TREC Commissioner Speaks

Hear from one of TREC’s Commissioners & other great stuff!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In listings. I mean, we have the highest amount of
listings we've had in many, many years right now in Houston,
and so I think it's certainly becoming a level playing
field for buyers and sellers.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
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 3 (00:28):
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 Steare Title, Stearare Titles, Bill Nabik
and guests open the door to what really matters in owning, buying,
and selling real estate. And now Real Estate Matters with
Steward Title, brought to you by Stuart Insurance. Here to inform,

(00:52):
entertain and inspire. Bill Neviik, Welcome to the show. It
is Real Estate Matters with Stuart Title. I'm your host, Bill,
but thank you for joining us here. It is show
number five hundred and eighty and we're glad that you
joined us. As always, you can go to Stuart dot
Com Forward Slash Radio. That's right, Stuart dot Com Forward

(01:14):
Slash Radio. Just in case you want to see the
show or go to the show archives, it's very simple,
Stuart dot Com, Forward Slash Radio, or even on YouTube,
simply go to Radio.

Speaker 4 (01:27):
Bill. Let's get down to business as we welcome Leslie Lerner.
Leslie Lerner is a Trek Texas Real Estate Commission Commissioner.
She has a brokerage, Leslie Learner Properties, and something called
learn More. So let's learn more with Leslie Lerner. Hey, Leslie,

(01:48):
welcome to the show.

Speaker 5 (01:49):
Hi, Bill, thanks for having me.

Speaker 4 (01:50):
So we're gonna learn more, right, I guess so. So
first of all, Leslie, let's talk about Trek. Is let's
tell people, in case they're listening from out of state,
every time things governed in real estate. And let's tell
people the role of Trek and then your role what
you do with Trek.

Speaker 5 (02:06):
The Texas Real Estate Commission is a regulatory agency for
the state of Texas. We license individuals and corporations or businesses.
We also regulate, meaning if you get a complaint or
if something's gone wrong, we take that case into our
enforcement division and decide what to do. With that licensee

(02:30):
in the situation. We also work with our legislature to
enforce the laws that they make. We also work with
Texas realtors to help author laws for our legislature to
vote on.

Speaker 4 (02:47):
And let's give people an idea in terms of the
numbers of realtors that there are in Houston. First of all,
there's a lot of realtors in Houston, but not even
not to mention the state of Texas, of where this
body is governing.

Speaker 5 (03:01):
We have over two hundred thousand licensees I believe.

Speaker 4 (03:05):
In Texas, yes, and then Houston there's like I hear
numbers at least in har there's like forty.

Speaker 5 (03:12):
Plus thousand something around there.

Speaker 4 (03:13):
Yes, realtors are everywhere.

Speaker 5 (03:15):
They are everywhere.

Speaker 4 (03:16):
They're to help buyers and sellers all over this large state.
So what are the issues or anything new that's in
the real for realtors to know that as they're listening
about what's happening with Trek and some of the things
that they need to be more aware of now than
maybe six months ago.

Speaker 5 (03:32):
You just actually said something that kind of triggered me.
You said that there are so many realtors in the
state of Texas and Houston alone, and that is a
I don't want to call it an issue, but that
is a true fact, and it makes it really hard
sometimes to know a good agent from a bad agent.
And when you said that, I was like, let's discuss

(03:52):
that you really need to interview an agent. And there's
also a new law that passed due to all of
the legislation with the National Association of Realtors, and it's
saying that you have to sign a showing agreement with
an agent prior to ever working with that agent. And
that doesn't mean it's a buyer's representation form. Texas has

(04:16):
had a buyer's representation form for a long time, but
it was not required by TREK. Now it is required
to have a showing agreement and to have a buyer's
representation agreement signed before presenting an offer, So that's showing agreement.
In the written legislation that was just passed says a

(04:36):
showing agreement cannot be more than fourteen days. But you
also are not providing any sort of brokerage services with
that showing agreement. You can only give factual information. So
people need to be aware that things are changing and
there are new forms to be signed, but you do
not have to be obligated to one agent through a

(05:00):
a buyer's representation form until you are writing an offer
on a home. Would you want to be obligated to
a broker, Yes, after you've interviewed them and understand that
they have the knowledge and expertise you need, because that
broker can then give you more than just factual information.
They can provide you with their opinionated knowledge. So that

(05:23):
just passed in our legislative session.

Speaker 4 (05:25):
And interesting, you just triggered something I'm thinking about, and
that is knowing what you know, not just as a broker,
a realtor, an entrepreneur, trek commissioner. But if you were
buying a property, say in any other state than Texas,
knowing what you know, what would be maybe three there
could be a lot. But just take two or three

(05:46):
bullet points as you would look for a realtor to
help you in that other state, what would you look for?
What's so important that we should be paramount to picking
the right real estate professional.

Speaker 5 (05:58):
I always look at experience number one, but experience doesn't
always mean that you have the knowledge you need in
the expertise to represent a client correctly. Books don't really
teach you as much as your experience. I would definitely
get referrals and ask who have they work with before

(06:19):
and see what they've done, look them up on the internet,
do whatever you can to look at testimonials, but understand
that experience isn't always it. And also geographic competency. Where
are you buying that house? In Texas, we have a
law that says you have to have geographic competency. So
if you live in Houston and you're selling in the

(06:39):
woodlands and you know nothing about the woodlands, then you're
not supposed to be working in the woodlands. You need
to find somebody else to take that listing. So you
have to make sure that these people have geographic competency,
they understand contract language and they can explain it to you,
and they're going to hold your hand throughout the whole process.
You don't want somebody that just wants a commission. You
want somebody that's going to truly work with you.

Speaker 6 (07:00):
You know.

Speaker 4 (07:01):
One of my favorite things that I like when working
with a realtor what is that that they answer the
phone yes or if they're tied up, that they call
you back quickly.

Speaker 5 (07:10):
Right.

Speaker 4 (07:11):
I think that's cool. And I say that because I've
reached out and some of my real estate interests out
out of the state, and it's amazing what happens. And
also here in Houston.

Speaker 5 (07:22):
In Texas, if you are part of a real estate transaction,
no matter what side you're on, you are supposed to
get back with a person that is involved in that
transaction within forty eight hours. If not, somebody can file
a complaint with Trek.

Speaker 4 (07:34):
And you get complaints at Treks. So you have the
heartbeat of what's happening in the industry. I do, what's
the most common complaint if there.

Speaker 5 (07:42):
Is one, I mean a lot. These days, there's a
lot of lease fraud going on, and lease fraud is rampant.
I just went to a conference that's nationwide and it's
rampant everywhere. You have people fraudulently turning in lisea is
to homeowners or two landlords, or to agents and that

(08:03):
person maybe the right name, but they'll file a fake
credit history, or they'll put somebody's name on a contract
and it's actually a different person they're putting in a house,
or they'll put a fake reference. I mean, there are
so many fraudulent things going on right now that it's
pretty scary.

Speaker 4 (08:21):
So much to know about Trek. But let's move on
to you're a broker owner of a company called Leslie
Learner Property, So let's tell people how you're helping buyers
and sellers.

Speaker 5 (08:31):
I've been in this business. I guess we just figured
this out thirty two years. I know it's a long time.
So I started a business maybe thirteen fourteen years ago
that is flat feed listings and rebated commissions. So it's
worked out really well. You're getting full service, you're just

(08:52):
not paying exorbitant commission rates.

Speaker 4 (08:56):
And in terms of geographically where you serve the buyers
and sellers been, I know you go all over, but
let's just just take the last two three months geographically,
where have you been the most.

Speaker 5 (09:07):
I've mostly been in the city and I feel like
I was just in a suburb as well. And oh
I was just in spring and I'm about to go
out to the woodlands.

Speaker 4 (09:15):
There you go. So also along the way with your knowledge, Leslie,
let's tell people about learn more. Because you came on
the show I guess about a year year and a
half before it actually took off or it was introduced
let's tell people what learn more is.

Speaker 5 (09:31):
Learn More is a contract understanding platform. You can take
any PDF of a contract you have, whether it be
a contract or a document, or a closing statement, insurance document,
electricities agreement, whatever it may be, and you uploaded into
our system and it'll produce meaning in any language you want,
paragraph by paragraph by paragraph. It's not just a summary.

(09:53):
It gives you Layman's term meaning, contextual examples, FAQ's, text
to speech, e signature, whatever you need. So in the
real estate business, how I use it is I upload
the forms and I send them to my clients for understanding.
They can go through it at their own pace. Once
they're done, it puts I can I understand and I

(10:15):
can send to sign and then they can sign it electronically.
Too many people now are just sending forms electronically and
not explaining what people are signing, and it leaves all
the parties at risk. So that's why I develop learn More.

Speaker 4 (10:30):
And let's tell people the website in case they want
to learn more.

Speaker 5 (10:33):
It's learn moore dot com. But it's a little different.
It's l E r N M O R E. So
there is no A and learn more just like my last.

Speaker 4 (10:41):
Name, reminding people that we're talking to Leslie Learner. So
the learn and all the categories you mentioned. Insurance documents,
they have so many words, real estate documents. We need
a little bit of help and simplification in these things.
Any anything legal, it's like, oh man.

Speaker 5 (10:59):
So yeah, yeah, there's a lot of legal jargon in
everything we sign and it leaves us all at risk.
And I just got something in by email today signing
off on a city permit and I'm like, I can't
sign this. It's for my HOA and you're asking me
to be libel no way. So you really have to
pay attention to what you're signing.

Speaker 4 (11:18):
Leslie. Let's tell people anything else you want them to
know about learn more Trek or your company.

Speaker 5 (11:25):
There's a lot of great things going on with Trek,
so just stay tuned. We're actually increasing the broker experience requirements.
Education requirements are saying the same. The broker experience requirements
are about to double, which I think is great, showing
that you're going to have more experienced brokers that know
how to run a brokerage and to supervise brokers. So

(11:48):
that should be coming pretty soon. I think we have
our meeting in November, and that will be finalized. We're
also doing a temporary or beefing up our temporary suspension system,
so if you are, I guess convicted of a crime
or the process will move much faster.

Speaker 4 (12:09):
So many things to know, Leslie. Let's tell people how
they can reach you, Leslie Learner.

Speaker 5 (12:14):
They can reach me at Leslie Lernerproperties dot com seven
one three four eight nine ninety nine hundred. Also learn
more dot com seven one three four eight nine ninety
nine hundred.

Speaker 4 (12:26):
And what's the trick website.

Speaker 5 (12:29):
Trek dot Texas dot CoV. It's t r ec dot
Texas dot gov.

Speaker 4 (12:35):
Sounds great, Leslie, thanks for being with us.

Speaker 5 (12:37):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (12:39):
As we continue, let's talk to Sandyharrington and Jacob Rome.
They are with the H and R Home Team. Hey guys,
welcome to the show.

Speaker 6 (12:48):
Hey bill Abel, how's it going.

Speaker 4 (12:49):
It's good to see you. So let's tell people. First
of all, Jacob, Yes, what is the H and R
Home Team.

Speaker 6 (12:56):
So it's a real estate team that me and my
mom formed whenever I got my brokerage or my real
estate license roughly five years ago. And H and our
Homes just stands for our last name. So Harrington and Rowan.
I wanted it to be RNH, but she wanted to
have the H first so she might could.

Speaker 4 (13:13):
Be the boss, correct, Christ Yeah.

Speaker 6 (13:15):
She's got a little bit of seniority on me.

Speaker 4 (13:17):
Well, and I think one of the things to bring
to people's attention right now is here on five hundred
and eighty shows. I believe this is the first that
we've had a mother and son team. So, Sandy, let's
tell people how Jacob got into the business of selling
real estate. I mean, obviously he probably see you help
buyers and sellers, but let's tell people a little bit
about how he got to be part of the team.

Speaker 7 (13:38):
Of course, Belle, so I joke when we go on
appointments and let all my clients know that although he's
got his license for five years, he's been training for
this position his whole life, from hanging door hangers to
going on appointments, listing appointments by our appointments, passing out
stuff at the ballpark. And he's just a natural with people.
So he gravitated towards real estate.

Speaker 4 (14:00):
And as you said before we started recording, you have
three other children. But it's interesting, are any other the
other kids involved? In real estate or Jacob just emerged.

Speaker 8 (14:10):
Jacob's the only one.

Speaker 4 (14:11):
How about that?

Speaker 8 (14:12):
The other ones are introverts.

Speaker 4 (14:14):
So it's a whole dur in different in different interests.
So but let's tell people as far as geographically, Sandy,
where you're doing most of your work. I know it changes,
but let's just say in the last couple of weeks
or so, geographically, so, I do.

Speaker 7 (14:27):
Have quite a bit of my business in and around
the Kingwood area, northeast Houston. Humble tascaseda Cleveland stretching out
to Spring, so the northwest side as well, but we
do stretch all the way down south down towards Galveston,
the island kind of cover most of Houston, and.

Speaker 4 (14:46):
Certainly for people listening outside of Houston, northeast, well that's northeast,
and that's a really big swatch because we are a
large city in terms of land mass and pretty much
everything else, right, Jacob, Yeah, you are correct.

Speaker 6 (15:00):
My mom said. Our brokerage is located in Kingwood, and
so we do get a lot of our business in
Kingwood and that surrounding area. But we also live on
the south east side of town, and so we do
a lot of business friends and family down there. And
like she said, we've done all the way down to
Galaston just because we're very familiar with that area, from
Galaston all the way up until the Woodlands Conroe area,

(15:20):
just because we've lived in this area, you know, our
whole lives.

Speaker 4 (15:23):
And Sandy get people an idea. Let's talk just a
little bit about Kingwood because we really don't get to
talk about it too much. What's the market like right now?
If someone is interested in buying a home in the
Kingwood a task Asita area, and they're kind of joined
at the hips, so to speak.

Speaker 7 (15:39):
Right right they are Kingwood, I think is a wonderful suburb,
well suburb of Houston, but it's been annexed by Houston.
So you get a lot of custom homes that are
built in there, a lot of neighborhoods has got a
strong sense of community.

Speaker 8 (15:55):
Task Asita's developed over the year.

Speaker 7 (15:58):
She get some newer construction, newer neighborhoods king what's been
there for a little bit, been established, but a lot
of good deals.

Speaker 4 (16:07):
So if I'm a buyer right now, would I have
a pretty good selection? Yes, So a good time to
buy would.

Speaker 8 (16:13):
Be right now.

Speaker 4 (16:14):
There you go let's buy right now, it would be we're.

Speaker 7 (16:18):
Seeing that sellers are a little more negotiable on prices terms.
I know some of the buyers are a little nervous
about the rates right now. Although historically they're not really
that high, going back all the way to the seventies,
they're still relatively.

Speaker 8 (16:36):
Decent.

Speaker 7 (16:36):
But there are different things that you can do to
negotiate a better rate in your deal. We work with lenders.
We have good lenders that we work with that have
been doing this for a long time. Sometimes we can
negotiate the seller paint a two to one buy down
where they temporarily get an adjustment on that rate so
that it's a little more affordable.

Speaker 8 (16:56):
Why we wait for the interest rates to drop.

Speaker 4 (17:00):
Well, we got a little bit of an idea how
Jacob got in the business. But what piqued your interest
those many years ago where you said I want to
be in real estate.

Speaker 7 (17:09):
Well, so my first marriage, my husband was custom home
builder and I was a stay at home home and
I just started working with his clients and he really
encouraged me to go get my license and do this
on a broader scale.

Speaker 4 (17:27):
And here you go, and here you are years later
and Jacob, give us an idea, and I would think
in terms of your complimenting each other on what you're
doing as a team out there generationally speaking, but also
what's your perspective out there in terms of what's happening
in your market there.

Speaker 6 (17:44):
Jacob, pretty similar, similar alignes in my mom's perspective, I
think that right now.

Speaker 4 (17:51):
It's a double edged sword.

Speaker 6 (17:53):
I mean, you do have higher interest rates with higher
home prices, but you also can negotiate a better deal
because we're seeing high levels of m toy and a
low amount of buyers, and so sellers are a little
bit more willing to work with sellers concessions and you
can use some of that to buy down your rate
and that's a huge advantage. And so you can get
the home for a better price, which is big long term.

(18:16):
And if rates do go down eventually, then you can
always you know, lenders will tell you just at that
point you can refinance your loan to take advantage of
that lower interest rate. And so I really do think
that in any market, it just depends on where you
are as a buyer, and you know, if you need
to move because of work, or if you want to
move your kids, to a certain school district. Where's that

(18:37):
kind of necessity buyer? I think that at any time,
you know, you should buy because you need to, not
just because of what the market's doing. And then just
try to get a good deal when you can, and
you know, do what's right for you and your family.

Speaker 4 (18:49):
And right now, Jacob, are you helping more buyers or
more sellers?

Speaker 6 (18:54):
So I will say that me and my mom work
with a lead source. You know, we work with Dave
Ramsey and he sends us a lot of buyers, and
so I would say it's fifty to fifty fri USTs,
So we are very well versed with buyers and with sellers.
I would say typically right now, agents are probably working
with more sellers since we're seeing more inventory in which
we do have a lot of listenings, and we do

(19:15):
work with a lot of sellers, but we do have
a good amount of buyers as well.

Speaker 4 (19:18):
So this is another show. First, we've got to show
first all over the place here on this show number
five eighty. But as far as someone working with Dave Ramsey,
this is the first time now I've heard Dave Ramsey
and he talked about or seen on the internet where
he has certain realtors that he recommends, and you guys
are one of them, right, So that's awesome. Sandy tell

(19:40):
us how that came about and how exciting that is,
and it sounds like it's working.

Speaker 7 (19:46):
So I appreciate Dave Ramsey's program and what he shares
with people on how to get out of debt. He's
pretty good in the financial piece freedom or finance piece.
And I put in an application to learn more about
his program, and it took about two years of sitting

(20:10):
on the sidelines waiting for them to decide that they
wanted to interview me, that me make sure that I
was a good fit for their program.

Speaker 4 (20:18):
Two years just for the interview. Wow.

Speaker 7 (20:20):
Yes, And that was with me being in production for
a while, probably at least eleven years.

Speaker 4 (20:27):
So then when he recommends realtor his organization does that
these are people that are checked out, to say the least.

Speaker 7 (20:36):
Correct, and we are familiar with different scenarios. We can
step in and we can help people. Most of the
people that come through his program have either been through
his baby steps on the financial piece or they're in
the process of trying to figure out how to get
through those baby steps. And so knowing his program, being
able to shift and maneuver and help identify what a

(20:59):
client needs or what their rejective is for their real
estate goals and being able to shift and pivot to
help them make, you know, achieve it.

Speaker 4 (21:09):
And as far as the people that you have served
or are serving as a result of Dave Ramsey are
what's the percentage that are from here in Houston where
they hear the show or they look on the website
and they say, Hey, we want to call Sandy and
Jacob versus people from coming from out of out of state.

Speaker 6 (21:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (21:29):
So I would say.

Speaker 7 (21:31):
Over the couple of years that I've worked with the
Ramsey Leads probably have helped about ten different families relocate
to our state from other states.

Speaker 4 (21:44):
And right, and where are you seeing you're going to?
Maybe maybe you're going to say California, But are you
seeing people from other than California that you're serving?

Speaker 7 (21:52):
I do. Where I've seen or where I've serviced, the
majority is from Tennessee, ironically, and.

Speaker 4 (22:00):
That's interesting because Tennessee is one of the few states,
like Texas that does not have a state income tax.
So a lot of times people come here or go
to Tennessee do not have the state income tax exactly.

Speaker 8 (22:13):
It's usually for a job relocation.

Speaker 4 (22:15):
That sounds good. Yeah, well, Jacob, before we close the segment,
what else you want people to know about what you
guys are doing.

Speaker 6 (22:22):
You know, I just would like to add that, you know,
working with my mom has been a huge, you know,
blessing for me, and I just want to tell her
thank you I'm on the air for getting me into
it and kind of coddling me into it. But I
also want to say that when you work with the
h and our home team, you get both of us.
We work with almost one hundred percent of our clients together,

(22:43):
whether it's a group text, and you have both of us.
That way, we can offer more coverage, we can offer
quick responses. I know, like you said on your previous segment,
you like being called back quick. And that's one of
the big things for us is making sure that at
least one of us is getting back to our clients
and they meet both of us at phase one, so
they're comfortable with working with both of us. So that's
kind of one of the things I'd liked it they're

(23:04):
on there.

Speaker 4 (23:05):
Jacob, Let's tell people how they can reach you, Jacob ronh.

Speaker 6 (23:09):
Yeah, you can reach me by a phone. This is
my personal so you can text your call. It's eight
three two seven zero three seven nine one two. Sure,
it's eight three two seven zero three seven nine to
one two And Mom.

Speaker 4 (23:22):
That was pretty nice for Jacob to say, wasn't it.

Speaker 7 (23:24):
It was?

Speaker 4 (23:25):
And it's not even Mother's Day.

Speaker 6 (23:28):
I know.

Speaker 4 (23:28):
Well, let's tell what else do you want people to know,
Sandy before we close this segment.

Speaker 7 (23:33):
So we enjoy working with buyer sellers. If you do
have a challenge with your real estate need, please give
us a call. We are solution based at figuring it
out for you. And like Jacob said, you do get
both of us, so between the two of us we
can usually come up with a pretty good solution for you.
So my cell number is two eight one nine nine

(23:56):
five eighty eight fourteen. Again that's two eight one eight
eight one four.

Speaker 4 (24:06):
Thanks for being with us, yea, thank you, nout We
appreciate it. Let's talk to Kara More. Her company is
del Monte Realty. Cara. Welcome to the show. Hi, Bill,
how are you so great to see you and we're
glad that you're here today. First of all, let's tell
people care about del Monte Realty.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
So del Monte is run by two lovely ladies, Katie
and Casey, who happened to be neighbors on del Monte
Street and started their brokerage some ten years ago. There's
about twenty of us. We're all women, and I think
every one of us as mothers.

Speaker 4 (24:46):
Oh wow, and.

Speaker 7 (24:48):
It is.

Speaker 1 (24:49):
It's awesome. I feel like we all have each other's
back and we all help each other out when needed.
It's a good place to be. I'm enjoying it.

Speaker 4 (24:58):
Interesting. They're on a street, so let's call the company
Delmonte Realty. I like that, Yeah, I do too. So
as far as the marketplace and where you have been
or work a lot geographically, let's tell people where that
is here in the Houston area.

Speaker 1 (25:14):
So I live in the villages, the Memorial Villages, so
certainly do a lot of work there in the Memorial area.
Spring Branch. Also do plenty of work in the Heights
and Timbergrove West and so all up and down the
Itin Corridor, certainly Memorial Park, all those areas I'm quite
familiar with and have done a lot of work in.

Speaker 4 (25:37):
Let's tell people a little bit about West University in
case they're listening here in Houston. It's a big city,
but it's kind of there's a lot of the places
you just mentioned. There's a lot of slices to this
Beatza by yeah, so I mean.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
West University is its own little city with its own
water and its own mayor, much like the villages so
Hunter's Creek Village, and we have our own police system there.
It's kind of a crazy thing. But I really love
the trash service. Know, trash cans out on the curb,
like you see several times a week in other areas.

(26:12):
They go behind your fence, grab the trash, take it out,
so it's in The police response time in both of
those cities is quite nice.

Speaker 4 (26:22):
It's quick interesting how you lay all that out, because
it's the details that are so important as we think
about real estate, where we're going to live, where we're
going to move. The details are so important to how
we enjoy our lifestyle.

Speaker 1 (26:35):
Absolutely, the schools, the community, the neighborhoods, and they're all
so different but absolutely all very important. And knowing what
your clients are wanting, where they want to live, what
their goals are, do they have children, are they planning
to use private schools? Are they really interested in the

(26:59):
public schools? And so, yeah, all those details are important
right now.

Speaker 4 (27:03):
Are you helping more buyers or sellers at this moment?
Who're saying the last couple of weeks.

Speaker 1 (27:09):
I think I definitely probably have more sellers that I'm
helping right now. We would love to have more buyers.
A lot of buyers are they don't feel rushed, They're
taking their time. There's not a sense of urgency right now.
They have a lot to choose from in listings. I mean,
we have the highest amount of listings we've had in

(27:29):
many many years right now in Houston, and so I
think it's certainly becoming a level playing field for buyers
and sellers.

Speaker 4 (27:39):
And out of interest. The people that are selling now
that you know, are they selling to move out of
the state, or how many would be selling to move
out of Texas, or they're just moving to different parts
here in Houston.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
Certainly some are moving out of state for job transfers.
I mean it kind of runs the gamut.

Speaker 9 (27:59):
Really.

Speaker 1 (27:59):
I've got people selling their parents' homes who might be
in an estate. I'm seeing lots of I have younger
clients that I've had for a long time that are
doing well in their jobs and they're starting to have children,
and so they need a little more space, and so
they're moving up. So we're selling their smaller place that

(28:19):
maybe we helped purchase five or six, seven years ago
and moving them into a place with a bit more
room where they can host and have their family or
parents stay with them. So a lot of different scenarios.

Speaker 4 (28:33):
We're talking with care and more. Karen. Let's tell people
what was it about real estate and what did you
do prior to real estate where you said, man, I
want to be in real estate, but what you did
before is a particular interest, at least to me and
I think everybody else.

Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yeah, you're getting at the So I went to law
school and my first job out of law school was
working for the Harris County District Attorney's office, you know,
trying cases.

Speaker 7 (28:58):
It was.

Speaker 1 (29:00):
Thrilling. I can't no other job has ever been quite
like it. It was exciting and certainly a tight knit
community of criminal law and as well, you know, I
did defense work after I left there. Everybody knows everybody,
so you want to treat people well. Yeah, yeah, So
it's been fun so I did that for about ten years.

Speaker 4 (29:24):
So you were in the midst of crimes, criminals, and
so you have an idea. At least back then, I
would think it's alarming all the crimes that take place
on a daily basis today it's unfortunate. But you were
in the world of knowing details, defending people, prosecuting people.
It has to be fascinating to do that.

Speaker 7 (29:46):
It is.

Speaker 1 (29:47):
It is. My two best friends are still in the
criminal law field, and certainly I have a lot of
colleagues I've kept up with and there's never a dull
dinner conversation. It might not always be appropriate for the
light person, but yeah, it's you know, I tried. You know,

(30:07):
they start you out on dwi's and minor drug cases
and then you you know, I left, and I after
trying murder cases and sexual assaults and you know, bigger
drug cases. So it was it was a lot, yeah,
for sure.

Speaker 4 (30:24):
And then you said somewhere I want to be a
real estate professional. Yeah, so how was that transastionate? You know, transition?

Speaker 1 (30:32):
I just I loved I've always loved architecture and houses
and people. I love talking to people, and so I
ended up you know, being drawn towards real estate, and
certainly I get to interact with new people all the time.
I mean, you know, some of my clients, you know,

(30:54):
will have a run of two or three months together
where we're selling a home or buying a home, and
then I'll get to come back around. But it's always
engaging and listening to what they want and how I
can help them and figure out, you know, what they
need and how to get them that. And so there's

(31:16):
a lot I'm interested. I never get tired of seeing
houses or engaging with people.

Speaker 4 (31:22):
And I would think all that did just to be
an attorney of any sort, to know the details, the paperwork,
the words, the tons of words, yes, to be able
to take that it has to be a super advantage
for you to have that legal eye and then to
have the helping people with the real estate needs to

(31:43):
have that understand that would be a tremendous benefit.

Speaker 8 (31:45):
I think it is, and I think.

Speaker 1 (31:48):
Maybe I take it for granted. I feel very comfortable
with contracts and reading through all of our all of
our forms are largely promulgated by track, you know, being
able to understand those and explain those to my client
and go through you know, and help them understand each
piece is Yes, certainly my background is helpful for that.

Speaker 4 (32:13):
In addition, I'm also thinking of the details that it
takes to put a case together. Again, details, details, but
also there's so many things negotiation, the negotiation, but all
the things that you have to be and others in
the real estate world to serve, whether it's buyers or sellers,
there's a lot of things. Until you get into it,

(32:33):
it's amazing how much you and other professionals have to know.

Speaker 1 (32:38):
Yeah, I mean there's you know, showing the houses is
just the first little nugget, and you know, going through
the contract and understanding the language, being able to each
each transaction I am learning something new, and certainly everyone
I've done before helps me. But being able to go

(33:01):
through inspections and have a list of trusted advisors, be
they mortgage bankers, insurance, roofers, contractors, and knowing what things
to look for in inspections and having people you trust
to lead you through that. And so it's a lot

(33:24):
of people coming together to make it work well. Your
title company, et cetera.

Speaker 4 (33:29):
And as far as here we are at the end
of the year, it seems like there's only a few
weeks left, probably are maybe ten, twelve or so thirteen. Anyway,
So as you look ahead with your organizational skills and
all the things, you know, the people that have followed you,
the referrals that you're working with, how you're looking forward
to twenty twenty six at this point, what's it look

(33:49):
like if you were to speculate.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
Oh, goodness, you're going to make me speculate. Yes, you know,
this year has been you know, someone earlier talked about
interest rates, and I know a lot of people I
think we got spoiled by these insane three percent interest rates.

(34:11):
I remember buying my first house in nineteen ninety six,
and I think my rate was seven and a half
and it was really good.

Speaker 4 (34:20):
Yeah you're excited about it.

Speaker 1 (34:21):
Yeah, I was thrilled. I got an amazing rate. And
so you know, right now interest rates are in the
low sixes depending but that's still a great rate. And so,
you know, I think a lot of I'm hoping that,
you know, we see more buyers moving and you know,

(34:42):
encouraged to take advantage of our listings. And so I
think it's been a interesting year where the great houses
are still selling. Those turnkey, beautiful homes. You still will
get multiple offers, but I'm also seeing a lot of
buyers come through and say, yeah, I think we're going
to see three, four, five other houses. Still they're just

(35:03):
they're taking their time, which is it's a big decision,
so as they should, and so we'll see, we'll see
what the future.

Speaker 4 (35:11):
Holds well, Kara, before we close this segment, what else
do you want people to know about what you're doing
or anything else?

Speaker 1 (35:17):
Oh gosh, I mean as far as our brokerage, I
would we have access to a stager who is part
of our brokerage. We have access to a designer who
is on staff, and so I think that really helps
give people vision when maybe you're looking at something that's
not turn key, you're looking at something that needs some work,

(35:39):
and you're trying to imagine what could this be? Could
it be what I want it to be? And so
I think it's helpful to have those different trades and
access to those in our brokerage. And so, yeah, I
think that would be one thing helpful to know.

Speaker 4 (35:56):
Sounds good, Kara, Thanks for being with us. Let's tell
people how they can reach you, Kara, more they.

Speaker 1 (36:03):
Can reach me at seven one three eight one eight
nine seven seven eight, or they could email me at
Kara cr at Delmonte HTx dot com seven one three
eight one eight nine seven seven eight and you can

(36:23):
call or text that number.

Speaker 4 (36:25):
Sounds good.

Speaker 1 (36:26):
Thanks for being with us, Kara, Thank you Bill.

Speaker 4 (36:28):
Real estate matters with Stuart Title would not be possible
without our partner Stuart Insurance. With a focus in real
estate end a special focus on real estate brokers, Stuart
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

(36:49):
he is with Stuart Insurance. John Bramlett, Heideville. Well, John, here,
we are so much information, so many show first here
today and you're back to talk about insurance. Yes it is.

Speaker 10 (37:01):
I'm glad to be back in congratulations on show five.

Speaker 4 (37:04):
Eighty five eighty It's amazing. At the time is flying
and there you go, we're getting close to six hundred.

Speaker 10 (37:10):
We are we are Wow.

Speaker 4 (37:13):
So what should we talk about today as it comes
as we think about insurance people all over Houston and
beyond wait for this segment each week.

Speaker 10 (37:21):
Well, we're going to continue our series of key insurance indicators.
So this is key insurance Indicator number seven, and we're
going to talk about general liability insurance. And the critical
aspect of general liability insurance is it covers, in a
broad terms, bodily injury and property damage. So for a
real estate broker, this is critical coverage to have and

(37:44):
many times it can be required. But there are nine
plus one key insurance indicators as it comes to a
general liability insurance.

Speaker 4 (37:53):
It's a lot.

Speaker 10 (37:54):
It's a lot, but they're important. The first one is
premises liability, So if someone were to be injured at
your office, so if you had a brick and mortar
reeled your office or you brought them by your home
and somebody was injured at your office, it could help
with some of the medical costs as well as potentially
the defense costs, so that's why that's a critical one.

(38:15):
The second would be off premises liability incident. So a
lot of our brokers do business off premise, so they
have open houses, they have showings, they go to community events,
and if they were to have an incident where a
guest were to be hurt or they were to damage
that property. That's where this off premise liability insurance portion

(38:35):
of the policy would come into play. It's important that
there's an advertising and personal injury element to it. So
when we talk about personal injury, it's not a broken arm,
it's a broken heart when it comes to this idea
of insurance. So you wrote something, you said something that
affected my ability to buy a home or sell a home,
or affected my ability to help somebody buy a home

(38:56):
or sell a home. Or you used a photograph that
you have the rights to or language that you didn't
have the rights to, so you had a copyright infringement issue.
Or you had a certain layout of a home that
you had the rights to for specific usage, but to
use it for another home that could become an issue.
So copyright infringement, so that's where that comes into play.

(39:18):
Or if there's some sort of a misreputation in your
marketing message, that's where this advertising, your promotion personal injury
would come into play. Number four is landlord lease requirements.
Many cases, if a brokerage is leasing their office, the
landlord will require that they have general liability coverage. So
we can work directly with the landlord find out what

(39:41):
their requirements are and then we can build that into
the policy. Defense cost I mentioned that earlier. Even if
the claim is frivolous, defense costs can be expensive, so
attorney fees can be expensive. So having that ability to
offset some of those defense costs can be really valuable.
So that's another good reason to have general liability. You
want to make sure or that that's included in in

(40:02):
the policy. Medical payments so that's kind of a help
on a small injury. So if somebody were injured but
it wasn't anything critical and you didn't want to institute
the full policy or the full claim, you can go
and use the medical payments to help offset some of
those medical costs. Additional endorsement, so all in endorsement is

(40:22):
is an addition to the policy. So let's say you're
a real estate broker, but maybe you also do some
property management work, so you want to make sure that
that endorsement is added into the policy. Equally important are
exclusions what's not included. So again, if it's a policy
that you do a lot of showings, and maybe there's

(40:42):
an exclusion in the policy that doesn't cover showings, and
you want to make sure that you'll understand that, because
we don't want you to be in a situation where
you file a claim and the claims denied because you
didn't have coverage. So Leslie talked earlier about understanding the
language and the policy and what it does and doesn't cover.
That's why where the endorsements in the illusions really are critical,
so you understand what is and is not covered in

(41:04):
that policy. And then number nine and one that will
get into greater detail next week. There are some ways
that you can bundle a couple of different policies together
to improve coverage and save yourself some money, but we'll
have to wait till next week to learn about that.
And then the plus one is always working with Stuart
Insurance that we can work with our real estate broker clients,

(41:26):
our independent title and attorney agent clients, realtors and property
management firms on their general liability coverage.

Speaker 4 (41:34):
So many things to think about, John, Well, it is.

Speaker 10 (41:36):
And it's important to understand that these are just some
basic critical issues that if you're going to have a
general liability policy, that you know that you've got that
coverage and you understand what is and is not covered,
and then make adjustments based upon what your firm's needs
are at that time.

Speaker 4 (41:52):
We want to remind people you're helping people, not just
here in Houston, even though the show is broadcast here,
it's on the our Heart app and all those things,
but people outside of Houston. I don't know Tennessee, North Carolina.
You have clients there and you're helping them all over
the United States.

Speaker 10 (42:09):
Yes, as an independent insurance broker, we have a couple
of benefits. One, we do have the reach across the US,
so we're working with families and individuals on their personal
insurance across the US, as well as working with real
estate businesses across the US on their business insurance. And
as an independent agent, we have access to a variety
of companies. So whether we're helping an individual with their

(42:32):
home insurance or their auto, wind flood, motorcycle, we've got
a variety of companies that we can work with to
build the best policies possible, build the best plans possible.
In the same when it comes to businesses, so if
we're working in a real estate broker, we're going to
have a variety of companies that we can work with
to build the best plants possible, to make sure they

(42:53):
have the coverage they need at that time.

Speaker 4 (42:55):
That's kind of nice too, because taking the case again,
where someone is here in Houston, they have their home
for sale and they're going to move to another state,
maybe North Dakota or something like them. Just picking. You know,
we got a lot of states to pick from to
use as an example. North Dakota doesn't matter. They have
somebody at Stewart Insurance they like working with. Hey, I'm
moving to North Dakota. They could keep that relationship and

(43:16):
then get help absolutely, and I'm gonna guess the brakes
are lower in North North Dakota, just guessing.

Speaker 10 (43:22):
I don't know there's a good chance for lower than
they are in Harris County. But yes, it's we can
do that and we can help in and we do
quite a bit of relocation business, so that when folks
are moving from another city or state into Houston because
of career, you know, they're gonna have to start over.
So they're going to have to have a new home

(43:43):
insurance policy, and they're going to need to have flood insurance,
and they're gonna need to have a new auto insurance policies,
potentially an upgraded umbrella policy so we can work with
them on those on those folks that are moving into
town relocations on their personal insurance.

Speaker 4 (43:57):
You know, I'm also thinking had a discussion with some
of this week. There are so many people that collect things.
You're probably helping people with jewelry policies because of people
with watch collections, jewelry and all that. Sometimes maybe you're
gonna have a list on that coming up soon. I
don't want to preempt that, but I know you're always thinking.
But that's one of the things. There's a lot of
things that people collect that have high value.

Speaker 10 (44:18):
Of all sorts of things, well, there are, and that's
why it's important that as an insurance p visor we
take the time and we make the time to get
to know our clients and understand what their needs are.
And it's also why it's important that our clients are
willing to invest the time to have those conversations, because
you're right, we can't just assume that if I have
home insurance everything is covered. For an example, you mean,

(44:41):
you know somebody that has a high end watch collection,
We're going to want to look at some either a
home policy that can help with that, or maybe there's
an umbrella on top of it, or specific jewelry policy
specific for that watch collection. So understanding what's important to
that client and what they have can help us drive
and build the plans that are most important to them

(45:02):
and then provides the best coverage.

Speaker 4 (45:04):
John, you want to tell us we're going to talk
about next week, or we just save that as a surprise.

Speaker 10 (45:08):
We're going to save that as a surprise. But it
has to do a general liability coverage. It's just taking
it and expanding the coverage.

Speaker 4 (45:16):
What else should we know, John, Well, if you'd like
to be.

Speaker 10 (45:18):
Properly insured, and all that simply means is that whether
you are very risk averse and you want the most
robust coverage in the world as a business or a family,
or you're not so robust risk averse or for financial
reasons you need to have a very conservative policy, we
can work with you. The key is understanding what you
do and don't have covered, and if you're comfortable with that,
then in our world, you're properly insured. And we would

(45:40):
love that opportunity to help you get there. 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 Insurance at Stuart dot com.

Speaker 4 (45:56):
You know, I was in Arkansas last week on my
walking trail as I want talk every morning, I ran
into someone. They said, I want to be properly insured.
What numbers should they call? In Arkansas?

Speaker 10 (46:06):
The Arkansas hotline is eight six six seven nine eight
two eight two seven. John, Thanks for being with us,
always a pleasure. Bill.

Speaker 4 (46:13):
Well, as we wind up the show, here she is
once again, Leslie Learner, Trek Commissioner, Leslie Learner, Properties and
learn More. Hey, Leslie, welcome back, Thanks Bill. Well, as
we wind things up, Leslie. What else should we know
about any of those things, or even anything else?

Speaker 5 (46:30):
I think we've really covered everything. If you have complaints
against an agent, if you don't feel that they're doing
the right thing, send your complaint to Trek and let's
see what we can do about it. We're always trying
to raise the bar in our industry.

Speaker 4 (46:43):
Do you take complaints daily?

Speaker 5 (46:45):
Complaints are submitted daily, and they pile up. But the
only way that we make our industry better is through complaints.

Speaker 4 (46:52):
There's no doubt and the valuable information I think you're
getting there at the in the organization trek to be
able to make it better and make it better for
buyers and sellers and realtors. It's got to be fascinating
to see that come in firsthand in which you're doing.

Speaker 5 (47:06):
And one bad agent can lower all of our values,
so we need to keep our value up and raise
the bar.

Speaker 4 (47:12):
Now, these are three important things you're doing again, helping
buyers and sellers, trek commissioner, entrepreneur, building to learn more.
You've better every day in your spare time, if you
have any, Leslie, what do you do just to relax?

Speaker 5 (47:25):
I go to the gym and I also play pickleball.

Speaker 4 (47:28):
So the pickleball. How long you've been playing pickleball? Almost
a year now, people, I have not tried it yet.
In the meantime, Leslie, let's tell people how they can
reach you to learn more.

Speaker 5 (47:39):
Okay, you could reach learn more at learnmore dot com
or Leslie Learner Properties at Leslie Learnerproperties dot com. Seven
one three four eight nine ninety nine hundred seven one
three four eight nine ninety nine hundred Thanks.

Speaker 4 (47:51):
For being with us, Thank you, and now Sandy Harrington,
Jacob Brohn, H and R Home Home Team Keller Williams.
So let's tell people H and our home team that
is your company, your group that you call it Sandy,
but but you're part of Keller Williams.

Speaker 7 (48:11):
Yes, we're part of Keller Williams Realty Northeast out in Kingwood,
yep and.

Speaker 6 (48:15):
So H and our home team is just our team
name that we operate under. But we do work for
Keller Owns and.

Speaker 4 (48:22):
That's a great thing. You know, Keller Williams and other
companies do have people that maybe a husband and wife
team in this case, once again, if you're just tuning in,
this is a mother and son team first time on
the show. It's super awesome. So those are great things
that you could have your own team while working under
a powerful broker like Keller Williams. And they're all over
the place and international right absolutely.

Speaker 7 (48:42):
And one of the things that we love about Keller
Williams is all the different playbooks and scenarios that they
give agents to help build successful careers. Whether you want
to be a team, whether you want to be an
individual agent, whether you want to be a commercial agent.
They have solutions and as.

Speaker 4 (49:00):
Four is I think an advantage of being part of
such a large organization that goes all over the world.
What are some of the things that they tell you
when you have your I guess you still have meetings
on Tuesday or Tuesday Wednesdays. Well, anyway, when you have
the meetings and you get information about what's going on
outside of Houston, whether it's in another state, even in
another country, because they have their hand on the pulse,

(49:22):
what are you hearing, if anything, they're Jacob, I think
that people would find fascinating.

Speaker 6 (49:27):
I think the main thing, like you touched on, is
it's such a big company and they offer an ample
amount of resources to their agents to make their agents
better agents. So trainings, information to keep you up to
date with what's going on in the market. That way
we can service our clients better. You know, an informed
agent is a good agent.

Speaker 4 (49:43):
So sounds good, ye, Jacob. Let's tell people how they
can reach you once again.

Speaker 6 (49:48):
Yeah, so you can reach me by mysel it's eight
three to two seven zero three seven, nine to one
to two. It's eight three two seven zero three seven
nine to one two.

Speaker 4 (49:58):
And Sandy, how can people reach you, Sandy Harrington?

Speaker 7 (50:01):
My call or text at two eight one nine nine
five eight eight one four. Again that's two eight one
nine nine five eight eight one four.

Speaker 4 (50:11):
Thanks for being with us, guys.

Speaker 8 (50:12):
Thank you Bill.

Speaker 4 (50:15):
Well, as we continue, Kara Moore is back del Monte
real to care here we are as far as real
estate goes, Let's tell people you have a very organized approach.
I think also doing tremendous work there with del Monte Realty.
But when you're not doing real estate, I mean, it's
a wide world out there, and you have so much
great experience. What do you do to unwind?

Speaker 1 (50:36):
H Well, I just got back from a trip to
Italy with a friend, and so I love to travel
the world when I am not taking care of my
kiddos and you know, running a household and in a business.

Speaker 4 (50:51):
So cool. What part part of Italy were you in?

Speaker 1 (50:54):
Florence and Venice and Arezo? And it was glorious?

Speaker 4 (51:00):
How many days?

Speaker 1 (51:01):
Ten?

Speaker 4 (51:02):
Oh my goodness? And that's just right A good amount
of time to be able to enjoy a country far away.
I think it was.

Speaker 1 (51:08):
Yeah, it was lovely. There's so much more to see,
So I do love traveling.

Speaker 4 (51:13):
Any particular exciting food dishes that you had, maybe one
or two. The food I would imagine.

Speaker 1 (51:19):
Was pizza in pasta and more pizza in pasta. So yeah,
things I don't allow myself to indulge in here.

Speaker 4 (51:27):
I very much did so in Italy, so that's fascinating.
You know, I've not been to Italy, but on my
mother's side, her mom and dad, they came right off
the boat as many years ago they were from Italy.
So I have not gone back to see if anybody's
still there, or even to see the country, but it's
on my list to do.

Speaker 1 (51:45):
It seems like a good excuse to go back and explore.

Speaker 4 (51:48):
I think she was the baby of sixteen children, so
that's another show, another story. But that's crazy. So in
the meantime, once again we're excited about twenty twenty six.
Del Monte real t. There you are. Let's tell people
how they can reach you, Kara Moore.

Speaker 1 (52:05):
You can reach me at seven one three eight one
eight nine seven seven eight again that is seven one
three eight one eight nine seven seven eight, or if
you love to email, it's c A R A at
del Monte d E L M O N T E
h t X dot com.

Speaker 4 (52:26):
And I don't know if you're planning another trip. But
if you were, where's your next protocoll? Have you thought
about that?

Speaker 1 (52:33):
I'm always thinking about it.

Speaker 4 (52:34):
All right, Well, let us know when you get back
from Portugal. Thank you Kara Moore for being with us today,
and thank you all for listening to Real Estate Matters
with Stuart Title. I am your host, Bill Nampick, together
with John Bramlett, all of us at Stuart Title and
Stewart Insurance. We appreciate you listening. Simply go to Stewart
dot com Forward Slash Radio. That's right, you could see

(52:55):
the show. You can see the guests. If you're just
listening to this, you want to tune into the YouTube channel.
You can see the special effects, the beautiful outfits. They're
right here Stewart dot Com Forward Slash Radio, or if
it's easier, just go to Radio Bill. Just go to
Radio Yo Bill. Bill. Thanks for listening. We'll see you
next week. Real Estate Matters.

Speaker 9 (53:16):
Everything lay fine on an pity feel that Real Estate
ND streaming nationwide only I heard now.

Speaker 4 (53:31):
Showing the conversation. It's a real estate man.

Speaker 3 (53:37):
What's hot in the market, what's moving fast?

Speaker 4 (53:43):
Bill never leads away, never come.

Speaker 10 (53:46):
And last.

Speaker 9 (53:49):
We'll talk about homes and the best selling Race. The
real estate stories that truly relays

Speaker 4 (54:00):
We the experts, GA