- On today's show Mike Simpson with the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce talks about upcoming area events. Andy Hemmings discusses appraisals and Christy Broussard talks about the home buying market.
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(00:01):
Hey, everybody, it's your board. Gary Levox of Rascal Flats Beaumont.
I made a lot of friends thereon the road. And what are my
friends that you need to meet,especially if you're selling your home. Is
Dana Simmons of Dana Simmons Realty.Her team is the real deal, top
shelf, next level, and shemakes it so easy, and I like
easy and remember, sell your homenow gone, hesitated Simmons real Estate.
(00:31):
Well, good afternoon, Southeast Texas. I hope you're enjoying that jingle.
I was in Nashville last week,got to visit with Gary Levox again and
just thanked him so much for whata great job he did on that jingle
for us, and we are trulyenjoying it, and I hope you are
too. Really, I hope it'ssticking in your head that you just can't
get it out to call Dana Simmonsreal Estate. This is Dana Simmons and
(00:53):
I'm joined by several people. Todaywe're going to talk about what's the latest
going on in the real estate news, but also what's going on out and
about in Southeast Texas. So first, let's give a little market update.
So every week I like to giveyou a little bit of a snapshot of
what's going on. Well, we'vetalked about in the first couple of months
of this year that we were quitea bit lower than we were last year
(01:17):
at the same time, but weare definitely seeing a pickup. March had
a little bit of an increase andwe are seeing in April a much better
increase. We are seeing houses comeon the market, We're seeing buyers out
there ready to purchase and going undercontracts. So if you are thinking about
buying or selling right now, itis a great time for you to look
(01:38):
into is it the right time foryou? Every single situation is different,
and so if you'd like for usto walk through with you, if it's
the right time, we'd love todo that. You can reach out to
one of our agents who's available rightnow four zero nine eight six six eight
three two six, and we canhelp you with that. Today on the
show, I have some rate guestswho would also love to answer your questions
(02:02):
immediately. So you have a questionyou want answered, you can call us
four zero nine eight ninety six KLVII, which is four zero nine eight nine
six five five eight four and wehave Christie Brussard, who is a buyer's
agent for Dana Simmons real Estate.We also have Andy Hemmings with Capital Title,
(02:22):
and we have Mike Simpson with theChamber of Commerce, and I'm going
to let you get to know themjust a little bit before we get started
on some of the news that's goingon. But if you have any questions
that you want to ask about what'sgoing on with the Chamber or any title
questions or real estate questions, we'dlove to hear from you today. But
(02:43):
first let's go to Mike Simpson withthe Chamber of Commerce, and Mike,
tell us a little bit about you. Well, I've been with the Chamber
as first of all, is avolunteer for some twenty some odd years and
then I'm going on my seventh yearnow as an employee in I'm the Director
of Non Dues Revenue, which iskind of a typical nonprofit title that basically
(03:06):
means that I'm involved in our sponsorshipsand putting on events, and like you
mentioned, we have a lot goingon. Yeah, we are going to
talk about some of those things thatare going on, and really the Chamber
is just moving in a direction toreally capture all that Southeast Texas has coming
(03:27):
here in the next several years withthe economic development, and the Chamber is
really positioning themselves to be an integral, integral part of that. And some
of the events coming up are waysthat people can connect and get to know
some of the other businesses and findout what are some of the ways that
they can participate in what's coming.Absolutely, and I've been asked before,
(03:50):
you know, why do y'all puton events? And it's for several reasons.
The networking aspect is always a greatway to meet people. Also,
you know, it's revenue that weneed to keep the light tone and write
pay saries and all those good things. And we try to make the easy
events interesting fun and like I say, great networking opportunities. Yeah, and
(04:13):
we're going to talk about some ofthose events that are coming up really in
just a couple of weeks, andso you're gonna want to stay tuned to
hear more about that. We'll talkabout that in our next segment. Also
with us today is Andy Hemmings withCapital title. Hey, Andy, I
know I mentioned on our Facebook livethat you were a little busy last night
while you do this Capital title insurancething as your day job, you also
(04:36):
do a lot of other things Ido, and I'm not quitting my day
job. Yeah. Yes, justwent out and I played a little music
at Cotton Creek Winery and really enjoyedmyself. I like that place. I
love playing a playing acoustic guitar andsinging some songs that people remember from the
seventies and eighties. Yeah, andwe've enjoyed. We were meant to go
out there last night and missed it, but we absolutely love getting to get
(04:59):
out and and here you and Lisaare Like last night it was you and
Sammy Scoggin hanging out. And soyou guys do a great job. But
tell us a little bit about AndyHemmings. Sure, sure, Well.
I am the marketing rep for CapitalTitle, the largest independently owned title company
in the country. We have overone hundred and fifteen offices across the state.
Here locally, we have five differentoffices, and so my job is
(05:23):
to just take care of our customersor wonderful customers like you, and answer
questions that agents have and that customershave, and so we just have a
real strong presence here and we're happyto be here. Yeah, And local,
you know. And what I lovetoo, is that the person who
started your company is from Southeast Texas. Yeah, Bill Shattuck. He is
(05:45):
actually an Orange native and he's upin Plano. Now that's where our corporate
offices are. But but yeah,he's a local guy. Started Capital Title,
blew it up and it's just spreadall over the state. But he's
very proud of his roots here.He actually called in one time. That
was fun on the show, absolutely, and I love that. You know.
One of the things that we've talkedabout on this show every single week
(06:08):
is the fact that we love thatwe have so many local people who have
roots here, have been here along time, who are invested here.
And that's really what we want.We want people to live here, love
it here, and stay here.So that's part of what we do on
this show every single week is tryto help encourage These are the great things
going on that we have in justeducating people a little bit on what's going
(06:31):
on in real estate. And speakingof that, we have Chris Sti Bruce
Sard who is an agent on ourteam at Dana Simmons real Estate. But
Christy, you've been in real estatea long time, yes, I actually
started in real estate about two thousandand one. After spending a few years
in the military, I went backhome to Crystal Beach and worked for my
(06:53):
aunt at Swedes real Estate. It'sbeen there for many, many years,
and after a few years, itdidn't take me long to realize I needed
to get my real estate license andlater got my broker's license. And I
was practicing in Crystal Beach for manyyears, but now here in the Beauma
area, and I work in thisarea. Yeah, and so we were
(07:14):
so excited have you joined our teambecause you have so much experience. So
being in real estate for twenty yearsand then being able to come and join
us, to me was just apure blessing for us. So we absolutely
love having you and your experience forour clients and customers. But tell us
a little bit about you too.You are you live in the Finett area,
(07:38):
I have children. I actually soldmy house after Hurricane Ike and moved
to the Winnie Finett area. SoI've been here for about ten years or
so and married with three kids,and I'm just happy to join your team
and grandkids. Oh and you know, we can't forget the grands slots you
know, if you're going to comeon this show and talk to me,
(07:59):
we're going to talk about the grands. It's just a part of that's what
makes life so wonderful these days.There are a lot of good things,
but those grands just are like acherry on the top of everything else.
So I love sharing those stories witheveryone. So you can see, we
have an incredible show today and we'regonna want to share with you all that
(08:20):
the experience that they have on eachindividual topic. So we're gonna come back
here in just a bit and we'regonna talk about what is coming up at
the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce andwhat are some of the events that I
know you are gonna want to beinvolved in. So stay tuned, don't
go away, We'll be right back. Would you need to sell your home,
(08:41):
No one makes it easier than DanaSimmons of Dana Simmons, Really sell
your home, Hesitate Simmons. Welcomeback. This is Dana Simmons and we
are glad you're joining us today.We have Mike Simpson here with us from
(09:01):
the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, andMike's going to share a little bit about
what's going on at the Chamber andMike, there's a lot going on at
the Chamber. There's a lot.Yeah. Typically we put on about one
hundred events a year if you countthe business connections that we have and the
ribbon cuttings and the mixing mingles inour various events. But you have a
(09:22):
big one coming up in a coupleof weeks, the Beaumont Chamber Golf Tournament
and then the Casino Night. Let'stalk a little bit about first the Golf
Chamber Tournament. What is that?So that's our annual tournament at Beaumont Country
Club and that's one of the thingsthat is such a large draw because so
many people aren't able to play it. So it's on Monday, May the
(09:45):
fifteenth. We have an eight amand a one thirty tea time. There
are still teams available. It's sevenhundred and fifty dollars for a team.
And with that though, it givesyou a T box sign and it gives
you one Mulligan per player. Thenthe Casino Night, and I don't know
if you remember a Lobster Fest,but when we originally started it, it
(10:05):
was the golf in the morning andthe lobster at night and it just killed
every years. So we separate themout now where that the golf tournaments on
Monday, and then the casino nightis on Friday, and this year it's
Friday the nineteenth at Ford Park.And then so we all have a combo
package there that for fifteen hundred dollarsyou can get a reserve team, I
(10:28):
mean a golf team and then areserve table for eight And what we do
at the casino night, everybody getsa starting five thousand dollars in casino chips
and you play into the night,you get tickets, and then you can
put those tickets in various prizes thatwe have put together. Yeah, and
the meal is included as well.So on that event, you guys will
(10:52):
they'll be able to have a nicemeal and then enjoy themselves with some fake
not having to spend your own money, but uh, some really fun casino
chips to be able to play andhave a good time and then earn prizes
at the end. What are someof those prizes that are there? We
have things. We have a littlebirds. I can't talk this bird.
(11:18):
We have a little birds. Wecan stay with the room and uh,
we have golf and stay at RayburnCountry thanks to Joe Penland and all the
work that he's done up there atRayburn. And then there'll be packages that
have everything from gift cards to dinnersto um like Corrabos will have a dinner
(11:41):
for eight that is that you getto go and select what you you know,
the menu items and it's just variousthings that we put together. Yeah,
so it's a large selection of prizesto choose from. Yes, and
then back to the golf. There'ssome things that that we do a little
different. Um. We have theBeaumont Hospital. Beaumont Emergency Hospital has a
(12:05):
air cannon and this air cannon canshoot the golf ball about three hundred to
three hundred and fifty yards and sothere's a feed to do it. But
it is so much fun that whereverthat ball lands, then you go and
like you just you're starting from thatpoint. And so this year I put
(12:26):
it on whole fifteen out there,which has water around the green, so
it's going to be interesting to seehow people play that. Yeah. And
then we also have a World LongDrive Champion that comes in and they have
a fundraiser for us where that youcan you take his best shot, and
(12:48):
then from there, if you sinkit, you can win a trip to
Pebble Beach with air Fair Hotel three. You get to play three of those
golf of course is out there,and that's always a good fundraiser for us
as well. Oh yeah, Imean, who wouldn't want to go to
Pebble Beach Lodge. That's a reallycool award that you could get. So
(13:11):
the again, let's talk about thosedates. So the golf tournament is on
Monday, May fifteen, and soyou said there are two different tea times,
right, eight am and one thirty. So anyone could decide, hey,
I want to do that, andso you get a team of four,
and if you want to just dothe golf tournament, what would the
(13:33):
costs be for someone who wanted todo that. That's seven fifty for the
team of four and the tea boxthing and then one mulligan per player.
Okay, great, And so ifthey wanted to put that together with the
Beaumont Chamber Casino Night, then theycan do a team and a table for
eight at Casino Night right for fifteenhundred rather than the two thousand it would
(13:54):
be if you if you if youdid them separately, so you get a
little bit of a discount there ifyou include both of those. That sounds
like so much fun. If someonehas any questions about either of these,
how would they find out more information, Mike? They can either go onto
our website which is www dot BMTCOCdot org. Or they can call the
(14:16):
office at four oh nine eight threeeight sixty five eight one. They can
call me on myself four oh ninefive o four nine nine thirty three.
In any of those ways we canget them signed up. Great. And
so those are a couple of eventsthat are coming up just in the next
couple of weeks. But you havelots of other things that people can also
(14:37):
participate in. Yeah, one ofthe other things I want to talk about,
we have a great partnership with LonghornedLiquor and this year for a raffle
that we're doing. It's a YETIcooler and it is full of about a
little twelve or fifteen different alcohol adultsthat the tickets are five dollars or five
(14:58):
for twenty and we will that willbe drawn the night of the casino party.
And it's just you know, it'sjust just about any alcohol you can
think of a name brand will bein that with the Eddie cooler. Yeah,
I'm looking at this picture you providedand all of the liquor doesn't even
(15:18):
fit in the cooler. You wouldhave to share some of this. This
is a lot. Yeah, thisis a lot of liquor. Um.
So they're saying Longhorned Liquor is doingthis for you guys. And it's a
five dollars ticket for one or yousaid five for twenty and they go into
um, the drawing to be ableto win this, and um, is
(15:39):
there a picture of this anywhere wherepeople can see that? I believe it's
on the website. But once againI can if if somebody's interested, I
can make that available to them becauseI do have it in a digital form.
And then you don't have to bepresent to win. So if somebody
wants to buy a ticket but you'renot planning on or you're gonna be out
(16:00):
of town, we can still makethat happen with your name could be drawn.
Yeah, sounds great. And sowhat are some other things that you
have coming up that you want tomake sure everyone knows about. Well,
we have our on Tuesday. Wewill have a mix and mingle at April
Talbert's office on Major and it's fromseven thirty to nine April always really puts
(16:22):
on a good event and that thatevent again is Tuesday from seven thirty to
nine am. Yeah. And thenthe Leadership Beaumont graduation Thursday May four.
There you go, I left thatland Massuet. You know that Thursday May
four. And for those that don'tknow, Leadership Beaumont is the oldest adult
(16:47):
community leadership program in the state ofTexas. Wow, this was our fifty
second year. That's incredible. Yeah. And then the business connection that you
guys have every other week that happensat the Holiday Inn and everyone is invited
if you want to attend that,you don't have to be a member of
(17:07):
the Chamber, not at all.You can pop in and it has been
a great source of new membership becausethat group has grown between sixty and seventy
people every other Friday, and itis free and it's a great networking source.
Yeah. Absolutely, that is awonderful place to meet new people who
(17:30):
are in business in Southeast Texas.It's also a great place to meet people
that you need their services. Imean there are times that you're like I
don't know who to use. Well, this gives people an opportunity to say
this is who I am and theseare the services that I provide, and
then you hear everyone else do thesame. And it usually typically lasts from
eight to nine. It's at theHoliday Inn Plaza at Walden Road and there's
(17:55):
no fee that there is coffee andDanish is that are provided and each person
that's there gets to stand up asyou save in for sixty seconds to give
their you know, to discuss whatthey do and worry if they're looking for
particular services. It's a great opportunityto come and meet people who you may
(18:17):
not meet otherwise. Yeah, it'sa great networking opportunity that costs someone nothing,
especially if they're a new business andthey're trying to get their name out
there, this is an ideal placeto do that. Or if you've been
in business a long time and youwant to grow the people that you're working
with as well. Well. Mike, thank you so much for joining us
and getting us up to date onwhat's going on with the chamber. Again,
(18:40):
if anyone has any questions about that, you can go onto the Beaumont
Chamber of Commerce website or call theChamber office and Mike can give you any
additional details you need. When wecome back, We're going to talk about
a few things. One is haveyou gotten your assessor's appraisal on your property
of values this past week? Iknow several of us had, So we're
(19:00):
going to talk about is there somethingthat you can do if you feel like
the value isn't correct? And whatdoes the law say about how much the
value can increase? So you're notgonna want to go away, You're gonna
want to come back as we talkabout all of those things. This is
Dana Simmons. We'll be right back. Would you need to sell your home?
No one makes it easier than DanaSimmons of Dana Simmons, really sell
(19:23):
your home? Hesitate Simmons realles.Welcome back. So glad you're joining us
today. We have a great showthat's going on. We just had Mike
Simpson with the Beaumont Chamber of Commercetalking about all that's going on down at
the Chamber. If you have anyquestions about that, go to the Chamber
(19:45):
of Beaumont Chamber of Commerce website.There are so many events that you can
get plugged into if you're interested inthat. Also joining me Andy Hemmings with
Capital Title and Christy Bruce Sard withDana Simmons Real Estate. We have and
talking about in the break and evenbefore the show started. Many of you
have probably received your tax appraised valueadjusted, a praise value that has come
(20:10):
in the mail that gives the appraisaldistrict an opportunity to assess what they believe
the value of your home is.I personally received several of those. I
have some rental property as well asour personal property, and so began reviewing
those this past week to see,Okay, do I feel like their in
line with what I really think themarket is on those properties, and on
(20:34):
most of them, I'll say they'repretty close their value because of what's happened
over the last several years. Ido believe it's probably where the value is
today now, where it's going tobe in six months from now, I
don't know, but today I dothink their value is pretty close. There
is one that I'm questioning, andyou may be doing the same thing on
(20:57):
one of yours. So as Iconsider what do I need to do?
How do I protest that we werejust talking about the what you can do
and what can happen. Andy,you and I were just talking about that
deadline, and you were you hadpulled just pulled that up and on the
back of the value sheet that theygive you, the notice that they give
(21:18):
you on the back of that sheetis the opportunity to file a protest.
And you had just you were talkingabout how it's May fifteenth, right,
or thirty days after receiving the notice. Yeah, So the rule regarding that
is you have until May fifteenth tofile your pro to launch that protest,
or thirty days after you received thenotice. Yeah. And just this morning,
(21:41):
I was talking to a good friendof mine who got that letter in
and they valued his property. Itwas one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and
he's like, gosh, I wishI could sell it for that. Right.
His situation is somewhat unique in thatif that property was in a different
location, maybe even just a fewblocks over, it would be worth it.
So what he's doing and this iswhat you can do as part of
(22:03):
the protest. You need to gatheras much information as you can to put
before the appraisal review board. Andso his situation is literally every house around
his is in really really poor condition, right, you know, some up
they've been vacant for a long time. I don't know they're literally falling over,
but they're in bad shape. Hishouse stands out. His house is
in really good shape. But becauseof that, that affects the value.
(22:26):
And that's not something that the appraisalboard knows. They would know that,
you know, right, And that'sthe challenge for them sometimes as they just
don't have all of the facts inthe data. They're doing that. I
feel like they are doing the bestthey can, but sometimes it's not right.
That's right. So he's he's gatheringall that information and that he's going
to put before them, and Ithink he'll be successful in getting it lowered
(22:48):
and which which he should, youknow? Yeah, and Christy you were
just talking about you've done this before. Well, I've I've helped people with
their protest, I've helped provide forthem, right, Yeah, So if
someone has questions, I know forus, I just had someone reach out
as well. And so what theydid was reached out to you and said,
hey, is this the real value? Right? And we can pull
(23:11):
other homes similar to theirs and providethem with information to help them with that
protest. Right, And so it'sexactly what Andy was saying. It's gathering
as much information as you can,and we want to gather accurate information.
We want the real data to beable to provide. And I've done the
same thing for past customers and clientswhen they've said, hey, you know,
I don't know if this is youknow, is my house really worth
(23:34):
this? And so at that pointwe can pull the comps based on what
we know about their property because we'vetypically been in it, or we have
information about their property that's very specificthat the appraisal district really doesn't have.
Right. Sometimes every house on theirblock is updated except for theirs, right
their original condition. They've never donea thing, so of course their value
(23:59):
is not going to be the sameas the one two doors down that was
completely gutted and updated. Yeah,and so we can provide that data.
One of the other things I thinkthat people may or may not know is
the maximum amount on a homestead.Now it has to be your primary residence
in your homestead. So the maximumamount that someone can the amount the value
that can be raised is only tenpercent, right now, that's right,
(24:22):
Yeah, yeah, and we talkedabout that. There is also another change
that's happening. Andy, you werepulling that information on the amount of the
homestead exemption. That's right, that'sright. So that the homestead exemption is
a wonderful thing here in the stateof Texas. That part of your property
tax value, part of your propertyvalue is held exempt from taxation. And
it was forty thousand dollars as ofnow, but it's about to go up
(24:45):
to seventy thousand dollars. That's ahuge increase. That's a help. Yeah,
Yes, seventy five percent increase orso in the in the exemption amount.
So that's going to save people alot of money. And that's just
here in the state of Texas.Our economy is real good. We have
a budget surplus, right, andso they're looking for ways to get money
back in the taxpayer's hands, andthis is one easy way to do it,
(25:07):
to save some of your money onyour property taxes. I think that's
wonderful. And another way that they'retrying to do it is to lower the
maximum amount of value that they canincrease each year to five percent, which
on your homestead. Now that doesn'tapply. If that is a commercial building
or if you are if you haverental properties, but if it is your
homestead, they're looking to make thatwhere the appraisal district cannot increase that more
(25:32):
than five percent annually. Yeah.And so the other thing that you and
I were talking about is when someof the things that are on the news
right now is once you can moveinto your house. So a lot of
times you get a form in themail that says, let us file your
homestead exemption for you, and reallythey want to charge you a fee.
But Christy, really, for ourclients, there's no need for them to
(25:56):
pay someone to do that. It'spretty simple. Yeah, it is.
There's Yeah, your rules are canhelp you through it. The title company
can help you through it. Youdon't, there's no need to pay anyone.
Yeah, you can go on Actuallyyou can go onto their Crystal District
website and down they'll load the formright there. Yeah, and you definitely
need to do it. I'm amazedsometimes when we get into a closing and
(26:18):
we will it's the person's homestead thatthey're selling, and we have to pull
the tax. We have to getwhat's called a tax certificate at closing to
make sure the taxes are per ratedcorrectly. And I see I see homes
that they never filed a homestead exemption. They've been there for years and they
didn't have a good, real turnto tell them to do it right.
And they have literally spent thousands andthousands of dollars more than they needed to
(26:38):
on their taxes. So something veryvery simple, just you said, you
can do it on your own.Ignore those letters when they come in the
mail. You don't have to payto do that. I have to pay
to do it. It's very simpleand uh and a lot of people fall
for that too. But we atCapital Title, our SCRO officers, I
think do a good job, especiallywith first time home buyers when they when
they come in to explain these thingsto them, and at a lot of
(26:59):
times the realtor will as well.But that's the value of using a good
realtor a good title company. Will. We will inform you of those things.
And if you haven't, if youare living in your homestead, it's
your home, it's your primary residence, and you have never filed your homestead
exemption, go online. You cando that at any time. It used
to be that you had to bein the property as of January first,
(27:22):
but that law has now changed,so if you are in your property,
you at any point in time canfile that homestead exemption. I have seen
customers in the past be able togo back and actually get the money for
the last two years where they hadnot filed it and be able to get
a credit. Yeah. So I'veheard that too, that they will apply
(27:44):
that exemption retroactively for two years typically. Yeah, and so it's definitely worth
worth asking. Yeah. And soone of the other things that we see
where people are trying to get moneyfor things that really they don't need to.
You know, we're talking about filingfor your homestead that's free. I've
also seen the ads for title lock, right, so Andy, talk a
little bit about your experience with peoplewho are trying to sell that. Yeah,
(28:07):
this is a real timely subject matterright now. There's actually an investigation
going on with Ken Paxon, ourAttorney General Texas Attorney General is investigating this
company. I think it's called homeTitle Lock. They're they're out of California.
And so you may have heard theseads on you know, don't let
somebody steal your house from you,you know, you know, prevent fraudulent
activity on your home. And it'snot to be confused with title insurance,
(28:33):
right, so title insurance is somethingcompletely never Yeah, you really need tile
insurance. So if you hear anythinglike called like home title lock, it's
not anything that you really need.All all that service does is notify you
when someone has filed a document relatedto your property. So they just,
you know, literally they're just lookingat the county clerk there on any document
that's filed against your home, andthen they will notify you when it happens.
(28:56):
So if on the off chance thatsomebody does happen to fraudulently sign a
deed on your home, they'll justnotify you that it happened. So it
doesn't prevent it from happening. Itjust tells you, hey, this happened.
Secondly, it's a fraudulent deed.No one has stolen your home from
you. And the reason that iteven exists, or that it's even a
possibility is they would then my understandingof the scam as they if they did
(29:18):
that, they would then have tocollude with a lender and borrow money against
against the home. But there's somany checks and balances throughout the whole process.
It's not it's just very very unlikelyit's even going to happen. And
this service, even if you wereto pay for this service, it's not
going to prevent it's not going toprevent it from happening. It'll just notify
you that it happened. And evenif it happens, they have not stolen
(29:38):
your home. Yeah, And Ithink that's so important for people to know
because it is a scare tactic tomake you think that something like that can
help happen. In One of thebenefits of when you close with the title
company and you get that title insuranceis that does help you know when you're
purchasing that home, you are ensuredagainst anything that may have in against the
(30:00):
property prior to your ownership. That'sright, that's right. Yeah, And
it's a it's a one time feeyou pay for that title insurance at closing.
It's good for as long as youown. As long as you're own
the owner of the home, andso yes, you then have the the
insurance and assurance that if there wasa lean against the property in the past,
or if there's another owner out therethat had an interest in the property,
(30:22):
the title insurance policy will make themmake them whole and so the buyer
doesn't have to worry about it.So that's yeah, that's completely different than
this home Title Lock insurance And Iwas just reading about it. There's an
ongoing investigation because this company, HomeTitle Lock, they do use scare tactics.
Yeah, and they do allegedly targetolder citizens. And so that's the
(30:45):
nature of the investigation is that it'sa violation of the deceptive trade practices at
in the manner in which they're runningthese ads and the extreme language that they're
using. So that's going on rightnow, So we'll see where it goes.
Yeah, we'll keep you guys postedand let you know how that turns
out. Well, we're going tocome back and we're going to talk with
Christy a little bit about so titleinsurance, who pays for it, when
(31:07):
do we get it, and whydo we have to have it? And
so when we come back, we'regoing to talk a little bit about how
is the market now compared to lastyear this time for buyers and give you
more information about those things that arenegotiated in that offer. So don't go
away. This is Dana Simmons willbe right back. Been discussing did you
get that appraisal assessment in in thelast week or so. Well, talked
(31:30):
a little bit about how if youwanted to protest that you could and how
that's done. We also discussed alittle bit about title lock. You've probably
seen those ads, and Andy shareda little bit more about what that is
and a lawsuit that's going on withthat. If you missed any of that
this week, the podcast is goingto be posted and you can go back
and find this show and listen toall of the information that you might need.
(31:55):
Or you're welcome to reach out tous. We're happy to help you.
My office is for nine eight sixsix eight three two six. If
you have any questions about anything thatwe've discussed, reach out to us and
we will get you connected to theright people. I also wanted to remind
you guys, early voting is goingon. If you have not yet voted,
please get to the polls and doyour due diligence and let's do your
(32:22):
duty as a citizen here to makeyour voice heard. The polls closed today
at five o'clock. They'll reopen tomorrowfrom noon to five, and then Monday
and Tuesday from seven to seven.But don't wait, you know, don't
put it off. You know whathappens, something comes up and then you
don't get over there. So wewant your voice heard. Get over to
(32:45):
the polls and make your voice heard. So Andy, you just said you're
doing that. Staffternoon, Absolutely,soon as I leave here, I'm going
to visit with my mama. Butfirst I'm going to go vote. Visit
with mama. Well, take mamawith you. If she hadn't been there,
you could bet she's already shed.Yeah. Yeah, Well, before
we went to the break, wewere talking about title insurance and um,
(33:07):
the fact that while title lock isnot something that you should do, but
title insurance is absolutely something that youneed if you are purchasing a property.
And Christie, one of the thingsthat we've seen change over the last year
is that that's been something that wasnegotiated differently last year than it is this
(33:30):
year. So talk a little bitabout that, right, Um, it
is something that is negotiable. Whopays for it, whether the buyer or
the seller. In a more ina more competitive market like we've had in
the past, the buyers sometimes paysfor it. Now that the activity has
slowed. Um, you can theseller could possibly get pay for it.
(33:51):
So yeah, we're seeing a littlebit more often where the seller is willing
to pay for the title policy.In the past, on a resale,
it's been very common for the sellerto pay that, right. But you're
right, last year, Um,things changed. Last year this time the
market was hot, hot, hot, Yeah, and so that was a
challenge, right, and then andthen there's there's not as much activity this
(34:13):
year. Um, but we arestarting to see it now. Yeah.
School's coming to a close, kidsare graduating, and this is the time
to make a move if you're goingto do it. And so, um,
we have a lot more active listingsright now. Yeah. The inventory,
you're right, the inventory has increasedso that when people a year ago
we're trying to find something, itwas so limited, right, and then
(34:36):
they were competing with like ten otherpeople. Yes, but now now is
a good time to get out thereand start looking if you're thinking about buying,
because there's because there is a lotof imagtory out there. So it
is one of the things that wealways say and that we think is really
important. Um, is that getyour preapproval early. Right. What are
some reasons that someone would want tomake sure they have that before they start
(34:58):
looking for a home. Well,it's it's important to know what you can
afford. It's it's important to getinformed about interest rates and insurance rates.
And also before making an offer ona home, the realtor could submit the
preapproval with the offer, and itmakes it a little bit stronger offer.
Yeah, it makes them know,hey, they're serious, right, they've
(35:20):
got their money lined up, Yeah, they're ready. I will tell you
I have had an issue this pastweek when I was working. I'm with
a seller who we received an offer, but it was from a lender who's
from out of town that is abig name lender that sometimes they don't know
everything that goes on here, especiallyinsurance. Insurance is the biggest thing.
(35:42):
So they're pricing what the buyer wouldpay right based on a much lower number,
and then they find out, woe, we can't afford what we've been
looking for right right. That actuallyhappened to me not that long ago as
well. And I'm I've recently workedwith people who are from out of state
looking in this area, and soit's so important for them to get with
(36:04):
local people and be properly informed.Yeah, and that's why we absolutely love
First Financial. First Financial bank herelocally. They have lenders in every single
county. They understand our taxes,they understand our insurance, they understand how
to make sure that the buyer isreally qualified for that home, and so
(36:27):
they're one of the lenders that wereally work closely with. There are so
many good ones here though, reallythere are lots of other ones that are
really good. We just like partneringwith First Financial because of the depth of
the options that they have, rightthey can do all of the Fannie Mae,
Freddie mac, but they also haveso many in house products. Yeah,
there's so many creative programs that they'vecome up with to help almost anyone
(36:52):
buy a home today. Yeah,you're exactly right, and they've presented some
of those for our buyers as well. Yes, And it's rent is steadily
increased, so it just makes senseto invest in a home right now.
So one of the things that someonesaid to me this week is they saw
where someone some advisor had said thatat this point, renting was better than
(37:12):
buying, And I'm like, what, No, what kind of a financial
advisor would say that when you're renting, you're paying more than what the note
would be, and you're paying someoneelse's equity. Yes, So while I
have rental properties and I'm really glad, there are some people who rent.
As far as a financial decision,purchasing is where you build wealth. Real
(37:37):
estate is where people build wealth intheir families. Absolutely, and so we've
seen, I mean even you,Andy, you're an investor as well,
that's right, yeah, yeah,so yes, I am. Yeah.
So the benefit to not only owningyour own home and building your own equity
is that there are some people whocan't purchase for whatever reason, and I
(38:00):
get that they have to rent.But if you have the ability to purchase,
that absolutely is the best decision becauseit gives you the opportunity to then
invest in yourself and in your ownhome. Right, Yeah, it's it's
the number one way for people toaccumulate wealth is through owning, owning your
own real estate and definitely owning yourown home and then going on and buying
(38:22):
some investment property as you're as you'reable to. And a good strategy if
you can, is if you're ableto keep buy your home and when you're
ready to move, to keep thatas your first runtal property. I know
a lot of people have done thatsuccessfully, but you have to be able
to save up the money for thedown payment for the next one. But
it certainly can be a good strategyto start to accumulate some wealth outside of
that volatile stock market. Yeah.And actually that is one of the strategies
(38:45):
I taught to one of our clientsabout just this morning. Um. He's
talking about how the interest rate isa little bit higher, so he's going
to buy a home that's a littlebit cheaper, um, and he's going
to stay there until things level out, and then he's going to save some
money from that because the home he'sbuying is going to be a little smaller,
so his note's going to be alittle cheaper. Save that money,
(39:07):
and then when he that things settleddown a little bit on the interest rate
side, he's going to use thatas an investment property because that's still a
great rate right on an investment property, absolutely, um. And so he's
going to use it as an investmentproperty and then buy himself something else,
which is such a great strategy becausethat gives him the opportunity to have an
(39:29):
investment property at really what is alower rate for an investment property. Yeah,
and then be able to later investin something else. Yeah. Yeah.
And when you when you look atanalyzing investments, using other people's money
for purchasing real estate is actually areally really good strategy. You get a
much better return on your investment.So I hear some people say I always
(39:52):
pay cash, Always pay cash,which you can, but actually you leveraging,
leveraging your the lender's money. Youcan end up by if you have
a chunk of money, you canend up buying more properties that are going
to appreciate over time. And ifyou just really look at that return on
that money, you come out muchbetter by leveraging. Yeah. And listen,
(40:15):
I was not a wealthy person whenI started in real estate, you
know. I started in real estatebecause we needed to supplement our income.
And then this business just grew overthe last almost thirty years. And so
part of that though being in realestate, I've purchased investment properties, and
that is really how I've grown myportfolio is through buying rental properties and leveraging,
(40:36):
just like you said. And soif there's people out there that are
interested in that, we'd love totalk to you. One of the things
that I just was talking to someoneabout a couple of weeks ago was airbnbs.
So Ken and I have a fewof those, and that's another way
to be able to generate some incomeand allow people to have a place to
stay if they need to be ina home or a condo versus being in
(41:00):
a hotel. We have great hotels, but sometimes that doesn't work for people.
Sometimes they need a place where theycan bring a dog or whatever other
reason they have, and so that'sanother way. And we I think I'm
going to do a show on theairbnbs. I think that's going to be
a good one. It would bea good one. And we close a
lot. We have some regular customers. That's that's what they do. They
purchase properties and they're turning them intoAirbnb. So at Capital Title we are
(41:24):
very investor friendly. We close aton of investors, big big investors out
there, but including the Airbnb.I think that'd be a great show.
Yeah, I think we'll do that. Yeah, yeah, you're invited.
So the Capital Title, you're right, you're and you're all over Southeast type
Texas. Name some of the localareas that you guys have a company A
(41:46):
Title Office. Sure. So herelocally we have our Beaumont office, and
then we have one out in Lumberton, our Orange County office. They're in
Orange. We have one in Portauthor right off a Jimmy Johnson Boulevard.
It's our new newest office there,next to TIA one it is. And
then we open one up down atthe beach. Yes, I saw that
Christie's old stomping ground. So that'sour five offices here locally, but then
(42:09):
across the state we have now overone hundred and fifteen offices. So we
do a lot of courtesy closings.So someone living up in Dallas, let's
say, and they have a transactionhere, we can close them up there
in Dallas and they still can gointo a title office and have the you
know, the full menu of services. So that's one of the benefits of
working with Capital Title. We havewe're just we're all over, yeah,
(42:30):
and so thank you so much forbeing here, and I am wanting everyone
to know Capital Title we close therea lot. We love the customer service
that we received there in your right. It's so easy because you're all over
Southeast Texas and wherever we have aclient, you have an office, and
so we really appreciate I appreciate that. Just one thing I mentioned real quick,
(42:52):
all title companies are it's the samecost. A lot of people don't
know that that we don't compete onprice. We compete on service. So
you kind of mentioned that, andso that's what we sell service. Yeah,
absolutely, Well, thank you Andyfor coming on the show. Christy,
thank you for being on the show. Thank you. If you have
any questions that you need answered,you can call our team Dana Simmons Real
(43:13):
Estate, Boar
Hey, everybody, it's your board. Gary Levox of Rascal Flats Beaumont.
I made a lot of friends thereon the road. And what are my
friends that you need to meet,especially if you're selling your home. Is
Dana Simmons of Dana Simmons Realty.Her team is the real deal, top
shelf, next level, and shemakes it so easy, and I like
easy and remember, sell your homenow gone, hesitated Simmons real Estate.
(00:31):
Well, good afternoon, Southeast Texas. I hope you're enjoying that jingle.
I was in Nashville last week,got to visit with Gary Levox again and
just thanked him so much for whata great job he did on that jingle
for us, and we are trulyenjoying it, and I hope you are
too. Really, I hope it'ssticking in your head that you just can't
get it out to call Dana Simmonsreal Estate. This is Dana Simmons and
(00:53):
I'm joined by several people. Todaywe're going to talk about what's the latest
going on in the real estate news, but also what's going on out and
about in Southeast Texas. So first, let's give a little market update.
So every week I like to giveyou a little bit of a snapshot of
what's going on. Well, we'vetalked about in the first couple of months
of this year that we were quitea bit lower than we were last year
(01:17):
at the same time, but weare definitely seeing a pickup. March had
a little bit of an increase andwe are seeing in April a much better
increase. We are seeing houses comeon the market, We're seeing buyers out
there ready to purchase and going undercontracts. So if you are thinking about
buying or selling right now, itis a great time for you to look
(01:38):
into is it the right time foryou? Every single situation is different,
and so if you'd like for usto walk through with you, if it's
the right time, we'd love todo that. You can reach out to
one of our agents who's available rightnow four zero nine eight six six eight
three two six, and we canhelp you with that. Today on the
show, I have some rate guestswho would also love to answer your questions
(02:02):
immediately. So you have a questionyou want answered, you can call us
four zero nine eight ninety six KLVII, which is four zero nine eight nine
six five five eight four and wehave Christie Brussard, who is a buyer's
agent for Dana Simmons real Estate.We also have Andy Hemmings with Capital Title,
(02:22):
and we have Mike Simpson with theChamber of Commerce, and I'm going
to let you get to know themjust a little bit before we get started
on some of the news that's goingon. But if you have any questions
that you want to ask about what'sgoing on with the Chamber or any title
questions or real estate questions, we'dlove to hear from you today. But
(02:43):
first let's go to Mike Simpson withthe Chamber of Commerce, and Mike,
tell us a little bit about you. Well, I've been with the Chamber
as first of all, is avolunteer for some twenty some odd years and
then I'm going on my seventh yearnow as an employee in I'm the Director
of Non Dues Revenue, which iskind of a typical nonprofit title that basically
(03:06):
means that I'm involved in our sponsorshipsand putting on events, and like you
mentioned, we have a lot goingon. Yeah, we are going to
talk about some of those things thatare going on, and really the Chamber
is just moving in a direction toreally capture all that Southeast Texas has coming
(03:27):
here in the next several years withthe economic development, and the Chamber is
really positioning themselves to be an integral, integral part of that. And some
of the events coming up are waysthat people can connect and get to know
some of the other businesses and findout what are some of the ways that
they can participate in what's coming.Absolutely, and I've been asked before,
(03:50):
you know, why do y'all puton events? And it's for several reasons.
The networking aspect is always a greatway to meet people. Also,
you know, it's revenue that weneed to keep the light tone and write
pay saries and all those good things. And we try to make the easy
events interesting fun and like I say, great networking opportunities. Yeah, and
(04:13):
we're going to talk about some ofthose events that are coming up really in
just a couple of weeks, andso you're gonna want to stay tuned to
hear more about that. We'll talkabout that in our next segment. Also
with us today is Andy Hemmings withCapital title. Hey, Andy, I
know I mentioned on our Facebook livethat you were a little busy last night
while you do this Capital title insurancething as your day job, you also
(04:36):
do a lot of other things Ido, and I'm not quitting my day
job. Yeah. Yes, justwent out and I played a little music
at Cotton Creek Winery and really enjoyedmyself. I like that place. I
love playing a playing acoustic guitar andsinging some songs that people remember from the
seventies and eighties. Yeah, andwe've enjoyed. We were meant to go
out there last night and missed it, but we absolutely love getting to get
(04:59):
out and and here you and Lisaare Like last night it was you and
Sammy Scoggin hanging out. And soyou guys do a great job. But
tell us a little bit about AndyHemmings. Sure, sure, Well.
I am the marketing rep for CapitalTitle, the largest independently owned title company
in the country. We have overone hundred and fifteen offices across the state.
Here locally, we have five differentoffices, and so my job is
(05:23):
to just take care of our customersor wonderful customers like you, and answer
questions that agents have and that customershave, and so we just have a
real strong presence here and we're happyto be here. Yeah, And local,
you know. And what I lovetoo, is that the person who
started your company is from Southeast Texas. Yeah, Bill Shattuck. He is
(05:45):
actually an Orange native and he's upin Plano. Now that's where our corporate
offices are. But but yeah,he's a local guy. Started Capital Title,
blew it up and it's just spreadall over the state. But he's
very proud of his roots here.He actually called in one time. That
was fun on the show, absolutely, and I love that. You know.
One of the things that we've talkedabout on this show every single week
(06:08):
is the fact that we love thatwe have so many local people who have
roots here, have been here along time, who are invested here.
And that's really what we want.We want people to live here, love
it here, and stay here.So that's part of what we do on
this show every single week is tryto help encourage These are the great things
going on that we have in justeducating people a little bit on what's going
(06:31):
on in real estate. And speakingof that, we have Chris Sti Bruce
Sard who is an agent on ourteam at Dana Simmons real Estate. But
Christy, you've been in real estatea long time, yes, I actually
started in real estate about two thousandand one. After spending a few years
in the military, I went backhome to Crystal Beach and worked for my
(06:53):
aunt at Swedes real Estate. It'sbeen there for many, many years,
and after a few years, itdidn't take me long to realize I needed
to get my real estate license andlater got my broker's license. And I
was practicing in Crystal Beach for manyyears, but now here in the Beauma
area, and I work in thisarea. Yeah, and so we were
(07:14):
so excited have you joined our teambecause you have so much experience. So
being in real estate for twenty yearsand then being able to come and join
us, to me was just apure blessing for us. So we absolutely
love having you and your experience forour clients and customers. But tell us
a little bit about you too.You are you live in the Finett area,
(07:38):
I have children. I actually soldmy house after Hurricane Ike and moved
to the Winnie Finett area. SoI've been here for about ten years or
so and married with three kids,and I'm just happy to join your team
and grandkids. Oh and you know, we can't forget the grands slots you
know, if you're going to comeon this show and talk to me,
(07:59):
we're going to talk about the grands. It's just a part of that's what
makes life so wonderful these days.There are a lot of good things,
but those grands just are like acherry on the top of everything else.
So I love sharing those stories witheveryone. So you can see, we
have an incredible show today and we'regonna want to share with you all that
(08:20):
the experience that they have on eachindividual topic. So we're gonna come back
here in just a bit and we'regonna talk about what is coming up at
the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce andwhat are some of the events that I
know you are gonna want to beinvolved in. So stay tuned, don't
go away, We'll be right back. Would you need to sell your home,
(08:41):
No one makes it easier than DanaSimmons of Dana Simmons, Really sell
your home, Hesitate Simmons. Welcomeback. This is Dana Simmons and we
are glad you're joining us today.We have Mike Simpson here with us from
(09:01):
the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, andMike's going to share a little bit about
what's going on at the Chamber andMike, there's a lot going on at
the Chamber. There's a lot.Yeah. Typically we put on about one
hundred events a year if you countthe business connections that we have and the
ribbon cuttings and the mixing mingles inour various events. But you have a
(09:22):
big one coming up in a coupleof weeks, the Beaumont Chamber Golf Tournament
and then the Casino Night. Let'stalk a little bit about first the Golf
Chamber Tournament. What is that?So that's our annual tournament at Beaumont Country
Club and that's one of the thingsthat is such a large draw because so
many people aren't able to play it. So it's on Monday, May the
(09:45):
fifteenth. We have an eight amand a one thirty tea time. There
are still teams available. It's sevenhundred and fifty dollars for a team.
And with that though, it givesyou a T box sign and it gives
you one Mulligan per player. Thenthe Casino Night, and I don't know
if you remember a Lobster Fest,but when we originally started it, it
(10:05):
was the golf in the morning andthe lobster at night and it just killed
every years. So we separate themout now where that the golf tournaments on
Monday, and then the casino nightis on Friday, and this year it's
Friday the nineteenth at Ford Park.And then so we all have a combo
package there that for fifteen hundred dollarsyou can get a reserve team, I
(10:28):
mean a golf team and then areserve table for eight And what we do
at the casino night, everybody getsa starting five thousand dollars in casino chips
and you play into the night,you get tickets, and then you can
put those tickets in various prizes thatwe have put together. Yeah, and
the meal is included as well.So on that event, you guys will
(10:52):
they'll be able to have a nicemeal and then enjoy themselves with some fake
not having to spend your own money, but uh, some really fun casino
chips to be able to play andhave a good time and then earn prizes
at the end. What are someof those prizes that are there? We
have things. We have a littlebirds. I can't talk this bird.
(11:18):
We have a little birds. Wecan stay with the room and uh,
we have golf and stay at RayburnCountry thanks to Joe Penland and all the
work that he's done up there atRayburn. And then there'll be packages that
have everything from gift cards to dinnersto um like Corrabos will have a dinner
(11:41):
for eight that is that you getto go and select what you you know,
the menu items and it's just variousthings that we put together. Yeah,
so it's a large selection of prizesto choose from. Yes, and
then back to the golf. There'ssome things that that we do a little
different. Um. We have theBeaumont Hospital. Beaumont Emergency Hospital has a
(12:05):
air cannon and this air cannon canshoot the golf ball about three hundred to
three hundred and fifty yards and sothere's a feed to do it. But
it is so much fun that whereverthat ball lands, then you go and
like you just you're starting from thatpoint. And so this year I put
(12:26):
it on whole fifteen out there,which has water around the green, so
it's going to be interesting to seehow people play that. Yeah. And
then we also have a World LongDrive Champion that comes in and they have
a fundraiser for us where that youcan you take his best shot, and
(12:48):
then from there, if you sinkit, you can win a trip to
Pebble Beach with air Fair Hotel three. You get to play three of those
golf of course is out there,and that's always a good fundraiser for us
as well. Oh yeah, Imean, who wouldn't want to go to
Pebble Beach Lodge. That's a reallycool award that you could get. So
(13:11):
the again, let's talk about thosedates. So the golf tournament is on
Monday, May fifteen, and soyou said there are two different tea times,
right, eight am and one thirty. So anyone could decide, hey,
I want to do that, andso you get a team of four,
and if you want to just dothe golf tournament, what would the
(13:33):
costs be for someone who wanted todo that. That's seven fifty for the
team of four and the tea boxthing and then one mulligan per player.
Okay, great, And so ifthey wanted to put that together with the
Beaumont Chamber Casino Night, then theycan do a team and a table for
eight at Casino Night right for fifteenhundred rather than the two thousand it would
(13:54):
be if you if you if youdid them separately, so you get a
little bit of a discount there ifyou include both of those. That sounds
like so much fun. If someonehas any questions about either of these,
how would they find out more information, Mike? They can either go onto
our website which is www dot BMTCOCdot org. Or they can call the
(14:16):
office at four oh nine eight threeeight sixty five eight one. They can
call me on myself four oh ninefive o four nine nine thirty three.
In any of those ways we canget them signed up. Great. And
so those are a couple of eventsthat are coming up just in the next
couple of weeks. But you havelots of other things that people can also
(14:37):
participate in. Yeah, one ofthe other things I want to talk about,
we have a great partnership with LonghornedLiquor and this year for a raffle
that we're doing. It's a YETIcooler and it is full of about a
little twelve or fifteen different alcohol adultsthat the tickets are five dollars or five
(14:58):
for twenty and we will that willbe drawn the night of the casino party.
And it's just you know, it'sjust just about any alcohol you can
think of a name brand will bein that with the Eddie cooler. Yeah,
I'm looking at this picture you providedand all of the liquor doesn't even
(15:18):
fit in the cooler. You wouldhave to share some of this. This
is a lot. Yeah, thisis a lot of liquor. Um.
So they're saying Longhorned Liquor is doingthis for you guys. And it's a
five dollars ticket for one or yousaid five for twenty and they go into
um, the drawing to be ableto win this, and um, is
(15:39):
there a picture of this anywhere wherepeople can see that? I believe it's
on the website. But once againI can if if somebody's interested, I
can make that available to them becauseI do have it in a digital form.
And then you don't have to bepresent to win. So if somebody
wants to buy a ticket but you'renot planning on or you're gonna be out
(16:00):
of town, we can still makethat happen with your name could be drawn.
Yeah, sounds great. And sowhat are some other things that you
have coming up that you want tomake sure everyone knows about. Well,
we have our on Tuesday. Wewill have a mix and mingle at April
Talbert's office on Major and it's fromseven thirty to nine April always really puts
(16:22):
on a good event and that thatevent again is Tuesday from seven thirty to
nine am. Yeah. And thenthe Leadership Beaumont graduation Thursday May four.
There you go, I left thatland Massuet. You know that Thursday May
four. And for those that don'tknow, Leadership Beaumont is the oldest adult
(16:47):
community leadership program in the state ofTexas. Wow, this was our fifty
second year. That's incredible. Yeah. And then the business connection that you
guys have every other week that happensat the Holiday Inn and everyone is invited
if you want to attend that,you don't have to be a member of
(17:07):
the Chamber, not at all.You can pop in and it has been
a great source of new membership becausethat group has grown between sixty and seventy
people every other Friday, and itis free and it's a great networking source.
Yeah. Absolutely, that is awonderful place to meet new people who
(17:30):
are in business in Southeast Texas.It's also a great place to meet people
that you need their services. Imean there are times that you're like I
don't know who to use. Well, this gives people an opportunity to say
this is who I am and theseare the services that I provide, and
then you hear everyone else do thesame. And it usually typically lasts from
eight to nine. It's at theHoliday Inn Plaza at Walden Road and there's
(17:55):
no fee that there is coffee andDanish is that are provided and each person
that's there gets to stand up asyou save in for sixty seconds to give
their you know, to discuss whatthey do and worry if they're looking for
particular services. It's a great opportunityto come and meet people who you may
(18:17):
not meet otherwise. Yeah, it'sa great networking opportunity that costs someone nothing,
especially if they're a new business andthey're trying to get their name out
there, this is an ideal placeto do that. Or if you've been
in business a long time and youwant to grow the people that you're working
with as well. Well. Mike, thank you so much for joining us
and getting us up to date onwhat's going on with the chamber. Again,
(18:40):
if anyone has any questions about that, you can go onto the Beaumont
Chamber of Commerce website or call theChamber office and Mike can give you any
additional details you need. When wecome back, We're going to talk about
a few things. One is haveyou gotten your assessor's appraisal on your property
of values this past week? Iknow several of us had, So we're
(19:00):
going to talk about is there somethingthat you can do if you feel like
the value isn't correct? And whatdoes the law say about how much the
value can increase? So you're notgonna want to go away, You're gonna
want to come back as we talkabout all of those things. This is
Dana Simmons. We'll be right back. Would you need to sell your home?
No one makes it easier than DanaSimmons of Dana Simmons, really sell
(19:23):
your home? Hesitate Simmons realles.Welcome back. So glad you're joining us
today. We have a great showthat's going on. We just had Mike
Simpson with the Beaumont Chamber of Commercetalking about all that's going on down at
the Chamber. If you have anyquestions about that, go to the Chamber
(19:45):
of Beaumont Chamber of Commerce website.There are so many events that you can
get plugged into if you're interested inthat. Also joining me Andy Hemmings with
Capital Title and Christy Bruce Sard withDana Simmons Real Estate. We have and
talking about in the break and evenbefore the show started. Many of you
have probably received your tax appraised valueadjusted, a praise value that has come
(20:10):
in the mail that gives the appraisaldistrict an opportunity to assess what they believe
the value of your home is.I personally received several of those. I
have some rental property as well asour personal property, and so began reviewing
those this past week to see,Okay, do I feel like their in
line with what I really think themarket is on those properties, and on
(20:34):
most of them, I'll say they'repretty close their value because of what's happened
over the last several years. Ido believe it's probably where the value is
today now, where it's going tobe in six months from now, I
don't know, but today I dothink their value is pretty close. There
is one that I'm questioning, andyou may be doing the same thing on
(20:57):
one of yours. So as Iconsider what do I need to do?
How do I protest that we werejust talking about the what you can do
and what can happen. Andy,you and I were just talking about that
deadline, and you were you hadpulled just pulled that up and on the
back of the value sheet that theygive you, the notice that they give
(21:18):
you on the back of that sheetis the opportunity to file a protest.
And you had just you were talkingabout how it's May fifteenth, right,
or thirty days after receiving the notice. Yeah, So the rule regarding that
is you have until May fifteenth tofile your pro to launch that protest,
or thirty days after you received thenotice. Yeah. And just this morning,
(21:41):
I was talking to a good friendof mine who got that letter in
and they valued his property. Itwas one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and
he's like, gosh, I wishI could sell it for that. Right.
His situation is somewhat unique in thatif that property was in a different
location, maybe even just a fewblocks over, it would be worth it.
So what he's doing and this iswhat you can do as part of
(22:03):
the protest. You need to gatheras much information as you can to put
before the appraisal review board. Andso his situation is literally every house around
his is in really really poor condition, right, you know, some up
they've been vacant for a long time. I don't know they're literally falling over,
but they're in bad shape. Hishouse stands out. His house is
in really good shape. But becauseof that, that affects the value.
(22:26):
And that's not something that the appraisalboard knows. They would know that,
you know, right, And that'sthe challenge for them sometimes as they just
don't have all of the facts inthe data. They're doing that. I
feel like they are doing the bestthey can, but sometimes it's not right.
That's right. So he's he's gatheringall that information and that he's going
to put before them, and Ithink he'll be successful in getting it lowered
(22:48):
and which which he should, youknow? Yeah, and Christy you were
just talking about you've done this before. Well, I've I've helped people with
their protest, I've helped provide forthem, right, Yeah, So if
someone has questions, I know forus, I just had someone reach out
as well. And so what theydid was reached out to you and said,
hey, is this the real value? Right? And we can pull
(23:11):
other homes similar to theirs and providethem with information to help them with that
protest. Right, And so it'sexactly what Andy was saying. It's gathering
as much information as you can,and we want to gather accurate information.
We want the real data to beable to provide. And I've done the
same thing for past customers and clientswhen they've said, hey, you know,
I don't know if this is youknow, is my house really worth
(23:34):
this? And so at that pointwe can pull the comps based on what
we know about their property because we'vetypically been in it, or we have
information about their property that's very specificthat the appraisal district really doesn't have.
Right. Sometimes every house on theirblock is updated except for theirs, right
their original condition. They've never donea thing, so of course their value
(23:59):
is not going to be the sameas the one two doors down that was
completely gutted and updated. Yeah,and so we can provide that data.
One of the other things I thinkthat people may or may not know is
the maximum amount on a homestead.Now it has to be your primary residence
in your homestead. So the maximumamount that someone can the amount the value
that can be raised is only tenpercent, right now, that's right,
(24:22):
Yeah, yeah, and we talkedabout that. There is also another change
that's happening. Andy, you werepulling that information on the amount of the
homestead exemption. That's right, that'sright. So that the homestead exemption is
a wonderful thing here in the stateof Texas. That part of your property
tax value, part of your propertyvalue is held exempt from taxation. And
it was forty thousand dollars as ofnow, but it's about to go up
(24:45):
to seventy thousand dollars. That's ahuge increase. That's a help. Yeah,
Yes, seventy five percent increase orso in the in the exemption amount.
So that's going to save people alot of money. And that's just
here in the state of Texas.Our economy is real good. We have
a budget surplus, right, andso they're looking for ways to get money
back in the taxpayer's hands, andthis is one easy way to do it,
(25:07):
to save some of your money onyour property taxes. I think that's
wonderful. And another way that they'retrying to do it is to lower the
maximum amount of value that they canincrease each year to five percent, which
on your homestead. Now that doesn'tapply. If that is a commercial building
or if you are if you haverental properties, but if it is your
homestead, they're looking to make thatwhere the appraisal district cannot increase that more
(25:32):
than five percent annually. Yeah.And so the other thing that you and
I were talking about is when someof the things that are on the news
right now is once you can moveinto your house. So a lot of
times you get a form in themail that says, let us file your
homestead exemption for you, and reallythey want to charge you a fee.
But Christy, really, for ourclients, there's no need for them to
(25:56):
pay someone to do that. It'spretty simple. Yeah, it is.
There's Yeah, your rules are canhelp you through it. The title company
can help you through it. Youdon't, there's no need to pay anyone.
Yeah, you can go on Actuallyyou can go onto their Crystal District
website and down they'll load the formright there. Yeah, and you definitely
need to do it. I'm amazedsometimes when we get into a closing and
(26:18):
we will it's the person's homestead thatthey're selling, and we have to pull
the tax. We have to getwhat's called a tax certificate at closing to
make sure the taxes are per ratedcorrectly. And I see I see homes
that they never filed a homestead exemption. They've been there for years and they
didn't have a good, real turnto tell them to do it right.
And they have literally spent thousands andthousands of dollars more than they needed to
(26:38):
on their taxes. So something veryvery simple, just you said, you
can do it on your own.Ignore those letters when they come in the
mail. You don't have to payto do that. I have to pay
to do it. It's very simpleand uh and a lot of people fall
for that too. But we atCapital Title, our SCRO officers, I
think do a good job, especiallywith first time home buyers when they when
they come in to explain these thingsto them, and at a lot of
(26:59):
times the realtor will as well.But that's the value of using a good
realtor a good title company. Will. We will inform you of those things.
And if you haven't, if youare living in your homestead, it's
your home, it's your primary residence, and you have never filed your homestead
exemption, go online. You cando that at any time. It used
to be that you had to bein the property as of January first,
(27:22):
but that law has now changed,so if you are in your property,
you at any point in time canfile that homestead exemption. I have seen
customers in the past be able togo back and actually get the money for
the last two years where they hadnot filed it and be able to get
a credit. Yeah. So I'veheard that too, that they will apply
(27:44):
that exemption retroactively for two years typically. Yeah, and so it's definitely worth
worth asking. Yeah. And soone of the other things that we see
where people are trying to get moneyfor things that really they don't need to.
You know, we're talking about filingfor your homestead that's free. I've
also seen the ads for title lock, right, so Andy, talk a
little bit about your experience with peoplewho are trying to sell that. Yeah,
(28:07):
this is a real timely subject matterright now. There's actually an investigation
going on with Ken Paxon, ourAttorney General Texas Attorney General is investigating this
company. I think it's called homeTitle Lock. They're they're out of California.
And so you may have heard theseads on you know, don't let
somebody steal your house from you,you know, you know, prevent fraudulent
activity on your home. And it'snot to be confused with title insurance,
(28:33):
right, so title insurance is somethingcompletely never Yeah, you really need tile
insurance. So if you hear anythinglike called like home title lock, it's
not anything that you really need.All all that service does is notify you
when someone has filed a document relatedto your property. So they just,
you know, literally they're just lookingat the county clerk there on any document
that's filed against your home, andthen they will notify you when it happens.
(28:56):
So if on the off chance thatsomebody does happen to fraudulently sign a
deed on your home, they'll justnotify you that it happened. So it
doesn't prevent it from happening. Itjust tells you, hey, this happened.
Secondly, it's a fraudulent deed.No one has stolen your home from
you. And the reason that iteven exists, or that it's even a
possibility is they would then my understandingof the scam as they if they did
(29:18):
that, they would then have tocollude with a lender and borrow money against
against the home. But there's somany checks and balances throughout the whole process.
It's not it's just very very unlikelyit's even going to happen. And
this service, even if you wereto pay for this service, it's not
going to prevent it's not going toprevent it from happening. It'll just notify
you that it happened. And evenif it happens, they have not stolen
(29:38):
your home. Yeah, And Ithink that's so important for people to know
because it is a scare tactic tomake you think that something like that can
help happen. In One of thebenefits of when you close with the title
company and you get that title insuranceis that does help you know when you're
purchasing that home, you are ensuredagainst anything that may have in against the
(30:00):
property prior to your ownership. That'sright, that's right. Yeah, And
it's a it's a one time feeyou pay for that title insurance at closing.
It's good for as long as youown. As long as you're own
the owner of the home, andso yes, you then have the the
insurance and assurance that if there wasa lean against the property in the past,
or if there's another owner out therethat had an interest in the property,
(30:22):
the title insurance policy will make themmake them whole and so the buyer
doesn't have to worry about it.So that's yeah, that's completely different than
this home Title Lock insurance And Iwas just reading about it. There's an
ongoing investigation because this company, HomeTitle Lock, they do use scare tactics.
Yeah, and they do allegedly targetolder citizens. And so that's the
(30:45):
nature of the investigation is that it'sa violation of the deceptive trade practices at
in the manner in which they're runningthese ads and the extreme language that they're
using. So that's going on rightnow, So we'll see where it goes.
Yeah, we'll keep you guys postedand let you know how that turns
out. Well, we're going tocome back and we're going to talk with
Christy a little bit about so titleinsurance, who pays for it, when
(31:07):
do we get it, and whydo we have to have it? And
so when we come back, we'regoing to talk a little bit about how
is the market now compared to lastyear this time for buyers and give you
more information about those things that arenegotiated in that offer. So don't go
away. This is Dana Simmons willbe right back. Been discussing did you
get that appraisal assessment in in thelast week or so. Well, talked
(31:30):
a little bit about how if youwanted to protest that you could and how
that's done. We also discussed alittle bit about title lock. You've probably
seen those ads, and Andy shareda little bit more about what that is
and a lawsuit that's going on withthat. If you missed any of that
this week, the podcast is goingto be posted and you can go back
and find this show and listen toall of the information that you might need.
(31:55):
Or you're welcome to reach out tous. We're happy to help you.
My office is for nine eight sixsix eight three two six. If
you have any questions about anything thatwe've discussed, reach out to us and
we will get you connected to theright people. I also wanted to remind
you guys, early voting is goingon. If you have not yet voted,
please get to the polls and doyour due diligence and let's do your
(32:22):
duty as a citizen here to makeyour voice heard. The polls closed today
at five o'clock. They'll reopen tomorrowfrom noon to five, and then Monday
and Tuesday from seven to seven.But don't wait, you know, don't
put it off. You know whathappens, something comes up and then you
don't get over there. So wewant your voice heard. Get over to
(32:45):
the polls and make your voice heard. So Andy, you just said you're
doing that. Staffternoon, Absolutely,soon as I leave here, I'm going
to visit with my mama. Butfirst I'm going to go vote. Visit
with mama. Well, take mamawith you. If she hadn't been there,
you could bet she's already shed.Yeah. Yeah, Well, before
we went to the break, wewere talking about title insurance and um,
(33:07):
the fact that while title lock isnot something that you should do, but
title insurance is absolutely something that youneed if you are purchasing a property.
And Christie, one of the thingsthat we've seen change over the last year
is that that's been something that wasnegotiated differently last year than it is this
(33:30):
year. So talk a little bitabout that, right, Um, it
is something that is negotiable. Whopays for it, whether the buyer or
the seller. In a more ina more competitive market like we've had in
the past, the buyers sometimes paysfor it. Now that the activity has
slowed. Um, you can theseller could possibly get pay for it.
(33:51):
So yeah, we're seeing a littlebit more often where the seller is willing
to pay for the title policy.In the past, on a resale,
it's been very common for the sellerto pay that, right. But you're
right, last year, Um,things changed. Last year this time the
market was hot, hot, hot, Yeah, and so that was a
challenge, right, and then andthen there's there's not as much activity this
(34:13):
year. Um, but we arestarting to see it now. Yeah.
School's coming to a close, kidsare graduating, and this is the time
to make a move if you're goingto do it. And so, um,
we have a lot more active listingsright now. Yeah. The inventory,
you're right, the inventory has increasedso that when people a year ago
we're trying to find something, itwas so limited, right, and then
(34:36):
they were competing with like ten otherpeople. Yes, but now now is
a good time to get out thereand start looking if you're thinking about buying,
because there's because there is a lotof imagtory out there. So it
is one of the things that wealways say and that we think is really
important. Um, is that getyour preapproval early. Right. What are
some reasons that someone would want tomake sure they have that before they start
(34:58):
looking for a home. Well,it's it's important to know what you can
afford. It's it's important to getinformed about interest rates and insurance rates.
And also before making an offer ona home, the realtor could submit the
preapproval with the offer, and itmakes it a little bit stronger offer.
Yeah, it makes them know,hey, they're serious, right, they've
(35:20):
got their money lined up, Yeah, they're ready. I will tell you
I have had an issue this pastweek when I was working. I'm with
a seller who we received an offer, but it was from a lender who's
from out of town that is abig name lender that sometimes they don't know
everything that goes on here, especiallyinsurance. Insurance is the biggest thing.
(35:42):
So they're pricing what the buyer wouldpay right based on a much lower number,
and then they find out, woe, we can't afford what we've been
looking for right right. That actuallyhappened to me not that long ago as
well. And I'm I've recently workedwith people who are from out of state
looking in this area, and soit's so important for them to get with
(36:04):
local people and be properly informed.Yeah, and that's why we absolutely love
First Financial. First Financial bank herelocally. They have lenders in every single
county. They understand our taxes,they understand our insurance, they understand how
to make sure that the buyer isreally qualified for that home, and so
(36:27):
they're one of the lenders that wereally work closely with. There are so
many good ones here though, reallythere are lots of other ones that are
really good. We just like partneringwith First Financial because of the depth of
the options that they have, rightthey can do all of the Fannie Mae,
Freddie mac, but they also haveso many in house products. Yeah,
there's so many creative programs that they'vecome up with to help almost anyone
(36:52):
buy a home today. Yeah,you're exactly right, and they've presented some
of those for our buyers as well. Yes, And it's rent is steadily
increased, so it just makes senseto invest in a home right now.
So one of the things that someonesaid to me this week is they saw
where someone some advisor had said thatat this point, renting was better than
(37:12):
buying, And I'm like, what, No, what kind of a financial
advisor would say that when you're renting, you're paying more than what the note
would be, and you're paying someoneelse's equity. Yes, So while I
have rental properties and I'm really glad, there are some people who rent.
As far as a financial decision,purchasing is where you build wealth. Real
(37:37):
estate is where people build wealth intheir families. Absolutely, and so we've
seen, I mean even you,Andy, you're an investor as well,
that's right, yeah, yeah,so yes, I am. Yeah.
So the benefit to not only owningyour own home and building your own equity
is that there are some people whocan't purchase for whatever reason, and I
(38:00):
get that they have to rent.But if you have the ability to purchase,
that absolutely is the best decision becauseit gives you the opportunity to then
invest in yourself and in your ownhome. Right, Yeah, it's it's
the number one way for people toaccumulate wealth is through owning, owning your
own real estate and definitely owning yourown home and then going on and buying
(38:22):
some investment property as you're as you'reable to. And a good strategy if
you can, is if you're ableto keep buy your home and when you're
ready to move, to keep thatas your first runtal property. I know
a lot of people have done thatsuccessfully, but you have to be able
to save up the money for thedown payment for the next one. But
it certainly can be a good strategyto start to accumulate some wealth outside of
that volatile stock market. Yeah.And actually that is one of the strategies
(38:45):
I taught to one of our clientsabout just this morning. Um. He's
talking about how the interest rate isa little bit higher, so he's going
to buy a home that's a littlebit cheaper, um, and he's going
to stay there until things level out, and then he's going to save some
money from that because the home he'sbuying is going to be a little smaller,
so his note's going to be alittle cheaper. Save that money,
(39:07):
and then when he that things settleddown a little bit on the interest rate
side, he's going to use thatas an investment property because that's still a
great rate right on an investment property, absolutely, um. And so he's
going to use it as an investmentproperty and then buy himself something else,
which is such a great strategy becausethat gives him the opportunity to have an
(39:29):
investment property at really what is alower rate for an investment property. Yeah,
and then be able to later investin something else. Yeah. Yeah.
And when you when you look atanalyzing investments, using other people's money
for purchasing real estate is actually areally really good strategy. You get a
much better return on your investment.So I hear some people say I always
(39:52):
pay cash, Always pay cash,which you can, but actually you leveraging,
leveraging your the lender's money. Youcan end up by if you have
a chunk of money, you canend up buying more properties that are going
to appreciate over time. And ifyou just really look at that return on
that money, you come out muchbetter by leveraging. Yeah. And listen,
(40:15):
I was not a wealthy person whenI started in real estate, you
know. I started in real estatebecause we needed to supplement our income.
And then this business just grew overthe last almost thirty years. And so
part of that though being in realestate, I've purchased investment properties, and
that is really how I've grown myportfolio is through buying rental properties and leveraging,
(40:36):
just like you said. And soif there's people out there that are
interested in that, we'd love totalk to you. One of the things
that I just was talking to someoneabout a couple of weeks ago was airbnbs.
So Ken and I have a fewof those, and that's another way
to be able to generate some incomeand allow people to have a place to
stay if they need to be ina home or a condo versus being in
(41:00):
a hotel. We have great hotels, but sometimes that doesn't work for people.
Sometimes they need a place where theycan bring a dog or whatever other
reason they have, and so that'sanother way. And we I think I'm
going to do a show on theairbnbs. I think that's going to be
a good one. It would bea good one. And we close a
lot. We have some regular customers. That's that's what they do. They
purchase properties and they're turning them intoAirbnb. So at Capital Title we are
(41:24):
very investor friendly. We close aton of investors, big big investors out
there, but including the Airbnb.I think that'd be a great show.
Yeah, I think we'll do that. Yeah, yeah, you're invited.
So the Capital Title, you're right, you're and you're all over Southeast type
Texas. Name some of the localareas that you guys have a company A
(41:46):
Title Office. Sure. So herelocally we have our Beaumont office, and
then we have one out in Lumberton, our Orange County office. They're in
Orange. We have one in Portauthor right off a Jimmy Johnson Boulevard.
It's our new newest office there,next to TIA one it is. And
then we open one up down atthe beach. Yes, I saw that
Christie's old stomping ground. So that'sour five offices here locally, but then
(42:09):
across the state we have now overone hundred and fifteen offices. So we
do a lot of courtesy closings.So someone living up in Dallas, let's
say, and they have a transactionhere, we can close them up there
in Dallas and they still can gointo a title office and have the you
know, the full menu of services. So that's one of the benefits of
working with Capital Title. We havewe're just we're all over, yeah,
(42:30):
and so thank you so much forbeing here, and I am wanting everyone
to know Capital Title we close therea lot. We love the customer service
that we received there in your right. It's so easy because you're all over
Southeast Texas and wherever we have aclient, you have an office, and
so we really appreciate I appreciate that. Just one thing I mentioned real quick,
(42:52):
all title companies are it's the samecost. A lot of people don't
know that that we don't compete onprice. We compete on service. So
you kind of mentioned that, andso that's what we sell service. Yeah,
absolutely, Well, thank you Andyfor coming on the show. Christy,
thank you for being on the show. Thank you. If you have
any questions that you need answered,you can call our team Dana Simmons Real
(43:13):
Estate, Boar
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