Three Companies, Three Approaches!

Very interesting content on this edition!

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 (00:13):
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 Stoare Title, Steward Titles. Bill Knabik
and guests open the door to what really matters in owning, buying,
and selling real estate. And now Real Estate Matters with
Steware 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. Thank you for joining us. I'm
your host, Bill Nappick. This is show number five seventy seven,
and we're going to get started right now as we
have tremendous real estate professionals with us once again today
and we're going to start with Sherry and Jonathan may

(01:00):
Nab their company is Nest Ahead Sharing and Jonathan. Welcome
to the show.

Speaker 4 (01:06):
Oh, thank thank you, so much.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Well, good to see you. First of all, Jonathan, let's
tell people about the company, nest Ahead in what you.

Speaker 5 (01:13):
Do, so, we focus on both residential and commercial. We
are a husband wife team, but we also have other
agents that work for us as well. We're based out
of West Houston, and I think our backgrounds really help
us tie into helping both our buyers and our sellers.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
And you're the broker owner of the company. Yes, sir,
and Sherry from your perspective, give us an idea how
as a husband and wife team you work and help
buyers and sellers in both residential and commercial.

Speaker 6 (01:46):
Sure part of it is, he said, is our background.
Jonathan's background is legal, so he spent many years working
as senior legal assistant for a large life law firm.
My background is insurance and tax, and so both of

(02:06):
those things come into play when you're looking at real
estate transactions. Legal is very important, as is detail about
all things home related or business related.

Speaker 4 (02:21):
If you're looking at commercial.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
And as you talk about legal and insurance, I'm seeing
a lot of fine print flash before me. So I
would think that's a great asset as you help buyers
and sellers out there to have maybe a better understanding
than the average person or family as they're looking at
real estate.

Speaker 5 (02:38):
Yeah, definitely definitely helps My background as I worked for
a federal criminal defense law firm for over fifteen years
and primarily what we did was real estate fraud, and
so I got to learn the industry of what not
to do, what would take the FBI coming knocking on
your door. So I'm very black and white when it

(02:59):
comes to rules to regulations. You know, my background is negotiation,
and so I think that comes into play as well.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
In fact, I was looking at you have a master's
degree in international business. I do give us a quick
word on that, and especially the international part. How that
comes into play.

Speaker 5 (03:16):
So all of our listings we also market not only domestically,
but we also market all of our listings internationally. And
we do so because we feel like the more eyes
on every one of our listings, the better. And we
have buyers. I mean, there's n ar HR puts out
reports every year about buyers that are purchasing from overseas,

(03:38):
and we feel like if we can get eyes on
our listings in their native language, then that benefits our clients.
And so I use that international business degree to help
help with the marketing and help connections to get the
word out.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
And right now, of course, we've heard a lot in
the past few years about people from other states, West coast,
east coast, all over of people moving to Houston and
even Texas. But what's going on. Are we seeing anything
right now internationally where we're having a lot of people
coming from other countries.

Speaker 5 (04:10):
Yeah, so we're still having people come in, I mean
with the rates the way they have been here recently,
I mean, thankfully the last week or so, they've been
coming down. But a lot of cash buyers from overseas
have been looking in our area and you know, they
want one a good investment. Some of the countries are
looking for places for their kids to go to school,

(04:33):
for instance, and so they look at properties here in
the Houston area because we have nice schools here.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
And as you talk about marketing and international, how are
people are they finding you from these other countries and
how do you do that?

Speaker 5 (04:45):
So we use several services to get our listings internationally. Again,
everything is translated into their native language, and so it
really puts forth our listings in front of the eyes
of potential buyers.

Speaker 4 (04:59):
All over the world.

Speaker 5 (05:00):
And so we do have people reach out to us
based upon those listings that are thinking about buying here
in the Houston area, and it helps us obviously help
them find a home.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
In fact, I'm thinking we just had someone reach out
to us from Buenos Ari's that actually heard the show,
and this person's coming to the National Association of Realtors convention.
I believe it's November, so it should be interesting to
see the international presence of other brokers and realtors in
these other countries. I'm excited about that. Cherry, give us

(05:31):
a word on some of the things that you're doing
alongside the company and as you're helping the buyers and sellers.

Speaker 6 (05:38):
So one of the things that we really do with
every client on the buy side, for example, is we
sit down and we really take our time going over
the process from start to finish. We've talked to so many,
so many people that said, hey, we've bought real estate before,

(06:00):
and we've we've never we've never sat down and actually
looked over the contract. We've never talked about, you know,
what our wants, our versus our needs. We've never really
had this had this process. It's it's always been very
salesy but with his background not being sales and and

(06:25):
mind being more customer service based, we just we don't
really have the traditional approach that a lot of realtors have.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
And of course, as the years go by, even months,
things are changing all the time in real estate. So
if I'm someone that just purchased a home seven years
ago and I get back in the market and say, hey, guys,
lis'sen my home, there's some updates that they need to
know about.

Speaker 6 (06:51):
Yes, there's a lot of a lot of things like
that come into play. We are also very fortunate to
live in a very diverse FID area. We are really
close to the Harrison Fort Benk County lines as you know,
where our office is, and it's just the multicultural atmosphere

(07:14):
in our area is phenomenal. And so that's one of
the other reasons that we we like the international marketing
approach is because you know, our children go to local
schools where there's seventeen languages spoken.

Speaker 4 (07:32):
Wow. So just as an example, yeah.

Speaker 3 (07:36):
That's interesting. Now, as far as the Kadi area, do
you do much in Katie?

Speaker 4 (07:41):
We do quite a bit in Katie.

Speaker 3 (07:42):
Give us an idea what's happening in the market in
Katie right now.

Speaker 6 (07:45):
Well, as you know, school just started and so typically
and it usually goes like this every year before school starts,
things pick up and they especially because Katie ISDS is
very popular school district to be in for the Houston area,
and so we see quite a bit of an uptick

(08:08):
an activity buyers and sellers. People are trying to get
situated if they have families and children, They are trying
to make sure that their kids are enrolled in the
right schools and on time and things like that. So
it's picked up quite a bit and probably will continue
to do so it'll fall back before Thanksgiving.

Speaker 3 (08:31):
So right now, let's say if I'm a seller, I
want to sell my home and I'm in the Katie area.
Now there's a lot of different spots in Katie, but
I don't know what's the average days on market or
how do you see the home selling or how do
you counsel the seller right now to say, hey, this
is what the market's like right now.

Speaker 6 (08:49):
Average days on market can really vary based on your community,
so it can be very different if you know, between
between communities, even if they're they're all in the Katy area, the.

Speaker 5 (09:02):
Days, months of days we're about four point two worth
of inventory, where the Houston is about five point four.
So our homes are moving. We've got less inventory than
what all of Houston does. But it comes down to
how the home is presented. The buyers right now want

(09:24):
to move into a home that is ready to go.
We're finding a lot of buyers. They have a lot
of options, and so if they go through five homes,
they're finding out which one has got the most updates,
which one has less work to do. And that's not
just hate Katie, but that's all over the Houston area.
And you know, it's the seller's getting the home ready

(09:44):
to go, having it presentable, and so we really focus
on on that time with our sellers. I would say
when we get hired, we generally don't list a home
for a couple of weeks because we're working with them
to get their home prepped. Make sure you got good
curb appeal, the home is clean, and it's got the

(10:06):
necessary updates.

Speaker 3 (10:07):
In my neighborhood, it's interesting I've seen homes. All these homes,
at least in my immediate area, were built ninety two
ninety three, so they all have needed updates years ago,
and just what you're saying. I'm seeing that in one
home just a few houses down got a total update.
It's sold pretty quick. But they seem to be moving.

(10:28):
But like you said, you got to have those updates.
It's great to be in the neighborhood with the trees
and all that, an established area. But yeah, and then
good luck fine on the contract. Just saying, but all
that said, we're talking with Jonathan and Sherry McNabb. Jonathan
before we close this segment, what else do you want
people to know?

Speaker 5 (10:46):
Yeah, we take a the Golden rule approach. We try
to treat every one of our clients the way we
would want to be treated if the situation was reversed.
There's a lot of things that we dig into, like
Erry having insurance background, so we dig into clue reports,
we dig into things that that are technically outside of

(11:07):
kind of what we're doing. But we're trying to make
sure that we have experts all the way around to
advise our clients throughout the entire process.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
And if someone wants to reach you, Jonathan McNabb, let's
tell them the phone number, Jonathan.

Speaker 5 (11:21):
That's two eight one five zero three seven one one
seven two eight one five zero three seven one one seven.

Speaker 3 (11:30):
And Sherry Just clarify for those that don't know what
is a clue report? Is that what it's clue sale
you see, tell people what that is just in case.

Speaker 6 (11:39):
So, if you've ever purchased a car and you wanted
to know if there were any claims insurance claims on
that car, you would you would ask for a Carfax report,
And a clue report is basically you know the Carfax
report for homes, it'll it'll tell you what claims have
been filed through insurance company. Now, obviously if you've had

(12:01):
a if you've had some sort of damage to your
home and you remediated or fix the damage yourself and
did not you know, follo acclaim through insurance, and that's
not going to show up on the clue report. But
your major your major things will show up on clue
reports and then that gives the buyers a pretty good

(12:21):
idea of the claim's history for that home.

Speaker 3 (12:25):
So can anybody look up this clue report? Well, I
have to be some kind of do you have to
have an insurance license or real real estate license?

Speaker 4 (12:32):
Yeah? I do have an insurance license.

Speaker 6 (12:35):
I have kept that and have had it for over
twenty years, so I can run clue reports. But I'm
very busy with real estate. So typically what we do
is we we send these as referrals to people in
the industry for insurance, and they run clue reports.

Speaker 3 (12:54):
But I mean someone listening right now that says, hey,
I want to go find out what happened in this house.
They can't necessarily do that.

Speaker 4 (12:59):
Now, it's it's process, all right.

Speaker 3 (13:01):
Just checkie. Well, Sherry, let's tell people how they can
reach you, Sherry McNab.

Speaker 6 (13:07):
Yes, my number is seven one three six three two
four two seven six A seven one three six three
two four two seven six.

Speaker 3 (13:18):
Guys, thanks for being with us. I appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (13:21):
Thanks so much, you so much.

Speaker 3 (13:22):
As we continue, let's talk to Stacy when her company
is called Stacy and Co. And Stacy is the president
of the Asian American Real Estate Association. Stacy, welcome to
the show.

Speaker 7 (13:36):
Thank you so much, Bill for having me.

Speaker 3 (13:37):
Will you have your hands full? Those are being a
real estate professional. First of all, is a big job.
And you're the broker owner of Stacey and Co. And
you're the president.

Speaker 4 (13:48):
Yes, that's awesome.

Speaker 3 (13:49):
First of all, let's tell people about Stacy and Co.

Speaker 7 (13:52):
So I've been in real estate for about eighteen years.
So I started when I was twelve.

Speaker 3 (13:58):
Wow.

Speaker 7 (14:00):
And then we have four agents under my brokerage, and
our focus on my brokerage is learning, treating people with respect,
and every transaction is not like every other transaction. So
I always tell my agents, you have to put yourself

(14:20):
in that transaction as if it was a family member.
And when you do that, then you really have to
take care of your family member until the end of
the transaction. And that becomes more referrals because when you
treat people right, they'll remember and they refer you.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
And I like that you said that. It's said many
times that yes, every transaction is a little it's like
a fingerprint, it's like a snowflake. It's a little different
than the last one, but it really is. And that
makes a difference in the journey for the buyer and sellers.

Speaker 7 (14:52):
Right, yes, absolutely, and especially with I guess in my
culture Vietnamese we have a different set of culture differences
where an American buyer or seller would not understand feng shui.
Or if the door faces the back door faces the
front door, that's not good because money goes in and

(15:14):
out and so as an agent, you need to be
well rounded and be prepared to work with each client
individually that fits their needs. And that's what I always
tell my agents that you have to learn about their culture,
what's important to them and their family, and that's how
you're able to help them.

Speaker 3 (15:33):
That's a good point too, because a real estate professional
in Nebraska, California, New York City all have to have
certain tools and being able to navigate the cultural differences
and to be able to work with and please exceed
expectations for the various groups here in Houston. That's an
extra set of expertise that you all have.

Speaker 7 (15:55):
Yeah, correct, Yeah, So.

Speaker 3 (15:56):
As far as right now geographically, when you're helping buyers
at the last twenty transactions are so stacy. Where have
you been the most?

Speaker 7 (16:05):
I've been the most in Katie and West u and
then we also focus in Sugarland as well. So those
are the three locations, and also the Heights because I
have newer agents, so they're tech savvy, they're very social
media driven, so a lot of our clienteles come from

(16:26):
social media as well.

Speaker 3 (16:27):
Give us an idea, what's happened. I haven't heard about
the Heights. We haven't talked about that in a while.
What are you hearing from your agents about the Heights?

Speaker 7 (16:33):
So the Heights have a lot of newer, smaller developments
and little pockets here and there. Obviously we know the
big Heights that's already been over developed and full, and
so now we're hearing about just where the art district
and closer to Tsu, that area that's not considered the Heights,

(16:55):
but it's the up and coming area that a lot
of young professionals are our move into. And so those
are the areas that my agents are focusing on us.

Speaker 3 (17:05):
And as you mentioned the Vietnamese community, you speak Vietnamese
as well, right.

Speaker 7 (17:10):
Yes, correct, Yes, I speak it fluently.

Speaker 3 (17:13):
Two languages, English and Vietnamese.

Speaker 7 (17:15):
In English and Vietnamese, yes, And I can.

Speaker 3 (17:17):
Be silent in seven languages. Insane, No one cares.

Speaker 4 (17:21):
But that's it.

Speaker 8 (17:22):
That's it.

Speaker 3 (17:24):
So that's it. As far as the marketplace right now,
you mentioned Katie, and I'm hearing Katie's doing pretty good.
What about sugar Land, how are things there?

Speaker 7 (17:33):
So sugar Land has always been a place where families
go to buy homes that have established school district, very
beautiful like established mature subdivisions, so that area. I think
sugar Land will always be a great area for families
that are looking for that family feeling, but also be

(17:55):
near a lot of shopping centers and just a lot
of eateries and sugar Land. I guess now with all
the big developments, they're kind of trickling into Richmond, Texas
as well, And that's not too far from sugar Land,
maybe five ten minutes strive and so I don't see
sugar Land going anywhere anytime soon. That's a great area

(18:17):
to live in. And the taxes are low and the
schools are great.

Speaker 3 (18:20):
So are they lower in sugar Land?

Speaker 7 (18:22):
The taxes in certain parts of Sugarland the taxes are
about two point one one point eight sometimes.

Speaker 4 (18:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (18:29):
Well, let's tell people also, as you are the president,
Madam President, tell us about the Asian American Real Estate
Association and what you're doing there and what it's all about.

Speaker 7 (18:39):
ARIA is a nonprofit organization. We our focus is being
the liaison between professional real estate agents and professionals and
building that bridge between the general public and also businesses
around the Houston realestate I guess the Houston real estate community.

(19:05):
To help the community understand the transactions better to get
more understanding of where the real estate agents, what learning
they're getting from HAAR. And we also partner with local
nonprofit organizations such as Kids Meals to provide meals for

(19:28):
kids who otherwise wouldn't have meals if they didn't go
to school. And then we also work with Home Depot
to provide tools for veterans. And so all of our
profits from memberships and galas, that all goes into helping
better the community in Houston.

Speaker 3 (19:46):
And is this an organization where you meet on a
regular occasion or regular basis? How does that work?

Speaker 7 (19:53):
Yes, So we have bi monthly lunches that provides learning
for the professionals, and we have speak is coming from
h a R commercial side and also the residential side.
We also have CE classes that help other agents better
themselves by through learning and networking. And then we also

(20:14):
have the Spring Gala that we host every year and
that brings out about, Oh my goodness, at least a
thousand people.

Speaker 3 (20:22):
I think I've seen posts on Facebook of that. It
looks like I want to go next year.

Speaker 7 (20:26):
Yes, it's going to be awesome.

Speaker 3 (20:27):
I want to go to one of your meetings and
every two months.

Speaker 7 (20:29):
Every two months.

Speaker 3 (20:30):
Okay, I was going to say, sorry, it might come
just for the lunch someone. So if some do you
have a website so people can see the events.

Speaker 7 (20:38):
For this association A A R E A Houston dot com.

Speaker 3 (20:44):
That's a A R E.

Speaker 7 (20:45):
A Houston dot com.

Speaker 3 (20:48):
Okay, so that's going to be put that on people's radar.
Now as far as if someone wants to become a
part and join the organization, can anybody join or you
have to be real estate profession No.

Speaker 7 (21:00):
We welcome everyone and it's very multicultural. We come from
all backgrounds and then you're free to join. It's one
hundred and twenty five dollars for real estate agents, but
it's one hundred and seventy five dollars for affiliate and
that gives you a year of membership.

Speaker 3 (21:21):
So if someone maybe owns a business, restaurant, whatever, they
can join us.

Speaker 7 (21:25):
All welcome.

Speaker 3 (21:26):
So that's a great community and it's good that you're
doing things to help the community here in Houston, Texas.

Speaker 7 (21:32):
Absolutely awesome.

Speaker 3 (21:33):
Yet what's coming up that's exciting maybe in your next
meeting is that next month or the month after.

Speaker 7 (21:38):
We actually have a luncheon coming up this coming Tuesday
and we're working with Precinct four to bring out professionals
in Precinct four to give us just updates regarding what's
going on around Houston. Also just safety features, because I
know a lot of people have been concerned about all
the crimes that we've been seeing, and so we're having

(22:01):
a panel of professionals to tell us about what's being done,
what's updated in Houston.

Speaker 3 (22:08):
Situational awareness is always so important for everybody of every
age in every city, but certainly right here in Houston.
We're talking with Stacy Wynn. Her company is Stacy and Co.
And she is the president of the American of the
Asian American Real Estate Association. Stacy, before we close the segment,
what else do you want people to know about real

(22:28):
estate or anything else?

Speaker 7 (22:30):
I would just say that in Houston, we are so
blessed to have such a diverse city and just to
have that opportunity to meet so many people and to
learn from so many culturals that real estate it's just
a very small part of Houston, but I would love

(22:50):
for people to know that we're just friendly and kind
people in Houston. And you know, being in real estate
for so long, I've met so many people that you
learned from, and so I hope people come with an
open mind because it's a great place to live.

Speaker 3 (23:07):
Well as far as your entrance to real estate, what
was it about real estate where you sit? Because you
could be doing a lot of different things, but somewhere
along the way you said I want to be in
the real estate profession. What was the motivation you know?

Speaker 4 (23:21):
That was?

Speaker 7 (23:22):
That's a funny story. So I was a banker for
Wells Fargo and my mom had contracted to buy a
town home and the realtor was supposed to help her
because he understood the language, ended up selling a condo
that was worth thirty thousand with an h a way
of five hundred a month. And I just thought, I
wonder how many other people who are have language barriers,

(23:45):
who do not know what's going on, who've seeked a
professional and ended up being in a situation that she was.
And that totally changed my mind and said I need
to do this because if I can help one person,
and if that one person can help another person, or
if I can mentor someone that would do the right thing,
then that trickles down to a lot of people who

(24:08):
are getting the right help.

Speaker 3 (24:10):
Way to go, Stacey, and thank you. Let's tell people
how they can reach you, Stacy Win.

Speaker 7 (24:16):
Okay, my number is eight three to two seven four
one zero nine eight five, and it's Stacyanco dot com.
It's eight three to two seven four to one zero
nine eight five.

Speaker 3 (24:28):
Stacy. Thanks for being with us, Thank you for having me.
As we continue, let's talk to Vladimir Victoria. His company
is called Realty of America. Vlad, welcome to the show.

Speaker 8 (24:39):
Pleasure being here, Bill, Well, here we are.

Speaker 3 (24:41):
Your company, Realty of America. Let's tell people what your
company does and geographically kind of where you're you're doing it.

Speaker 8 (24:47):
Yeah, real too America. We just joined them.

Speaker 9 (24:49):
We moved from exp Realty to Realty in America about
six months ago. We are located in Pasadena. We have
offices all across Houston right now. Roads Human America is
about twenty eight agents, twenty eight hundred agents nationwide, and
Texas being pretty much the forefront of that. We run
extra point acquisitions. We are an investor friendly company and

(25:13):
we've been able to do a lot for the investor
community within our office.

Speaker 3 (25:18):
And as far as you mentioned Pasadena, just listening outside
of Houston. We're talking about Pasadena, Texas a big differentina California.
But that said, we haven't what's the market like. Have
you been doing some transactions there lately, and what's the
market like in Pasadena?

Speaker 8 (25:33):
So we are with us being in Pasadena.

Speaker 9 (25:35):
We have a lot of communities within the refineries, oil
refineries communities within that we've located. Pasadena has three major
cities right there along I twenty five are twenty five
my apologies, and we have Pasadena Deer Park, Laporte ranging
all the way down within that community. It's it's always active,

(25:57):
a lot of people coming in and out of the
whole community. Fast forward are going down forty five, you
have Clear Lake and then going past that you have
the water District, Huma, Taylor Lakes, all those communities as well,
and so it's active right now, very active, yes, sir,
any given time within the southeast area, we'll have thirty
thirty to forty listings at any given time, and we're

(26:18):
happy we have a lot out there.

Speaker 3 (26:19):
Would it be safe to say though the environment, the
refinery and the jobs there are creating a lot of
the real estate action, I wouldn't. Necessarily, it's not based
on the school time of year and that sort of thing.
I'm guessing, yes, sir.

Speaker 9 (26:34):
Yeah, the refineries bring a lot of work, a lot
of jobs, a lot of housing towards that community.

Speaker 3 (26:40):
How's the refinery business right now?

Speaker 8 (26:41):
Must be good, it must be yeah, one d percent,
it must be so.

Speaker 3 (26:44):
As far as if someone is selling a home, let's
take again the Pasadena area. Yeah, let's say a nice neighborhood, Yes,
the Pasadena How long does it take to sell a
home in Pasadena these days? Which is average?

Speaker 10 (26:55):
Yeah?

Speaker 9 (26:55):
House? Is that a priced right? They're selling within average
turnaround times about forty five days contract to closing. We've
especially in the Deer Park area. Deer Park area, price right,
price correctly. We're going under contract within our first fourteen
days on market.

Speaker 3 (27:12):
It's got to be priced right, right, Vlad, Yes, sir,
cure where it is.

Speaker 8 (27:15):
No, it has to be priced right.

Speaker 3 (27:17):
Yeah, it has to look good. Price it right now.
Let's tell people as far as you have this investment
arm or your company, it's called Astro Point Acquisitions.

Speaker 9 (27:25):
Yes, sir, we run Astro Point Acquisitions and one of
the co owners, me and Michael Morgan, we own that
within Astra Point Acquisitions. We really we take pride in
all of our listings. We go into a four step
option for the listing routes. We offer from cash to
creative finance, to an equity listing all the way down
to a traditional listing, and we give our sellers a

(27:47):
four different options in order to sell the house. So
we can come in and be that standpoint for before
they go to let's say, an open door or a
big box, big box cash company that they find on
Google and stuff like that. We can explain to them
the difference of working with a local professional rather than
working for a company that's not based in Houston, Texas.

(28:08):
And we're able to pretty much explain to them the
way that we work versus other companies and then help
them out with just any different options that they're looking
for at the moment.

Speaker 3 (28:18):
So that sounds pretty nice. How do you balance the
work between the two companies? I guess they lend them,
so it's harmonious already, I suppose, right exactly.

Speaker 8 (28:26):
Yes, sir.

Speaker 9 (28:26):
So with then the two it's just strictly what does
the client have that we can offer them? So, do
they have a distressed property, do they have a situation,
is there maybe a death in the family, Do they
need to sell quickly, is there a quick job location,
or if none of those are the factor, cool, let's
go ahead and let's toss it on the traditional market
and go that route. And it's pretty much what's the

(28:49):
big situation? Are we trading time for money or money
for time? It's a huge teater tatter effect.

Speaker 3 (28:54):
And when you met, I'm glad you mentioned distressed properties
because I think as people drive around. Note when I'm
driving around and I see a home that's obviously in
some kind of distress, maybe vacant, maybe not even vacant,
but just not taking care of on the outside exactly,
then you say, wow, if it looks as bad on
the outside, inside can't be too nice either. So but

(29:16):
you wonder when you when we see these properties, how
do they get sold? And that's what you're.

Speaker 8 (29:21):
Yes, that's what we come to play.

Speaker 9 (29:23):
We come into play we actually find these sellers that
you know, sometimes there's situations where sellers don't know they
own this property. For maybe an air situation. They don't
know that this property is here, they don't know how
bad it is. Maybe there is some type of situation
where they just need to get out, They need to
get out.

Speaker 8 (29:43):
They need to get out pretty quick.

Speaker 9 (29:46):
It's really just the main thing on motivation, what they have,
What's what do we have to offer?

Speaker 3 (29:51):
So right now, if there's someone that has a distressed
property or just doesn't want to make it look nice
for whatever reason, you might be the guys to call.

Speaker 9 (30:00):
Yeah, we're the guys to call. We've been doing this
going on about six years now. We help out probably
about seventy five to one hundred different homeowners a year,
strictly go that cash option. Outside of that, if it
is a listing that you know is more of a
NICER's listing and doesn't need any work, we're always going
to recommend let's go ahead and get your top dollar
and go on the open market and go that route.

Speaker 3 (30:20):
So it's kind of interesting. You're you're not just helping
distress brought You're doing all the above, sir, And that
spectrum or your menu sounds like it's a nice offering
to help a lot of people.

Speaker 8 (30:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (30:30):
In my office, in my office that we run that
I own and operate out of, I have eighteen agents
that are in there, and about five of them are
strictly focused on investment helping and buying only four investment
properties if that's distressed, or maybe they're selling distressed properties
to our investors. We only have about five agents in
that realm. And then the others are traditional listing agents

(30:51):
or traditional buyer agents and they're helping traditional stuff on
the open market. How does that need work? Maybe we
have someone relocating from another city coming into Houston. Maybe
whatever type of work they have going on, We're just
focused on that.

Speaker 3 (31:06):
Do you see investors from other areas, other states that
want to buy They say, hey, we want to fix
that up ourselves. But what do you have? That's all
the stress exactly.

Speaker 8 (31:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (31:16):
So we have a couple of investors right now that
already have multi million dollar portfolios in other states that
are coming down looking to regrow that same portfolio.

Speaker 8 (31:25):
On the way here.

Speaker 9 (31:26):
I had a phone call from one of my investors
that we have, and he has an he has one
hundred and fifty house portfolio in Ohio and he's looking
to parciprocate the same exact turn that he has down
in Houston.

Speaker 8 (31:40):
So, Houston's a hot market.

Speaker 3 (31:42):
It's connected to everything, it seems it is.

Speaker 8 (31:45):
Yeah, yeah, it is.

Speaker 3 (31:46):
So as far as the investor, where are they coming
from these outside investors. We know about California.

Speaker 9 (31:53):
Yeah, California a big one. California is a big one.
We've seen some people from New York, Florida. Florida's a
big one. They're coming from everywhere pretty much. Main thing
California though.

Speaker 3 (32:02):
And usually are they cash.

Speaker 8 (32:03):
Yeah, majority of their cashual hard money.

Speaker 3 (32:05):
See. I think it's as we look at and hear
so much about rach Yeah, we're here, they're dropping a
little bit. Maybe that's going to stimulate things. Maybe it
already has. However, I think in the last couple of years,
the people with cash have have been having some fun
and they're poised to accelerate a little bit more leverage. Yeah,
cash cash buyers have a lot leverage compared to traditional financing.

(32:27):
That's fascinating. So give us an idea. What are some
of the other things we should know?

Speaker 9 (32:31):
Lad Within the community, we're able to just help out
a lot of different options. If you're looking to sell
your house, before talking to anyone else, reach out to us.
We can help you out with different options.

Speaker 3 (32:44):
What about first time home buyers you do work there.

Speaker 9 (32:47):
Yeah, first time home buyers are great. They there's a
lot of downpayment assistants right now, grants out there. We
have great lenders that we work with that specialize with
that can help us out with that.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
So let's say, right now, Vlad, there's someone out there
that never bought a home before and they hear this broadcast,
and what would you tell them that they need to
know as a first time home buyer. What's some of
the most important bullet points where they could say, you know,
we weren't really thinking about maybe we should buy a home.

Speaker 8 (33:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (33:14):
The best thing is there's a lot of new construction
coming around, especially with the development of a ninety nine freeway.
We have been noticing a lot of people are moving
out of the cities and going towards Dayton area, and
they have soon. Dayton is right outside of the Baytown area.
It's probably about forty five minutes from downtown Houston, and

(33:35):
it's blowing up. There's a lot of new construction all
across the city that we can help out new first
time buyers into getting first time buyers. They have a
lot of different options for grants, low down payment, may
maybe sell contributions, builder contributions, to a lot of different
options at the moment, And.

Speaker 3 (33:53):
Yeah, I think you have an advantage too, Vlad. You
have a great name. People could remember, yeah, Vladimir Victoria. Yes,
and they don't remember your first name, they got Victoria.
They're like, hey, I heard a guy right there. That's awesome, So.

Speaker 8 (34:06):
I appreciate that. VV Yes, sir, yeah, v G. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (34:11):
Well, Vlad. Let's tell people how they can reach you.

Speaker 9 (34:14):
You can reach me at two eight one eight three
eight nine seven five three. You can go on to
our website at astro point ACQ dot com and you
can submitch your property there if you wanted to go
ahead and sell it. And once again, my number is
two eight one eight three eight nine seven five three.

Speaker 3 (34:28):
Thanks for being with us, flat, Thank you Bill. Real
estate matters with Stewart Title would not be possible without
our partner Stewart Insurance. With a focus in real estate
and a special focus on real estate brokers, 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 he is

(34:52):
John Bramlett with Stewart Insurance, and I bet he has
another list of some kind, but I could be wrong.
Welcome John, Well, thank you, Bill.

Speaker 11 (34:59):
I We're gonna we're gonna take a break from our
lists this week and just to remind people a little
bit about us and what we do. We have a
relatively new offering that we make available to the real
estate firms that we work with, you know, real estate
brokers and title independent title and attorney agents. But it's

(35:20):
an insurance plan assessment. What we would do would sit
down or over the phone or Microsoft Teams or zoom
with with a real estate business and we would take
a look at the policies that they have so between
the experience that our advisors have accept some technology that
we have available to us, will provide an analysis of

(35:43):
their different insurance plans. So if they you know, they
just have Arizon emissions, or maybe they have Aerson emissions,
general liability and cyber liability as an example, we'll do
an analysis of all of them and then come back
and let them know, you know, is it you know,
are there areas where there could be a bit of
an concerned you know, or you know, is the are

(36:03):
the policies and the coverage excellent or are there gaps
that that could be a significant concern and share with
them that because we feel like that it is critical
that folks are properly ensured and they understand the coverages
that they do, then they don't have so when life happens,
because it's going to happen, that they can get back
to normal as quickly as possible. So it's something new,

(36:25):
it's relatively new. Yes, we've been doing it for a
few months now and it's been very much well received
that it's a you know, we come back with a
you know, a very formal presentation. The folks we're working
with can get a feel for just that that you know,
in this in this portion of your coverage, it can
be extremely solid, but there may be some gaps. We've

(36:49):
you know, we worked with a law firm recently that
does majority of their work on real estate and their
areas in missions. Policy was a good policy, but it
was very generic and it wasn't specific to the real
estate work that they did, and we were able to
find them one where the language was such and the

(37:09):
intent was such that was very specific about what they
were and we're not covering, so it eliminates any particulars
of the you know, he said, she said it eliminates
any confusion or maybe fogginess of the policy that it's
very specific. So you know, we were able to do that,
you know, for that law firm, and then we've also

(37:31):
had real estate business clients, is where we see some
very significant gaps in coverage and we're able to point
out what those were and then at least that allows
the firm then to make a decision on if that's
a concern, then we can help them solve that problem.
If it's not a concern, then at least they understand
that there's a gap in their coverage that they just

(37:51):
need to be aware of it.

Speaker 3 (37:53):
Well and kind of a little bit behind the scenes,
these kind of innovations are not unusual. When you're led
by Tom Carpenter and all the people on your team,
you're always thinking of innovations and ways to improve the
customer service experience and also how to always add more value.

Speaker 11 (38:10):
Well, we truly believe that the you know, we feel
like our language kind of demonstrates who we are. So
we have clients and not customers. You know, customers tends
to be very much of a transactional aspect. Working with
a client's much more a relationship aspect, You're working with
an advisor, not an agent, So we're not solely out
there to sell you a policy if if it makes sense,

(38:32):
we would love to be able to do that, but
our advisors are going to find out first and foremost
what's important for you. So we're building plans versus just
selling policy. So whether it be one specific policy or
several that could come together, you know, we're going to
build something based upon what your needs are at this
point in your life, whether you be a real estate
business or an individual or family. You know that's those

(38:54):
are kind of the drivers that we have to make
sure that, again, people are properly insured. All that means is,
at this point in your life, whether it's your business
life or your personal life, the coverage you have meets
the needs that you have, and you understand what the
coverage provides, and you understand what the coverage doesn't provide,
and you're comfortable with both.

Speaker 3 (39:13):
Well, certainly you're helping real estate brokers all around Houston,
but are you using that are you helping those outside
of Houston with this approach?

Speaker 11 (39:20):
Yes, So we've worked with real estate firms all over
the country with the insurance plan assessment that's pretty awesome, John, Yeah,
it's been. It's been a lot of fun and we're
seeing some really good responses from it. You know, we
believe very strongly in the idea of needing to give
to get that. You know, we've got to demonstrate and

(39:41):
show value and then we've earned the right to ask
for somebody's business. But before we have the right to
ask for their business, we've got to earn that right,
and this is one of the ways that we can
do that.

Speaker 3 (39:51):
I think one of the other dynamics I'm thinking about
right now. One of the things that this show, I believe,
among many things that this show provides is in world
as you're reaching out to the brokers here in Houston,
beyond other states, other cities. I think it's fascinating as
we get to learn how the markets are different, what
their challenges are, and I don't know sulf for Oklahoma,

(40:14):
Hot Springs, Arkansas, and New York City, the challenges are different,
and that's going to be fascinating and it enables us
as we learn whatever our role is, it enables us
to do our job better whatever it is.

Speaker 11 (40:26):
You're exactly right. I mean, there are different parts of
the country have different needs and specifications, and some are
just driven by the market and some are driven by
you know, governmentally that you know, in certain parts of
the country there are going to be certain bonds that
potentially could be required or certain levels of coverage that
can be required, So understanding that can be critical, but

(40:49):
also then understanding kind of what the market needs. We're
working with a specific division within the real estate world
right now and pulling together some professional liability coverage that industry.
And one of the things that we found was there
they're basically two hats that these individuals wear, and one

(41:09):
of them was really covered very well and one of
them wasn't. And the other is the coverage is that
they did have the liveility limits, didn't meet the requirements
of the title companies that they were working with. So
we've been able to find them coverage that coverage both hats,
so both of their both responsibilities, but also have the
liability limits that many of the title companies require, but

(41:33):
at a premium that's still going to be affordable.

Speaker 3 (41:36):
Fascinating, John, What else should we know?

Speaker 11 (41:38):
Well, if you'd like to be properly insured, whether it
be your individual insurance or your family insurance, or from
a business perspective, we'd love that opportunity, and you can
reach us at eight sixty six seven ninety 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

(41:59):
Insurance Stewart dot com.

Speaker 3 (42:01):
You know, John, I was on the walking Trail the
other morning and someone recognized me from the YouTube video.
He said, I too want to be properly insured. What
number should I call?

Speaker 11 (42:09):
The walking Trail? Number is eight six six seven ninety
eight two eight two seven, one more time, just for
the fun. Eight six six seven nine eight two eight
two seven, John, thanks for being with us.

Speaker 8 (42:19):
Always a pleasure. Bill.

Speaker 3 (42:21):
Well, we always like when members of our Stewart team
right here, especially in Houston. We have Mike Snyder joining
us once again as he leads the charge here for
sales in Houston. Mike, welcome back.

Speaker 12 (42:32):
Well, thank you, Bill, it's good to be here.

Speaker 3 (42:33):
Well, you always bring great stuff, So let's turn your
mind today.

Speaker 12 (42:36):
I try so. Today we talked a lot about international business,
and I just wanted to say that's that's something Stuart.
I mean, we're very we are very well set up
to close international transactions. So we have we have ESCRO
officers that speak multiple languages, if that ever helps anyone
in your party, and and we're always looking for ESCRO

(42:57):
officers that have language skills. Would love to have somebody
that can close transactions, for example in Arabic or Hindi,
that would be great. But yeah, bring those international transactions
to Stuart title.

Speaker 3 (43:11):
It's interesting. At one time, not that long ago, we
had someone that spoke Russian and Ukrainian, Yeah, one other offices.
That's amazing.

Speaker 12 (43:19):
Yeah, yeah, that is and you speak one of those languages,
give me a call you for we got a market
for you.

Speaker 3 (43:25):
That's very possible. And of course many people don't know
Stuart is an international company. We're traded on the Stock
Exchange as STC and we are an international company in
certain countries and yeah all around.

Speaker 12 (43:37):
Yeah, absolutely, and we'll help you with through all those
transactions like FIRFTA and some of the new Senate bills,
the Texas bills help you kind of navigate those waters
a little bit and just help you get those international
transactions closed.

Speaker 3 (43:50):
And Mike, if someone wants to know anything about sales
in Houston or needs a great one of our business
development people and they want to reach out to you
to know more. What's the number.

Speaker 12 (44:01):
Two six one zero four seven to two. That number
again is seven to one three two six one zero
four seven to two.

Speaker 3 (44:09):
Mike, nice to see again. Thanks for being with us
and speaking of great business development people. Here he is.
He brought Stacey Wynn on the show. Kevin Davidson from
the sugar Land and Fort ben office. Welcome back, Kevin,
Thank you, Bill, Well here you are. What else should
we know? Kevin?

Speaker 10 (44:27):
Uh, Well, real quick, if you guys don't know yet,
my sugar Land office, which was in the location it
was in for over twenty years, just recently moved about
a month maybe five weeks ago. Wow, we didn't move
very far. We're only like a blockdown for where we were.
But now we're at one Sugar Creek Center Boulevard in
the co America building on the corner of Derry, Ashford

(44:48):
in fifty nine.

Speaker 3 (44:49):
So easy to get to, easy on, easy.

Speaker 10 (44:51):
Off, Easy on, easy off, it's right on the corner.

Speaker 3 (44:54):
Five weeks so right about now you're settled in pretty nicely.

Speaker 10 (44:57):
I'm guessing I haven't really been there a whole lot.
But yeah, we're settled in and so, yeah.

Speaker 3 (45:04):
Well you are helping the real estate community certainly very
well in sugar Land and Fort Ben. Kevin. Let's tell
people how they can reach you if they want, and
someone wants to sit down with you learn about the
marketing aspects or anything else. And of course they want
to bring their contracts to those two offices for sure.

Speaker 6 (45:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 10 (45:21):
So I represent the Stewart Title Sergland and the Richmond office,
and I can be reached at eight three two six
five four zero five two seven. It's eight three two
sixty five four zero five two seven.

Speaker 3 (45:33):
Nice to see again. Thanks for being with us, Kevin Davidson.
And they are back, Sherry McNabb and Jonathan McNabb. They
are with Nest Ahead. Welcome back Sherry and Jonathan.

Speaker 4 (45:49):
Thank you, Bill, thank you so much.

Speaker 3 (45:51):
All Right, as we close the show, guys, what else
should we know? We'll start with Jonathan, So.

Speaker 5 (45:55):
I would say if we have agents that speak multiple
languages with so we also have agents that are fluent
in Spanish, Vietnamese and Mandarin, and so if you would
like somebody to have know your native language, please give
us a call.

Speaker 3 (46:12):
Three of my favorite cuisines. I'm really hungry about them.
A mandarin. Okay, that sounds awesome too. So Sherry, what
else should we know?

Speaker 6 (46:22):
So I would just like to add about our buyer
consultation that we do. Take about an hour and a
half for every buyer consultation that we have to go
over the entire process from A to Z.

Speaker 3 (46:33):
Sounds like a very thorough session.

Speaker 6 (46:35):
It most definitely is. So we really want to get
to know the buyers really well and we want to
know what their circumstances are. So it is definitely more
of us asking the questions on the front end to
get to know. It's a lot more in depth than
just you know, what is your budget and how much do.

Speaker 4 (46:58):
You want to work?

Speaker 3 (47:00):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (47:00):
Right, So we we try to really drill down to
get to know everything about them so that the better,
the better idea we have, the more the more accurate
we can be with our you know, recommendations and and
things like that.

Speaker 3 (47:15):
And Sherry McNab, how can people reach you?

Speaker 6 (47:18):
Seven one three six, three two four two seven six
Again that's seven one three six three two four two
seven six.

Speaker 3 (47:27):
Thanks for being with us, guys, Thank you so much.

Speaker 4 (47:29):
Appreciding me so much.

Speaker 3 (47:31):
And now we welcome back Stacy Win. Her company is
Stacy and Co. And she is the president again of
the Asian American Real Estate Association. Stacy, welcome back.

Speaker 7 (47:45):
Thank you for having me back. Thank you Bill.

Speaker 3 (47:48):
So give us a note. What are some of the
duties of the president of your organization? Just just when
you flip the hat from helping buyers and sellers from
Stacy and Co. And then you put your role as
the president is what's entailed?

Speaker 7 (48:02):
So a lot of community outreach meetings and networking opportunities.
And then I also work closely with HAR and their
global advisory group and we work on different events that
help educate the general public about real estate in Houston.

Speaker 3 (48:23):
Well, even being connected with HAR that's a whole other
thing too, because they're involved in so many things. But
as a practical matter, you seem very organized, very successful.
What are some of the tips that you would give
in general to someone just to handle so much being
a real estate broker an agent is one thing, a
lot of responsibility and then leading an organization, how do

(48:44):
you do it? From a time management personal note.

Speaker 7 (48:48):
I think I live on my phone and my calendar,
event calendar, but also finding a good balance between professional
developments and also personal developments. I also have three boys,
and so between three yes, twins that are nine and
the baby is eight. So you know, just kind of

(49:11):
balancing everything and doing everything one hundred percent is how
you balance it.

Speaker 3 (49:17):
And you have twins. Yes, you could write a book
on so many things. I'm thinking right there.

Speaker 7 (49:21):
Yeah, so in real estate it's easy out there having
three boys.

Speaker 3 (49:24):
It's like being a marine and coming into like, hey,
what are you going to show me?

Speaker 6 (49:28):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (49:28):
That, but the twins that has to be fascinating.

Speaker 4 (49:30):
Yes, I have.

Speaker 7 (49:31):
Irish triplets because my third one is very close to it.

Speaker 3 (49:35):
That's wild. So do any of the boys right now
have any inspiration aspirations to real estate? Or they say, hey, mom,
you know it looks like it's interesting what you do?
Maybe do they you.

Speaker 7 (49:45):
Know, they asked me do you work for a living,
because they're like, you're always looking at pretty houses and
going to meetings for aara And I said, yes, I
do work for a living. I mean, how do you
think you know? I pay for your basketball, your football classes,
and and so, yes, they like seeing houses. They've done
a few open houses with me because they got to
earn their serial money somehow right, so awesome?

Speaker 3 (50:08):
Well, Stacy, let's tell people how they can reach you.

Speaker 7 (50:11):
Yes, my number is eight three two seven four one
zero nine eighty five, and my website is Stacyanco dot
com eight three two seven four one zero nine eight five.

Speaker 3 (50:22):
You want to say hot to these three boys, I
bet they're listening.

Speaker 7 (50:24):
I guess Hi, Bryceton, Brenda and Brentland.

Speaker 3 (50:27):
There are study hard fellas. Thanks for being with us, Stacy,
and he's back. Vladimir Victoria Vlad welcome back almost rhymes,
but it doesn't so that Vlad. What else should we
know here? What do you want to tell people?

Speaker 8 (50:40):
Yeah?

Speaker 9 (50:41):
We really just want to tell people that if they
want some different options, if they are selling says Mark
and want some different options, reach out to me.

Speaker 8 (50:48):
We can help you out.

Speaker 9 (50:49):
And if you are an investor in Stay's market and
you are looking for your next project, reach out to me.

Speaker 8 (50:54):
We'll also help you out.

Speaker 3 (50:56):
When you're helping investors. It's interesting that you mentioned the
the investor has things in Ohio and also Texas. It
sounds like certain investors don't put all their real estate
money in one geography.

Speaker 8 (51:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (51:10):
That do you see a lot of that as we.

Speaker 9 (51:12):
With a lot of our big box investors, with the
ones that have a major, major, massive portfolios. Yeah, they're
always looking to expand, especially whenever they're looking for the
next move.

Speaker 3 (51:22):
And also the other other thing that strikes me, look
at what you're getting to learn as far as broadening
your own knowledge for to be able to help buyers
and sellers, but also to help yourself as you learn
about real estate and investing.

Speaker 8 (51:33):
Yes, sir, one hundred percent.

Speaker 10 (51:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (51:35):
With a lot of the agents that work with us,
we teach them how to become an investor themselves, because
one day in real estate, you know, there's always that
retirement has to come up, and if you don't set
it up now, you're going to be working in real
estate forever. So by the real estate, we'll deal with
everything else later and we'll figure out how to create
these portfolios.

Speaker 3 (51:54):
If someone's out there thinking, a lot of people do
I think on a regular basis, Oh, I want to
invest in real estate and some ways or in a hout,
whatever it may be. But what is one tip that
you would give someone if they want to invest in
any of the categories of real estate? Is there one
thing that we should know or two things. What would
you say?

Speaker 9 (52:14):
One thing that we should know is buy it at
the number that we talked about. Consult your real estate professional.
Consult your real estate professional. They'll help you out. They'll
help you find the numbers that you need to get
it at. Don't overpay for a property if you don't
need to.

Speaker 8 (52:28):
And emotion.

Speaker 9 (52:29):
Emotion is a huge aspect when people are buying real estate,
is especially for investment purpose purposes. They get emotional with
the property. No emotions in real estate. This is an investment. Happens,
and it comes up, and it goes down, and we
all deal with it whatever happens.

Speaker 3 (52:46):
So don't be emotional. I think you're saying, don't be emotional.

Speaker 8 (52:48):
Don't be emotionally mister Spock.

Speaker 3 (52:50):
It's this awesome, yes, sir, Glad, let's tell people how
to reach you it greet.

Speaker 9 (52:55):
Me at two eight one eight three, eight nine seven
five three Again that's two eight one eight three, eight
nine seven five three.

Speaker 3 (53:03):
Thank you, lad, and thank you all for listening to
real Estate Matters with Stewart Title. I am your host
Bill Knappek together with John Browmlett, all of us at
Stuart Title and Stewart Insurance. We appreciate you listening, and
I know you're saying, Hey, I want to see the show.
I know you make a video. Simply go to Stewart
dot com Forward slash Radio. That's Stuart dot com Forward

(53:25):
slash Radio. There you'll find the show, this show that's recorded.
You'll see the video of all the great guests. In fact,
you'll also access the show archives going back to hundreds
of shows at Stuart dot com Forward slash Radio. Thanks
for listening. We'll see you next week.

Speaker 2 (53:42):
Stay matter ever.

Speaker 6 (53:51):
Real State.

Speaker 8 (53:53):
Streaming nationwise only.

Speaker 3 (54:00):
On the conversation. It's a real estate man