Failure Is Fun — If You're Paying Attention
Savannah Romney on Youth, Real Estate Investing, Talking to a Lender First, and Building Confidence by Acting Before You're Ready
Savannah Romney
Realtor, The Perry Group · Podcast Host, 'Uncharted' · Young Investor & Entrepreneur · Utah
At a Glance
Themes
Key Moments
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Savannah Romney is 20 years old. She graduated high school a year early because she had a specific financial goal: buy a house young. She became a real estate assistant before she was old enough to be a licensed agent. She went solo approximately one year after getting licensed. She has started a clothing line, a podcast, and a real estate career — and she has failed at things along the way. Her response to that failure is the central message of this episode: failure is fun, if you're paying attention.
This episode covers a remarkable range of practical ground for homebuyers: why first-time buyers should talk to a lender before looking at a single home, how the 2008 market crash was caused by conditions that no longer exist, why new construction builders are currently offering rates in the 3–4% range, how VantageScore can help buyers who previously couldn't qualify, and why the fear of being pressured by a professional — while real — is solvable by simply asking direct questions before the relationship begins. Every lesson is delivered by someone close enough in age to first-time buyers to understand exactly why these things feel scary.
Beneath all of it is a deeper story about what it means to build confidence. Savannah's career has not been defined by years of experience. It has been defined by her willingness to act before she felt fully ready, to get the age objection and turn it into her favorite talking point, and to treat failure as a curriculum rather than a verdict. For anyone who has been waiting until they feel ready before talking to a lender, posting online, starting a business, or buying a home — this episode is a direct challenge to that logic.
The first-time homebuyer and the young professional have more in common than they might realize. Both are facing something unfamiliar. Both are building their mental model of what's possible in real time. And both are discovering — as Savannah has — that once you start doing scary things and treating the results as information rather than judgment, the unknown stops being terrifying and starts being exciting.
Episode Overview
"Failure is a good thing. Failure is so fun."
— Savannah Romney
Key Themes & Life Lessons
The patterns running through Savannah's story — and the lessons that connect homebuying to the broader challenge of building a life before you feel ready.
Fear Shrinks When You Take the First Step
The same principle runs through every topic in this episode: talking to a lender, posting on social media, starting a career, trying to buy a home. People build the thing up in their minds until it feels impossible — and then they do it and discover it was manageable. Savannah names this explicitly: 'We make it a lot more than it needs to be.' The antidote is not the elimination of fear. It is the first step, taken anyway.
Related: Story — 'Failure Is Fun'
Real Estate as a Long-Term Wealth Vehicle
Savannah's financial worldview is built on understanding leverage. Stocks produce higher ROI percentages, she acknowledges — but real estate produces more actual wealth because appreciation is calculated on the full property value, not just your initial investment. A 10% appreciation on a $500K home earned with a $50K down payment is a very different financial reality than a 10% return on $50K in index funds. She also names equity borrowing, tax benefits, and rental income as compounding advantages.
Related: Story — Real Estate vs. Stocks and Crypto
Education Before Emotion: Talk to a Lender First
One of the most practical and emotionally intelligent buyer lessons in the episode. Savannah's observation: buyers start with beautiful homes on Zillow, fall in love emotionally, and then get crushed when the numbers don't work. The lender conversation is not a sales event — it is clarity. It tells buyers their real range, surfaces credit or income issues early, and provides a plan instead of a dream. Her message: even if you're 2–5 years out from buying, have the lender conversation now.
Related: Story — Talk to a Lender First
Youth Can Be an Advantage
The age objection scared Savannah early in her career. Now it's her favorite objection. Her reframe: a younger agent may be hungrier, more responsive, more available, and more emotionally invested in each client. Experienced agents have done this a thousand times; a newer agent may treat your transaction like their most important one — because it is. She is not naive about experience gaps, but she is clear that hunger, time, and backing from an experienced team can close them.
Related: Story — The Age Objection Reframe
Failure Is Data — Not a Verdict
Savannah has started a clothing line, a podcast, a real estate career — all before she is old enough to have a decade of anything behind her. She has failed at things. And her reframe is the emotional thesis of the episode: 'Failure is so fun.' Not because it doesn't hurt. But because every failure teaches something that can only be learned by trying. The person who hasn't failed hasn't been paying attention. The person who's afraid to fail isn't yet building anything.
Related: Story — Failure Is Fun
The Right Team Protects Everyone
Savannah makes a nuanced point about professional trust: hiring an agent or lender means hiring their entire ecosystem — their brokerage, their team, their colleagues, their experience. When a younger agent backs their enthusiasm with a 200-person team and systems built over decades, the client gets both the hunger of a newcomer and the infrastructure of a seasoned operation. She frames this not as a consolation prize but as a genuine advantage.
Related: Chapter — The Age Objection
Story Highlights
The defining stories and lessons from Savannah's early career — preserved with emotional and educational context for the Roots archive.
"The first step that you should always take is talk to a lender."
— Savannah Romney
Financial & Life Insights
What this episode teaches about real estate leverage, new construction, credit qualification, buyer strategy, and the cost of waiting.
Real Estate Leverage vs. Stock Returns
When you invest $50K in stocks, you earn your return on $50K. When you invest $50K as a down payment on a $500K home, your appreciation is on the full $500K. That is a 10x difference in the appreciating base. Savannah's point is not that stocks are bad — it is that real estate produces more actual wealth for most people precisely because of leverage, not despite it.
Learning / Investment-Minded BuyerNew Construction Incentives Right Now
At time of recording, Savannah was seeing new construction builders offering promotional rates as low as 3.87–3.99%, with buydown options to 1.99% in year one. For buyers who feel priced out by current resale rates, new construction is worth comparing directly — not for aesthetic reasons, but because builder incentives can change the payment math significantly.
Home Search → New Construction BuyerVantageScore — A New Qualification Tool
Ryan introduces a new program using VantageScore (versus traditional FICO) that can produce credit scores approximately 60 points higher, helping buyers who previously didn't qualify now qualify — or qualify at better rates. At the time of recording this was a new pilot program. Buyers who have been told their score isn't high enough should ask specifically about VantageScore qualification.
Credit Improvement → Pre-ApprovalSoft Pull Pre-Approval Removes the Risk
One of the most persistent myths keeping buyers from talking to lenders: 'I don't want them pulling my credit.' Savannah explains that most initial lender conversations use a soft pull that doesn't affect the credit score. The conversation is free. It takes 15–30 minutes. And the worst outcome is receiving a plan rather than a number. There is almost no downside to having the conversation early.
Exploring Homeownership → Pre-ApprovalPricing Strategy Can Outperform Market Averages
Homes in Utah were averaging around 70 days on market at the time of recording. But Savannah describes working with seller's agents who price slightly below market value, trigger bidding wars, and net sellers more than a standard listing would have. The strategy is counterintuitive but documented. A good agent's pricing strategy can change the outcome significantly.
SellingThe Cost of Waiting Is Real
Buyers who wait for rates to drop or a crash to happen are making a choice with a financial cost: rising prices, missed equity, continued rent payments, and compounding opportunity cost. Savannah's point: appreciation happens continuously. Every year a buyer waits, they are paying more for the same asset and missing the growth that would have been theirs. Fear of missing out should apply to inaction as much as to action.
Exploring HomeownershipMemorable Quotes & Wisdom
Words from Savannah Romney that belong in the permanent archive — for buyers, young professionals, and anyone building something before they feel ready.
"Failure is a good thing. Failure is so fun."
— Savannah Romney
39:24–39:43
Discussing how starting a clothing line, a podcast, and a real estate career at 20 taught her to reframe failure as learning.
The emotional thesis of the episode. Not naïve — she is naming the sting of failure directly and then explaining why she pursues it anyway. This quote belongs in the permanent archive.
"The first step that you should always take is talk to a lender."
— Savannah Romney
12:52–13:03
Advising first-time buyers who typically start their homeownership journey by browsing Zillow and open houses.
One of the clearest practical buyer-education statements in the series. Simple, specific, and directly actionable.
"I have more time than those agents and I actually want to work with you."
— Savannah Romney
24:50–24:55
Responding to the age objection — explaining why a younger, hungrier agent backed by an experienced team can be the better choice.
Reframes youth as hunger and service. Challenges the assumption that experience is the only form of value in a professional relationship.
"If you're wanting to build something long term and create the most wealth... real estate is the best investment."
— Savannah Romney
1:55–2:07
Drawing on advice from a financial adviser friend of her father's — someone who sees how wealthy people actually build net worth.
Captures her core financial belief and the worldview that brought her into real estate in the first place.
"There are some agents and some lenders that do hound you. So that fear is real."
— Savannah Romney
19:38–19:49
Acknowledging buyer hesitation about being pressured by professionals after they inquire.
Validates buyer fear rather than dismissing it — which is more trustworthy than pretending the fear is unfounded. The response is 'do your research and find the right fit,' not 'don't worry.'
"Once you start doing scary things, embracing the unknown and failing a lot, life gets really fun."
— Savannah Romney
39:56–40:01
Closing the episode with her philosophy on growth, discomfort, and the relationship between fear and possibility.
A complete philosophy of personal growth in two sentences. Applies as much to homeownership as to any other area of life.
Resources for Your Journey
The first step costs nothing.
Savannah's core buyer lesson: most people build the lender conversation up to be terrifying — and then they get on the call and discover it's just a normal person asking a few questions. The conversation is free. It uses a soft credit pull. It takes 15–30 minutes. And the information you walk away with is worth far more than the 15 minutes it cost.
Homebuyer Readiness Quiz
Find out where you actually stand right now.
New Construction Guide
How builder incentives may change your options.
Ask the Archive
Get honest answers to your homeownership questions.
"It's not about the pretty home first." — Savannah Romney
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"Once you start doing scary things, embracing the unknown and failing a lot, life gets really fun."
— Savannah Romney
Full Transcript
The following transcript has been edited for readability while preserving the original meaning and voice of the conversation. Speaker labels and paragraph breaks have been added for archival clarity.
The full transcript is organized into 12 chapters for easy navigation.