August 16, 2025 • 38 mins
- Dayna gets the latest mortgage information with Kimnberly Pieper of First Financial Bank. Sabrina Smulders talks about The Artisan Farmers Market.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, happy Saturday, everyone, Welcome to the show. This is
Dana Simmons and I have some amazing guests joining me today.
Kimberly Piper with First Financial Bank. She's going to be
sharing what's going on in the mortgage world and give
you some insight on some new products that you might
not be aware of. So we're going to talk about
some of those. I also have Sabrina Smolders with the
(00:23):
Artisan Farmers Market and you may say, what I've not
heard about that, Well, stay tuned. She's going to give
us some great information about keeping things local. You know,
that's something we all think about is we live here
in Southeast Texas. We want to encourage business here in
Southeast Texas, and we want to support each other here
(00:46):
in Southeast Texas. So she's going to share a little
bit about how we can do that or how maybe
you can participate in some of the things that she's
going to offer. But first, I'd like to give you
a picture of the market right now, so I'll tell
you it's been a little softer. We've talked about this
for the last year or so, that the market is
a little softer than it has been over the last
(01:08):
several years, we are still selling houses. So don't think, Okay,
well it's dead completely.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
No it's not. It's not dead completely.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
The market is still moving, it's not moving at the
same pace that has moved in the past. We also
have a larger inventory, so for those of you who
are thinking about buying, that is really great news because
you have so many things to choose from. The other
(01:37):
benefit for many buyers is that often sellers are willing
to either negotiate a little bit or be flexible on terms.
And that's not in every price range. There are some
price ranges that are moving very quickly and the sellers
are still in charge. But across the board, especially as
(01:57):
we get into the higher price points, we are where
there is a little more flexibility in what a buyer
can do. I know that affordability is sometimes the challenge
and people are waiting to see what are those interest
rates going to do? But let me just say, as
interest rates start to come down, whenever that may be,
(02:18):
we expect potentially next year, but who really knows. Whenever
that does start to happen, there is going to be
an influx of buyers at that point, and then that
is going to change your buying power. So if you're
thinking about buying, give our office a call four O
nine eight six six eight three two six or go
(02:43):
to Danasimmons real estate dot com and you know my
office is open eight to eight Monday through Sunday and
one of our agents can visit with you. Schedule an
appointment to sit down and talk about is now the
right time for you? It's not for everyone, but we
want to be able to guide you in the process
to say is this right for me right now? Same
(03:05):
thing if you're a seller, is now the time for
you to sell? Or do you need to just hold
for a bit to see what the market's going to do?
Let's look at the data. One of the things I
do love is data because the data doesn't lie. It
is what it is. I don't create it, I don't
make it. I only give it to you so that
we can see where are you, What does this look like?
(03:27):
Does this meet the goals that you're trying to achieve
or not? And if not, what does that time frame
potentially look like? So let us guide you through that
help you to make those decisions that you can feel
confident about whether you buy or sell now or it
leads us to talk about doing that at a later time.
We want to make sure that we're helping you to
(03:47):
make a wise decision for you and your family with
us today. Kimberly Piper with First Financial Bank. I'd love
for you guys to get to know her a little bit.
You might recognize that life name Piper as it kind
of connects with kal Va here. So Kimberly tell us
a little bit about you.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Thank you, Dana. My name is Kimberly Piper. I am
a lone originator with First Financial Bank. I am new
to Southeast Texas, but I'm not new to the banking world.
So I think I'm celebrating thirty three years in banking.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
How oh, you must have started when you were ten.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
I did, so I'll take you a little bit back
through my history. I am originally from a very small
town in Colorado, actually much smaller than Lumberton, barely five
thousand people. So I worked in a community bank there,
much like First Financial Bank, but on a much smaller scale.
We only had seven branches versus I think almost ninety
(04:49):
or eighty seven at a First Financial Bank, but run
very much the same way, very community oriented bank. So
I in twenty three years, I worked my way through
a lot of positions in that bank and all the
way up to managing my own little branch. And then
after about thirteen years of doing that, I said, you
(05:10):
know what, managing people is a lot, Maybe I want
to go over. And I crossed over into the dark side,
into mortgage, and I've been in it ever since. You know,
much like you Dana, I have seen crazy markets where
you're lucky enough to close maybe twenty deals a month,
and then the very slow markets like the past couple
of years, where you're you're lucky if you close two
(05:32):
or three. So you know, just it's everything kind of
cycles through and comes back around.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
But I enjoy working with people.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I have been here now one year in Southeast Texas,
and I got here through a hobby that I love
and enjoy, and that's bodybuilding. So in the body building world,
when you're competing in competitions, you meet a lot of
different people. They're all across the country, and so you
get connected to people and kind of make a network
(06:03):
of people. And that's how I met my husband. And
he was semi retired, so he for a short time
moved where I was at, which at the time was Phoenix, Arizona,
and he moved with me and he stayed there for
about it a year a year and a half, and
we decided that it was best for us to come
here to Southeast Texas where all of his family is.
(06:25):
And we're really really enjoying it here. My only complaint
would be the clouds. I don't mind the humidity, I
don't mind the rain, but boy, it's cloudy a lot here.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Well, I'm glad he brought you back to Southeast Texas.
And Jack Piper is your father in law. Yes, yeah,
so you guys do have a deep family history here
in Southeast Texas.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
But not just that.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You have plugged yourself into so many different organizations. And
that's actually how I met you initially, was at a
chamber event. And so you have really, I mean you
have gone head first into so many different things. Talk
a little bit about what are some of those things
you participate in in our community?
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Sure, so you know, when we made the decision to
come here, my husband said, well, you can work anywhere,
which is true doing mortgages. I can do mortgages anywhere
in you know, the fifty states in the US. And
I said, that is true, but it's not easy. I said,
I have to re establish I have to get out
a network. I have to meet people. I'm moving to
somewhere where I don't know anybody, and I have to
(07:32):
make all those realtor connections again.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
So I started out.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Of course, the easiest way was the local chamber, so
that I could find out about ribbon cuttings and just
networking and meeting more people in different events. And then
of course, when I first moved here, I said, okay,
I want to see what's going on in the real
estate community.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Who's who?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And I came across your name, and so of course
I put my little saleswoman hat on and was trying
to get connected to you. And I was so excited
when we met that day at the Friday morning Beaumont
Chamb Coffee connection, because I actually got the chance to
meet you in person instead of trying to make phone call,
(08:11):
cold calls and emails you know where you might not
even get my information. So started with that, and then
I joined a local B and I chapter and I
am with the B and I Southeast Texas Networkers. I
joined that back in February, and then in June, I
was inducted as the president of the club and we
(08:34):
are now the largest chapter BNI chapter in Southeast Texas.
We are hitting sixty members this week. Wow. Yeah, it's
incredible and it's been an amazing journey with B and I.
I will say it's not only makes you yeah, well
definitely accountability, but it makes you better in all areas
(08:55):
in your life. Right, So of course people join and think, oh,
I'm paying for referrals. It's like referrals is just the
tip of the iceberg. Because you get accountability. You have
to manage your time better because you're expected to do
in a meeting, all these meetings, and you learn public speaking.
So it's just it's been great.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
And so I love that.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I love your story because yes, you can move here
and get plugged in. It takes you doing it though,
it takes activity. It takes you actively pursuing. The Beaumont
Chamber of Commerce is a great place to start. That's
how you and not connected, But there are lots of
other organizations, including B and I where you can begin
(09:36):
to make those So if you are a business person
out there and you're like, how do I get connected?
There are lots of ways, and so reach out to Kimberly.
She can also connect you with some of those ways
and then call the chamber. The Beaumont Chamber of Commerce
is a great place to go ahead and get connected
as well.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Well, we're glad you're here.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I'm looking forward to visiting with you here in just
a minute about what's going on in the mortgage world.
Also with a Sabrinus. She is with the artisan farmers' markets.
Sabrina's so glad that you joined us today. Tell me
a little bit about you, how long you've been in
Southeast Texas. And actually, while everyone on air is going
to be hearing this for the first time, so am
I because we've just met this morning. So I'm so
(10:16):
excited to have you.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
Yes, thank you for having me Dana. So, my name
is Sabrina Smoulders. I'm the founder of the Artists and
Farmers Market and I have been in Southeast Texas for
almost five years. I'm originally from Canada. I'm by trade
a nurse. So as soon as i could leave the
cold and head to warm, i went south and I've
(10:39):
been traveling through many different states as long as it's
warm and no snow I've probably been there, you know,
caring for folks and on my journey. You know, I
grew up on a farm in Canada, fifth generation farmer,
always gardening, baking, so that was very natural to me.
So again when I would travel and be at these
(11:02):
different places, going to a farmer's market kind of felt
like home or feeling a sense of connection to the community.
And I really like to support the small businesses when
they would do their farmers' markets wherever I was living,
and now that I'm in Southeast Texas, I see lots
of wonderful farmers' markets around here. But again, as a nurse,
(11:24):
I know that not everyone has the means or physical
ability to get to a market, even people just don't
have the time. So I had a concept and idea
of vision that I wanted to create something easy and
accessible for everyone, and that's the online farmers market, which
is there's only a handful of them across North America,
(11:47):
so it's a newer concept. I'm sure it'll develop and
grow over these coming years. And again just giving people
an opportunity to support small business, like you said, in
our local community, and making it easy and convenient, because again,
not everyone has the time Saturday mornings, there's a small
window to get there and this again just makes a
(12:10):
convenient option for people to shop local and support small business.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Love that.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Well, when we come back, we're going to talk more
with Sabrina about what are some of the things that
are sold there and if you have something that you
have that you want to know if you can get
it on her website. We're going to talk about how
do you do that? So don't go away. This is
the Dana Simmons Show.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
This is Dana Simmons and joining me today Sabrina Smolders.
She is with the Artisan Farmers' Market. And yes, we
just were talking in the break about the fact that
she came down from Canada to get away from the
snow and she brought the snow with her. We were
talking about this year is the really the snow we
(12:54):
had this past year was different than any snow we've
ever had in the history of me living in this
world sixty years, so it was amazing and not normal.
But you guys, I guess brought that down with you,
So thank you for doing that. So Sabrina, let's talk
a little bit about when when we say the Artisan
(13:15):
farmers Market, and you talk about how we do have
local farmers' markets, and we love those, but you're trying
to make something that is available to people other than
just on Saturday morning. So what are typical items that
you would see on your website the artisan farmers Market?
Speaker 4 (13:36):
Sure, So currently we have a nice selection of bake goods, pies, cookies, brownies,
We've got jellies, jam some campodi, a little bit of produce.
But we are kind of in between growing seasons, so
hopefully when we come into the fall there'll be a
little more option there. We have Honey's local honey. We
(14:00):
even have some home decor items, eggs, breads, cakes. We
actually have a beautiful flower farmer up in the Sillsby
area that does fresh cut bouquets. So a little bit
of everything. And we're still looking to grow and looking
for more vendors to join us. Our customer base is
(14:22):
obviously looking for produce and rancher or local meat, so
that's something I'm still working on, trying to connect and
find vendors that would be interested in working with us
and selling twenty four to seven.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
I love that and so if someone has a product
that they think would fit well with what you're doing.
How would they make the connection to visit with you
to talk about what are your requirements and what do
we need to do to be able to be featured
as a vendor on your website?
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Sure, so you can call me directly four zero nine
three six zero zero three nine. You can go on
the platform or website and we have a section or
a button you can press that says become a vendor.
So it gives you a little more insight. You can
email me again sometimes. You know, everyone has different questions
(15:16):
that they want answered before they decide, and we do
just so everyone knows. We do a verification process. Again,
we want to keep the community safe, so we want
to know who's selling what, making sure that it is
homegrown or homemade handcrafted. A lot of times I like
to meet with the vendor and see the product myself
try it before they come on board. So again, safety
(15:40):
is at the forefront for the community.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Complete makes complete sense. So what is that website exactly?
To make sure that we're saying it correctly.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
Sure, it's www dot the Artisan Farmers Market dot com.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Okay, and so you spell it all out. Market is
spelled out okay, so if you have interest, you can
go there and look at either becoming a vendor or
look at some of the products that they have there
as well. Is there anything else you want to make
sure that we add as we talk about this to
everyone out there.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
So right now we're doing our fall back to school,
So the whole site is ten percent off up until
Labor Day weekend, and we try to do different unique
things every month. And we also offer a weekly delivery service.
So yes, you can go on and buy from individual vendors.
They may offer shipping, pickup, or delivery depending on their
product the area they service. But we also have another
(16:34):
option where you can buy from multiple vendors in one purchase.
I meet with the vendors to obtain the products and
then we deliver them right to the customers.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
With itch easier.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Yes, within the Southeast Texas area. So again, trying to
create ease and convenience and get people supporting local shopping local.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Yeah, I think it's so critical.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
We have some amazing vendors and people who do have
products that would be so beneficial, but they're not big
enough to get into a grocery store, or they're not
big enough to get into some other store because it's.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Not that large.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
And then if the only other option is the farmer's market,
that number one, that's not year round, it's only certain
months out of the year, and then it's only Saturday morning.
That does limit them to what they can do. So
if we can instead of people having to search for
individual vendors, this gives a location where they can all
(17:32):
go to. And as a consumer, and yes I'm only
a consumer, I don't bake goods, unfortunately, I wish I did.
I love to eat baked goods. But we can go
locate whatever we need, and I'm sure these vendors do
orders as well. For ahead, Let's say I have an
event and I need so many cookies. I can go
(17:54):
there and make an order and then work that out
with them as well.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Yes, definitely, Okay.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Awesome, Well I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
I love that you've thought about this and brought this
to Southeast Texas and allowed us to have something that
a lot of people don't even have the opportunity to have.
You So, Sabrina, thank you for being on the show
and thank you for allowing us to learn about the
artisan farmers market. So if you have any questions, go
(18:22):
to their website, the Artisan Farmers Market, or you can
give Sabrina a call at four zero nine three six
three zero zero three nine.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Don't go away.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
We have Kimberly Piper coming up and she'll be right
with us and after the next break, welcome back. This
is Dana Simmons and we were just visiting with Sabrina Smolders.
She is with the Artisan Farmers Market selling local goods,
local fresh goods. So if you have any questions, go
(18:56):
to their website, the artisanfarmers Market dot com. Take a
look at all that they have to offer there. Also
with this Kimberly Piper with First Financial Bank. And Kimberly
you have we talked about been in banking a long time.
Been with First Financial just a short time, maybe six months,
but done mortgages and banking a very long time before that.
(19:19):
Moved here about a year ago. We got connected, you
got connected with First Financial Bank and its history. But
I am so excited that you are a part of
the First Financial Bank family.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
You know, I am a raving fan.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
They do amazing things.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
They have been such a.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Blessing to my business and helping me grow and participating
in what I needed to do to do different things.
And so while they are so helpful to small businesses
large businesses, they also have an incredible mortgage department that
offers a variety of things beyond a lot of other
(20:00):
typical banks can provide. So kimberly talk to us a
little bit about what you do first, and then what
are some of the things that you guys have going
on right now?
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Yes, ma'am, well, thank you again for having me on
the show. We've had quite a few changes since I
was on the show a couple of months ago. I
think there's a big misconception in the community about wanting
to use a bank for a mortgage, because when people
think of going to a bank for a mortgage, they're
automatically thinking I need twenty percent down right, and that
(20:33):
just isn't the case. We like to say at First
Financial Bank that we give a lot more knows, all right,
I'm sorry, we don't get we give a lot more yeses.
I said, that's totally wrong. Yeah, so we're able to
give a lot more yeses, not knows. So when I
work with a customer, I can look and see if they,
you know, fit in the little box, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
For some of those.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Conventional programs that are out there, whether they're a low
down payment or an FHAVA. But if they don't fit
my little boxes, I have all my colleagues in the
bank that I can refer to and we're still going
to be able to make the deal work. So a
lot of times, certain types of loans, like a Fannie
May or a FREDDIEMAC type loan, is going to have
(21:18):
certain underwriting requirements, and if for one reason or another
the client can't meet it, we can look to doing
an in house loan. So we on we have a
secondary market side. We really have two sides to our mortgage.
We have our traditional twenty percent down where they can
do construction loans, home equity loans. They also have some
fixed mortgage products or some shorter term mortgage products. But
(21:42):
then we have this what we call the secondary market side,
where we really operate just like any big national lender
or mortgage broker. And we've also brought on a lot
of new products just in the last couple of months
that cater more to like self employed people, which would
be our bank statement loans to investors where we can
(22:04):
do debt service coverage loans and a debt service coverage
loan is where we use the rental income to qualify
the barwer versus looking at tax returns and W two's
or pay stubs, which is awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
It is so what Here's what I hear you saying options. Yes,
you're not trying to fit someone in your typical box
because not everyone fits in those typical boxes. And that
is what I love is that there are so many
different options. And I've heard this from First Financial for years.
It's it's not no, it's yes when or yes if
(22:38):
you take care of this, or yes with you know,
it's it's a yes with something else potentially if there's
something else needed if it can't be a solid yes.
So it's it's trying to figure out, okay, if we
if we can't do it immediately, when can we and
how can we? So it's yes, when and so? But
there are you're right, so many different options. So if
(23:01):
you go into this thinking, oh, I'm a veteran, I
want a VA loan, no money down, and you get
there and it doesn't work for a lot of.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Mortgage lenders, that's it.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
You're done, right, But not with First Financial because there
are lots of other options that are given outside of that,
some of which are only provided by First Financial because
it's an in house product.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
So let's talk about one of those products that is
a First Financial product that I think is going to
benefit the majority of people listening.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
So let's talk about a few of those, yes, ma'am.
So we have our MMCT loan program, and that is
for the minority majority census tract people. It's considered affordable housing.
So you do have to meet certain income limits. You've
got to be eighty percent below the income level. And
(24:00):
then we also so we have two different programs on
that grant program. You have one where you have to
be a certain income and then the other you would
need to be in a certain census tract and we
can look up that address if you have a property
you're interested, and we'll tell you if it if it
fits that criteria.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
But if you're.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
In, and let me say, people are shocked about what
fits that census track, we have a lotionally and with
that MMCT on the one side, you can get in
with zero percent down. Yes, but I'm an investor, yes,
and I actually purchased a home in Barrington Heights as
(24:39):
an investment that was listed on the MMCT whatever platform
it was listed in there where I could purchase it
as an investment at ten percent down instead of twenty
percent down. So when people say, oh, well MMCT, it
must be in an area that maybe I'm not interested
(25:00):
in purchasing, that's not true at all. Right, there are
so many properties in Beaumont that can qualify for that MMCT.
So if you're an investor or if you're a buyer
who qualifies under the guidelines, they can get a zero
percent down right, yes, no money down?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Correct, yeah, no money down. And we have lender credits,
so if you meet the income criteria, you get one
and a quarter percent lender credit back on your closing costs.
If you meet both criterias, two point twenty five percent
lender credit back on the closing costs. That's a huge savings.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
It is.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
So if someone is unsure if they qualify for that
or not, how should they proceed?
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Give me a call. You can contact me at seven
to one nine, pardon me four zero nine to zero
one five one eight seven. Feel free to give me
a call anytime. That is my company cell phone number.
That's the other thing I wanted to say, the biggest
difference to is in service. You know, we are right here,
(26:06):
whether whether we are servicing your loan or not. You
have someone that you can come into the bank and
talk to and give you some guidance. But excellent customer service.
You can call us on our cell phone anytime we
will answer.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
And while you are based out of the Lumberton office,
you service all of southeast.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Texas, yes, ma'am, Yes, all over.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
And so with First Financial, you were talking in the
first segment about how it is so local and like
a small bank, and so the seven banks now that
are a part of our area are all governed by
a board in our area. Yes, and they're all local board. Yes,
local people who are part of the community, who know you,
(26:53):
who can vouch for you, who can help you. And
so I love that the decisions are made locally. And
it's such a big difference. So that MMCT program, which
let's recap it real quick, and then in our next
segment we're going to talk about another program, but recap
this MMCT program again because I think it is such
(27:16):
an incredible program.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
So you do have to do the property does need
to be in a certain census tract and we can
tell you if that property qualifies. And then also income level.
So I believe the income level depending on where you live,
it's right below sixty thousand for that program to qualify.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
That's if you're buying it for personal property.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Correct, Yes, if you're buying it for personal property. And
then we have the MMCT investor program as well, So
obviously that one's going to be a rental property and
then up to ninety percent LTV and then one hundred
percent on the personal Yeah, MMC.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
So if you have any questions about that, whether you
are a home buyer and you're thinking, I don't have
any need to put down. I'm in an apartment. I'm
wasting money every single month paying someone else's equity. Which
apartments serve their purpose? And you know we've all probably
all of us have lived in one at one point
in time. But if you want to invest in your
future and invest in a really long term wealth building tool,
(28:20):
property is that. And so if you're able to qualify
for this loan, zero percent down and they may pay
some of those closing costs for you, why not check
it out so you can again reach out to Kimberly
directly at her cell phone, or you can go to
the First Financial website. What is that website, Kimberly, That.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Is f fin dot com.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Okay, well, when we come back, we're going to talk
about a couple of other exciting products, So don't go away.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
This is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
This is Dana Simmons and I have been visiting with
Kimberly Piper with First Financial Bank and she had just
told us about one of the incredible loans that they
have at First Financial Bank that allows you to get
into a property with zero money down. Now, of course
there are qualifications that for the borrower but also qualifications
for the property and so it depends on if those
(29:13):
things align. But you can't know that until you call
Kimberly and sit down and visit with her. And the
good thing is, Kimberly that you have other options if
they don't qualify for this product. There are other products
that are really amazing that you can get them into
as well. Now, one you were talking about is a
down payment assistant program.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
So, in the state of Texas, there are several down
payment assistance programs they have the SETH program that one
you don't have to be a first time home buyer,
and then we have some of the other programs where
you do have to be a first time home buyer,
but they have much higher income limits.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
So those all I.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Believe go over one hundred thousand dollars for income. So
that's you know, much more in line probably for a
couple with both of them working. But those programs can
be combined with our load down payment programs conventional loan
programs that are three percent down, three and a half
percent down for FHA, or five percent down, so you know,
(30:15):
those programs.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Are very affordable.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
They do require mortgage insurance, but mortgage insurance is a
lot more affordable now than it has been in the past.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Yes, Now, when you talk about first time home buyers,
I know I've heard in the past, and I don't
know if that qualifies for these or not, but they
say if you haven't bought a house within a certain
amount of time, you qualify again as a first time
home buyer.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Is that true? That is correct?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Yep, three years, so you can be a first time
home buyer. Then wait three years and again you can
be a first time home buyer again, correct, which I
think people don't understand that right because they're like, wait,
you're no longer a first time home buyer. But the
definition doesn't mean that it's the very first house you've
ever bought and you can't have another first time correct.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
Yes, And what's exciting is right now people do have
a lot of equity built up in their homes. So
you know, you could potentially keep that first home, take
out some equity, and you know, purchase another another home
as an investment property, right.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Use that cash out.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
Yeah, because that's one thing that I believe is always
a great investment long term is real estate. I mean,
look at what we've seen over the in my world
over the last thirty years, what I've seen in what
you could buy a house far and now what you
can buy a house far. It's crazy, it is, And
(31:39):
so real estate is always a great investment. Of course,
you have to buy right in the beginning. You shan't overpay, No,
so you can't pay an exorbitant amount for a piece
of property that's not worth it. So having someone guide
you through that and confirm that you are making a
good purchase is important. But okay, so down payment assistance.
That's one Then for people like me who are self employed,
(32:03):
you know, sometimes that can be a challenge when you're
self employed. So talk about what are some of the
products that you have available for someone who thinks I
can never buy a house because I'm self employed.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
So we have a program that's called a bank statement loan.
So when we look at someone's tax returns that you know,
you may show a loss because you have a lot
of write offs and you have a very good accountant
who doesn't want to have you pay a bunch of
tax at the end of the year. So what we
can do is say, how about provide your bank statements.
Let me look at twelve months, twenty four months bank
(32:36):
statements and see what type of income we can pull
out of those statements, and we can qualify you with
that income versus seeing a tax return that maybe shows
little to no income.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Yeah, So that's one of the things I think that's
critically important. Sometimes people go online to a national mortgage,
they put in their information, they get denied, and they
think that's it.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
I'm done.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
They're discouraged, yes, yeah, and they think I can't get alone.
But what they don't understand is that there are options
and that just because you tried one way with one lender,
it doesn't mean that there is not another way. Now
first financial, nor I ever want anyone to get put
(33:22):
in a bad position. We want you to be able
to afford that house. That's one hundred percent truth for
all of us. Yes, but we also want you to
be investing in you and your personal long term wealth
versus investing in someone else. Now, listen, I have rent properties.
I love I have tenants that pay my equity, but
(33:44):
I'd love it more if they could buy their own home.
But not everyone is in that position. But one of
the things I know that you do, Kimberly, is let's
say they're not in that position yet, let's talk about
what are some of the things that can happen to
move them in that direction.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Definitely.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
So in my first call, I call it my little
discovery call with the bar, where you know, I really
talk with them at length and find out what what
are their spending habits, what does their credit look like?
And then I kind of let them, you know, find
out what they're paying for rent right now and let
them know, Okay, this is what your new payment is
going to be you know, this may take away from
(34:21):
some of those hobbies that you enjoy doing, because I
don't want to put someone in a position we're six
months down the road they're thinking, oh my gosh, I'm
I'm house poor. All my money is going to this
house payment, I am stressed out. We don't want that,
and we're not in the business to take homes back.
We're we're not real estate agents. We don't want to
have a bunch of foreclosures. So we always have the
(34:42):
client's best interest in mind. But I will look at
their credit and if they do have some things that
maybe they need to work on, I can give them
some strategies on how to improve their credit score or
things maybe that we need to clean up on the credit.
So we don't necessarily do credit repair, so to speak,
but I can definitely, just through my experience, I can
(35:03):
look at that credit report and say, hey, if you
did this, if this got paid off, or if we
took care of this line item, or maybe you need
to establish some more credit, we can we can do
that for them and help them do that.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
So it's coming up with a plan to say, yes,
you guys, you know, in your future you can buy,
but here are some of the things that you need
to do to prepare yourself to get to that. And
sometimes it is sacrifice. Sure, you know, maybe it's not
going to Starbucks every morning, right, you know, I mean,
it's it's small sacrifices to get you into a home
and also to build long term wealth. And you know
(35:37):
that Starbucks is going in and out right, it's not
doing anything for you really, And so I would say
sometimes those conversations lead to you know, you're right, those
are little things where I can make small changes and
it can make a difference in my world. Well, it
has been such a pleasure to have both of you
(35:58):
on the show today. I really tell everyone where you're located.
If they want to pop in, if they want to
give you a call, how can they get in touch
with you?
Speaker 3 (36:06):
Yes, ma'am, so I am located out of our Lumberton office.
It's one nineteen North LHS Drive in Lumberton. Feel free
to give me a call anytime for nine two zero, one, five,
one eight seven are stopping and see our branch. Our
branch is only a couple years old. All of our
first financial banks are just immaculate in just great great
(36:26):
little work environments and a lot of great employees. Wo'ld
be happy to see you.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Yeah, come in, grab a cup of coffee, grab a
bottle of water. Sometimes they have snacks, so pop on in. Also,
if someone is unable to get to Lumberton and wants
to sit with you in person, you.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
Travel right, I do, yep.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
I can go to any of our branches or I
could we can you know, meet in another location as
long as it's a little quiet, confidential area. I'm happy
to come to your office, Dana, at anytime and meet
with your clients there.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
So yeah, definitely sounds good.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
Thank you, and I also want to say thank you
to Brina Smoulders.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Sabrina.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Tell everyone again if they are interested in the Artists
and Farmers Market, how would they contact you and what
where do they need to go?
Speaker 4 (37:08):
Sure? So you can call me anytime four zero nine
three six three zero zero three nine. You can shoot
me an email Sabrina at the Artistsanfarmersmarket dot com. Or
you can also go on the website and there's a
contact form you could submit that way. We're on social
media Facebook, you can send a message, Instagram, Pinterest, and again,
(37:31):
I will travel and meet with the vendors in person.
Even if you know you're setting up your storefront and
maybe you're not as it or tech savvy, I don't
mind meeting with you and we can just get it
all set up in about an hour and it's great.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
I just love this idea again, you know, I always
on this show want to talk about local. How do
we improve our area, how do we improve our community,
how do we keep things local? I want South these
Texas to grow and to be better, and I love this.
This is another opportunity, another space for that to happen
for our local vendors. Well, we are just about out
(38:09):
of time. Just a reminder I sell real estate and
if you have questions about whether you want to buy
or sell, please don't hesitate to give us a call.
Our number at the office four oh nine eight six
six eight three two six an easy way to remember
that four oh nine eight six six team, or go
to our website Danasimmons realestate dot com. We'd love to
(38:31):
connect with you and see how we can help you.
Hope you're having a great Saturday. Come back next Saturday.
We'll be here again five sixty am at noon. This
is the Dana Simmons show,
Well, happy Saturday, everyone, Welcome to the show. This is
Dana Simmons and I have some amazing guests joining me today.
Kimberly Piper with First Financial Bank. She's going to be
sharing what's going on in the mortgage world and give
you some insight on some new products that you might
not be aware of. So we're going to talk about
some of those. I also have Sabrina Smolders with the
(00:23):
Artisan Farmers Market and you may say, what I've not
heard about that, Well, stay tuned. She's going to give
us some great information about keeping things local. You know,
that's something we all think about is we live here
in Southeast Texas. We want to encourage business here in
Southeast Texas, and we want to support each other here
(00:46):
in Southeast Texas. So she's going to share a little
bit about how we can do that or how maybe
you can participate in some of the things that she's
going to offer. But first, I'd like to give you
a picture of the market right now, so I'll tell
you it's been a little softer. We've talked about this
for the last year or so, that the market is
a little softer than it has been over the last
(01:08):
several years, we are still selling houses. So don't think, Okay,
well it's dead completely.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
No it's not. It's not dead completely.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
The market is still moving, it's not moving at the
same pace that has moved in the past. We also
have a larger inventory, so for those of you who
are thinking about buying, that is really great news because
you have so many things to choose from. The other
(01:37):
benefit for many buyers is that often sellers are willing
to either negotiate a little bit or be flexible on terms.
And that's not in every price range. There are some
price ranges that are moving very quickly and the sellers
are still in charge. But across the board, especially as
(01:57):
we get into the higher price points, we are where
there is a little more flexibility in what a buyer
can do. I know that affordability is sometimes the challenge
and people are waiting to see what are those interest
rates going to do? But let me just say, as
interest rates start to come down, whenever that may be,
(02:18):
we expect potentially next year, but who really knows. Whenever
that does start to happen, there is going to be
an influx of buyers at that point, and then that
is going to change your buying power. So if you're
thinking about buying, give our office a call four O
nine eight six six eight three two six or go
(02:43):
to Danasimmons real estate dot com and you know my
office is open eight to eight Monday through Sunday and
one of our agents can visit with you. Schedule an
appointment to sit down and talk about is now the
right time for you? It's not for everyone, but we
want to be able to guide you in the process
to say is this right for me right now? Same
(03:05):
thing if you're a seller, is now the time for
you to sell? Or do you need to just hold
for a bit to see what the market's going to do?
Let's look at the data. One of the things I
do love is data because the data doesn't lie. It
is what it is. I don't create it, I don't
make it. I only give it to you so that
we can see where are you, What does this look like?
(03:27):
Does this meet the goals that you're trying to achieve
or not? And if not, what does that time frame
potentially look like? So let us guide you through that
help you to make those decisions that you can feel
confident about whether you buy or sell now or it
leads us to talk about doing that at a later time.
We want to make sure that we're helping you to
(03:47):
make a wise decision for you and your family with
us today. Kimberly Piper with First Financial Bank. I'd love
for you guys to get to know her a little bit.
You might recognize that life name Piper as it kind
of connects with kal Va here. So Kimberly tell us
a little bit about you.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Thank you, Dana. My name is Kimberly Piper. I am
a lone originator with First Financial Bank. I am new
to Southeast Texas, but I'm not new to the banking world.
So I think I'm celebrating thirty three years in banking.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
How oh, you must have started when you were ten.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
I did, so I'll take you a little bit back
through my history. I am originally from a very small
town in Colorado, actually much smaller than Lumberton, barely five
thousand people. So I worked in a community bank there,
much like First Financial Bank, but on a much smaller scale.
We only had seven branches versus I think almost ninety
(04:49):
or eighty seven at a First Financial Bank, but run
very much the same way, very community oriented bank. So
I in twenty three years, I worked my way through
a lot of positions in that bank and all the
way up to managing my own little branch. And then
after about thirteen years of doing that, I said, you
(05:10):
know what, managing people is a lot, Maybe I want
to go over. And I crossed over into the dark side,
into mortgage, and I've been in it ever since. You know,
much like you Dana, I have seen crazy markets where
you're lucky enough to close maybe twenty deals a month,
and then the very slow markets like the past couple
of years, where you're you're lucky if you close two
(05:32):
or three. So you know, just it's everything kind of
cycles through and comes back around.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
But I enjoy working with people.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I have been here now one year in Southeast Texas,
and I got here through a hobby that I love
and enjoy, and that's bodybuilding. So in the body building world,
when you're competing in competitions, you meet a lot of
different people. They're all across the country, and so you
get connected to people and kind of make a network
(06:03):
of people. And that's how I met my husband. And
he was semi retired, so he for a short time
moved where I was at, which at the time was Phoenix, Arizona,
and he moved with me and he stayed there for
about it a year a year and a half, and
we decided that it was best for us to come
here to Southeast Texas where all of his family is.
(06:25):
And we're really really enjoying it here. My only complaint
would be the clouds. I don't mind the humidity, I
don't mind the rain, but boy, it's cloudy a lot here.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Well, I'm glad he brought you back to Southeast Texas.
And Jack Piper is your father in law. Yes, yeah,
so you guys do have a deep family history here
in Southeast Texas.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
But not just that.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You have plugged yourself into so many different organizations. And
that's actually how I met you initially, was at a
chamber event. And so you have really, I mean you
have gone head first into so many different things. Talk
a little bit about what are some of those things
you participate in in our community?
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Sure, so you know, when we made the decision to
come here, my husband said, well, you can work anywhere,
which is true doing mortgages. I can do mortgages anywhere
in you know, the fifty states in the US. And
I said, that is true, but it's not easy. I said,
I have to re establish I have to get out
a network. I have to meet people. I'm moving to
somewhere where I don't know anybody, and I have to
(07:32):
make all those realtor connections again.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
So I started out.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Of course, the easiest way was the local chamber, so
that I could find out about ribbon cuttings and just
networking and meeting more people in different events. And then
of course, when I first moved here, I said, okay,
I want to see what's going on in the real
estate community.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Who's who?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And I came across your name, and so of course
I put my little saleswoman hat on and was trying
to get connected to you. And I was so excited
when we met that day at the Friday morning Beaumont
Chamb Coffee connection, because I actually got the chance to
meet you in person instead of trying to make phone call,
(08:11):
cold calls and emails you know where you might not
even get my information. So started with that, and then
I joined a local B and I chapter and I
am with the B and I Southeast Texas Networkers. I
joined that back in February, and then in June, I
was inducted as the president of the club and we
(08:34):
are now the largest chapter BNI chapter in Southeast Texas.
We are hitting sixty members this week. Wow. Yeah, it's
incredible and it's been an amazing journey with B and I.
I will say it's not only makes you yeah, well
definitely accountability, but it makes you better in all areas
(08:55):
in your life. Right, So of course people join and think, oh,
I'm paying for referrals. It's like referrals is just the
tip of the iceberg. Because you get accountability. You have
to manage your time better because you're expected to do
in a meeting, all these meetings, and you learn public speaking.
So it's just it's been great.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
And so I love that.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I love your story because yes, you can move here
and get plugged in. It takes you doing it though,
it takes activity. It takes you actively pursuing. The Beaumont
Chamber of Commerce is a great place to start. That's
how you and not connected, But there are lots of
other organizations, including B and I where you can begin
(09:36):
to make those So if you are a business person
out there and you're like, how do I get connected?
There are lots of ways, and so reach out to Kimberly.
She can also connect you with some of those ways
and then call the chamber. The Beaumont Chamber of Commerce
is a great place to go ahead and get connected
as well.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Well, we're glad you're here.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I'm looking forward to visiting with you here in just
a minute about what's going on in the mortgage world.
Also with a Sabrinus. She is with the artisan farmers' markets.
Sabrina's so glad that you joined us today. Tell me
a little bit about you, how long you've been in
Southeast Texas. And actually, while everyone on air is going
to be hearing this for the first time, so am
I because we've just met this morning. So I'm so
(10:16):
excited to have you.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
Yes, thank you for having me Dana. So, my name
is Sabrina Smoulders. I'm the founder of the Artists and
Farmers Market and I have been in Southeast Texas for
almost five years. I'm originally from Canada. I'm by trade
a nurse. So as soon as i could leave the
cold and head to warm, i went south and I've
(10:39):
been traveling through many different states as long as it's
warm and no snow I've probably been there, you know,
caring for folks and on my journey. You know, I
grew up on a farm in Canada, fifth generation farmer,
always gardening, baking, so that was very natural to me.
So again when I would travel and be at these
(11:02):
different places, going to a farmer's market kind of felt
like home or feeling a sense of connection to the community.
And I really like to support the small businesses when
they would do their farmers' markets wherever I was living,
and now that I'm in Southeast Texas, I see lots
of wonderful farmers' markets around here. But again, as a nurse,
(11:24):
I know that not everyone has the means or physical
ability to get to a market, even people just don't
have the time. So I had a concept and idea
of vision that I wanted to create something easy and
accessible for everyone, and that's the online farmers market, which
is there's only a handful of them across North America,
(11:47):
so it's a newer concept. I'm sure it'll develop and
grow over these coming years. And again just giving people
an opportunity to support small business, like you said, in
our local community, and making it easy and convenient, because again,
not everyone has the time Saturday mornings, there's a small
window to get there and this again just makes a
(12:10):
convenient option for people to shop local and support small business.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Love that.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Well, when we come back, we're going to talk more
with Sabrina about what are some of the things that
are sold there and if you have something that you
have that you want to know if you can get
it on her website. We're going to talk about how
do you do that? So don't go away. This is
the Dana Simmons Show.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
This is Dana Simmons and joining me today Sabrina Smolders.
She is with the Artisan Farmers' Market. And yes, we
just were talking in the break about the fact that
she came down from Canada to get away from the
snow and she brought the snow with her. We were
talking about this year is the really the snow we
(12:54):
had this past year was different than any snow we've
ever had in the history of me living in this
world sixty years, so it was amazing and not normal.
But you guys, I guess brought that down with you,
So thank you for doing that. So Sabrina, let's talk
a little bit about when when we say the Artisan
(13:15):
farmers Market, and you talk about how we do have
local farmers' markets, and we love those, but you're trying
to make something that is available to people other than
just on Saturday morning. So what are typical items that
you would see on your website the artisan farmers Market?
Speaker 4 (13:36):
Sure, So currently we have a nice selection of bake goods, pies, cookies, brownies,
We've got jellies, jam some campodi, a little bit of produce.
But we are kind of in between growing seasons, so
hopefully when we come into the fall there'll be a
little more option there. We have Honey's local honey. We
(14:00):
even have some home decor items, eggs, breads, cakes. We
actually have a beautiful flower farmer up in the Sillsby
area that does fresh cut bouquets. So a little bit
of everything. And we're still looking to grow and looking
for more vendors to join us. Our customer base is
(14:22):
obviously looking for produce and rancher or local meat, so
that's something I'm still working on, trying to connect and
find vendors that would be interested in working with us
and selling twenty four to seven.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
I love that and so if someone has a product
that they think would fit well with what you're doing.
How would they make the connection to visit with you
to talk about what are your requirements and what do
we need to do to be able to be featured
as a vendor on your website?
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Sure, so you can call me directly four zero nine
three six zero zero three nine. You can go on
the platform or website and we have a section or
a button you can press that says become a vendor.
So it gives you a little more insight. You can
email me again sometimes. You know, everyone has different questions
(15:16):
that they want answered before they decide, and we do
just so everyone knows. We do a verification process. Again,
we want to keep the community safe, so we want
to know who's selling what, making sure that it is
homegrown or homemade handcrafted. A lot of times I like
to meet with the vendor and see the product myself
try it before they come on board. So again, safety
(15:40):
is at the forefront for the community.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Complete makes complete sense. So what is that website exactly?
To make sure that we're saying it correctly.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
Sure, it's www dot the Artisan Farmers Market dot com.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Okay, and so you spell it all out. Market is
spelled out okay, so if you have interest, you can
go there and look at either becoming a vendor or
look at some of the products that they have there
as well. Is there anything else you want to make
sure that we add as we talk about this to
everyone out there.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
So right now we're doing our fall back to school,
So the whole site is ten percent off up until
Labor Day weekend, and we try to do different unique
things every month. And we also offer a weekly delivery service.
So yes, you can go on and buy from individual vendors.
They may offer shipping, pickup, or delivery depending on their
product the area they service. But we also have another
(16:34):
option where you can buy from multiple vendors in one purchase.
I meet with the vendors to obtain the products and
then we deliver them right to the customers.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
With itch easier.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Yes, within the Southeast Texas area. So again, trying to
create ease and convenience and get people supporting local shopping local.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Yeah, I think it's so critical.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
We have some amazing vendors and people who do have
products that would be so beneficial, but they're not big
enough to get into a grocery store, or they're not
big enough to get into some other store because it's.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Not that large.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
And then if the only other option is the farmer's market,
that number one, that's not year round, it's only certain
months out of the year, and then it's only Saturday morning.
That does limit them to what they can do. So
if we can instead of people having to search for
individual vendors, this gives a location where they can all
(17:32):
go to. And as a consumer, and yes I'm only
a consumer, I don't bake goods, unfortunately, I wish I did.
I love to eat baked goods. But we can go
locate whatever we need, and I'm sure these vendors do
orders as well. For ahead, Let's say I have an
event and I need so many cookies. I can go
(17:54):
there and make an order and then work that out
with them as well.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Yes, definitely, Okay.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Awesome, Well I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
I love that you've thought about this and brought this
to Southeast Texas and allowed us to have something that
a lot of people don't even have the opportunity to have.
You So, Sabrina, thank you for being on the show
and thank you for allowing us to learn about the
artisan farmers market. So if you have any questions, go
(18:22):
to their website, the Artisan Farmers Market, or you can
give Sabrina a call at four zero nine three six
three zero zero three nine.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Don't go away.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
We have Kimberly Piper coming up and she'll be right
with us and after the next break, welcome back. This
is Dana Simmons and we were just visiting with Sabrina Smolders.
She is with the Artisan Farmers Market selling local goods,
local fresh goods. So if you have any questions, go
(18:56):
to their website, the artisanfarmers Market dot com. Take a
look at all that they have to offer there. Also
with this Kimberly Piper with First Financial Bank. And Kimberly
you have we talked about been in banking a long time.
Been with First Financial just a short time, maybe six months,
but done mortgages and banking a very long time before that.
(19:19):
Moved here about a year ago. We got connected, you
got connected with First Financial Bank and its history. But
I am so excited that you are a part of
the First Financial Bank family.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
You know, I am a raving fan.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
They do amazing things.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
They have been such a.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Blessing to my business and helping me grow and participating
in what I needed to do to do different things.
And so while they are so helpful to small businesses
large businesses, they also have an incredible mortgage department that
offers a variety of things beyond a lot of other
(20:00):
typical banks can provide. So kimberly talk to us a
little bit about what you do first, and then what
are some of the things that you guys have going
on right now?
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Yes, ma'am, well, thank you again for having me on
the show. We've had quite a few changes since I
was on the show a couple of months ago. I
think there's a big misconception in the community about wanting
to use a bank for a mortgage, because when people
think of going to a bank for a mortgage, they're
automatically thinking I need twenty percent down right, and that
(20:33):
just isn't the case. We like to say at First
Financial Bank that we give a lot more knows, all right,
I'm sorry, we don't get we give a lot more yeses.
I said, that's totally wrong. Yeah, so we're able to
give a lot more yeses, not knows. So when I
work with a customer, I can look and see if they,
you know, fit in the little box, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
For some of those.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Conventional programs that are out there, whether they're a low
down payment or an FHAVA. But if they don't fit
my little boxes, I have all my colleagues in the
bank that I can refer to and we're still going
to be able to make the deal work. So a
lot of times, certain types of loans, like a Fannie
May or a FREDDIEMAC type loan, is going to have
(21:18):
certain underwriting requirements, and if for one reason or another
the client can't meet it, we can look to doing
an in house loan. So we on we have a
secondary market side. We really have two sides to our mortgage.
We have our traditional twenty percent down where they can
do construction loans, home equity loans. They also have some
fixed mortgage products or some shorter term mortgage products. But
(21:42):
then we have this what we call the secondary market side,
where we really operate just like any big national lender
or mortgage broker. And we've also brought on a lot
of new products just in the last couple of months
that cater more to like self employed people, which would
be our bank statement loans to investors where we can
(22:04):
do debt service coverage loans and a debt service coverage
loan is where we use the rental income to qualify
the barwer versus looking at tax returns and W two's
or pay stubs, which is awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
It is so what Here's what I hear you saying options. Yes,
you're not trying to fit someone in your typical box
because not everyone fits in those typical boxes. And that
is what I love is that there are so many
different options. And I've heard this from First Financial for years.
It's it's not no, it's yes when or yes if
(22:38):
you take care of this, or yes with you know,
it's it's a yes with something else potentially if there's
something else needed if it can't be a solid yes.
So it's it's trying to figure out, okay, if we
if we can't do it immediately, when can we and
how can we? So it's yes, when and so? But
there are you're right, so many different options. So if
(23:01):
you go into this thinking, oh, I'm a veteran, I
want a VA loan, no money down, and you get
there and it doesn't work for a lot of.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Mortgage lenders, that's it.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
You're done, right, But not with First Financial because there
are lots of other options that are given outside of that,
some of which are only provided by First Financial because
it's an in house product.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
So let's talk about one of those products that is
a First Financial product that I think is going to
benefit the majority of people listening.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
So let's talk about a few of those, yes, ma'am.
So we have our MMCT loan program, and that is
for the minority majority census tract people. It's considered affordable housing.
So you do have to meet certain income limits. You've
got to be eighty percent below the income level. And
(24:00):
then we also so we have two different programs on
that grant program. You have one where you have to
be a certain income and then the other you would
need to be in a certain census tract and we
can look up that address if you have a property
you're interested, and we'll tell you if it if it
fits that criteria.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
But if you're.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
In, and let me say, people are shocked about what
fits that census track, we have a lotionally and with
that MMCT on the one side, you can get in
with zero percent down. Yes, but I'm an investor, yes,
and I actually purchased a home in Barrington Heights as
(24:39):
an investment that was listed on the MMCT whatever platform
it was listed in there where I could purchase it
as an investment at ten percent down instead of twenty
percent down. So when people say, oh, well MMCT, it
must be in an area that maybe I'm not interested
(25:00):
in purchasing, that's not true at all. Right, there are
so many properties in Beaumont that can qualify for that MMCT.
So if you're an investor or if you're a buyer
who qualifies under the guidelines, they can get a zero
percent down right, yes, no money down?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Correct, yeah, no money down. And we have lender credits,
so if you meet the income criteria, you get one
and a quarter percent lender credit back on your closing costs.
If you meet both criterias, two point twenty five percent
lender credit back on the closing costs. That's a huge savings.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
It is.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
So if someone is unsure if they qualify for that
or not, how should they proceed?
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Give me a call. You can contact me at seven
to one nine, pardon me four zero nine to zero
one five one eight seven. Feel free to give me
a call anytime. That is my company cell phone number.
That's the other thing I wanted to say, the biggest
difference to is in service. You know, we are right here,
(26:06):
whether whether we are servicing your loan or not. You
have someone that you can come into the bank and
talk to and give you some guidance. But excellent customer service.
You can call us on our cell phone anytime we
will answer.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
And while you are based out of the Lumberton office,
you service all of southeast.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Texas, yes, ma'am, Yes, all over.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
And so with First Financial, you were talking in the
first segment about how it is so local and like
a small bank, and so the seven banks now that
are a part of our area are all governed by
a board in our area. Yes, and they're all local board. Yes,
local people who are part of the community, who know you,
(26:53):
who can vouch for you, who can help you. And
so I love that the decisions are made locally. And
it's such a big difference. So that MMCT program, which
let's recap it real quick, and then in our next
segment we're going to talk about another program, but recap
this MMCT program again because I think it is such
(27:16):
an incredible program.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
So you do have to do the property does need
to be in a certain census tract and we can
tell you if that property qualifies. And then also income level.
So I believe the income level depending on where you live,
it's right below sixty thousand for that program to qualify.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
That's if you're buying it for personal property.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Correct, Yes, if you're buying it for personal property. And
then we have the MMCT investor program as well, So
obviously that one's going to be a rental property and
then up to ninety percent LTV and then one hundred
percent on the personal Yeah, MMC.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
So if you have any questions about that, whether you
are a home buyer and you're thinking, I don't have
any need to put down. I'm in an apartment. I'm
wasting money every single month paying someone else's equity. Which
apartments serve their purpose? And you know we've all probably
all of us have lived in one at one point
in time. But if you want to invest in your
future and invest in a really long term wealth building tool,
(28:20):
property is that. And so if you're able to qualify
for this loan, zero percent down and they may pay
some of those closing costs for you, why not check
it out so you can again reach out to Kimberly
directly at her cell phone, or you can go to
the First Financial website. What is that website, Kimberly, That.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Is f fin dot com.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Okay, well, when we come back, we're going to talk
about a couple of other exciting products, So don't go away.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
This is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
This is Dana Simmons and I have been visiting with
Kimberly Piper with First Financial Bank and she had just
told us about one of the incredible loans that they
have at First Financial Bank that allows you to get
into a property with zero money down. Now, of course
there are qualifications that for the borrower but also qualifications
for the property and so it depends on if those
(29:13):
things align. But you can't know that until you call
Kimberly and sit down and visit with her. And the
good thing is, Kimberly that you have other options if
they don't qualify for this product. There are other products
that are really amazing that you can get them into
as well. Now, one you were talking about is a
down payment assistant program.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
So, in the state of Texas, there are several down
payment assistance programs they have the SETH program that one
you don't have to be a first time home buyer,
and then we have some of the other programs where
you do have to be a first time home buyer,
but they have much higher income limits.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
So those all I.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Believe go over one hundred thousand dollars for income. So
that's you know, much more in line probably for a
couple with both of them working. But those programs can
be combined with our load down payment programs conventional loan
programs that are three percent down, three and a half
percent down for FHA, or five percent down, so you know,
(30:15):
those programs.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Are very affordable.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
They do require mortgage insurance, but mortgage insurance is a
lot more affordable now than it has been in the past.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Yes, Now, when you talk about first time home buyers,
I know I've heard in the past, and I don't
know if that qualifies for these or not, but they
say if you haven't bought a house within a certain
amount of time, you qualify again as a first time
home buyer.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Is that true? That is correct?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Yep, three years, so you can be a first time
home buyer. Then wait three years and again you can
be a first time home buyer again, correct, which I
think people don't understand that right because they're like, wait,
you're no longer a first time home buyer. But the
definition doesn't mean that it's the very first house you've
ever bought and you can't have another first time correct.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
Yes, And what's exciting is right now people do have
a lot of equity built up in their homes. So
you know, you could potentially keep that first home, take
out some equity, and you know, purchase another another home
as an investment property, right.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Use that cash out.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
Yeah, because that's one thing that I believe is always
a great investment long term is real estate. I mean,
look at what we've seen over the in my world
over the last thirty years, what I've seen in what
you could buy a house far and now what you
can buy a house far. It's crazy, it is, And
(31:39):
so real estate is always a great investment. Of course,
you have to buy right in the beginning. You shan't overpay, No,
so you can't pay an exorbitant amount for a piece
of property that's not worth it. So having someone guide
you through that and confirm that you are making a
good purchase is important. But okay, so down payment assistance.
That's one Then for people like me who are self employed,
(32:03):
you know, sometimes that can be a challenge when you're
self employed. So talk about what are some of the
products that you have available for someone who thinks I
can never buy a house because I'm self employed.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
So we have a program that's called a bank statement loan.
So when we look at someone's tax returns that you know,
you may show a loss because you have a lot
of write offs and you have a very good accountant
who doesn't want to have you pay a bunch of
tax at the end of the year. So what we
can do is say, how about provide your bank statements.
Let me look at twelve months, twenty four months bank
(32:36):
statements and see what type of income we can pull
out of those statements, and we can qualify you with
that income versus seeing a tax return that maybe shows
little to no income.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Yeah, So that's one of the things I think that's
critically important. Sometimes people go online to a national mortgage,
they put in their information, they get denied, and they
think that's it.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
I'm done.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
They're discouraged, yes, yeah, and they think I can't get alone.
But what they don't understand is that there are options
and that just because you tried one way with one lender,
it doesn't mean that there is not another way. Now
first financial, nor I ever want anyone to get put
(33:22):
in a bad position. We want you to be able
to afford that house. That's one hundred percent truth for
all of us. Yes, but we also want you to
be investing in you and your personal long term wealth
versus investing in someone else. Now, listen, I have rent properties.
I love I have tenants that pay my equity, but
(33:44):
I'd love it more if they could buy their own home.
But not everyone is in that position. But one of
the things I know that you do, Kimberly, is let's
say they're not in that position yet, let's talk about
what are some of the things that can happen to
move them in that direction.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Definitely.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
So in my first call, I call it my little
discovery call with the bar, where you know, I really
talk with them at length and find out what what
are their spending habits, what does their credit look like?
And then I kind of let them, you know, find
out what they're paying for rent right now and let
them know, Okay, this is what your new payment is
going to be you know, this may take away from
(34:21):
some of those hobbies that you enjoy doing, because I
don't want to put someone in a position we're six
months down the road they're thinking, oh my gosh, I'm
I'm house poor. All my money is going to this
house payment, I am stressed out. We don't want that,
and we're not in the business to take homes back.
We're we're not real estate agents. We don't want to
have a bunch of foreclosures. So we always have the
(34:42):
client's best interest in mind. But I will look at
their credit and if they do have some things that
maybe they need to work on, I can give them
some strategies on how to improve their credit score or
things maybe that we need to clean up on the credit.
So we don't necessarily do credit repair, so to speak,
but I can definitely, just through my experience, I can
(35:03):
look at that credit report and say, hey, if you
did this, if this got paid off, or if we
took care of this line item, or maybe you need
to establish some more credit, we can we can do
that for them and help them do that.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
So it's coming up with a plan to say, yes,
you guys, you know, in your future you can buy,
but here are some of the things that you need
to do to prepare yourself to get to that. And
sometimes it is sacrifice. Sure, you know, maybe it's not
going to Starbucks every morning, right, you know, I mean,
it's it's small sacrifices to get you into a home
and also to build long term wealth. And you know
(35:37):
that Starbucks is going in and out right, it's not
doing anything for you really, And so I would say
sometimes those conversations lead to you know, you're right, those
are little things where I can make small changes and
it can make a difference in my world. Well, it
has been such a pleasure to have both of you
(35:58):
on the show today. I really tell everyone where you're located.
If they want to pop in, if they want to
give you a call, how can they get in touch
with you?
Speaker 3 (36:06):
Yes, ma'am, so I am located out of our Lumberton office.
It's one nineteen North LHS Drive in Lumberton. Feel free
to give me a call anytime for nine two zero, one, five,
one eight seven are stopping and see our branch. Our
branch is only a couple years old. All of our
first financial banks are just immaculate in just great great
(36:26):
little work environments and a lot of great employees. Wo'ld
be happy to see you.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Yeah, come in, grab a cup of coffee, grab a
bottle of water. Sometimes they have snacks, so pop on in. Also,
if someone is unable to get to Lumberton and wants
to sit with you in person, you.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
Travel right, I do, yep.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
I can go to any of our branches or I
could we can you know, meet in another location as
long as it's a little quiet, confidential area. I'm happy
to come to your office, Dana, at anytime and meet
with your clients there.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
So yeah, definitely sounds good.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
Thank you, and I also want to say thank you
to Brina Smoulders.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Sabrina.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Tell everyone again if they are interested in the Artists
and Farmers Market, how would they contact you and what
where do they need to go?
Speaker 4 (37:08):
Sure? So you can call me anytime four zero nine
three six three zero zero three nine. You can shoot
me an email Sabrina at the Artistsanfarmersmarket dot com. Or
you can also go on the website and there's a
contact form you could submit that way. We're on social
media Facebook, you can send a message, Instagram, Pinterest, and again,
(37:31):
I will travel and meet with the vendors in person.
Even if you know you're setting up your storefront and
maybe you're not as it or tech savvy, I don't
mind meeting with you and we can just get it
all set up in about an hour and it's great.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
I just love this idea again, you know, I always
on this show want to talk about local. How do
we improve our area, how do we improve our community,
how do we keep things local? I want South these
Texas to grow and to be better, and I love this.
This is another opportunity, another space for that to happen
for our local vendors. Well, we are just about out
(38:09):
of time. Just a reminder I sell real estate and
if you have questions about whether you want to buy
or sell, please don't hesitate to give us a call.
Our number at the office four oh nine eight six
six eight three two six an easy way to remember
that four oh nine eight six six team, or go
to our website Danasimmons realestate dot com. We'd love to
(38:31):
connect with you and see how we can help you.
Hope you're having a great Saturday. Come back next Saturday.
We'll be here again five sixty am at noon. This
is the Dana Simmons show,
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