September 25, 2025 • 39 mins
- On today's show Dayna and her guests have the latest local real estate market news, plus a look at investing in rental property.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello everyone, and welcome to the Dana Simmons Show.
Hope you're enjoying this Saturday and I'm getting to do
some fun things out there with me today. I have
Katie Martin. She is the listing agent with the Dana
Simmons Real Estate team. And also with me is Denee Hamilton,
who is the buyer agent, trainer whatever.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
She does everything, yeah, like literally extraordinary everything.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So and part of that is because she's also my daughter.
So you know, when you're the mama, you get to
tell the daughter and they get to do all kinds
of things. So I'm so excited to have the two
of them on the show today. But before we get started,
wanted to give you a little bit of an update. Well,
as you guys have seen, you know, there have been
lots of conversations about interest rates. But I will tell
(00:49):
you that interest rates right now are lower than they've
been since the beginning of the year for the most part,
So our situation is not a bad time to buy
with interest rates when you look at the last thirty years.
You guys have heard me. If you listen to this
radio show at all, you know, say it with me
out loud. The average interest rate for the last thirty
(01:11):
years is seven point seven percent, and so we are
under seven percent, and sometimes you're seeing things as low
as six and I've had a few people get under six.
So depending on your situation, visit with your lender see
what they're willing to do. But our inventory is amazing
right now. We have lots of properties out there that
(01:34):
sellers are ready to sell. So if you're out there
in the market thinking is now the right time for me,
let's sit down and visit. You can call my office
at four nine eight six six eight three two six.
We'll schedule a free consultation to sit down with you
to see is now the right time for you to buy?
But also if your thinking is now the right time
(01:56):
for me to sell? There are some of those price
points that are on the market a little longer than others.
But our office and Katie will be happy to meet
with you at your house, look at your property, give
you an idea of number of months of inventory and
what a good value is for your house right now
in today's market. So give us a call for nine
(02:17):
eight sixty six eight three two six, or you can
go to Dana Simmons Realestate Dot com I'm going to
go ahead and introduce our guests and let them tell
you a little bit about themselves. So, Katie, you have
been doing real estate, You have been in this business
a while. Tell us a little bit about how long.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Let's see twenty twenty five, I've been doing this. This
started my twenty six year.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah, it's amazing. There's a little bit of wisdom in there. Yes,
you've seen a few things.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
I feel like I've seen it all, and then something
else happens, and then I feel stupid because obviously haven't
seen it all. Keep surprising me.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
I guess that's the thing about real estate. It is
ever changing. And while you can look at trends and
you can look at what has happened in the past,
what we have learned in the last really five years
is that something can change quickly and alter the state
of real estate.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
That's right. And there's a lot of variables that people
don't think about, or know about, or want to know about.
But experience is extremely important in that respect.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
It is. So you've been in Southea, Texas, grew up
in Warren.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Grew up in Warren, little town of Warren. I started
school for engineering and that lasted about six months, and
I said, there's not enough action in this. So I've
got my real estate license, bought my first house at
eighteen and been doing it ever since. I'm married with
two beautiful girls, yes, two teenage girls.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Fine, If y'all want to start a support group out there,
I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
We all know what that's like. It's wonderful and challenging
all the same.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And they're they're so fun now. But then their own opinion.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Also married to the Robert Martin.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yes, Robert Martin Jr. As I say, there are two
the Robert Martins. Yeah, Lady Martin Electric. He and his
brother own that company and it's been family owned for
since nineteen ninety two.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yeah, and my favorite electrician. Yes, and I'm telling you
not just because of you, but I used Artie Martin
Electric before you joined our team. I was working with
them first.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Yeah. Well, he doesn't do a whole lot of electrical
at my own house. I have to call my father
in law for that. Yeah, but yeah, he's great.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
He is such a great man too. So saved the
day for me this week. So yeah, well he saves
the day for a lot of people in south East Texas. Yeah,
also with us Denay Simmons Hamilton, so just happens to
be my daughter. So you've been around this real estate
business for quite a while thirteen years.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Actually had to do the math because I was like, wait,
how long?
Speaker 1 (05:08):
How long have I had happened? Well, you've been around
the business thirty years, but you've had your real estate
license about thirteen years.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, thirteen years, which is crazy to me. But I've
been doing it full time for seven years now.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
So you originally though, I went to Lamar University and
got your master's there.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yes, I went to Lamar for my undergrad and for
my master's go cards and I did speech language pathology
in the nursing facilities in our area, three of them.
And I did that for six years and decided that
I wanted to do a little different, not in healthcare,
(05:50):
and decided to jump into real estate full time.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
And so you have my first grandchild.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yes, I do, a little girl, Hattie, who's four going
on fourteen. So when you're talking about teenage, I'm like,
I feel like I can relate already, and she's only four,
so I can only imagine. I told my husband I'm
going to move out at about twelve. I'll be back
when she's nineteen, and was.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
The greatest years.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
I know. She's a joy.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Then I have a wonderful husband, Ryan Hamilton, who also
went to Lamar. We did not go at the same time.
We are a little little age gap there, so we
were not at school at the same time together. But
he also went to Lamar.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Yeah, all of my kids did, which is kind of interesting.
My son in law, my daughter and then also my
son went to Lamar for nursing and then went to
Florida Gulf Coast University and he's a nurse in athesist
and came back to Beaumont and is now working here.
(06:58):
And then my daughter in law, well, I went to
Lamar University and graduated with a teaching degree and taught Actually.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
A tall poppy. This was our our real introduction. Was
it was over Annie, it.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Was And so she was teaching at legacy and uh,
first grade, first grade. She is the teacher in the world.
She is, and she is an amazing teacher. And so
I am so grateful to have amazing kids and their
spouses who I also consider my kids. So uh, I.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Think I remember when Kendall when Annie was teaching, Kendall
did the nurse and a little girls girl really loved
there was all of a sudden, all these issues throughout
the day they had to go to the nurse. They
were feeling well, they weren't feeling well. It's amazing when
Kendall was the nurse how that happened.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
And he also taught them. Sorry we're getting off on
a tangent here, but he also taught them how to
raise one eyebrow. And that's what they remember from school.
Things in life, yes, not reading, oh yeah, raising, oh yeah,
oh well and that you know, the little blot. But
minds are being influenced by a handsome young man.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
So well, we do have an exciting show today that
is about real estate, not just our family. So I
hope you'll stay tuned and join us. If you have
any questions about listing your home or if it's the
right time to buy, you're gonna want to stay tuned
because we're about to talk about some of the things
that are going on currently and what you need to
know if real estate is in your future. Also, Katie
(08:33):
Martin is an investor and she invests in short term
and long term property, so if you have questions about
getting into that. Katie is a great source to be
able to visit with. So she's going to share some
of that great insight with us here shortly, so don't
go away. This is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome Back.
So we're talking real estate today and I have Katie Martin,
(08:56):
who has been in the business over twenty five years
and the listing agent for Dana Simmons real Estate here
with us. And so Katie, here's the question, is it
a good time to sell?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Well, let's talk about that. And I mean, it really
is always a good time to sell. There are ups
and downs and sideways, but like we were talking about before,
experience is super important in making those decisions. So really,
what I always suggests is we sit down, talk, look
(09:30):
at your house, look at the comparables, and just see
what your goals are because ultimately, you know your neighbor
may not have the same goals as you. There's foreclosure,
there's death in the family, There's all kinds of stuff
that can affect people wanting to sell. So we need
to see what your motivation level is, what your price
(09:51):
point is. All those things are a factor in how
we're going to list your house and ultimately sell it.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah. One of the things that you and I both
say is the data doesn't lie. I mean, the data
is what the data is. But you've got to be
looking at good data. So when you are looking at
a property and you're looking to grab some comparables for
that property, what are the things you look for in
doing that, Because you can't comp one house to another
(10:20):
house when there's some significant differences in them. So talk
about what what the requirements are. When someone is saying, hey,
but my neighbor down the street sold for xyz, but
the neighbor down the street is a thousand square feet.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So what I always try to do is think like
an appraiser, because ultimately, if a buyer is getting a loan,
they're going to have to have an appraisal done. So
one of the things is geographic location. But even in
the same neighborhood, you could be across the street from
a house that maybe backs up to a train that
blows the whistle at night. You know, there's so many things.
(10:57):
Even with location, appraisers also look at square footage, so
they have to stay within ten percent of the square
footage of the current house either up or down. So
that's a factor too.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Bracketing is what they call, right.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
And then we also look at condition. Of course, the
neighbor down the street may have more updates or may
have spent ten thousand dollars, you know, putting something in
that's going to make a significant difference, remo in the
bathroom or something like that. May have a pool, a generator,
pool a generator, I mean, every big shop. I mean
(11:31):
that's a big thing too. Your lot size is also
really important.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
One story to story.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Right, especially in condos and townhouses. All those things are factors.
So you're not going to and I don't pull fifty
homes for you to compare to. I don't want to
overwhelm people. But ultimately we have to have three or
four homes that are most comparable to even give an evaluation.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Yeah, and so that's when experience really does matter. Talk
about the time frame I had a Let's say someone says,
but my neighbor three years.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Ago sold for yeah, six months? Is their their guideline
for appraisals, And that's any type of financing, And so.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
That is what an appraiser's looking for. Now. It's not
always possible to get something in six months, they may
have to go back eight ten until they can find something.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And it is a little harder with unique properties. You know,
you may have that one house on the block that's
cooler than everybody else's or smaller than everybody else's. So
we do have to think outside the box. But ultimately
we have to find data somewhere, so if we can't
find it, then the appraisers can't find it either. Yeah,
and so you know, I've had a few situations in
(12:45):
the last few years. In twenty twenty one to twenty two,
the market was extremely hot and everything was selling, so
it was super easy to find comps. People were paying
over asking price. It was just a different market than
it is right now.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Didn't care if it didn't appraise, right, they would attach
a dendum that said, we don't care if it doesn't appraise,
we'll pay over in cash.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's not happening these days.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Different today.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Yeah, And we just want people to be prepared because
sometimes the things you hear on the news may be national,
it may not even apply to our area. So it
is important to have somebody really evaluate and try to
see if you can meet your needs, not everybody's ready
to list, it's just the reality of what it is.
They may be upside down in it. It just may
(13:33):
not be the right time. There's logistics we have to
work out if they need to buy a house. Also,
that puts another you know, equation in there that can
be challenging. So and it's really a case by case.
I'm never going to give you a blanket. This is
what it should be, and we're always going to try
to work with you.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Yeah, I think that's the key. I think for us
and our team. It's a consultation about what's important to
you and what do you need to do. Here's what
we can do, and here's what the market is saying.
But not every single situation is the same, and so
it's evaluating your right their specific needs. Now I hear
(14:17):
this a lot, Katie, So let's talk about the challenge
with this. Well, I know the numbers say this, but
I want a list significantly higher and we can always
come down.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Right, So that's not really our strategy. You're the boss
at your house. It's your investment. To me, it is
much wiser and you're not going to sit on the
market as long if you price correctly from the beginning.
That's what I call our prime real estate is right there.
The first two weeks you're on the market, and you
(14:50):
have to consider too. Nobody thinks about holding costs. Yeah,
you know, every month you're making a two thousand dollars
house payment, you're paying your taxes, you're paying your insurance.
Everything comes out of that, your yard maintenance, and it's
another month that you're not where you want to be. Well.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
And I'll tell you one of the things that all
of us can recognize is when a house has been
sitting on the market and it could be a nice house,
and the seller finally does reduce it to a price
that's appropriate. What is the first thing that the buyer
thinks when they walk in and it's been on the
market sixty or ninety days, how low will they take?
(15:30):
That's one thing, that's what they offer. And then what's
wrong with what's wrong with that?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
And so I always say their eyes are looking around
the house trying to figure out what's wrong with it?
Why hasn't it sold? Why is it still sitting here? Listen,
our goal is to get everyone the most that they can.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
You want to do that, and I want to get
you closed. Yeah, I mean that's if that's what you want,
then that's what I'm going to try to do. But
there also has to be a give and take and
there has to be a realistic expectation. I'm not going
to blow smoke. You know, it's not my job to
tell you what you want to hear. It's my job
to guide you, right, and not everybody decides it's the
(16:10):
right time to list, and that's okay. Yeah, it's just
a conversation.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
And that's the only part of the conversation that we
have with sellers when we sit down and visit is price.
While that is a very important part of it, what
are some of the other conversations we have with our
sellers as we sit down.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Yeah, a lot of the appointment is talking about like
our marketing and the kind of the next steps once
they're ready to list their home. And then we also
of course are going to talk about the logistics of
where they need to go their time frame. Like I said,
everybody just so different. There's no way to kind of
have a blanket blanket on that.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
So you sit down, you go through everything that we do,
how we do it, our marketing, how our office is
set up the way that our team assists. They sign
the listing agreement and they get all the documentation together.
The next step then is we set them up with
our stager yees.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
So the first step is our professional stager. If your
home's furnished or if you want it to be furnished
by her, she does a consultation that's free of charge.
That's something that we provide to you at no cost.
And we do that because we feel like every home
that has even five pieces of furniture should be staged.
It's really important to look at the home from a
(17:26):
buyer perspective and not something that you live in every day.
So the professional stager will come first, and then once
you feel like you're ready for photography, we'll send our
professional photographer. And then after the photos come back to
us edited, we'll have you an MLS within forty eight hours.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
And you know, talking about the stag or and then
the photographer. In our years, in your twenty five plus
years in mine about thirty, things have changed a lot.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Absolutely, And I love decorating homes, yeah, I mean I
feel like that's a passion of mine, but it's not
the same as staging, right, So and Lisa our stage
is amazing. She's a fun, free spirit, and she's gonna
tell you exactly what you need to do, and she's
not gonna be mad at you if you don't do it.
But it is a it's great suggestions and.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
You're gonna have a ball doing this every time I
have a new friend. She is so much fun. But
I think it's just really interesting and funny the way
when when we started in real estate, number one, there
was no World Wide Web, right, but then number two
there was no HGTV. And so it's amazing the transformation
in the real estate market and the real estate process
(18:37):
from then to now. And while yeah, you used to
get your house all cleaned and ready and get it
ready for pictures and all that, the bar has been
raised in what the buyer expects.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
And the speed of things selling that is astronomically faster.
Because we used to be only I'll only be able
to show maybe three or four houses a day. You'd
have to arrange to go get keys and all the things,
and things just moved at a slower pace. So like
Denay as a buyer's agent when she's out there showing houses,
(19:10):
I mean sometimes you have to be out there within
an hour to look at the house. So it's just
a completely different real estate world.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, it absolutely is. Well, when we come back, we're
going to talk to Denay about what is it like
out there for the buyers right now? What can you
expect if you're a buyer. So if you're thinking about
is now the right time for me to purchase? Stay
with us. This is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back.
This is Dana Simmons. We have been visiting with Katie Martin,
(19:37):
listing agent for Dana Simmons real Estate, giving us some
good info on what you can expect if you're listing
your house right now. Also with this is Denay Hamilton
and Tonay. We want to visit a little bit about
what's the market like out there for buyers. Is now
a good time to buy?
Speaker 3 (19:56):
Yes, it's a great time. We are definitely in a
buyer's mark, I would say, but I also need a
preface that even though yes, it is a buyer's market,
you had to be realistic. We had to look at
the numbers. Just like Katie looks at the numbers for
a listing. We had to look at the numbers too,
and look at the comps and see what's selling around
and then the same amount of time three to six
(20:17):
months depending on what we can find.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
But yeah, it's a great time. So with the large inventory,
let's talk about how that benefits a buyer. Because you know,
we were talking earlier about the market in twenty nineteen,
twenty twenty, Let's talk about what is the difference in
the market then in the market now.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Well, I'd much rather be a buyer in today's market
than a buyer in twenty twenty. And people look at
me like I'm crazy when I say that, But the
reason why is that the options are just way There's
way more options. There's also way more flexibility. My FHA
buyers in twenty twenty, we're getting passed on, passed on,
and passed on, and it was heartbreaking. And it was
(21:05):
not because they weren't able to or qualified. They were
very qualified. But they're going up against cash and conventional
multi offer situations and it's hard to compete with that.
So the first time home buyer that might have a
lower credit score but has been saving up and working hard,
they are an FAHA buyer. They have way more options
(21:26):
now for them, and I love that. So also there's
way more flexibility with negotiations, with inspections and repairs. Sellers
are much more willing to do those things versus in
twenty nineteen and twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Yeah. Absolutely, So, while the interest rate might have been
a little lower than people are paying more one hundred.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Percent and then you never get that. I mean, that's
just money you're not going to get back anytime quickly.
So I always say I would rather be a buyer
now than a buyer than because of the fact that
you're able to find a great property, you have way
more options. You can actually look at three, four or
five six houses and be able to compare them, versus
(22:08):
feeling pressured and I have to make a decision quickly
because this house is going to sell, And that pressure
then leads to did I move too soon? Did we
make the right choice? It leads to second thoughts.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Yeah. So when a buyer is thinking about getting into
the market, let's talk about what are the steps they
need to take to prepare for that.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Well, the first thing that I recommend is to speak
with the lender so that you have realistic expectations up front.
You'll know what you're looking for. Price, wise, what you'll
have to have, whether it'll be also FHA versus conventional
if you do have to go faha. There are certain
requirements in a house that we will have to look
when we're looking at properties.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
And let's talk about that a little bit, just so
people know. When you say there are certain requirements in
a house, an faha or VA loan is a govern
and men insured lunch. So talk about you know, we
don't have the list of all, but talk about some
of the things that could come up on that for
a buyer that may be a challenge versus a conventional loan.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
So wood rot on the xterior is one which I
mean we live in Southeast Texas. Rain, moisture, heat, it
happens right, especially in certain price points gfciyes, yeah, within
six six feet of water, say that's ten times best.
Those are just to name a few. Even I've seen
(23:33):
calking around a bathtub at this seal is not all
the way.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
So what you're saying, though, is that there are some sellers,
and Katie will tell you there are some sellers who
they when they list the house say as is as
lean and so on the listing. We have checkboxes that say,
conventional and cash only.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah, we don't even market if it's not. If they're
not negotiable in that respect.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Right, And it's also condos and townhouses, So condos and townhouses,
if it's a unit in building legal description, then that's
a condominium contract, which means it's going to be most
likely only going to be a conventional and cash buyer.
So if you are an FAHA buyer but you find
a cute little townhouse and your agent is not telling
(24:22):
you up front, hey, we don't need to go see
this because it's not FAHA yeah approved, then you're wasting
your time and you're getting your hopes up.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
So there are lots of reasons to make getting your
pre approval the firsh step, and it's not just for
any other reason except for it's in your best interest
as the buyer right to know that.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
And also if you're thinking, oh, I think I can
get approved for three hundred, and you're looking at houses
in the three hundred range, then we go to your
approval and it's oh, I can really only do two fifty.
It's a really it sounds like not that big of
a difference, it's a really big difference. It's a really
big difference in the type of house too that you
can get at three hundred versus two fifty. Then every
(25:07):
house that you're looking at in that under two fifty range,
you're comparing to the three hundred thousand range. And it's
not it's comparing apples and oranges. It's not the same.
It's disappointing, and it's disappointing. Yeah, and it's just nothing's
going to live up to your expectation at that point.
And so I always recommend that being your first step
so that you have realistic expectations going forward in the process.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Right, so you get the pre approval, we can help
them connect with lenders that have been here. That is
one thing that's also critically important.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Local lender to get a local Yes, it's really crucial
for a lot of reasons. They know how we do things.
They know also our area, cost of insurance, what insurances
are required. There's just they also have the same working
hours that we do because they're on the same time
zone that we are in, which does make a huge difference.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
We also have an office you can walk into.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
He can't get hold of somebody, I can walk into
their office or it's just way easier if it's someone
that's local than the challenges that we face with out
of town lenders.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Well, and we also serve on committees with those people
throughout our community. They are involved here, their life is here,
and so their reputation is here. So it's important and
critical for them to make sure they're they're giving good
service so that they can continue in this business. So
(26:31):
we're past the pre approval, we've gotten that. What is
the next step with Dana Simmons real Estate.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
So we have a buyer's consultation and you meet with
one of our buyer's agents and they just go over
the process with you, really break it down for you. Also,
we start digging into what are you looking for, what
do you what are your must haves, what are your wants,
and what is something that your non negotiables and your
negotiables pretty much, and then we start the house search,
(26:58):
the fun part.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
So one of the things that I'm I'm very proud
of you and Katie, each of you has you've created
a book. Katie has one for the sellers and you
have one for the buyers that goes through the entire
process from the first step to the last step, and
it references every step in between, and it doesn't replace you.
(27:19):
But it is a great resource and it's one that
you guys have created here locally. It's not taking what
someone else did. It's our local resource on helping guide
people through the process.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Well, Katie and I both love a checklist, so we
did this to make it very seamless, so that as
we're going through the process, we also have emails that
correspond with where we are in the process with that
page of the book, so that you know exactly where
you are. Any questions that you might have at midnight
when you're up and thinking, you can refer to the
(27:55):
book and it could answer your question for you can
go back to sleep, because those things happen right. And
so I think that what's unique about it is that
it also goes for the buyer book. It goes past
the buying process, but we have vendors. So when you
have an issue as a home buyer, because what are
you going to have, You're going to have issues right
(28:17):
because you own a home and homes have.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
The choice of home owners.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Yes, whether you have a brand new home or a
thirty year home, it's going to happen so there are
vendors in there that we recommend for literally everything, and
that too is very helpful.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
And we're always available. I can't tell you how many
people have reached out to me years later to say hey,
And it's not just housing vendors, it's also hey, I
need a doctor.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Oh yeah, hairstylist, that's the one I get a lot.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Yeah, all the things. So the Autricians, we are a
source of local information for so many people who relocate
here who really don't know. And so that's part of
what we love about our job. It's not just about
working with the seller or working with the buyer. It's
working with people and allowing them to get integrated into
(29:10):
our community in such a way that it's positive and wonderful.
So well, thank you Tonay for kind of going through that.
If you have questions about either working with our listing
agent Katie or working with one of our buyer's agents,
and today is one of those, give our office a
call at four nine eight six six eight three two
(29:32):
six in case you don't know, that's four nine eight
sixty six in the word team. One of our team
members will be able to assist you and get an
appointment scheduled for you. It is there is no cost
and we are happy to just walk through the process
give you some information to help you make a decision
that you feel confident about, whether it is moving forward
(29:54):
or maybe it is pausing and waiting, but at least
you can get the information you need to know what
are my next steps and what do I need to do.
When we come back, we are going to chat with
Katie about being an investor in real estate. She and
I both invest in real estate and there are things
that we'd love for you to know about it too,
So don't go away. This is the Dana Simmons Show.
(30:17):
Welcome back. This is Dana Simmons and I am joined
today by Katie Martin, listing agent for Dana Simmons real Estate,
and in Nay Hamilton, who is one of our buyer
agents for our team as well. So Katie, we've been
talking about the listing side and what that's like, and
then today talked a little bit about working with buyers
and what they can expect. But investors are also interested
(30:42):
in the market as well, and you and I are
both investors, and at this point in time, let's talk
about a little bit of the way the ways that
you invest in real estate.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
So I've kind of done a lot of different ways
and I feel like we finally found our and for
us right now, that's Airbnb. So we have two properties
right across the street from each other, as it happens,
which makes it super convenient for our cleaning lady. But
(31:14):
we've just found that that's for our our age, our
phase of life, you know, being busy with teenagers and stuff.
We don't have a lot of time to run over
and do you know, repairs and stuff like that. So
Airbnb has seemed to be the new, the new thing
that we like to do.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
So let's talk about how you how you got into that.
So you purchased a property and then with it furnished,
you have it furnished, and then let's talk about how
did you how did you get going into that. I'm
sure there are people out there that are thinking, hey,
I may want to do an airbnb. What does that
look like?
Speaker 2 (31:49):
So for us, this was just a situation where a
woman was leaving to be married overseas and she didn't
want to sell a hall of her stuff, and I said,
we'll just buy it furnished, and then we kind of
dipped our toe into Airbnb. I had zero expectations because
I've thought, what's anybody going to do in Beaumont, Texas.
(32:12):
You know, it's not like a place that you come
for vacation stuff like that. Within forty five minutes of
me listing it, we got our first booking for the
next week and they stayed a whole month, and I
was like, well, this might work. And that was three
years ago. Yeah, it's consistently booked. And when we bought
our second one just this year, we furnished it ourselves,
(32:36):
so it was a little bit different situation. And you
do have to be prepared for a lot of upfront
costs that you wouldn't normally have in a rental, and
you have to be prepared to pay the water bill
and the lights and all that stuff even if it's
not rented that month. So there are I think more
risk to it, but also more reward when it does
work out.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah, and you have to have towels and dishes and
everything that someone needs. A potato peeler, right, yeah, can opener.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
All kinds of fun things. But I did create a
checklist if anybody needs advice on that that you know.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
What we should do. This is going to trigger a
seminar on if you want to do an Airbnb, we'll
go through that because.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
If dollars, you can come to the seminar thirty.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Dollars and I'll even do it online.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Yeah. So I think that the thing that people don't recognize.
I did have an air had a couple of Airbnbs
for a little while, and then decided that wasn't my nich.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
You really have to kind of dive into some different
things to know what you like.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Right.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
One thing I will say about airbnb, don't buy a
townhouse because that could come back to bite you.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
And if it's in an hoa, generally you have to
make sure that it's not.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
They have certain days that guests are allowed to stay
for short term.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
So there are lots of things that you have to consider.
It's not something that someone should just jump into immediately
because there are so many different things that can impact
and airbnb and if it's going to be successful or not.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
So for you it's been successful, you've enjoyed it, You're
going to do it again. For me, it's like, no,
I'm out on that.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
And we've had rentals long term rentals as well. It
just kind of depends on what you like. Like I
like to decorate and put things together and just kind
of host people. That's more fun to me.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
And so you're doing great at that. For us, we
have a handful of long term rentals and we love that.
We love establishing relationships with people. And I'll tell you
the homes that we have people have been in their
long term they.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Also plugging them into the community too. Yes, it's their home,
I mean so.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
And then for both of us, so they're short term
rental that you do, long term rental that we've both done.
And then you and I both have worked with a flip.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Oh that's really my favorite. Yeah actually, yeah, yeah, Now
I love to flip houses. That's to me the quickest
rate of return. And we just did our first ten
thirty one tax exchange this year and we flipped a property,
sold it, and then with those proceeds bought two more.
(35:22):
We have enough money to do a down payment for
two more houses. So and then one of those we
flipped as well. I don't God's just been working out
the details of all that. It's not me necessarily, but
so that theveness though.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
In doing that is that you're building wealth long term, right,
and so there are we're in a business that it's
not like we get benefits. It's not like we have
a retirement or retirement account, you know. So real estate
is are retirement, so building and investing in that. But
when you're going to do a flip, it's critical that
(36:01):
you have all of your numbers and all of your
data up front, and things can change quickly.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
And you just keep in mind it's going to be more. Yes,
every single time, every single time.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Whatever we think.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
We just this last one, we put a new roof
on and three days later, her little tiny storm came
through and a tree fell on our roof. So that
was five thousand more than we thought it was going
to be, right, so we had to patch the hole
on the brand new roof three days old. Yeah, so
I would say that, but for us, we're also teaching
(36:32):
our daughters about investments. So this last home, our daughters
actually invested with us. So they put in five percent
of their own money toward the down five percent of
the down payment, and I told them at the end,
you'll get five percent of the profits. Yeah, And so
when we sold it, they were upset. About the roof
(36:53):
situation too, because that came out of their profit. But
they were required to. They went to both of our closings.
They had to help us clean out the house. They
had to help make decisions on appliances, which that's a
nightmare with a twelve year old anyway, and then at
the end they got they got a big fat check
(37:13):
for a twelve year old. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
So teaching them responsibility, teaching them that hard work brings about.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
A profit, and if you know, sometimes it doesn't work out,
that's exactly where it's okay too, not to not to
quit just because one thing doesn't work out.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
I think if someone is thinking about investing, you and
I would both agree sitting down and talking with a
local commercial lender.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Yes is the key, absolutely critical to that. And to
have a good relationship with someone. Yeah, we're to a
point now that our bank versus financial they feel confident
enough if we call them and say, hey, we want
to buy this property, is that okay? They just say yes. Yeah.
You know, because if.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
You've built relationship right and they've seen what you've done.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
You need to trust them and they need to trust
you be able to trust you. So it's important that
you do a lot of research and you know, like
you said, not just jump into something because it sounds
like it's fun, because that that can be detrimental.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Yeah, it's really sad. You and I have both seen
where people think, hey, I'm going to do a flip
and they get into it and they don't know what
they're doing and they end up just losing a lot
of money.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Yeah. And contractors, Yeah, really that you're contractors and be
there every day. You just have to watch, watch going on,
going on because it's just like at a restaurant, if
the manager's not there, you don't get consistency.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
So well, just life every single day. Yeah, it's unfortunate.
But well, if you're thinking about buying, selling, investing, Danis
Sima's Real Estate would love to help you, so reach
out to us. You can call my office for nine
eight six six eight three two six one of our
agents will be answering that for you, or you can
(39:07):
go to Danasimmons real Estate dot com and search there
and you can also make an appointment there. So if
there's any questions you have, we would love to be
able to answer those. Thank you for joining us today, Katie,
Thank you for being with us today. Thank you for
being with us, and you guys out there, thank you
for being a part and listening to the show. Hope
you have a great Saturday. This is Dana Simmons with
(39:29):
the Dana Simmons Show
Well, hello everyone, and welcome to the Dana Simmons Show.
Hope you're enjoying this Saturday and I'm getting to do
some fun things out there with me today. I have
Katie Martin. She is the listing agent with the Dana
Simmons Real Estate team. And also with me is Denee Hamilton,
who is the buyer agent, trainer whatever.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
She does everything, yeah, like literally extraordinary everything.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So and part of that is because she's also my daughter.
So you know, when you're the mama, you get to
tell the daughter and they get to do all kinds
of things. So I'm so excited to have the two
of them on the show today. But before we get started,
wanted to give you a little bit of an update. Well,
as you guys have seen, you know, there have been
lots of conversations about interest rates. But I will tell
(00:49):
you that interest rates right now are lower than they've
been since the beginning of the year for the most part,
So our situation is not a bad time to buy
with interest rates when you look at the last thirty years.
You guys have heard me. If you listen to this
radio show at all, you know, say it with me
out loud. The average interest rate for the last thirty
(01:11):
years is seven point seven percent, and so we are
under seven percent, and sometimes you're seeing things as low
as six and I've had a few people get under six.
So depending on your situation, visit with your lender see
what they're willing to do. But our inventory is amazing
right now. We have lots of properties out there that
(01:34):
sellers are ready to sell. So if you're out there
in the market thinking is now the right time for me,
let's sit down and visit. You can call my office
at four nine eight six six eight three two six.
We'll schedule a free consultation to sit down with you
to see is now the right time for you to buy?
But also if your thinking is now the right time
(01:56):
for me to sell? There are some of those price
points that are on the market a little longer than others.
But our office and Katie will be happy to meet
with you at your house, look at your property, give
you an idea of number of months of inventory and
what a good value is for your house right now
in today's market. So give us a call for nine
(02:17):
eight sixty six eight three two six, or you can
go to Dana Simmons Realestate Dot com I'm going to
go ahead and introduce our guests and let them tell
you a little bit about themselves. So, Katie, you have
been doing real estate, You have been in this business
a while. Tell us a little bit about how long.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Let's see twenty twenty five, I've been doing this. This
started my twenty six year.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah, it's amazing. There's a little bit of wisdom in there. Yes,
you've seen a few things.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
I feel like I've seen it all, and then something
else happens, and then I feel stupid because obviously haven't
seen it all. Keep surprising me.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
I guess that's the thing about real estate. It is
ever changing. And while you can look at trends and
you can look at what has happened in the past,
what we have learned in the last really five years
is that something can change quickly and alter the state
of real estate.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
That's right. And there's a lot of variables that people
don't think about, or know about, or want to know about.
But experience is extremely important in that respect.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
It is. So you've been in Southea, Texas, grew up
in Warren.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Grew up in Warren, little town of Warren. I started
school for engineering and that lasted about six months, and
I said, there's not enough action in this. So I've
got my real estate license, bought my first house at
eighteen and been doing it ever since. I'm married with
two beautiful girls, yes, two teenage girls.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Fine, If y'all want to start a support group out there,
I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
We all know what that's like. It's wonderful and challenging
all the same.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And they're they're so fun now. But then their own opinion.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Also married to the Robert Martin.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yes, Robert Martin Jr. As I say, there are two
the Robert Martins. Yeah, Lady Martin Electric. He and his
brother own that company and it's been family owned for
since nineteen ninety two.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yeah, and my favorite electrician. Yes, and I'm telling you
not just because of you, but I used Artie Martin
Electric before you joined our team. I was working with
them first.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Yeah. Well, he doesn't do a whole lot of electrical
at my own house. I have to call my father
in law for that. Yeah, but yeah, he's great.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
He is such a great man too. So saved the
day for me this week. So yeah, well he saves
the day for a lot of people in south East Texas. Yeah,
also with us Denay Simmons Hamilton, so just happens to
be my daughter. So you've been around this real estate
business for quite a while thirteen years.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Actually had to do the math because I was like, wait,
how long?
Speaker 1 (05:08):
How long have I had happened? Well, you've been around
the business thirty years, but you've had your real estate
license about thirteen years.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, thirteen years, which is crazy to me. But I've
been doing it full time for seven years now.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
So you originally though, I went to Lamar University and
got your master's there.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yes, I went to Lamar for my undergrad and for
my master's go cards and I did speech language pathology
in the nursing facilities in our area, three of them.
And I did that for six years and decided that
I wanted to do a little different, not in healthcare,
(05:50):
and decided to jump into real estate full time.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
And so you have my first grandchild.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yes, I do, a little girl, Hattie, who's four going
on fourteen. So when you're talking about teenage, I'm like,
I feel like I can relate already, and she's only four,
so I can only imagine. I told my husband I'm
going to move out at about twelve. I'll be back
when she's nineteen, and was.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
The greatest years.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
I know. She's a joy.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Then I have a wonderful husband, Ryan Hamilton, who also
went to Lamar. We did not go at the same time.
We are a little little age gap there, so we
were not at school at the same time together. But
he also went to Lamar.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Yeah, all of my kids did, which is kind of interesting.
My son in law, my daughter and then also my
son went to Lamar for nursing and then went to
Florida Gulf Coast University and he's a nurse in athesist
and came back to Beaumont and is now working here.
(06:58):
And then my daughter in law, well, I went to
Lamar University and graduated with a teaching degree and taught Actually.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
A tall poppy. This was our our real introduction. Was
it was over Annie, it.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Was And so she was teaching at legacy and uh,
first grade, first grade. She is the teacher in the world.
She is, and she is an amazing teacher. And so
I am so grateful to have amazing kids and their
spouses who I also consider my kids. So uh, I.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Think I remember when Kendall when Annie was teaching, Kendall
did the nurse and a little girls girl really loved
there was all of a sudden, all these issues throughout
the day they had to go to the nurse. They
were feeling well, they weren't feeling well. It's amazing when
Kendall was the nurse how that happened.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
And he also taught them. Sorry we're getting off on
a tangent here, but he also taught them how to
raise one eyebrow. And that's what they remember from school.
Things in life, yes, not reading, oh yeah, raising, oh yeah,
oh well and that you know, the little blot. But
minds are being influenced by a handsome young man.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
So well, we do have an exciting show today that
is about real estate, not just our family. So I
hope you'll stay tuned and join us. If you have
any questions about listing your home or if it's the
right time to buy, you're gonna want to stay tuned
because we're about to talk about some of the things
that are going on currently and what you need to
know if real estate is in your future. Also, Katie
(08:33):
Martin is an investor and she invests in short term
and long term property, so if you have questions about
getting into that. Katie is a great source to be
able to visit with. So she's going to share some
of that great insight with us here shortly, so don't
go away. This is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome Back.
So we're talking real estate today and I have Katie Martin,
(08:56):
who has been in the business over twenty five years
and the listing agent for Dana Simmons real Estate here
with us. And so Katie, here's the question, is it
a good time to sell?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Well, let's talk about that. And I mean, it really
is always a good time to sell. There are ups
and downs and sideways, but like we were talking about before,
experience is super important in making those decisions. So really,
what I always suggests is we sit down, talk, look
(09:30):
at your house, look at the comparables, and just see
what your goals are because ultimately, you know your neighbor
may not have the same goals as you. There's foreclosure,
there's death in the family, There's all kinds of stuff
that can affect people wanting to sell. So we need
to see what your motivation level is, what your price
(09:51):
point is. All those things are a factor in how
we're going to list your house and ultimately sell it.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah. One of the things that you and I both
say is the data doesn't lie. I mean, the data
is what the data is. But you've got to be
looking at good data. So when you are looking at
a property and you're looking to grab some comparables for
that property, what are the things you look for in
doing that, Because you can't comp one house to another
(10:20):
house when there's some significant differences in them. So talk
about what what the requirements are. When someone is saying, hey,
but my neighbor down the street sold for xyz, but
the neighbor down the street is a thousand square feet.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So what I always try to do is think like
an appraiser, because ultimately, if a buyer is getting a loan,
they're going to have to have an appraisal done. So
one of the things is geographic location. But even in
the same neighborhood, you could be across the street from
a house that maybe backs up to a train that
blows the whistle at night. You know, there's so many things.
(10:57):
Even with location, appraisers also look at square footage, so
they have to stay within ten percent of the square
footage of the current house either up or down. So
that's a factor too.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Bracketing is what they call, right.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
And then we also look at condition. Of course, the
neighbor down the street may have more updates or may
have spent ten thousand dollars, you know, putting something in
that's going to make a significant difference, remo in the
bathroom or something like that. May have a pool, a generator,
pool a generator, I mean, every big shop. I mean
(11:31):
that's a big thing too. Your lot size is also
really important.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
One story to story.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Right, especially in condos and townhouses. All those things are factors.
So you're not going to and I don't pull fifty
homes for you to compare to. I don't want to
overwhelm people. But ultimately we have to have three or
four homes that are most comparable to even give an evaluation.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Yeah, and so that's when experience really does matter. Talk
about the time frame I had a Let's say someone says,
but my neighbor three years.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Ago sold for yeah, six months? Is their their guideline
for appraisals, And that's any type of financing, And so.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
That is what an appraiser's looking for. Now. It's not
always possible to get something in six months, they may
have to go back eight ten until they can find something.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And it is a little harder with unique properties. You know,
you may have that one house on the block that's
cooler than everybody else's or smaller than everybody else's. So
we do have to think outside the box. But ultimately
we have to find data somewhere, so if we can't
find it, then the appraisers can't find it either. Yeah,
and so you know, I've had a few situations in
(12:45):
the last few years. In twenty twenty one to twenty two,
the market was extremely hot and everything was selling, so
it was super easy to find comps. People were paying
over asking price. It was just a different market than
it is right now.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Didn't care if it didn't appraise, right, they would attach
a dendum that said, we don't care if it doesn't appraise,
we'll pay over in cash.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's not happening these days.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Different today.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Yeah, And we just want people to be prepared because
sometimes the things you hear on the news may be national,
it may not even apply to our area. So it
is important to have somebody really evaluate and try to
see if you can meet your needs, not everybody's ready
to list, it's just the reality of what it is.
They may be upside down in it. It just may
(13:33):
not be the right time. There's logistics we have to
work out if they need to buy a house. Also,
that puts another you know, equation in there that can
be challenging. So and it's really a case by case.
I'm never going to give you a blanket. This is
what it should be, and we're always going to try
to work with you.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Yeah, I think that's the key. I think for us
and our team. It's a consultation about what's important to
you and what do you need to do. Here's what
we can do, and here's what the market is saying.
But not every single situation is the same, and so
it's evaluating your right their specific needs. Now I hear
(14:17):
this a lot, Katie, So let's talk about the challenge
with this. Well, I know the numbers say this, but
I want a list significantly higher and we can always
come down.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Right, So that's not really our strategy. You're the boss
at your house. It's your investment. To me, it is
much wiser and you're not going to sit on the
market as long if you price correctly from the beginning.
That's what I call our prime real estate is right there.
The first two weeks you're on the market, and you
(14:50):
have to consider too. Nobody thinks about holding costs. Yeah,
you know, every month you're making a two thousand dollars
house payment, you're paying your taxes, you're paying your insurance.
Everything comes out of that, your yard maintenance, and it's
another month that you're not where you want to be. Well.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
And I'll tell you one of the things that all
of us can recognize is when a house has been
sitting on the market and it could be a nice house,
and the seller finally does reduce it to a price
that's appropriate. What is the first thing that the buyer
thinks when they walk in and it's been on the
market sixty or ninety days, how low will they take?
(15:30):
That's one thing, that's what they offer. And then what's
wrong with what's wrong with that?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
And so I always say their eyes are looking around
the house trying to figure out what's wrong with it?
Why hasn't it sold? Why is it still sitting here? Listen,
our goal is to get everyone the most that they can.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
You want to do that, and I want to get
you closed. Yeah, I mean that's if that's what you want,
then that's what I'm going to try to do. But
there also has to be a give and take and
there has to be a realistic expectation. I'm not going
to blow smoke. You know, it's not my job to
tell you what you want to hear. It's my job
to guide you, right, and not everybody decides it's the
(16:10):
right time to list, and that's okay. Yeah, it's just
a conversation.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
And that's the only part of the conversation that we
have with sellers when we sit down and visit is price.
While that is a very important part of it, what
are some of the other conversations we have with our
sellers as we sit down.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Yeah, a lot of the appointment is talking about like
our marketing and the kind of the next steps once
they're ready to list their home. And then we also
of course are going to talk about the logistics of
where they need to go their time frame. Like I said,
everybody just so different. There's no way to kind of
have a blanket blanket on that.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
So you sit down, you go through everything that we do,
how we do it, our marketing, how our office is
set up the way that our team assists. They sign
the listing agreement and they get all the documentation together.
The next step then is we set them up with
our stager yees.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
So the first step is our professional stager. If your
home's furnished or if you want it to be furnished
by her, she does a consultation that's free of charge.
That's something that we provide to you at no cost.
And we do that because we feel like every home
that has even five pieces of furniture should be staged.
It's really important to look at the home from a
(17:26):
buyer perspective and not something that you live in every day.
So the professional stager will come first, and then once
you feel like you're ready for photography, we'll send our
professional photographer. And then after the photos come back to
us edited, we'll have you an MLS within forty eight hours.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
And you know, talking about the stag or and then
the photographer. In our years, in your twenty five plus
years in mine about thirty, things have changed a lot.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Absolutely, And I love decorating homes, yeah, I mean I
feel like that's a passion of mine, but it's not
the same as staging, right, So and Lisa our stage
is amazing. She's a fun, free spirit, and she's gonna
tell you exactly what you need to do, and she's
not gonna be mad at you if you don't do it.
But it is a it's great suggestions and.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
You're gonna have a ball doing this every time I
have a new friend. She is so much fun. But
I think it's just really interesting and funny the way
when when we started in real estate, number one, there
was no World Wide Web, right, but then number two
there was no HGTV. And so it's amazing the transformation
in the real estate market and the real estate process
(18:37):
from then to now. And while yeah, you used to
get your house all cleaned and ready and get it
ready for pictures and all that, the bar has been
raised in what the buyer expects.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
And the speed of things selling that is astronomically faster.
Because we used to be only I'll only be able
to show maybe three or four houses a day. You'd
have to arrange to go get keys and all the things,
and things just moved at a slower pace. So like
Denay as a buyer's agent when she's out there showing houses,
(19:10):
I mean sometimes you have to be out there within
an hour to look at the house. So it's just
a completely different real estate world.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, it absolutely is. Well, when we come back, we're
going to talk to Denay about what is it like
out there for the buyers right now? What can you
expect if you're a buyer. So if you're thinking about
is now the right time for me to purchase? Stay
with us. This is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back.
This is Dana Simmons. We have been visiting with Katie Martin,
(19:37):
listing agent for Dana Simmons real Estate, giving us some
good info on what you can expect if you're listing
your house right now. Also with this is Denay Hamilton
and Tonay. We want to visit a little bit about
what's the market like out there for buyers. Is now
a good time to buy?
Speaker 3 (19:56):
Yes, it's a great time. We are definitely in a
buyer's mark, I would say, but I also need a
preface that even though yes, it is a buyer's market,
you had to be realistic. We had to look at
the numbers. Just like Katie looks at the numbers for
a listing. We had to look at the numbers too,
and look at the comps and see what's selling around
and then the same amount of time three to six
(20:17):
months depending on what we can find.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
But yeah, it's a great time. So with the large inventory,
let's talk about how that benefits a buyer. Because you know,
we were talking earlier about the market in twenty nineteen,
twenty twenty, Let's talk about what is the difference in
the market then in the market now.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Well, I'd much rather be a buyer in today's market
than a buyer in twenty twenty. And people look at
me like I'm crazy when I say that, But the
reason why is that the options are just way There's
way more options. There's also way more flexibility. My FHA
buyers in twenty twenty, we're getting passed on, passed on,
and passed on, and it was heartbreaking. And it was
(21:05):
not because they weren't able to or qualified. They were
very qualified. But they're going up against cash and conventional
multi offer situations and it's hard to compete with that.
So the first time home buyer that might have a
lower credit score but has been saving up and working hard,
they are an FAHA buyer. They have way more options
(21:26):
now for them, and I love that. So also there's
way more flexibility with negotiations, with inspections and repairs. Sellers
are much more willing to do those things versus in
twenty nineteen and twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Yeah. Absolutely, So, while the interest rate might have been
a little lower than people are paying more one hundred.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Percent and then you never get that. I mean, that's
just money you're not going to get back anytime quickly.
So I always say I would rather be a buyer
now than a buyer than because of the fact that
you're able to find a great property, you have way
more options. You can actually look at three, four or
five six houses and be able to compare them, versus
(22:08):
feeling pressured and I have to make a decision quickly
because this house is going to sell, And that pressure
then leads to did I move too soon? Did we
make the right choice? It leads to second thoughts.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Yeah. So when a buyer is thinking about getting into
the market, let's talk about what are the steps they
need to take to prepare for that.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Well, the first thing that I recommend is to speak
with the lender so that you have realistic expectations up front.
You'll know what you're looking for. Price, wise, what you'll
have to have, whether it'll be also FHA versus conventional
if you do have to go faha. There are certain
requirements in a house that we will have to look
when we're looking at properties.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
And let's talk about that a little bit, just so
people know. When you say there are certain requirements in
a house, an faha or VA loan is a govern
and men insured lunch. So talk about you know, we
don't have the list of all, but talk about some
of the things that could come up on that for
a buyer that may be a challenge versus a conventional loan.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
So wood rot on the xterior is one which I
mean we live in Southeast Texas. Rain, moisture, heat, it
happens right, especially in certain price points gfciyes, yeah, within
six six feet of water, say that's ten times best.
Those are just to name a few. Even I've seen
(23:33):
calking around a bathtub at this seal is not all
the way.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
So what you're saying, though, is that there are some sellers,
and Katie will tell you there are some sellers who
they when they list the house say as is as
lean and so on the listing. We have checkboxes that say,
conventional and cash only.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah, we don't even market if it's not. If they're
not negotiable in that respect.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Right, And it's also condos and townhouses, So condos and townhouses,
if it's a unit in building legal description, then that's
a condominium contract, which means it's going to be most
likely only going to be a conventional and cash buyer.
So if you are an FAHA buyer but you find
a cute little townhouse and your agent is not telling
(24:22):
you up front, hey, we don't need to go see
this because it's not FAHA yeah approved, then you're wasting
your time and you're getting your hopes up.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
So there are lots of reasons to make getting your
pre approval the firsh step, and it's not just for
any other reason except for it's in your best interest
as the buyer right to know that.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
And also if you're thinking, oh, I think I can
get approved for three hundred, and you're looking at houses
in the three hundred range, then we go to your
approval and it's oh, I can really only do two fifty.
It's a really it sounds like not that big of
a difference, it's a really big difference. It's a really
big difference in the type of house too that you
can get at three hundred versus two fifty. Then every
(25:07):
house that you're looking at in that under two fifty range,
you're comparing to the three hundred thousand range. And it's
not it's comparing apples and oranges. It's not the same.
It's disappointing, and it's disappointing. Yeah, and it's just nothing's
going to live up to your expectation at that point.
And so I always recommend that being your first step
so that you have realistic expectations going forward in the process.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Right, so you get the pre approval, we can help
them connect with lenders that have been here. That is
one thing that's also critically important.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Local lender to get a local Yes, it's really crucial
for a lot of reasons. They know how we do things.
They know also our area, cost of insurance, what insurances
are required. There's just they also have the same working
hours that we do because they're on the same time
zone that we are in, which does make a huge difference.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
We also have an office you can walk into.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
He can't get hold of somebody, I can walk into
their office or it's just way easier if it's someone
that's local than the challenges that we face with out
of town lenders.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Well, and we also serve on committees with those people
throughout our community. They are involved here, their life is here,
and so their reputation is here. So it's important and
critical for them to make sure they're they're giving good
service so that they can continue in this business. So
(26:31):
we're past the pre approval, we've gotten that. What is
the next step with Dana Simmons real Estate.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
So we have a buyer's consultation and you meet with
one of our buyer's agents and they just go over
the process with you, really break it down for you. Also,
we start digging into what are you looking for, what
do you what are your must haves, what are your wants,
and what is something that your non negotiables and your
negotiables pretty much, and then we start the house search,
(26:58):
the fun part.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
So one of the things that I'm I'm very proud
of you and Katie, each of you has you've created
a book. Katie has one for the sellers and you
have one for the buyers that goes through the entire
process from the first step to the last step, and
it references every step in between, and it doesn't replace you.
(27:19):
But it is a great resource and it's one that
you guys have created here locally. It's not taking what
someone else did. It's our local resource on helping guide
people through the process.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Well, Katie and I both love a checklist, so we
did this to make it very seamless, so that as
we're going through the process, we also have emails that
correspond with where we are in the process with that
page of the book, so that you know exactly where
you are. Any questions that you might have at midnight
when you're up and thinking, you can refer to the
(27:55):
book and it could answer your question for you can
go back to sleep, because those things happen right. And
so I think that what's unique about it is that
it also goes for the buyer book. It goes past
the buying process, but we have vendors. So when you
have an issue as a home buyer, because what are
you going to have, You're going to have issues right
(28:17):
because you own a home and homes have.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
The choice of home owners.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Yes, whether you have a brand new home or a
thirty year home, it's going to happen so there are
vendors in there that we recommend for literally everything, and
that too is very helpful.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
And we're always available. I can't tell you how many
people have reached out to me years later to say hey,
And it's not just housing vendors, it's also hey, I
need a doctor.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Oh yeah, hairstylist, that's the one I get a lot.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Yeah, all the things. So the Autricians, we are a
source of local information for so many people who relocate
here who really don't know. And so that's part of
what we love about our job. It's not just about
working with the seller or working with the buyer. It's
working with people and allowing them to get integrated into
(29:10):
our community in such a way that it's positive and wonderful.
So well, thank you Tonay for kind of going through that.
If you have questions about either working with our listing
agent Katie or working with one of our buyer's agents,
and today is one of those, give our office a
call at four nine eight six six eight three two
(29:32):
six in case you don't know, that's four nine eight
sixty six in the word team. One of our team
members will be able to assist you and get an
appointment scheduled for you. It is there is no cost
and we are happy to just walk through the process
give you some information to help you make a decision
that you feel confident about, whether it is moving forward
(29:54):
or maybe it is pausing and waiting, but at least
you can get the information you need to know what
are my next steps and what do I need to do.
When we come back, we are going to chat with
Katie about being an investor in real estate. She and
I both invest in real estate and there are things
that we'd love for you to know about it too,
So don't go away. This is the Dana Simmons Show.
(30:17):
Welcome back. This is Dana Simmons and I am joined
today by Katie Martin, listing agent for Dana Simmons real Estate,
and in Nay Hamilton, who is one of our buyer
agents for our team as well. So Katie, we've been
talking about the listing side and what that's like, and
then today talked a little bit about working with buyers
and what they can expect. But investors are also interested
(30:42):
in the market as well, and you and I are
both investors, and at this point in time, let's talk
about a little bit of the way the ways that
you invest in real estate.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
So I've kind of done a lot of different ways
and I feel like we finally found our and for
us right now, that's Airbnb. So we have two properties
right across the street from each other, as it happens,
which makes it super convenient for our cleaning lady. But
(31:14):
we've just found that that's for our our age, our
phase of life, you know, being busy with teenagers and stuff.
We don't have a lot of time to run over
and do you know, repairs and stuff like that. So
Airbnb has seemed to be the new, the new thing
that we like to do.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
So let's talk about how you how you got into that.
So you purchased a property and then with it furnished,
you have it furnished, and then let's talk about how
did you how did you get going into that. I'm
sure there are people out there that are thinking, hey,
I may want to do an airbnb. What does that
look like?
Speaker 2 (31:49):
So for us, this was just a situation where a
woman was leaving to be married overseas and she didn't
want to sell a hall of her stuff, and I said,
we'll just buy it furnished, and then we kind of
dipped our toe into Airbnb. I had zero expectations because
I've thought, what's anybody going to do in Beaumont, Texas.
(32:12):
You know, it's not like a place that you come
for vacation stuff like that. Within forty five minutes of
me listing it, we got our first booking for the
next week and they stayed a whole month, and I
was like, well, this might work. And that was three
years ago. Yeah, it's consistently booked. And when we bought
our second one just this year, we furnished it ourselves,
(32:36):
so it was a little bit different situation. And you
do have to be prepared for a lot of upfront
costs that you wouldn't normally have in a rental, and
you have to be prepared to pay the water bill
and the lights and all that stuff even if it's
not rented that month. So there are I think more
risk to it, but also more reward when it does
work out.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah, and you have to have towels and dishes and
everything that someone needs. A potato peeler, right, yeah, can opener.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
All kinds of fun things. But I did create a
checklist if anybody needs advice on that that you know.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
What we should do. This is going to trigger a
seminar on if you want to do an Airbnb, we'll
go through that because.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
If dollars, you can come to the seminar thirty.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Dollars and I'll even do it online.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Yeah. So I think that the thing that people don't recognize.
I did have an air had a couple of Airbnbs
for a little while, and then decided that wasn't my nich.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
You really have to kind of dive into some different
things to know what you like.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Right.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
One thing I will say about airbnb, don't buy a
townhouse because that could come back to bite you.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
And if it's in an hoa, generally you have to
make sure that it's not.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
They have certain days that guests are allowed to stay
for short term.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
So there are lots of things that you have to consider.
It's not something that someone should just jump into immediately
because there are so many different things that can impact
and airbnb and if it's going to be successful or not.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
So for you it's been successful, you've enjoyed it, You're
going to do it again. For me, it's like, no,
I'm out on that.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
And we've had rentals long term rentals as well. It
just kind of depends on what you like. Like I
like to decorate and put things together and just kind
of host people. That's more fun to me.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
And so you're doing great at that. For us, we
have a handful of long term rentals and we love that.
We love establishing relationships with people. And I'll tell you
the homes that we have people have been in their
long term they.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Also plugging them into the community too. Yes, it's their home,
I mean so.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
And then for both of us, so they're short term
rental that you do, long term rental that we've both done.
And then you and I both have worked with a flip.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Oh that's really my favorite. Yeah actually, yeah, yeah, Now
I love to flip houses. That's to me the quickest
rate of return. And we just did our first ten
thirty one tax exchange this year and we flipped a property,
sold it, and then with those proceeds bought two more.
(35:22):
We have enough money to do a down payment for
two more houses. So and then one of those we
flipped as well. I don't God's just been working out
the details of all that. It's not me necessarily, but
so that theveness though.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
In doing that is that you're building wealth long term, right,
and so there are we're in a business that it's
not like we get benefits. It's not like we have
a retirement or retirement account, you know. So real estate
is are retirement, so building and investing in that. But
when you're going to do a flip, it's critical that
(36:01):
you have all of your numbers and all of your
data up front, and things can change quickly.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
And you just keep in mind it's going to be more. Yes,
every single time, every single time.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Whatever we think.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
We just this last one, we put a new roof
on and three days later, her little tiny storm came
through and a tree fell on our roof. So that
was five thousand more than we thought it was going
to be, right, so we had to patch the hole
on the brand new roof three days old. Yeah, so
I would say that, but for us, we're also teaching
(36:32):
our daughters about investments. So this last home, our daughters
actually invested with us. So they put in five percent
of their own money toward the down five percent of
the down payment, and I told them at the end,
you'll get five percent of the profits. Yeah, And so
when we sold it, they were upset. About the roof
(36:53):
situation too, because that came out of their profit. But
they were required to. They went to both of our closings.
They had to help us clean out the house. They
had to help make decisions on appliances, which that's a
nightmare with a twelve year old anyway, and then at
the end they got they got a big fat check
(37:13):
for a twelve year old. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
So teaching them responsibility, teaching them that hard work brings about.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
A profit, and if you know, sometimes it doesn't work out,
that's exactly where it's okay too, not to not to
quit just because one thing doesn't work out.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
I think if someone is thinking about investing, you and
I would both agree sitting down and talking with a
local commercial lender.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Yes is the key, absolutely critical to that. And to
have a good relationship with someone. Yeah, we're to a
point now that our bank versus financial they feel confident
enough if we call them and say, hey, we want
to buy this property, is that okay? They just say yes. Yeah.
You know, because if.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
You've built relationship right and they've seen what you've done.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
You need to trust them and they need to trust
you be able to trust you. So it's important that
you do a lot of research and you know, like
you said, not just jump into something because it sounds
like it's fun, because that that can be detrimental.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Yeah, it's really sad. You and I have both seen
where people think, hey, I'm going to do a flip
and they get into it and they don't know what
they're doing and they end up just losing a lot
of money.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Yeah. And contractors, Yeah, really that you're contractors and be
there every day. You just have to watch, watch going on,
going on because it's just like at a restaurant, if
the manager's not there, you don't get consistency.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
So well, just life every single day. Yeah, it's unfortunate.
But well, if you're thinking about buying, selling, investing, Danis
Sima's Real Estate would love to help you, so reach
out to us. You can call my office for nine
eight six six eight three two six one of our
agents will be answering that for you, or you can
(39:07):
go to Danasimmons real Estate dot com and search there
and you can also make an appointment there. So if
there's any questions you have, we would love to be
able to answer those. Thank you for joining us today, Katie,
Thank you for being with us today. Thank you for
being with us, and you guys out there, thank you
for being a part and listening to the show. Hope
you have a great Saturday. This is Dana Simmons with
(39:29):
the Dana Simmons Show
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