August 2025 - Newsletter
- Stacy Fernandez
- Aug 31
- 9 min read
Hello Friends! I hope the new school year is treating everyone nicely. Check out the line up for this month below:
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📸 Lincoln NE Area Market Snapshot
This is a pretty typical we start to see more listings coming on but school is on the way so people are pretty slow to take action or push things out until the school madness has slowed down. We did see a decrease in median price which tends to happen when the demand decreases. I've also noticed that many buyers have been getting seller kick backs not necessarily in terms of price but things like seller credits, point buy downs and the items that don't show up in the stats.
If we see interest rates drop a decent amount it could be another feeding frenzy so if you or anyone you know is on the fence buy now while you still have some negotiating power. Worried about the rates dropping after you buy? Don't... There are plenty of lenders locally that are offering free refinances within certain timeframes! I'm happy to recommend them to you.
👫 Realtor Matchmaking
Remember last months success story!? Well we finally got to deliver his closing gift and got some good photos of him with his new house (no more terrible photoshop)!
Ryan bought in Omaha so we got to go and visit him and Emma to celebrate.
However did you know I can help you, family, friends, and yes even complete strangers anywhere in the USA?
Well the good news is I can! I promise to still send a closing gift too 😁🎁
Referrals are my biggest source of income and I make sure to send those referrers a very nice thank you 🥰
Click to be Matched or Refer Someone Else!
📝 A Note from Your Favorite Realtor
Well August is nearly at its close and it has been a fun month!
I've kept busy with my August Gratitude Challenge each day focusing on a new gratitude practice. I have done Gratitude Challenges before my favorite being the book The Magic by Rhonda Byrne, it's a 30 day gratitude challenge. I really enjoy doing that one and have done it a few times in my life. My one complaint with it is that some of the challenges build on each other and it can be time consuming on certain days. Which really not a big deal considering your time is well spent being grateful. However when making my challenge I wanted to make sure you could do them in 10 mins or less, ideally 5 mins or less.
Today was the last day! I had multiple people reach out thanking me for doing it or sharing their experience with it. That made my heart very happy 🥰
Other exciting things that happened during August included a fun Fantasy Draft with my ladies only group and the highlight of the month a fun filled Bachelorette Party in Chicago!
The bachelorette party included me being gone from Ezrael for the first time (other than 1 overnight with grandma awhile back). It was 3 nights away and it was hard to be gone from him that long but he and Dada handled it like champions! It was nice to get some adult girl time too. Though I was sober for the trip (thanks to Baby Fernandez on the way) I still was whooped after and needed a day of rest and recovery. A baby won't stop this Mama from shaking her tail feather 💃
September is shaping up to be a very busy month for us! We start off with Ezrael's 2nd birthday, then to vacation in Maine, lot's of real estate in between like volunteering/closings/etc., then Eliezer is off for a work trip and back for a weekend camping! Not a lot of down time planned so I look forward to a calm and relaxing October 🎃
Oh if you didn't catch the announcement we are expecting another baby - don't worry we aren't finding out the gender 🎉 who doesn't like a surprise!? With that on our minds we decided to pull the trigger on a new car too... Introducing the Mom Van! We are so ready for the van life and have enjoyed it so far. It isn't real until you get a door ding which happened like 2 days after we took it home 🤦♀️guess I have to read up on the warranty info much sooner...
Well anyway that's a lot of updates for one month so let's get to some photos (don't worry they are PG).
Well I hope your August was one to remember! Check back in next month.
🏘️ Home Buying Tip
Credit Establishment
We all know you need good credit to get a loan to buy a house. However did you know that having NO credit can be a big problem too? Kind of unfair considering you don't have a score at all so who can really judge you...
Well we learned a few hacks recently with a situation that sadly didn't work out for our buyers but will allow them to be more prepared for the future!
No Credit
If you have NO credit or 0 credit there are a few ways to establish it so you can qualify to buy a house.
The most common way to establish credit is to use historical payments whether that is utilities, rent or consistent payments. This works when you have 12+ months of history. It doesn't work if you just moved to this country and don't have records to prove consistent payments for debts.
The next step typically taken is to open a credit card. It will take about 6 months on expenses and payments to establish any kind of credit. When you are under contract and need credit quick this typically does not work out because very few sellers are willing to wait around 6 months for you to get something established plus another month to process everything.
Establishing Credit Quickly Hack!
This is the hack we learned recently that likely would have salvaged our transaction had we known about it 2 weeks sooner. Learn from us and use this to your advantage in the future!
Become an authorized user on someone else's credit card.
There are a few things to consider when doing this.
Make sure the person's credit you are using is good or excellent. If you get on someone's card that has terrible credit your qualification will only be as good as their credit...
Be responsible with the credit card, you will be affecting their score too with bad behavior.
It will still take a minimum of 2 weeks to establish credit in your name so you need to account for that in your timeline. If you want to be extra safe plan for 30 - 60 days.
If no credit score is the issue this can be a great alternative to having a co-signor.
What if I have bad credit would being an authorized user help me?
This situation has some more nuance to it than having no credit at all. Your bad credit and how you got there will still be included in the calculation it will just add the good credit persons habits and account limit.
If you are considering this route for bad credit please talk it over with your lender, credit expert and the person you are considering becoming an authorized user under.
Someone wants to be an authorized user on my account - what do I do?
Congratulations you must have great credit!
You will want to do additional research but here are some key points to consider:
Make sure the card you are making them an authorized user on even reports authorized users to the credit bureaus. If they don't then the point is moot.
Ask if you can have the authorized users card mailed to your home address. This way you retain control of the information and card. Especially if you fear the person asking is not very responsible with their money. Be aware they could call and ask for a replacement card. Another way to limit damage would be to set a low spending limit.
You will lose some privacy related to your finances. The authorized user will be using the credit established on your credit card to create their credit. That means when they pull their report they will see what the credit limit is, utilization and if there have been any missed payments.
There are companies that organize this so you can get paid to add authorized users. Thus it doesn't seem totally unfair to ask for some sort of compensation for your time and effort.
What if I don't know anyone with good credit?
There are services where you can pay to be added as an authorized user on someone's card. I have not had a chance to vet any of these companies so please do you research but know they are out there.
Eliezer and I have considered selling tradelines or selling the option to be an authorized user on our credit. It can be a great way to get some passive income especially if you have great credit. If we ever end up doing it we will gladly let you know but we haven't had enough time to weigh the benefits and risks and find a company we like. Also fun fact we learned about this part of things through a podcast mentioned in the net tip - BiggerPockets Money. It wasn't until our recent situation that we realized how beneficial it could be for a buyer in a bind.
What are your thoughts on authorized users?
💰 Money Saving Tip
I was listening to my favorite podcast the other day and it got me thinking about a good money saving tip that I think gets bypassed a lot.
This is the podcast if you are interested in financial indepence BiggerPockets Money
Well the tip that came to mind was job hacking. What I mean by that is if you have some extra time and are thinking of picking up a part time job or gig you strategically choose one to benefit you beyond a paycheck.
For example when I had quit my fulltime job to pursue real estate I had a few months between leaving my job and finishing my classes so I picked up some part time work. One of the jobs I did was concession at the Lied Center. It was a super easy job that was very flexible. If the show fit in my schedule I'd work it. The real perk that I got from it though was that I got a UNL Faculty card since I was employed by them. That card got me more in discounts than money I actually made from working. I didn't realize this when I started working there it was just an added bonus that I discovered could save me some extra money.
My faculty card saved me money monthly on my Adobe Subscription ($30+ a month), got me a discounted rate to use the UNL Innovation Studio ($20 a month or so), plus I could use it anywhere there was a student/faculty discount - I used it at a museum while on vacation and saved some good cash.
Thus my tip is if you are considering another side gig take into account any additional perks you might be able to get. Common ones are:
Gyms - Free membership
Restaurants - Free or discounted meals
Stores - Employee discounts (Scheels has a great employee discount, I worked there in high school - be warned it's easy to spend your whole paycheck on stuff with your employee discount)
Airlines - Free or discounted flights
Concessions - Typically can watch shows/games (except during intermissions)
Movie Theatres - Free movie tickets, discounted concessions
Doggy Daycare - Free or discounted rates for your dogs
Daycare - Free or discounted rates for your kids
Universities - Student/Faculty Cards, Potentially discounted or free tuition for you/family, access to facilities
If you want to go beyond side jobs there are ways to plan for big expenses like your kids college, travel, and home improvements by strategically choosing full time careers too! Like how my mom worked as a Janitor at Doane for 1 year before and during my whole 4 years of college so I could get free tuition!
What jobs do you know of that have extra perks that can help you save money?
📅 Event
Latino Festival 2025
Looking for something fun to do and want to visit with the Fernandez Family?!
We will be volunteering for the Realtors Association of Lincoln at Latino Festival this year!
We will be there from 2 - 5pm. Come and enjoy food, music, dancing, community and more!
This will be our first time attending but past event photos make it look like quite an exciting time. Hope to see you there and would encourage you to invite friends and family. We will be manning the Realtor booth helping people find out more about buying/selling a home and yes hablemos espanol tambien!
💸 Free Resources
All of these Free Resources can also be found on our Realtor Matchmaking Site:
You can also find Lincoln Nebraska Local Resources here:
Wanting something else specific? Let me know, i'd love to offer more value!
🎯 Goal Tracking
Accountability 101 - Goal tracking update.
Holding steady on our current production as you can see very far from our goal... However we have a few more in the books expected to close. We have definitely seen a bit more going on for us including residential and commercial. All of our current clients are referrals from someone we know! Your help really makes a big difference in our business - we don't do much for lead programs we rely on our sphere aka you!
We would love your help to achieve our goal! The best way to do that would be to reach out to us with any friends, family, coworkers, (ANYWHERE in the USA) that are planning to buy or sell. Residential or Commercial!
🥂 Cheers
Wishing a prosperous September filled with fun!
-The Fernandez Family
