HAR, Divorce & Mold

Important topics & fun!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The views and opinions expressed by the participants on this
show are not necessarily those of Stuart Information Services Corporation,
Stewart Title, or Stewart Insurance. Before you make any investment,
you should seek the advice of your investment advisor or attorney.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Whether you're a real estate broker, realtor homeowner, buyer or seller,
everything matters when it comes to real estate. This is
Real Estate Matters with Stearare Title, Stearare Titles. Bill Nabik
and guests open the door to what really matters in owning, buying,
and selling real estate. And now Real Estate Matters with
Steward Title, brought to you by Stuart Insurance, here to inform,

(00:38):
entertain and inspire.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Bill Knabek, Welcome to the show. It is Real Estate
Matters with Stuart Title right here at show number five
ninety seven. Thank you for joining us another real estate
radio adventure as we have as always tremendous people, but
really great information. It's going to be fun this show,
so we're glad that you're with us here today on
Real Estate Matters with Stuart Title. I am your host,

(01:01):
Bill Napik. I want to remind you if you want
to see the show on the YouTube videos. Simply go
to Stuart dot com Forward Slash Radio. That's right. You
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That's where you can see this show. You can see
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(01:25):
So if you hear something today you weren't able to
write it down, just go to Radio Bill or Stewart
dot com Forward Slash Radio. Let's get down to business
as we welcome Teresa Hill. She is the twenty twenty
six HAAR chair end with Compass Real Estate. Teresa, welcome

(01:46):
to the show.

Speaker 4 (01:47):
Thank you Bill for having me here today.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
Here you are, it's exciting to see you, and we're
always interested in HAAR as people here in Houston are.
But even as you know, people far and wide want
to know what's going on with HR. So first let's
tell people h R. What does it stand for? What
is it? And let's tell them about your role there now.

Speaker 4 (02:08):
Yeah, so HR we are the second largest local real
estate association in the country and our mission is to
help our over forty eight thousand members just achieve ongoing
success and we try to connect home sellers, buyers and renters.

Speaker 5 (02:33):
So you know, we strive to.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
Make the home buying and the renting process inclusive and
you know, with as much professionalism from our HR members
as possible.

Speaker 5 (02:48):
We also have.

Speaker 4 (02:49):
HR dot com, which is one of the most successful
consumer facing real estate sites we have. We have a
pretty good percentage of people that log on to our site.
We have an average of eight million visitors per month

(03:09):
at HR dot com.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
Well, and as you mentioned eight million, let's just back
up another second to the number that you said, forty
eight thousand. Let's embellish that as tell them again, there's
forty eight thousand members of HR Houston Association of Realtors.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
Yes, sir, yes, we have a little lever forty eight.

Speaker 3 (03:27):
So this isn't little Rock, Arkansas. I mean we're the
fourth some people say, Teresa, we're the third soon to
be the third largest city. So we have a lot
of real estate professionals here to say the least we do.

Speaker 4 (03:37):
We do, and we're a very diverse city as well,
which is part of the reason you know that I'm
so drawn to it. I love the diversity of our city.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
And congratulations on your role as the HAR chair. Give
people an idea to be part of this large organization
and you're running, you're a real realtor. At the same time,
give us an idea of your role. What you're doing
as the chair for twenty twenty six at HAR.

Speaker 4 (04:06):
So I guess kind of my responsibilities, if you will,
is really just the general supervision of the association. And
I do work hand in hand with the President of HAR,
who is Renee Galvon, and I believe you interviewed him
earlier this year.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
We did.

Speaker 5 (04:22):
Yes, he's our new.

Speaker 4 (04:24):
CEO after Bob Hale, who everybody knows and loves. Bob
retired in January of.

Speaker 5 (04:33):
This past year.

Speaker 4 (04:34):
So as of February first, Renee Galvon is our new CEO.
And again we work very very closely together as I
serve in this role and so I preside over all
member meetings that we have, whether that be board meetings
or you know, special special meetings that may come into play,

(04:57):
and then I just act as the boysome face of
HR for twenty twenty six.

Speaker 3 (05:04):
So to be in this role, give people an idea,
was there a process, because the role, if I understand it,
runs for the whole year of twenty twenty six. Well,
what was the process to even get to be in
this It's.

Speaker 4 (05:17):
Definitely a process. It could be up to a six
year commitment.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Wow.

Speaker 5 (05:23):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (05:24):
So you start out by being.

Speaker 5 (05:29):
On the Board of Directors.

Speaker 4 (05:31):
So as chair, I am the chair of both Board
of Directors and the Executive Committee Board of Directors. In
that election, you have to be a member of the
Board of Directors in order to run for Executive Committee,
which is the committee that I am on. There are

(05:55):
it's five years on the Executive Committee. You start out
as secretary, true, sure, then you are a vice chair, two,
a vice chair, one, a chair elect and then your
chair like I am, so I am in year five
and then you're six I will be the immediate past chair.
Now I will say it's not a guaranteed line of

(06:18):
succession until you get to chair elect. Now that is
the normal process. We usually don't have people that fall
off during this secession. But again, it is a huge
time commitment. There's lots of traveling, meetings, interviews such as this,

(06:42):
and of course as you get higher up in the chain,
you know there the more of a time commitment.

Speaker 5 (06:46):
It is.

Speaker 6 (06:47):
Well.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
One of the things we learned just a few weeks
ago or we were reminded is that har Houston Association
of Realtors. People think mostly residential, but we we learn
also that your involvement in the commercial realm of real
estate here in this big Houston area.

Speaker 5 (07:04):
Absolutely.

Speaker 6 (07:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (07:05):
We do have Comgate, which is headed up by Sam
Scott at HR dot com, but that is a large
segment of the association as well.

Speaker 3 (07:16):
So lots of things going on. Do you have a
feel for We've heard and talked about it here on
this show with many people through the last maybe it
might be four years, three four years now, but of
all the people that are coming about, all the people
that are coming from other places to come to Houston,
what's the feel that when you are at har are
you saying, well, the last group came in no more?

(07:38):
I mean, what's really happening. There's still a stream of
people coming from other states? Is that right?

Speaker 7 (07:43):
You know?

Speaker 5 (07:43):
There really is.

Speaker 4 (07:45):
We are known as a very business friendly state and
I think that's what draws people here the most. Now,
as far as you know, our the real estate market
or the real estate landscape. As we go into twenty
twenty six, I think that we're seeing a little bit

(08:05):
of a momentum because we're seeing a more balanced market
right now. You know, it was a seller's market for
so many years and we're backing off of that. So
I think that that's just important, you know, to note.

Speaker 3 (08:24):
Well, also you have a role. Let's tell people are
your role at Compass and as you describe it, also
give us an idea the responsibility of what you're doing
as the chair for har So it's a big job
and like you already said, it's a lot of time commitment.
So how does that work where you have another full
time job at Compass? Tell us what you're doing there

(08:45):
and how do you balance that?

Speaker 4 (08:47):
So I am in management, So i am a sales
manager at Compass and I'm at our kind of what's
considered our flagship office.

Speaker 5 (08:56):
I'm at the West tim Er office.

Speaker 4 (08:58):
Because that is the largest office. I do have a
co manager there, so she's her name is Nadia Debroun.
We have worked together before at another brokerage, so we're
we know how to work well together. We're very cohesive,
and she is a godsend right now because she's you know,
she's definitely helping helping me out when I'm when I'm away.

(09:22):
And then I also have my managing director who's kind
of my supervisor. She's over all five of our offices
at Compass. Her name is Cita Youngblood, and again she
is just just such an important part of my support system.
So Compass has been very, very gracious in giving me

(09:42):
the support.

Speaker 5 (09:43):
That I need.

Speaker 3 (09:44):
Indeed, Cita and Nadia are incredible individuals. Both have been
on the show. It's been a while. Love to see
him again. Hope they're listening. But yes, you have a
very powerful and important team right there with those individuals.

Speaker 5 (09:56):
Absolutely absolutely so.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
As you say the market is quote normal, it's it's
better than it was. What what do you see in
between Compass and h R What do you see for
the rest of the year as we're so well into
it now.

Speaker 4 (10:11):
Well, I think, as I said, I think we're getting
more into a balanced market. Buyers have that they have
more options now, you know, our days on the market
are increasing. Uh so buyers aren't having to make those
you know, rash decisions where things are going to fly

(10:32):
off the market, you know, within the first hours of
being listed. Now that's not to say that we still
don't have multiple offers, because we do. We are a
very hyper local real estate city. You know, because what's
happening Galveston is different than what's happening in the Woodlands.
We're very spread out, so we are super hyper local.

Speaker 5 (10:55):
But I do believe.

Speaker 4 (10:56):
That that for the most part, our sales price has
remained pretty steady and sales, although they dipped a little
bit in February, our sales have remained steady too.

Speaker 5 (11:12):
So we're still seeing that.

Speaker 4 (11:14):
You know, the seller still has the offers coming in,
but the buyers, like I said, they do have more
options and more time to make decisions, which hence the
more balanced market.

Speaker 3 (11:27):
You know, as I'm here listening to you, I'm thinking
of your various roles and the people you mentioned. But
also the thing, Teresa that stands out is being involved
in sales management because so many things in any industry
profession revolves around sales. But you get to see incredible performers,
you understand what makes them great in many cases, and

(11:51):
you also help make others great and to enhance their success.
When you see or someone comes to you and they say, Teresa,
I'm thinking about being a real right, what are the
at least two qualities that you think are so important
that maybe overlook as to what makes someone successful in
real estate as a realtor to sell and help buyers

(12:12):
and sellers.

Speaker 4 (12:13):
Well, this is definitely a relationship type business. You've got
to know how to read people and communicate. I think
communication is key. Probably the complaint I get the most
is why didn't the realtor call me back? Why did
it take her an hour to call me back? I
mean we are in a you know, an instant gratification

(12:37):
type world nowadays, and you know when when you get
that HR lead, I've heard fifteen minutes is an eternity
to get back to that person. So again, I think
communication is absolutely key.

Speaker 3 (12:56):
It's one word communication. You're so right.

Speaker 4 (13:00):
I want people to know that real estate can be
a complicated, you know, transaction, but it doesn't have to
be a bad experience. But the number one thing is
you have to get a realter. I think that's so
important for consumers to know. This is something that you

(13:21):
don't want to do on your own too much that
you may not know as a consumer that your realtor
is a trusted advisor, can give you good solid information
and can have it be the ultimate experience for something
that's going to be probably your most greatest asset.

Speaker 3 (13:40):
Give us a quick word in backing up a little bit.
You've been in the profession several decades, maybe over three.
I'm guessing what was it about real estate that attracted
you to begin with.

Speaker 4 (13:50):
I'm definitely a people person, so that's you know, that's
that's my attraction. And as far as getting in management,
my passion is to help real estate agents thrive in
their business. That's kind of you know, my, my, my jam.
You know, that's that's what gets me going.

Speaker 3 (14:12):
We're talking with Teresa Hill. She is the twenty twenty
six HR chair and also in sales management at Compass. Teresa,
if people want to learn more about har or Compass
what should they do?

Speaker 4 (14:25):
You can contact me at eight three two seven six
six two four two zero. You could also email me
at Teresa dot Hill at Compass dot com. And I
appreciate all comments and questions and feel free to reach
out to me.

Speaker 5 (14:41):
I'm an open book.

Speaker 4 (14:42):
Eight three two seven sixty six two four to zero.

Speaker 3 (14:47):
Teresa, thanks for being with us.

Speaker 5 (14:48):
Thank you so much. I enjoyed it.

Speaker 3 (14:51):
As we continue, we have Amber and Scottie Gifford. They
are with the Gifford Group. Guys, welcome to the show.

Speaker 8 (14:59):
Thank you, Thank you so much for having us appreciate it,
appreciate it so much.

Speaker 3 (15:03):
And here you are a husband and wife real estate
team right here in the big city.

Speaker 7 (15:07):
Yeah, that's it's really uh, you know, from the very beginning,
we wanted to be like we said, hey, we're going
to do this. We're going to do this as a team,
and we're going to come together and help people and
walk through different life situations, and so really it's just
it's really been a dream of ours from the very beginning.
It's just so great to we get to do it
every day.

Speaker 3 (15:23):
It's exciting and I like him and even after however
many years, right, that's right, six years.

Speaker 7 (15:30):
Yeah, and that's.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
So great to start like this because what we're going
to get to the niche that you have in the
real estate market. Now you're helping all the buyers and
sellers out there, of course, But first let's talk a
little bit about the Gifford Group and the geography that
you're covering. Now you cover all over, but let's just
say the last twenty transactions geographically, what kind of area
have you been campusing.

Speaker 7 (15:51):
I would say mostly the west side of Houston to
the north side of Houston. We haven't when we just
had a buyer helping out in Crosby to access of
the east side. But like most of our transactions would
be you know, west side of Houston, southwest to the
you know, western side of Houston. So Houston's a huge market,
as you say, you know, we hr forty thousand people

(16:11):
here so uh, just members. So like it is a
big area to cover, so we try to you know,
can't cover it all, but we try to do the
best we can.

Speaker 3 (16:19):
And you mentioned Crosby, Texas that we don't hear a
lot about it, but for those that are outside of Houston,
that's in the northeast and it's at Once. I don't know,
I hadn't been there lately, but it's a it was
a small town last time I was there, So that was.

Speaker 7 (16:31):
A good small town compared to especially compared to Katie
and Fulls going up over here, right, Let's.

Speaker 3 (16:36):
Start with Katie just for a minute. I would assume
you're doing work in Katie as well. What's going on
in Katie Amber.

Speaker 8 (16:42):
Oh man, Katie's been booming and we have Full Shirt
and right next door that's one of the fastest growing cities.

Speaker 3 (16:49):
They have.

Speaker 8 (16:50):
You know, I think the market's definitely shifted to more
of a buyer's market for sure. We still have lots
of listings, and I think if you're going to do
buy sell, you're going to get beat up on the
cell and then you can beat up on the buy
if you want to get a deal that way. So
Katie's still booming. It's one of the best cities of
live in according to statistics, the schools. It's family oriented,
you know, it's a great place with parks and shopping

(17:12):
and you don't have to be in the traffic that
you do in Houston. So a lot of people want
to come to Katie.

Speaker 3 (17:16):
Well, I'm going to chime in on the merits of
Katie in terms of location. Its location has improved in
a big way in the last eight years due to
the various improvements in the highway system.

Speaker 7 (17:27):
Yeah, and I think you know, just we kind of
live on the west side, right, and so it's like
as people want to commute in still it's okay, but
now you have a lot of stuff that's development's growing
out there. We have you know, we have we just
had an HIV just moving a mile away from us.
So really I mean, as people moved, the shopping has
moved around us. So it's just making it more convenient.

(17:48):
You don't have to go back into town. There are
a lot of great restaurants, there's a lot of shopping
that you can do there. So you don't really have
to leave your little bubble over on the West Side
if you don't want to, unless you want to go
down to those fancy Houston restaurants.

Speaker 3 (18:00):
Or you're working, right, they work from home.

Speaker 8 (18:02):
You get a house with an office. We can find
that for you.

Speaker 3 (18:05):
You can help people with that. I'm sure right. So
as far as we've had husband and wife teams in
various situations here on the show, but give us an idea.
What makes it work for you, guys, because do you
does one person do one thing or how does that?
How do you balance the responsibility, the excitement, the prospects
all this.

Speaker 8 (18:24):
Foremost we know where our weaknesses and our strengths are,
so we work together where he's weak, I'm strong, and
vice versa. And we have excellent communication with one another,
and we don't mind taking over to help the other person.
So if I can't be somewhere because I have a closing,
he'll go and he'll talk to the client or whatever
they need. In show houses, we tag team really well
together with each other and then with our clients. I'm

(18:48):
stellar at communication. Scotty's pretty good. He's pretty good, so
I can pick up the pieces.

Speaker 7 (18:54):
I'm better than average. But she's just a whole noted league.

Speaker 3 (18:57):
That's the quote of the day. Scott's pretty good. That's
a good one.

Speaker 9 (19:01):
He's pretty good.

Speaker 8 (19:02):
So, you know, we tag team well together. We are
you know, we're happily married and we have a blended family.
So we love real estate. We love helping people, especially
in you know, complex transactions, which we tend to get
a lot of, and we're known for.

Speaker 3 (19:16):
Okay, let's talk divorce. And when I say that, people
are saying, I wonder why you brought that up, because
let's tell them.

Speaker 7 (19:23):
Scotty, Well, so we when we first started, we said
we want to, you know, help people that me and
Eerbra have both been through divorce. We're happily married now,
but we walked through that transaction and there's a lot
of questions that go into real estate when there's a
divorce happening, right, and your family law attorney is great,
you need them, but you also need another whole group
of people to help you out, and one of those

(19:44):
things is going to be real estate. Are what are
we doing with the house? Are we keeping the house?
Are we selling the house? Are we both selling and
then renting again. There's a lot of that you have
to walk through. And there's emotional parts of that as
well too that they have to deal with. And so
we kind of help them. We're able to help them
since we've been in their shoes, We're able to help them,
you know, walk that through right. And since there's two
of us, which is really great, we're able to you know,

(20:05):
as a man, I can talk to them in and
be in their shoes, and Amber can be in the
woman's shoes. So it allows you them to feel comfortable
talking to somebody that's been you know, in their shoes
directly and not just I understand, but I've walked that
path as well too.

Speaker 8 (20:20):
And sometimes too, you know, they don't want to speak
with a woman, maybe they have a bad experience with
their husband. I mean, you know, there's both of us together,
we play their role. Whatever they need. We meet them
where they're at well.

Speaker 3 (20:33):
And it's so important when we say divorce, there are
so many things, and I think as we analyze the
things in the real estate profession, why someone's going to
buy home, why is it for sale? All those things,
the things that trigger real estate transaction. One of the
categories is divorced and this is the first time in
five hundred and ninety seven shows where we have had

(20:55):
a realtor, especially a couple, that is set up to
help that particular nuance in a fantastic way.

Speaker 8 (21:01):
Yeah, it's very important and special to me. I'm a
child of divorce seven times over and my own divorce
makes eight, so I knew immediately when getting into real estate,
I'm going to help people who are divorcing. So it
is our specialty. We do work with mediators and attorneys
and counselors and everyone. We are a tool in their
tool belt, and that's what we want to be for them,

(21:22):
so they have someone they can go to. I mean
a lot of times it's emotional, like you said, and
so we're walking them off that ledge, like, hey, can
you afford this out?

Speaker 4 (21:29):
So what does that look like?

Speaker 8 (21:30):
We're going to show you what it's worth, and then
we're going to be neutral party to the transaction so
we can work with both of your attorneys and let
them know, like, hey, we're just an outsider coming in
letting you know the value, because the home's only worth
what someone is willing to pay. It's not what you
think it is because you wanted more money in your
home and you don't want to pay as much necessarily
to the ex spouse.

Speaker 3 (21:49):
And I bet you see all kinds of scenarios. There's
probably on the optimistic side, there's probably the divorces are
that are pleasant as possible and they're like, Okay, we're
both moving on and we're both fair and with Fantasy
Lands now they're both There are some right for sure.
But then there's the flip side of there's there's the
troubled situations to where they're it may not be all happy.

Speaker 7 (22:13):
Absolutely, yeah, we've seen it all. We've seen the game.
But we like say, from the very beginning, that's who
we've been helping and and walk through. And so we've
I think we've talked to probably over four hundred couples ourselves,
just you know, throughout the years. Obviously we didn't help
every one of them buy or sell, but sometimes we
help them on the lending side. Sometimes we just help
them getting connected. So we've we've we've met a lot

(22:33):
of people along the way and they're different paths, and
like Amber said, we're always just trying to meet them
where they're at so that we can help them and be,
you know, that person to help them get to the
next the next days that they're trying to get to.

Speaker 3 (22:43):
And it's probably your sensitivity and special skills that you've
developed to where you've written a book as well called
Two Roads, One Journey, Navigating Divorce through God's Grace right
here the book of you wrote Scotty and Amber Gifford.

Speaker 5 (22:58):
We did and we wanted that is a tool to
help people.

Speaker 8 (23:02):
I mean, we're not advocates of divorce, but if you're
going to go through it, we want you to be
educated and smart and know what you need to know
so you can make those good decisions based on your
financial meets, because it's really it's a business transaction at
the end of the day. And you know, my heart
goes out to I was a single mom, I have
three kids, want I needed a house. How's this going
to work? What does this look like? How do I
buy again? What do I need to do? You know,

(23:23):
so do I keep the house.

Speaker 4 (23:24):
Do I sell it?

Speaker 8 (23:25):
There's a hundred questions.

Speaker 3 (23:27):
And then I have to have a house near a
good school with the three kids.

Speaker 8 (23:29):
That's right, and Katie, I mean, you know there's a
lot that goes into it, and it's scary. It's very scary.
I've been there, I know, and typically your head goes
in the sand immediately, and then you come back to
us sometimes a year later and go, I need your
help again, help it, help me, and we're here.

Speaker 3 (23:47):
If someone wants to buy the book, two Roads, One Journey,
what should they do?

Speaker 7 (23:51):
Scotti, It's going to be available on Amazon, but it's
also available on our website think if for group done
net you can navigate to where it says a navigating
divorce book. So we wrote that book because we as
we walk through this, we see that they, like Camber said,
there's all these things to walk through, but there's also
that other part that we can't always do get. So
this is our heart poured into this book for them

(24:11):
because we can't always be there on every hour of
the day that they need us. But sometimes this book
can help you just do those long nights when you
need someone to be there to tap on the shoulder.

Speaker 3 (24:20):
The Gifford group dot net. That's har okay. So let's
for a minute or two. You have this special skill
of helping people going through a divorce, but that's just
part of your business. You're helping regular people that are
maybe they're married, happily married, maybe they're single, maybe they're relocating,
all those things. Give us a word about that Amber.
Some of the other people that you're helping buyers and stuff.

Speaker 8 (24:41):
They're all regular people, but we all have complicated transactions
and things in our you know, we like to say
we are, but yes, we do regular buy sells, rentals.
You know a lot of times, let's just say it
is a diorce they need to rent again. But we
are helping them on all aspects of their real estate
needs as well as lending too. I mean, we can
do all all gamut gamuts of real estate for them,

(25:04):
and we want to be there to help people in
that next phase of their life.

Speaker 3 (25:07):
Yes, and you've developed an interesting specialty, so to speak.
But also it sounds like you're always thinking ideas. Is
that one of the benefits of a husband and wife
whereas you sit and talk, you're with each other. So
you could say, hey, honey, we did this. Let's look
at this avenue in our business, or maybe we could
expand here, or we do is that what's happening?

Speaker 8 (25:27):
We do long walks with our dogs and he talks
about the technical piece of it and all the numbers
and builds calculators. Why I'm talking about the emotional pieces
of it. And then we come together and.

Speaker 3 (25:37):
It comes together in a tremendous way. Yeah, and what
do the dogs think?

Speaker 5 (25:41):
They love us?

Speaker 8 (25:42):
We're the best dog parents.

Speaker 3 (25:44):
How many dogs have two? What's their names are?

Speaker 8 (25:47):
Probably minus? In winter?

Speaker 3 (25:51):
We have five kids too.

Speaker 8 (25:52):
But five. But yeah, they talk back the dogs, don't
I think?

Speaker 7 (25:56):
You know, we're just here to help people making precisions
about all the real estate needs, whether that's you know,
like Amber said, if we're helping them just making it
hit their first time home buyer and they're trying to
make a decision about if they can afford this or not.
So on our website, we've we've built some tools like
a buyer cost calculator, right, we have a selling cost
calculator on there. So I've always just looking towards the
public to see what do they need and what could

(26:17):
be beneficial to them? And then I want to have
that tool available for them, so it's there, but then
obviously I will use it and walk them through everything
so that they can go into a transaction with their
eyes wide open, knowing how much is going to cost
on an upfront cash wise, but also like on a
month month basis.

Speaker 3 (26:31):
Too, right, Amber? What else?

Speaker 8 (26:33):
Well, I think one of the most important things is
if you call the phone number on the website, you're
going to actually get me on the.

Speaker 3 (26:39):
Phone, actually answer the phone.

Speaker 8 (26:41):
Well, yeah, so I get a lot of unknown calls,
but I will call you back and I'm extremely responsive.
So people get on the phone. We have a YouTube
channel as well, and they're like, wait, is this really you?

Speaker 9 (26:50):
Like, it's really meat.

Speaker 3 (26:51):
What's a YouTube channel called? It's going to be the
Giffer Group, the Giffer Group. Let's tell people the phone numbers. Guys.

Speaker 7 (26:57):
Yeah, you can reach to us at eight three to
two eight three zero eight two nine, or you can
check us out at the Giffregroup dot net eight three
to two four eight three zero eight two nine.

Speaker 3 (27:07):
Amber and Scottie Gifford two Roads, one Journey, five Kids,
two Dogs. He said this another book, that's another book
coming guys, thanks for being with us.

Speaker 8 (27:18):
Thank you so much for having us well.

Speaker 3 (27:21):
As we move along taking a different direction altogether. But
it's important we have author owner of Hygiena Tech Solutions.
His name is Ed camp Ed. Welcome to the show, bill.
I'm thrilled to be back.

Speaker 6 (27:34):
Thank you for having.

Speaker 3 (27:35):
Me the name Hygiena tech Solutions. Right now, chemists, their
ears are alert and whatever. Let's tell people what your
company does in the real estate world. Hygiena tech Solutions.

Speaker 6 (27:46):
Yeah, that was a combination of two words, you know,
hygiene and technology, and I was using both in order
to create healthy homes. Uh, you know, what is a
healthy home? What is an unhealthy home? According to the EPA,
six out of every ten hole homes are unhealthy. Unhealthy
homes or anything that has a smell. So I started
my company with the foundation of removing odors and was

(28:09):
cruising right along and then Harvey hit and I was
thrust into the mold category.

Speaker 3 (28:14):
But that's what we do.

Speaker 6 (28:14):
We create healthy homes, whether we're removing mold or odors.

Speaker 3 (28:17):
Well, and that's one of the things certainly here in
Houston with the water and as you mentioned, a catastrophe
like Harvey, other flooding situations or other flooding situations. I mean,
I've talked to people that unfortunately where they come home
and they didn't turn the water off with which most
people do. They're on vacation, they come home to a
home that's got water running out the front door. Water problem,

(28:37):
thus potential mold. That's where you come in.

Speaker 6 (28:40):
Yeah, you know, I posted something on Facebook a couple
of years ago that water doesn't cause mold, and I
started getting more feedback than any political posts that I
put on, and that is, there's mold in your home.
You know, the International Space Station has mold. You can run,
but you can't hide. So yeah, water just because you
have a water intrusion, that doesn't equate to mold. It

(29:01):
equates the providing an opportunity environment for mold, but it
doesn't automatically mean, you know, tear the house apart.

Speaker 3 (29:08):
Well, when is a situation where and let's tell people
you're in you're a mold inspector, so you can your
company can go in and inspect if there's mold before
or after. So if someone's looking at a potential home
and maybe there's something that triggers it, or maybe they
just want to be sure you can help them and
identify the situation of a current home, whether they're thinking

(29:30):
about buying it or if they're already there. Correct.

Speaker 6 (29:32):
I would like to start by saying I did not
want to be a mold inspector, and I put it
off for several years. I had been treating homes with
mold and countered quite a few inspections that I felt
intentionally failed homes, and then it was my word against
a professionally licensed mold inspector. So I decided four years
ago to level of playing field so that I was

(29:53):
licensed and I could write clearance certificates. And I kind
of cornered the market in reviewing other people's mold and
inspections in writing a summary. But it's just amazing how
I can't say corrupt that industry is, but it's just
a cornered market where a lot of inspectors and I
don't find fault in them doing this, but it's wrong.

(30:13):
They'll do an inspection on a home and then they'll
attach a generic remediation protocol to it, and that's, you know,
a big cya on their part.

Speaker 3 (30:21):
Give people an idea. Let's just say someone thinks they
may have mold or what's involved in the actual inspection.
Let's take every home is different, I know, size wise.
Let's just say it's two thousand square foot, one story home, right,
and they say, ed, we want to make sure this
is clear. Come on and take a look. What do
you do to check it out?

Speaker 8 (30:42):
You know?

Speaker 6 (30:42):
The first thing I do is I have a conversation
with the people who live in the home. You know,
it's kind of presumptive for someone to come in and
tell you whether you're in a healthy home or not.
I think I have mold. The question is how do
you feel in your home? Do you feel better out
of your home than in your home? Or are you
having any And we go through the symptoms that you
know people usually endure. Are you having any type of
migraines or or or sinus issues? So the first thing

(31:06):
that we do is we have a conversation with the
people who are in the house to find out, uh,
you know, if there's an issue. The calls that we
get start off with I found black mold and where
did you find it? It's on an air vent here.
You know, what do I do?

Speaker 3 (31:21):
Well?

Speaker 6 (31:22):
You can either run or you can get a damp
cloth and wipe it off, and you know, just let's
not go from zero to I have black mold. The
media came up with the term black mold in the
nineties and it was a cloaquial term for a stocky batres,
which is a toxic, toxic mold. But it's a water
base mold. It's usually from a it's always from a

(31:43):
water source leak that's been fermenting for a while. You're
not going to see it on an air vent. You're
not going to see it on a wall that appears
you know. Like I said, mold is a part of
our environment, and the majority of mold that we test
and we find in homes, it's outside common mold.

Speaker 3 (31:59):
So after the conversation and maybe a declaration by the
person where they think they have. But when you go
into the home, how do you I mean, do you
have certain instruments? And where do you start at the
front door? Do you go in the center? How does
that work?

Speaker 6 (32:13):
We take air samples and if we see something suspicious,
we'll take a swab, but I generally start with the
areas of homes where there's most likely to be mold.
So I start in the kitchen, and then I go
into the bathroom and in the laundry room. If there's
gonna be a water leak, it's going to be in
those areas. But we have tools moisture meters where we
can check in our walls and see if there's something

(32:33):
going on behind the scenes. But it's a simple thing
we take. As a mold inspector. We're not supposed to
say the word mold. You know, a home inspector is
not supposed to same mold. A realtor's not supposed to
say mold. The lab says mold. So what we do
is basically, we test the home. We take air samples,
We take the samples to our lab. The lab puts
it under a microscope and they produce a summary that

(32:54):
shows this or counts and the strain of mold, and
then we analyze it. The first thing we want to
do is make sure it doesn't have the two strains
of toxic mold, and then we work our way down.
You know, there's a lot of moving parts. You know,
if the kitchen is you know, there's a back door
close to the kitchen and people are going in and out,
then you can have a high spore count, that's not

(33:15):
a fail. If there's an add If there's a bedroom
and there's an attict door there and the attic door
is not sealed, well, you can have a high spore count.
That's not a fail. In a bathroom, you know, I can.
I can look at a spot count in a bathroom
and know whether they use the jacuzzi tub or nut
it'll have a higher sport count. That's not a fail.
But in some cases, with some inspectors just not understanding

(33:37):
the remediation part of that. And I've been remediating for
twelve years, I understand what the what the fail and
the concern is. But probably ninety five percent of the
inspections that I do, the house is fine.

Speaker 3 (33:51):
So two things about that. So number one, if there
is a problem, you have the tools to do it.
If there is a mold problem, that's not all that
your company does. I want to move on to another thing.
But but if there is a problem, you also have
the capability so you can solution. That's the name Hygienetic solutions.
So you got that going for so in the meantime,
other than that, let's say you on your probably on

(34:12):
your website, but the menu that you served, you're not
just helping people with mold. Before we started recording, I
was telling you about a home that I looked at
to buy eight months ago to where it was a
smoker's home and it was so bad. So if there's
a home that's a smoke that had a smoker there,
can you help them?

Speaker 9 (34:32):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (34:33):
Absolutely.

Speaker 6 (34:33):
I did a four generation smoker home and it was
you know, the three generations. Yeah, the kid wasn't still
in high school, he was smoking and and it was
but but anyway, you know, they had to sell. And again,
everything's about sight and smell. You know, if you're looking
at a home, you're not going to take a second step.
So yeah, we set up our chemical and I'll be honest,

(34:56):
it surprised me that we were able to do it.
But uh, you know, the only whole that I hesitate
on giving a quote on is if there's a cat
issue in the home, and believe it or not, my
policy is, if you have a bad cat odor, I'm
not charging you a penny. And the reason for that
is if I do charge you and I can't rid

(35:17):
that odor, then then there's a problem and I could
face a bad testimonial. But for most parts. I'll do
a home for free, and then if I can and
if I've been able to mitigate it down or help them,
then I'll charge them.

Speaker 3 (35:29):
But I'm real careful with cats, so and so again
on your menu you could help. It sounds like the
general rule of thumb is that if there's an odor
of some type in the home, that either develops sometimes
it might even develop maybe slowly where it just comes
upon people, or if someone's looking at buying a home

(35:50):
and they smell an odor, they say, hey, we're going
to call ED to find out what's going on. So
that it sounds like we're specialty.

Speaker 6 (35:55):
And there's also something else that is important of VOCs
a new construction, you'll have someone.

Speaker 3 (36:00):
Moving intool organ compounds.

Speaker 6 (36:03):
They'll move into a home not knowing that there's formaldehyde
and wood floors, or there's three hundred carcinogens and latex paint.
I was at a home yesterday and I did a
mold inspection. The cause I get, you know, sometimes from
concerned parents their daughter was having rashes, and I did
a mold sampling yesterday. I got to report this morning

(36:24):
and I asked about the bed. It's a latex bed.
She's having issues with latex. Some people are allergic to latex.
So when we get calls, especially from parents, they want
us to not only just mark off that there's a
mold problem, but also investigate to see what else is
brewing in a house.

Speaker 3 (36:42):
So many things and ed, as I started out, you're
an author. Your latest book is called.

Speaker 6 (36:46):
From Mold to Sold?

Speaker 3 (36:48):
Can I say it one more time? From Mold to Sold?
That's pretty good.

Speaker 6 (36:51):
And that was from many calls I've gotten from realtors
asking me to do a mold treatment and a home
that needed nothing. So if all the mold books that
I've read, I didn't find one that was like a
mold for dummies that appealed, peered appealed to me. So
it's kind of a simple guy. I have mold myths

(37:12):
in there. I have important facts about mold it. I
have a couple of interesting stories and it's all there.
It's all yeah, it's just complete.

Speaker 3 (37:19):
If someone wants the book, ed, where do they get it?

Speaker 6 (37:21):
Amazon?

Speaker 3 (37:22):
Mold From Mold to Sold, easy to remember.

Speaker 6 (37:25):
Understanding and overcoming mold and there they could find you
right there. My cell phone is always on. I'm working
seven days a week and I love what I do,
so when that phone rings, I'm happy to answer it.
It's seven one three two nine eight one four four
nine seven one three two nine eight one four four.

Speaker 3 (37:42):
Nine geographic coverage. You're here in the Houston area or
do you go beyond?

Speaker 6 (37:47):
I was in college station last weekend. UH we cover
a two hour radius of Houston.

Speaker 3 (37:51):
ED camp Hygenetech Solutions one more time.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
Ed.

Speaker 3 (37:55):
The phone number is.

Speaker 6 (37:56):
Seven one three, two nine eight one four four nine.

Speaker 3 (37:59):
I want to say again from Mold to sold sounds good. Ed,
thanks for being with us, Thanks for having me. Bill.
Real estate matters with Stuart Title would not be possible
without our partner Stewart Insurance. With a focus in real
estate and a special focus on real estate broker. Stewart
Insurance creates insurance plans to address the risk facing our
industry today. They invested significant amount of time helping real

(38:21):
estate broker owners offset and manage their risks. Here he
is John Bramblet was Stewart Insurance. John. Bill always a pleasure,
but they always want to hear insurance. John. That is
the common theme with each and every show, and that's
what you bring to us.

Speaker 9 (38:35):
Well, there was an interesting article in the Independent Insurance
Association's Membership magazine the other day, and it was basically
just kind of encapsulating some of the research that some
of the major companies have done in the past year
and are starting to release as we get into twenty
twenty six. So there was some information from a study

(38:57):
that Nationwide Insurance had done vert A four or who's
an organization that manufact or that produces a software packages
for independent insurance agents and insurance companies, and then JD
Power the folks that do the consumer acceptance studies, and
what they found was regardless of what we sometimes hear

(39:21):
in the news and people react to, the real issue
or real concern that folks have, especially when it comes
to home insurance, but personal insurance in general, is do
I have the right coverage? Do I have the right coverage?
So that's and the fact that their number one issue

(39:41):
is what do I need to do to understand the
policy better? So while cost is an element in that
understanding the policy and understanding the coverage, it's not the
only element because there is a major concern. Through the
study that both vertifor and Nationwide did that indicated that

(40:05):
people are really concerned that they may not have what
they need covered covered and that it, you know, and
the premium, the cost of the insurance is an element
within that, but it really is that idea of wanting
to do that. And the other thing that was on
top of that that I thought was interesting was with

(40:26):
all the conversations about how technology is moving forward and
how artificial intelligence is going to be replacing us, all
eighty eight percent of those that they interviewed wanted to
have some sort of a combination of yes, using technology,
whether it be an app or being able to do
things online or an online chat service, but also with

(40:49):
an agent. And even the group you know, the gen
zs and the millennials that are truly grew up with technology,
fifty seven percent of those folks represented that they spoke
to an insurance agent at least once in the past year.
So it truly is this idea that yes, I do
want the convenience that technology can bring me, but ultimately

(41:11):
I need to have that conversation with an insurance advisor
to make sure that I am comfortable with the coverages
I have and that I understand what those coverages are
that I have. So I thought I thought that was interesting.
And then the other element that came out of that,
it's kind of layered on top of it, is it
because of what we've seen from an increase in premiums

(41:34):
and something like forty seven percent of the folks that
received a premium increase directed by an insurance company wasn't
caused by the individual, but caused by the insurance company
raising the premiums the cost of the insurance. Folks are
still wanting to look to switch or at least to shop.
They're still wanting to get a feel for what those

(41:56):
options are out there. But again then that folds back
back into this idea of yeah, it's it's great to
shop and to look and to see options, but just
the fact that you can switch and maybe it'll be
easy to switch, doesn't necessarily mean that you should. And
then that again goes back into that that idea that
they that we're still seeing clients want to have that

(42:18):
conversation to understand the coverage. Because if I switch solely
for price, and I got a very uh, I got
a lower, significant lower premium, which is which can be important.
But now I've suddenly given up water damage coverage or
my deductible is so high that it basically makes the
insurance useless. Or if my roof is over ten years

(42:42):
ten years old, the new company is not going to
cover it at all. So again, under again, it folds
back into that idea of truly wanting to be able
to understand what I have and what I don't have,
and so that idea of people still want to have
a conversation and they have a concern about what their

(43:03):
coverages are. Yet because of the costs, they're looking to switch.
It's important that they're working with it. They're working with
an advisor that can provide them that council that's willing
you know Ed talked about is willing to provide that counsel.
Ed talked about the fact that he has a conversation
with his clients before he does anything in the home.

(43:23):
He doesn't make the assumption that I'm going to do
ABC and it's done, and here's my invoice that he's
going to have a conversation first. What the research is
showing us is that individuals want to do the same thing.
And as we've talked about on the show here, that's
where our thoughts about properly insured come into play. That
that's what we do is will invest the time, and

(43:44):
we're willing to invest the time, and we want to
invest the time with our clients or our perspective clients
to make sure we understand what their needs are, whether
it be from a business perspective or in this case
personal insurance perspective, how we can help them, and then
based upon that, being an independent, we have access to
a variety of companies that we can then place our

(44:05):
clients with that best meets their needs.

Speaker 3 (44:07):
So many things go into the mix into the blender
to be properly insured, and there's no better way than
to be properly insured, I think than to talk to
the representatives at Steward Insurance. Well, because your guys, your
people are trained to know what to ask, to know
what to do with the information when they have that,

(44:28):
and most of all, as we heard earlier from Teresa,
communication and that's what it's all about with If any
of those things fall short, I would say, John, the
person may not be properly insured. You got to put
it all together.

Speaker 9 (44:43):
You do, And I mean there is there's an education
aspect of it, there's a communication aspect of it, and
it's just and understanding how people want to work and
understanding to truly find out what those needs and wants are,
what those pain points are, and then at least we
can provide you some options to consider and then you
can make the best decision possible based upon that. But again,

(45:06):
I guess the difference is working with somebody that truly
wants to be an advisor and find out what those
needs are and build a plan that's best for your
family versus working with an agent that's just looking to
churn out a policy and go on to the next Well,
if you would like to be properly insured, and there
is an interest in making sure that you understand the
policies you have, even if it's a policy that you

(45:27):
have with somebody else that you haven't placed with us,
we'd be happy to take a look at it and
share with you our point of view. You can reach
us at eight sixty six seven nine eight two eight
two seven. That's eight sixty six seven nine eight two
eight two seven. You can learn more about us at
Stuart Insurance dot com or email us at Stuart Insurance
at Stuart dot com.

Speaker 3 (45:47):
John, the website's so great too. On the Stewart Insurance
dot com. A lot of great informations on there. Super
they answer questions and also provide a full menu of
who you're helping.

Speaker 9 (45:58):
It does, I mean from a business insurance and a
personal insurance perspective. You get an idea of the types
of policies that we can help people with in combining
them to build that best plan that makes sense for
your family and your business. But it also if you're
ready to get started, Hey, I want to get started.
I want to make sure that I'm properly ensured. You
can get started on the website right there.

Speaker 3 (46:21):
And reminding some of our many listeners outside of Houston,
you're helping people in Indiana, Florida, California providing insurance.

Speaker 9 (46:30):
We have clients all over the US, both business and personally.

Speaker 3 (46:33):
And John, the fun number again is.

Speaker 9 (46:35):
Eight six six seven nine eight two eight two seven.

Speaker 3 (46:39):
John, Thanks for being with us.

Speaker 9 (46:40):
Always a pleasure.

Speaker 6 (46:41):
Bill.

Speaker 3 (46:41):
Here we are one of my favorite parts of the show.
We are bringing back our guest. She is with us again,
Teresa Hill. She's an HR chair for twenty twenty six
in sales manager Compass Real Estate. Teresa, welcome back, thank you, well,
here we are Tree. He's an important part of the
show where we bring. We want to remind people of

(47:04):
how they can learn more and reach you in your
two organizations. But also what else should we know that
we didn't maybe hit upon.

Speaker 5 (47:11):
Well, one thing that.

Speaker 4 (47:12):
I didn't hit on is kind of my messaging that
I want to bring for our membership community for twenty
twenty six. So I kind of have a tagline, and
the tagline is always practice real estate with real respect.
So as a manager, you know, I tend to see

(47:36):
agent strife, I will say.

Speaker 3 (47:39):
And.

Speaker 4 (47:41):
I very much feel that we need to be nicer
to each other. We just need to treat each other
with real respect. We need to remember that we are
all after the same common goal. First of all, we
want to get to the closing table. But second of all,
we want to treat our clients with the best professionalism

(48:02):
that we know how. And part of that is respecting
all parties, including the agent on the other side of
the table. And that doesn't mean that we need to
sing Kumbaya.

Speaker 3 (48:14):
Or to be the agent team too. It might be
several people on the other side.

Speaker 4 (48:17):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, you know, and we we don't need
to be best friends with everybody, but we do need
to treat everybody with real respect.

Speaker 3 (48:25):
It's a very very good point, no doubt about it, Teresa.
What else should we know? As far as the contact
information HR en compass, let's tell people how to reach
both organizations.

Speaker 5 (48:36):
Yes, so HR.

Speaker 4 (48:38):
You can find all sorts of information at HR dot com.
You can also call member services at seven one three
six two nine one nine zero zero. I am open
to anyone asking me questions about HR. If members want
to reach out to me, they can reach me at

(49:00):
eight three to two seven sixty six two four two zero.

Speaker 3 (49:05):
The phone number GIN is eight three.

Speaker 4 (49:07):
To two seven sixty six two four to zero.

Speaker 3 (49:10):
And one other quick thing as far as as you
mentioned strife, as far as the part as in management,
as you every now and then we'll probably see an
agent that might be stumbling or maybe need to a
refresher or something. What is the most common problem or
the thing that an agent might stumble upon, whether they're
brand new or even a seasoned agent, where do they

(49:32):
need the most help? Is there a common theme where
it's like, hey, man, let's let's work on this.

Speaker 6 (49:38):
Well.

Speaker 4 (49:38):
I think that you know, if an agent does not
do UH, does not practice real estate on a regular.

Speaker 5 (49:45):
Basis, you know we can we can.

Speaker 4 (49:48):
Forget about, you know, the contract changes and all the
you know, legal updates that we're getting.

Speaker 3 (49:57):
On an ongoing things are changing all the time.

Speaker 4 (49:59):
Changing all the time, So as a realtor, you need
to keep up with all that, and if you don't
practice real estate all the time, that can sometimes be
a challenge. Eight three two seven six six two four
two zero.

Speaker 3 (50:13):
And now Scotti and Amber are back, or the Gifford group.
Scotty and Amber are back. Scottie, Well, here we are
closing the show down. What else do you want people
to know?

Speaker 7 (50:26):
We talked about a lot about how we specialize in divorce,
and one thing that I wanted to mention too is that,
you know, back in about five years ago, I also
got in my lending license because as we walked through
that situation, a lot of times people want to keep
that house, and so we didn't want to push people
just to sell just because it was beneficial for us.
We wanted to be what was good for them and
what they wanted to do. So we did, you know,
bring on some I've got my mortgage license to help

(50:48):
with that situation. Like I say, we just always try
to meet people where they're at and so I think
that's just one more one of those tools on our
tool belt that we wanted to offer right well as
we help people walk through this the.

Speaker 3 (50:56):
Other one of the needs you're addressing. I'll tell you,
guys are real innovative of an on looking for new
opportunities all the time. It sounds like.

Speaker 7 (51:04):
Yeah, and then we also like we want to offer
those free tools. So a lot of the stuff that's
on our website gift forgroup dot net, Like we have
a divorce buyout calculator if you're considering, like what does
it look like? And then with the real numbers in there,
so we get into some of those nuances, like we
have a property tax calculator, like stuff like that. So
we just offer a lot of tools on our website
because you want to have it not just a website
just to promote us, but to be actually useful for
the general public.

Speaker 3 (51:24):
Sounds good and amber, what do you think?

Speaker 8 (51:26):
Well, I think we're awesome. Most importantly, our main passion
is helping people. So whether it's divorce, relocation, you're a
first time buyer who we love to deal with as well,
you know, we're here for helping them experience all the
real estate needs and we're we open doors to new beginnings, so.

Speaker 3 (51:43):
You're also experts at helping happily married people as well.

Speaker 8 (51:47):
You don't have to be getting a divorce to use this.

Speaker 3 (51:50):
That sounds good, Amber. How can they reach you?

Speaker 8 (51:52):
Uh? Get for a group? Dot net is probably the
best way. Our information is all there, as well as
lending services and all our cool calculators. You can reach
us at eight three to two for eight three zero
eight two nine.

Speaker 3 (52:04):
Thanks for being with us, guys, Thank you so much
for having us Giffordgroup dot net. Hi gena tech solutions
ed camp. A final word ed as we wind things
down right here.

Speaker 6 (52:17):
I'd just like to mention that I have a one
hour CE class understanding Mold. I teach about fifty classes
a year. I do not charge realtors. I love teaching
the class, and I'm filling my schedule right now. Stuart
Title has been very good with us.

Speaker 3 (52:33):
I see you, they're on Facebook. People are have you
scheduled to be at some of our offices.

Speaker 6 (52:38):
The response that I get is my class should be
a mandatory trek class, because again we're talking to realtors
about something that they run from. But also on a
personal note. We are the number one mold inspectors in
the Greater Houston area. This has happened just within the
last year. We charge a flat fee. With a lot

(53:00):
of companies, you know, I've seen mold inspections that cost
thousands of dollars. We charge a flat fee. We get
the report in within twenty four hours and uh and
we provide an honest summary so our clients know that
we're not going to try to pull anything on them.
Mold is an easy problem to solve if you have
an issue. It's not expensive and uh and if and
getting their report quickly is the most important thing.

Speaker 3 (53:23):
Sounds good from mold to sold. That's right, ed. How
can they reach you?

Speaker 6 (53:27):
Seve one three two nine eight one four four nine.
Thank you se one three two nine eight one four Furnine.

Speaker 3 (53:33):
Yeah, thanks for being with us, and thank you all
for listening to real estate Matters with Stewart title. I
am your host, Bill Nampick. As always, you can go
to the website Stewart dot com Forward Slash Radio. That's right,
you can see the show. Here are the guests again.
Write down some information all those things Stewart dot com,
Forward Slash Radio or simply go to radio Bill. It's

(53:56):
right there, radio Bill, thanks for listening to your friends
and we'll see you next time.