Real Talk for Design-Loving Moms

Welcome to the Working Moms of San Antonio podcast. We're your host, Erika Radis and Marie Lifschultz, a realtor and lender here in San Antonio. But most importantly, we're working moms just like you.

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Now on to today's episode. Grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and let's get started.

Welcome to this week's episode of the Working Moms of San Antonio podcast. I am here with Brittany of Signature Styles by Britt. She's our repeat guest. She's been on a couple of times before. Um, but just in case you haven't listened, we'll turn it over to her and just let her introduce herself a little bit more.

Thank you, Erika and Marie. I appreciate you guys having me back. My name is Brittany and I'm the owner of Signature Styles by Britt. I specialize in kitchen and bathroom designs and I'm a budget-friendly designer, so I can help you with your DIY projects all the way through renovations.

Do you want to give people a little bit of your background and how you got into that?

Sure.

So I started back in the early 2000s, uh, I worked for a big box company as, uh, their appliance specialist. Mm-hmm. And then the store manager kept catching me over in the design center helping people with selections and stuff. And I finally was promoted to a designer and was sent to the corporate office in Atlanta where I learned the design system. Yeah. And then I, really just started helping people with their small budgets to make their kitchen dreams come true. And I think that's where I really shine.

Yeah.

Because I love working with people that give me that creative challenge with a, a budget and how do I make this grand design fit within your budget.

Got it. I love that.

Yeah. We all need that, right?

Yes.

Especially in today's economy. And so today I guess we're We're gonna talk about a specific subject or a few specific subjects, um, about maybe like the home buying process and what that looks like if you need renovations.

Yeah, I think it's important because right now the, the market, there's so many houses on the market.

Yeah. Yes.

But they're not all up to date and renovated.

Right.

And sometimes when I was a first-time home buyer, it was really challenging finding a realtor and I didn't know that I could get renovation loans built into my mortgage.

Yeah.

And I think it would be smart to share that knowledge with people, especially if they're struggling or about to do the home buying process. And what does that look like?

Right.

Well, I, I think the biggest thing is, um, that's hurt first-time home buyers is they, they have a vision or they imagine what a home's gonna look like and they go to look out in their budget and they're like, wait, this is not what's on TV. That, you know, I don't have the granite countertops and the, the, you know, the new glass doors or the grand entrance and stuff like that. So it's hard for them to, um, scale down to get into their budget. So when I, when I work with someone, I always talk about budget and obviously what, what they envision. So bringing up the renovation talk sometimes is a little much because they can't— I know for me personally, it's hard for me to envision what a house could be.

Yeah.

Right.

That's a lot of, that's a lot of buyers.

It is. It took me to my third, I'm on third home that my third home purchase that I'm like, okay, I don't care what it looks like. Location was the most important thing no matter what I can fix. Yeah. Well, not me. My husband could fix anything else. Yeah. Like I knew I could find someone to come in to renovate the kitchen, to renovate the back, to, to add, add a room if I needed to or whatever the case is. It's just the location I couldn't change.

Yeah.

So that's what I focused on at that time. And we utilized renovation loans for when I did my home. So it was something that, you know, that I, I actually personally did to make sure that I got the home that I wanted.

I feel like that's such good advice. And in fact, you recently gave me that advice.

Yeah.

We're in the process of selling and buying again, as we do from time to time. This is probably what, number 5?

Yeah.

Maybe the life of a realtor is like that. You never stop moving. But that was really good advice that Marie did give me where it was like, hey, look, That's like the thing that you can't change, right? Like you can't change where your home is. It, it is where it is, but you can change all these other things. Mm-hmm. And I feel like even as a realtor, I've seen a million homes, but it made the personal home buying process easier for me. Um, and I guess it does help that we like sort of a weird old home and we like doing all those things. Yeah.

Yeah.

But, um, I have a lot of buyers who go into these weirder older homes where I'm like, hey, this is great. And they're like, what is this? Like, they just can't. And so, yeah, I mean the fact that you can roll some of these costs into a home loan. Yeah. A lot of them don't know that information.

No, no. A lot of times I'll advise people, like it, depending on their, every, everybody's circumstance first off is gonna be different. Everybody's financial circumstance completely different. But if you're like, hey Marie, I'm buying this house and I wanna put 30% down on my home and then I'm gonna renovate all the stuff. Oh, well hold on, before we do that, let's look at Does it make sense for you to put all the $30,000 or 30% down, or does it make sense to put a little bit less down and save that cash to do your renovations? Because if you're just going to put all that cash down, buy the house, and then go charge all these renovations on a Lowe's card, whatever card, you know, you want to put in new cabinets, you want to put in new flooring, where is that coming from? So before we do that, let's see what's the best financial decision for you, or does it make sense to maybe roll some of those costs in to when you purchase the home? So it, it, it's gonna vary depending on each person's circumstance, but there are options. So if you're looking at homes and you can't find what you want because of the style, that can be changed. And I think people need to know that.

Absolutely. And things can be done in phases. Yeah. So you don't have to do it all at once. And sometimes it can be just as simple as, I have a quality kitchen, I like the layout, I don't mind it. But I hate the color. We can paint it. They have great cabinet paints. We can change out the countertops and we can update your backsplash. And hardware is an easy fix. And a lot of this can be catered depending on, is this a DIY project or is this a do-it-for-me project?

Yeah.

It's that simple. We can come up with a game plan and figure out what, you know, you need in your space. And not everybody needs or wants the,, showroom kitchen or the magazine front and center trifold. Yeah. You know, some people just want it to feel cozy and, and for them to feel welcome and, or functional and functional.

Yes.

But I, we can do it all.

So I bring, make sure I understand that. So you will help people who have a DIY project in mind but need help seeing it or putting it together. That's something you'd help with?

Absolutely. And I, The thing is, the DIYers, they have these grand ideas and sometimes it's guilty. Yes.

Guilty.

You start a project and then do you finish it?

Yeah.

Sometimes you buy a table saw and then never take it out of the box.

Exactly. Or there's these fancy stencils that you were going to do this beautiful wall. I can be your cheerleader and make and check in on you and make sure that we're staying on, on track.

Yeah.

Or maybe, you know, it was a good idea at first and let's, let's just hire a professional and get it done and over with. Get that visually burden out of the way and then we can set up for the next project.

Yeah.

So that, that's awesome because I have things like, I, there's things I can do. I, you know, that you maybe for cost efficiency, maybe something I put in some elbow grease and get it done, but I don't know how to make that work and how to do that. That's something you can help with.

Yeah, absolutely. But sometimes you gotta figure out, is this, am I trying to save money and time or am I, Do I need to just invest in a professional just to get it, get it done and over with?

And I just wanna break it more and cost more money. That's what I'm gonna do.

It's, well, exactly. And you know what happens is I buy all the things to start a project. Yes. And then at the end I don't finish it and it would've just saved me money by hiring a professional.

Yeah.

Do you ever see those, uh, things on social media where like, oh, I, I, I spent more money buying all the tools and whatever than it would've cost me just to hire someone to do it.

Exactly.

I'm so guilty of that because in my mind I'm like, I'm gonna use these tools again for all these other projects. But like when you have 5 jobs and 3 kids and like everything else, it's like you're not, you're not gonna do any, I know realistically I'm not gonna do that shit. Like it's never gonna happen.

Yeah.

No.

And that's okay.

Yeah.

And that's what, like if you need a cheerleader, I'm here for you. Yeah. I will help you, uh, and I'll text you and I will call you to make sure that we're on track on the project. If it's not something that is obtainable because of life, yeah. Then let's just hire a professional and budget that in. And it might not be tomorrow, but it, we could maybe work it in the next 6 months.

Yeah. So when people decide like, hey, I thought I was gonna DIY, but just kidding. Like I'm never gonna do this. Then what does that process look like going through you?

So I would figure out what your thought process was to achieve the certain style. Once we figure out what, what you are trying to achieve, I come up with a game plan. I had a bathroom recently where they were gonna DIY it and then decided, you know what, I have guests coming in a week and I need this done now.

Right.

So I found a contractor that I trust. We got it all done within 3 days and then it was done. So it's just figuring out your timeline, your budget, and what you were trying to achieve. In the first place. And then from there we just come up with a game plan and get it, get the ball moving.

Yeah, I think that's awesome. I think we wanted to also touch base like how do, I know a lot of people have questions. Okay, you have loans, you have renovations, you find a house that you really like and the kitchen needs a full gut. Yeah. In order for this to function for your family, you want to, you need a full gut. And what does that look like? So I would like, talking with a lender ahead of time in all cases, whether you're buying a home, doing renovation like that, is important. But at least have an idea that it's something you want to do because you need to have a team in place. So when you, when you want to have renovations added to your financing, there has to be some things that you have to do. So you, when you go under contract, you need to get some bids, right? Or having someone like you, Brittany, would be so great to help manage that. If they had like, hey, I'm gonna look at a home, it's probably be something in order to fit in my budget. I know it's not something I can afford today. So I need to make sure I, you know, find a home at a good price, but I want to add in renovations for a kitchen. So that's something you could help them with by finding contractors or getting budgets in place, right? Yeah. To help them know, 'cause as a lender, I'll need to know what the cost of those renovations are going to be in order to see what loan program fits you the best.

Absolutely. And I want to say that, Hiring a designer is not for the, just for the wealthy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's for everybody. And finding the right designer is obtainable and achievable. Um, but it's super important because getting your kitchen and the layout, there's a, there's an art to creating a functioning and flowing kitchen.

Yeah.

Um, and there's some safety precautions, like you're not gonna wanna install a gas range with a recirculating, microwave because you don't want the gases coming back in your face.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

So there's, there's things that, you know, a designer's gonna have that knowledge and make sure that your safety, the functionality of your kitchen and the overall look is what you're after. And they can present it in a paper or like a floor plan for, yeah, for your contractor. So they know exactly what was going on in your brain, what you agreed with, for, uh, with your client and then the contractor can achieve that. So there's, there's a full process and value to hiring a professional to help with that process.

Absolutely.

Yeah. And I feel like now more than ever, it's totally doable because there's more negotiations happening in the buying process than there have been in the last 5 years.

Yes.

You know, sellers are giving more concessions, homes are sitting a little bit longer. And so sellers are willing to come down. And if you can come down and then roll some of that stuff into your loan, I feel like it's totally doable right now. So maybe going to see some of these houses that have been sitting around a while. I mean, if you have the eye to sort of see the potential, I think you can ultimately really get pretty close to what you want now more than ever.

Well, you, right now you have investors that do it. Yeah. You have investors that jump in and want to flip homes, right? So how are they doing that? Well, they do it with different types of financing. They're not, a lot of them are not cash flowing it. Right. So a first-time home buyer can do exactly the same thing and do it cost efficiently if you have the right people in place.

Right.

That's the biggest thing is knowing ahead of time and being prepared. A lot of times you can't go shopping for a house on a whim.

Yeah.

You gotta have a plan in place. So, and that's, I think that's where it makes the home buying process stressful when you don't have a plan.

Yeah.

So if it's something like, hey, you know, if you, if you're thinking right now that, a home is just not in my future because I can't afford it. No, I try, look at it again, 'cause rents are not going down. No. Rents are going up.

Yeah.

So if you're gonna find a home, maybe again, I think a lot of people are like, well, in my price range, I don't like any of them. I don't, you know, I don't wanna live with a pink bathroom. Well, we got options. We got options for that.

Yeah.

Something to help you with that. And, and not everybody's, you know, raised with knowing how to fix things and you don't have to. It is, there are some ways to doing renovations that's cost efficient. To make a home a home.

Yeah. Can you talk, Marie, a little bit about like what the process looks like if you find a home that needs some renovation?

Yeah.

Um, like in terms of, I know you have to get bids and they have to be by professionals.

Yeah.

And like how far down do you need, do you need, what would that house appraisal look like and that kind of stuff? So, you know, you're thinking, hey, look, you know, we're gonna get this to be kind of a fancier looking place. What does that look like in the loan process?

So the way it looks like, so when you're looking at financing a home purchase plus renovations, so we, we would need bids, right? In, in addition to that, we want to make sure you have a team on your side to help you say, okay, we don't want to over-improve a home either, right? Right. We want to make sure the home appraises for the area appropriately. So typically you, you are looking for a deal on a home because if you want to roll in a renovation, you don't want to exceed what the home could appraise for because the home's going to be based on the acquisition cost, which is the cost of the home plus renovation. We don't want it to be under that. So for example, let's say you buy, you find a home for $180,000 and you want to put in $40,000 worth of repairs. Well, the home has to at least appraise for $220,000, right? We have to at least that. Now if it appraises for $250,000, great. But again, we don't want it to—

But not in its current— it doesn't have to appraise in its current condition. It's in its improved condition.

Correct.

So, okay. The reason we need a little bit extra time in the buying process is because not only do you have to do your inspections, we have to get Brittany out there to look at the home, get contractors and get the bids in place. Okay, this is what we want to do. And then along with your purchase contract and the bids for what you're going to do and improve will have to be supplied to the appraiser.

I see.

So it's kind of like plans and specs. When you build a home, an appraiser goes out to the land and there's no house there. They just see the plans. So they will appraise a home based on those plans. Same concept. You have a home that you're purchasing at a certain price. We're going to add in X amount for renovations. And he's going to take that into account when he appraises the house. So we have to have a detailed list, bids of some sort to show him these are the things that we're going to be doing.

So what does that timeline look like?

I would say if, if you have everything in place, you kind of know your budget already, you know what you want to do. I would say I would at least give— typically on a contract, you have about 30 days from the time that you accept, um, the offer to the time you get the keys in your hand, right? That's typical. Can it be less? Absolutely. This will— I'll probably add another 15 to 20 days depending on your team. So my time frame is only like, if you have the bids the next day, then we move faster. But I would say it would take time on your contractor's plate, like whatever's on their plate, to get out to the home do the bids and get them back to you, and then you get them back to the lender. So it just depends on that. So if you have like, hey, you know that going in that I'm going to find out, I'm going to find a good deal on a house knowing we're going to do some renovations, have your team in place, right? Have those people, have those relationships built. So when you go into home, maybe they can go look at this house with you.

Sure.

Before you put in an offer and you're like, hey, you can do this, you can do, you can do the kitchen, you can do the bathroom, and maybe have a rough estimate before you even put in an offer.

Yeah, I think that's why it's important to have somebody like Brittany because I mean, you and I have both done some renovations on our home.

Yeah.

You've done some renovations on your home as well. And hiring the right contractors to do things in sort of like a speedy manner can sometimes be difficult. And so if time is of the essence, you're trying to maybe schedule closings and different things like that. Yeah. To get those bids, you've gotta know some people that like are really on their stuff, you know?

Yeah, we've all heard horror stories about contractors. I can tell you lots.

So there it— yes, there you've gotta find the right peop— make sure they're licensed and insured, especially if they're gonna be doing any type of structural changes. Having an engineer come out, like there's, there's important steps that need to be taken care of, but making, really making sure that they are, um, if they're going to be doing any structural changes to the property, make sure they're a general contractor and make sure they are insured.

I think the biggest thing I would take away from, from something, if you're looking to do renovations, is just having your team in place.

Yeah.

Knowing ahead of time who you're working with and knowing that they have your back. Like, your lender understands your financial goals, your realtor understands where you want to live,. And then you have a designer or a contractor, whomever, to know that, hey, this is my budget, help me stick with my budget. Cuz I can't tell you how many times I'm like, hey, I wanna spend X amount and I'm $29,000 over. Yeah. Like, whoa, whoa, what happened?

Yeah.

Like I said, this is the amount I had. And at the end of the project, like they have to be your, your team has to have your back. Well, and it's not, it's a, it's a horrible process. Yeah.

And I think they have to know the real info. Like how often do we have clients that maybe, and I don't know what it is, I don't know why people feel like they have to lie to us. Yeah. Why they think we're gonna judge them or, you know, we're not, we're here to help you. So we need to know the real information about what you're looking for.

Yeah.

I need, you need to know the real information about their financial situation. Like we have to know all the real stuff because it all comes out eventually anyway. And if you don't know all that stuff, we can't help you.

Yeah.

With a home loan renovation, you know, like all of those things, we just, we can't, but. People don't want to share it.

They don't. No, I, and I think it's just maybe they feel embarrassed or they don't know. Like, I think if you were to ask me, what do you want in a home, my first house, I'm, uh, a bed. I don't know. We asked a, a cute story. We have a friend here looking to move, and like, what do you need at home? Well, you just need more room. Okay, but what area? We don't know.

Yeah.

So I asked the son, like, hey, 86, what do you want in house? I want a big pantry with lots of food. That was his thing. Okay, well, you just have a big pantry. But most people, the don't know what they want.

Yeah.

So maybe going out and looking, and if they can't find something, then this is a great option of a renovation loan or having someone come out, help you find you what you, what would you like? If you, you know, you find, like I said, location is the biggest thing for me.

Yeah.

You can't change that, but you can typically change the bulk of everything else.

Yeah. Now Brittany, when you work with people, is it usually like, hey, we wanna do this project, we've already saved up all this money and now we're gonna do this thing. Or would you say things maybe sometimes look a little bit different?

I would say no, because people really don't know the cost of renovations and they don't know, um, they may understand how taxing it can be living in a house that's torn up. Um, but they really don't know what it's gonna cost as a, as a whole for a kitchen. An example, 15 years ago when I was designing at a big box, a big kitchen was $20,000.

Yeah.

And that was huge. That was all bells and whistles. That's when they upgraded the hardware to be the soft close.

Sure.

Yeah.

And now, I mean, you're pushing $50,000, $60,000 for, you know, a basic kitchen. And that's because the cost of everything has gone up.

Sure.

And then you're paying for labor. Professional labor. Um, so no, I don't think they understand realistically, um, how much it does cost for major renovations.

Yeah.

And then also, um, trying to say, um, it's overwhelming and you get all this news and media and interest thrown at you.

Sure.

And then you're getting the cost from, you know, Washington State or New York. And it's just not realistic to our area. So I think sitting down and talking to multiple contractors to figure out what their cost for labor, because that's not going to change. And then we can shop around for cabinets because those do change. We can figure out what's going to fit in your budget and what's a value to you. And same with countertops. There's different grades of countertops and there's different grades of countertops in each level. Like granite goes from entry level all the way to the luxury.

Sure.

So it's figuring out what's important to you, what you find value in and where we want to invest your dollars in, whether it's Italian flooring and maybe middle of the road cabinets to middle of the road countertops.

Sure.

It, it just, that, that is where the cost can kind of vary because materials change, but the labor, My costs aren't gonna change.

Yeah. Yeah.

So we can plug that in and then figure out a budget and then talk to Marie about what that budget, how to obtain that budget.

I think the biggest takeaway for this is like, if you think you're unable to buy a home 'cause you can't find a home in your budget that you like, there is a way to make it something that you like.

Oh, absolutely.

Absolutely.

So is this the only option for people? No, but it is definitely an option that people do not use very often.

Yeah.

Very, it's rare. It is very rare.

And, and it's also okay to buy a house and live in the space for a few years to figure out what you don't like about the space too. There's some value into that. Yeah. Um, for me, uh, for example, we lived in our space 7 years before we did a kitchen renovation and we discovered we did not like the hallway. And we didn't like the 2, 3 different levels of ceiling and the placement of our fridge.

Got it.

And so we were able to come up with a game plan on how to eliminate the wall and get the structural engineer in and figure out a game plan from there. But we lived in the space and it took us, oh, I hate where the stupid fridge is, you know?

Yeah.

Constantly. So there's value to living in the space.

Yeah.

And figuring out what you don't like about it.

Absolutely. You don't figure out, what you don't like until you're in there.

Yeah.

It's happened with me for every house. There's always things, you know, you're like, oh, this house is perfect. Like, no, it isn't. You know, there's, there's stuff. Um, and so that's so true. And maybe that's something, you know, that I should be talking to my clients about more. I don't know that I've ever had that conversation with them, but that's a really good point where it's like, hey, look, you're gonna get in here and you're gonna maybe not like something or really like something and, and figure out you want more of that thing or whatever it is. But yeah, I mean, it coming in and just busting up a house, which I have been guilty of, only to find out that the, even the way that I renovated it, I decided I didn't like, you know? So maybe spending some time and saving some money to do it the right way the first time. And that's a lesson my dad always says, sometimes your, sometimes your first cost is your cheapest cost, right? And so sometimes you want that to be a little bit longer after you've learned some things. Absolutely.

Well, that's right. But also if you live in the space sometime, you're also building equity.

Yeah.

Right. If you're just renting, you're never building equity. So, right. At least if you're in a space for a couple of years, you're building equity. Can you still do a renovation loan? Absolutely. There's ways to get equity out of your home to utilize your home as your bank in a sense to do your renovations.

And there are also ways to make it pretty enough within a, a budget. Yeah. A smaller budget until you can achieve the bigger renovations that you're after. So it's not always a matter of doing the hard renovation at first. It can be as simple as let's just paint the walls and make it livable for you to come in and be like, oh, okay, I can live in here. And then we can come up with a game plan about what it's gonna take to really do the space that you want. Yeah. In baby steps.

I have to say a fresh coat of paint always makes the, it makes it nice.

Yeah. And that is, and that's such a good point too. Again, I'll go back to my personal experience. Experience in my last house. We knew there was all kinds of stuff that had to be done, um, and obviously you can't do it all at once, you know, it's just the way. And so I even like refrained from hanging stuff up because I was like, I'm going to, we're gonna do stuff here. Like, why would I hang stuff? Like something as dumb as that. But then the whole time it was like, we didn't put up family pictures really. And we didn't do all this stuff cuz you know, and I was there 4 years and it didn't feel like a home. No, it never really, I mean, it, it was, it was nice. Our house was nice, but it just was, It wasn't the way I would've done it if I had thought it was like the way it should've been, you know? Um, and so I refrained from doing a lot of things.

I'm still in the renovation process and I'm almost, uh, 10 years in.

Yeah.

Right. We've been with major renovations in our home and we still have our, the master bedroom to do. We've done the bulk of the rest of the house, but have that. I'm like, I don't have, cuz it's not the way I want it. Mm-hmm. It's not there yet. Cuz we have to do, I do it in phases. Right? Absolutely. Because it's great to be cost efficient. And I, I try to cash flow a lot of the stuff as well. But I, you can do a home in phase, in phases that you don't have to do all at one time either. That's something that you like, hey, here's the, here's the big plan, right? You can show them, you know, through the whole house here, all the things you can do. But we can start with one. We don't do all of it at one time. Absolutely. You know, one, one thing at a time.

But you also need, it's so important to, to, and just make the space feel like It's yours. Yes. Even if you're planning on doing renovations, put your pictures up and enjoy your family, you know, pictures and enjoy your space. And then when it comes to that phase, we will take down the pictures and we will do it up how you want it and we'll put the pictures back up. But you, you still have to, you still have to live in your house. Right.

You know, I needed you 4 years ago.

Where was I?

Yeah. I mean, that's so true. There's another gal in our membership, um, who's a, a family therapist, and, um, I'm helping her buy a home.

And that's exciting.

Yes. Oh my God, it is. It's so exciting. But she sent me a, like a TikTok or something that kind of talked about how we keep our homes now like gray and white and, and beige because resell, right? Like we, you know, if we have to sell this, how we almost like live in a state of like temporary living in case, you know, You have to sell that place.

I never thought of it that way.

People aren't putting color in their homes as much anymore. They're not doing the wallpaper and stuff. I mean, you see a little bit of it on Instagram and all of that. Um, but I think especially post-COVID, like we are in a constant state of like almost fight or flight, right? Like what if we, like, what if we have to move? Sure. Um, and so she sent me that reel or whatever it was, and she wants like her next house to be like, like feel like home. Yeah. It's important for her. Um, and it was really almost even something that I needed to hear. Even as a realtor, you just don't think about it.

Yeah.

But like as a realtor, I'm advising people like, yeah, paint this neutral because people can't look past it. So you've gotta, you know, everything's gotta be beige and everything's gotta be white so people can put their own stamp on it. But people aren't putting their own stamp on it. And that's the wild part. They're just leaving it like that in case they need to go again, because why do the effort if you're gonna leave again? It's a weird time that we're in, I think, as a society where everything feels very temporary.

I, you know what, I never thought of it that way. And I know that the gray trend is in and a lot of designers don't care for it. Yeah. But it is a neutral. But some people, like for my personality, I, I can't have the bright colors. I can design the, with the bright colors and have the fun spaces.

Yeah.

But my mental, um, it's too much.

It's too much.

I have, it has to be soft, like the greens and just mellow and yeah. But it's still warm and cozy.

Oh, sure.

But, and then some people, um, Angela with, um, the organizer Finding Function, she has the funnest house. It's all bright colors and it's all cheer.

It's, it, it's so fun.

I love when I walk into a house like that. I love that.

It's cheery and it's, and it's beautiful. And her guest bedroom that she's doing is stunning. It's greens and it's, it's bright and it, it just makes you kind of go, oh, happy.

Yeah.

And some people need that. But yeah, like it just depends on your personality. But I never thought of it that way of being in a constant state state of the—

well, I have to say, when I bought my home, that's what they told me. What about resale value? Like, I ain't moving again. Like, yeah, I don't plan to move, you know.

I never plan to move, Marie.

I know, I know, my friend.

But I never plan it, and yet here we are doing it again.

And it's okay if it is. I mean, like, I, I think you, you need to live in your space.

You do.

Yeah, you need to live in your space, a home. I mean, then it's just a house and it's not a home, right?

Just a Yeah, absolutely. And it can, it can be, like I said before, it can be done in phases, but you, you, you still need to feel comfortable and welcome in your own space regardless of the resale value. Yeah. I guess that's a good takeaway is yes. You need to, you need to have your own stamp on it regardless of the resale value because the gray paint is gonna, is, is at the store. We can, we can find it.

You can go back and put gray.

Yeah.

But we can put it in.

There's primer. We're good. Yeah. Put that color up.

You put that yellow wall up.

There you go.

Well, I think, I mean, I remember buying a home and, uh, we were concerned about what was in the back and I'm like, it don't, it didn't bother me.

Yeah.

It didn't bother me.

I know I couldn't do this. But what did your realtor say?

He said it might not be good for resale. I'm like, I'm buying. I mean, if I'm buying the home, someone else might like it. I mean, but again, I, I'm, I wasn't thinking, I wanted it to be a space.

Yeah.

That we, we loved. And I knew that we, we had major, I bought the home knowing I was gonna put a lot of money into making it to what I really wanted.

Yeah.

So I, again, At the end of the day, I wanted location. That was very important to me.

And I think like from our perspective, cuz I, I do it to clients all the time. I'm like, just so you know, this might like, almost you would just hate to not say it in case they would come back later and be like, oh my gosh, you never told me that this was gonna be like a big problem. You know? And so we kind of have to say it.

Yeah.

And then you have to leave it up to the buyer to kind of decide what's a problem for them.

But don't you also like tell people to look past the ugly wallpaper? We, you have gray walls, but yeah.

And everything is so up to like interpretation. Right? Yeah. So like I can't tell you how many times. I have shown a couple 10 homes, right? And in my mind I'm like, God, this is the best one. Like, this is the one. This is everything they want. They don't have to do that much. Look at how, you know, and of course I can't tell 'em like the schools are good, but in my mind I'm like, hey, this would be great for your kids. Like, um, or whatever. Um, and then they pick the one that I am like, what the fuck is this?

Like, what, what has happened here?

What did you just do? What has happened to you in life? Where you feel like this is the one, you know, it's the strangest thing. But, and if they love it, they love it. And I'm happy to give them whatever they love and help them do whatever. But it's interesting, like people's tastes are different, you know? No. And so I imagine design is the same. Like you go into these places and yeah, you know, something that someone wants, you're probably like, what is that? But then, you know, it's what they want. So it's what it is. You know, all of it is up to you.

I never, I never thought like, oh, I want this because it's on trend. Like, I, uh, no, I just like white cabinet. I mean, it's not cuz I liked it before it was trendy.

Yeah.

Like I've never done the whole trendy thing and the grays and the whatever.

The things come in and out of phases. And what I've noticed about a lot of people is they say they like one style and then when they send me their inspo pictures, they really don't like the one style. They like a mix.

Yes.

I get that all the time. Even like with the types of houses they want. They'll be like, these are the things that are like non-negotiables. This is the most important thing that has ever happened in life, and this is what we need. And I'm like, cool, I'm gonna find it. And then they start sending me off of Zillow all of these homes. They're like, well, you didn't send us these, Erika. And I'm like, cuz those don't have those things that you said you absolutely had to have. So I don't know if it's like that over time their expectations get more realistic. And so they're like, maybe we broaden this a little bit. Um, but yeah, it's wild. Like the way, you know, they send you these photos or they say what they want and then it's really none of those things.

Well, and I think part of it is, um, they're following the trends and they're following what the mass is saying that they, you need from the space.

Right.

But then when you actually break down what your really needs and what your really likes are, it's, it's not the trends. Yeah.

Yeah.

And so I think that's part of, part of the problem and part of home buying. Cuz when I was, when I was a first-time home buyer, I didn't know what I wanted.

Yeah.

And I didn't have kids or a husband. I just knew that I wanted to be a grownup and buy a house. Yeah. That's, that's all I, all I knew. Uh, and then over time things, things changed and I knew that I could change the, the wall color or change out the, the hardware, you know, whatever, and make it my own. But it, when I was a first-time home buyer, I got what I got because That's what I could afford.

Yeah.

Um, and now being a second time home buyer, we had a little bit more, we needed a good school. I thought I wanted two stories and I, after living in the space, I do not like two story houses.

No.

Where is your laundry and where's your bedroom?

Opposite. Exactly. I didn't think about that.

We can do two story if the laundry room is upstairs and if they have a pan under the washing machine, we can do that.

Yeah.

Yeah. But you don't think about that until you live in the space. Absolutely.

That's just 10 years of conversations with people that makes me think right now.

Otherwise I wouldn't, you know, I, I think also people do the same thing with their budget. Like I really wanna keep my budget here, X amount, whatever that is. But their taste buds are way on the other side of it.

Yeah.

And I'm like, okay, well this is, this is your range. And I said, but I'm gonna help you stay accountable. You said you wanted your budget here and this is your price range.

Yeah.

So, but what's more important, the home or your budget? So I, you know, if it's not, you can't find something within this price range, then we need to be more realistic about your budget.

Otherwise you may go into a panic.

Yes. Gotta talk about budgets and, and look at things.

Yeah.

You know, so maybe the renovation part of, of a deal might be more, okay, I get a, a lesser expensive home knowing I'm gonna put some money in it to make it to the space I want versus buying the new construction that's overpriced at this moment and not built to, to what you think it should be built for. And, and, you know, overspending.

So, and we know what those conversations look like on the buying and lending side. Mm-hmm. But what do those conversations look like for you? They obviously probably have like pie in the sky dreams of what they're gonna get. Mm-hmm. And then do you have to kind of like bring 'em down to reality about what's feasible in today's time? Yeah. Yeah.

So a lot of the time they think they want one style and then it turns out when you, when you look at the one person's inspo pictures and then the other person that's, you know, co-inhabitating.

Yes.

And trying to figure out the, the two. And usually I'm gonna say usually it's the husbands that are like, I don't care, whatever they like.

Yes.

And then go off of, okay, so they say they don't have an opinion. They do have an opinion.

Oh, they do.

Absolutely. I would be so curious.

I don't think Frank cares about any of that stuff.

Oh, Roger does. He may, he may.

You would be surprised. Well, because what happens is you, You hire me for X amount of hours, I satisfy the X amount of hours and I come up with this beautifully designed kitchen for usually the wife and it's everything she wants. And then the husband goes, I don't wanna spend $50,000 on that.

Yeah.

And then all of a sudden they do have all of the opinions.

So it's, that does sound on brand.

Yeah, exactly. So, um, It's, it's, you have to get both. If there's two people, you have to get both, both people on board, figure out both styles and then set out the realistic expectation of, okay, you're looking probably at 6 weeks of tear-up time and you're looking at a probably, you know, $30,000 or $40,000, $50,000, whatever that is in, yeah, on budget. And then it's, oh, well I don't know if I wanna invest that kind of money. Okay, well then how do, like, where do we want to go? Do we want to do some DIY projects or are we wanting to, um, maybe scale back some of this grand design? Yeah. But people, people do have, they want the whole, the big vision. And then it, when you have the real talk, uh, and usually it's, it's, it comes down to the, the finances.

Right.

So, I mean, that's the biggest part. I have to say, I, I'm guilty of, of not sticking to a budget. And I teach people all day long. So we had, we had a landscape, a very large landscaping job that we needed. And I just, I couldn't get a budget from something. I didn't even know where to start in cost. And I had someone come out and I said, okay, this is how much I would like to spend. And it was a decent amount. Like, is that realistic? They came back with these drawings. It was great. I'm like, oh, I love all that. That's 50. I'm like, no, no, we said 30. Like, that's why, but I couldn't get them to like, okay, what does a $30,000 budget look like versus a 50? Doesn't make sense.

Like they were trying to upsell you.

I don't know. Maybe he could have said, hey, that's not realistic. Like for your large of a yard.

It'd be nice if someone would just say that to somebody.

No, just talk to me. Like I'm telling you, I'm, I will tell people when they're looking for a home, I'm like, okay, you're looking for an $1,100 payment. That's not realistic in today's world.

Yeah.

Like it's just not, there's not home in the, in what you want. That's not gonna happen today.

Yeah.

You know, and I, I doubt your rent's gonna stay that way too. So just, yeah, we need to be prepared for that. So I, I do have those conversations, but I'm also— I don't sugarcoat things for people. Like, when it comes to finances, because numbers— math doesn't lie.

Yeah.

So when I said— I wish they would have said, hey, because I was like, yes, I love that, I love that, oh, that's great. So my— I saw this big picture and it never— I'm like, well, how did we spend— wait, wait, why am I broke? Where did all my money go? And it went to— and I'm very happy we did it, but the fact is they didn't help me stay within my budget, nor did they say, hey, that budget's not realistic. Yeah, like if someone comes and tell you like, I want a luxury kitchen for $10,000, you're gonna say, uh, uh, no, not gonna happen.

But the thing is, a lot of those places, they have like sales per hour that they have to meet. Or back in the day when I worked for the big box, I had a countertop attachment rate and I had a, uh, sales per hour and I had, um, did you sell so many items per department? And so you had to be aggressive salesman and you had to upsell and you had to sell the value.

Yeah.

For me, it, I, I get what I get. This is the cost that it is to use my services.

Yeah.

That's it. Like, unless you're having me source all these materials out there, my cost doesn't change. So for me, I'm not gonna upsell you or downsell you or Um, you know, overpromise you the, the world because at the end of the day there, I, it is what it is. It is what it is.

Yeah.

I just wanna make you happy.

Yeah.

With whatever parameters you set with me. But a lot of those companies do have incentives for sales associates to upsell you.

Yeah.

And, and be aggressive salespeople. Um, so, or they don't tell you things change as they, as you change.

Like for example, yeah, I had where they came in, we have a, a, a very, uh, the, this particular job was, uh, we have a very steep yard, so they needed to do a routine. He goes, hey, hey, you want us to add these blah blah blah blah? Because we, we bought a whole lot of rock, a lot of rock. And like, what can we— I'm like, why don't— I bought those rocks, I don't want them to go away, you can't take them, leave them, we bought them. But he's like, I can put them around here and whatever it was. I didn't realize that was a charge. I'm like, I already bought the rock, but for him to put it Does that make sense? I'm like, why is this $1,000 more? Like, I couldn't figure that out. So there was no, there was no explanation there. So having someone who's helping you with a project, like if I decide, like for example, if it's in the kitchen and I want to add an additional cabinet or additional whatever, you know, that like, hey, there's going to have that explanation. Does that make sense?

And that is something that you can facilitate, right? I mean, if people are going less from the DIY and more like you can almost act as like a project manager type situation Um, should they need that and, and you, they would pay for that.

Yeah, absolutely. I'm, I'm here for, she's hands on for all. I'm, I am hands on. Yeah. And I will be your biggest advocate to ensure that, you know, the things stay on track and the, that the contractor stays on, on budget and that they gave you what they promised. I have no problem being that sassy person. I, I am in your corner because you're, you're paying me to be in your corner.

Right.

But being realistic with, um, expectation and your budget and knowing that if you're gonna be adding another cabinet, you're gonna be adding more money to what we agreed on.

I think I would just pay someone to like tell me if contractor bids were outrageous or not.

Yeah. That's the thing. You don't know.

That's the hard, it's like going to a mechanic, right? Like I go and they see me go over there and I'm just a lady, you know, and all that stuff, which is BS, but it's what it is. You go into a mechanic and they're like, you need this and you need this and you need this. And if he goes, if Frank goes in, all of a sudden we don't need any of that stuff. And I'm like, well, that's very interesting. And so sometimes I feel like contractors as well. I have no idea what it costs to do this stuff, you know?

No, no, you're, you're right. And, but the thing, the thing is, and maybe we need to have a conversation about contractors. It's just like teaching women on, on, on advocating for yourself. Um, a lot of the time the, the woman is what's driving their sales.

Yeah.

And so it behooves them to treat them kindly with respect and be upfront and honest because ultimately we're the, like, we're the ones that want things pretty and shiny.

Yes. Mm-hmm.

And, um, a lot of the time they, they do, they, they pass. She's still watching what she says. They pass. Yes. They do pad professionals. We are professionals, damn it. But it's, um, it's nice to have somebody that can, that can be in your corner and advocate for you because, you know, my experience was I had, I had the male contractor tell me that I, um, made them uncomfortable because I made them fix the things that they had damaged. And it, it always happened. They would fix one thing and then 5 things else got damaged in its wake.

Yeah.

And then it got to the point where they didn't like that at the end of the day, I would create a little list and say, this is, this is what needs to be happening. And they, they feel like they're stepping up over me to my husband.

Yeah.

Which he then has to come back and tell me like, oh, well they don't want you in the house right now because you're being, you're making 'em un— yeah. You're, you're making 'em uncomfortable. Because you're watching 'em, you know, work and making sure they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.

I'm like, maybe just do what you're supposed to be doing from the start. Like, that feels easy.

Yeah. And then, then maybe don't insult the wife.

Yeah.

Also, like, don't, don't, wow.

That's wild. That's wild.

That, I mean, really it is. It's, it's insulting when, um, um, a man feels the need to not address the, the person. It's usually the woman because we're the ones that will take the time off of work. Sure.

Sure.

And, and be there.

Let them in the house.

Let them in the house. Make sure they have water and a clean bathroom to use. Like we're the, we're the ones that welcome them in and we're the ones that drove the project to start.

Yeah.

And they, I think they need to remember that too. Like, but, but, um, where was I going?

Well, no, but you're right. But you have to say, I mean, like you, you have to have the right professionals in your home. Yes. Like having someone as an advocate would be helpful if you're a single woman. Like, so I, I'm very grateful Roger is in my husband's in the construction. So we had a contractor come that we paid, we paid lots of money, and we were moving water lines and we were replacing the water line that went to our refrigerator. And I— don't kill me, Roger— I don't remember the name. It was some kind of pipe going into another pipe, and it was— he had a specific— he's, please make sure that— that we have an old home, make sure that pipe is something, because if, if it's not a certain type of pipe, it will corrode, it will do something over time. And the guy's like, okay, yeah, yeah, like he didn't know what he was talking about, and Roger left, he came back, he pulled that refrigerator out because he was leaving the refrigerator so I can see it. They put it back attached. It is like he pulled that shit out and went— he goes, he did exactly what I told him not to do. Yeah, like, no, he made him take it out, redo it. But I wouldn't have known. Does that make sense? Like, it wouldn't be something. So he was my advocate, and then I'm blessed with it. But how if I was— didn't have that, I had you to say, hey, no, that's not what they asked for. They're paying for a specific product. Put that product in. They cannot go with a lower grade or, you know, whatever the case is. That— no, they're paying for a specific product. You get what you, you paying for. And some of us wouldn't know that because some things you don't see, right? You're not going to see some of the things they're replacing and putting in.

No, that— you're absolutely right. And also, um, there is no shame to hiring somebody to do background checks on on the contractors because I found out that I had, had a gang member in my house.

Oh.

And yeah.

Yeah.

And, but I didn't know that until, cuz I'm one of those people that I like to talk and I chat with people. Sure. I thought I did my due diligence. I did the background check on the contractor. He, he was fine.

Mm-hmm.

But it was the people that he brought into the house, into the space.

Yeah.

That, um, were, were probably not the, the most appropriate for your, right.

For what you, what you would want.

Yeah, exactly. So the, I mean, I, I have aligned myself with a security company that can do background checks and make sure that they're safe for people's homes. Cuz the last thing you want is like 6 months later after you get your beautifully renovated space, somebody breaks in and steals stuff.

Oh, I guess I never really thought about that.

Mm-hmm.

Well, it was a, there was a big, um, ring up, up north where I'm, where I was from where they would, um, like lay carpet down and then you know, um, check out where like the jewelry was and all this stuff. And then, uh, next thing you know, when somebody was out of town and their, their stuff stolen.

Yeah, they do. I wouldn't have ever thought— well, we've had, we've had contractors on multiple occasions come in and, um, our problem is we would hire a company and they would then outsource some stuff, right? Which is, they don't have— they have subcontractors and they, they vetted their people, but they didn't vet their subcontractor sometimes. So I'd go out, I'm like, why is there food and weed on the side? Like, there's stuff though. Oh my God, like, what is going on? I'm like, okay, they can't come back in. I have young kids. Like, no, that's not— I— especially the job that you're doing is— you can— I don't need you high doing it.

Yeah.

So I lost it. So I'm like, you come back, I'm calling cops. Like, don't come back, get another— another people's. So you have to have someone who's vetted. Like, but we didn't know. I'm Didn't know that was a thing.

No, you have to—

what are you doing?

But that's part of like, you know, having some learning aids.

Yes.

That, that with homeowners. But sometimes if we can prevent, yeah, you know, that kind of a struggle.

Yes.

Like let's educate everybody and, and know that you can do background checks on people and everybody that's coming into your house. Um, finding the right contractor when it's appropriate to say, you know what, this person isn't fulfilling what they promised to do and how to let go and find another one. I mean, San Antonio has some—

we have one—

definitely. But if you don't know and you're just trying to do it and you don't have someone who— you, you've built those, those relationships. That's the biggest thing is having the right team in places to advocate, advocate for you to— because they've built those connections. You don't have to do all that work that they've already done for you.

Someone like Brittany, yeah, has probably a vendor list of people that she would recommend because she's worked with them before and they've been great. So, well, I'll just say, like, easy starting point.

I feel like renovations can be a blessing or it can be a curse, like, if you don't do it the right way. Like, people, I think they— oh, this is cheap way of doing it, or doing like taking it easy, you know, that kind of way. I think people have gotten their head— oh, I can do it myself— turned into be a mess and you're spending more money. So having the right people in place to guide you— first off, is it a really truly a DIY DIY project, or do you really need a contractor? And if you do need a contract, let me help you find those people, right? So it's a pleasant experience, it's not a heartache, because we've all been through those horror stories.

Yeah. Well, this conversation has been excellent. Is there anything else that you wanted to touch on today, Brittany?

No, not that I can think of.

Me neither. I could talk about this all day, right?

I have to say, I have— I love the renovations in my home.

Yeah.

And then getting to the point of a finished project, it, it it, you just have to be aware of what to expect. If you've never gone through it, have something, someone to advocate for you and talk to you about it. And understanding the process would be heavenly for those who are thinking about it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And if, if you, even if you're not going through the renovation process but you still want, you know, you, you got your cute first home by Erika and you got your, you know, your mortgage lending needs by Marie, and then you're like, I need some help with color selections, like, we can do small projects and make it cozy for you.

Yeah.

That's the important takeaway is the space doesn't have to stay where it's at. We can, we can change it and make it what you want it to be.

Make it your home. Yeah.

Yes.

For sure. Um, and then Brittany, do you wanna share with everybody how they can get ahold of you for your services?

Absolutely. So you can find me on my business website at www. Is it www.signaturestylesbybritt.com or on Facebook, Signature Styles by Britt. And same with Instagram.

Okay, perfect. And we can put that in our show notes.

Yay.

Well, thank you so much for being here today.

Being here again. We love having you on.

Thank you. I appreciate you guys having me back again.

Yes. And I'm also gonna thank our listeners for tuning in to this week's episode, and we will catch you next week.

See you guys next week.

Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the Working Moms of San Antonio podcast. We hope you love today's chat and found a little inspiration to take with you into your week. If you have a podcast topic suggestion or a question you'd love for us to cover, definitely send us an email at hello@workingmomsofsanantonio.com. We'd love to hear from you. And until next time, see you in the community.