• Ken Simeral – Entrepreneurial Commercial Realtor, Business Owner, Supporter of the Arts

  • Jun 21 2024
  • Length: 1 hr and 9 mins
  • Podcast

Ken Simeral – Entrepreneurial Commercial Realtor, Business Owner, Supporter of the Arts By cover art

Ken Simeral – Entrepreneurial Commercial Realtor, Business Owner, Supporter of the Arts

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  • 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...
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