We couldn’t be more thrilled about interviewing a real estate agent for the second episode of Girlfunds, a show where we give you our two cents on money. They say money talks, so why can’t we? We love to talk with our girlfriends about everything — except our finances. We’re here to bring money back into the conversation with our sisters — and that includes you. For our second episode, we interview LA-based Real Estate Agent Xio Sandoval about buying a home in a competitive market. 

Sandoval has been a leading Latina Realtor since 2004. Recently ranked number 19 in California with CENTURY 21, Xio Sandoval is among the nation’s Top 250 National Association Of Hispanic Realtors (NAHREP) and recognized by the Montebello Board of Realtors since 2014 as the No. 1 agent in sales, total listings, and most escrows closed.

During the episode, we discuss how she is helping her clients lock in a home in today’s competitive market, along with some creative financial ways she has helped people buy a home, such as renting out the basement. 

Girlfunds takeaway tip from Sandoval: 

#1 What tips would you give potential homebuyers when it comes to creating a budget to save for a home? Or even, where to start on a six-month plan or a one-year plan?

You do have the families who are just not ready, whether it’s credit or down payment. So, we meet with the lender anyways, and we give them a financial analysis as to where they’re at right now and what they need to do to get to the purchasing stage. Sometimes it’s paying down credit card debt. Sometimes it’s saving additional money towards the down payment fund. Sometimes it’s knowing that, hey, you know what, we probably don’t need the full 3% or 3.5%. Let’s see if you qualify for one of the state’s down payment assistance programs. We really just tailor their scenario to them at the time. And if they’re not ready to buy, we put them in a database, and they get drip mail for me once a month. And they get phone calls for me maybe twice a month, just making sure that they know that we’re here. 

Join the two best friends who met as financial journalists at HousingWire, Brena Nath, a twenty-something forever renter with her husband and pup, and Sarah Wheeler, an empty nester on her third home, every week for our girls night focused on everything from affording your best friend’s wedding to how to turn your side hustle into your main hustle. Each week, Girlfunds will have a special guest join us as we intertwine finance and friendship. And don’t worry, you don’t have to have your finances all together to join our girls nights. We’re all in this together to learn – women supporting women – and in the words of our producer, so we can all be #confidentqueens.