Realtors & a Realtor Author!

All realtors on this edition & all different….

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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 Steward Title, Steward Titles. Bill Knapik
and guests open the door to what really matters in owning, buying,
and selling real estate. And now Real Estate Matters with
Stuart Title, brought to you by Stuart Insurance. Here to inform,

(00:38):
entertain and inspire. Bill Knapik, Welcome to the show. It
is Real Estate Matters with Stewart Title. I am your host,
Bill Napick. Thank you for joining us today on this
wonderful Sunday afternoon. It's awesome.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
The holiday seasons, all the great holidays are in front
of us, and we're excited right here on Real Estate
Matters with Stuart Title. And of course always go to
Stuart dot Com Forward Slash Radio. That's right, Stewart dot
Com Forward slash Radio, where you can not only hear
the show, but you can see the YouTube videos and
you can go to the show archives in case maybe

(01:12):
you missed a show or two. Stewart dot Com Forward
Slash Radio. Let's get down to business right now, as
we welcome realtor broker Jean Risham Mitchell and she is
also an author, Gene. Welcome to the show.

Speaker 4 (01:27):
Thank you, Bill, thanks for having me.

Speaker 3 (01:29):
And of course your company is called Trilogy Realty Group,
So let's get started and tell people about your company.

Speaker 4 (01:36):
My company. First of all, I've been in the business
over sixteen years and about two years ago two of
my agents that I had trained told me that they
had opened their own brokerage, and I started thinking, why
haven't I done this? So in twenty twenty three, I
opened my brokerage. I have three agents currently working with me.

(01:57):
I'm in Mantros Area, Heights Area, Spring Woodlands as well
as Memorial Spring Branch, so we have agents spread out
across the city.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
All super areas and there are lots of growth going
on everywhere. You mentioned, Jane, in terms of distinctions, give
us an idea what makes your company distinctive?

Speaker 4 (02:16):
Well, you're probably going to hear the same thing most
people say, But concierge service, that is really what we're
all about. We take you from the beginning to the
end and beyond. We do every aspect of the deal.
I have to tell you quickly a story. A friend
of mine said what makes you unique? And I told
her that was going to be one of the questions.

(02:38):
And she goes, oh, I have an answer for that.
She goes, well, I was doing an open house, or
you were doing an open house at my house. You
were babysitting my dog and doing pictures with it on Facebook.
So I babysit dogs, I clean up after kids before showings.
I even powerwash someone's French front porch. Now that's not
typically what an agent does, but to prove my point,

(02:59):
we take the client everywhere they need to go to
make this listing the best or this sale the easiest
for them.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
And there's no doubt the real estate professional needs to
be and do so many things to first of all,
get a real estate transaction and then follow it through
from beginning to end and help buyers and sellers all
along the way. It's very exciting that you have so
many tools in your tool Carey now.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
Own a power washer.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Speaking of tools, well, a powerwasher. I'm sure there's people
listening that say, Gene, come on over to my house
with your powerwasher, because they indeed come in handy, no doubt.
So as far as in the real estate, what attract
you those many years ago to even think about real estate?
Because it's an exciting and demanding profession.

Speaker 4 (03:45):
It's very demanding. It's a more than a full time job.
My children had gotten older and were what I call
to myself sufficient, and I'd always been thinking about doing
real estate, and I thought, this is the time to
try it. So I started talking to friends that we're
in the business. You know, what do you think about
me going into real estate? And every one of them said,

(04:05):
don't do it. It's I wouldn't recommend this business to anyone.
That was like four or five times, and I thought, Okay,
I need to start paying attention. Maybe they're telling me
something here, And I thought, I'm going to give it
one more chance. I met with a friend of mine
who was a big producer in the city, and I said,
this is what I'm thinking about doing. Everyone has told
me no, I shouldn't do it. What do you think

(04:26):
she looked at me for a second and she goes,
I don't recommend this business to anyone except you, and
so that's what started me on it. So I went
to Champion School of Real Estate, got my license, and
then I started interviewing with different firms and got an
interview with one of the prestigious firms, boutique firms in
the city. After many attempts, the broker didn't want to

(04:50):
interview me, so finally gave up. Because I wouldn't give up,
she interviewed me and within less than ten minutes I
had the job. So that's kind of a funny story.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
Well, it's awesome, and you started as a realtor and
then something inspired you to become a broker, and now
you're an author. Give us an idea how you went
from the real estate professional broker. And then along the
way with this experience, you said, I think I'm going
to write a book. And by the way, the name
of the book is Top Producers Steps to Success in

(05:21):
Real Estate. So you have the book. It's out right now,
So give us an idea how that evolved.

Speaker 4 (05:28):
I'll be happy too. It's also kind of a funny story.
First of all, I am big into education. I believe
the more I know, the better I can serve my clients,
and the more confidence I have. So when I got
hired by this boutique firm, they rarely hired new people,
but they had about four or five. They put us
through about a week long class of talking about contracts, etc.

(05:48):
And other things particular to their firm, and then we
got a desk that was back when everybody had a desk.
So I sat down at my desk and I literally
put my hands on the desk and said, oh my god,
what do I do now? It's like how do I
get started? So I went back to the other people
that had been in the class with me, and I said,
if I can get a top producer to talk to

(06:09):
us about what they did, how they got started, what
they wish they hadn't done, would you all be interested?
And they of course said yes. So I got up
my courage and I went to actually Tim Surat, who's
in the book. I went to him and I said,
this is what's going on. If I buy you coffee,
would you meet us at Starbucks? Would you tell us
how you got started? And to my surprise, he said yes, absolutely.

(06:31):
He was very helpful, very excited about doing it, and
that's what we did. And then each month I would
invite a different top producer to Starbucks to have coffee
and talk. And that's how we got all of our
helpful hints. That's how I got my business started. I
still use some of those hints to this day. And
another funny part of this is the broker got wind
of what I was doing and asked to see me

(06:53):
in the office and I thought, oh my gosh, I
am in trouble for doing this. And she looked at
me and she said, what's wrong with me? What do
you mean? She goes, how come you haven't asked me
to talk to you. So that's what we did. She
got us together, we had lunch, she told us how
she got started. So I've taken all these helpful hints
from all these people that have been there, done that,
and been successful and applied them to my business. So

(07:14):
if they work from me, I feared they would work
for other people. And because I'm a firm believer in education,
I've compiled this book with twenty top producers. They're helpful
hints of what they did, what they suggest you do.
And I think this is a great resource for anyone
new in the business or someone that has feels they've
plateaued and needs a boost. There are tons of interesting

(07:38):
tidbits and tricks. For instance, I'll give you an example.
One person. I learned this at a meeting. After every listing,
she sends flowers, and I thought, oh my gosh, I
can do that. That's easy. All I gotta do is
make a phone call. So I've sent flowers after every
listing that I've been on since that point, and I've
gotten every single listing except one. Now I won't say

(08:00):
it's just the flowers, because I think they actually liked me,
but I think how the flowers actually helped put it
over the top because we went an extra mile. We
did something nice for them and nobody else does.

Speaker 3 (08:11):
That's one example, and also something memorable and as we
think about here in Houston, Texas, and even when people
listen from AFAR in other cities, there's a lot of
realtors everywhere, but here we're the fourth largest city, so
it's even more important to bring forth something that people
are going to remember you, and even go back to
the basics. In this digital world and ever changing technological world,

(08:35):
it's important to do some of the very basic things
like this, and you have some more ideas about those
basics I do.

Speaker 4 (08:40):
And to carry on with your comment there, I got
to talk to Martha Turner before she passed, and what
she told me was, I still remember hit them where
they ain't. And what that means is if everybody's doing digital,
send a card, write a card, it doesn't take that long,
put it in the mail. Birthday card, it doesn't have

(09:01):
to be a text it says happy Birthday. It could
actually be a card. And of course sending flowers is
hitting them where they aint because no one, no one
else does that. Another thing one of the like I said.
Tim was the first person I spoke to in the
book and the first person I spoke to when I
started in the business. And he came to Houston not
knowing anyone, and I said, how did you get to

(09:22):
be Tim Surat from being just Tim that's new to
the city. He said, I start going to breakfast at
the same place every single day, and he said, eventually
people see you there every day, they start talking to you.
They go, what are you doing here? Every day? I
see you every day, start having a conversation, making friends
getting business, growing your business. So I thought, well, I
can do that. I don't eat breakfast, but I drink

(09:44):
coffee every day. So I started going to Starbucks every
morning and the same thing. I was very shy at first,
sitting behind my computer, but people go, I hear you
every day, what are you doing here? What do you do?
Et cetera. So he ended up having a coffee group
every morning. I got business. I still get business today
from going to Starbucks. Because I still go to Starbucks
every day. People get to know you, they like you,

(10:06):
they trust you just over having a cup of coffee,
and that's who they want to do business with. So
that's two examples.

Speaker 3 (10:13):
We're talking with Gene Risha Mitchell with Trilogy Realty Group
and the author of the book Top Producer Steps to
Success in real Estate. In fact, Gene, one of the things,
as you're describing these stories, I listen to your podcasts casts.
So let's tell people the name of your podcast, because
you also interview people on your podcast and tell some

(10:35):
interesting things and give realtors some ideas how to grow
and even begin their business.

Speaker 4 (10:42):
Absolutely again, because I believe in education, it's I consider
an educational podcast. I interview each week someone in the industry,
whether it's a lender, a realtor, a stager, a renovator,
mold remediation, anyone related to the industry. But actually, my
last podcast test that I did last week was an
image consultant, because I think, if we're going for a

(11:04):
listing on a four million dollar house, we should not
show up in a sweatsuit. Therefore, she was giving us
our opinion about that sort of thing, building a brand,
building an image. So I do all aspects I think
of the real estate world, and it's a good resource
for getting to know people, getting answers to your question,
learning about the interest rate, learning how to invest, learning

(11:26):
about coaching, which in the book, several of the people
really believe in having a coach or a mentor. So
that's what I do. It's called The Real in Real
Estate and it usually comes out every Wednesday morning, and
then the following Wednesday is on YouTube.

Speaker 3 (11:38):
So all you have to do is look for the
Real in Real Estate, and of course gene Risha Mitchell,
you'll find her right there. And it's great stuff because
I've listened to two episodes. Yeah, they're interesting, and right here,
there's so much real estate professionals need to know and
we learn from each other no matter what we do,
whatever category that we're in. Also, let's get talk a

(12:00):
little bit about the real estate world in the area geographically.
Let's tell people the area that you cover the most.

Speaker 4 (12:07):
Memorial Spring Branch. We also I have an agent, I
think I said earlier in the Heights and Manchos area
and Spring and Woodlands, but mostly I work in the
Memorial Spring Branch area. That's where I've lived for years
and years and it's where i know most people.

Speaker 3 (12:21):
And in the Memorial area and those that are listening
outside of Houston that's west kind of directly west of
the city. How's the activity there right now, and how
are you looking forward in twenty twenty five? How are
you planning for what lies ahead.

Speaker 4 (12:35):
I think twoy twenty five is going to be a
very good year. I think the interest rates they're hovering
on the high sixes right now, but I project after
the first year they're going to be going down. And
there are still not enough houses on the market. So
if you're listening, I think this is a great time
to list I believe that it's going to be busy

(12:56):
next year because the buyers are going to start realizing
coming back to two percent three percent interest rates, it's
not going to happen. So get out there and get
your house, stop renting, build some equity, and I think
that's going to be really big after the first of
the year. If you're a realtor out there this listening,
please check out the podcast in the book. I think
you're going to find them really helpful. If you're someone

(13:19):
that's interested in listening or buying, please give us a
call my number seven one three eight two six eight
five eight seven. Our website is Trilogy Realty Group TX
dot com. We'd be happy to talk to you, answer
any questions, no obligation. We'd love to hear from you.

Speaker 3 (13:35):
And where can people get the book.

Speaker 4 (13:37):
Gene Amazon dot com.

Speaker 3 (13:39):
Just where everything else we can get everything else is
yes and makes it so easy. Once again, the book
is Top Producer Steps to Success in real Estate And
if someone wants to reach out to you once again,
the phone number Gene.

Speaker 4 (13:50):
Is seven one three A two six eight five eight seven.

Speaker 3 (13:54):
Thanks for being with us.

Speaker 4 (13:55):
Thank you Bill.

Speaker 3 (13:57):
As we continue, let's talk to care car back. The
company is Lacey Cannon Properties, Hey Caer welcome to the show.

Speaker 4 (14:05):
Hey Bill, how are you excited?

Speaker 3 (14:08):
Because real estate is so exciting and it's so real
and here you are, you too, are a real estate professional.
Let's tell people about your company.

Speaker 5 (14:16):
Sure, okay, So I work for Lacey Cannon Properties. It's
a newer brokerage. They've only been around about two years.
But a fun fact about Lacy Cannon Properties is they've
attracted some of the most experienced real estate agents in
the area, only twelve agents with a combined two hundred

(14:36):
and twenty years of service in the real estate industry.
So we bring a ton of experience and have a
great family feel in our office.

Speaker 3 (14:48):
Well, that's a lot of years of combined experience. And
I think it's important when you mentioned the word fun,
it has to be fun because during the real estate
process or many other things, so many details and boxes
you have to check. You have to have fun and
you also have to have the right I think the

(15:08):
idea of fun with as you help buyers and sellers,
because that's one way they remember you, and also that's
how to get the job done.

Speaker 5 (15:16):
I think, Yeah, one way that I really like to
help my clients after the sale is fighting their property taxes,
and so I try and get with them every year
to remind them of the deadlines, support them with data
from comparable sales, and also help walk them through the

(15:36):
process if any of them have questions on how to
do it or the best way to present it to
their appraisal district. Nudge them towards fighting them on their
own versus hiring a company, because then they get to
keep more of the savings on their own and then
all the way through the process of arbitration if necessary.

Speaker 6 (15:57):
I have experience and.

Speaker 5 (16:00):
Really think that if we all fight the property taxes,
then it helps everybody. If your neighbors don't do it,
then you don't really have a good shot of keeping
the values in check, and so the properties that you're
being compared to will just keep running up. And so

(16:23):
I really really like to help my clients with that
because most people are a little timid about it.

Speaker 3 (16:30):
You are so correct and property taxes right here in Houston.
Now I study in certain areas of the country the
different property tax rates. It's funny you mentioned this, but
now more than ever, whether you're in Houston, Texas, and
we're known for higher property taxes, but whether you're in Houston,
Texas or anywhere else. Buying a home is one thing,
it's X dollars, but now more than ever, all the

(16:53):
extra costs, yeah factor that is insurance, all those things
become a much bigger part than in the equation than
it ever was before. So I'm a firm believer in
fight your property tax. Make sure you pay the right
them out, but don't pay more than you have to.
And I'll go a step further and say look for
the lower property tax rates because they are across the

(17:16):
board right here in this Houston area, right And.

Speaker 5 (17:19):
When clients are looking at homes, it's also important you
know if you're approved up to a certain dollar of value,
to make sure that you're factoring in a potential you know,
ten percent increase in your property tax bill every year,
because more often than not, that's what's happening.

Speaker 3 (17:38):
It makes perfect sense, and it's a great thing to
be mindful of as far as real estate, as far
as where you're working the most care helping buyers and sellers. Geographically,
where are you at most of the time.

Speaker 7 (17:50):
Well, I go.

Speaker 5 (17:51):
All over, but primarily on the west side of downtown,
so Heights, Oak Forest, Woodlands, Cyprus, Katie sugar Land anywhere
over there. I reside in the West Memorial area, so
that's where I call home and have a lot of

(18:11):
knowledge base, But I pride myself on being up to
date on school information and local information in all of
those communities where I've done business.

Speaker 3 (18:22):
And recently, have you been helping more buyers or sellers?

Speaker 5 (18:27):
It's been probably a pretty fifty to fifty split down
the middo, downtown, the middle.

Speaker 3 (18:32):
Sorry, so you're do them both right now?

Speaker 5 (18:34):
Yeah, I would say probably leaning more towards listings, but
definitely a fair mix of both.

Speaker 3 (18:42):
And then as far as your outlook for twenty twenty five,
I think it's going to be pretty exciting what your
you and the team at Lacey Canon Properties thinking.

Speaker 5 (18:51):
Yeah, definitely, I think things are going to be on
the upswing. We've seen, you know, a twenty five percent
increase in new and active listings year over year from
this time last year. Typically the end of the year
definitely is a slowdown, but we're seeing a good increase

(19:12):
in properties coming on the market that isn't typical for
this time of year, so that's definitely indicating people more
ready to sell. Prices have stayed really robust. We've seen
about a five percent increase from this time last year
in Houston overall, but in the areas that I serve

(19:34):
most often, definitely even more than five percent increases year
over year. So we're definitely seeing a strong market. I
think what sellers need to be prepared for, though, is
things are sitting on the market a little longer than
they have in the past. So typically people are selling

(19:56):
every five to seven years, so the market's very different
than it was seven years ago. So what I'm seeing
a lot with sellers is they're expecting more of the
typical from when they sold the last time, and things
have definitely changed a little bit. So even though we
have a really strong and robust market, things are tending
to stay on the market a little bit longer, and

(20:21):
so that's something that you just have to talk people
through and make sure that they know their priced correctly.

Speaker 6 (20:28):
We just got to wait for the right buyer to come.

Speaker 3 (20:30):
Along, all the more reason to use the right real
estate professional correct So one of the things that came
to mind is that I understand you have a superpower.

Speaker 5 (20:39):
It's an MBA with an emphasis in economics. All right,
did a lot of focused coursework in that area. But yeah,
so what we're seeing a lot impacting is, you know,
ever since the recession and the pandemic happened, people are
still in a period where they're drawing down and prior

(21:03):
to that, you know, there was an excess savings for
most people. So that's really impacting the real estate market
in what people can afford. There's less people that have
savings on hand to put money down, So there's a
lot of factors that come into play with that. So

(21:25):
when prices I mentioned are robust and going up, the
same people that could afford that house pre recession and
pandemic can't anymore. But with the help of lenders and
new lender options that we work with, those challenges can
all be overcome.

Speaker 3 (21:46):
So as far as this corresponds to your outlook for
the twenty twenty five, I'm going to guess because you're
looking at it in a different way. You're looking at
it in the nuts and bolts of the economics as
well as what you see as you're helping buyers and
sellers here in the last I don't know, six months or.

Speaker 5 (22:02):
So, right, Yeah, I mean another not to get in
a full economics lesson yet no.

Speaker 3 (22:07):
Let's we all need economics school.

Speaker 5 (22:11):
Consumer price index is more approaching what the FED is
considering the right level of inflation, which is, you know,
two to three percent. So the consumer price index is
coming down from what it has been over the last
couple of years, meaning goods are becoming more affordable. And

(22:32):
as people see that in their day to day lives,
that translates equally into the real estate market. So when
they feel the goods and services they're buying are coming
a little more into what their wages are increasing annually,
then they feel that the home ownership or moving into

(22:54):
their next home is more within reach.

Speaker 3 (22:59):
We're talking with care Car back with Lacey Cannon Properties,
So fascinating. Care. When you first thought about being in
real estate, what was the driver for you to say?
I think because you could be doing a lot of things,
you could be in the economics world. But what inspired
you to say this is for me real estate.

Speaker 5 (23:18):
Well, I mean it's a pretty simple story. Really, I
always had an interest in real estate. I would bug
my husband constantly on har studying data and stuph at night,
him always thinking I was ready to move or something
and I wasn't. But really, my former career in corporate

(23:39):
finance and accounting was not schedule friendly for a family,
and there's certain parts of the year and the month
that you just cannot be gone, just with the cycle
of the business and the reporting that's needed. So that's

(24:00):
kind of what led me into real estate. I always
had a huge interest in it, but I loved the
schedule flexibility of it, and I will say I probably
work more hours, but I can set my own schedule
and that's really worked out well for us.

Speaker 3 (24:16):
Well, Cara, Before we close this segment, what else do
you want people to know?

Speaker 5 (24:21):
Well, I just would love people to know that my
philosophy to real estate has been, you know, kind of
a boutique level of service. I really only try and
work with up to three people at a time. I
want my clients to know that when they call, I'm
going to respond and be available. So I think that's

(24:43):
different from a lot of people that are looking for volume.
That's not really my target of my business model. I
really like to be the person that answers the questions
and shows up for the appointments and responds quickly. So
you know, I only take on a certain number of

(25:03):
people at a time, and my clients really see the
value in having my availability, and that's really where I
try and you know, steer my business towards taking on
the right level of clients to serve them the way
I want to.

Speaker 3 (25:20):
Sounds good, Cara, Let's tell people how they can reach you.

Speaker 5 (25:24):
You can reach me at seven eight five six five
six two one six seven, and my email address is
Kara c A R A at Laceycannon dot com l
A C E Y C A N N O N.

Speaker 3 (25:38):
And the phone number again is seven eight.

Speaker 5 (25:40):
Five six five six two one sixty seven.

Speaker 3 (25:42):
Thank you so much, Kara.

Speaker 8 (25:43):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (25:44):
Let's talk to Brandon Dennis. His company is e XP
Realty right here in Houston, Texas. Hey, Brandon, welcome to
the show. Hey Bill, thanks for having me. Well, we're
glad to see you here.

Speaker 9 (25:55):
E x P.

Speaker 3 (25:55):
First of all, people have heard e e XP Realty.
Let's tell people a little bit about the company.

Speaker 8 (26:01):
So I've been with EXP for three years now, and
you know, it's a cloud brokerage, which I really gravitated
too because I'm more into like, oh tech stuff, and
so I didn't want to just be in typical like
brick and mortar at the office. Every single day. So
that's why I started to, you know, join, That's why
I joined EXP.

Speaker 9 (26:20):
Well.

Speaker 3 (26:21):
As far as geographically, and of course EXP is all around,
in fact, outside of Houston, I believe, but give us
an idea geographically where you spend most of your time
helping buyers and sellers.

Speaker 8 (26:31):
A little bit of all over, but mostly it's in
Missouri Center, Missouri City, in Siena, mostly new construction.

Speaker 3 (26:39):
Well's I'm glad you mentioned new construction. So and when
you mentioned those areas for people listening outside, say of Houston,
that's about what's southeast of the city. Would we say, oh, yes, sir,
I would say so. And then Sienna, what is Cen
and that's in what is that in Sugarland or for
it's in Fort Benn County. I'm sorry Fort Bend County,
and once again for those listing outside southeast, but I'm

(27:01):
glad you mentioned Brandon the new construction. Give us a
word of what people could find these days in Fort
Bend County regarding new construction.

Speaker 8 (27:10):
So you get homes starting from the low three well
now I would say in low threes, high threes and
up until a million dollar homes. So one story, two story,
pretty much one stop shop for whatever people's looking for.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
So are there is new construction out there. One of
the things I hear about new construction as we talk
about interest rates, I hear the builders are giving a
lot of incentives to make the interest rate lower and
things or to help people buy it. And tell us
about that.

Speaker 8 (27:41):
Yeah, so you have lenders that are doing the one
two three by down buying down a rate of handling
in your closing costs and also your down payment.

Speaker 3 (27:51):
So they are giving incentives. Correct, So people, and how
does that relate to the new home buyers You see
a lot of the first time.

Speaker 8 (27:58):
Buyers rather, yes, sir, a lot of first time buyers,
and some people struggle with paying the down payment and
covering the closing costs.

Speaker 7 (28:06):
So you have the builders taking care of that as well.

Speaker 3 (28:10):
So in terms of technology, you mentioned technology already from
a social media standpoint, as you're out there trying to
promote your business for buyers and sellers, what are the
things you're using from a social media standpoint.

Speaker 8 (28:23):
If any, mostly Instagram in Facebook. I'm gravitating towards TikTok
because I started out with TikTok at first, but I
really couldn't like get anybody because it's mostly kids on
there at this point. But now that I see that
it's transition into like a pretty much a search engine,
a lot of people are going to TikTok for you know,

(28:45):
recommendations of restaurants, relators to use, or you know, anything
that they're looking for on there. I really haven't got
any leads from Facebook, I would say, so that's probably
the least one that I use.

Speaker 3 (28:57):
Because I think one of the things for a challenge
for real ESTs professionals is there are so many platforms
in so many ways to get the message out. It's
hard to all use all the ones properly and to
know which one to use and then to develop your
skill level there. But Instagram is a good one. Yeah,
that's pretty good. Yeah.

Speaker 8 (29:15):
I mostly do reels, make videos of model homes or
listenings that I got coming up, or our team listenings,
and just talk about what we got going on there,
any incentives and how we're here to help make the
process as smooth as possible.

Speaker 3 (29:30):
We mentioned incentives. One of the things I'm thinking of
as the clock is ticking, the year is closing, and
I don't know, but I think If I'm a builder
and I have inventory, now might be a good time
to try to clear the inventory for the end of
the year. Are you finding builders that are saying, hey,
our homes, we have incentives, extra incenters if you buy
by the end of the year. Is there any of that?

Speaker 7 (29:51):
Oh?

Speaker 8 (29:51):
Yes, Before I came here, I had a sales rep
call too, sent a guy over four hundred inventory homes
and they're willing to do a lot to you know,
help get those homes off the ground as far as
whatever your client needs.

Speaker 3 (30:06):
It sounds like a motivated seller, right, Yes, I likes me.
I'll buy all four hundred. What if someone called you
there Brandon said, well, can you sell me four hundred
homes in one shot? You could do it?

Speaker 7 (30:17):
Yeah, I'll try my base, you can try, and I'm
gonna get Kevin to help me.

Speaker 3 (30:19):
But and you're speaking of the one and only Kevin Davidson.
Was Stuart Title right there in Fort Bend, also known
as the King of Fort Bend. But in the meantime,
as with ex b you're cloud based, so there is
no brick and mortar place. But do you all have
meetings and talk about upcoming things and different things in
the marketplace.

Speaker 7 (30:38):
Oh yes, we do.

Speaker 8 (30:40):
The office that I go to is the Seth in
Ford Being with the Seth brothers, and we have means there,
networking events and all that good stuff too.

Speaker 3 (30:48):
And when they talk about what's going to happen in
twenty twenty five, do you hear any discussion there about
what we can expect or what they're talking about there?

Speaker 8 (30:55):
So mostly just everybody getting acclimated to the interest rate
and how the rates are and going back to the
COVID prices and just predicting that the market is going
to be better next year than what it was this year.

Speaker 3 (31:09):
So it could be, and I'm feeling the same thing.
I think next year is going to be a phenomenal year,
which would make me think if I'm a buyer, if
I'm thinking about buying right now, I might accelerate my
search and get on the search a little bit quicker
to beat the crowd, right, I would hope. So, well,

(31:32):
you do listenings as well, right, yes, sir? So when
you right now, let's take Fort Ben County if you're
talking to someone, if you're talking to me, of let's
say I have a home in Fort Ben County. If
you're talking to me about listing my home. How are
you coaching or advising the people selling homes right now?
If they said, hey, Brandon, I'd like you to sell
my home. What are the things that you're telling them
as far as what to expect in the market.

Speaker 8 (31:54):
First, I want to know the reason why to sell
the home and then build a plan based off that,
whether it's school or divorce, or you want to upgrade
or downgrade, and just build a portfolio from there.

Speaker 3 (32:11):
So there's a lot of things as far as the
amount of time on the market. You give them an
idea once you determine, say the the comps in the area,
and you suggest maybe you'll suggest a list price to them.
How long does it take these days to sell a
home that's priced properly in Fort Ben Do you have
an idea or what have you seen anyway?

Speaker 8 (32:33):
I've seen some go under contract within a few days,
and I've also seen some sit for months price fairly,
So it's pretty different based on.

Speaker 3 (32:45):
So as far as when you help, let's take a
buyer right when you're helping buyers, are you helping any
buyers that are outside of the area, Do they call you?
Do you find anyone with your Instagram where they pick
you up maybe from another state or something.

Speaker 8 (32:58):
Does that happen sometimes rally from a different state, but
barers do call and wherever they want to be at,
I'm willing to help.

Speaker 7 (33:05):
I've sold it in.

Speaker 8 (33:05):
Road Sharing, Energy Corridor, Cypress Spring Katie Rosenberg. So don't
matter to me.

Speaker 3 (33:16):
So what was your inspiration years ago when you decided
to get into real estate? What made you say, man,
this is the thing I really need to be doing.

Speaker 8 (33:24):
So my dad he got a construction business, and like
growing up as a kid, he would make me go
to work to earn allowance like tile floors.

Speaker 7 (33:32):
And pain and smart dad, right, do all that stuff.

Speaker 8 (33:35):
So I mean, I could do that type of stuff,
but you know, my back of something to be hurting
or not only just that, but just seeing like the
condition my dad he got bad knees, bad back. When
you work, you got to sit down like every fifteen
to twenty minutes. He made great money though, of course,
but I would see like the realtors that he would
do the jobs for and the investors, and I see,

(33:55):
like the type of money they.

Speaker 3 (33:56):
Were their knees aren't hurting us bad.

Speaker 8 (33:58):
Not at all, And they'd be like seventy or eighty
years old, and you know they will make large lump
sums of cash. So I'm thinking to myself, like, do
I want to be fifty with bad needs in a
bad back, or you do I want to be like
those other guys making the money that they're making.

Speaker 7 (34:14):
So I think I made the right decision.

Speaker 8 (34:16):
I think I wish I would have got into business
earlier than starting out at twenty nine.

Speaker 3 (34:24):
So well, but you're here now, you have the whole
time ahead of you, and no doubt about it. I
would think, especially those who listen to the show or
live here in Houston and or in the real estate profession,
this is a very exciting profession, especially in this Houston, Texas.

Speaker 7 (34:39):
I would say so.

Speaker 8 (34:40):
And the reason why I moved here because I did
a little research on the markets in the US, because
I saved up some cash because I was living in
Mississippi before I came here. I just researched like top
ten markets to do real estate in and Houston was one,
and I came out and visited for like seven days.

Speaker 7 (34:57):
I didn't do anything in real estate related.

Speaker 8 (35:00):
I was just seeing the city and honestly just partying,
and I was just like, well, this is going to
be the destination for me.

Speaker 3 (35:07):
So that's very strategic, very very logical way to approach
where you're living and where you're going to live and
then where you live now in your profession. So you
did some thinking, Yeah, I did, bad news picked the
right city. It's a formula. We're talking with Brandon Dennis
with the XP Realty. Brandon, before we close this segment,

(35:30):
what do you want people to know?

Speaker 8 (35:31):
You can find me on Facebook and Brandon Dennis Instagram
at b Dennis the Realtor and I'll make a TikTok
and my phone number is three four six eight three
one three seven two one. Phone number again is three
four six eight three one three seven two one.

Speaker 3 (35:50):
Thank you so much, Brandon Dennis.

Speaker 7 (35:52):
Appreciate you for having me.

Speaker 9 (35:54):
In today's litigious society. It is imperative to have the
proper insurance to offset the many risks facing your business,
especially if you're a real estate broker your errors and
omissions and cyberliability. Insurance can help limit the threat of
these risks if you know what to look for. Not
sure if your insurance addresses the risks facing your business,
contact Stuart Insurance. To be confident your brokerage can withstand

(36:17):
these risks. Stewart Insurance eight sixty six seven ninety eight
twenty eight twenty seven Stuartinsurance dot Com that Stuartinsurance dot
Com are called eight six six seven ninety eight twenty
eight twenty seven.

Speaker 3 (36:30):
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 risks facing our
industry today. They invest a significant amount of time helping
real estate broker owners offset and manage their risks. Here

(36:51):
he is once again with Stuart Insurance. John Bramlett, Howdy, Bill, Well,
here we are John. Welcome to the show again, Show
number five forty three.

Speaker 10 (37:01):
I think that's amazing.

Speaker 3 (37:03):
That's a lot of shows, a lot of guests, a
lot of great information, and we march on every week
and especially it's always exciting to march on through the
holiday season and end of the year.

Speaker 10 (37:14):
I guess happy holidays.

Speaker 3 (37:15):
It's happy holidays, and people at this time think about
so many things, gift giving, gathering around the fireplace, great food.
And also they'd love to think about insurance too.

Speaker 10 (37:26):
This is definitely a big insurance time of the year.
It's right that Thanksgiving, Christmas insurance corridor in the last
quarter of the year.

Speaker 3 (37:34):
It really is. So what have you brought forth today?

Speaker 10 (37:37):
We give out insurance policies for the holidays.

Speaker 3 (37:40):
It would make a nice gift. It would be a
very nice I mean, just think about what if someone said, oh, man,
I just got my insurance renewal. Hey, my gift to
you is I'll pay for it. That would be a
new gift idea.

Speaker 10 (37:52):
So it'd be really nice. Let the word go forth
there we go. Just wanted to talk a little bit
today about personal insurance decisions. Because of the increase in premiums,
especially on the personal insurance side, we're finding people that
are making decisions based and many times on price, without
taking in consideration coverage. And my concern is that at

(38:16):
some point they're going to come back and find out
that they don't have the coverage that they assumed that
they did. So I don't mind our clients making decision
on price, and many times they have to, and we
understand that, but let's make sure that you make that
decision on price while you understand the coverage that you
do and you don't have, And that's what's critical I

(38:37):
think today that we need to make sure that we
understand that that the coverage that we have meets our
families' needs or our individuals needs that we have today
or that we think we might have in the near future,
and as long as that that's in the place, then
we feel like you're going to be properly insured. Because
what we don't want to have happen is somebody to

(38:58):
get a new home poll and find out that they
don't have water damage coverage or they don't have significant
water damage coverage. We don't want somebody to have a
new auto policy and find out that they don't have
coverage if somebody were to damage their car in some
way other than an accident, or if somebody if they

(39:20):
were to be hit and the driver is uninsured and
they don't have coverage for that. So again, it's important
that people understand and have in their consideration, you know
what they do and don't have from a coverage perspective,
and as long as they understand that, then making that
decision is or is at least easy er, and we

(39:42):
understand what we are are not going to have.

Speaker 3 (39:45):
Properly insured, properly key words, and I hear no other
company talk about it like that, But it's so logical.
And you read as you said the words. I was
going to say that if you didn't when you said
being properly intrued, because that's right. People that listen to
this show know that that is the way we want
to be by understanding what we have. And we say

(40:05):
that because so many people, including me, I don't understand
all the nuances of the insurance, even because a lot
of times I'll just go by price and a lot
of people do they do.

Speaker 10 (40:15):
And we have a prospective client that we're working with
right now that I had met through one of our classes,
and he's a realtor, and one of the things that
he has said to us as we have gone through
this process with him is it's nice to have somebody
that I can talk to that before he would get
a renewal notification and he would just pay the renewal,

(40:37):
but really wasn't sure whether he had the proper coverage
and it could be that he didn't have enough coverage,
or it could be that he had too much coverage
for what he needed at that point, but he wasn't
sure and that was what was bothering him. And that
was one of the first comments he made with me
as we began this process, was it's nice to have
somebody that I can speak with.

Speaker 3 (40:57):
No doubt about it. And people at Stewart Insurance kind
of goes without saying from our perspective, but you can
call people, answer the phone, you could talk to an
insurance advisor at Steward Insurance. It's that easy, and unfortunately
in other places it's not always like that.

Speaker 10 (41:13):
No, it's it's not. I have a friend who recently
had an issue with their automobile and I was helping
them out and they had coverage through another company. They
had not gone through us, but I was helping them
out and literally I had to on the We couldn't
get anybody live to talk speak with. And finally, the

(41:33):
only way that I could get anybody to speak with,
I said, I have a complaint, and then suddenly came
somebody came on the phone and we were helping was
able then to help him resolve his issue. But now
you called, Jennifer's going to answer the phone. She's going
to get you right to one of our advisors, whether
it be personal lines or business insurance, and they're going
to walk through and ask the types of questions that

(41:55):
need to be asked to make sure that we understand
what your needs are at this point in time, and
then we build a plan around what those needs are
so that you are properly insured and you do understand
what coverage you do and you don't have.

Speaker 3 (42:08):
That's right. And when we talk our business development people
here talk about our escrow officers or if we have
an escrow officer on the show, we find out that
there is a lot of longevity at Stuart Title. However,
it's also true at Stewart Insurance. The people that you're
talking about that we can talk to and get advice from,

(42:29):
you have people that have been with the company over
ten years and maybe longer, people that really know insurance
inside and out. In this ever changing dynamics that insurance requires.

Speaker 10 (42:41):
We do we have some very seasoned folks that truly
understand not only the products as a whole, but also
they understand the products as they're based with the different
carriers that we work with. So being an independent insurance brokerage,
we have access to a variety of insurance companies, whether
we're building personal insurance plans or business insurance plans, and

(43:03):
part of the responsibility that a good advisor has is
understanding what those different companies offer and where those different
companies have an appetite. Because some companies have appetites, we're
coverage in certain parts in certain markets and some don't.
So understanding that. Understanding where companies might be strong in
a certain area and weaker in another is an advantage
that our advisors have over our.

Speaker 3 (43:25):
Competition, covering so many bases they.

Speaker 10 (43:28):
Are it's a really, really a fantastic team. It's a
team that cares about our clients, that puts our clients first,
and truly does you know. You know when we say
that we want to be the insurance resource for real estate,
it's not just something that we say, but it's something
that we live every day.

Speaker 3 (43:44):
And I know in times that I've talked with the
advisors at Stewart Insurance about my policies, it's interesting too,
they have an ability to sometimes know the questions that
you're about to ask, or they help you with the
ones that you should ask.

Speaker 10 (43:58):
Well, And I think that's that's both that there are
some basic questions that we'll receive from everybody, but there's
also some things that you do need to ask or
you deed need to know, and maybe you didn't consider
that that would be taken into consideration when we were
building a plan, or that's taken in consideration when an
insurance company is going to set a premium the cost
of the insurance. So that's the beauty beauty of working

(44:19):
with our set of advisors is they do know the
questions that you probably were going to ask, but as
you said so well, the questions that you ought to
should be asking. Well, if you do want to be
properly insured, and all that means is that you understand
the coverage that you have and you're happy with the
coverage you have at this point in your life. Whether
you be an individual or a family, for your personal

(44:40):
insurance home wind, auto, flood, motorcycle, watercraft, investment, property, or
if you're a real estate business, a broker, a realtor,
a property management firm and independent title and attorney agent,
we can help you with your business insurance plan. So
Arizona Mission, cyber liability, general liability, we can help you
with all those products as well.

Speaker 3 (45:00):
How can people reach you?

Speaker 10 (45:01):
They can reach us at eight sixty six seven ninety
eight two eight two seven. That's eight six six seven
ninety eight two eight two seven. They can learn more
about us online at Stuart Insurance dot com or they
can email us at Stuart Insurance at Stuart dot com.

Speaker 3 (45:16):
And reminding people also, if you're listening again outside of
the state of Texas, you are also helping people all
over the United States and they can call.

Speaker 10 (45:25):
Eight six six seven ninety eight to eight two seven.

Speaker 7 (45:27):
That's right.

Speaker 10 (45:28):
We have both personal and business clients all.

Speaker 7 (45:30):
Over the US.

Speaker 3 (45:32):
Just for the fun of it. The number again is.

Speaker 10 (45:34):
Eight sixty six seven nine eight two eight two seven.

Speaker 3 (45:37):
Here he is another awaited segment each and every time
Kevin Davidson is in the studio. Kevin Davidson from Fort
or from Fort Let's make that Fort Ben County with
Stewart title two locations. Kevin, welcome to the show.

Speaker 11 (45:52):
Thanks for having me again.

Speaker 3 (45:54):
Well here you are. Let's tell it right off the bat.
We talked about the podcast Gene has earlier. You have
a podcast too. Let's tell people about that.

Speaker 7 (46:02):
I do have a podcast.

Speaker 11 (46:03):
It is called Kevin's Corner Real Estate from a marketing perspective.
Kevin's corner is Boss Public K. It's on YouTube and
I interview every Friday an agent and a vendor that
operate in the Fort Ben County area and make the
podcast all about them so they can then use the
podcast to promote their business.

Speaker 3 (46:23):
That's right, and we think about podcasts, radio shows. Gene
talked about it earlier. It's about education. And I know
in my role in the real estate world it's one thing,
but if I were a real estate agent and or broker,
I'd be listening to as many radio shows, TV shows,
podcasts about real estate because I'm learning from each and
every person that I'm hearing. Yeah, I mean, you can

(46:46):
its fascinate.

Speaker 11 (46:46):
There's so many people that have so much knowledge that
they want to share, and you can always learn something new.
As much as I know about, you know, marketing and
the things that I do to help agents, I can
still learn something from somebody else.

Speaker 3 (47:01):
And of course you're helping people with their real estate
contracts with our fantastic escrow officers and sugar Land and
four Ben. Let's tell people about that how they can
reach you and bring their contracts over there.

Speaker 11 (47:12):
Yes, Sugarland office in Richmond in sugar Land, and we
had the wonderful Kate Corn Corneck and Devinie Devin. And
then over in the Richmond office our new Escro officers,
Kate Cannon and they can reach me at eight three
two six five four zero five two seven eight three
two six five four zero five two seven.

Speaker 3 (47:33):
Thank you, Kevin. And now in the center almost sort
of the city of Houston, Texas, we have a fantastic office.
It is Stewart Title, Kirby Grove, beautiful office on the
fifteenth floor, looking at so many great things out the window.
Juliana Bereford, Juliana, don't you just love the office there?

Speaker 6 (47:54):
I do love my office.

Speaker 12 (47:55):
I love the view of Levy Park and I get
to see all the kids playing and the dogs at
the dog park and all.

Speaker 3 (48:00):
The great scenery right around. But also inside these beautiful
walls and visage are tremendous Escrow officers that you're that
are doing business all the time right there at Stuart Title.

Speaker 12 (48:12):
Yep, we have two very experienced ASK officers that do
both residential and commercial. We have Lauren Reed who's our
branch manager, and Sandford Real And we're also looking to grow.
So we are looking for experienced ask officers. So if
anyone is interested in the area, please reach out to me.
And my phone number is eight three to two two

(48:33):
nine six seven six sixty six. Again that's eight three
to two two nine six seven six sixty six.

Speaker 3 (48:39):
So let the word go forth. Right now, there could
be someone that is an Escrow officer that's thinking, Hey,
I want to up my game and work at Steuart
Title and I want to be in the center of
the activity of Houston, Texas. We might have a place
for him.

Speaker 6 (48:53):
We definitely might have a place for them.

Speaker 3 (48:55):
All they need to do is call you, Julianna Bereford.

Speaker 6 (48:58):
At eight three to two six seven six six six.

Speaker 3 (49:02):
That sounds pretty awesome, Juliana. What else should we know?

Speaker 6 (49:05):
We do a lot of education for realtors.

Speaker 12 (49:08):
We have classes on growing your business, core classes that
you need you know, legal code of ethics, and then
we also have a lot of vendors come in, inspectors, lenders,
so they can also be educated on things to.

Speaker 6 (49:20):
Tell their clients.

Speaker 3 (49:21):
So many great educational opportunities and they're also fun. I've
been to a few of them.

Speaker 6 (49:26):
They are fun, yes, very much fun.

Speaker 3 (49:29):
Once again, the number is.

Speaker 6 (49:31):
Eight three two two nine six, seven six sixty six.

Speaker 3 (49:34):
Thank you, Juliana, Thank you Bill, And she is back,
Gene Risha Mitchell. The company is Trilogy Realty Group. She
is a broker, a real estate agent and a very
successful author Top Producers Steps to Success in Real Estate. Jean,
welcome back, Thank you very much. Well here we are

(49:55):
closing the show down. Jean. What else do you want
people to know about your podcast about helping buyers and sellers,
or even about your book.

Speaker 4 (50:02):
Well, if you're a new agent, or like I said,
an agent that feels like they've plateaued, check out the book.
There's a tremendous amount of helpful hints and tricks and
tips for the trade. If you're driving around the city
like every realtor does, and you're tired of listening to
the same ossault, please turn on my podcast, The Real
and Real Estate. There's a lot of educational information. I

(50:23):
talk to all the experts and we dispel the myths
around the industry. So check that out. As far as
Trilogy goes, please check us out as well. We're very
much into customer service. Our mottolist service sincerity and satisfaction,
and you will get service. We are sincere and you
will be.

Speaker 3 (50:40):
Satisfied helping buyers and sellers in a tremendous way every day.
Absolutely the name of your podcast, putting the real in
real Estate. I'm in admiration of that choice. So thank
How many names did you have before you finally.

Speaker 4 (50:55):
Settle on that one, probably twelve or fifteen.

Speaker 3 (50:58):
I think you picked the best one.

Speaker 4 (51:00):
Thank you. I appreciate that.

Speaker 3 (51:02):
And once again, Gene, how can people reach you?

Speaker 4 (51:04):
Seven one, three, eight, two, six, eight five eight seven
seven one three, eight, two six eight five eight seven.

Speaker 3 (51:11):
Thank you, Jeene, Risha Mitchell once again. Kara carback with
Lacey Cannon Properties. Well, Kera, here we are the last
few minutes of the show.

Speaker 5 (51:22):
Well, one other thing that I thought of just bringing
up that I've seen commonly in the market lately. I
have seen open houses flooded with people more so than ever,
and they have the misconception from the way things have
been told to them by other agents or in the

(51:43):
media just surrounding the new buyer's representation agreements, and so
they're scared to contact an agent and go see a
house in the traditional way with an appointment with an agent,
and so people are showing up in droves to open
houses as a method to see what's on the market
and what I just wanted to tell people, and I

(52:05):
tell folks at the open houses about that if you're
listening out there, that's not the case. You can have
a buyer's representation agreement for one day or one address,
or you could go see five homes and just list
those homes. Don't let an agent or anyone try and
persuade you into signing a long term representation agreement if

(52:29):
you're not fully sure that that's the agent you want
to work with. But don't let it stop you from
going and seeing properties because you're If you're going to
an open house that's packed full of people, you're probably
not going to see it in the way or get
the same information. If you would make an appointment with
in it.

Speaker 3 (52:45):
That sounds awesome. Kara carback Lacey Cannon Properties. How can
people reach you?

Speaker 4 (52:50):
Kara?

Speaker 5 (52:50):
They can reach me at seven eight five six five
six two one sixty seven, and I'd love to go
show you some houses seven eight five six five six
two one six seven.

Speaker 3 (53:00):
Thank you, Kara. And now Brandon Dennis is back with
exp Realty. Well, Brandon before we close things down here
and turn the lights out on this edition of Real
Estate Matters with Stewart Title. What else do you want
people to know?

Speaker 8 (53:13):
I want people to know that I'm on a team
with Daryl Anderson. He's my team leader, and we always
here to help. We do a lot of school events,
so if you're a teacher or principal or anything in
that manner, we always here to help.

Speaker 3 (53:27):
So here we are twenty twenty five. Are you excited, yes, sir,
very excited, Yes, sir, all those things. Let's tell people
how they can reach you. Once again, Brandon Dennis.

Speaker 8 (53:37):
Three four six eight three one three seven two one
three four six eight three one three seven two one.

Speaker 3 (53:43):
And thank you Brandon Dennis, and thank you all for
listening to Real Estate Matters with Stuart Title. I am
your host, Bill Nappick, together with John Bramlett, all of
us at Stuart Title and Stuart Insurance. Simply go to
Stewart dot com Forward Slash Radio where you can access
see this show on the US to video and also
access the show archives at Stewart dot com Forward Slash Radio.

(54:06):
We'll look forward to seeing you next week. Thank you
for listening