Dayna talks with Kevin Lindsey of Kerol Properties about home upgrades and investing in flipped properties. Plus, Amy Elizabeth, the Founder and Artistic Director of Aimed Dance discusses what makes Aimed Dance unique in Southeast Texas. Judge John Gothia discusses the growth in Orange County.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Hey, everybody, it's your boy, Gary Lavox 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 yourhome now, don't hesitated Simmons Parelestate.
(00:31):
Well, hello Southeast Texas. Ihope you're enjoying this wonderful, warm Saturday.
We have some exciting guests on theshow today. Today we're going to
feature Orange County Judge John gothyer Man. So much just going on in Orange
County and if you want to hearthe latest and get an update, he
is going to give us that herein our next segment, So you're gonna
(00:53):
want to stay tuned. Also herewith us is Amy Elizabeth and she's with
Aim Dance and she's gonna share someopportunities that are coming up for those dancers
in your lives. If you havedancers who are looking for opportunities, stay
tuned. She's going to share withyou what is coming up for them.
Also with us Kevin Lindsay, he'swith k Roll Properties, and he is
(01:15):
going to talk about upgrading your house. What are some of the things that
you can do to improve it,the things he's done in the past.
He's been here a very long time. And he and I are also going
to talk about how we work ontaking a property that may need a little
bit of work and turning it intosomething that's beautiful. And we'll go through
(01:37):
how we manage that. If you'veever thought about flipping houses or what we
like to say as making them new, bringing u the beauty out of one
that maybe has dulled a little bit. We will visit with you about what
we do and how we do it. But first before we get into that,
I want to share a little bitwith you about how is the market.
(01:59):
Well, we are seeing an improvementin the market, so we're super
excited about that. We're seeing propertiesbegin to move. If you remember last
year about this time is when interestrates started to creep up again and make
things a little more challenging in ourmarket. Well, I think that they're
beginning to even out again. Wesaw in June of twenty twenty two a
(02:23):
total of three hundred and seventy fiveclosed sales June of twenty twenty three three
hundred and fifty eight, so weare pretty much on target with how we
did last year. What we areseeing is a larger inventory of property,
so the days on market is alittle bit higher. So in June of
(02:45):
last year, a property would onlybe on the market for about sixty seven
days as an average, but we'reseeing about eighty two days right now,
so not a significant increase, buta little bit of an increase. We
are also seeing that the values arestaying pretty current. On June of twenty
twenty two, we saw the averagesales price at about two hundred and thirty
(03:07):
six thousand dollars. Well, thisyear, we're seeing an average sales price
of about two hundred and forty threethousand dollars. So we'll tell you that
our properties in the price range upto about half a million dollars up to
about five hundred thousand dollars are reallydoing a little bit better than those over
(03:29):
five hundred thousand dollars. We areselling homes over that price point, but
we have a much larger inventory inthat price point as well. So if
you're thinking about buying something and youwant to upsize into something of that size.
I'll tell you some of my builderswho have brand new homes are giving
incentives to help you buy down thatrate and make that home more affordable.
(03:55):
I have several builders who we haveattached a twenty thousand dollar closing costs assistant
or rate by down for you toget that rate to a place where it
was potentially about a year ago orso. So if that's something that you're
interested in and you'd like to talkto someone about that, we'd love to
(04:15):
visit with you about that. Ouroffice is four zero nine eight six six
eight three two six, which isfour zero nine eight six six Team.
And as you know I've said itevery week, we're open eight to eight
Monday through Saturday, one to eighton Sunday, and we have one of
our agents who's an ESA, aninside service agent, ready to just answer
(04:39):
your call. They're not going topressure you. They just want to get
you whatever information that you need,So don't hesitate to give my office a
call. I'm going to introduce ourguests and let them tell you a little
bit about themselves. And so Kevinlindsay with and I say that wrong is
it Caoral Properties. I always sayit's Carol Properties. So, Kevin,
(05:00):
I've only known you twenty plus years, but you weren't always Choral Properties.
You were you did have a differentname for a little while, but now
you've flipped into that, which isgreat. But I'm just not good at
saying it yet, so I'm gonnaget better. So Kevin, tell everyone
a little bit about you. We'veknown each other a very long time,
worked together on for customers and clientson renovations. So how long have you
(05:26):
been doing this? You're making mesound old. Well we are, yeah,
so well. I've born and raisedin Southeast Texas, started out in
the just the painting business over thirtyyears ago, did that for a number
of years, and slowly moved intomore construction, general construction, bath and
(05:47):
kitchen remodels, and especially after HurricaneHarvey, took on a lot of general
contracting roles of redoing houses completely topto bottom, and have sort of just
been doing that for the last fewyears, like you said, flipping or
renewing houses whatever the market dictated.So that's really where I am now,
(06:14):
just basically as a general contractor bathand kitchen remodels as a specialty, so
there's been a good market for itin the past. So, like I
said, that's just where I amnow. Yeah, And what I can
say with one hundred percent certainty isthe quality of your work. Not only
have you worked on customers and clientshomes, but you've worked on things for
(06:38):
Ken and I personally. And whatI love about how you do the job
is that you do it in away that's cost effective. But you never
cut corners. Yeah yeah, well, yeah, there's not a need to
cut corner if you're going to doit, do it right right, And
you know, different customers have differentdemands, specifications, what their decorating taste
(07:02):
are, and I'm always trying tobe as flexible and allow the customer to
you know, sort of direct theway the project's going. And yeah,
they usually are not They usually theyalways turn out nice. And I think
I've had a good track record overthe years of satisfying the customer and doing
a good job. Yeah. Soyeah, well I can definitely say with
(07:28):
confidence that you've always done a greatjob. But we were talking a little
bit beforehand. We have Amy Elizabethhere and she works at Lamar University,
and I learned something brand new aboutyou that I didn't even know. So
tell everyone, what did you usedto do for Lamar? Oh gosh,
when I was out of high schooland going to Lamar, I've worked in
the sports information department with Rush Woodand then in sports promotions with Harry Gilligan.
(07:57):
And yeah, that was back inthe heyday of Lamar basketball, baseball,
golf. It was a real funtime to go to school and to
be able to get into all thesporting events for free. I did statistics
and got to travel a little bitwith the team. So but that was
a long time. Yeah, butthat's a lot of fun. And then
we realized there was a connection betweenyour lovely wife Carol and Amy Elizabeth.
(08:20):
So I didn't even know that Carolworks at Lamar University. Yes she does.
She works for the Dean of Communicationsand Fine Arts. I guess it
is. And so yes, sheknows Amy, or Amy knows her both
ways. So yes, she's beenthere five or six years and really enjoys
working in that department. So yeah. Well, and you guys have lived
here for your entire life, raisedyour family here, your kids here,
(08:43):
grandkids are here. Yeah, Ilive in Lumberton now, so yea my
whole life. We get to sharethose grand baby stories all the time.
Yeah, that's what keeps both ofus going in it right. Well.
Also with us is Amy Elizabeth,and Amy Elizabeth is a professor at Lamar
and then also has an interest inwhat's called aim Dance, and she's going
(09:05):
to explain more about that in oneof our next segments. But Amy,
talk a little bit about you andwhat you do me. Okay. So
I actually am from Southeast Texas aswell, right. I grew up in
a one room studio Infinite, TexasBenita Jetting School for the Performing Arts,
which is now at Amber Blanchard Schoolof Performing Arts. I kicked my secret
(09:28):
hat every Friday night throughout high schooland the high school drill team. And
then I ventured off to Sandy suState University and received my first degree in
dance about other fine arts and dance, and shortly after that started aim Dance
and I've been teaching and creating dancein the Houston Greater Houston area since that
(09:50):
time. And about six years ago, our good friend, the dean of
the College of Fine Arts Communications atLaura University, gave me a call and
invited me to come out and jointhe faculty. And so I'm assistant professor
of dance at mur University and Ibrought aim dance with me when I came.
Great, that's awesome. Well,we are so excited to hear what
(10:13):
you have. And I think onthe phone with us, we have Judge
John Gothya, and we're gonna letthe judge talk a little bit about himself
and Judge Gothya, thank you somuch for joining us today. We're gonna
have you next segment focus on what'sgoing on in Orange County. But before
we do that, I just wantedthose who may not know you to get
(10:33):
to know you a little bit,tell everyone a little bit about who you
are. Well, I appreciate youhaving me on the show. It's always
great to get to have these opportunitieslike this to talk about you know,
Orange County. I you know,enjoy being over here and it's just fun
to get to talk about all thegood stuff that's going on over here.
But you know, I've been Igrew up in Bridge City, me and
(10:54):
my wife both and we've been marriedfor you know a long time, it
seems like, but thirty three yearsbe thirty three years. And we have
two boys that one attended Lamar Universityas well and then one went to a
any omen so they're they're both doingwell in their own right and so it's
uh. And then you know,I worked in the private sector for thirty
two years before I retired and decidedto get into this crazy political world and
(11:18):
have been as the Commissioner's Court nowfor for seven years. So you know,
the two and a half years asthe as a commissioner and now and
the rest of the time as acounty judge. Well, we're so excited
to have you, and we areexcited to hear about what is going on
in Orange County. We've had somany, um, you know, news
stories about all that's coming to thearea, but we'd love to hear an
(11:39):
update about what you're seeing and whatyou know was going on. So we're
going to take a break, butin our next segment we're going to get
back to Judge Gothya and have himtalk to us a little bit about what
that is. So don't go away, you're not going to want to miss
it. This is the Dana SimmonsShow. Would you need to sell your
home? No one makes it easierthan the Simmons of Danas Simmons really set
(12:05):
Hesitate Simmons. Welcome back. Thisis Dana Simmons and I'm excited today to
have some amazing guests. And onthe phone with us right now is County
Judge Orange County Judge John Gothier,and he's going to share with us a
little bit about the amazing things thatare going on in Orange County. Well,
(12:28):
one of the things I know thatyou guys just completed was that Bass
Masters tournament over there, and thatwas a huge turnout in such a success.
I know you guys are loving theway that went down. Yeah,
we were very excited. You know, we've we've built a we had our
very first tournament with them back intwo and thirteen, and uh, you
know, we're very very fortunate toget them here in Texas. I mean
(12:50):
a matter of fact, this year, the only stop that it's the national
Sporting of Him made in the stateof Texas was in Orange County. So
yeah, we're feel very pretty tohave them. But we did set and
you know, we set another attendancerecord for a four day event, and
uh that's why they love coming here. You know, our fishing is tough,
but those guys like coming here becausethey're treated great when they're here.
(13:11):
The fans show up in any hugenumbers to see them, and so it's
always a great event in Our chamberdoes a really good job of putting that
on. Absolutely, it was wonderful. Well, talk a little bit about
all the other great things that arecoming and what are the highlights for you.
Well, you know, we've gota lot of just really really good
(13:31):
things happening in Orange County, andyou know, you know, we're kind
of leaded off by saying that's youknow, we've got the Golden Triangle Polymers,
which is a you know, CPKMbuilding their new facility here in Orange
County. That was you know,very hard fought by our Economic Development Corporation
to bring those guys here and getthem to build that facility here. You
know, we've had a lot ofgrowth around our area, but Orange County
(13:52):
has been kind of kind of missingout on that for a long time.
But that's a little over eight billiondollar project that's in full swing right now.
It's very amazing to see it whenyou go out there and watch it
as it's progressing along. But wehave that facility. We also very fortunate
we've got a new energy plant beingbuilt over here in the Bread City area
in Orange County again, and that'sabout one point eight billion dollar project.
(14:16):
And you know, the good thingsabout all of those is that they bring
a lot of jobs, they bringa lot of opportunity, and of course
that means that there's going to bea lot of real estate needs. So
you know, I know that excitesall folks like y'all because it's it's a
you got to have a place toput them, You've got to have restaurants
to feed them, so you know, it's just creating a lot of growth.
And then another thing we're very proudof is you know, Orange County
(14:37):
was the largest county in the stateof Texas without a hospital for several years
and and right now we have anew hospital facility that is full full under
construction right now, hopefully completion andready to open up by the end of
this year. Yeah, I agreewith you. I think the benefit is
not only the jobs that will becreated by that plant and by the energy
(14:58):
build as well, but the Anseler, You're exactly right, those people who
come have to have a place tolive. They have to have a place
to eat, they have to havehospitals and doctors and dentists and all those
things. So the benefit to thecommunity is tremendous. And so I don't
know if people understand how huge thisis for the whole Golden Triangle area.
(15:20):
It's just going to bring a lotof positive feedback, a lot of positive
um creation in small businesses and everyother product that that's needed by people all
over our area. That's right.And you know, we see we see
that with these big facilities. Youknow, they come in because they're you
know, they're highly visible. Youcan see and you know what's going on.
(15:41):
You can see the people coming andgoing at them. You know,
by the time they both the twothe two facilities, the Energy and the
Golden Rank of Palmers one, it'sfully underway with within about another year year
and a half, there's going tobe about seven thousand additional workers into this
area. And just because of thosetwo facilities alone. And then you know,
then there's all these little smaller companiesthat have to come in and support
(16:03):
those those bigger companies to do thework here. And they're moving facilities and
stuff here. So it's this isa great time for Orange County. And
so what does it look like,I mean, is there an anticipated UM
completion date for either of those twoum improvements. Both of those should be
under you know what they say,ready to open up, ready to start
(16:23):
operations within four years. Both facilitiesthey're you know, I'm sure that the
the continuation of what it is.And we kind of watched how we saw
the Baytown facility B built for CPCM. You know that that project is still
underway even though it's been open andoperational now because you know, as we
know with the industry, it bythe time it gets up and running,
(16:44):
then you got to do maintenance workon it. And you know with a
new facility like that, it's justit's just continuation. So I will tell
you we're we're looking for Orange Countyand you know, the progress that we're
going to see over the next tento fifteen years is pretty amazing. I've
I've been here in my whole life. We've I don't think we've ever seen
anything quite like what we're seeing herenow. Yeah, I know, I've
talked to some friends and um they'vesaid words like it's like the new spindle
(17:07):
top for Orange County. Um,just exactly the opportunity for what it's going
to bring. And it's honestly notjust for Orange County. While Orange County
is going to see a huge benefit, of course, it's going to be
trickled down to all over Southeast Texas. So we should all be super excited
about what's to come. And whenit comes to the housing market, you
know, we've been talking about alittle bit of a lull, but that's
(17:30):
going to have to pick up becausenot only are we going to have temporary
workers here, but there will benew permanent workers, new jobs that will
be created for people in both ofthose industries. So you're going to have
to see growth in that way aswell. Best it is that, you
know, we're seeing a lot ofhomes being built. You know, there's
there's more subdivisions right now being builtin Orange County than we've probably had in
(17:52):
the last twenty years combined. Andthat's why they're coming here. And you
know, they know they see theactivity happening, and so that you know,
those investors come in and buy theproperty, developed the land, and
start building houses on it. Anduh and we're seeing that and like I
said, in ways we've never seenhere that I can remember, and you
know, I know it was likethat and a long time ago whenever things
(18:14):
were booming in Orange County, butwe just haven't seen that over here for
a long time. But but you'reexactly right about the surrounding areas. I
mean I talked to you know,we have a really good group of judges
that we all work together with OrangeCounty, Harden County, Jasper County,
and you know, COVID kind ofbrought us together in ways that we never
anticipated. But we've kept those reallygood relationships. And you know, within
just the Southeast Texas region, we'reprobably looking at more than twenty five billion
(18:37):
dollars in improved expansions that is actuallyhappening right now that are approved and moving
forward and in our in the wholeSoutheast Texas region, which is great for
all of us. Absolutely, AndI'll say that we have to say if
we talk about Orange County and theinsular businesses, you know, you can't
beat You've got a new Chick filA and Starbucks that's been there a little
while, so you know, ifthey are coming to Orange County, you
(19:00):
know it's got to be good.Well it is that I mean and we
have. You know, the thingabout it is is those businesses they go
where the population growth is at.You know, they're in that business to
make money as well, and theygot to know that whenever they put that
that business on the ground that theycan pay for it in fifteen to twenty
years. And that means you've gotto have population growth happening to be able
to do that. And so nowthat we've got that happen in these larger
(19:22):
pet places that people have said,why don't we have this, why don't
we have that? While they've nevercome to Orange County, Well they're coming
now, right, you know,because they know they can open up and
they can support it for you know, a long time. And that's that's
what that's what it takes to getthose kind of businesses to want to be
here. And we're excited about havingthat opportunity now. Yeah, we're excited
too. So Judge Gothya, thankyou so much for taking time out of
(19:45):
your Saturday and visiting with us toshare all the good news that's going on.
I love being able to hear thegood that we have here in Southeast
Texas, and we have a lotof good not only what's happening now,
but things that are to come aswell. So I really appreci shit you
spending some time with us today.Well, I appreciate the opportunity to do
it. Danna. Thank you.It's always great to get on your show
(20:06):
and be able to talk about it. Like I said, I'm proud to
be the county judge Morris County.I'm very proud that the people keep choosing
me to do it. But it'sa great place to live and we love
it here. Yeah, and youare doing an amazing job. We love
watching what you do. So thanksagain. And when we come back,
we're going to talk a little bitwith Amy Elizabeth over at Lamar University and
(20:26):
what she has going on with AimDance. So you're going to want to
stay tuned. Don't go away.This is the Dana Simmons Show. Would
you need to sell your home?No one makes it easier than Dana Simmons
of Danas Simmons, Really sell yourhome. Don't hesitated Simmons. Welcome back.
(20:49):
This is Dana Simmons and we havejust visited with Judge John Gauthier from
Orange County talking about all the phenomenalthings going on over there, and if
you missed it, you can goto the podcast after the show next week
that'll be posted and you can hearabout what's going on there. If you
have a question for us today,you're welcome to give us a call at
four zero nine eight nine six fivefive eight four. We are going to
(21:14):
visit with Amy Elizabeth, who isgoing to be visiting about AIM Dance.
So, Amy Elizabeth, tell everyonewhat is aim Dance. Am Dance is
a five or one C three performingarts organization seeking to foster and awareness of
and value for dance as a fineart in Southeast Texas. And we do
this through live performances, educational programming, and professional networking. And so,
(21:41):
and you have an event coming up, don't you some things coming up?
We do. So. We area project based company, so you will
see us around in the winter seasonand the summer season. We work around
our academic calendar because of our internshipprogram and our other jobs. Yeah,
but yes. Summer Fest was createdthree years ago as a concert series bringing
(22:03):
fine arts to Southeast Texas, utilizingthe resources that we have here in the
companies that we have here, andthen also bringing in others from across the
nation. And in some international artists. So this summer we have a three
week concert series, we have atwo week intensive style masterclass series, and
(22:26):
then we also have our weekend communityclasses, and that's for people who aren't
necessarily in the routine of training anddance all of the time. Right,
So we believe that dance is foreveryone. So I often hear people say,
oh, that's nice, I'm nota dancer. Yes you are.
(22:51):
We all move, don't we allmoved? Yeah? You know, I
have a little saying that you're amoving, breathing being, so just move.
But I think that the difference isthat they see it from a professional
perspective, those that are in trainingall of the time, and everyone was
born to move, born to dance. You've seen the little kids, Oh
yeah, there's a tune on,right, they're standing in front of the
(23:12):
TV bouncing it out. They havethey have a natural rhythm. No one
taught them that, right, Itjust naturally happens. And we all have
that in us. It's some ofus cultivate it, some of us indulg
in it, some of us makea profession out of it. Well,
I agree with that. My littlegranddaughter, we were taking her to church
last Sunday and we were playing somepraise music to get it going, and
(23:33):
she is in her car seat movingand grooving to that music. And she
does the same thing when we haveon the music in the living room,
you know. And so yeah,we do have that in us, just
to move. So when you talkabout these events, who are they geared
toward and what are the dates andtimes and how could someone find out more
(23:55):
about that? Okay? So I'lltalk specifically about our community events because we
actually go into our intensive style classeson Monday, okay, So we will
be in the studio from nine amto four thirty pm wow, living our
best life, learning, training,indulging and all things dance. But on
Friday July fourteenth, Saturday July fifteenth, Friday July twenty first, and Saturday
(24:18):
July twenty second are our open communityclasses and they range in style ballet,
jazz, modern, contemporary. Wehave some kumbia and traditional classes coming in
and they're welcome, open to dancersnine and older. And when I say
older, a lot of people say, oh, yeah, older, No,
I'm talking my age and older.Last year we had a young woman
(24:41):
of sixty five years of age comeand hang out with us for the whole
two weeks and she was just tryingnew things, experiencing these different styles,
and so it really is all arewelcome. You don't need to have dance
training. You just need to havean interest in and curiosity of what it
is that we're doing. Um,we're comfortable clothes. Yeah, yeah,
(25:04):
so you don't have to have aleotard just not after there is no uniform,
absolutely not. You get a certainage, you shouldn't have to do
that. So so if someone saysI really need more information about that,
where would they go to to getthat information? Aimed Dance Summerfest dot com,
aim to t O or the numbertwo um no, Aimed m A
(25:27):
m D Aimed Dance AI M Eed d A N Zeka Summerfest dot com,
Aimed Summer Dance dot com And theycan go and find out information about
the times and all of that.Now, is there a cost for someone
to be there for those two weekends? The community classes are ten dollars per
(25:48):
class. You can come and tryone, you can come and try them
all. You can pay at thedoor, or you can reserve your spot
by going to aim Dance Summerfest dotcom um and classes are from nine to
twelve or nine to one each day, depending on the number of classes that
we have offered. And where arethese classes going to be located? Lamar
University Dance Annex. Okay, Soif someone doesn't know where that is and
(26:11):
they're needing to know where is thedance Annex at Lamar University because it can
be very confusing. I mean,Lamar's campus can be confusing if you don't
go there every day. So givepeople an idea because maybe they want to
just drive and go check it outone day. Yeah. Absolutely, So
to get to the dance Annex,you're gonna turn onto East Lavaca. You
(26:32):
can get to m ok and youcan get to East Lavaca. The parking
lot is right there and it facesm Lavaca and faces lat Perfect. I
know exactly where you're talking about.Sign says dance Annex. Now awesome.
Yeah, so there is a signnow annex. I know it took us
a couple of years, but it'sthere. You can see it from the
street. So dance is on campus. But the second half of that is
(26:55):
our concert series. Okay, happensthree weekends fourteenth, twenty first, twenty
second and twenty eighth and twenty ninth, and this is it's a combination of
several things. There are works beingcreated during the weekly workshops that will be
premiered on the weekend. Participants willbe performing in those, and then we've
(27:15):
also curated the other the additional outsidework. So we have companies coming in
from Houston, coming from Dallas,one of our choreographers is coming in from
New York, and it's multiple levels. You'll see emerging choreographers, we have.
We actually offer an emerging Career ofover fellowship where we invite young artists
(27:36):
and we give them the resources thatthey need in order to continue their creative
journey. So that's bodies, time, space, production elements that they may
not be able to to afford atthis stage in their career. So we
have some undergraduate students, we havesome in graduate school recently graduated from graduate
school. And then also too,like I said, we have the professional
(27:56):
companies coming in. So we're representingall levels of fine arts of concert dance.
And this is available to the publicand you yes, so it's twenty
dollars per show, or we areoffering a concert series pass for forty dollars
you can come all three weekends andyou can find that information at Aimed Dance
(28:18):
Summerfest dot com. Okay, andthose concerts begin when at seven thirty pm.
Okay, So it's a nice eveningevent. Go and you can go
any night of those weekends for twentydollars or get an entire pass for forty.
Yes, we also have this isa festival, y'all. So it
is Moultat Layered. Yeah, wehave Sothie for everyone. But starting around
(28:42):
six pm each night before the performance, we are offering art talks on the
lawn just outside in front of thestudio theater, where we will have facilitated
interviews with the artists to come inand for them to talk about who they
are and the art at their creating, why they create it, where their
inspiration comes from. And so theaudience gets an opportunity to engage with the
(29:06):
artist and with the work before theygo and see it and or that's the
goal. The goal is for themto be able to engage just a little
bit more, for them to havea little bit more access to the work.
A lot of the work do wecreate is conceptual art. We call
it concert art, conceptual art there'sa lot of thought process that goes in
behind it. Some of it hasmeaning making, some of it is to
(29:30):
create beautiful images in the space,but it is something to engage with.
And we have found with us beingour third year and producing art like this
in this area, is that oftentimesthe audience comes out with so with more
questions and satisfaction, and so howdo we bridge the gap to make it
more accessible so that they have afamiliarity before going in, a perception going
(29:53):
in that they can then build onas they experience it. So and that
is free. It will be youknow, some soft drinks and snacks on
the lawn and engage with us.But Friday, July fourteenth, we're calling
that our festival opening party, andConA Ice is going to be there to
help keep us cool on that eveningnight. So yeah, there is a
(30:15):
little bit of something for everyone.And that's kind of the idea, is
that it is a summer celebration ofall things dance, watch dance, talk
dance, do dance. I'd loveit and what I love is Lamar University
is such a gem for all ofus here. I think we take it
for granted. But the wonderful thingabout what you're offering here is if you
have a student who is even slightlyinterested in any type of performing arts,
(30:41):
you're going to be able to presentall of those. It's a great opportunity
for a parent to bring them tosee is this Does this pique their interests?
Does it not? I mean it'sa great time to expose our children
and our students to what's going onin the performing arts. So I love
that. Yeah, thank you somuch for coming and sharing with us what's
(31:03):
going on. I hope that weget a wonderful group of people who come
out and support you guys in that. Yes, and if you come out,
come find me say hello. Yeah, I'd love to know who's coming.
He's coming and engaging in the art. That is very fast. It's
important, Yeah, And it's importantfor us to support support Lamar. It
is an asset for us and wewant to support what's going on there.
(31:23):
When we come back, we aregoing to visit with Kevin Lindsay with Carol
Properties and we're going to talk aboutrenovations and also upgrading your home or flipping
a home all things. If youhave a question about that, call us
four nine eight ninety six ko vI four eight nine six five five A
four. This is the Dana SimmonsShow. We'll be right back. Would
(31:44):
you need to sell your home?No one makes it easier than Dana Simmons
of Danas Simmons, really sell yourhome. Don't hesitate to Simmons restate.
Welcome back, missus, Dana Simmonsand we have had an amazing show.
We're in our last segment and we'regoing to visit with Kevin Lindsay with Carol
(32:07):
Properties about improving properties and how heand I work together a little bit to
do some flips or like we liketo say, renew properties make them newer.
We have visited with Judge John Gauthierfrom Orange County talking about them phenomenal
things going on in Orange. Wealso had the opportunity to speak with Amy
Elizabeth and what's going on with aimDance and Lamar University. If you want
(32:30):
more information about that, it soundslike a great product and a great service
for anyone you know who's looking tobe in the arts. You're welcome to
call our office. We can getyou that information. If you missed out,
but aimed to Dance is that itaimed to aimed Dancey, I am
(32:50):
ed d That's what you can googleand look up, and it's going to
give you all the dates and everythingthat's going on with Summerfest, which begins
Life fourteenth. You're not going towant to miss it. But here now
I have Kevin Lindsay. Now,Kevin, you were talking in the beginning
in the first segment that you startedout as a painter, been doing this
(33:13):
about thirty years, yes, andthen you progressed after I'm sure it's friends,
family who who flooded and things likethat that said hey, Kevin,
can you help us? And that'skind of how you grew into other things.
Yeah, a combination of friends acquaintances. Yeah, you know, so
many people were impacted after Harvey.There was just such a need for and
(33:34):
a lot of people just were justshell shocked, you know, what to
do. So it was a goodopportunity to sort of morph into the general
contracting business to get people's houses backwhere they can live in them. So
that's what I've been doing the lastwhat ten years now, right more so?
And yeah, it's been good.And so one of the things that
(33:55):
we have started, and I knowa lot of people in Southeast Texas are
super interested, and especially with allof the HDTV shows is flipping properties,
and you were doing that before youand I started working on that together.
But it's not always as easy aspeople think it is. So one of
(34:17):
the things that it really takes,and I feel like why we are a
great team is that you've really haveto have an idea of the market for
when it's completed, which requires youlooking in the future, right, which
means you might be wrong. Ohexactly, Yeah, and I think some
people get the wrong idea. Youjust purchase a house, fix it up,
(34:38):
and it's gonna sell. But ittakes a wide variety of factors.
Location, what the market's dictating inthat area, the size and the quality
of the house, the neighborhood,the schools is a big thing. So
it's more than just purchasing a house, painting it, and selling it.
There's a lot goes into just thelegwork, the background work to at least
(35:04):
for me to make sure the rightproperties are purchased and the investment that's made
into the property is you know,recouped on the backside, and that you
can provide a quality product to thepurchasing purchaser because for you and I,
we're both in the same position thatour name and what we put out there
(35:28):
has to be quality because we don'twant someone to purchase something that's going to
break in the next year or so. And while we can't prevent everything,
we want to do all we canto make sure that that's not going to
be the case. For sure.And in the years past, the market
has been so good, Like Lumbertonand you were talking earlier in Orange,
(35:50):
you know, you're competing with arenewed house of flip so to speak.
You're competing with new homes too thatare on the market. So a potential
buyer is going to come in andlook at a few new homes, compare
them to the home that I've redone, and you know, price locations,
So it just there has to besome simbulance there to attract a buyer that
(36:14):
could go buy a brand new home. Maybe so, um, there's quite
a bit of factors involved in it. Yeah, And one of those factors
you have to have a contingency plan. For instance, we do really good
inspections before we go into purchasing aproperty, and we want to make sure
everything's as close as we can functioningas we expect it, and we know
(36:36):
what things are going to have tobe replaced. But it never fails.
Oh yeah, something the unseens,that's what we call it. Yeah,
you can. You can do yourdiligence on the foundation, the HVAC work,
even the roof, and then youknow, as you get into the
project, there may be some kindof water leak issue you aren't aware of,
(36:58):
or a past history of the homewhere somebody covered something up on a
remodel that you may have to move. Some plumbing and even electrical all those
things. You always have to factorin a certain percentage of the unseens because
I've never experienced one that's gone justlike it's supposed to. Never. Yeah,
it just doesn't happen. And sothat's why planning ahead and making sure
(37:22):
that you are aware that that absolutelycan happen. The other thing that we
have to consider is just like whenCOVID hit or when the interest rates went
up, the market might not moveus fast. Yeah, and there was
everyone experienced the COVID thing. Therewas a supply issues with materials, finished
(37:43):
material cost increase. It was justan unusual time for everyone. But yeah,
there's an issue of is the houseI like to look at down the
roads, you know, the finishedproduct. What is the house going to?
What's the price point going to be? You talked earlier about how long
(38:06):
houses are on the market. Getan average of what that size, that
price range house is going to be, and that dictates whether or not I'm
going to dive into it or not. Yeah, because you have to consider
your carrying costs. Oh yeah.You know a lot of people aren't thinking
about that. They're like, Okay, I purchase it for this, it
costs me this to renovate. Well, there are carrying costs that you have
to consider, taxes, insurance,electricity, all the things that can come
(38:29):
up that maybe you didn't first factorin there whenever you initially put your numbers
together. So that's why it's socritical to have that little bit of cushion
to make sure and to give youthe availability that if you have to lower
that price, if you have tocome out making nothing, yeah, you
can still sell it. And that'snot the goal, and we've not ever
(38:51):
had to do that, right.But I think the other side of that,
Kevin, is that so many peoplethink they're going to go in and
they're going to make a killing.You know, you see these shows on
HDTV they end up netting one hundredthousand dollars. It's just not going to
happen here. Now, I'd liketo know how they do that. Yeah,
well, their sales prices are usuallya million. But even when we
(39:15):
purchase properties, when when you're remodelingthem and you're doing them correctly and you're
putting in quality and everything and thereis of a good quality, it's just
really hard to make a significant amount. You have to be happy making a
decent amount. Right, it's umfor me not having a large crew that
(39:36):
works, you know, I don't. I can't do volume now, whereas
I can't have three or four goingat the same time. It's it's a
one, one at a time basicallykind of thing with just a small crew.
And so yeah, the factor ofthe purchase price as it relates to
the sale price is always critical.And you're right, it's not going to
be like I can do a houseand just say okay, now I can
(39:59):
retire. Right, It's just inmy experience, flip houses don't work that
way, at least for me.Yeah, And I think that's where the
majority of the public thing. Oh, if you're flipping a house, you're
making a killing. Well you cando well and you can do okay,
but it isn't like it is onTV. No, No, there's is
there anything like yeah real estates like, yeah, you show three houses and
(40:22):
they buy one. That that's justnot typically the case. It's a little
bit different. I like on TVthey do it in an hour too,
yeah, as opposed to six oreight months. Yeah, that's always nice.
Yeah, it takes a little bitof time. So, um,
if you had any advice that youwould give to someone who's thinking about,
you know, I may want towell, because people are they're thinking about
(40:44):
you know, real estates a greatinvestment. We just heard Orange Counties about
taboom. You know, there areinvestment opportunities there. So if you had
advice to give someone that you say, this is my number one advice to
give you, what would you saythat would be, well, there's two
two facets to that. At Somepeople may be interested in purchasing for rentals,
you know, a long term uhkind of deal income. I don't
(41:07):
have any experience in the rental business, but on the renew or the flip
side, I would say The mostimportant factor is to find a good local
real estate agent that you can trustthat to be honest with you, to
give you the honest opinion of aneighborhood, a resale price down the road,
(41:28):
and that way, you know,going in what you're dealing with.
Yeah, and you know I'm alwaysin the beginning on the conservative side.
Well, yeah, I U.When you and I talk values, typically
we end up being able to listit for more than what we initially thought.
But going in in a conservative wayin the beginning to make sure the
numbers work, to me is acritical part, and so that is great
(41:52):
advice. Having a real estate agentthat can guide you in that way to
give you good advice is going tobe critical. So you can do the
search yourself to some degree, andyou may pull up a house down the
street that's sold for some unbelievable number, but you can't be confident that your
house is that you're redoing is goingto sell for that number. You never
(42:12):
know what might be different, Right, Well, Kevin, that's great advice.
I really appreciate you being on theshow and giving people an idea of
what it is that you do andhow you do it, and for your
experience. If you need to havesome work done, get to my office
eight six six eight three two sixand we can get you connected with Kevin.
And I want to also say thankyou so much, Amy Elizabeth.
(42:34):
I've enjoyed today's show and we hopethat you will come back next week and
we'll see you soon. This isthe Dana Simmons Show.
Hey, everybody, it's your boy, Gary Lavox 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 yourhome now, don't hesitated Simmons Parelestate.
(00:31):
Well, hello Southeast Texas. Ihope you're enjoying this wonderful, warm Saturday.
We have some exciting guests on theshow today. Today we're going to
feature Orange County Judge John gothyer Man. So much just going on in Orange
County and if you want to hearthe latest and get an update, he
is going to give us that herein our next segment, So you're gonna
(00:53):
want to stay tuned. Also herewith us is Amy Elizabeth and she's with
Aim Dance and she's gonna share someopportunities that are coming up for those dancers
in your lives. If you havedancers who are looking for opportunities, stay
tuned. She's going to share withyou what is coming up for them.
Also with us Kevin Lindsay, he'swith k Roll Properties, and he is
(01:15):
going to talk about upgrading your house. What are some of the things that
you can do to improve it,the things he's done in the past.
He's been here a very long time. And he and I are also going
to talk about how we work ontaking a property that may need a little
bit of work and turning it intosomething that's beautiful. And we'll go through
(01:37):
how we manage that. If you'veever thought about flipping houses or what we
like to say as making them new, bringing u the beauty out of one
that maybe has dulled a little bit. We will visit with you about what
we do and how we do it. But first before we get into that,
I want to share a little bitwith you about how is the market.
(01:59):
Well, we are seeing an improvementin the market, so we're super
excited about that. We're seeing propertiesbegin to move. If you remember last
year about this time is when interestrates started to creep up again and make
things a little more challenging in ourmarket. Well, I think that they're
beginning to even out again. Wesaw in June of twenty twenty two a
(02:23):
total of three hundred and seventy fiveclosed sales June of twenty twenty three three
hundred and fifty eight, so weare pretty much on target with how we
did last year. What we areseeing is a larger inventory of property,
so the days on market is alittle bit higher. So in June of
(02:45):
last year, a property would onlybe on the market for about sixty seven
days as an average, but we'reseeing about eighty two days right now,
so not a significant increase, buta little bit of an increase. We
are also seeing that the values arestaying pretty current. On June of twenty
twenty two, we saw the averagesales price at about two hundred and thirty
(03:07):
six thousand dollars. Well, thisyear, we're seeing an average sales price
of about two hundred and forty threethousand dollars. So we'll tell you that
our properties in the price range upto about half a million dollars up to
about five hundred thousand dollars are reallydoing a little bit better than those over
(03:29):
five hundred thousand dollars. We areselling homes over that price point, but
we have a much larger inventory inthat price point as well. So if
you're thinking about buying something and youwant to upsize into something of that size.
I'll tell you some of my builderswho have brand new homes are giving
incentives to help you buy down thatrate and make that home more affordable.
(03:55):
I have several builders who we haveattached a twenty thousand dollar closing costs assistant
or rate by down for you toget that rate to a place where it
was potentially about a year ago orso. So if that's something that you're
interested in and you'd like to talkto someone about that, we'd love to
(04:15):
visit with you about that. Ouroffice is four zero nine eight six six
eight three two six, which isfour zero nine eight six six Team.
And as you know I've said itevery week, we're open eight to eight
Monday through Saturday, one to eighton Sunday, and we have one of
our agents who's an ESA, aninside service agent, ready to just answer
(04:39):
your call. They're not going topressure you. They just want to get
you whatever information that you need,So don't hesitate to give my office a
call. I'm going to introduce ourguests and let them tell you a little
bit about themselves. And so Kevinlindsay with and I say that wrong is
it Caoral Properties. I always sayit's Carol Properties. So, Kevin,
(05:00):
I've only known you twenty plus years, but you weren't always Choral Properties.
You were you did have a differentname for a little while, but now
you've flipped into that, which isgreat. But I'm just not good at
saying it yet, so I'm gonnaget better. So Kevin, tell everyone
a little bit about you. We'veknown each other a very long time,
worked together on for customers and clientson renovations. So how long have you
(05:26):
been doing this? You're making mesound old. Well we are, yeah,
so well. I've born and raisedin Southeast Texas, started out in
the just the painting business over thirtyyears ago, did that for a number
of years, and slowly moved intomore construction, general construction, bath and
(05:47):
kitchen remodels, and especially after HurricaneHarvey, took on a lot of general
contracting roles of redoing houses completely topto bottom, and have sort of just
been doing that for the last fewyears, like you said, flipping or
renewing houses whatever the market dictated.So that's really where I am now,
(06:14):
just basically as a general contractor bathand kitchen remodels as a specialty, so
there's been a good market for itin the past. So, like I
said, that's just where I amnow. Yeah, And what I can
say with one hundred percent certainty isthe quality of your work. Not only
have you worked on customers and clientshomes, but you've worked on things for
(06:38):
Ken and I personally. And whatI love about how you do the job
is that you do it in away that's cost effective. But you never
cut corners. Yeah yeah, well, yeah, there's not a need to
cut corner if you're going to doit, do it right right, And
you know, different customers have differentdemands, specifications, what their decorating taste
(07:02):
are, and I'm always trying tobe as flexible and allow the customer to
you know, sort of direct theway the project's going. And yeah,
they usually are not They usually theyalways turn out nice. And I think
I've had a good track record overthe years of satisfying the customer and doing
a good job. Yeah. Soyeah, well I can definitely say with
(07:28):
confidence that you've always done a greatjob. But we were talking a little
bit beforehand. We have Amy Elizabethhere and she works at Lamar University,
and I learned something brand new aboutyou that I didn't even know. So
tell everyone, what did you usedto do for Lamar? Oh gosh,
when I was out of high schooland going to Lamar, I've worked in
the sports information department with Rush Woodand then in sports promotions with Harry Gilligan.
(07:57):
And yeah, that was back inthe heyday of Lamar basketball, baseball,
golf. It was a real funtime to go to school and to
be able to get into all thesporting events for free. I did statistics
and got to travel a little bitwith the team. So but that was
a long time. Yeah, butthat's a lot of fun. And then
we realized there was a connection betweenyour lovely wife Carol and Amy Elizabeth.
(08:20):
So I didn't even know that Carolworks at Lamar University. Yes she does.
She works for the Dean of Communicationsand Fine Arts. I guess it
is. And so yes, sheknows Amy, or Amy knows her both
ways. So yes, she's beenthere five or six years and really enjoys
working in that department. So yeah. Well, and you guys have lived
here for your entire life, raisedyour family here, your kids here,
(08:43):
grandkids are here. Yeah, Ilive in Lumberton now, so yea my
whole life. We get to sharethose grand baby stories all the time.
Yeah, that's what keeps both ofus going in it right. Well.
Also with us is Amy Elizabeth,and Amy Elizabeth is a professor at Lamar
and then also has an interest inwhat's called aim Dance, and she's going
(09:05):
to explain more about that in oneof our next segments. But Amy,
talk a little bit about you andwhat you do me. Okay. So
I actually am from Southeast Texas aswell, right. I grew up in
a one room studio Infinite, TexasBenita Jetting School for the Performing Arts,
which is now at Amber Blanchard Schoolof Performing Arts. I kicked my secret
(09:28):
hat every Friday night throughout high schooland the high school drill team. And
then I ventured off to Sandy suState University and received my first degree in
dance about other fine arts and dance, and shortly after that started aim Dance
and I've been teaching and creating dancein the Houston Greater Houston area since that
(09:50):
time. And about six years ago, our good friend, the dean of
the College of Fine Arts Communications atLaura University, gave me a call and
invited me to come out and jointhe faculty. And so I'm assistant professor
of dance at mur University and Ibrought aim dance with me when I came.
Great, that's awesome. Well,we are so excited to hear what
(10:13):
you have. And I think onthe phone with us, we have Judge
John Gothya, and we're gonna letthe judge talk a little bit about himself
and Judge Gothya, thank you somuch for joining us today. We're gonna
have you next segment focus on what'sgoing on in Orange County. But before
we do that, I just wantedthose who may not know you to get
(10:33):
to know you a little bit,tell everyone a little bit about who you
are. Well, I appreciate youhaving me on the show. It's always
great to get to have these opportunitieslike this to talk about you know,
Orange County. I you know,enjoy being over here and it's just fun
to get to talk about all thegood stuff that's going on over here.
But you know, I've been Igrew up in Bridge City, me and
(10:54):
my wife both and we've been marriedfor you know a long time, it
seems like, but thirty three yearsbe thirty three years. And we have
two boys that one attended Lamar Universityas well and then one went to a
any omen so they're they're both doingwell in their own right and so it's
uh. And then you know,I worked in the private sector for thirty
two years before I retired and decidedto get into this crazy political world and
(11:18):
have been as the Commissioner's Court nowfor for seven years. So you know,
the two and a half years asthe as a commissioner and now and
the rest of the time as acounty judge. Well, we're so excited
to have you, and we areexcited to hear about what is going on
in Orange County. We've had somany, um, you know, news
stories about all that's coming to thearea, but we'd love to hear an
(11:39):
update about what you're seeing and whatyou know was going on. So we're
going to take a break, butin our next segment we're going to get
back to Judge Gothya and have himtalk to us a little bit about what
that is. So don't go away, you're not going to want to miss
it. This is the Dana SimmonsShow. Would you need to sell your
home? No one makes it easierthan the Simmons of Danas Simmons really set
(12:05):
Hesitate Simmons. Welcome back. Thisis Dana Simmons and I'm excited today to
have some amazing guests. And onthe phone with us right now is County
Judge Orange County Judge John Gothier,and he's going to share with us a
little bit about the amazing things thatare going on in Orange County. Well,
(12:28):
one of the things I know thatyou guys just completed was that Bass
Masters tournament over there, and thatwas a huge turnout in such a success.
I know you guys are loving theway that went down. Yeah,
we were very excited. You know, we've we've built a we had our
very first tournament with them back intwo and thirteen, and uh, you
know, we're very very fortunate toget them here in Texas. I mean
(12:50):
a matter of fact, this year, the only stop that it's the national
Sporting of Him made in the stateof Texas was in Orange County. So
yeah, we're feel very pretty tohave them. But we did set and
you know, we set another attendancerecord for a four day event, and
uh that's why they love coming here. You know, our fishing is tough,
but those guys like coming here becausethey're treated great when they're here.
(13:11):
The fans show up in any hugenumbers to see them, and so it's
always a great event in Our chamberdoes a really good job of putting that
on. Absolutely, it was wonderful. Well, talk a little bit about
all the other great things that arecoming and what are the highlights for you.
Well, you know, we've gota lot of just really really good
(13:31):
things happening in Orange County, andyou know, you know, we're kind
of leaded off by saying that's youknow, we've got the Golden Triangle Polymers,
which is a you know, CPKMbuilding their new facility here in Orange
County. That was you know,very hard fought by our Economic Development Corporation
to bring those guys here and getthem to build that facility here. You
know, we've had a lot ofgrowth around our area, but Orange County
(13:52):
has been kind of kind of missingout on that for a long time.
But that's a little over eight billiondollar project that's in full swing right now.
It's very amazing to see it whenyou go out there and watch it
as it's progressing along. But wehave that facility. We also very fortunate
we've got a new energy plant beingbuilt over here in the Bread City area
in Orange County again, and that'sabout one point eight billion dollar project.
(14:16):
And you know, the good thingsabout all of those is that they bring
a lot of jobs, they bringa lot of opportunity, and of course
that means that there's going to bea lot of real estate needs. So
you know, I know that excitesall folks like y'all because it's it's a
you got to have a place toput them, You've got to have restaurants
to feed them, so you know, it's just creating a lot of growth.
And then another thing we're very proudof is you know, Orange County
(14:37):
was the largest county in the stateof Texas without a hospital for several years
and and right now we have anew hospital facility that is full full under
construction right now, hopefully completion andready to open up by the end of
this year. Yeah, I agreewith you. I think the benefit is
not only the jobs that will becreated by that plant and by the energy
(14:58):
build as well, but the Anseler, You're exactly right, those people who
come have to have a place tolive. They have to have a place
to eat, they have to havehospitals and doctors and dentists and all those
things. So the benefit to thecommunity is tremendous. And so I don't
know if people understand how huge thisis for the whole Golden Triangle area.
(15:20):
It's just going to bring a lotof positive feedback, a lot of positive
um creation in small businesses and everyother product that that's needed by people all
over our area. That's right.And you know, we see we see
that with these big facilities. Youknow, they come in because they're you
know, they're highly visible. Youcan see and you know what's going on.
(15:41):
You can see the people coming andgoing at them. You know,
by the time they both the twothe two facilities, the Energy and the
Golden Rank of Palmers one, it'sfully underway with within about another year year
and a half, there's going tobe about seven thousand additional workers into this
area. And just because of thosetwo facilities alone. And then you know,
then there's all these little smaller companiesthat have to come in and support
(16:03):
those those bigger companies to do thework here. And they're moving facilities and
stuff here. So it's this isa great time for Orange County. And
so what does it look like,I mean, is there an anticipated UM
completion date for either of those twoum improvements. Both of those should be
under you know what they say,ready to open up, ready to start
(16:23):
operations within four years. Both facilitiesthey're you know, I'm sure that the
the continuation of what it is.And we kind of watched how we saw
the Baytown facility B built for CPCM. You know that that project is still
underway even though it's been open andoperational now because you know, as we
know with the industry, it bythe time it gets up and running,
(16:44):
then you got to do maintenance workon it. And you know with a
new facility like that, it's justit's just continuation. So I will tell
you we're we're looking for Orange Countyand you know, the progress that we're
going to see over the next tento fifteen years is pretty amazing. I've
I've been here in my whole life. We've I don't think we've ever seen
anything quite like what we're seeing herenow. Yeah, I know, I've
talked to some friends and um they'vesaid words like it's like the new spindle
(17:07):
top for Orange County. Um,just exactly the opportunity for what it's going
to bring. And it's honestly notjust for Orange County. While Orange County
is going to see a huge benefit, of course, it's going to be
trickled down to all over Southeast Texas. So we should all be super excited
about what's to come. And whenit comes to the housing market, you
know, we've been talking about alittle bit of a lull, but that's
(17:30):
going to have to pick up becausenot only are we going to have temporary
workers here, but there will benew permanent workers, new jobs that will
be created for people in both ofthose industries. So you're going to have
to see growth in that way aswell. Best it is that, you
know, we're seeing a lot ofhomes being built. You know, there's
there's more subdivisions right now being builtin Orange County than we've probably had in
(17:52):
the last twenty years combined. Andthat's why they're coming here. And you
know, they know they see theactivity happening, and so that you know,
those investors come in and buy theproperty, developed the land, and
start building houses on it. Anduh and we're seeing that and like I
said, in ways we've never seenhere that I can remember, and you
know, I know it was likethat and a long time ago whenever things
(18:14):
were booming in Orange County, butwe just haven't seen that over here for
a long time. But but you'reexactly right about the surrounding areas. I
mean I talked to you know,we have a really good group of judges
that we all work together with OrangeCounty, Harden County, Jasper County,
and you know, COVID kind ofbrought us together in ways that we never
anticipated. But we've kept those reallygood relationships. And you know, within
just the Southeast Texas region, we'reprobably looking at more than twenty five billion
(18:37):
dollars in improved expansions that is actuallyhappening right now that are approved and moving
forward and in our in the wholeSoutheast Texas region, which is great for
all of us. Absolutely, AndI'll say that we have to say if
we talk about Orange County and theinsular businesses, you know, you can't
beat You've got a new Chick filA and Starbucks that's been there a little
while, so you know, ifthey are coming to Orange County, you
(19:00):
know it's got to be good.Well it is that I mean and we
have. You know, the thingabout it is is those businesses they go
where the population growth is at.You know, they're in that business to
make money as well, and theygot to know that whenever they put that
that business on the ground that theycan pay for it in fifteen to twenty
years. And that means you've gotto have population growth happening to be able
to do that. And so nowthat we've got that happen in these larger
(19:22):
pet places that people have said,why don't we have this, why don't
we have that? While they've nevercome to Orange County, Well they're coming
now, right, you know,because they know they can open up and
they can support it for you know, a long time. And that's that's
what that's what it takes to getthose kind of businesses to want to be
here. And we're excited about havingthat opportunity now. Yeah, we're excited
too. So Judge Gothya, thankyou so much for taking time out of
(19:45):
your Saturday and visiting with us toshare all the good news that's going on.
I love being able to hear thegood that we have here in Southeast
Texas, and we have a lotof good not only what's happening now,
but things that are to come aswell. So I really appreci shit you
spending some time with us today.Well, I appreciate the opportunity to do
it. Danna. Thank you.It's always great to get on your show
(20:06):
and be able to talk about it. Like I said, I'm proud to
be the county judge Morris County.I'm very proud that the people keep choosing
me to do it. But it'sa great place to live and we love
it here. Yeah, and youare doing an amazing job. We love
watching what you do. So thanksagain. And when we come back,
we're going to talk a little bitwith Amy Elizabeth over at Lamar University and
(20:26):
what she has going on with AimDance. So you're going to want to
stay tuned. Don't go away.This is the Dana Simmons Show. Would
you need to sell your home?No one makes it easier than Dana Simmons
of Danas Simmons, Really sell yourhome. Don't hesitated Simmons. Welcome back.
(20:49):
This is Dana Simmons and we havejust visited with Judge John Gauthier from
Orange County talking about all the phenomenalthings going on over there, and if
you missed it, you can goto the podcast after the show next week
that'll be posted and you can hearabout what's going on there. If you
have a question for us today,you're welcome to give us a call at
four zero nine eight nine six fivefive eight four. We are going to
(21:14):
visit with Amy Elizabeth, who isgoing to be visiting about AIM Dance.
So, Amy Elizabeth, tell everyonewhat is aim Dance. Am Dance is
a five or one C three performingarts organization seeking to foster and awareness of
and value for dance as a fineart in Southeast Texas. And we do
this through live performances, educational programming, and professional networking. And so,
(21:41):
and you have an event coming up, don't you some things coming up?
We do. So. We area project based company, so you will
see us around in the winter seasonand the summer season. We work around
our academic calendar because of our internshipprogram and our other jobs. Yeah,
but yes. Summer Fest was createdthree years ago as a concert series bringing
(22:03):
fine arts to Southeast Texas, utilizingthe resources that we have here in the
companies that we have here, andthen also bringing in others from across the
nation. And in some international artists. So this summer we have a three
week concert series, we have atwo week intensive style masterclass series, and
(22:26):
then we also have our weekend communityclasses, and that's for people who aren't
necessarily in the routine of training anddance all of the time. Right,
So we believe that dance is foreveryone. So I often hear people say,
oh, that's nice, I'm nota dancer. Yes you are.
(22:51):
We all move, don't we allmoved? Yeah? You know, I
have a little saying that you're amoving, breathing being, so just move.
But I think that the difference isthat they see it from a professional
perspective, those that are in trainingall of the time, and everyone was
born to move, born to dance. You've seen the little kids, Oh
yeah, there's a tune on,right, they're standing in front of the
(23:12):
TV bouncing it out. They havethey have a natural rhythm. No one
taught them that, right, Itjust naturally happens. And we all have
that in us. It's some ofus cultivate it, some of us indulg
in it, some of us makea profession out of it. Well,
I agree with that. My littlegranddaughter, we were taking her to church
last Sunday and we were playing somepraise music to get it going, and
(23:33):
she is in her car seat movingand grooving to that music. And she
does the same thing when we haveon the music in the living room,
you know. And so yeah,we do have that in us, just
to move. So when you talkabout these events, who are they geared
toward and what are the dates andtimes and how could someone find out more
(23:55):
about that? Okay? So I'lltalk specifically about our community events because we
actually go into our intensive style classeson Monday, okay, So we will
be in the studio from nine amto four thirty pm wow, living our
best life, learning, training,indulging and all things dance. But on
Friday July fourteenth, Saturday July fifteenth, Friday July twenty first, and Saturday
(24:18):
July twenty second are our open communityclasses and they range in style ballet,
jazz, modern, contemporary. Wehave some kumbia and traditional classes coming in
and they're welcome, open to dancersnine and older. And when I say
older, a lot of people say, oh, yeah, older, No,
I'm talking my age and older.Last year we had a young woman
(24:41):
of sixty five years of age comeand hang out with us for the whole
two weeks and she was just tryingnew things, experiencing these different styles,
and so it really is all arewelcome. You don't need to have dance
training. You just need to havean interest in and curiosity of what it
is that we're doing. Um,we're comfortable clothes. Yeah, yeah,
(25:04):
so you don't have to have aleotard just not after there is no uniform,
absolutely not. You get a certainage, you shouldn't have to do
that. So so if someone saysI really need more information about that,
where would they go to to getthat information? Aimed Dance Summerfest dot com,
aim to t O or the numbertwo um no, Aimed m A
(25:27):
m D Aimed Dance AI M Eed d A N Zeka Summerfest dot com,
Aimed Summer Dance dot com And theycan go and find out information about
the times and all of that.Now, is there a cost for someone
to be there for those two weekends? The community classes are ten dollars per
(25:48):
class. You can come and tryone, you can come and try them
all. You can pay at thedoor, or you can reserve your spot
by going to aim Dance Summerfest dotcom um and classes are from nine to
twelve or nine to one each day, depending on the number of classes that
we have offered. And where arethese classes going to be located? Lamar
University Dance Annex. Okay, Soif someone doesn't know where that is and
(26:11):
they're needing to know where is thedance Annex at Lamar University because it can
be very confusing. I mean,Lamar's campus can be confusing if you don't
go there every day. So givepeople an idea because maybe they want to
just drive and go check it outone day. Yeah. Absolutely, So
to get to the dance Annex,you're gonna turn onto East Lavaca. You
(26:32):
can get to m ok and youcan get to East Lavaca. The parking
lot is right there and it facesm Lavaca and faces lat Perfect. I
know exactly where you're talking about.Sign says dance Annex. Now awesome.
Yeah, so there is a signnow annex. I know it took us
a couple of years, but it'sthere. You can see it from the
street. So dance is on campus. But the second half of that is
(26:55):
our concert series. Okay, happensthree weekends fourteenth, twenty first, twenty
second and twenty eighth and twenty ninth, and this is it's a combination of
several things. There are works beingcreated during the weekly workshops that will be
premiered on the weekend. Participants willbe performing in those, and then we've
(27:15):
also curated the other the additional outsidework. So we have companies coming in
from Houston, coming from Dallas,one of our choreographers is coming in from
New York, and it's multiple levels. You'll see emerging choreographers, we have.
We actually offer an emerging Career ofover fellowship where we invite young artists
(27:36):
and we give them the resources thatthey need in order to continue their creative
journey. So that's bodies, time, space, production elements that they may
not be able to to afford atthis stage in their career. So we
have some undergraduate students, we havesome in graduate school recently graduated from graduate
school. And then also too,like I said, we have the professional
(27:56):
companies coming in. So we're representingall levels of fine arts of concert dance.
And this is available to the publicand you yes, so it's twenty
dollars per show, or we areoffering a concert series pass for forty dollars
you can come all three weekends andyou can find that information at Aimed Dance
(28:18):
Summerfest dot com. Okay, andthose concerts begin when at seven thirty pm.
Okay, So it's a nice eveningevent. Go and you can go
any night of those weekends for twentydollars or get an entire pass for forty.
Yes, we also have this isa festival, y'all. So it
is Moultat Layered. Yeah, wehave Sothie for everyone. But starting around
(28:42):
six pm each night before the performance, we are offering art talks on the
lawn just outside in front of thestudio theater, where we will have facilitated
interviews with the artists to come inand for them to talk about who they
are and the art at their creating, why they create it, where their
inspiration comes from. And so theaudience gets an opportunity to engage with the
(29:06):
artist and with the work before theygo and see it and or that's the
goal. The goal is for themto be able to engage just a little
bit more, for them to havea little bit more access to the work.
A lot of the work do wecreate is conceptual art. We call
it concert art, conceptual art there'sa lot of thought process that goes in
behind it. Some of it hasmeaning making, some of it is to
(29:30):
create beautiful images in the space,but it is something to engage with.
And we have found with us beingour third year and producing art like this
in this area, is that oftentimesthe audience comes out with so with more
questions and satisfaction, and so howdo we bridge the gap to make it
more accessible so that they have afamiliarity before going in, a perception going
(29:53):
in that they can then build onas they experience it. So and that
is free. It will be youknow, some soft drinks and snacks on
the lawn and engage with us.But Friday, July fourteenth, we're calling
that our festival opening party, andConA Ice is going to be there to
help keep us cool on that eveningnight. So yeah, there is a
(30:15):
little bit of something for everyone.And that's kind of the idea, is
that it is a summer celebration ofall things dance, watch dance, talk
dance, do dance. I'd loveit and what I love is Lamar University
is such a gem for all ofus here. I think we take it
for granted. But the wonderful thingabout what you're offering here is if you
have a student who is even slightlyinterested in any type of performing arts,
(30:41):
you're going to be able to presentall of those. It's a great opportunity
for a parent to bring them tosee is this Does this pique their interests?
Does it not? I mean it'sa great time to expose our children
and our students to what's going onin the performing arts. So I love
that. Yeah, thank you somuch for coming and sharing with us what's
(31:03):
going on. I hope that weget a wonderful group of people who come
out and support you guys in that. Yes, and if you come out,
come find me say hello. Yeah, I'd love to know who's coming.
He's coming and engaging in the art. That is very fast. It's
important, Yeah, And it's importantfor us to support support Lamar. It
is an asset for us and wewant to support what's going on there.
(31:23):
When we come back, we aregoing to visit with Kevin Lindsay with Carol
Properties and we're going to talk aboutrenovations and also upgrading your home or flipping
a home all things. If youhave a question about that, call us
four nine eight ninety six ko vI four eight nine six five five A
four. This is the Dana SimmonsShow. We'll be right back. Would
(31:44):
you need to sell your home?No one makes it easier than Dana Simmons
of Danas Simmons, really sell yourhome. Don't hesitate to Simmons restate.
Welcome back, missus, Dana Simmonsand we have had an amazing show.
We're in our last segment and we'regoing to visit with Kevin Lindsay with Carol
(32:07):
Properties about improving properties and how heand I work together a little bit to
do some flips or like we liketo say, renew properties make them newer.
We have visited with Judge John Gauthierfrom Orange County talking about them phenomenal
things going on in Orange. Wealso had the opportunity to speak with Amy
Elizabeth and what's going on with aimDance and Lamar University. If you want
(32:30):
more information about that, it soundslike a great product and a great service
for anyone you know who's looking tobe in the arts. You're welcome to
call our office. We can getyou that information. If you missed out,
but aimed to Dance is that itaimed to aimed Dancey, I am
(32:50):
ed d That's what you can googleand look up, and it's going to
give you all the dates and everythingthat's going on with Summerfest, which begins
Life fourteenth. You're not going towant to miss it. But here now
I have Kevin Lindsay. Now,Kevin, you were talking in the beginning
in the first segment that you startedout as a painter, been doing this
(33:13):
about thirty years, yes, andthen you progressed after I'm sure it's friends,
family who who flooded and things likethat that said hey, Kevin,
can you help us? And that'skind of how you grew into other things.
Yeah, a combination of friends acquaintances. Yeah, you know, so
many people were impacted after Harvey.There was just such a need for and
(33:34):
a lot of people just were justshell shocked, you know, what to
do. So it was a goodopportunity to sort of morph into the general
contracting business to get people's houses backwhere they can live in them. So
that's what I've been doing the lastwhat ten years now, right more so?
And yeah, it's been good.And so one of the things that
(33:55):
we have started, and I knowa lot of people in Southeast Texas are
super interested, and especially with allof the HDTV shows is flipping properties,
and you were doing that before youand I started working on that together.
But it's not always as easy aspeople think it is. So one of
(34:17):
the things that it really takes,and I feel like why we are a
great team is that you've really haveto have an idea of the market for
when it's completed, which requires youlooking in the future, right, which
means you might be wrong. Ohexactly, Yeah, and I think some
people get the wrong idea. Youjust purchase a house, fix it up,
(34:38):
and it's gonna sell. But ittakes a wide variety of factors.
Location, what the market's dictating inthat area, the size and the quality
of the house, the neighborhood,the schools is a big thing. So
it's more than just purchasing a house, painting it, and selling it.
There's a lot goes into just thelegwork, the background work to at least
(35:04):
for me to make sure the rightproperties are purchased and the investment that's made
into the property is you know,recouped on the backside, and that you
can provide a quality product to thepurchasing purchaser because for you and I,
we're both in the same position thatour name and what we put out there
(35:28):
has to be quality because we don'twant someone to purchase something that's going to
break in the next year or so. And while we can't prevent everything,
we want to do all we canto make sure that that's not going to
be the case. For sure.And in the years past, the market
has been so good, Like Lumbertonand you were talking earlier in Orange,
(35:50):
you know, you're competing with arenewed house of flip so to speak.
You're competing with new homes too thatare on the market. So a potential
buyer is going to come in andlook at a few new homes, compare
them to the home that I've redone, and you know, price locations,
So it just there has to besome simbulance there to attract a buyer that
(36:14):
could go buy a brand new home. Maybe so, um, there's quite
a bit of factors involved in it. Yeah, And one of those factors
you have to have a contingency plan. For instance, we do really good
inspections before we go into purchasing aproperty, and we want to make sure
everything's as close as we can functioningas we expect it, and we know
(36:36):
what things are going to have tobe replaced. But it never fails.
Oh yeah, something the unseens,that's what we call it. Yeah,
you can. You can do yourdiligence on the foundation, the HVAC work,
even the roof, and then youknow, as you get into the
project, there may be some kindof water leak issue you aren't aware of,
(36:58):
or a past history of the homewhere somebody covered something up on a
remodel that you may have to move. Some plumbing and even electrical all those
things. You always have to factorin a certain percentage of the unseens because
I've never experienced one that's gone justlike it's supposed to. Never. Yeah,
it just doesn't happen. And sothat's why planning ahead and making sure
(37:22):
that you are aware that that absolutelycan happen. The other thing that we
have to consider is just like whenCOVID hit or when the interest rates went
up, the market might not moveus fast. Yeah, and there was
everyone experienced the COVID thing. Therewas a supply issues with materials, finished
(37:43):
material cost increase. It was justan unusual time for everyone. But yeah,
there's an issue of is the houseI like to look at down the
roads, you know, the finishedproduct. What is the house going to?
What's the price point going to be? You talked earlier about how long
(38:06):
houses are on the market. Getan average of what that size, that
price range house is going to be, and that dictates whether or not I'm
going to dive into it or not. Yeah, because you have to consider
your carrying costs. Oh yeah.You know a lot of people aren't thinking
about that. They're like, Okay, I purchase it for this, it
costs me this to renovate. Well, there are carrying costs that you have
to consider, taxes, insurance,electricity, all the things that can come
(38:29):
up that maybe you didn't first factorin there whenever you initially put your numbers
together. So that's why it's socritical to have that little bit of cushion
to make sure and to give youthe availability that if you have to lower
that price, if you have tocome out making nothing, yeah, you
can still sell it. And that'snot the goal, and we've not ever
(38:51):
had to do that, right.But I think the other side of that,
Kevin, is that so many peoplethink they're going to go in and
they're going to make a killing.You know, you see these shows on
HDTV they end up netting one hundredthousand dollars. It's just not going to
happen here. Now, I'd liketo know how they do that. Yeah,
well, their sales prices are usuallya million. But even when we
(39:15):
purchase properties, when when you're remodelingthem and you're doing them correctly and you're
putting in quality and everything and thereis of a good quality, it's just
really hard to make a significant amount. You have to be happy making a
decent amount. Right, it's umfor me not having a large crew that
(39:36):
works, you know, I don't. I can't do volume now, whereas
I can't have three or four goingat the same time. It's it's a
one, one at a time basicallykind of thing with just a small crew.
And so yeah, the factor ofthe purchase price as it relates to
the sale price is always critical.And you're right, it's not going to
be like I can do a houseand just say okay, now I can
(39:59):
retire. Right, It's just inmy experience, flip houses don't work that
way, at least for me.Yeah, And I think that's where the
majority of the public thing. Oh, if you're flipping a house, you're
making a killing. Well you cando well and you can do okay,
but it isn't like it is onTV. No, No, there's is
there anything like yeah real estates like, yeah, you show three houses and
(40:22):
they buy one. That that's justnot typically the case. It's a little
bit different. I like on TVthey do it in an hour too,
yeah, as opposed to six oreight months. Yeah, that's always nice.
Yeah, it takes a little bitof time. So, um,
if you had any advice that youwould give to someone who's thinking about,
you know, I may want towell, because people are they're thinking about
(40:44):
you know, real estates a greatinvestment. We just heard Orange Counties about
taboom. You know, there areinvestment opportunities there. So if you had
advice to give someone that you say, this is my number one advice to
give you, what would you saythat would be, well, there's two
two facets to that. At Somepeople may be interested in purchasing for rentals,
you know, a long term uhkind of deal income. I don't
(41:07):
have any experience in the rental business, but on the renew or the flip
side, I would say The mostimportant factor is to find a good local
real estate agent that you can trustthat to be honest with you, to
give you the honest opinion of aneighborhood, a resale price down the road,
(41:28):
and that way, you know,going in what you're dealing with.
Yeah, and you know I'm alwaysin the beginning on the conservative side.
Well, yeah, I U.When you and I talk values, typically
we end up being able to listit for more than what we initially thought.
But going in in a conservative wayin the beginning to make sure the
numbers work, to me is acritical part, and so that is great
(41:52):
advice. Having a real estate agentthat can guide you in that way to
give you good advice is going tobe critical. So you can do the
search yourself to some degree, andyou may pull up a house down the
street that's sold for some unbelievable number, but you can't be confident that your
house is that you're redoing is goingto sell for that number. You never
(42:12):
know what might be different, Right, Well, Kevin, that's great advice.
I really appreciate you being on theshow and giving people an idea of
what it is that you do andhow you do it, and for your
experience. If you need to havesome work done, get to my office
eight six six eight three two sixand we can get you connected with Kevin.
And I want to also say thankyou so much, Amy Elizabeth.
(42:34):
I've enjoyed today's show and we hopethat you will come back next week and
we'll see you soon. This isthe Dana Simmons Show.
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