Venture With Joe and Cody

Fed day always feels like the whole world is holding its breath, but here’s the truth we keep seeing in real time: the Fed does not directly control your mortgage rate. Joe from Skipper Realty Group and Cody Wilhelm from Residential Mortgage break down why the fed funds rate grabs headlines while the bond market and investor demand often do the real work behind 30-year fixed mortgage rates. We wal...

Mortgage rates don’t just “go up or down” in the background, they change how picky buyers get, how long listings sit, and how confident you feel writing an offer. We kick things off with some Friday Night Lights energy, then pivot hard into the housing and mortgage reality a lot of people are living right now: higher rates, slower decision-making, and a market that looks normal in the data but fee...

Vancouver listings are sitting longer than Portland, and that one detail changes everything about how we negotiate a deal. We break down what we’re seeing on the ground across the Portland metro, Vancouver and Clark County, and Salem-Keizer: days on market stretching out, sellers getting impatient after about 30 days, and buyers gaining real leverage without the market turning into a fire sale. If...

“Housing crash” is one of the most searched, most repeated phrases in real estate, and it shows up no matter what the market is doing. We take a clear-eyed look at the Portland housing market using long-run appreciation data and a simple question: how often do home prices actually fall, and what usually has to happen for that to occur? When you zoom out, the story is less dramatic than the interne...

We argue that great service means showing up, whether that’s for your clients at the signing table or for your city when a major cultural asset is on the line. We dig into what the Blazers potentially leaving says about Portland’s reputation, business climate, and the ripple effects that can hit real estate, condos, and the broader economy.  • why agents should attend escrow signings and support c...

A low rate looks great on a screen, right up until you need an answer at 9pm to write an offer. Joe and Cody get real about what actually matters when you’re choosing a mortgage lender and why the lender-client relationship can make or break your homebuying experience, even in a “normal” balanced real estate market. We start with a quick catch-up and Cody’s Bend golf tournament story, including th...

A home inspection can feel like a punch in the gut: the report is long, the list is scary, and suddenly you’re wondering if you’re buying a house or buying problems. We talk through how to handle that moment with a clear plan, especially during the inspection contingency window where buyers often have the strongest leverage and the cleanest way to keep earnest money if the deal no longer makes sen...

We catch up on life outside work, then shift into the money questions first-time homebuyers ask when the real estate market feels calmer but still uncertain. We break down how down payment assistance, earnest money, appraisal fees, and closing costs actually work so you can budget with confidence and avoid surprises at the closing table.  • Mud run recap and why a Spartan race sounds tempting  • H...

A nine-year-old asking real estate questions turns out to be the fastest way to cut through the noise. We’re joined by Cora for a relaxed, funny, and surprisingly sharp conversation that explains home buying and home selling in plain English, the way most people wish the industry talked all the time. We start with the personal side of the job: why we chose real estate in the first place, what “fre...

You can build a solid business and still feel weirdly terrified to spend a dime. That’s the mental whiplash of commission income, and we get candid about it: the good months feel amazing, the slow months mess with your confidence, and suddenly a family trip or a home upgrade can feel like a reckless gamble even when the numbers say you’re fine. We dig into the real question underneath “Should we s...

Mortgage insurance is one of the most common “mystery fees” in real estate, and it quietly inflates monthly payments for years when buyers do not know their options. We break it down in plain English: what mortgage insurance is, who it protects, and why it shows up when you put less than 20% down. The biggest mindset shift is simple: PMI is not there to help you. It’s there to protect the lender,...

Your first home showing might not be a showing at all. It might be a 3D tour you watch 17 times, a video walkthrough, an aerial clip, or a quick scroll that makes you think you already know the place. We dig into how that shift is changing real estate for buyers and sellers, and what it means for making confident decisions in today’s market. Joe Skipper (Skipper Realty, Oregon) and Cody Wilhelm (R...

Big brokerage acquisitions are accelerating, and we unpack what that means for brands, agents, and the tech that shapes the client experience. We also reset the basics for first-time homebuyers navigating new buyer agreements and a market where online answers are not always reliable.  • Compass acquiring Anywhere Real Estate and what that signals for industry consolidation  • eXp Realty acquiring...

We bounce from parenting war stories to the mortgage market, then land on the real question: what makes a human professional valuable when AI can spit out answers instantly. We talk mortgage rates in the mid-sixes, the Fed, and how agents and lenders stay relevant by being available, fast, and genuinely helpful. • childhood discipline memories and how different kids react to consequences  • busy f...

A single bad drill hole can ruin your day, but it can also teach you more about homeownership than any tutorial ever will. We start with the real stuff: turning a spare room into a guest room studio for podcast recording, the annoying reality of knocking pipes, and why rerouting plumbing and drain lines can get pricey fast. Then we swap war stories, including the kind of stud-finder fail that ends...

Vegas is fun. Forgetting your own home address, not so much. We start with a little real-life chaos, then shift into what you actually came for: a clear read on the 2026 Oregon real estate market from a working agent and a working lender. The vibe right now isn’t “boom” or “bust” it’s stable but unpredictable, and that makes timing advice a lot less useful than most people want it to be. We talk t...

A business name sounds like a logo detail until you realize it is the decision you will wear on every sign, email, and client introduction for years. We open with the real pressure behind a real estate rebrand, how to “date” a name before you commit, and why even small choices can feel permanent when you run your own shop. Along the way we swap the everyday moments that keep this work human, from...

The moment you’re told you can’t use “Realty” in your name anymore, you find out fast whether your brand is real or just a placeholder. Joe and Cody talk through a forced real estate team rebrand under a larger brokerage, what makes a name timeless, and why most real estate logos feel the same. We want a brand that’s simple, wearable, and marketable, the kind of thing that makes someone stop and a...

You can learn a lot about real estate from the serious stuff like rates and inventory, but sometimes the fastest way to understand the market is to start with what makes no sense. We kick things off with a wild tour of strange real estate laws across the US, from a two-toilet limit on a tiny island to fence rules, noise restrictions, and even the idea of squatters eventually claiming ownership. It...

That 70-page inspection report you just got is not proof you bought a “bad” house. It’s proof you hired someone whose job is to write down every single thing they can find, from real safety issues to tiny maintenance notes that show up on almost every property. We talk through how to read a home inspection like a pro, how to keep your emotions in check, and how to use the report to make better dec...

A real estate deal can look solid on paper and still collapse for reasons that have nothing to do with the house itself. We jump into part two of our “top 10 mistakes that could kill a real estate deal” series and count down the top five deal killers we see in the wild, with real examples from the agent and lender side. We start with the emotional one: lowball offers. When sellers reject instead o...

A deal can look “under control” right up until the moment it collapses and the frustrating part is that the trigger is often preventable. We’re Joe Skipper (Skipper Realty Group, brokered by eXp Realty) and Cody Wilhelm (Residential Mortgage), and we’re putting real numbers and real accountability behind the mistakes that kill real estate deals. If you’re buying a home, selling a home, or working...

AI is moving so fast it can feel like you blink and the rules of real estate change. Joe Skipper and Cody Wilhelm get real about what that speed means for working agents, mortgage lenders, and the buyers and sellers who just want clear answers without opening 18 browser tabs. We dig into AI in mortgage lending, from quicker document review and “fits the box” approvals to the part that still needs...

The fastest way to tank a mortgage isn’t bad credit—it’s quiet changes made mid-deal. We pull back the curtain on the small moves that cause big problems, from opening a new credit card to switching jobs right before closing, and explain why underwriting rules care more about documentation and stability than your gut sense of “I can afford it.” Along the way, we share real-world tactics for writin...

A beautiful five-acre property near Wilsonville set the stage, but the real tour goes behind the scenes of what it takes to build a real estate or lending business that lasts. We open up about the trade-offs most people never see: the joy of flexible schedules and family time weighed against health insurance premiums, taxes without a safety net, marketing bills that come before revenue, and the la...