February 10, 2025 • 42 mins
- This week Jessica Welborn, a buyers agent with DSRE and Lani White, a lender with First Financial Bank explain buying a fixer-upper. Why this is a good time to purchase a fixer-upper and how you can do that.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well el Southeast Texas. So excited to have you join
us today. We have an exciting show ahead of us.
Today we're going to be talking about fixer uppers. You know,
in our affordability of homes right now, there are some
challenges in getting something that is affordable for some first
home buyers or even if you're wanting to get something
(00:22):
a little larger. So one of the things that we
want to talk about today is how can you do that?
How can you get a bigger home with more square footage,
but maybe buy something that needs a little elbow grease
or a little bit of personalization. I have with me
Lonnie White with First Financial Bank. She's the senior vice
president there. She's going to give you the information on
(00:44):
how do you finance something like that, how do you
roll in a purchase, plus those improvements that you'd like
to make as well. And also with us is Jessica
Welborn with Dana Simmons real Estate, and she is going
to give us some of the tips and tricks that
you can use as you're looking for property and what
to look for and what does that whole process look like.
So today's show is going to be exciting we'd love
(01:07):
to hear from you. Have you purchased a fixture upper,
what were the challenges that you faced? What were some
of the benefits. All three of us here today have
done it. We've all flipped houses or fixed up our
own house, purchased a house that needed to be fixed.
So we want to give you some of the insight
we've received personally by doing it ourselves. But we'd love
(01:30):
to hear from you eight nine six five five eight four.
If you have a story about your fixer upper or
how that went for you, I'd love to hear it, good,
bad or ugly. You know, we want to hear the truth.
We want everyone to know everything before they go into
that process because it can be a process. So we
want to talk about what are the good things and
then what are the challenges. But first, i'd love to
(01:51):
introduce you to our guests with us today, Lonnie White,
First Financial Banking. Lonnie, you've been on the show before.
Thank you for joining us again. But for those who
didn't hear who you were before, talk a little bit
about how you came to Southeast Texas, your time here,
and then how you got into First Financial Bank.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
All right, awesome, Well, I'm not originally from the southeast Texas,
but I did go to college at Lamar University and
I met my husband there, of course, and we've lived
in several different places in Texas, but have been back
in the Golden Triangle now for about eleven years. And
that is when I came to First Financial Bank.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Like eleven years ago.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
It seems like yesterday, I know, and I can honestly
say it is the best place that I've ever worked.
I came out of a I won't say the name,
that I came out of a large bank environment. And
of course First Financial is a community regional bank. So
we've just got we've got great products, we've got great people,
(02:51):
we've got a great business philosophy, and it's it's just
a joy to be able to help serve our communities
financial needs.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
And so you have family here. Your parents live here, yes,
I lives.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Here, yes, And my husband's parents live here. So uh,
it was just a matter of time before we came back.
We've been actually lived in this area and moved away
I think three times, always.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Come back absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
So it's a great place.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
To be, it really is.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
And you're right, First Financial is a wonderful organization.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
It is.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
While it is a Texas bank and it's it does
have regional ties, but it's a billion dollar bank, so
it has it has plenty of our death fourteen billion.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
I know it was a lot of billions billion, Yes,
So it.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Has the depth to be able to do whatever you
might need it to do.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
We've got that local community feel as far as the
way we do business, but we've got all of the
products in all of the backing that a larger bank
would have.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So the other thing I love is that you have
of people in the bank. You can actually walk into
the bank and talk to someone.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
And you know what else, We answer the phone. Yes,
when you call a live person answers the phone. I
should clarify that, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And you also that many of the bankers give cell
phone numbers out so that you can reach out to
them at any point in time. So it's a very personal,
very community oriented bank. So if you if you are
looking to change from a bank, because I did that.
I was with the big bank who every time we
went into the big bank, the faces changed and they
(04:34):
never knew who we were. They never offered to do
anything to help us, never said hey, have you considered
And so at that point in time, we started looking
for banks that, you know, that could benefit us. I
know that sounds terrible, but that's what we wanted. We
needed something that would help us grow our business, of course.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
And you know it just like real estate. I mean,
you guys do real estate all day long, and I
do loans all day long. It's like you want an
expert to give you advice. You don't know everything there
is to know about financing, so you do need you
need a banker, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
A personal banker.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Banker.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Yeah, so when you can walk into the office, because
I am sometimes a face to face person and say,
here's my challenge, how can we fix this? I mean
it's very hard to do that with some of those
bigger banks.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
And you get to know your banker. They know you personally,
so they're able to give you advice, individualized advice, not
just you know.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
And First Financial Bank has offices across the Golden Triangle
or seven different offices right.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Yes, we're in Beaumont, We're soon to open another location
in Beaumont over by Baptist Hospital. We're in Lumberton, Orange Fighter,
Mid County, Mauriceville, Newton Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Love that. So anywhere anywhere in South East Texas, they're
they're within reach.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, and of course we have all the online products.
You know, much of banking now is done online. But
if you need to go in or you want to
go into a local office, we're there, Yeah, with typically
candy or any free coffee.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Coffee. Yeah, you want to pop in and grab as.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Nip popcorn on Fridays, just saying.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, that's why Ken loves to go to the bank
and he wants to go into the bank, so he handles.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
That for us.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Also with us Jessica Wilborn and Jessica, you have been
in South East Texas a long time. Tell everyone a
little bit about you.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Yeah, I grew up here. Inviter lived in Port Ahs
for about five years and then my husband and I
he's was in ministry and moved to Mississippi for that
for five years, and so then we came back to
Fighter same we've bounced back. Family always cause us back here.
It's good to be with your you know, close to
your people. So we moved back here just in time
(06:57):
for the big storms for Harvey in twenty seventeen. So
that's where a lot of my We've done a lot
of fixer uppers in the past, but that's where a
lot of my remodeling comes from, also experience. But I
have a husband named James. We've been married twenty I
got this wrong the other day or he got it
wrong the other day, twenty seven years.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Wow, congratulations, thank you.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Four kiddos, they're not kids anymore. Our baby is fourteen,
blowing my mind. And then three grandsons that are just precious.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
And so really, you received a degree in nursing.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Yeah, I went to school at Lamarin Orange for nursing
and decided that nursing was just not for me. I
was really scared to tell my husband that whatever I
decided it, but it all went okay, you know. Then
I worked for the State of Texas for a while actually,
and then a nonprofit locally that helped people find healthcare
(07:58):
that didn't have insurance, were underinsured at the time, and
worked there for a little bit. And then I stayed
at home with the giddos. Just made sense. Felt God
called me to stay home with my babies, and so
I did that, and actually it didn't make sense. I
should say. The highlight on the God calling me home
because financially it did not make sense, but we made
(08:20):
it and then in twenty nineteen got my real estate
license and started doing this and loving it.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Well. One of the things I love about your story
is that what is the theme through all of it though,
is nurturing And you know, the nursing is a nurturing
heart that being a mom working for a nonprofit ministry
that you did all of it. You have a and
I get to witness it all the time, so I
get to see it. You just have such a nurturing
(08:51):
heart with our customers and clients that your desire is
to truly just help them and guide them through the process.
So I love that. I love that you have that
just to your core and it's who you are.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Yeah, it is. It Maybe can get me in trouble
because I get a little mostly involved sometimes. Yeah, but
it's okay, it works out. You do a great job.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Well.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
We're so excited to let you guys hear. What are
some of the things you can do as you're considering
whether or not buying a fixer upper is for you.
In the market right now, we are seeing things pick
up December and January, we're a little bit harsh. They
were pretty slow. We don't have the January stats out yet,
(09:33):
the official stats, but it was a softer month. But
the good news is we are seeing things improved for February.
We're seeing houses go under contract, we're getting phone calls,
and so we are feeling very positive about the future.
If you're thinking about buying right now, some people are saying, oh,
I think I should just wait. I will tell you
(09:54):
the largest pool of buyers will be in April, May, June,
and July, and so at that point it's when you
do have the greatest amount of competition. Now you have
to do what's right for your family, and so timing
for you needs to be what's right for you. But
getting into the market now there's a much better opportunity
for you to not compete for some of the property
(10:15):
that are out there compared to what will happen in
the next several months. If you have a question about that,
or you want to talk to someone and just sit
down and visit, we'd love to do that for you.
Four nine eight six six eight three two six is
our office number, and we have someone who will be
answering your phone, and yes, we answer your phone A
(10:35):
to a Monday through Saturday, and so if you want
to call our office, someone will schedule an appointment for
you to visit with one of our agents and to
talk through the process and help you to make a
decision that you feel confident about. You can also go
and request an appointment on our website it's Dana Simmons
real Estate dot com, or you can make that shorter
(10:57):
DSR dot com and we can let you see any
property that's out there, but we can also communicate with
you that way as well. When we come back, we
are going to share some experiences about buying a fixer
upper and what that looks like. And if you want
to share your experience with us, give us a call
four nine eight ninety six by five eight four right
(11:20):
here at KOBI. Don't go away, We'll be right back.
Welcome back. This is Dana Simmons. I'm joined today by
Lennie White. She is a senior vice president for First
Financial Bank, and she's going to talk to us a
little bit about a purchase plus improvement loan. But before
we get there, we want to talk to Jessica Wellborn.
She's a buyer's agent with Dana Simmons. Real estate, and
(11:42):
so one of the things that we're going to talk
about is that there is a little bit of a
challenge with affordability. Right now. It is tough with taxes
and insurance going up, but hopefully things are going to
change on that. You know, there's legislation that's ongoing, but
it doesn't mean because of that that you have to
(12:03):
put your plans to buy a home on the back burner.
If you are willing to roll up your sleeves, or
maybe it's you're hiring someone who is going to help you,
you can buy a house that needs a little work
and that could open the door to either your first
time for home ownership or for moving up the latter.
(12:26):
We have several properties on the market. Just listed one
yesterday over on call your Road. Almost an acre. The
house is over three thousand square feet, has an inground pool,
has a pool house, or it could be a mother
in law suite. It needs some work. It's been priced accordingly,
but updated. It could be a fun circle driveway. I
(12:49):
mean so many things, but it needs someone to get
in there and do some things before you do that.
So what are some things people need to know to
decide if that's the right move for them or not?
What are some things we need to think through, Jessica
before a buyer would would say yes, I think I'll
(13:10):
want to go with a fixer upper.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
I think a big one is what are your skill sets?
Are you able to do? Work yourself?
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Right?
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Are you able? Are you comfortable enough? Or are you
in the position where you can either buy the house
and stay somewhere else or are you are you willing
to like we were discussing earlier, fixing it up while
you're living in it. Yeah, you know, and and a
little bit of a little bit of uncomfortability to get
to get what you want. It's okay. It's okay to
(13:42):
live in a kind of a temporary situation and you know,
maybe half of the house and work on the other half.
Things like that. If you're willing to do that, you
can save yourself, you know, some money, and you can
get into something. Also, if you're not doing the work yourself,
what are your what's your cash look like? What reserves
do you have to be able to hire someone.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Or funds that you can have right?
Speaker 4 (14:06):
How do you how are you going to work the
financial situation, which, of course we've got Lonnie to talk
to us about that. But how are you going to
work that situation to be able to get into a
new home and so afford those things. A big one
that that I like to talk to people about is
what what are you willing to do? Do we want
(14:28):
to look look at all cosmetic Are you willing to
do some some big things? Are you wanting to move walls?
Are you wanting to you know as flooring and cabinets
and paint all you want? If so, then then let's
look at things that we know when we get an
inspector in and things you know, we want the big
systems in place, a roof, the foundation, the electrical, the plumbing.
(14:50):
I always think of those kind of.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Four ac.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Yes, and you know when those things are in place.
Of course you don't know. There are always unknowns. But
when you've got a good inspection that you see the
house is a solid house, all the rest is eyewash.
As a friend of mine, I always like to say,
it's just eyewash, you know.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
So I think the first step, as we talk about
in every transaction, is to get first what is your
level of comfortable? Where are you comfortable in that monthly note?
So Lonnie the very first step is really just getting
pre approved on the total amount. Is that what you
would typically recommend?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yes, definitely. I mean you need to have an idea
of what you want to spend on the improvements. You're
talking about purchase with improvements now.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Right right, Well, but you want the whole amount first. Okay,
I'm approved for three hundred and fifty thousand dollars is
my top amount. So in knowing that, then if I
buy a cheaper house at two fifty, I know I
have some one hundred one thousand dollars there to potentially
work with. So the very first step is to do that.
(16:06):
So let's say, Jessica, you're out looking at homes that
need they're larger. The client needs a larger home, but
the amount that they're proof far isn't getting them something updated.
So as you're looking at those, they're going to go
ahead and look at a lower amount so that they
(16:27):
can do the improvement side as well. What are some
of the steps that you have them take once you
find that house, before they even know if they want
to move forward on that, do you recommend bids?
Speaker 4 (16:40):
Absolutely, I would get them to call a contractor even
if in the long run. They're not going to use
a general contractor to get a good, solid bid on
an overall and a lot of contractors are willing to
bid the overall job. But maybe talk to you and
a great contractor would say, you know, if you're comfortable
(17:03):
doing certain parts of it, they will they can allow
you to do parts of that, you know, if you're
doing it yourself. But just getting the bids in general,
to know. I just had a buyer the other day
who got a bid for everything changing out, like fixtures, everything,
and when he got the bid back, he was like,
maybe I want to do some of these things myself, right,
(17:24):
you know, but it's a great savings if you can.
But definitely bids more than one if you can, just
to know what you're looking at.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Yeah, And that's the step that is going to be
required for the financing because the appraisal is going to
be based on it'll be an as is value and
then an as improved value. So you have to have
the bid and the plans for whatever you decide you
want to do upfront before you can get your loan.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
So let's talk about that, Lonnie. So let's say Jessica
finds some of the perfect house, They get the bids
for what they want done, then they come to you
and the product is called a purchase plus improvement loan. Yes, okay,
talk a little bit about what does that look like,
what do you require, and then how does that product work.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
So purchase with improvement, like you said, allows you to
buy a home and then have some funds in escrow
for completing the improvements on the home before you I
guess well, you don't have to move in before you
finish it. But when the loan closes, you've got all
the funding in place to do all the improvements that
you want to do.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
So the homeowner doesn't have to wait for you to
do the Their repairs don't have to be made. You
are closing on that house prior to improvements, but you
have an appraisal that shows the value with the purchase
plus the improvements with the improvements. Right, so you close
on that loan, you have the money in escrow, which
means it's held.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yes, it's like a line of credit attached to your
mortgage right where you'll do draws progress straws as you
do the improvements. Then you'll do the draws until you
get to your maximum loan amount.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
And the benefit for that is that you're not having
a purchase loan and then doing a line of credit
or an equity loan as a secondary mortgage on there
and talk about what is the benefit to doing it
altogether in one loan versus property loan and then a
home improvement loan.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Yeah, well, of course there's closing costs on every loan transaction,
so if you only have one closing, you only have
one set of closing costs, and then just you know,
having one mortgage payment instead of two, is definitely easier
to manage, you know, and you get it all done
at one time.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
I guess.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
The Purchase with Improvement allows you up to nine months
to get the repairs done or the improvements done, so
you're only going to have to pay interest on the
funds that you're drawing until your interim period is over.
Now it may only take three months, so you you know,
you can choose your interim period, but you have up
(20:05):
to nine months to complete the improvements.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
One of the things I love about that product is
that it's not just for improving a home. It can
be used for other additions as well, right.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
You mean, like an addition to your current home.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Well, a pool, sure, outdoor kitchen. We've we've done that
before together where we had someone who turned a third
car garage into a gym and then added a pool
in the backyard, and so they were working with a builder,
so they went ahead and they were able to close
(20:40):
with the builder, but then make those improvements by having
the builder renovate that garage and then having the pool
company put the pool in the backyard right right.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Very rarely did someone find the perfect house that has
every single feature that they want. And I think in
Hemmings is the one who told me that you just
go with eighty percent. Ten percent you can change in
ten percent, you just live with with.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
I literally just saw that the other day.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yeah, yeah, but it's so true. And especially when someone's
buying their first home. I mean, you until you get
in there and live in the space, you're you're just
not going to know exactly what you want. And not
everyone has the luxury of building their dream house.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Right out of the gate.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Yeah, and a lot of I mean, I don't know
what you guys think about this, but like in my world,
I've built equity in every house that I've owned by
doing improvements to it, buying something that maybe needed a
little work, put a little elbow grease in and build
equity so that you can get your dream home one day.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
And I think that's the way it's kind of always been.
Is that the starter home. I mean, that's the whole point.
You know, you buy one, and you and you grow
and you and you build off of each one. But
a lot of times I think, you know, we all
want the end house, even as our first house. A
lot of times we're looking at the end. It's like,
(22:05):
just take one step at a time, you know, And
there's no reason you have to buy the forever home
when you're buying your first home. You know, just a step.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
And the benefit is that when you have a home
that's all the bells and whistles, it's been flipped, it's
all updated, the competition for that home is much greater,
true than the competition for a house that needs someone
who has vision and who can see it. Now, you
may not have vision, but you can hire someone with vision,
(22:37):
and so that's part of the process as well. We
have people that we recommend that can guide them through
the process and help them see what are some of
the things you could do with that. When we come back,
we're going to each share a little bit about what
were some of the pitfalls that we've seen as we've
done this, because we all have all three of us,
(22:58):
and then what were some of the benefit to being
able to make those changes and make that home our own.
So don't go away when you come back. This is
the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome Back. This is Dana Simmons.
I'm joined by Lonnie White with First Financial Bank and
also Jessica Wellborn with Dana Simmons Real State. She is
(23:19):
one of our buyers agents and we are talking about
fixer uppers. One of the things that I think is
really important if you're considering a fixer rupper is make
sure you have a game plan. You have to do that,
and then you're going to have to prioritize the repairs
and the upgrades. And one thing that Jessica can help
(23:39):
you with too is location matters. You want to make
sure that you're not overbuilding or over upgrading a property
that is not going to fit in that market. When
you need to sell five, ten, fifteen, or however long
down the road, you don't want to overdo for the neighborhood. Also,
we want to make sure you at a home inspecsion.
(24:01):
Absolutely yeah, check those things that we may not be
able to see. Budget for surprises because every time something
is going to come up, and then of course talk
to a lender like Lonnie about financing. But one of
the things that we were just talking about in the
break is that HGTV gives people the wrong impression about
(24:22):
what it's like to I mean, some of them show
you some of the challenges, but Ken and I watch
and they'll say, oh, yeah, we're going to update all
of this house for forty five thousand dollars. And we're
looking eat each other and going in where and how
we've done flips, we've done our own personal homes where
(24:44):
we've fixed them up, and the values. It's kind of funny.
Yesterday I was talking to a seller who has a
house that's quite dated, and he's like, well, what if
I spent about thirty thousand dollars to update it, Well,
it would really require about seventy five to update it,
(25:04):
and that's a possibility. And we can talk about what
does it look like to sell it as is, and
what does it look like to sell it updated? But
thirty thousand dollars isn't going to do it, and so
understanding the costs going in is pretty critical. So you
have to be able to get the price of the
home at a good value before you do that. Now, Jessica,
(25:27):
I know you've redone houses after hurricanes and you've also flipped.
What are some of the things that you've learned and
what are some of the good and the bad in
doing that?
Speaker 4 (25:41):
I would say one of the largest things is, like
you said, be prepared for surprises. Even when you get
an inspection, When you cover all your bases beforehand, no
one can know everything right's there. There's just no way
to I know. We pulled down the drywall in our
bedroom replacing everything and realized that our house had zero
(26:05):
insulation in the walls none. It had it in the attic,
but even exterior walls no insulation. So things like that that,
I mean, that wasn't all that expensive to add insulation.
One we had no idea, but it would have been
long term utilities, you know, and then taking down all
of the trouble and adding, you know, to add the
insulation was an added expense, but one big lesson we
(26:28):
learned as Our first first home that we purchased is
that you know, we knew we had a growing family,
so we bought the biggest house that we could, and
it was very dated. It was an estate. I love
an estate house for a fixer uppert one that's never
really been redone. A house in its original state is
(26:49):
fun because it's just they're solidly built. Usually, you know,
an older home like that, and you get some character
and you don't have things that have been covered up
necessarily if it's been through many home you know, manyners
through the years or renters or different things like that.
But in this house that we built, what we learned
was when you buy the biggest house you can, everything's
(27:13):
a little bit more expensive too. You know, flooring, you know,
flooring is more as as opposed to and what we
did at the time was we took up all the
flooring and we actually painted the concrete until we could
afford to put on to put flooring in the thing.
Just one step out of time. And people make you
also think, oh, you can't do that work while you
(27:35):
live there, but you can. You can. You can do
things on one step out of time. Used to whenever
James would leave to go like to work training for
when he was doing ministry. A lot of times he
had like a overnight camps or things like that. I
would always start a project that he wasn't necessarily ready
to start while he was gone and try to get
things done really quick over the weekend. So I was
(27:55):
really good at weekend projects. Tearing up carpet, you know,
knocking down all things.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Yeah, yeah, O. Our biggest uh pixture repper that we
did for ourselves was over on Potter and and we
took up all of the carpet because it was nasty
and I preferred living on the concrete and by rugs. Yeah,
that and so and then it all had all paneling,
so we just started pulling down all of that paneling
(28:23):
and doing the sheet rock ourselves. I remember it was
like one o'clock in the morning when we were hanging
the last piece of sheet rock in the kitchen, and
I did look at Ken and say, I'm not doing.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
This again, never doing this again.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
So there are some things I'll do, but she rock
it is hard. I will say it's the last time
I ever touched a piece of sheet rock. It was
just challenging.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
Yeah, we had in our current house when we bought it.
In our boys room, there was wallpaper and we started
tearing down the wallpaper to see, you know, what was
behind it, and there was another layer of wallpaper and
then behind that there was paneling and we're like a
little disappointed because we were hoping we would get to
scheat rock. Well, we pulled the first piece of paneling
down and there was completely finished sheet rock behind it. Wow.
(29:11):
So we didn't have to touch the wallpaper. Like that
was the best little treasure. Fine surprised.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
You don't get many of those. That is one of
the things that you need to know is that when
you get surprises as you're you're doing a fixer upper,
typically you do run into just a few challenges. You
just have to know it ahead and prepare a head.
But I'm telling you that house that we had that
we did redo, it was beautiful when we finished it.
It was a large house and it was a great
(29:41):
house for our family, and so in the end, I'm
thankful we did it, even though during the process sometimes
I'm like, what are we doing? And so you do
have those moments. Now, Lonnie, I know you've done the
same thing.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, I have, And I was just thinking while you
were talking, I'm like, you know, you don't Maybe you
don't have to replaced the floor if you look at
it and it's tile and it's good tiled, but the
grout's dirty. You know, you can clean the grout. You
can paint the grout. You can saw the groud out
and regrout it. I mean you can do that in
a bathroom. You can do that on the floor. Paint
(30:15):
does wonders, Yes, for almost any any home. Yes, you know,
just getting colors that you like and that make you
feel good on the walls, and that's relatively inexpensive.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
And the other thing is when you know Kennano first married,
we've been married this year is this year forty years?
It will be four years this year. So when I
was doing the math, just in my head.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
No pressure, kN no pressure at all.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Like when we first married, you didn't have the Internet,
you didn't have you twoe, you didn't have Google. So
how how do you do some of these things? You know,
you talk to people and you had to get people
just walk you through. Okay, here's what you do today.
It's so nice that there are so many YouTube channels
(31:07):
and other places to go and be able to know
exactly what to do and how to do it on
some of the items. Now, I'm not opposed to using
a contractor, though at this point in my life I'm
less likely to do the work myself and more likely
to hire someone I trust who can do it well
(31:29):
and do it efficiently, because time is also many. Yeah, yes,
and so hiring a good general contractor who can bid
that out for you and then you're still in a
positive cash flow position from when you purchase plus the improvement.
I mean, that's a win win. When you can have
equity at the end and then still have exactly what
(31:52):
you want, that's a great benefit.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
And it's worth waiting for the right contract because usually
they're busy because they're good. But it's far better to
wait and get what you really want and get a
job well done then to be impatient about getting things done.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
And she's their own person.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
And we saw that during the hurricane dis Wait, oh
my goodness. Yes, people chose out of town contractors who
just did very poor jobs. It's so important to get
references and to speak to people who are in the
business and know your contractor. Jessica and Lonnie both you guys,
have worked with a lot of different people and you
(32:37):
know who were some really good people and we love
giving references for good contractors, and so we would say
if you have a question or need some help, don't
hesitate to reach out to us about that. When we
come back, we're going to share more about the fixer
upper plan and if that's for you. It's not for everyone,
but if it's for you and you have questions, give
(32:59):
us a call. Eight ninety six five five eight four.
This is Dana Simmons with the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back.
This is Dana Simmons. I have Lonnie White with First
Financial Bank and also Jessica Welborn, buyer's agent with Dana
Simmons Real Estate, and we have been talking about fixer uppers. Now,
what is a fixer upper. Well, it's a property that
needs some renovations, but it's livable. I mean you could
(33:22):
live there and make you know, other updates. It would
be like cosmetic updates like wallpaper, removal, flooring, but it
might also be replacing a roof for even updating plumbing.
And one of the things we were talking about in
the break just because you talked about the fact about
prioritizing those repairs. So talk a little bit about what
(33:44):
you are thinking on that.
Speaker 4 (33:46):
I was just thinking, you know, of the function of
the home and efficiency things like that. Make make the
repairs and invest in the big things that need to
be fixed, whether it is a new air conditioning system
or if it's new windows or things like that. Go
ahead and invest when you have the upfront money, when
(34:09):
you have that lump summer, if you've gotten the plus
improvements kind of loan, invest in those big things first.
The new cabinets can wait, you know, or paint what
you have there and live in that for a bit,
but make the house functional and invest in the in
the big function thing.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
It's the things that are in is pretty right now, It's.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
So much more fun to think about the pretty things.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
But yeah, it's so much more fun to think about Okay,
the flooring, the walls, all the fun things. But what
you don't want to do is make it all beautiful
and pretty. And then one of those big ticket items
come up to where it's like, okay, I have no
choice now, right, and now you've put yourself in and.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
Then you're in a bind in a bye here.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Yeah, and so that is absolutely critical. So it is
important to have that game plan and stick to that
game plan by prioritizing those repairs and upgrades because it
grows as you go.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
Listen, I have Ken has a list. Uh, it's an
ongoing list at our house of the of the things
and of what we do, and we prioritize top to bottom.
And that's what you have to do. When you're doing
a flip, you have to prioritize, or when you're you're
doing a fixer upper, you have to think about those
up front. What are some other things that you think
(35:22):
are important as you've gone through the process, uh and
done it as well?
Speaker 4 (35:28):
I would say not just getting your when you hire someone,
if you if you aren't using a general contractor, but
you're hiring subcontractors, are a flooring same kind of thing
is that? No, Uh, get something in writing on cost.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:48):
Also talk to people who have who've used those people,
and and don't don't go blindly into any of those situations.
You know, just research, research, research, research, Know what you're
going into and prioritize. I think those are the top
things I can think of.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
And kind of know the order they need to be done.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
Yeah, and you can find people that will give you
those those you know, contractors will they'll talk you through it,
kind of line it out and help help you out,
you know.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
Yeah, And we talked about too as we were summarizing
budgeting for surprises when you do the purchase plus improvement loan,
how does that work out in that process? Do is
there a budget for surprises or do you just go
by what the contractor says it's going to cost.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Yeah, there's no budget for surprises with that product because
it's pretty much set in stone based on the bid
that that you get. So you do need to think
it through, like Jessica said, and make sure that you
know you're prioritizing what needs to get done, because that's
going to be part of what goes into deciding the value.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Of the property as improved. But then.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
You know after the fact, I guess if you do
have a surprise, there are other ways you can finance those.
You don't always have to do a real estate secured
loan for home improvements. I mean, you can do other
types of personal loans.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
If something or just have some savings ready or any surprises.
But I do think that the important thing is as
you were talking about as a praise is that you
need to have someone who knows how to help you
find that fixer upper and then get the value and
ensure that that price plus improvement can be an appraised
(37:40):
value because that has to appraise. I mean, you have
to have the property plus the improvement a praise altogether
in order to get that loan.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
That's right, and it's not always dollar for dollar, you know,
you you know, a pool is probably the most obvious
addition that you know, you might spend one hundred and
twenty five thousand dollars on a pool, it's not going
to add one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars to
the value of the home. So that's where your real
estate agent comes in because she's seen what a property
(38:12):
that's similar to yours is improved.
Speaker 3 (38:16):
Will go for and can give you advice.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Yeah, really important to understand that going in understanding the
numbers and the data, and that's one of the things
we love to do is to make sure that you're
getting that good information. One of the things I wanted
to update everyone on is this week we do have
the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Luncheon and
Industry Expo. It is going to be this Thursday, February
(38:40):
thirteenth at Doggett Fard Park. The luncheon has actually already
sold out, so that luncheon's going to have lots of
our local plant managers talking about what's going on in
our area. But one of the things that's open to
the public and it's free is the Industry Expo and
the exhibit hall from one to five and parking is
(39:04):
free and mission is free. There are going to be
seven over seventy industry contractors, vendors and suppliers on hand,
people like Exonmobile part Arthur L and G. Bechdel, entergy ISTC.
Mason Construction, a number of people there. There's also a
Del popa cornhole tournament that's going to have cash and prizes.
(39:25):
So hey, if you are a corn hole champion, the
entry fee is thirty dollars for two people.
Speaker 4 (39:32):
But Jessica, it's like a whole professional league on fill.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Well, I'm telling you that in my family it's serious. Now,
I know two people in our family who take it
really serious, and I won't name names, Kendl Nanny, but
they are very competitive and they are pretty good at
Cornhall and might have to get them over there. So
we want to make sure that if you are interested,
(39:58):
you can head out to fur Word Park, dogg It
Word Park and walk through that exhibit, talk to people
in our industry, what's going on. Great opportunity just to network,
Just to go and network with people in the industrial world.
Also the Women's Entrepreneurial Network with the Chamber. If you're
not a member of that, you should be. It's great.
(40:21):
You can get onto the WHEN network on our Facebook page.
We do have a Dress for Success style show coming
up April eighth. So sorry, the cough is real, but
(40:41):
the Women Entrepreneurial Network Dress for Success Style Show is
April eighth at the Holiday Inn Beaumont Plaza and if
you want to get tickets, go to the Greater Beaumont
Chamber of Commerce and you can register there on their website. Lonnie,
thank you for having for coming on the show and
having such great insight. Tell everyone how to get ahold
of you.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
You can call me at four O nine two two
one six one eight two, or if you prefer to email,
it's l White at FFI N dot com.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Okay, and Jessica, someone's thinking about buying a house, maybe
they want something brand new, or maybe they want to
fix a upper. How do they get a hold of you.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
They can call our office at four O nine eight
six six eight three two six. You can call my
cell phone at four nine three five one five two
six zero. And I am happy to help and thanks
for having me on.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
Yeah, it's been fun and I love talking about fixer
uppers because I do feel like it is a great
way to be able to get some built in equity.
If you are willing to do just a little bit
of work, if you want to talk to us, if
you want to sit down and visit with you know,
if this is an option for you, we would absolutely
love to sit down and visit with you again. Or
(41:57):
O nine eight nine six I'm sorry for nine eight
six six eight three two six, or go to Danasimmons
real estate dot com. Thanks for joining us today. Have
a wonderful Saturday.
Well el Southeast Texas. So excited to have you join
us today. We have an exciting show ahead of us.
Today we're going to be talking about fixer uppers. You know,
in our affordability of homes right now, there are some
challenges in getting something that is affordable for some first
home buyers or even if you're wanting to get something
(00:22):
a little larger. So one of the things that we
want to talk about today is how can you do that?
How can you get a bigger home with more square footage,
but maybe buy something that needs a little elbow grease
or a little bit of personalization. I have with me
Lonnie White with First Financial Bank. She's the senior vice
president there. She's going to give you the information on
(00:44):
how do you finance something like that, how do you
roll in a purchase, plus those improvements that you'd like
to make as well. And also with us is Jessica
Welborn with Dana Simmons real Estate, and she is going
to give us some of the tips and tricks that
you can use as you're looking for property and what
to look for and what does that whole process look like.
So today's show is going to be exciting we'd love
(01:07):
to hear from you. Have you purchased a fixture upper,
what were the challenges that you faced? What were some
of the benefits. All three of us here today have
done it. We've all flipped houses or fixed up our
own house, purchased a house that needed to be fixed.
So we want to give you some of the insight
we've received personally by doing it ourselves. But we'd love
(01:30):
to hear from you eight nine six five five eight four.
If you have a story about your fixer upper or
how that went for you, I'd love to hear it, good,
bad or ugly. You know, we want to hear the truth.
We want everyone to know everything before they go into
that process because it can be a process. So we
want to talk about what are the good things and
then what are the challenges. But first, i'd love to
(01:51):
introduce you to our guests with us today, Lonnie White,
First Financial Banking. Lonnie, you've been on the show before.
Thank you for joining us again. But for those who
didn't hear who you were before, talk a little bit
about how you came to Southeast Texas, your time here,
and then how you got into First Financial Bank.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
All right, awesome, Well, I'm not originally from the southeast Texas,
but I did go to college at Lamar University and
I met my husband there, of course, and we've lived
in several different places in Texas, but have been back
in the Golden Triangle now for about eleven years. And
that is when I came to First Financial Bank.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Like eleven years ago.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
It seems like yesterday, I know, and I can honestly
say it is the best place that I've ever worked.
I came out of a I won't say the name,
that I came out of a large bank environment. And
of course First Financial is a community regional bank. So
we've just got we've got great products, we've got great people,
(02:51):
we've got a great business philosophy, and it's it's just
a joy to be able to help serve our communities
financial needs.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
And so you have family here. Your parents live here, yes,
I lives.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Here, yes, And my husband's parents live here. So uh,
it was just a matter of time before we came back.
We've been actually lived in this area and moved away
I think three times, always.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Come back absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
So it's a great place.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
To be, it really is.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
And you're right, First Financial is a wonderful organization.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
It is.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
While it is a Texas bank and it's it does
have regional ties, but it's a billion dollar bank, so
it has it has plenty of our death fourteen billion.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
I know it was a lot of billions billion, Yes,
So it.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Has the depth to be able to do whatever you
might need it to do.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
We've got that local community feel as far as the
way we do business, but we've got all of the
products in all of the backing that a larger bank
would have.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So the other thing I love is that you have
of people in the bank. You can actually walk into
the bank and talk to someone.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
And you know what else, We answer the phone. Yes,
when you call a live person answers the phone. I
should clarify that, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And you also that many of the bankers give cell
phone numbers out so that you can reach out to
them at any point in time. So it's a very personal,
very community oriented bank. So if you if you are
looking to change from a bank, because I did that.
I was with the big bank who every time we
went into the big bank, the faces changed and they
(04:34):
never knew who we were. They never offered to do
anything to help us, never said hey, have you considered
And so at that point in time, we started looking
for banks that, you know, that could benefit us. I
know that sounds terrible, but that's what we wanted. We
needed something that would help us grow our business, of course.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
And you know it just like real estate. I mean,
you guys do real estate all day long, and I
do loans all day long. It's like you want an
expert to give you advice. You don't know everything there
is to know about financing, so you do need you
need a banker, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
A personal banker.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Banker.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Yeah, so when you can walk into the office, because
I am sometimes a face to face person and say,
here's my challenge, how can we fix this? I mean
it's very hard to do that with some of those
bigger banks.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
And you get to know your banker. They know you personally,
so they're able to give you advice, individualized advice, not
just you know.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
And First Financial Bank has offices across the Golden Triangle
or seven different offices right.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Yes, we're in Beaumont, We're soon to open another location
in Beaumont over by Baptist Hospital. We're in Lumberton, Orange Fighter,
Mid County, Mauriceville, Newton Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Love that. So anywhere anywhere in South East Texas, they're
they're within reach.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, and of course we have all the online products.
You know, much of banking now is done online. But
if you need to go in or you want to
go into a local office, we're there, Yeah, with typically
candy or any free coffee.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Coffee. Yeah, you want to pop in and grab as.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Nip popcorn on Fridays, just saying.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, that's why Ken loves to go to the bank
and he wants to go into the bank, so he handles.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
That for us.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Also with us Jessica Wilborn and Jessica, you have been
in South East Texas a long time. Tell everyone a
little bit about you.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Yeah, I grew up here. Inviter lived in Port Ahs
for about five years and then my husband and I
he's was in ministry and moved to Mississippi for that
for five years, and so then we came back to
Fighter same we've bounced back. Family always cause us back here.
It's good to be with your you know, close to
your people. So we moved back here just in time
(06:57):
for the big storms for Harvey in twenty seventeen. So
that's where a lot of my We've done a lot
of fixer uppers in the past, but that's where a
lot of my remodeling comes from, also experience. But I
have a husband named James. We've been married twenty I
got this wrong the other day or he got it
wrong the other day, twenty seven years.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Wow, congratulations, thank you.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Four kiddos, they're not kids anymore. Our baby is fourteen,
blowing my mind. And then three grandsons that are just precious.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
And so really, you received a degree in nursing.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Yeah, I went to school at Lamarin Orange for nursing
and decided that nursing was just not for me. I
was really scared to tell my husband that whatever I
decided it, but it all went okay, you know. Then
I worked for the State of Texas for a while actually,
and then a nonprofit locally that helped people find healthcare
(07:58):
that didn't have insurance, were underinsured at the time, and
worked there for a little bit. And then I stayed
at home with the giddos. Just made sense. Felt God
called me to stay home with my babies, and so
I did that, and actually it didn't make sense. I
should say. The highlight on the God calling me home
because financially it did not make sense, but we made
(08:20):
it and then in twenty nineteen got my real estate
license and started doing this and loving it.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Well. One of the things I love about your story
is that what is the theme through all of it though,
is nurturing And you know, the nursing is a nurturing
heart that being a mom working for a nonprofit ministry
that you did all of it. You have a and
I get to witness it all the time, so I
get to see it. You just have such a nurturing
(08:51):
heart with our customers and clients that your desire is
to truly just help them and guide them through the process.
So I love that. I love that you have that
just to your core and it's who you are.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Yeah, it is. It Maybe can get me in trouble
because I get a little mostly involved sometimes. Yeah, but
it's okay, it works out. You do a great job.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Well.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
We're so excited to let you guys hear. What are
some of the things you can do as you're considering
whether or not buying a fixer upper is for you.
In the market right now, we are seeing things pick
up December and January, we're a little bit harsh. They
were pretty slow. We don't have the January stats out yet,
(09:33):
the official stats, but it was a softer month. But
the good news is we are seeing things improved for February.
We're seeing houses go under contract, we're getting phone calls,
and so we are feeling very positive about the future.
If you're thinking about buying right now, some people are saying, oh,
I think I should just wait. I will tell you
(09:54):
the largest pool of buyers will be in April, May, June,
and July, and so at that point it's when you
do have the greatest amount of competition. Now you have
to do what's right for your family, and so timing
for you needs to be what's right for you. But
getting into the market now there's a much better opportunity
for you to not compete for some of the property
(10:15):
that are out there compared to what will happen in
the next several months. If you have a question about that,
or you want to talk to someone and just sit
down and visit, we'd love to do that for you.
Four nine eight six six eight three two six is
our office number, and we have someone who will be
answering your phone, and yes, we answer your phone A
(10:35):
to a Monday through Saturday, and so if you want
to call our office, someone will schedule an appointment for
you to visit with one of our agents and to
talk through the process and help you to make a
decision that you feel confident about. You can also go
and request an appointment on our website it's Dana Simmons
real Estate dot com, or you can make that shorter
(10:57):
DSR dot com and we can let you see any
property that's out there, but we can also communicate with
you that way as well. When we come back, we
are going to share some experiences about buying a fixer
upper and what that looks like. And if you want
to share your experience with us, give us a call
four nine eight ninety six by five eight four right
(11:20):
here at KOBI. Don't go away, We'll be right back.
Welcome back. This is Dana Simmons. I'm joined today by
Lennie White. She is a senior vice president for First
Financial Bank, and she's going to talk to us a
little bit about a purchase plus improvement loan. But before
we get there, we want to talk to Jessica Wellborn.
She's a buyer's agent with Dana Simmons. Real estate, and
(11:42):
so one of the things that we're going to talk
about is that there is a little bit of a
challenge with affordability. Right now. It is tough with taxes
and insurance going up, but hopefully things are going to
change on that. You know, there's legislation that's ongoing, but
it doesn't mean because of that that you have to
(12:03):
put your plans to buy a home on the back burner.
If you are willing to roll up your sleeves, or
maybe it's you're hiring someone who is going to help you,
you can buy a house that needs a little work
and that could open the door to either your first
time for home ownership or for moving up the latter.
(12:26):
We have several properties on the market. Just listed one
yesterday over on call your Road. Almost an acre. The
house is over three thousand square feet, has an inground pool,
has a pool house, or it could be a mother
in law suite. It needs some work. It's been priced accordingly,
but updated. It could be a fun circle driveway. I
(12:49):
mean so many things, but it needs someone to get
in there and do some things before you do that.
So what are some things people need to know to
decide if that's the right move for them or not?
What are some things we need to think through, Jessica
before a buyer would would say yes, I think I'll
(13:10):
want to go with a fixer upper.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
I think a big one is what are your skill sets?
Are you able to do? Work yourself?
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Right?
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Are you able? Are you comfortable enough? Or are you
in the position where you can either buy the house
and stay somewhere else or are you are you willing
to like we were discussing earlier, fixing it up while
you're living in it. Yeah, you know, and and a
little bit of a little bit of uncomfortability to get
to get what you want. It's okay. It's okay to
(13:42):
live in a kind of a temporary situation and you know,
maybe half of the house and work on the other half.
Things like that. If you're willing to do that, you
can save yourself, you know, some money, and you can
get into something. Also, if you're not doing the work yourself,
what are your what's your cash look like? What reserves
do you have to be able to hire someone.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Or funds that you can have right?
Speaker 4 (14:06):
How do you how are you going to work the
financial situation, which, of course we've got Lonnie to talk
to us about that. But how are you going to
work that situation to be able to get into a
new home and so afford those things. A big one
that that I like to talk to people about is
what what are you willing to do? Do we want
(14:28):
to look look at all cosmetic Are you willing to
do some some big things? Are you wanting to move walls?
Are you wanting to you know as flooring and cabinets
and paint all you want? If so, then then let's
look at things that we know when we get an
inspector in and things you know, we want the big
systems in place, a roof, the foundation, the electrical, the plumbing.
(14:50):
I always think of those kind of.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Four ac.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Yes, and you know when those things are in place.
Of course you don't know. There are always unknowns. But
when you've got a good inspection that you see the
house is a solid house, all the rest is eyewash.
As a friend of mine, I always like to say,
it's just eyewash, you know.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
So I think the first step, as we talk about
in every transaction, is to get first what is your
level of comfortable? Where are you comfortable in that monthly note?
So Lonnie the very first step is really just getting
pre approved on the total amount. Is that what you
would typically recommend?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yes, definitely. I mean you need to have an idea
of what you want to spend on the improvements. You're
talking about purchase with improvements now.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Right right, Well, but you want the whole amount first. Okay,
I'm approved for three hundred and fifty thousand dollars is
my top amount. So in knowing that, then if I
buy a cheaper house at two fifty, I know I
have some one hundred one thousand dollars there to potentially
work with. So the very first step is to do that.
(16:06):
So let's say, Jessica, you're out looking at homes that
need they're larger. The client needs a larger home, but
the amount that they're proof far isn't getting them something updated.
So as you're looking at those, they're going to go
ahead and look at a lower amount so that they
(16:27):
can do the improvement side as well. What are some
of the steps that you have them take once you
find that house, before they even know if they want
to move forward on that, do you recommend bids?
Speaker 4 (16:40):
Absolutely, I would get them to call a contractor even
if in the long run. They're not going to use
a general contractor to get a good, solid bid on
an overall and a lot of contractors are willing to
bid the overall job. But maybe talk to you and
a great contractor would say, you know, if you're comfortable
(17:03):
doing certain parts of it, they will they can allow
you to do parts of that, you know, if you're
doing it yourself. But just getting the bids in general,
to know. I just had a buyer the other day
who got a bid for everything changing out, like fixtures, everything,
and when he got the bid back, he was like,
maybe I want to do some of these things myself, right,
(17:24):
you know, but it's a great savings if you can.
But definitely bids more than one if you can, just
to know what you're looking at.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Yeah, And that's the step that is going to be
required for the financing because the appraisal is going to
be based on it'll be an as is value and
then an as improved value. So you have to have
the bid and the plans for whatever you decide you
want to do upfront before you can get your loan.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
So let's talk about that, Lonnie. So let's say Jessica
finds some of the perfect house, They get the bids
for what they want done, then they come to you
and the product is called a purchase plus improvement loan. Yes, okay,
talk a little bit about what does that look like,
what do you require, and then how does that product work.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
So purchase with improvement, like you said, allows you to
buy a home and then have some funds in escrow
for completing the improvements on the home before you I
guess well, you don't have to move in before you
finish it. But when the loan closes, you've got all
the funding in place to do all the improvements that
you want to do.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
So the homeowner doesn't have to wait for you to
do the Their repairs don't have to be made. You
are closing on that house prior to improvements, but you
have an appraisal that shows the value with the purchase
plus the improvements with the improvements. Right, so you close
on that loan, you have the money in escrow, which
means it's held.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yes, it's like a line of credit attached to your
mortgage right where you'll do draws progress straws as you
do the improvements. Then you'll do the draws until you
get to your maximum loan amount.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
And the benefit for that is that you're not having
a purchase loan and then doing a line of credit
or an equity loan as a secondary mortgage on there
and talk about what is the benefit to doing it
altogether in one loan versus property loan and then a
home improvement loan.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Yeah, well, of course there's closing costs on every loan transaction,
so if you only have one closing, you only have
one set of closing costs, and then just you know,
having one mortgage payment instead of two, is definitely easier
to manage, you know, and you get it all done
at one time.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
I guess.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
The Purchase with Improvement allows you up to nine months
to get the repairs done or the improvements done, so
you're only going to have to pay interest on the
funds that you're drawing until your interim period is over.
Now it may only take three months, so you you know,
you can choose your interim period, but you have up
(20:05):
to nine months to complete the improvements.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
One of the things I love about that product is
that it's not just for improving a home. It can
be used for other additions as well, right.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
You mean, like an addition to your current home.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Well, a pool, sure, outdoor kitchen. We've we've done that
before together where we had someone who turned a third
car garage into a gym and then added a pool
in the backyard, and so they were working with a builder,
so they went ahead and they were able to close
(20:40):
with the builder, but then make those improvements by having
the builder renovate that garage and then having the pool
company put the pool in the backyard right right.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Very rarely did someone find the perfect house that has
every single feature that they want. And I think in
Hemmings is the one who told me that you just
go with eighty percent. Ten percent you can change in
ten percent, you just live with with.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
I literally just saw that the other day.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yeah, yeah, but it's so true. And especially when someone's
buying their first home. I mean, you until you get
in there and live in the space, you're you're just
not going to know exactly what you want. And not
everyone has the luxury of building their dream house.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Right out of the gate.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Yeah, and a lot of I mean, I don't know
what you guys think about this, but like in my world,
I've built equity in every house that I've owned by
doing improvements to it, buying something that maybe needed a
little work, put a little elbow grease in and build
equity so that you can get your dream home one day.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
And I think that's the way it's kind of always been.
Is that the starter home. I mean, that's the whole point.
You know, you buy one, and you and you grow
and you and you build off of each one. But
a lot of times I think, you know, we all
want the end house, even as our first house. A
lot of times we're looking at the end. It's like,
(22:05):
just take one step at a time, you know, And
there's no reason you have to buy the forever home
when you're buying your first home. You know, just a step.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
And the benefit is that when you have a home
that's all the bells and whistles, it's been flipped, it's
all updated, the competition for that home is much greater,
true than the competition for a house that needs someone
who has vision and who can see it. Now, you
may not have vision, but you can hire someone with vision,
(22:37):
and so that's part of the process as well. We
have people that we recommend that can guide them through
the process and help them see what are some of
the things you could do with that. When we come back,
we're going to each share a little bit about what
were some of the pitfalls that we've seen as we've
done this, because we all have all three of us,
(22:58):
and then what were some of the benefit to being
able to make those changes and make that home our own.
So don't go away when you come back. This is
the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome Back. This is Dana Simmons.
I'm joined by Lonnie White with First Financial Bank and
also Jessica Wellborn with Dana Simmons Real State. She is
(23:19):
one of our buyers agents and we are talking about
fixer uppers. One of the things that I think is
really important if you're considering a fixer rupper is make
sure you have a game plan. You have to do that,
and then you're going to have to prioritize the repairs
and the upgrades. And one thing that Jessica can help
(23:39):
you with too is location matters. You want to make
sure that you're not overbuilding or over upgrading a property
that is not going to fit in that market. When
you need to sell five, ten, fifteen, or however long
down the road, you don't want to overdo for the neighborhood. Also,
we want to make sure you at a home inspecsion.
(24:01):
Absolutely yeah, check those things that we may not be
able to see. Budget for surprises because every time something
is going to come up, and then of course talk
to a lender like Lonnie about financing. But one of
the things that we were just talking about in the
break is that HGTV gives people the wrong impression about
(24:22):
what it's like to I mean, some of them show
you some of the challenges, but Ken and I watch
and they'll say, oh, yeah, we're going to update all
of this house for forty five thousand dollars. And we're
looking eat each other and going in where and how
we've done flips, we've done our own personal homes where
(24:44):
we've fixed them up, and the values. It's kind of funny.
Yesterday I was talking to a seller who has a
house that's quite dated, and he's like, well, what if
I spent about thirty thousand dollars to update it, Well,
it would really require about seventy five to update it,
(25:04):
and that's a possibility. And we can talk about what
does it look like to sell it as is, and
what does it look like to sell it updated? But
thirty thousand dollars isn't going to do it, and so
understanding the costs going in is pretty critical. So you
have to be able to get the price of the
home at a good value before you do that. Now, Jessica,
(25:27):
I know you've redone houses after hurricanes and you've also flipped.
What are some of the things that you've learned and
what are some of the good and the bad in
doing that?
Speaker 4 (25:41):
I would say one of the largest things is, like
you said, be prepared for surprises. Even when you get
an inspection, When you cover all your bases beforehand, no
one can know everything right's there. There's just no way
to I know. We pulled down the drywall in our
bedroom replacing everything and realized that our house had zero
(26:05):
insulation in the walls none. It had it in the attic,
but even exterior walls no insulation. So things like that that,
I mean, that wasn't all that expensive to add insulation.
One we had no idea, but it would have been
long term utilities, you know, and then taking down all
of the trouble and adding, you know, to add the
insulation was an added expense, but one big lesson we
(26:28):
learned as Our first first home that we purchased is
that you know, we knew we had a growing family,
so we bought the biggest house that we could, and
it was very dated. It was an estate. I love
an estate house for a fixer uppert one that's never
really been redone. A house in its original state is
(26:49):
fun because it's just they're solidly built. Usually, you know,
an older home like that, and you get some character
and you don't have things that have been covered up
necessarily if it's been through many home you know, manyners
through the years or renters or different things like that.
But in this house that we built, what we learned
was when you buy the biggest house you can, everything's
(27:13):
a little bit more expensive too. You know, flooring, you know,
flooring is more as as opposed to and what we
did at the time was we took up all the
flooring and we actually painted the concrete until we could
afford to put on to put flooring in the thing.
Just one step out of time. And people make you
also think, oh, you can't do that work while you
(27:35):
live there, but you can. You can. You can do
things on one step out of time. Used to whenever
James would leave to go like to work training for
when he was doing ministry. A lot of times he
had like a overnight camps or things like that. I
would always start a project that he wasn't necessarily ready
to start while he was gone and try to get
things done really quick over the weekend. So I was
(27:55):
really good at weekend projects. Tearing up carpet, you know,
knocking down all things.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Yeah, yeah, O. Our biggest uh pixture repper that we
did for ourselves was over on Potter and and we
took up all of the carpet because it was nasty
and I preferred living on the concrete and by rugs. Yeah,
that and so and then it all had all paneling,
so we just started pulling down all of that paneling
(28:23):
and doing the sheet rock ourselves. I remember it was
like one o'clock in the morning when we were hanging
the last piece of sheet rock in the kitchen, and
I did look at Ken and say, I'm not doing.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
This again, never doing this again.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
So there are some things I'll do, but she rock
it is hard. I will say it's the last time
I ever touched a piece of sheet rock. It was
just challenging.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
Yeah, we had in our current house when we bought it.
In our boys room, there was wallpaper and we started
tearing down the wallpaper to see, you know, what was
behind it, and there was another layer of wallpaper and
then behind that there was paneling and we're like a
little disappointed because we were hoping we would get to
scheat rock. Well, we pulled the first piece of paneling
down and there was completely finished sheet rock behind it. Wow.
(29:11):
So we didn't have to touch the wallpaper. Like that
was the best little treasure. Fine surprised.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
You don't get many of those. That is one of
the things that you need to know is that when
you get surprises as you're you're doing a fixer upper,
typically you do run into just a few challenges. You
just have to know it ahead and prepare a head.
But I'm telling you that house that we had that
we did redo, it was beautiful when we finished it.
It was a large house and it was a great
(29:41):
house for our family, and so in the end, I'm
thankful we did it, even though during the process sometimes
I'm like, what are we doing? And so you do
have those moments. Now, Lonnie, I know you've done the
same thing.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, I have, And I was just thinking while you
were talking, I'm like, you know, you don't Maybe you
don't have to replaced the floor if you look at
it and it's tile and it's good tiled, but the
grout's dirty. You know, you can clean the grout. You
can paint the grout. You can saw the groud out
and regrout it. I mean you can do that in
a bathroom. You can do that on the floor. Paint
(30:15):
does wonders, Yes, for almost any any home. Yes, you know,
just getting colors that you like and that make you
feel good on the walls, and that's relatively inexpensive.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
And the other thing is when you know Kennano first married,
we've been married this year is this year forty years?
It will be four years this year. So when I
was doing the math, just in my head.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
No pressure, kN no pressure at all.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Like when we first married, you didn't have the Internet,
you didn't have you twoe, you didn't have Google. So
how how do you do some of these things? You know,
you talk to people and you had to get people
just walk you through. Okay, here's what you do today.
It's so nice that there are so many YouTube channels
(31:07):
and other places to go and be able to know
exactly what to do and how to do it on
some of the items. Now, I'm not opposed to using
a contractor, though at this point in my life I'm
less likely to do the work myself and more likely
to hire someone I trust who can do it well
(31:29):
and do it efficiently, because time is also many. Yeah, yes,
and so hiring a good general contractor who can bid
that out for you and then you're still in a
positive cash flow position from when you purchase plus the improvement.
I mean, that's a win win. When you can have
equity at the end and then still have exactly what
(31:52):
you want, that's a great benefit.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
And it's worth waiting for the right contract because usually
they're busy because they're good. But it's far better to
wait and get what you really want and get a
job well done then to be impatient about getting things done.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
And she's their own person.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
And we saw that during the hurricane dis Wait, oh
my goodness. Yes, people chose out of town contractors who
just did very poor jobs. It's so important to get
references and to speak to people who are in the
business and know your contractor. Jessica and Lonnie both you guys,
have worked with a lot of different people and you
(32:37):
know who were some really good people and we love
giving references for good contractors, and so we would say
if you have a question or need some help, don't
hesitate to reach out to us about that. When we
come back, we're going to share more about the fixer
upper plan and if that's for you. It's not for everyone,
but if it's for you and you have questions, give
(32:59):
us a call. Eight ninety six five five eight four.
This is Dana Simmons with the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back.
This is Dana Simmons. I have Lonnie White with First
Financial Bank and also Jessica Welborn, buyer's agent with Dana
Simmons Real Estate, and we have been talking about fixer uppers. Now,
what is a fixer upper. Well, it's a property that
needs some renovations, but it's livable. I mean you could
(33:22):
live there and make you know, other updates. It would
be like cosmetic updates like wallpaper, removal, flooring, but it
might also be replacing a roof for even updating plumbing.
And one of the things we were talking about in
the break just because you talked about the fact about
prioritizing those repairs. So talk a little bit about what
(33:44):
you are thinking on that.
Speaker 4 (33:46):
I was just thinking, you know, of the function of
the home and efficiency things like that. Make make the
repairs and invest in the big things that need to
be fixed, whether it is a new air conditioning system
or if it's new windows or things like that. Go
ahead and invest when you have the upfront money, when
(34:09):
you have that lump summer, if you've gotten the plus
improvements kind of loan, invest in those big things first.
The new cabinets can wait, you know, or paint what
you have there and live in that for a bit,
but make the house functional and invest in the in
the big function thing.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
It's the things that are in is pretty right now, It's.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
So much more fun to think about the pretty things.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
But yeah, it's so much more fun to think about Okay,
the flooring, the walls, all the fun things. But what
you don't want to do is make it all beautiful
and pretty. And then one of those big ticket items
come up to where it's like, okay, I have no
choice now, right, and now you've put yourself in and.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
Then you're in a bind in a bye here.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Yeah, and so that is absolutely critical. So it is
important to have that game plan and stick to that
game plan by prioritizing those repairs and upgrades because it
grows as you go.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
Listen, I have Ken has a list. Uh, it's an
ongoing list at our house of the of the things
and of what we do, and we prioritize top to bottom.
And that's what you have to do. When you're doing
a flip, you have to prioritize, or when you're you're
doing a fixer upper, you have to think about those
up front. What are some other things that you think
(35:22):
are important as you've gone through the process, uh and
done it as well?
Speaker 4 (35:28):
I would say not just getting your when you hire someone,
if you if you aren't using a general contractor, but
you're hiring subcontractors, are a flooring same kind of thing
is that? No, Uh, get something in writing on cost.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:48):
Also talk to people who have who've used those people,
and and don't don't go blindly into any of those situations.
You know, just research, research, research, research, Know what you're
going into and prioritize. I think those are the top
things I can think of.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
And kind of know the order they need to be done.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
Yeah, and you can find people that will give you
those those you know, contractors will they'll talk you through it,
kind of line it out and help help you out,
you know.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
Yeah, And we talked about too as we were summarizing
budgeting for surprises when you do the purchase plus improvement loan,
how does that work out in that process? Do is
there a budget for surprises or do you just go
by what the contractor says it's going to cost.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Yeah, there's no budget for surprises with that product because
it's pretty much set in stone based on the bid
that that you get. So you do need to think
it through, like Jessica said, and make sure that you
know you're prioritizing what needs to get done, because that's
going to be part of what goes into deciding the value.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Of the property as improved. But then.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
You know after the fact, I guess if you do
have a surprise, there are other ways you can finance those.
You don't always have to do a real estate secured
loan for home improvements. I mean, you can do other
types of personal loans.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
If something or just have some savings ready or any surprises.
But I do think that the important thing is as
you were talking about as a praise is that you
need to have someone who knows how to help you
find that fixer upper and then get the value and
ensure that that price plus improvement can be an appraised
(37:40):
value because that has to appraise. I mean, you have
to have the property plus the improvement a praise altogether
in order to get that loan.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
That's right, and it's not always dollar for dollar, you know,
you you know, a pool is probably the most obvious
addition that you know, you might spend one hundred and
twenty five thousand dollars on a pool, it's not going
to add one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars to
the value of the home. So that's where your real
estate agent comes in because she's seen what a property
(38:12):
that's similar to yours is improved.
Speaker 3 (38:16):
Will go for and can give you advice.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Yeah, really important to understand that going in understanding the
numbers and the data, and that's one of the things
we love to do is to make sure that you're
getting that good information. One of the things I wanted
to update everyone on is this week we do have
the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Luncheon and
Industry Expo. It is going to be this Thursday, February
(38:40):
thirteenth at Doggett Fard Park. The luncheon has actually already
sold out, so that luncheon's going to have lots of
our local plant managers talking about what's going on in
our area. But one of the things that's open to
the public and it's free is the Industry Expo and
the exhibit hall from one to five and parking is
(39:04):
free and mission is free. There are going to be
seven over seventy industry contractors, vendors and suppliers on hand,
people like Exonmobile part Arthur L and G. Bechdel, entergy ISTC.
Mason Construction, a number of people there. There's also a
Del popa cornhole tournament that's going to have cash and prizes.
(39:25):
So hey, if you are a corn hole champion, the
entry fee is thirty dollars for two people.
Speaker 4 (39:32):
But Jessica, it's like a whole professional league on fill.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Well, I'm telling you that in my family it's serious. Now,
I know two people in our family who take it
really serious, and I won't name names, Kendl Nanny, but
they are very competitive and they are pretty good at
Cornhall and might have to get them over there. So
we want to make sure that if you are interested,
(39:58):
you can head out to fur Word Park, dogg It
Word Park and walk through that exhibit, talk to people
in our industry, what's going on. Great opportunity just to network,
Just to go and network with people in the industrial world.
Also the Women's Entrepreneurial Network with the Chamber. If you're
not a member of that, you should be. It's great.
(40:21):
You can get onto the WHEN network on our Facebook page.
We do have a Dress for Success style show coming
up April eighth. So sorry, the cough is real, but
(40:41):
the Women Entrepreneurial Network Dress for Success Style Show is
April eighth at the Holiday Inn Beaumont Plaza and if
you want to get tickets, go to the Greater Beaumont
Chamber of Commerce and you can register there on their website. Lonnie,
thank you for having for coming on the show and
having such great insight. Tell everyone how to get ahold
of you.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
You can call me at four O nine two two
one six one eight two, or if you prefer to email,
it's l White at FFI N dot com.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Okay, and Jessica, someone's thinking about buying a house, maybe
they want something brand new, or maybe they want to
fix a upper. How do they get a hold of you.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
They can call our office at four O nine eight
six six eight three two six. You can call my
cell phone at four nine three five one five two
six zero. And I am happy to help and thanks
for having me on.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
Yeah, it's been fun and I love talking about fixer
uppers because I do feel like it is a great
way to be able to get some built in equity.
If you are willing to do just a little bit
of work, if you want to talk to us, if
you want to sit down and visit with you know,
if this is an option for you, we would absolutely
love to sit down and visit with you again. Or
(41:57):
O nine eight nine six I'm sorry for nine eight
six six eight three two six, or go to Danasimmons
real estate dot com. Thanks for joining us today. Have
a wonderful Saturday.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.