51)
Yeah.Kristen (11:51)
Can you talk about some just opportunities for first time home buyers that you see underutilized? Like I’m sure there’s programs or just things available for first time home buyers that a lot of people don’t know about.Fred Wikkeling (12:06)
Yeah, so in Silicon Valley, and they expanded it to San Francisco, Santa Clara County, San Francisco County, and Alameda County, and I even believe Contecasa County, where the Silicon Valley Housing Trust through Measure A gets funding. And their program is if you qualify, ⁓ and you can go online and see what the income qualification is, because they changed that, but it’s medium to moderate income.family’s income and if you qualify for that then they will grant you you got to take a class you got to take a ⁓ class and the class I think cost $100 it used to be life I used to help participate in teaching the class but since COVID they went online and so you take a certified FHA class and then you’re eligible and then ⁓
You can, depends on your qualification, what you purchase, you get up to 17%. So basically you only have to have 3 % down as a buyer, and then Silicon Valley Housing Trust will give you 17 % up to $200,000.
And the payback structure is very, very lenient. Virtually you don’t have to make any payments if you don’t want to for 30 years. So it’s really a silent second. So you can use that to your benefit.
And then in addition to that, the other program which a lot of counties have.
and again this is with federal funding but it’s called the MCC program. A lot of people never heard about it. It started in 1993 and it’s called a mortgage credit certificate and so when you purchase your home you apply with the county and when you put your contract in there you say part of the contract is that you’re applying for the MCC. The seller is aware of it and then you pay a couple hundred dollars, the lender has to be approved with the MCC and then literally you get a dollar
for dollar tax credits. Say for example, whatever your mortgage interest that you pay, so you paid $30,000 of mortgage interest. Well, say if you had a 20 % benefit, that means $6,000 dollar for dollar tax credit that you have on your tax returns, and that’s for 30 years. So that’s the MCC, which a lot of people haven’t heard about. ⁓
You know, and then you got your standard FHA, VA for veterans, no money down. And then also for building, HUD, not HUD, but USDA has no zero down for building. And then UNQUA Bank, if you want to build, you only need 5%. That’s for the land and construction. So those are some programs that just…
Unheard of unheard of and that’s why you know, I’m blasting it in the book, know people you know And then one of the things really catchy in the last chapter and I tell people you know what?
you if you can’t afford to buy a house you need to buy something you need to buy a lot there’s a lot of lots available uh… i just sold a lot like i talked to you earlier to a gentleman in clearlake for forty nine hundred dollars that’s a residential lot uh… it’s this comes with water sewer and electricity at the street that you have to you know get paid for the hookups
That’s unheard of, you know? ⁓ So there’s so many opportunities. We just have to go outside the areas that we are, ⁓ very affordable areas in California. We just have to know where they are.
Kristen (16:19)
Yeah, I mean, it’s really important to do the research and to kind of have mentorship, which I think you can get through your book for sure, because going into a blind you lose a lot of money at the end of the day, because you could be saving a lot of money.Fred Wikkeling (16:35)
Yeah, and that’s why I’m telling people is you got to study ⁓ the market. You got to study the big thing that I tell people and this is major, major and I never listened to it the first time I heard it, but you should really talk to your tax person and say, you know what, I’m renting right now and if I were to buy a home, what kind of tax benefits do I have?You know, buying a home is not just a place to live. It’s so many benefits. It’s a forced savings. know, every month that you make a payment, it goes to reduce an equity. But at the same time, you had the possibility for appreciation. And you you mentioned you lived in San Carlos. And one of the statistics that I use in the book and over the 49 years I’ve been in business, which is a truism, you can verify that, is that in the Bay Area, homes appreciate
about 50 % every five years and they double in value every 10 years. Yeah. And so if you can’t afford to buy something, you need to afford to buy something because it’s gonna increase in value.
Kristen (17:33)
Wow.Okay.
Fred Wikkeling (17:46)
And then the big thing is that if you buy something and you don’t refinance, and that’s a big if, but 30 years from now or sooner, you don’t have any rent, you don’t have any house payment, you still got property taxes and insurance, you can’t get away from those, but what a way to go. And we can all do that. It’s just planning and knowing the process. You just gotta know the process.Kristen (18:11)
Absolutely,I think Silicon Valley and the peninsula is such an exciting place because there’s so many industries popping up there and yeah, I mean, I was telling you before, I grew up in San Carlos and I’ve just seen the whole area completely change in the last 10 years. It’s unrecognizable.
Fred Wikkeling (18:30)
Yeah, and since we have the industry, ⁓ prices demand. People from all over the world come here and they get paid the big dollars and they have no problem paying an extra. During the COVID, we thought the market was gonna crash and people here and where we are bidding over 200,000 over Aska, so they just get in. It’s just wild, yeah.Kristen (18:56)
Absolutely.Fred Wikkeling (18:57)
And those things, the timesare coming back. It’s just cyclical. And we just have to be aware of it. Just be aware of it.
Kristen (19:01)
See ya!Absolutely, and to kind of shift gears a little bit, I know that a big passion of yours is building affordable housing and kind of filling in that gap. Can you talk about just what you see there and what you think, you know, where you think affordable housing should go?
Fred Wikkeling (19:24)
Yeah, I think everybody should be able to get a house and live somewhere. in my mind, it shouldn’t cost more than $200,000, $300,000 at the max. The millions, I mean, those are just unheard of. I see my dad in 80, 85 build three homes in Lake Tahoe in Tahoma.And I know from real estate that if you
put sweat equity together with product and land, know, the end product, if it’s a quality product, it’s gonna be worth more than the materials you put into it. And we call that sweat equity, you know, or we call it appreciation. So, you know, I feel if you build something for 200,000, really good chance it’s gonna be worth 300,000 by the time you finish, you know, six months, a year later. And…
For me, that’s really important. So what I want to do, I want to find places and talk to some people that… ⁓
Find areas that you can build by lots for real cheap ⁓ and have owner built. And one of the things is, like I said, USDA and Unquad Bank will help people build their own home and give you some of the resources. So cash is not an issue. So you’ve got to learn how to… ⁓
You know build a home yourself, you know, and that’s a process and so i’m learning that do that myself right now I’m talking to some contractors. I’m up in clear lake. I already own a lot Matter of fact i’m talking to people get the water meter hooked up So i’m going through the process myself then I can teach other people how to do that you know, I say if a person has friends that are You know electrical contractor a framer a foundation guy a roofer guy
You can buy a house for dirt cheap. It’s just amazing. And that’s what my goal is to do, to help people go through that process so they can afford homes and not pay the big dollars.
Kristen (21:35)
Amazing. Well, I think that’s so important and I agree with you. I mean, I’m in Los Angeles. Houses are very unaffordable here. So I think, you know, affordable housing helps a lot of people. Well, this has been great. I think you’ve given so much good information for first time home buyers and the general market. And yeah, I love your mission to create affordable housing. So tell everybody where to find you and where to find your book.Fred Wikkeling (22:00)
Okay, so definitely you can go on Amazon and then my name is Fred Wikkeling. Last name is spelled W-I-K-K-E-L-I-N-G. Or you can go to Home Buying the Secret Process on Amazon and so you can get the book there.you can get a hold of me through fred at tola.properties there’s no .com. the easiest thing is my phone number. It’s 408-813-6609. You can just text me. But if you didn’t get all that, I think you can just Google me. I think I’m on the internet. I think you can find me. I think you can find me on Facebook. So I’m all all with little
platforms.
Kristen (22:51)
Amazing!Well thank you so much. I really encourage everyone to check out that book.
Fred Wikkeling (22:56)
Good, good, yes, yes, and this has been enjoyable. ⁓Kristen (22:59)
Well, thank you everybody for listening. Hope you got some good inspiration. Learned lot as well. And again, check out Fred, check out his book. And thank you so much and we’ll see you next time. Bye. -
