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Texas Real Estate Bible Podcast

Everyone has a real estate story, and this is the podcast that gives you the information you need to keep your story from becoming a horror story! Join Houston based agents Karen and Kevin Scott as they share stories (some of them cautionary tales) of the real estate industry in Texas. Funny, irreverent, and real, Karen and Kevin bring their own style to the show and share with you their perspectives and experiences in this sometimes crazy and other times shocking industry. You can reach the hosts by calling 832-559-0480.
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Texas Real Estate Bible Podcast
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Now displaying: Category: Interview
Oct 3, 2018

We normally tend to try to steer clear of discussing politics because frankly, the topic sucks, and it's not entertaining to hear people bitch and moan about what's wrong with the country.  After all, if you want to see a change in how our government works, you should run for office and do something about it instead of complaining.

This week, we bring you an example of just that.  Jon Rosenthal is a personal friend of ours who has put himself out there to run for a seat in House District 135 for the Texas State Legislature.  Regardless of your political stripe or affiliation, we think you'll enjoy the conversation we had with Jon, and we wish him nothing but success!

If you live in his district in Cypress, TX, we hope you'll pull the lever for Jon in November.

Jan 21, 2018

In today's episode, we interview Joseph Gozlan from EBG Acquisitions.  Joseph is a multifamily investments specialist. Leading group acquisitions of over $11MM in real estate and providing asset management services to a portfolio of 156 units with 97 additional units currently under contract and growing.

In our conversation, we learn more about multifamily properties, how syndication works, and how individuals can participate in these investments with their retirement dollars.  

Joseph is also the author of the book, "The Real Estate College Fund", which helps first time investors recognize the advantages and risks of investing in real estate, and offers ways to mitigate those risks.

Also in this episode, we cover some listener feedback that proves that Kevin is (occasionally) right!

Sep 20, 2017

Today, we bring you an interview with Aaron Moore of Smart Zip.  Karen recently became a client of Aaron's because they do some pretty impressive things with applying data analytics and applying it to real estate.

Aug 23, 2017

From time to time we like to welcome other entrepreneurs on the show to talk about their businesses and their own real estate stories.  This week, we welcome our friend Eric Dolan, who in his career has been in the Army, the Oil & Gas industry, and is now in business for himself.

As the owner of the PostNet franchise in Tomball, TX, Eric shares a number of stories about the challenges and rewards of starting his own business.  He talks about lessons he's learned and some interesting people he's met along the way.  He also walks us through the process he used to select his commercial storefront location.

If you have any printing, shipping, or mailing needs, we highly recommend Eric.  He will take GREAT care of you.

Aug 2, 2017

The stated purpose of this podcast has from the beginning been to generate content that would eventually become a book.  As we've stressed in the past, if you want a job done right, you have to hire a competent professional to help you.  We believe this with real estate, and we took our own advice when it came to writing the book based on this show.

We've been doing this for over a year now, and we have hired Brian K. Wright to ghost write our book for us.  In this episode you'll find out about Brian's background and why we think he is uniquely qualified to write for us.  

Brian is also the host of his own very successful podcast, Success Profiles Radio, we recommend you give it a listen.

Jun 21, 2017
If you know an entrepreneur, they'll tell you that being in business for yourself is a pretty lonely existence.  Many people say they want to own their own business, but only a small fraction of people actually do, so it's difficult to find other entrepreneurs who understand the struggle.
 
For this reason, we are using the platform of our podcast to connect with and give exposure to entrepreneurs in our community that we vibe with.  This week, we highlight Daniel Johnson, one half of the Hanigan and Johnson orthodontics practice in our local community.
 
Through his practice, Daniel recently built a commercial building from the ground up.  Daniel also tells his personal story, touching on his missionary work in South America, his military service, and how he found his partner to start his practice shortly after orthodontics school.
 
Karen and Daniel have a number of things in common, which we explore in the episode.  They are both triathletes, and they both use their businesses as a vehicle to give back to the communities they serve.
 
You can find Hanigan & Johnson at www.straighttooth.com or you can call the office at 832-777-7001.
Jun 14, 2017
This week we celebrate our 50th episode by finishing our conversation with Tinja Anderson-Shiery.
 
In this episode, we cover the remaining two communication archetypes, Analyticals and Drivers.  Both Karen and I scored very high on the Driver scale, so you'll learn a little something about both of us by listening to this episode.
Jun 7, 2017

Have you ever met someone and knew almost instantly that you were going to get along great with them?  What about the opposite, where you almost instantly know you are NOT going to get along? 

Much of that first impression comes from the communication style of the sender and the receiver. This week, we welcome back Tinja Anderson-Shiery to the show to talk about the 4 major communication styles.  She reveals to us what our styles are according to the test we took.  Nobody is all one style, rather we are all blends of the 4 different archetypes.

Why should you care?  Knowing the nonverbal cues of each of the types will help you to adjust your communication style to suit your audience.  This is a practiced skill that will benefit people in all walks of life.

The conversation was quite long, so we split it into 2 episodes.  In this first half, we discussed the Expressive and Scientist archetypes.  Next week, we will finish the discussion by covering Analyticals and Drivers.

Enjoy!

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Apr 26, 2017

Most people are familiar with the idea of crowd funding.  Sites like Gofundme.com and kickstarter.com have helped some really great ideas get off the ground and brought in to reality.

This week, Nathan Roach, the CEO of MassVenture.com explains to us how the laws in Texas have recently been changed to enable a crowd funding spin to be applied to real estate investing.  Through the platform, individual investors can invest as little as $500 in the projects they have curated for their members.

Apr 19, 2017

This week we sit down with Don Leonard.  Don has been in the real estate industry for 34 years, giving him a wealth of knowledge and expertise in real estate.  Don has hosted two radio shows in Houston about real estate, currently teaches at the Champion's School of Real Estate, and has had his own broker's license for 18 years.

Don sits down with us this week to swap war stories and offer some advice on some specific questions Karen has about a deal she's currently working.  Don also shares with us some of the details of a coaching program he is hosting entitled the Nature of Real Estate.  If you're an agent looking for a different way to do business than cold calling, door knocking, and publicly begging for business, then you're listening to the right podcast, and you should consider this coaching program.

Mar 29, 2017

Credit repair.  It's a frequent question that many real estate agents hear from their clients: "I'd like to buy a house, but I have some problems with my credit.  It really is an honest mistake but I don't know how to go about getting it cleaned up."  Having bad credit can prevent you from qualifying for a loan.  If it doesn't flat out prevent you from getting a loan, it will cost you many thousands of dollars in additional interest payments whether you're buying a home to live in or as an investment.

In today's episode, we welcome back our first ever repeat guest on the podcast, Dave Cole.  Dave was previously a guest on the show for Episode 32, when we covered Solo 401(k) plans.  Today, Dave returns to the show to talk about the state of the credit repair industry.  Listen in as he gives a (very) brief history of the credit repair industry and points out how the business model that most of these services have doesn't work any more, and their customers are simply wasting their money. 

Dave shares a much better approach that leverages the law to compel the credit bureaus to clean up your file if they can't produce all of the legally required documentation.  It's a 60-90 day process, it costs a fraction of what you might pay a typical letter writing service and best of all, it's guaranteed. 

If you want to learn more about the service, watch the webinar Dave created for it.

Mar 22, 2017

Tinja Anderson Shiery has spent her entire professional life until recently as a consultant teaching professionals how to craft their messages for success.

One of the many classes she teaches is entitled "Winnings Words", and Kevin was a student of hers in his role in the Oil & Gas industry, and the class changed the trajectory of his career.  Listen in as Tinja compresses this 3 day class into a one hour crash course for Karen.  If you take nothing else away from this episode, wrap your mind around the art of the sincere and honest acknowledgement.

Tinja has recently started her own business and works every day now to adapt the model she learned from her parents to fit her new role.

You can find Tinja's jewelry business here: www.candibytinja.com

You can also find her on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/tinjashiery

Mar 8, 2017

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your property if you didn't pay your taxes?  Most people envision the police eventually knocking at the door and throwing you out.  The reality in Texas at least is that the knock will eventually come, but it will be an investor knocking, an investor like today's guest, Arnie Abramson.

Arnie has been investing in Texas tax auctions since the early 1990s.  With a very long track record of success, he leads the Texas Tax Sales Resource Group, which is comprised of individual investors that have been investing in income producing real estate in Texas for many years.  The Group helps members find, bid on, purchase, and own properties that go to public auction in all 254 counties in Texas.

The law in Texas is very favorable to investors in these properties.  The winning bidder at the auction is immediately awarded ownership and possession of the property.  The ONLY right the previous owner retains is the right to "redeem" the property, a process by which the investor is rewarded with a 25% to 50% profit on his/her investment.  If you are or want to be a real estate investor, you should listen to this episode twice!

In addition to investing in tax auctions in Texas, Arnie makes available to his priority members investment in certain tax liens outside of the Lone Star State, through the Lien-to-Deed program, the details of which he also shares in this episode.

Karen and Kevin are both Priority Members in the program, and as Karen says in the episode, just having the knowledge and education that Arnie provides gives us the confidence to go and bid at the auctions, which to the uninitiated are intimidating and confusing.  If you decide to become a Priority Member too, we've worked out a discount with Arnie if you call by Monday, March 13!

If you'd like to ask Arnie a question directly, please feel free to reach out to him at arnie@txtaxsales.com.

Feb 15, 2017

Decrepit cars, interest rates, closing disclosures, and mortgages, how do they all relate?

In this episode, we welcome Patrick Morales back to the podcast for a wide ranging discussion about mortgages.

When preparing to buy a new home so many consumers don't realize they might have to choose between the new car or the new home. Learn about how mortgages work, hidden fees, and what's happening in the market.

Find out what pro-rations are, general closing costs and fees and get into the nitty-gritty of mortgage closing costs.

So many people shop on the interest rates alone, but that's not always the best strategy!  You should calculate the total cost of the loan before you sign on the dotted line.

Know before you buy! 

Jan 25, 2017

Lately, we have been getting a lot of requests to do some episodes aimed at real estate investors.  While we are technically real estate investors by virtue of the fact that are landlords,  we don't feel like we've had enough experience to speak authoritatively on the subject, so we decided to do some research and find guests for the show who know far more about real estate investment than we do.

In this episode, we welcome David Cole to the show who shares with us an amazing tool that isn't very well known yet, but is an incredibly powerful tool for real estate investors and/or people who want to be real estate investors.

The single participant 401(k), commonly known as the "Solo 401(k)" plan gives you as an investor unprecedented access to and flexibility to personally invest the retirement funds you have been building up throughout your life.  Do you have a 401(k) from a previous employer?  Do you have a traditional individual retirement account that you self-funded?  All of these funds can be rolled in to a Solo 401(k), where YOU take the role of trustee, enabling you to have checkbook access to the funds for the purpose of investment.

Listen to this episode as Dave walks us through the background, requirements, and rules of this option that all investors should know about!

Dave can be reached at:

Website: http://www.freedomfirst401k.com
Phone: 928-350-8368
Email: dave@freedomfirst401k.com

Jan 11, 2017

Come spend some time with us while we heckle a close friend and new build buyer, Scott Sniderwin. Scott recently purchased a new build home here in the Houston area.  Although Scott is now a regular listener to the show, we hadn't started the podcast at the time he was buying, so he wasn't plugged in to the commandments, and his real estate story turned into a horror story.

Luckily for Scott, he is persistent, and as he put it “a real pain”, so he kept fighting to get things done properly on his new build home.  He walks us through his story of building a new home from contract to final closing to his warranty period.

Listen to the podcast to hear all of the details and how he got things fixed, and what he could have done to protect himself from the get-go.

Jan 4, 2017

Recently, we received a listener mail that had a great question: "How will rising interest rates impact the real estate market?"

Since we aren't financial experts, we decided to call in reinforcements in the form of Patrick Morales.  Before becoming a Loan Originator, Patrick was a Financial Planner, so we thought he would be a great person to answer this question.

During the discussion, Patrick shares with us what you as a buyer can do to prepare for higher interest rates to take the best advantage of the situation.

He also shares some very useful information for anyone who currently owns a home who had a loan modification done in the last 5 years.  If this is you, don't miss this episode!

You can reach Patrick at 832-639-3350 or by email at pmorales@cenderafunding.com.

 

Dec 14, 2016

Outdoor living spaces are a huge attraction, especially in areas like Houston where the weather makes them useful nearly year round.  In this episode, we interview Deedra Chavez from Bello Domani Outdoor Designs.

Deedra has been in the industry for many years and has a great eye for design.  She designed the outdoor living space in Karen and Kevin's backyard and we have been referring business to her ever since.

Deedra shares with us some of the most popular features and upgrades available on the market today, like high efficiency pumps that allow you to greatly reduce the energy cost of running your pool (roughly $15 per month).  She also gives us detail on our favorite pool upgrade, the in-floor cleaning system.  While we absolutely love this upgrade, there is one... let's call it "unexpected feature" that the system brings to the pool experience.  You'll have to listen to the episode to find out the hilarious truth!

We also hear about some of the creative things people are doing by mixing fire and water features with outstanding results.  In the episode, you'll also hear about the outdoor living feature that provides an average 130% return on investment.

Nov 23, 2016

In this episode, we welcome Nicole Normandin to the show to talk about Stuff The Sleigh, the charity we are benefitting at the upcoming live event on December 14. 

In the interview, we learn about her, and her personal connection to the mission of Stuff The Sleigh, which benefits pediatric cancer and hematology patients.

Nicole gives us a behind the curtains look at how Stuff The Sleigh delivers its services and what it takes to manage and grow a Non-Profit organization.

Finally, she shares some gripping stories about the children that have benefitted from Stuff The Sleigh.

Don't miss this episode!

Oct 26, 2016

Karen and I have our shows that we watch together to unwind.  One of our favorite shows is "Adam Ruins Everything".  The show, hosted by Adam Conover is a mainstay on our DVR because it shows the hidden side of many things that we just take for granted in our culture.

A recent episode entitled "Adam Ruins Housing" piqued our interest because, obviously, we're in the business.  Before we watched the episode, we saw a preview of it on Facebook, and had a conversation with some friends about some crazy statements that were made in the clip.

After the episode aired, we knew we had to do an episode to rebut the half truths, misstatements, and outright lies that were told about the real estate industry in the first 6 minutes of the show.  Listen in as we share the details of the conversation we had with one of the actual sources cited on the episode.  Spoiler alert: His study actually stated the opposite of what the episode said.

Oct 7, 2016

In this episode we wrap up the Kevin interview. You'll learn of the triumphs and failures that shape who he is today. You'll also learn who he thinks would win in a fight between Spider-Man and Batman, and what his life would be if Star Wars had never been made.

Oct 5, 2016

Karen and Kevin discuss part 1 of Getting To Know Kevin. In this episode, you'll learn about what makes your host tick.  We cover his formative years through college.  After listening to this episode, you'll have the answers to the following questions:

How much money did he make selling candy to his classmates in grade school?

Can Kevin dance?

Why did he join the Air Force at the ripe old age of 27?

The answers to all this and more in this episode.

Sep 21, 2016

In this episode, we did a deep dive on Gil to learn a little more about what makes him tick.

Sep 7, 2016

Often maligned, usually misunderstood, rarely fully appreciated. There is a lot that your Homeowner Association does for you. In this episode we discuss the positives and negatives of HOAs with Pam Bailey, President and CEO of Chaparral Management group.

"Nosy neighbors.  Busybodies with nothing else going on in their lives so they get into everyone else's business in the neighborhood.  What does a Homeowner Association do for me other than tell me what color I can paint my house?"

This is a common question that real estate agents hear.  Instead of trying to answer this question ourselves, we enlisted the help of the foremost authority we could find on HOAs, Pam Bailey.  Pam is the CEO of Chaparral Management company, which since 1985 has helped HOAs operate on a day to day basis.  She is also heavily involved in the lawmaking process with the Texas state legislature.  Each year when the legislature is in session, Pam is in Austin advocating on behalf of HOAs across the state to ensure that new laws don't adversely impact the HOAs or the communities they serve.

Pam was very generous with her time, covering the specifics about how HOAs operate, and how they improve the value of the communities they serve.

Aug 24, 2016

In this episode, we interviewed Vickie and Briana Colascione.  Vickie is Karen’s client who also happens to live a few doors down from us.  While we were taking a walk in the neighborhood with our kids, we ran in to Vickie and Briana and started to chat.  Briana told us a story about a conversation she overheard between a real estate agent and a client that confirms some of the content that we’ve already covered on the podcast:  there are some really sleazy agents out there, because the barriers to entry to the industry are too low.  I won’t spoil her story here, you’ll just have to listen to it.

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