Your Housing Questions Answered: Down Payments, Mortgage Recasting, and Buying in Tough Markets

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

NerdWallet Personal Finance

Business, Education, Investing, How To

4.2 • 665 Ratings

🗓️ 23 June 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Explore strategies to strengthen your finances and get smart answers to common home buying and mortgage questions. When you're looking to buy your next home, should you pay off your current mortgage or save more for a down payment? How does mortgage recasting work? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola answer several questions from listeners about home buying and renting. But first, they talk with NerdWallet experts Amy Knight and Sara Rathner about how people are navigating today’s financial challenges, from rising costs to career interruptions. They explore practical ways to strengthen your money habits, with tips and tricks on using side hustles for independence, turning money talks into regular “money dates,” and saving for the future even in small amounts. Then, mortgage Nerd Holden Lewis joins Sean and Elizabeth to answer a series of listener questions about home buying. Topics include weighing the pros and cons of saving vs. paying off a mortgage, whether to put a rental property in a trust, what to expect when recasting a mortgage, and how to stand out when buying in a competitive housing market like New York City. Use NerdWallet’s free mortgage calculator to estimate your monthly mortgage payments and annual amortization: https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/mortgage-calculator In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: how women can build financial independence, motherhood penalty and finances, side hustles for single moms, investing as a single mom, financial independence for women, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, gender pay gap and retirement, credit card rules for stay-at-home spouses, home buying in a tight market, mortgage recasting explained, pros and cons of putting a house in a trust, trusts vs LLC for rental property, buying a home in New York City, how to buy in a competitive housing market, how much to save before buying a house, how to improve home buying offer, home inspection tips for buyers, why rent is cheaper than buying, how to calculate mortgage payments, NerdWallet mortgage calculator, money dates for couples, budgeting as a single parent, how to avoid the motherhood penalty, flexible home buying offers, asset protection for rental homes, how to build credit as a stay-at-home parent, financial planning for women, and the financial impact of caregiving. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected]. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Exclusively on Disney Plus.
0:02.0	It's hard and it's brutal and that's what makes it special.
0:06.0	The multi-award winning series, FX's The Bear, is back for a brand new season.
0:11.0	Upon my signal, unleash hell.
0:15.0	And every second counts.
0:17.0	When that shows zero, this restaurant ceases operations.
0:21.8	FX is the bear.
0:23.1	New season streaming June 26th exclusively on Disney Plus.
0:27.4	18 plus subscription required, Teas and C's apply.
0:30.4	Sean, we've talked about this before, and I'm sure you may be sick of hearing me say it,
0:34.6	but I am, for now, a lifetime renter, and I love renting because I
0:39.0	get to just call my landlord up. But now you are renting out your house, and I want to hear how it's
0:44.6	going. Yeah, I am the landlord now, but fortunately, I'm working with a property management company.
0:48.8	I just received my first payment for rent, and after all of the home repairs and paying my property
0:55.8	management company, I netted a whopping $312.74. You know what? I'm not even going to knock that
1:03.5	$374. And what was it, $17? $312.7. I got that so wrong. But anyway, I'm not going to knock that because it's passive income.
1:12.3	No, you didn't have to do any hard work for that money.
1:14.5	And it's just the beginning.
1:15.7	Next month, I'll have even more.
1:17.2	Luckily, on this episode, we're having a housing lightning round where we answer a bunch of listeners
1:22.4	questions about housing.
1:25.1	Let's get to it.
	...

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