Discover Lafayette By cover art

Discover Lafayette

By: Jan Swift
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • The Gateway to South Louisiana
    Discover Lafayette©
    Show more Show less
activate_primeday_promo_in_buybox_DT
Episodes
  • Ken Simeral – Entrepreneurial Commercial Realtor, Business Owner, Supporter of the Arts

    Ken Simeral – Entrepreneurial Commercial Realtor, Business Owner, Supporter of the Arts
    Jun 21 2024
    Ken Simeral, a prominent figure in the real estate community in Acadiana, joins Discover Lafayette to discuss his thoughts on investing in real estate when the numbers work in your favor, the importance of offering high-quality, targeted service to his clients, and his lifetime involvement in bettering our community. Ken is President-Elect of the REALTOR® Association of Acadiana (RAA). A devoted family man, he has been married to his wife, Deborah, since 1977 and they are the parents of two sons, Kyle and Jeffrey. Ken brings a seasoned voice to the industry: when he joined the former Lafayette Association of Realtors, there were 320 realtors; today there are more than 1850 members of the Realtor Association of Acadiana. Ken is owner of Magnolia Real Estate & Construction. He and his son, Kyle, operate Scott Quick Lube and Thermal Insulation Contractors. Ken, his wife, Deborah, and his sons own Simeral Properties, a company with multiple real estate holdings. And Ken enjoys the outdoors; he keeps horses and cattle on his 40-acre farm in Arnaudville where he and Deborah reside, and if you drop in, you may see him navigating his backhoe on the property. Pictured is La Maison Chatrian, a bed and breakfast home that Ken and Deborah Simeral offer to travelers visiting lovely Grand Coteau. Built circa 1835, the home sleeps 12 and is one of the oldest homes in Grand Coteau. Ken and Deborah spent seven years restoring the home. Restoration of historic properties is a passion of Ken's. Ken took his first real estate class in 1972, at a time when interest rates were 18%. By the early 80s, they had lowered a bit to 12%. With his decades of experience in residential and commercial real estate, Ken has witnessed firsthand the cyclical nature of real estate and interest rates, and he counsels homebuyers not to let the current interest rates be a controlling factor in their decision to buy. A 1969 high school graduate, Ken started college that fall. Unfortunately, his timing put him in the first draft lottery to determine military service since WWII in 1942. When he pulled #64 (based upon his birthday), he decided to enlist in the Air National Guard, and thereafter spent some time in Korea during the Vietnam War. Ken never returned to college studies, but began his lifelong journey of work, where he learned from others, benefitted from his own hard work, and the art of making smart investments. Always good with numbers, Ken bought his first home in 1972 on Garfield St. in Lafayette while in his early 20s. While managing an 18-unit apartment complex in Lafayette, he bought his second property in the McComb Veazey neighborhood, and then used equity from the first two homes to roll financing into three rentals. He soon married Deborah and started working with the Grand Paper Company, a national outfit where he was hired to be only the third salesman in the territory after 150 years in business. When he was offered a national rep position with the company, he realized he didn't want to be on the road each and every week; he wanted to be home with his family. Ken Simeral says, looking back on his rich life, "I was taught by older mentors. Everything I know I've learned from other people I could trust. The WWII generational ethics, how to do things right. Randolph Trappey was a mentor to me and I watched him build great houses. I just followed what he and others did." Ken ended up teaching the Realtor Code of Ethics ("Code of Conduct"), and served as the Chair of Professional Standards for Realtors. Ken looks back at this early period of his life with gratitude about what he learned from others. He also has advice for young homebuyers who are looking from guidance from seasoned real estate owners such as himself. "It has to be a good investment before you worry about pretty colors on the wall. Before buying, determine whether the cost of the house purchase plus the cost of repairs equals the value of the home when...
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Sandy Cormier of Home Bank: Mortgage Loan Officer on Ways to Qualify to Buy Your Dream Home

    Sandy Cormier of Home Bank: Mortgage Loan Officer on Ways to Qualify to Buy Your Dream Home
    Jun 15 2024
    With June being National Homeowner Month, it seems like a good time to welcome a seasoned Mortgage Loan Officer to Discover Lafayette. Home Bank's Sandy Cormier, NMLS# 493798, Member FDIC/Equal Housing Lender, joins us to discuss the types of loans available to consumers who are looking to build or buy their dream home, as well as what you need to do to qualify for a loan. Sandy has been with Home Bank for 25 years and with that time comes a depth of experience that is hard to beat. Whether its helping first-time homebuyers, people seeking construction loans, or individuals wanting to upsize/downsize their current home, Sandy along with her peers in the Home Bank Mortgage Lending Department are available to assist in providing your best option. Sandy Cormier, Mortage Loan Officer with Home Bank, loves what she does. "You get to help people with the biggest purchase of their lives. And, she says "It is better to buy than rent. Your home is an asset and the current interest rates shouldn't be a deterrent. If you are renting and have to pay the first and last month's rent plus the deposit, you've probably gotten together your 3% needed for a downpayment on owning your home. Having a mortgage is one of the best ways to build your credit." When you begin shopping for a home, it is advantageous to get guidance from an experienced mortgage lending professional, such as Sandy, to determine what you can afford and what you will be ultimately be qualified to borrow. People frequently get two things confused: "prequalified" vs. "preapproved" for a loan. When you prequalify, the mortgage lender does a basic credit check to see where you stand on the ability to repay a mortgage. You get an idea of where your credit score ranks, but this does not certify to third parties that you are actually ready to get approved for a mortgage loan. When you get pre-approved, a more extensive background check occurs that unveils your true ability to repay a mortgage loan. A letter can be issued to show realtors and sellers that you are ready to purchase, and the letter is good for six months. The lender will first pull your credit scores from the trifecta of credit reporting companies (Transunion, Equifax, and Experian) to obtain your average credit score based upon the information the three companies provide. These credit agencies pick up on any recent delinquencies (within the past 24 months) you may have experienced in paying your bills. Note that older delinquencies don't affect your credit score in the same way that recent ones in the past two years do. Also interestingly, the credit agencies don't report on utility payments, and more recently, don't report on deliquencies in medical bill payments. The lender also obtains your W-2's for the past two years, conducts asset verifications (your bank statements and reserve savings). If you are thinking about opening your own business after being an employee of a company, note that the lender will verify what you earned the past two years while being self-employed, so opening your own company may delay your ability to be pre-approved or pre-qualified for a mortgage loan. When you are looking to qualify for a home mortgage loan, lenders look at three major categories of information: First, lenders work up your "debt to income analysis" by looking at your gross monthly income (before taxes) and your current debt commitments (car loans, revolving credit, etc.) so that you can come up with a projected mortgage payment that will cover the cost of owning a home in your price range. Sandy says that 43% debt to income ratio is what you want to achieve, i.e., when you total up your current debt, and include your projected mortgage payment, your debt should be just 43% of your gross income. If you have a high credit score, this percentage may be adjusted a bit, but it is a good frame of reference. Sandy also recommends that if you know you are looking to be approved for a home ...
    Show more Show less
    56 mins
  • Lana Fontenot and Anne Falgout – South Louisiana Community College – Affordable Post-Secondary Education Transforming Families and Communities

    Lana Fontenot and Anne Falgout – South Louisiana Community College – Affordable Post-Secondary Education Transforming Families and Communities
    Jun 7 2024
    South Louisiana Community College's ("SoLAcc") Anne Falgout, Director of Strategic Communications, and Lana Fontenot, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement and External Relations and Executive Director of the College’s Foundation, join Discover Lafayette to discuss the latest developments at SoLAcc and its recent rebranding. SoLAcc currently offers more than 50 programs, leading to associate degrees, technical diplomas, and certificates, to almost 12,000 students annually, at its campuses in Abbeville, Crowley, Franklin, Lafayette, Morgan City, New Iberia, Opelousas, St. Martinville, and Ville Platte. The College also offers a wide range of non-credit instruction and training, for careers that need certification training such as power linemen, industrial scaffolding, and commercial driving, which students can complete in under six months. Following an Academic Blueprint prepared five years in advance, SoLAcc endeavors to build educational programs that fit the needs of each community they serve. Many people in our region don't have high school diplomas, and SoLAcc steps up to offer Adult Basic Education Services, assisting individuals in passing the High School Equivalency Exam ("HiSET") which replaced the former GED exam. Students of all ages come to SoLAcc for this program, sometimes after their own children graduate from high school, and are guided by the college counselors to figure out the best way to obtain an appropriate degree while qualifying for grants, loans, and other institutional aid resources to help cover the cost of their education. SoLAcc was awarded the Hunger-Free Campus Award by the Louisiana Board of Regents in 2024. The typical age of a SoLAcc student has declined in recent years, from 27 years of age to 24 years of age today. This is a huge shift in demographics, due to the college's effective outreach program. Additionally, SoLAcc's tuition is on average about 40% less than a tradtional four-year colleges and institutions. Anne Falgout says, "The top issues that come up when we speak with prospective students is affordability and flexibility in classes as they choose which institution to attend. Affordability plus Quality equals Value!" Student Success Live is an in-person new-student orientation that all students take before registering. Guidance on resources and expectations help SoLAcc's retention rate of students. About 3/4 of the college's students are first generation college students and have no frame of reference about what to expect. Many know no one who has gone to college. SoLAcc works to help each student holistically and offers free tutoring at every campus. More than one-half of SoLAcc's students are university bound and find that first obtaining a two-year Associate's degree at the college is the most economical method to earn their credits. SoLAcc partners not only with UL-Lafayette, but also McNeese, Holy Cross, and Nicholls State to offer a 2 + 2 agreement that allows students to seamlessly transfer their credits from the community college to the universities. Lana pointed out that SoLAcc is the largest feeder of students to UL-Lafayette and its graduates start the university ready to excel. The Early College Academy, which is 'baked into SoLAcc's Devalcourt location in Lafayette," is rated in the top 1% of public high schools in Louisiana, and is particularly well-known for its students' math and reading proficiencies. The high school shares faculty with SoLAcc and the benefit of of this dual enrollment program is that students can earn their two-year Associate's Degree while earning their high school diploma. This enables the students to start at a university as a Junior. Many people attend SoLAcc after having graduated from a traditional four-year college and established in a career. As an example close to home, Lana's husband, educated to be a teacher and experienced as a fifteen-year veteran of teaching middle and high school stu...
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 3 mins
Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Show more Show less

What listeners say about Discover Lafayette

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com reviews

Amazon reviews
No Reviews are Available