- Sour Lake Mayor Bruce Robinson talks about the history, charm, and community essence of Sour Lake. Plus, Lani White, Senior Vice President of First Financial Bank discusses some special mortgage programs.
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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 Danas Simmons Realty.Her teen is the real deal, top
shelf, next level and she makesit so easy, and I like easy,
and remember sell your home hold ongone hesitated Simmons's real Estate. Well,
(00:31):
hello Southeast Texas. I hope you'reenjoying this beautiful Saturday and staying hydrated
and cool but enjoying the beautiful sunshine. It is a great day and we
are excited to be sharing a littletime with you here on the radio.
I am joined today by Mayor BruceRobinson. He is the mayor of Sour
(00:52):
Lake. And I'm also joined byLonnie White. She is the senior vice
president at First Financial Bank. Andthey're gonna visit with you a little bit
about a few different things in ournext few minutes. But first wanted to
give you a little snapshot of how'sthe market. So most of you were
asking me that question wherever I go, because it is a hot topic.
(01:14):
We have received our July stats asto how we did at the end of
July twenty twenty three, so Iwanted to share a little bit about what
that looked like, and then howdoes it compare to last year. I
don't know if you remember, butlast year about this time is when those
interest rates started to creep up,and so that began our little bit of
(01:37):
a softening in our market, justbecause people were unsure about what they were
to do. Well, we hada fairly decent July because those people who
were locked in in May and Junewere already closing in July. So our
July ended pretty well in twenty twentytwo with a total of three hundred and
fifty sales. Well, the springof this year was a little quiet.
(02:04):
We saw our numbers drop a littlebit, and so I think what we're
seeing is a little bit of atick up. So I'm hopeful as I'm
looking at our numbers, July isa little better than where we were in
June. So I'm hoping that thisis a trend where people are seeing that
the interest rate isn't what you haveto focus on. You date the rate,
(02:28):
that's what they say, so thatyou can get into the property you
want, with the consideration that youmay have to refinance at a laser later
date. It's also an opportunity forpeople who are renting not to be paying
all of someone else's equity, tobe able to go ahead and get in
a house and begin to build theirwealth and their equity of their own.
So what we're seeing in July oftwenty twenty three is about three hundred and
(02:52):
twenty cells closed, so you cansee it's less than a ten percent drop
from July twenty twenty two. Sowe are seeing about five months of inventory
in July of this year versus fourmonths of inventory and July of twenty twenty
two. So while we talk aboutthat the market has softened, and that
(03:12):
is in fact true, it's notso bleak like what you may be seeing
in some national headlines. So whatI recommend that you do is, if
you're thinking about whether you want tobuy or sell, let's get with you
specifically. There's some neighborhood, someprice points that are incredibly hot. We
(03:32):
see them selling for multiple with multipleoffers over asking price, but not every
single one is doing that. Soyou need to be informed about what's going
on in your neighborhood or the areathat you want to purchase. So we
have Cindy is our Isa who isready to take your calls all day today
(03:53):
till eight o'clock her. She's goingto be answering our office number which is
four zero nine eight six eight threetwo six, and she's ready to be
able to answer those calls, beable to get you the information you need
to help you make a wise decision. Also, today we have two of
our open houses that we are superexcited to be able to share with you.
(04:15):
We have two properties on Highway threetwenty six that are brand new constructions
one four seven nine Highway three twentysix and one five one nine Highway three
twenty six, beautiful homes. Ifyou don't have anything to do, run
over there, tell Jessica and Laurenand Pam hello, and take a tour
(04:38):
and look at the beautiful property.I will tell you it is definitely a
great construction, quality construction that youare going to fall in love with.
So run over there, say helloto them. We're going to have them
on air here in just a littlebit to talk a little bit about what
those properties look like. But inthe meantime, head on over to Sour
(04:58):
Lake and let the walk you throughthose properties. Now, Sour Lake,
what is it. Who's the mayorthere? Well, I just happened to
have him in the house today,and Mayor Bruce Robinson, we're so glad
you're here with us and would lovefor you to share just a little bit
about who you are and the history. You've been mayor quite a long time,
(05:19):
haven't you twenty seven years? Yeah, that's a long time. So
you've seen a lot in Sour Lake. But first I want to hear so
you've obviously been there a long time, you have family there, talk a
little bit about you. Okay,I'm sixty eight years old. I'm not
originally from Sour Lake. I'm fromthe Beaumont area and up around Corpus.
(05:44):
I met my wife from Sour Lake. Actually we knew each other when she
was twelve, when I was aboutfourteen or fifteen. Now, she didn't
look like she was twelve. Okay, I said, that's straight. Uh
and uh. I told my friendsthen I was going to marry that girl.
We wound up splitting up and uh. Years later I met another girl
(06:06):
and got married and after a coupleof years we we got divorced, and
I met my wife again. Hername is uh Renee was Renee Loften at
the time, and we got backtogether and we got married and we've been
together for forty seven years. Overforty seven years. That's wonderful. She's
in love in my life. Yeah, that's wonderful. And you have children,
(06:29):
Yeah, yeah, I got Ihave. We have three boys and
a girl. And uh the boysare from age forty six to two thirty
thirty nine and the girl is twentythree. There's a big sprest Absolutely,
(06:53):
she might be a little spoiled.I would, I would then Surrey,
especially my me. Yeah, Ican. I can only imagine. But
now you know the the greater opportunityas as a doting grandmother is that you
also have grandchildren, right do we? Ever, I always tell my kids,
if I could have found a wayto have the grandkids first, I
(07:15):
don't know if I'd had the kids, i'd had the grandkids. But I
have. I have seven grandkids.I have uh have many boys, one
two, four boys and three girls. Oh that's a great balance, right
there, really good. Two ofthem live right down the road from me.
Needless to say, I see themall the time. Uh, one
(07:38):
of'em is just moved in withme, but it's only because his dad
is building himself a house out onthree twenty six and it's not finished yet.
So yeah, he lives with uswhere he can go to Harden Jefferson.
Yes, and we're going to talkabout that in a little bit too,
because that's a great school district.And that's one of the amazing things
is whenever you have the opportunity tolive in an area and then and your
(08:00):
children also live in that area,and then your grandchildren live in that area.
Not everyone has that opportunity, andwhat a gift. It's great.
If it's a blessing, it is, it really is. Well, we're
so glad to have you here,and we're gonna talk a little bit about
what's going on in Surah Lake andhave you share a little bit Number one,
where it started. I tell youall the time people from out of
(08:20):
town will say, Sour Lake,where's the lake? And so I'm like,
well you need to know a littlebit more of that history. So
we'll talk about it here in ournext segment. But also with us today
is Lonnie White. So Lonnie,you're with First Financial Bank, talk a
little bit about you and how longyou've been in Southeast Texas. Yeah,
well, I moved to Southeast Texaswith my family back in the late seventies.
(08:45):
I guess we're not originally from here, but I've been here long enough
now I guess I can say thatI'm from Southeast Sexas. Yeah, went
to school at Lamar, graduated fromLamar, ended up marrying a boy from
Orange, and so I've lived probablyall over the state of Texas, Amarillo,
Galveston, Austin, Houston a coupleof times, but we've been back
(09:05):
in the Orange area for about tenyears now. I've been with First Financial
Bank about ten years now as well, did a stint at Wells Fargo before
that, And I can honestly saythat I'm very, very happy to be
with a not a small town bank, because we're really not a small town
bank, but just a regional bankthat really cares about their customers and can
(09:31):
provide the type of service that wedo. Yeah, a blessing. Even
though they are a bigger bank,it feels like a small town bank because
people know your name. It's likecheers. Everybody knows your name. Yes,
and it's local people making local decisions, which is you're right, such
a such a blessing and a benefit. And you and I originally met through
(09:52):
BSAF. Yes, and you've beenthere this morning. We were talking about
that earlier. I was like,wow, that was the nineties, Dane.
Huh. I know you and I'vebeen doing BSF a long time.
And for those of you who don'tknow, BSF is an interdenominational Bible study.
It's called Bible Study Fellowship and we'reabout to kick off for the year.
(10:13):
If anyone is interested, you cango to the BSF website and you
can sign up. They have onlineclasses, they have in person classes.
There is an in person day classWednesdays at nine ten I think it is,
and then the Monday night at sixfifty five. And you're a part
of the Monday night class. Yes, excuse me. We meet at Westgate
(10:35):
Baptist Church on Monday night six fiftyfive. And when you go online to
search, if you just choose finda group and put in seven seven seven
h six, that group will talkright up. YEA. Well, and
I'm a part of an online group, so I am a part of people
who are It's international, so Ihave people from all over the world who
(10:56):
are on the zoom call that I'mon, and it is so amazing,
it really is. So if that'ssomething that piques your interest, you can
private message me or go on tothe BSF website and it'll give you lots
of great information. There's a reasonyou and I've been doing it, what
almost thirty years or so. Yeah, we said this morning, it's it's
kind of like the Bible Study mafia. As you get in, you can
(11:20):
never get out. Yeah, youdon't want to it's so good. That's
right. Well, we have afantastic show for you today. We're going
to talk about those properties in SourLake and why Sour Lake is growing,
What is the call the draw?What is the thing that makes people really
want to move to that area?And one thing is that school district.
I know I see all over peoplewant to be a hawk so hardin Jefferson
(11:45):
is one of the good school districts, one of the many let me just
say that, one of the manyphenomenal school districts in our area. But
we're gonna talk a little bit andfocus about what they do today. But
also, you know, we're goingto talk about you want to buy a
new construction home, but you alsowant to pool. How do you do
that? Well, Lonnie's going totalk about what First Financial has. It
is a product, product, program, product, those things altogether that allow
(12:11):
you to do a purchase plus improvement. And she's going to talk more about
that. So you're not gonna wantto go away, come back, We're
going to have more. This isthe Dana Simmons Show. Would you need
to sell your home? No onemakes it easier than Dana Simmons of Danas
Simmons Really sell your home? NoGod hesitated Simmons realist. Welcome back.
(12:37):
This is Danas Simmons and I amso excited about our show today. We
are learning a little bit more aboutSour Lake and Mayor Bruce Robinson is going
to share with us the history herein just a moment. But first we
have Jessica Wellborn. She is outat fifteen nineteen Highway three twenty six.
We would love for you to headon out there, let her walk you
(12:58):
through this new instruction home and letyou see all the beautiful things that are
there. So Jessica, talk alittle bit about what exactly you're seeing at
that property, what do you havethere? Well, we have a four
bedroom, three and a half fast, beautiful new construction home. One of
(13:18):
my favorite things that I want topoint out when I first started talking about
it is when you're the family sothat owns this home, when you walk
in from the cry so much usablespace for all of your daily living.
They have a mudroom area that's gotlittle cubbies for all of your stuff,
(13:43):
whether it's your fur and your furbabies or your real babies, your human
babies. There's plenty of space forthat, and then walks run into the
utility room with a big amount ofspace for your washer and dryer and tons
of storage. And actually the laundryroom opens up into the master closet,
(14:03):
which I think is one of thecoolest things about that. Yeah. Yeah,
you walk straight in so when you'refolding laundry, you can put it
right into your bedroom or whenever youneed to put the dirty clothes and laundry
room. It's so convenient. Italso walks into a really great size walking
pantry that opens from both sides ofthe kitchen, so it's super utilitarian.
(14:28):
I just I love the thoughtfulness thatwas put behind these floor plans of these
two houses. I just think thatthey thought about daily living very well,
and it sounds like they thought aboutmama's because as the mother of four and
grandmother of two, you're hitting allthe spots for the things that, let
me tell you, make make lifeso much easier for us right every day
(14:52):
regular like Also, you can beworking in the kitchen and it's open up
to your dining and your living areayour family's going to be and also has
so much glass and openness to thebackyard, which by the way, has
a great size. It is apoint six nine of an acre, so
you've got a really good size backyardwith big trees. It just definitely a
(15:18):
welcoming home with a I love thetile floor throughout and yeah, it does
have beautiful finishes. You're right,I love it. Well. I do
we need to call James and tellhim, hey, uh, well,
I know I know a few kidsthat are in school that sure would not
(15:39):
want to be moving any tests.Yeah, I completely get it, I
know, I know, but itis a beautiful home. Well, Jessica,
thank you so much for pointing outthose things that I know a lot
of other people would think are important, just like you do. Being a
mom and a grandma, you understandthe need for all of those different spots
and spaces and flow, and soI appreciate you sharing a little bit about
(16:00):
that, and people should come outand take a look at it with you
and just walk through. I'm hereand I've got some cold bottles of water
I'd be happy to share, anda little bit of swag. Huh yeah,
absolutely, we got some koozies andtins and we have a sign up
to win this beautiful charcooterie cheech Tree, and it is so cool. It's
(16:22):
a really neat piece. But thereal draw is the house. So you
know, get out there and takea look at the house. Thank you
Jessica for calling in and give usa little sneak peek over the radio.
So you know, we talk aboutthe beautiful house and that is a really
important feature. But you know,for a lot of people, the draw
is that it's in Sour Lake.So talk a little bit, Bruce about
(16:48):
how does Sour Lake come to me? Tell us a little bit of the
history and what made Sour Lake whatit is today. Okay, Sour Lake
is the oldest live in uh townin Hardin County. It was uh first
settled in eighteen thirty five by StephenJackson. He was granted four thousand,
(17:11):
four hundred and twenty some odd acresand UH when he first started it,
he called it the Sour Lakes Springsafter the uh mineral properties that were in
the water that the people noticed werehealing people. Uh. The trappers would
bring stories to UH to the communityabout how the Indians were always there UH
(17:33):
bathing and using the MUDs off theUH shore to hit to take care of
their wounds and stuff after big battlesand stuff. And so it took it
a little while. After that nightin eighteen fifty, UH, somebody built
a huge hotel and it made ita resort of health resort. People came
from all over an hour and I'mtalking about all over, uh, it
(17:56):
said, not necessarily to ours,but some in Texas because there were other
health resources. Teddy Roosevelt came,Guys like Clark Gable, people like that.
Sam Houston came to ours twice aftertwo battles, and UH, pretty
amazing. There there was a spaand a hotel in eighteen fifty there in
(18:18):
Sarah that is really an interesting factoryor it was from actually was the sulfur
springs right, would warm up thewater and that would I guess the heat
and the sulfur would heal like authoron, not hell, but make it
make it feel better, feel betterwith riders and stuff like that. And
then the MUDs they would used hadminerals in him, so I guess they
(18:38):
you know, had worked. That'samazing. So you guys have had a
little change since then though. Wellyears after that, in nineteen oh one
became a boomtown. That's right,one of the earliest boomtowns. All was
discovered and uh where Texico started right, Yes, yes, the Texas Company
(19:00):
back then, Yeah, formed Texicothere after the Old Discovery. They has
said that the population after the OldDiscovery went up over ten thousand some I've
even heard stories and you know itwent up to two twenty thousand, so
I don't know, but ten thousandstill a lot of people, absolutely,
And and that lasted for several years. But then because of excess excessive drilling,
(19:22):
half of the wells went dry andI had to shut down. There's
still a lot of wells and arestill making a lot of all uh.
And that all field is the oldestuh, hang on, it's the oldest
producing all field in the world.Wow, in the world. That's amazing.
(19:44):
That's pretty cool. Yeah, that'sa pretty neat fact that I bet
most people don't know they're in SourLake. Yes, ma'l. Yeah.
Well, now Sour Lake has changeda little even since that time, and
it still has a huge straw though, So talk a little bit about what
Sour Lake has to offer for peopletoday. Okay, first of all,
like I told you earlier, we'vebeen smiling home by the Lord. But
(20:07):
we're blessed over there. We haveand I, in my opinion, the
best school district in all of SoutheastTexas. I said it. Okay,
there are some people on the otherside of that radio going on, but
they're wrong. Anyway, we havewe have a great school district. And
(20:30):
like this year, uh, Ihave two grandsons, one going to high
school, one in the middle school. Now, the first day of school,
they were like, oh going toschool. When they came home excited,
it's all get out. Our schoolis so fine. I'm like going
to college, Papa, because themiddle school's brand new, right, Oh,
(20:52):
it is brand yeah, and itis like phenomenal. It is like
a college. It really is.Yeah, of course, my my baby
girl. She's the baby be ofall the grandkids. She just likes she
loves going and being at school.She's she's in the first grade. She's
the social butterfly, so she wantsto be there for that. Yeah.
She's great kids, she really is. But uh, we have a great
school district. One of the thingsI heard you say that when we were
(21:18):
talking before the show is that youknow, there's just a small town charm
to it, and so talk alittle bit about that small town charm.
Well, yeah, I'm gonna goahead and say this on Facebook. I've
I've seen a few people who weren'tfrom here but they moved to Sourly,
Uh, talking about there's nothing todo here. You know, if you're
(21:40):
looking for a big, exciting LasVegas or Houston or Beaumont atmosphere, we're
not that. What we are isa small country town where people care about
each other. We're friendly. Ithink our friendship knows no boundaries, that
doesn't end it at the city limits. We're friends with the pine people,
that the Pine Ridge people, Beveloaks, Gnome, Grayberg, Saratoga. Everybody's
(22:06):
like one huge family. Yeah,and they just they all care about each
other and especially when something happens,you can see it. I mean the
events they throw to help people andstuff, the way they try and go
events for the fire Department, thelines club and stuff. It's it's just
a big yeah. And my opinionis it's just a huge family. It
(22:26):
is. And and I've witnessed that. There are several of my agents and
that are they live in Sara Lakeand their kids go to Harden Jefferson,
and I love the stories that Iget to hear. Now I personally don't
live there, but I love thatthey come home. They love it.
They absolutely love it out there.And so that's why we have different places
because we're all different. Amen.And so the benefit is that if you
(22:49):
want that small town charm, youwant that quieter country atmosphere, then Sara
Lake is it. Yeah, It'sone of those places that you can get
that. So when we come back, we're going to talk about what are
some of the upcoming events that SourLake has cooing on. So you're not
gonna go away, You're gonna wantto come right back. This is Dana
Simmons with the Dana Simmons Show.Would you need to sell your home.
(23:12):
No one makes it easier than DanaSimmons of Dana Simmons really sell your home
now, God hesitated Simmons Realist.Welcome back. This is Danis Simmons and
I'm joined today by the Sour LakeMayor, Bruce Robinson, and we've been
(23:32):
talking a little bit about the historyof Sour Lake and also have with me
Lonnie White from First Financial Bank.She is a senior vice president there.
We're going to talk more to herhere in just a bit, but first
I want to kick it out overto Lauren Camacho. She is at fourteen
seventy nine Highway three twenty six outin Sour Lake. We have two open
(23:53):
houses going on right now until onethirty at both of those properties, so
you can get a two fur youcan go out there and see both of
these properties. And Lauren tell usa little bit about the house that you're
opening there at fourteen seventy nine.Hi, Dana, Yes, So it's
four bedrooms, it's three and ahalf past. You have a little bit
(24:15):
over twenty five hundred square feet andyou're on over half an acre over here.
I'm sure Jessica talked about all thegreat upgrades and things like that inside.
But two things that really stuck outto me at this house is the
parking and the natural light that thosethrough the set flows through the homes.
I really love all of the largewindows, but the parking here. You
(24:37):
have a really long driveway in areally large garage, and I just love
that. Yeah. And it's amom of kids with bicycles and toys and
all of that. Yes, yeah, all of that. So there's tons
of space for all of that.And I also really love the back patio.
It's really large and just tons ofspace to be able to go out
(24:57):
there, grill, spend time withthe fa emily. And those are just
some things that I really love overhere. Yeah. And one of the
things you're right about that both ofthose properties is that there is plenty of
room to add a pool. Thereis, and in this heat, that
sounds pretty refreshing right now. Sowe're going to talk to Lonnie White here
(25:18):
in just a little bit about thefact that you can purchase that home and
roll in a swimming pool. It'scalled a purchase plus improvement loan, and
she's going to share a little bitabout how you can do that and keep
all of your loan product under oneloan and it's in just one note.
So we're gonna talk a little bitabout that. Anything else, Lauren that
(25:40):
you want to make sure people know. I know you want them to come
out and say, Hi, Ido I really think this is just a
house you're going to have to comesee in person, because it's not just
one of those bulk builds where theycome in and flap a few things up.
It has really great features and itreally seems really thought out from the
builder, and it just everyone justneeds to come out and see it because
(26:03):
I really love it and I wantto buy it, and you know what,
learned it. I'm so glad youbrought that point up. There are
lots of production builders here in SoutheastTexas who the finishes are just builder grade
and the quality is less than whenyou're talking about a really custom built spec
house. And that's what we havehere. The two houses that are out
(26:25):
there are beautifully appointed. They haveamazing finishes, and it is more like
a custom home than it is justa speck house. It really is.
I'm standing here outside and actually I'mlooking inside the garage and just noticing where
in some of those folk speck houses. There the garage isn't really finished,
(26:48):
and here it's dry walled and youhave the border on the bottom and it's
just all matched and finished and paintedand just wonderful. And if he did
this grade and the garage, youcan only imagine what he did inside the
Yeah, all the details and allthe details are absolutely beautiful. Well,
Lauren, thank you for calling inand sharing some of that with us.
We appreciate you. Thank you.Okay, bye bye, so Mayor Robinson.
(27:12):
We were talking before about all thewonderful things that Sour Lake has to
offer. And while these homes havebeautiful finishes and all of the great amenities
and the great lot, I thinkone of the biggest selling features is the
fact that it's in Sour Lake,which is a great small town, which
(27:33):
you've been talking about. And partof that is all of the little events
that you do that the entire communitycomes to and participates in. So talk
about a few of those events thatare coming up in the fall and in
the winter. Okay, the firstone in October is our trunk or treat.
This one is huge. I meanwe had over five thousand and they'd
(27:56):
stay close to six thousand people attendedlast year. That's you know, where
everybody lines their vehicles up, somepeople build their own little little setting,
and everybody dresses up. And exceptfor me, I'm ugly enough as a
and uh, we hand out candy, but at lasts probably about three or
(28:17):
four hours. Yeah, and peoplejust I mean have a great time.
It's just everybody just loves to doit. Even the adults dress up.
Oh, I know, I've seenpictures. I'll tell you my director of
operations, Michelle, she took herkids out there last year and I got
to see all kinds of pictures.It was amazing. And yes, she
was dressed up. She looked adorable. And you see some some great costumes,
(28:38):
I mean some really good stuff andsome some good settings that people build.
Yeah, it's really cool. Theyget to show their creativity out there.
Yeah. And then after the trunkor treat, then you also have
another event coming up. We havethe Christmas Parade and the Christmas in the
Park where we have a lighted parade, and we had fifteen hund ten.
(29:00):
I think that's low, I reallydo. I think fifteen hundred is low
because it's the streets are lined,I mean, there are lined on both
sides from the school all the wayto down one oh five to downtown to
the park. Yeah. And ifyou're one of the ones given away candy,
bring a lot. Yeah. Sohere's the question. If we have
(29:23):
our listeners are interested in getting moreinformation about that, where do they go
to find out dates, times,all of that? Would would you go
to the City of Sour Lake website? Okay? So, and if you
have to, there's a phone numberthere. It's I'd give it now if
you don't mind. Four zero ninetwo eight seven three five. Ye,
(29:47):
that's what happens. You know what, We'll post it, We'll put it
on our Facebook page. They cancall there and they'll give them all the
information they need. And today itis so easy to google City of Sour
Lake. That's all you have todo, and you can find that number
immediately. So and when you gointo City of Star Lake, look up
chamber, the Chamber of Commerce ofSlake that they have all they have all
the details. Well, we're sothankful that you came and shared a little
(30:10):
bit of history about Sour Lake,a little bit about what's going on there
now and some of the things thatare to come. So we appreciate that.
And when we come back, we'regonna talk to Lonnie White about some
of the lending products that she hasthat Let's say those two houses out in
Sara Lake are the ones for you, but you want to put a pool
or an outdoor kitchen, We're gonnatalk about how do you do that?
So don't go away. This isDana Simmons with the Dana Simmons Show.
(30:34):
Would you need to sell your home? No one makes it easier than Dana
Simmons of Dana Simmons. Really sellyour home now, God hesitated to Simmons.
Welcome back. This is Dana Simmonsand I'm joined today by Sour Lake
(30:55):
Mayor Bruce Robinson, and we havehad Jessica cut and Lauren on the line.
They are out at our open housesat fourteen seventy nine and fifteen nineteen,
Highway three twenty six and Sour Lake, So we wanted to share a
little bit about those properties. Butthen we also wanted to share a little
bit about Sour Lake and why wouldyou want to buy a home there?
And so Mayor Robinson has given ussome great information about the charm and all
(31:19):
of the just great things about thatarea. Well, we also know that
if you're looking to buy a newconstruction, many times the drawback for some
people is that they really want tobuy a house with a pool. Well,
First Financial Bank has come up witha product and a program that allows
you to do some of those thingsthat will wrap that into your purchase so
(31:44):
that you can purchase the house andthen be able to add whatever it is
you want to add. So LonnieWhite with First Financial Bank, she is
one of their senior vice presidents,is going to talk a little bit about
Lonnie. I think you are thebest at this product. You do.
You've done this for me several times, no pressure, no, no,
(32:04):
you have you. I've had severalcustomers who have utilized this product and have
been thrilled to be able to doit and wrap it all into one product.
So talk a little bit about whatthat is like, what it does,
and what are the hoops you haveto jump through to do it,
because there are a few things youhave to do. You have to get
a few things before you can cando it. Yeah. So, as
you mentioned, it's one of ourportfolio products, which means you know it's
(32:28):
not going to get sold to anotherservice or after the loan is closed.
So it's a program that first financialoffers and then services after the fact.
So, just like any home loanpurchase, you're going to have to have
a down payment. Usually for thatparticular product, it needs to be between
ten and twenty percent. We'll lookat the purchase price of the home,
(32:52):
calculate the down payment on that,and then whatever improvements that you're wanting to
do, you're going to have tohave a formal bid and a call tractor
for those, and then what we'lldo is we'll do an appraisal that takes
into consideration the improvements and we're ableto lend up to ninety percent of the
as improved value. So whatever you'redoing, whether you're putting in an outdoor
(33:14):
kitchen or putting in a pool,or just landscaping, I mean landscaping jobs
can cost a lot these days,those are all be factored into the value
and then we can lend up toninety percent of that and that is without
PMI or mortgage ensure, which ishuge. Yeah. Yeah, So that's
an added monthly payment that's not addedto your mortgage, so you're not paying
(33:37):
that PMI every single month, right, exactly. So one of the things
that I love about this is thatit gives a buyer the opportunity to say,
Okay, yeah, I really don'twant to have to buy a resell.
I'd rather buy a new construction,but these are the things that I
want. So, for instance,on the few houses that I've worked with
(33:59):
you on that what we did waswe had the pool company come out and
they bid the pool as well asthe outdoor kitchen. We package that with
it, and then they submitted thatover to you guys. But what I
really liked is the fact that onceyou completed that appraisal, finalize that loan,
(34:19):
that loan closed without the pool beingcompleted. Oh. I was like,
yes, it closed, but Iknow where you were going with that
without I'm sorry, without the poolbeing completed. So it's not like you
have to wait for those improvements tobe able to fund on the home closing.
So, for instance, my builderdidn't have to wait for the pool
(34:40):
and the outdoor kitchen to be completed. Right The funds are held in escrow
and then draws are done as theimprovements progress until it's completed. But you
can already be living in the houselike you said while those improvements are being
done. Yeah, so it doesn'tdelay you. So a lot of people
are like, but I don't havetime, I have to go ahead and
(35:01):
purchase. I don't have because sometimesa pool can take months, yes,
depending on the time of year whenyou're trying to put it in. Yeah,
and so they don't have time towait. And so this allows you
to be able to go ahead andclose on the house with the improvements held
in escrow, and then go aheadand make those improvements after the fact.
Yeah. A couple of other productsthat you guys have that I think is
(35:23):
super helpful is when we have aclient who, you know, their house
just isn't ready to go on themarket. They have a situation where maybe
they have a parent living with themand they really don't want to have to
show the house while they're living there. So one of the products that you
(35:44):
have is a helock. Talk alittle bit about what is a helock,
what does that stand for, andwhat is the benefit of using that when
you're going to go ahead and purchasea new home. Yes, so there's
two different ways you can structure thatparticular type of transaction. They elock is
it stands for home equity line ofcredit. So that is a product that
(36:06):
allows you to take some of theequity out of your existing home and either
purchase another home with it or putit make a down payment, a substantial
down payment. Yeah, so youdon't, as you said before, you
don't have to have a contingency contract. You can go ahead and get your
new loan for the new house,taking the equity, most of the equity
out of your old house, andthen once you get settled, put your
(36:29):
house on the market and it paysoff the home equity line of credit,
which is such a relief to somepeople who really do not want to have
to sell before they buy. Youknow, it's the benefit of being able
to close on the new home,move out of that home, and then
being able to put it on themarket for sale. So that's you said,
there are two different ways. That'sone. What's the second. Yes,
(36:49):
the other product is called a bridgeloan, which will allow someone up
to one hundred percent financing on thepurchase of another home, also keeping you
from having to have a contendency contract. It doesn't require a down payment,
like I said, interest only paymentsfor eleven months, so usually you're going
to be able to sell your departurehome. Within that eleven month period of
(37:13):
time. Some people will be ableto their house is free and clear that
they're moving away from they'll be ableto buy their new home, and then
when their departure home sells, theypay off their bridge loan and there they
are with no house. Note again. Yeah, and so the benefit is,
like you said in the beginning,as you were talking about these these
are held in house. Yes,and so one of the things that I
(37:36):
really love about being able to referclients to First Financial is that it's not
that you're putting a square peg ina round hole. You have so many
options for people to give them theability to fit what is going to work
best for them right right, Andyou can call First Financial and we'll be
(37:58):
able to tell you all of theproducts that are out there that might meet
your needs. We're not going tojust be order takers. In other words,
if you tell us about your situation, we try to look at everything
that we have and put you inthe best position possible. Well, you
know, just recently, like twoweeks ago, I closed on a property
that I had a client relocating herefrom out of the area, and they
(38:22):
were wanting to put an offer inon a property, but the property had
a contingency contract already, but theseller didn't want to accept another one.
So the homeowner or the buyer calledyou and you visited with them about what
they were trying to do, andthen you were able to connect them with
someone else in the office that wasable to do a You guys don't say
(38:45):
Okay, yeah, I'm going totake this and do it my way.
You go, what's going to bebest for this client? Right exactly?
And we're right next door to eachother, our offices are you know,
we all work together really closely.I can just walk next door and talk
to Cindy about any of the secondarymarket products that I think might apply to
a customer and usually get her onthe phone with them or a meeting with
(39:07):
them immediately so they don't have towait. So you specialize while you specialize
in really the in house products.You have available to you every product and
knowledge about every product to be ableto help that client find the right fit
for them, right. And sothat's what I love about First Financial.
When you go to other mortgage brokers, they have quite a few products they
(39:30):
do and you may fit perfectly inone of their products. But the problem
is you may not, and thenyou're limited as to what you can get.
Not only that, but you mayfit perfectly into a product at the
beginning of the loan process, andthen something happens during the loan process that
(39:52):
causes you not to fit into thatproduct anymore, and a lot of people,
I mean I have to change lendersat that point and start over.
Thus, if something happens during theprocess in one product, we can usually
find you another product to get youinto without you having to reapply with another
lender and provide all your documentation andstart from square one. Yeah, and
(40:15):
that to me is a huge benefitsas an agent when you're working with a
client. When you have a buyerwho something happens midstream and you have to
explain that to the seller, typicallyit's hard to say, hey, we're
switching lenders and going somewhere else.They typically freak out, and as as
(40:36):
they should. But if you havethe product within the same company and you're
able to just shift that over,you have all of the documentation you need,
everything can just move from one departmentto another, and then it gives
the ability of the buyer to goahead and move forward and close on that
property without the seller having to bealarmed. Right. And sometimes it's not
(40:58):
the borrower that the issue. Sometimesit may be an appraisal that comes back
the property. Yeah, I meanthere are other issues that come up that
really doesn't have anything to do withthe bar or something that could come up
with them so or something happens intheir life. I mean, it just
happens, so anything can happen.So to me, the thing that I
love is that you have options,and that's what we love to provide our
(41:22):
customers at Danta Simmons real Estate.It's what we want to provide our customers.
It's the reason why when someone callsand wants to either buy or sell,
we want to go through here orall of your options and then you
get to choose which direction is best. And I think that's one of the
things that First Financial does really well. Yeah. And a lot of people
(41:42):
obviously they don't do mortgage loans everyday, so they don't know what options
are availing to them. Yeah,someone shares that information with them, and
if the mortgage company or think thatthey're working with doesn't have all of the
options, they're not going to sharethem with them because they don't have the
same options that you guys do.Right, So, if someone is interested
and curious Lonnie, how would theyget in touch with you and talk about
(42:07):
Alan. You can reach me atfour O nine two two one six one
eight two and then or you wantto email me. My email is l
white like the color at f fiN dot com. Yeah, and if
you have any questions and you don'thave that telephone number you didn't write it
(42:29):
down, You're welcome to call myoffice. Cindy can get that for you
four zero nine eight six six team. That's our number, or go on
our website Dana Simmons real Estate dotcom or DSR dot com. We are
happy to provide any of that informationto you. Thank you, guys so
much for making this a great showtoday. I really appreciate it. Thank
you for him. Yeah, thanksfor sharing about sour Lakes, sharing about
(42:51):
loans. Thank you to the ladieswho were out at the Highway three twenty
six properties. It's been a greatshow today. You guys, stay cool
out the air in this heat.Stay hydrated. I'm the mama saying get
you some water. I've enjoyed spendingsome time with you today. We'll see
you next week. This is theDana Simmons Show.
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 Danas Simmons Realty.Her teen is the real deal, top
shelf, next level and she makesit so easy, and I like easy,
and remember sell your home hold ongone hesitated Simmons's real Estate. Well,
(00:31):
hello Southeast Texas. I hope you'reenjoying this beautiful Saturday and staying hydrated
and cool but enjoying the beautiful sunshine. It is a great day and we
are excited to be sharing a littletime with you here on the radio.
I am joined today by Mayor BruceRobinson. He is the mayor of Sour
(00:52):
Lake. And I'm also joined byLonnie White. She is the senior vice
president at First Financial Bank. Andthey're gonna visit with you a little bit
about a few different things in ournext few minutes. But first wanted to
give you a little snapshot of how'sthe market. So most of you were
asking me that question wherever I go, because it is a hot topic.
(01:14):
We have received our July stats asto how we did at the end of
July twenty twenty three, so Iwanted to share a little bit about what
that looked like, and then howdoes it compare to last year. I
don't know if you remember, butlast year about this time is when those
interest rates started to creep up,and so that began our little bit of
(01:37):
a softening in our market, justbecause people were unsure about what they were
to do. Well, we hada fairly decent July because those people who
were locked in in May and Junewere already closing in July. So our
July ended pretty well in twenty twentytwo with a total of three hundred and
fifty sales. Well, the springof this year was a little quiet.
(02:04):
We saw our numbers drop a littlebit, and so I think what we're
seeing is a little bit of atick up. So I'm hopeful as I'm
looking at our numbers, July isa little better than where we were in
June. So I'm hoping that thisis a trend where people are seeing that
the interest rate isn't what you haveto focus on. You date the rate,
(02:28):
that's what they say, so thatyou can get into the property you
want, with the consideration that youmay have to refinance at a laser later
date. It's also an opportunity forpeople who are renting not to be paying
all of someone else's equity, tobe able to go ahead and get in
a house and begin to build theirwealth and their equity of their own.
So what we're seeing in July oftwenty twenty three is about three hundred and
(02:52):
twenty cells closed, so you cansee it's less than a ten percent drop
from July twenty twenty two. Sowe are seeing about five months of inventory
in July of this year versus fourmonths of inventory and July of twenty twenty
two. So while we talk aboutthat the market has softened, and that
(03:12):
is in fact true, it's notso bleak like what you may be seeing
in some national headlines. So whatI recommend that you do is, if
you're thinking about whether you want tobuy or sell, let's get with you
specifically. There's some neighborhood, someprice points that are incredibly hot. We
(03:32):
see them selling for multiple with multipleoffers over asking price, but not every
single one is doing that. Soyou need to be informed about what's going
on in your neighborhood or the areathat you want to purchase. So we
have Cindy is our Isa who isready to take your calls all day today
(03:53):
till eight o'clock her. She's goingto be answering our office number which is
four zero nine eight six eight threetwo six, and she's ready to be
able to answer those calls, beable to get you the information you need
to help you make a wise decision. Also, today we have two of
our open houses that we are superexcited to be able to share with you.
(04:15):
We have two properties on Highway threetwenty six that are brand new constructions
one four seven nine Highway three twentysix and one five one nine Highway three
twenty six, beautiful homes. Ifyou don't have anything to do, run
over there, tell Jessica and Laurenand Pam hello, and take a tour
(04:38):
and look at the beautiful property.I will tell you it is definitely a
great construction, quality construction that youare going to fall in love with.
So run over there, say helloto them. We're going to have them
on air here in just a littlebit to talk a little bit about what
those properties look like. But inthe meantime, head on over to Sour
(04:58):
Lake and let the walk you throughthose properties. Now, Sour Lake,
what is it. Who's the mayorthere? Well, I just happened to
have him in the house today,and Mayor Bruce Robinson, we're so glad
you're here with us and would lovefor you to share just a little bit
about who you are and the history. You've been mayor quite a long time,
(05:19):
haven't you twenty seven years? Yeah, that's a long time. So
you've seen a lot in Sour Lake. But first I want to hear so
you've obviously been there a long time, you have family there, talk a
little bit about you. Okay,I'm sixty eight years old. I'm not
originally from Sour Lake. I'm fromthe Beaumont area and up around Corpus.
(05:44):
I met my wife from Sour Lake. Actually we knew each other when she
was twelve, when I was aboutfourteen or fifteen. Now, she didn't
look like she was twelve. Okay, I said, that's straight. Uh
and uh. I told my friendsthen I was going to marry that girl.
We wound up splitting up and uh. Years later I met another girl
(06:06):
and got married and after a coupleof years we we got divorced, and
I met my wife again. Hername is uh Renee was Renee Loften at
the time, and we got backtogether and we got married and we've been
together for forty seven years. Overforty seven years. That's wonderful. She's
in love in my life. Yeah, that's wonderful. And you have children,
(06:29):
Yeah, yeah, I got Ihave. We have three boys and
a girl. And uh the boysare from age forty six to two thirty
thirty nine and the girl is twentythree. There's a big sprest Absolutely,
(06:53):
she might be a little spoiled.I would, I would then Surrey,
especially my me. Yeah, Ican. I can only imagine. But
now you know the the greater opportunityas as a doting grandmother is that you
also have grandchildren, right do we? Ever, I always tell my kids,
if I could have found a wayto have the grandkids first, I
(07:15):
don't know if I'd had the kids, i'd had the grandkids. But I
have. I have seven grandkids.I have uh have many boys, one
two, four boys and three girls. Oh that's a great balance, right
there, really good. Two ofthem live right down the road from me.
Needless to say, I see themall the time. Uh, one
(07:38):
of'em is just moved in withme, but it's only because his dad
is building himself a house out onthree twenty six and it's not finished yet.
So yeah, he lives with uswhere he can go to Harden Jefferson.
Yes, and we're going to talkabout that in a little bit too,
because that's a great school district.And that's one of the amazing things
is whenever you have the opportunity tolive in an area and then and your
(08:00):
children also live in that area,and then your grandchildren live in that area.
Not everyone has that opportunity, andwhat a gift. It's great.
If it's a blessing, it is, it really is. Well, we're
so glad to have you here,and we're gonna talk a little bit about
what's going on in Surah Lake andhave you share a little bit Number one,
where it started. I tell youall the time people from out of
(08:20):
town will say, Sour Lake,where's the lake? And so I'm like,
well you need to know a littlebit more of that history. So
we'll talk about it here in ournext segment. But also with us today
is Lonnie White. So Lonnie,you're with First Financial Bank, talk a
little bit about you and how longyou've been in Southeast Texas. Yeah,
well, I moved to Southeast Texaswith my family back in the late seventies.
(08:45):
I guess we're not originally from here, but I've been here long enough
now I guess I can say thatI'm from Southeast Sexas. Yeah, went
to school at Lamar, graduated fromLamar, ended up marrying a boy from
Orange, and so I've lived probablyall over the state of Texas, Amarillo,
Galveston, Austin, Houston a coupleof times, but we've been back
(09:05):
in the Orange area for about tenyears now. I've been with First Financial
Bank about ten years now as well, did a stint at Wells Fargo before
that, And I can honestly saythat I'm very, very happy to be
with a not a small town bank, because we're really not a small town
bank, but just a regional bankthat really cares about their customers and can
(09:31):
provide the type of service that wedo. Yeah, a blessing. Even
though they are a bigger bank,it feels like a small town bank because
people know your name. It's likecheers. Everybody knows your name. Yes,
and it's local people making local decisions, which is you're right, such
a such a blessing and a benefit. And you and I originally met through
(09:52):
BSAF. Yes, and you've beenthere this morning. We were talking about
that earlier. I was like,wow, that was the nineties, Dane.
Huh. I know you and I'vebeen doing BSF a long time.
And for those of you who don'tknow, BSF is an interdenominational Bible study.
It's called Bible Study Fellowship and we'reabout to kick off for the year.
(10:13):
If anyone is interested, you cango to the BSF website and you
can sign up. They have onlineclasses, they have in person classes.
There is an in person day classWednesdays at nine ten I think it is,
and then the Monday night at sixfifty five. And you're a part
of the Monday night class. Yes, excuse me. We meet at Westgate
(10:35):
Baptist Church on Monday night six fiftyfive. And when you go online to
search, if you just choose finda group and put in seven seven seven
h six, that group will talkright up. YEA. Well, and
I'm a part of an online group, so I am a part of people
who are It's international, so Ihave people from all over the world who
(10:56):
are on the zoom call that I'mon, and it is so amazing,
it really is. So if that'ssomething that piques your interest, you can
private message me or go on tothe BSF website and it'll give you lots
of great information. There's a reasonyou and I've been doing it, what
almost thirty years or so. Yeah, we said this morning, it's it's
kind of like the Bible Study mafia. As you get in, you can
(11:20):
never get out. Yeah, youdon't want to it's so good. That's
right. Well, we have afantastic show for you today. We're going
to talk about those properties in SourLake and why Sour Lake is growing,
What is the call the draw?What is the thing that makes people really
want to move to that area?And one thing is that school district.
I know I see all over peoplewant to be a hawk so hardin Jefferson
(11:45):
is one of the good school districts, one of the many let me just
say that, one of the manyphenomenal school districts in our area. But
we're gonna talk a little bit andfocus about what they do today. But
also, you know, we're goingto talk about you want to buy a
new construction home, but you alsowant to pool. How do you do
that? Well, Lonnie's going totalk about what First Financial has. It
is a product, product, program, product, those things altogether that allow
(12:11):
you to do a purchase plus improvement. And she's going to talk more about
that. So you're not gonna wantto go away, come back, We're
going to have more. This isthe Dana Simmons Show. Would you need
to sell your home? No onemakes it easier than Dana Simmons of Danas
Simmons Really sell your home? NoGod hesitated Simmons realist. Welcome back.
(12:37):
This is Danas Simmons and I amso excited about our show today. We
are learning a little bit more aboutSour Lake and Mayor Bruce Robinson is going
to share with us the history herein just a moment. But first we
have Jessica Wellborn. She is outat fifteen nineteen Highway three twenty six.
We would love for you to headon out there, let her walk you
(12:58):
through this new instruction home and letyou see all the beautiful things that are
there. So Jessica, talk alittle bit about what exactly you're seeing at
that property, what do you havethere? Well, we have a four
bedroom, three and a half fast, beautiful new construction home. One of
(13:18):
my favorite things that I want topoint out when I first started talking about
it is when you're the family sothat owns this home, when you walk
in from the cry so much usablespace for all of your daily living.
They have a mudroom area that's gotlittle cubbies for all of your stuff,
(13:43):
whether it's your fur and your furbabies or your real babies, your human
babies. There's plenty of space forthat, and then walks run into the
utility room with a big amount ofspace for your washer and dryer and tons
of storage. And actually the laundryroom opens up into the master closet,
(14:03):
which I think is one of thecoolest things about that. Yeah. Yeah,
you walk straight in so when you'refolding laundry, you can put it
right into your bedroom or whenever youneed to put the dirty clothes and laundry
room. It's so convenient. Italso walks into a really great size walking
pantry that opens from both sides ofthe kitchen, so it's super utilitarian.
(14:28):
I just I love the thoughtfulness thatwas put behind these floor plans of these
two houses. I just think thatthey thought about daily living very well,
and it sounds like they thought aboutmama's because as the mother of four and
grandmother of two, you're hitting allthe spots for the things that, let
me tell you, make make lifeso much easier for us right every day
(14:52):
regular like Also, you can beworking in the kitchen and it's open up
to your dining and your living areayour family's going to be and also has
so much glass and openness to thebackyard, which by the way, has
a great size. It is apoint six nine of an acre, so
you've got a really good size backyardwith big trees. It just definitely a
(15:18):
welcoming home with a I love thetile floor throughout and yeah, it does
have beautiful finishes. You're right,I love it. Well. I do
we need to call James and tellhim, hey, uh, well,
I know I know a few kidsthat are in school that sure would not
(15:39):
want to be moving any tests.Yeah, I completely get it, I
know, I know, but itis a beautiful home. Well, Jessica,
thank you so much for pointing outthose things that I know a lot
of other people would think are important, just like you do. Being a
mom and a grandma, you understandthe need for all of those different spots
and spaces and flow, and soI appreciate you sharing a little bit about
(16:00):
that, and people should come outand take a look at it with you
and just walk through. I'm hereand I've got some cold bottles of water
I'd be happy to share, anda little bit of swag. Huh yeah,
absolutely, we got some koozies andtins and we have a sign up
to win this beautiful charcooterie cheech Tree, and it is so cool. It's
(16:22):
a really neat piece. But thereal draw is the house. So you
know, get out there and takea look at the house. Thank you
Jessica for calling in and give usa little sneak peek over the radio.
So you know, we talk aboutthe beautiful house and that is a really
important feature. But you know,for a lot of people, the draw
is that it's in Sour Lake.So talk a little bit, Bruce about
(16:48):
how does Sour Lake come to me? Tell us a little bit of the
history and what made Sour Lake whatit is today. Okay, Sour Lake
is the oldest live in uh townin Hardin County. It was uh first
settled in eighteen thirty five by StephenJackson. He was granted four thousand,
(17:11):
four hundred and twenty some odd acresand UH when he first started it,
he called it the Sour Lakes Springsafter the uh mineral properties that were in
the water that the people noticed werehealing people. Uh. The trappers would
bring stories to UH to the communityabout how the Indians were always there UH
(17:33):
bathing and using the MUDs off theUH shore to hit to take care of
their wounds and stuff after big battlesand stuff. And so it took it
a little while. After that nightin eighteen fifty, UH, somebody built
a huge hotel and it made ita resort of health resort. People came
from all over an hour and I'mtalking about all over, uh, it
(17:56):
said, not necessarily to ours,but some in Texas because there were other
health resources. Teddy Roosevelt came,Guys like Clark Gable, people like that.
Sam Houston came to ours twice aftertwo battles, and UH, pretty
amazing. There there was a spaand a hotel in eighteen fifty there in
(18:18):
Sarah that is really an interesting factoryor it was from actually was the sulfur
springs right, would warm up thewater and that would I guess the heat
and the sulfur would heal like authoron, not hell, but make it
make it feel better, feel betterwith riders and stuff like that. And
then the MUDs they would used hadminerals in him, so I guess they
(18:38):
you know, had worked. That'samazing. So you guys have had a
little change since then though. Wellyears after that, in nineteen oh one
became a boomtown. That's right,one of the earliest boomtowns. All was
discovered and uh where Texico started right, Yes, yes, the Texas Company
(19:00):
back then, Yeah, formed Texicothere after the Old Discovery. They has
said that the population after the OldDiscovery went up over ten thousand some I've
even heard stories and you know itwent up to two twenty thousand, so
I don't know, but ten thousandstill a lot of people, absolutely,
And and that lasted for several years. But then because of excess excessive drilling,
(19:22):
half of the wells went dry andI had to shut down. There's
still a lot of wells and arestill making a lot of all uh.
And that all field is the oldestuh, hang on, it's the oldest
producing all field in the world.Wow, in the world. That's amazing.
(19:44):
That's pretty cool. Yeah, that'sa pretty neat fact that I bet
most people don't know they're in SourLake. Yes, ma'l. Yeah.
Well, now Sour Lake has changeda little even since that time, and
it still has a huge straw though, So talk a little bit about what
Sour Lake has to offer for peopletoday. Okay, first of all,
like I told you earlier, we'vebeen smiling home by the Lord. But
(20:07):
we're blessed over there. We haveand I, in my opinion, the
best school district in all of SoutheastTexas. I said it. Okay,
there are some people on the otherside of that radio going on, but
they're wrong. Anyway, we havewe have a great school district. And
(20:30):
like this year, uh, Ihave two grandsons, one going to high
school, one in the middle school. Now, the first day of school,
they were like, oh going toschool. When they came home excited,
it's all get out. Our schoolis so fine. I'm like going
to college, Papa, because themiddle school's brand new, right, Oh,
(20:52):
it is brand yeah, and itis like phenomenal. It is like
a college. It really is.Yeah, of course, my my baby
girl. She's the baby be ofall the grandkids. She just likes she
loves going and being at school.She's she's in the first grade. She's
the social butterfly, so she wantsto be there for that. Yeah.
She's great kids, she really is. But uh, we have a great
school district. One of the thingsI heard you say that when we were
(21:18):
talking before the show is that youknow, there's just a small town charm
to it, and so talk alittle bit about that small town charm.
Well, yeah, I'm gonna goahead and say this on Facebook. I've
I've seen a few people who weren'tfrom here but they moved to Sourly,
Uh, talking about there's nothing todo here. You know, if you're
(21:40):
looking for a big, exciting LasVegas or Houston or Beaumont atmosphere, we're
not that. What we are isa small country town where people care about
each other. We're friendly. Ithink our friendship knows no boundaries, that
doesn't end it at the city limits. We're friends with the pine people,
that the Pine Ridge people, Beveloaks, Gnome, Grayberg, Saratoga. Everybody's
(22:06):
like one huge family. Yeah,and they just they all care about each
other and especially when something happens,you can see it. I mean the
events they throw to help people andstuff, the way they try and go
events for the fire Department, thelines club and stuff. It's it's just
a big yeah. And my opinionis it's just a huge family. It
(22:26):
is. And and I've witnessed that. There are several of my agents and
that are they live in Sara Lakeand their kids go to Harden Jefferson,
and I love the stories that Iget to hear. Now I personally don't
live there, but I love thatthey come home. They love it.
They absolutely love it out there.And so that's why we have different places
because we're all different. Amen.And so the benefit is that if you
(22:49):
want that small town charm, youwant that quieter country atmosphere, then Sara
Lake is it. Yeah, It'sone of those places that you can get
that. So when we come back, we're going to talk about what are
some of the upcoming events that SourLake has cooing on. So you're not
gonna go away, You're gonna wantto come right back. This is Dana
Simmons with the Dana Simmons Show.Would you need to sell your home.
(23:12):
No one makes it easier than DanaSimmons of Dana Simmons really sell your home
now, God hesitated Simmons Realist.Welcome back. This is Danis Simmons and
I'm joined today by the Sour LakeMayor, Bruce Robinson, and we've been
(23:32):
talking a little bit about the historyof Sour Lake and also have with me
Lonnie White from First Financial Bank.She is a senior vice president there.
We're going to talk more to herhere in just a bit, but first
I want to kick it out overto Lauren Camacho. She is at fourteen
seventy nine Highway three twenty six outin Sour Lake. We have two open
(23:53):
houses going on right now until onethirty at both of those properties, so
you can get a two fur youcan go out there and see both of
these properties. And Lauren tell usa little bit about the house that you're
opening there at fourteen seventy nine.Hi, Dana, Yes, So it's
four bedrooms, it's three and ahalf past. You have a little bit
(24:15):
over twenty five hundred square feet andyou're on over half an acre over here.
I'm sure Jessica talked about all thegreat upgrades and things like that inside.
But two things that really stuck outto me at this house is the
parking and the natural light that thosethrough the set flows through the homes.
I really love all of the largewindows, but the parking here. You
(24:37):
have a really long driveway in areally large garage, and I just love
that. Yeah. And it's amom of kids with bicycles and toys and
all of that. Yes, yeah, all of that. So there's tons
of space for all of that.And I also really love the back patio.
It's really large and just tons ofspace to be able to go out
(24:57):
there, grill, spend time withthe fa emily. And those are just
some things that I really love overhere. Yeah. And one of the
things you're right about that both ofthose properties is that there is plenty of
room to add a pool. Thereis, and in this heat, that
sounds pretty refreshing right now. Sowe're going to talk to Lonnie White here
(25:18):
in just a little bit about thefact that you can purchase that home and
roll in a swimming pool. It'scalled a purchase plus improvement loan, and
she's going to share a little bitabout how you can do that and keep
all of your loan product under oneloan and it's in just one note.
So we're gonna talk a little bitabout that. Anything else, Lauren that
(25:40):
you want to make sure people know. I know you want them to come
out and say, Hi, Ido I really think this is just a
house you're going to have to comesee in person, because it's not just
one of those bulk builds where theycome in and flap a few things up.
It has really great features and itreally seems really thought out from the
builder, and it just everyone justneeds to come out and see it because
(26:03):
I really love it and I wantto buy it, and you know what,
learned it. I'm so glad youbrought that point up. There are
lots of production builders here in SoutheastTexas who the finishes are just builder grade
and the quality is less than whenyou're talking about a really custom built spec
house. And that's what we havehere. The two houses that are out
(26:25):
there are beautifully appointed. They haveamazing finishes, and it is more like
a custom home than it is justa speck house. It really is.
I'm standing here outside and actually I'mlooking inside the garage and just noticing where
in some of those folk speck houses. There the garage isn't really finished,
(26:48):
and here it's dry walled and youhave the border on the bottom and it's
just all matched and finished and paintedand just wonderful. And if he did
this grade and the garage, youcan only imagine what he did inside the
Yeah, all the details and allthe details are absolutely beautiful. Well,
Lauren, thank you for calling inand sharing some of that with us.
We appreciate you. Thank you.Okay, bye bye, so Mayor Robinson.
(27:12):
We were talking before about all thewonderful things that Sour Lake has to
offer. And while these homes havebeautiful finishes and all of the great amenities
and the great lot, I thinkone of the biggest selling features is the
fact that it's in Sour Lake,which is a great small town, which
(27:33):
you've been talking about. And partof that is all of the little events
that you do that the entire communitycomes to and participates in. So talk
about a few of those events thatare coming up in the fall and in
the winter. Okay, the firstone in October is our trunk or treat.
This one is huge. I meanwe had over five thousand and they'd
(27:56):
stay close to six thousand people attendedlast year. That's you know, where
everybody lines their vehicles up, somepeople build their own little little setting,
and everybody dresses up. And exceptfor me, I'm ugly enough as a
and uh, we hand out candy, but at lasts probably about three or
(28:17):
four hours. Yeah, and peoplejust I mean have a great time.
It's just everybody just loves to doit. Even the adults dress up.
Oh, I know, I've seenpictures. I'll tell you my director of
operations, Michelle, she took herkids out there last year and I got
to see all kinds of pictures.It was amazing. And yes, she
was dressed up. She looked adorable. And you see some some great costumes,
(28:38):
I mean some really good stuff andsome some good settings that people build.
Yeah, it's really cool. Theyget to show their creativity out there.
Yeah. And then after the trunkor treat, then you also have
another event coming up. We havethe Christmas Parade and the Christmas in the
Park where we have a lighted parade, and we had fifteen hund ten.
(29:00):
I think that's low, I reallydo. I think fifteen hundred is low
because it's the streets are lined,I mean, there are lined on both
sides from the school all the wayto down one oh five to downtown to
the park. Yeah. And ifyou're one of the ones given away candy,
bring a lot. Yeah. Sohere's the question. If we have
(29:23):
our listeners are interested in getting moreinformation about that, where do they go
to find out dates, times,all of that? Would would you go
to the City of Sour Lake website? Okay? So, and if you
have to, there's a phone numberthere. It's I'd give it now if
you don't mind. Four zero ninetwo eight seven three five. Ye,
(29:47):
that's what happens. You know what, We'll post it, We'll put it
on our Facebook page. They cancall there and they'll give them all the
information they need. And today itis so easy to google City of Sour
Lake. That's all you have todo, and you can find that number
immediately. So and when you gointo City of Star Lake, look up
chamber, the Chamber of Commerce ofSlake that they have all they have all
the details. Well, we're sothankful that you came and shared a little
(30:10):
bit of history about Sour Lake,a little bit about what's going on there
now and some of the things thatare to come. So we appreciate that.
And when we come back, we'regonna talk to Lonnie White about some
of the lending products that she hasthat Let's say those two houses out in
Sara Lake are the ones for you, but you want to put a pool
or an outdoor kitchen, We're gonnatalk about how do you do that?
So don't go away. This isDana Simmons with the Dana Simmons Show.
(30:34):
Would you need to sell your home? No one makes it easier than Dana
Simmons of Dana Simmons. Really sellyour home now, God hesitated to Simmons.
Welcome back. This is Dana Simmonsand I'm joined today by Sour Lake
(30:55):
Mayor Bruce Robinson, and we havehad Jessica cut and Lauren on the line.
They are out at our open housesat fourteen seventy nine and fifteen nineteen,
Highway three twenty six and Sour Lake, So we wanted to share a
little bit about those properties. Butthen we also wanted to share a little
bit about Sour Lake and why wouldyou want to buy a home there?
And so Mayor Robinson has given ussome great information about the charm and all
(31:19):
of the just great things about thatarea. Well, we also know that
if you're looking to buy a newconstruction, many times the drawback for some
people is that they really want tobuy a house with a pool. Well,
First Financial Bank has come up witha product and a program that allows
you to do some of those thingsthat will wrap that into your purchase so
(31:44):
that you can purchase the house andthen be able to add whatever it is
you want to add. So LonnieWhite with First Financial Bank, she is
one of their senior vice presidents,is going to talk a little bit about
Lonnie. I think you are thebest at this product. You do.
You've done this for me several times, no pressure, no, no,
(32:04):
you have you. I've had severalcustomers who have utilized this product and have
been thrilled to be able to doit and wrap it all into one product.
So talk a little bit about whatthat is like, what it does,
and what are the hoops you haveto jump through to do it,
because there are a few things youhave to do. You have to get
a few things before you can cando it. Yeah. So, as
you mentioned, it's one of ourportfolio products, which means you know it's
(32:28):
not going to get sold to anotherservice or after the loan is closed.
So it's a program that first financialoffers and then services after the fact.
So, just like any home loanpurchase, you're going to have to have
a down payment. Usually for thatparticular product, it needs to be between
ten and twenty percent. We'll lookat the purchase price of the home,
(32:52):
calculate the down payment on that,and then whatever improvements that you're wanting to
do, you're going to have tohave a formal bid and a call tractor
for those, and then what we'lldo is we'll do an appraisal that takes
into consideration the improvements and we're ableto lend up to ninety percent of the
as improved value. So whatever you'redoing, whether you're putting in an outdoor
(33:14):
kitchen or putting in a pool,or just landscaping, I mean landscaping jobs
can cost a lot these days,those are all be factored into the value
and then we can lend up toninety percent of that and that is without
PMI or mortgage ensure, which ishuge. Yeah. Yeah, So that's
an added monthly payment that's not addedto your mortgage, so you're not paying
(33:37):
that PMI every single month, right, exactly. So one of the things
that I love about this is thatit gives a buyer the opportunity to say,
Okay, yeah, I really don'twant to have to buy a resell.
I'd rather buy a new construction,but these are the things that I
want. So, for instance,on the few houses that I've worked with
(33:59):
you on that what we did waswe had the pool company come out and
they bid the pool as well asthe outdoor kitchen. We package that with
it, and then they submitted thatover to you guys. But what I
really liked is the fact that onceyou completed that appraisal, finalize that loan,
(34:19):
that loan closed without the pool beingcompleted. Oh. I was like,
yes, it closed, but Iknow where you were going with that
without I'm sorry, without the poolbeing completed. So it's not like you
have to wait for those improvements tobe able to fund on the home closing.
So, for instance, my builderdidn't have to wait for the pool
(34:40):
and the outdoor kitchen to be completed. Right The funds are held in escrow
and then draws are done as theimprovements progress until it's completed. But you
can already be living in the houselike you said while those improvements are being
done. Yeah, so it doesn'tdelay you. So a lot of people
are like, but I don't havetime, I have to go ahead and
(35:01):
purchase. I don't have because sometimesa pool can take months, yes,
depending on the time of year whenyou're trying to put it in. Yeah,
and so they don't have time towait. And so this allows you
to be able to go ahead andclose on the house with the improvements held
in escrow, and then go aheadand make those improvements after the fact.
Yeah. A couple of other productsthat you guys have that I think is
(35:23):
super helpful is when we have aclient who, you know, their house
just isn't ready to go on themarket. They have a situation where maybe
they have a parent living with themand they really don't want to have to
show the house while they're living there. So one of the products that you
(35:44):
have is a helock. Talk alittle bit about what is a helock,
what does that stand for, andwhat is the benefit of using that when
you're going to go ahead and purchasea new home. Yes, so there's
two different ways you can structure thatparticular type of transaction. They elock is
it stands for home equity line ofcredit. So that is a product that
(36:06):
allows you to take some of theequity out of your existing home and either
purchase another home with it or putit make a down payment, a substantial
down payment. Yeah, so youdon't, as you said before, you
don't have to have a contingency contract. You can go ahead and get your
new loan for the new house,taking the equity, most of the equity
out of your old house, andthen once you get settled, put your
(36:29):
house on the market and it paysoff the home equity line of credit,
which is such a relief to somepeople who really do not want to have
to sell before they buy. Youknow, it's the benefit of being able
to close on the new home,move out of that home, and then
being able to put it on themarket for sale. So that's you said,
there are two different ways. That'sone. What's the second. Yes,
(36:49):
the other product is called a bridgeloan, which will allow someone up
to one hundred percent financing on thepurchase of another home, also keeping you
from having to have a contendency contract. It doesn't require a down payment,
like I said, interest only paymentsfor eleven months, so usually you're going
to be able to sell your departurehome. Within that eleven month period of
(37:13):
time. Some people will be ableto their house is free and clear that
they're moving away from they'll be ableto buy their new home, and then
when their departure home sells, theypay off their bridge loan and there they
are with no house. Note again. Yeah, and so the benefit is,
like you said in the beginning,as you were talking about these these
are held in house. Yes,and so one of the things that I
(37:36):
really love about being able to referclients to First Financial is that it's not
that you're putting a square peg ina round hole. You have so many
options for people to give them theability to fit what is going to work
best for them right right, Andyou can call First Financial and we'll be
(37:58):
able to tell you all of theproducts that are out there that might meet
your needs. We're not going tojust be order takers. In other words,
if you tell us about your situation, we try to look at everything
that we have and put you inthe best position possible. Well, you
know, just recently, like twoweeks ago, I closed on a property
that I had a client relocating herefrom out of the area, and they
(38:22):
were wanting to put an offer inon a property, but the property had
a contingency contract already, but theseller didn't want to accept another one.
So the homeowner or the buyer calledyou and you visited with them about what
they were trying to do, andthen you were able to connect them with
someone else in the office that wasable to do a You guys don't say
(38:45):
Okay, yeah, I'm going totake this and do it my way.
You go, what's going to bebest for this client? Right exactly?
And we're right next door to eachother, our offices are you know,
we all work together really closely.I can just walk next door and talk
to Cindy about any of the secondarymarket products that I think might apply to
a customer and usually get her onthe phone with them or a meeting with
(39:07):
them immediately so they don't have towait. So you specialize while you specialize
in really the in house products.You have available to you every product and
knowledge about every product to be ableto help that client find the right fit
for them, right. And sothat's what I love about First Financial.
When you go to other mortgage brokers, they have quite a few products they
(39:30):
do and you may fit perfectly inone of their products. But the problem
is you may not, and thenyou're limited as to what you can get.
Not only that, but you mayfit perfectly into a product at the
beginning of the loan process, andthen something happens during the loan process that
(39:52):
causes you not to fit into thatproduct anymore, and a lot of people,
I mean I have to change lendersat that point and start over.
Thus, if something happens during theprocess in one product, we can usually
find you another product to get youinto without you having to reapply with another
lender and provide all your documentation andstart from square one. Yeah, and
(40:15):
that to me is a huge benefitsas an agent when you're working with a
client. When you have a buyerwho something happens midstream and you have to
explain that to the seller, typicallyit's hard to say, hey, we're
switching lenders and going somewhere else.They typically freak out, and as as
(40:36):
they should. But if you havethe product within the same company and you're
able to just shift that over,you have all of the documentation you need,
everything can just move from one departmentto another, and then it gives
the ability of the buyer to goahead and move forward and close on that
property without the seller having to bealarmed. Right. And sometimes it's not
(40:58):
the borrower that the issue. Sometimesit may be an appraisal that comes back
the property. Yeah, I meanthere are other issues that come up that
really doesn't have anything to do withthe bar or something that could come up
with them so or something happens intheir life. I mean, it just
happens, so anything can happen.So to me, the thing that I
love is that you have options,and that's what we love to provide our
(41:22):
customers at Danta Simmons real Estate.It's what we want to provide our customers.
It's the reason why when someone callsand wants to either buy or sell,
we want to go through here orall of your options and then you
get to choose which direction is best. And I think that's one of the
things that First Financial does really well. Yeah. And a lot of people
(41:42):
obviously they don't do mortgage loans everyday, so they don't know what options
are availing to them. Yeah,someone shares that information with them, and
if the mortgage company or think thatthey're working with doesn't have all of the
options, they're not going to sharethem with them because they don't have the
same options that you guys do.Right, So, if someone is interested
and curious Lonnie, how would theyget in touch with you and talk about
(42:07):
Alan. You can reach me atfour O nine two two one six one
eight two and then or you wantto email me. My email is l
white like the color at f fiN dot com. Yeah, and if
you have any questions and you don'thave that telephone number you didn't write it
(42:29):
down, You're welcome to call myoffice. Cindy can get that for you
four zero nine eight six six team. That's our number, or go on
our website Dana Simmons real Estate dotcom or DSR dot com. We are
happy to provide any of that informationto you. Thank you, guys so
much for making this a great showtoday. I really appreciate it. Thank
you for him. Yeah, thanksfor sharing about sour Lakes, sharing about
(42:51):
loans. Thank you to the ladieswho were out at the Highway three twenty
six properties. It's been a greatshow today. You guys, stay cool
out the air in this heat.Stay hydrated. I'm the mama saying get
you some water. I've enjoyed spendingsome time with you today. We'll see
you next week. This is theDana Simmons Show.
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