Business Innovators Radio - Navigating the Commercial Real Estate Landscape: Insights from Prescilla Perales

Episode Date: May 1, 2024

In this captivating episode of the Agent’s Lounge Podcast, host Marco Salinas sits down with Prescilla Perales, a commercial real estate agent with Keller Williams in San Antonio, to uncover the secrets behind her success in the industry. Joined by Mitch Donowho, an independent insurance agent with Comparion Insurance, and Francisco Bermudez Jr., the show sponsor from Airtegrity Comfort Solutions, this conversation offers a unique and insightful perspective on the world of commercial real estate.Prescilla’s journey into the real estate industry is both inspiring and relatable. After a career as a personal trainer and a stint in property management, she found her true calling in commercial real estate, drawn to the dynamic nature of the market and the opportunity to help small business owners achieve their dreams. Listeners will be captivated by Prescilla’s candid account of her transition into this specialized field, particularly during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic.The discussion delves deep into the nuances of commercial real estate, exploring the differences between leasing and purchasing, the importance of business credit, and the unique challenges faced by those seeking to establish a commercial presence. Prescilla’s expertise shines as she shares valuable insights on navigating the complex landscape, from finding the right property to securing financing and negotiating favorable terms.Mitch Donowho’s contribution to the conversation is equally compelling, as he shares his extensive knowledge of the insurance industry and its impact on commercial real estate. Listeners will learn about the critical role that insurance plays in protecting their investments, the importance of understanding credit scores and their influence on insurance rates, and the various discounts and benefits available to savvy business owners.Throughout the episode, the hosts and guests engage in a lively and informative dialogue, offering practical advice and inspiring anecdotes that will resonate with both seasoned real estate professionals and those aspiring to enter the field. Whether you’re a small business owner looking to expand your operations, a real estate agent seeking to diversify your portfolio, or simply someone curious about the world of commercial real estate, this episode of the Agent’s Lounge Podcast is a must-listen.Tune in to discover the strategies, challenges, and triumphs that have propelled Prescilla Perales to the forefront of the commercial real estate industry, and gain valuable insights that can help you navigate your own path to success.About Prescilla PeralesPrescilla Perales shines as a dynamic real estate professional specializing in commercial properties. Operating out of San Antonio with an association with Keller Williams, Prescilla has adeptly transitioned from a career as a personal trainer – a shift propelled by the challenges presented by COVID-19 – to a promising real estate path. Her journey into real estate began shortly after high school, but was paused due to the duties of single motherhood until she could align with her husband’s supportive income. Prescilla is passionate about assisting small business owners, particularly women, in finding the right commercial spaces that meet the unique needs of their businesses. Her clientele varies widely and includes sectors such as barbershops, salons, doctor’s offices, and restaurants. Notably, she has been navigating the intense market demands for CBD location spaces in Dallas, endeavoring to empower business owners in building their business credit which is essential for leasing or purchasing commercial property. Outside of her professional life, Prescilla is dedicated to her family, residing with her four children and often traveling to Austin where her family is based. Her engagement in community and networking groups like Working Moms of San Antonio reflects her commitment to both her personal and professional communities.https://prescillaperales.kw.com/About The Show Sponsor:The Agents Lounge Podcast is proudly sponsored by Airtegrity Comfort Solutions, your trusted HVAC experts in San Antonio, TX. With a commitment to exceptional service and top-notch comfort, Airtegrity is dedicated to keeping your home or business cool in the scorching Texas heat.Visit their website at https://airtegritycs.com to discover the range of services they offer. From professional air conditioning installations to reliable repairs and maintenance, Airtegrity has you covered. Their team of skilled technicians is equipped with the knowledge and expertise to handle all your HVAC needs efficiently and effectively.Whether you’re looking for a new system installation, need repairs, or want to schedule routine maintenance to ensure your HVAC system is running smoothly, Airtegrity Comfort Solutions is just a phone call away. Reach out to them at 210-446-0105, and their friendly staff will be ready to assist you.Experience the comfort and peace of mind that comes with Airtegrity’s exceptional HVAC solutions. Trust their reliable service and enjoy the benefits of a well-functioning heating and cooling system. Visit their website or call them today to schedule your next HVAC service. Airtegrity Comfort Solutions, your go-to HVAC experts in San Antonio, TX.Agents Lounge Podcasthttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/agents-lounge-podcast/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/navigating-the-commercial-real-estate-landscape-insights-from-prescilla-perales

Welcome to the Agents Lounge podcast, where we talk all things real estate with the industry's top performers. Join us as we dive into the inspiring journeys of successful agents and uncover the secrets to their success. Whether you're a seasoned agent or just starting out, we've got the tips and tricks to help you navigate the world of real estate. Brought to you by Eritectady Comfort Solutions. So grab a seat and join us in the Agents Lounge. All right, and welcome back to the Agents Lounge podcast. We're a little bit crammed. We're a little bit tight today, but that's okay.

We've got some special guests joining us. First, I'll give our non-real estate agent a shout out, Mr. Mitch. Donahoo. Donahoo. And Mitch is with Comparian insurance. That is correct. Right? So you are essentially an insurance broker?

I am an independent agent. Independent agent, okay. But you have the ability to shop around different companies and get different rates and try to find people basically the best deal. Yeah, that's a good. Exactly right. So I'm a property and casualty insurance agent. We partner with over 25 different carriers. We specialize in home, auto, life insurance, boat, motorcycle RV. And we even have some one to four family rental products. Sweet. Sweet. All right. So I just wanted to give you a quick little like, this is who he is. We'll dive a little deeper into that as we move along. Okay. Switching over here to our special guest for the agent's lounge, Miss Priscilla Perales. Yes. Is that right? Okay. And Priscilla is.

a commercial real estate agent with KW. Correct. Right here in San Antonio. Obviously, the whole purpose of this podcast, Priscilla, is we want to learn more about your story. So we'll be talking to you. We'll be finding out when you got started and why and how that's been going and all that good stuff. So above all else, let's start with this. Both of you all, welcome to the Agents Lounge podcast.

Thank you for having me. Thank you for being here. And let's not forget, we have another guy over here off to the side. His name is Francisco, Bermudas Jr., and he is the show. sponsor with Eritagrity Comfort Solutions, right? So say hello, Francisco. Howdy. And we're trying something a little different this time for the first time we're doing

Facebook live so that we can just turn up the pressure just a little bit. Right? It's a lot of fun. On my time, right? Right, exactly. Usually I tell people like, this is not recorded. Just relax. I mean, it's not live, right?

Just relax. You know, but now it's, you can't relax. Yeah, exactly. No, the show is on. No, I'm kidding. We're going to have fun. Either way, that's all we do around here. So that's the best.

part of all this stuff that we do. We talk. We have a good time. We promote our businesses. You can't ask for more than that. Right. What more can you ask for? Right, Mitch? Yeah, exactly. So, all right, let's talk to Priscilla. Okay. So you were telling me before we started recording the show that you are a commercial real estate agent, that you've always been a commercial real estate agent, and that when you got started, you literally started there as a commercial real estate agent. What year was that? Like, how long have you been doing this? About two years now. Okay. So this was after COVID. Yes, after COVID. Okay. So can I ask you, what was your life, what was your previous life before real estate? So I've always kind of had some type of real estate in me. Either I did property management for many years, but right before I was a personal

trainer. Okay. And so I was a small business owner myself. And I wanted to grow and get a space and all those things, but then COVID happened. And so at that point, I couldn't work in a gym anymore. I was a mobile trainer. So I'd come to you and I would train you at your place. Okay. But then COVID happened. I have a special need son. And I didn't need to be around a lot of people anymore. So I was like, eh, this isn't where I need to be. Yep. And so yeah, I had to let go my clients and just kind of be at stay-at-home mom. And then I was like, yeah, this isn't really for me either. So I love being a stay-at-home mom, but I'm also super hyper and I got to do something. I got you. So you started getting that itch?

Yes. You were like, okay. And then, so then you decided you want to go to real estate school? So actually, I went into real estate school after high school. Okay. But I never really pursued it because I was a single mom. Okay. And I couldn't live off commission.

So I was like, yeah, I can't do this. So I, you know, fast forward many, many years. Been with my husband for 20 years. Okay. He works. He's the breadwinner. And I was like, all right, this is a time. And so I'm very lucky that I get to have that.

Nice. because, as you know, agents live off commission. So he holds down the house and I bring in the extra money we get to have fun with. And so it's fun. It works. Yeah. No, that's fantastic. That's awesome.

So you were telling me that when you, I guess when you went to talk with them at KW, they were telling you like, you know, we have a need right now for more commercial, right? Yes. And you kind of felt like that was a better fit? Well, so I knew as a small business owners, I wanted to help other business owners from, you know, know, before my brother owns a car dealership. So it's kind of like in my blood, I guess. Okay.

And I just gravitate towards more of that. And so, you know, they call me like, you went to residential? And I'm like, not really. It's real emotional. I'm not that person. Yeah. You got to be out every weekend. I just can't do that with a special needs son.

Gotcha. So I sat down and I, I mean, I told him, I was like, I just want to do commercial. Yeah. And I got lucky that they're trying to build the KW commercial brand. And they have, which is great. So we have an awesome mentor program. So if anybody wants to do real estate commercial, you can reach out to me and I'll help you out. And so it's fun.

I have a lot of awesome mentors that I've been able to learn from. So tell me what the last two years have been like for you. You know, the market got kind of crazy because of COVID, right? Right. Yeah. But that was more what I see and hear is more on the residential side. So what has a commercial site been like the last couple years? I'm not slow ever.

I think he's trying to get me in here a few times. And I just was so busy that I couldn't even respond back to his emails. Wow. Because I do have a lot of clients that I help. Yeah. Right now, I feel like I'm helping a lot more small business owners, women, which I love. I love helping them grow or, you know, get more locations. Sure.

And so that's kind of my niche right now. Sure, sure. But I'm never, like, I'm always busy. I'm always doing something. So that world is booming? I believe so, yeah. Wow. There is a lot of people that had big spaces that are like, we need a downsize.

Sure, sure. You know, for, you know. That's part of. Right, exactly. Because of the economic situation. For sure. And then we have people that want to go into co-space and all that kind of stuff. So, you know, I am seeing a lot of that, but they still need spaces.

Sure. Because not all people can work out of their house. Right. So. Exactly. So, yeah. So your job, you're seeing a wide mix of commercial movement. Correct.

Everything from I need a big giant warehouse to just get me a little small retail spot. A thousand square feet, 1,500 or a restaurant, you know, things like that. So some of the stuff you do is helping people to lease. Correct. And some of it is to help people buy. Right. I have a investor. Yeah, I have an investor that I help him buy locations and things like that.

Okay, got you. So that's kind of the scope of a commercial real estate agent these days is you're doing, you could do a mixture of leasing as well as buying and selling. Correct. It's a little mixture of all that. Right. Okay. And go ahead.

What's up, Frances? So, I mean, congratulations on, first of all, because you're busy all the time. We don't hear that very often. Yeah. Very changing. The other thing is if somebody wants to get a commercial property, like, what's the process like? Because I'm sure there's a lot of people that want to start a business or they don't know

if they can afford a property. Right. Yeah. They even qualify. Very good question. Renting an apartment. It depends for sure. I will say that.

I've had small. business owners that, you know, like, I want to get that. And it's like their first space. I'm like, okay, slow down. Right, yeah. You know, and you can start. The good thing is San Antonio is a good area to kind of start small. I'm actually originally from Austin.

Okay. So in Austin, I think it's a lot harder to start small. You don't have a lot of investors that have a lot. I mean, they do have a lot of spaces. But, and I've gotten taken some clients to locations where I didn't even get a commission on it. And I'm like, eh, it is what it is. You win some, you lose some.

but I don't even look at it that way because I know at some point that person's going to grow and they're going to reach back out to me. Sure. So maybe I didn't make anything off of then and I'm okay with that because at the end of the day I'm helping somebody and that's kind of how I look at it. Yeah, yeah. Now, kind of to Francisco's point, if I am a new business and I want to get started, do they look at my financials, my credit? Yes. Is it very similar to? We will look at your financials.

One of the things I kind of want to start helping other business owners do is learn how to build their business credit. That is so important because it's different than your personal credit. It is. It's a whole another animal. It is for sure. And so if there's, if you can teach them that, then it'll be so much easier to get them into a space. I see. But, you know, that's the hard part. So it's, you know, and if they don't have that, then we go off your credit. Okay. And if you don't have good credit, you're not going to get a space. And I can tell you, I have had a couple of clients that did not have good credit. And unfortunately, I couldn't get them into a space. Yes. And if I did, then it was maybe an owner that is a little more lenient.

And then I don't get paid on those. But it is what it is, helping them build a business credit, and they get them a big one later. And then what about finding the right property? How does that work? So we have it almost just like the MLS. We have our own co-star, loop net, and business owners will post their properties on there. So I go on there, I look at them. But, you know, we have to make sure, because a lot of people are like, I want to spend

only $2,500. Yeah. Well, that could be off of you have to include triple nets and there's all kinds of things you have to include. So that kind of limits a lot of spaces as well. Sure. But then you have your gross leases and so that's, I think those are a lot easier because they're a lot, they're lower in price. And what about down payments? No.

So it's more depending on if your credit is bad, then they might say, hey, I need three months of deposit. Okay. First month's rent, $3,500, something like that. Yep. Okay, got you. That's on a lease. Correct. Gotcha.

But like anything else, if you're buying your own building, you're going to have to put up. Oh, yeah. Like 35%. There's no FHA, right, on FHA loans on commercial stuff. No. No, FHA. So everything is a conventional loan. Yeah, well, yeah, I can use SBA.

You can use SBA, which is always nice because it's a lower interest rate. So I always try to help them get into something like that if they're wanting to do one of those. But it's hard as well. A lot harder because banks aren't just giving money away right now. Sure, sure. But if ultimately, if you. are going to get serious and you want to buy your own building, you should be ready to come to the table with some funds.

Oh, yeah. Some pretty serious funds. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, definitely. And yeah, they want proof of funds. They don't want to say, um, are you sure you have that? No, they want to see that you have that.

Well, they don't do that anymore? No, sorry. Man, I was around during that 2008 period 2007 where you just walked in. You were like, hey, you know what? I got 10 million in the bank. Sign right here. Let's go. Let's do this.

Right. Yeah. I'm raving your world. Yeah. No kidding. Also, what type of customers are you currently, or what type of properties have you recently found? So I'm having a lot of small business owners, so I've helped a barbershop recently. Working Women's San Antonio, I'm helping them right now, find a location in Stone Oak,

salons, spas, offices, restaurants, a Chiro location that I just closed in Arbor Park, which I'm super excited to get them in there because I'm like, can we, get some churros. Right. So I'm excited for that. No kickback there. I know. I'm like, I just want a chiro.

That's all I want. So you're saying barbers, restaurants, doctor's office? CBD offices. CBD offices. CBD locations. Yeah. CBD are hot. Yeah.

That's a fun one because a lot of people don't want to do those locations. So it's really? Yeah. So it's a lot of owners like, nope, nope, nope. And I'm like, oh. So you have to find the owner of the building that's willing to lease that. Correct. Yeah.

I see. Like I have a client in Dallas. Oh my gosh. That is great. I can't find any. So if anybody in Dallas will take a CBD location. Yeah. Please reach out because I've been looking for like two months.

It's that bad? Oh, yeah. Wow. Yeah. That is insane. It's insane. I didn't realize that. Yeah, it's bad.

No idea. What about when you're doing those co-working places? Are you, like, is there a way for you to get paid on those? Yeah, they're not that big, though. It's smaller. But it's like, eh, it's all right. Because those are, I mean, the people are getting a very affordable set. Correct.

So there's not even a lot of, there's not a lot to go around. No, no, no, no, there's a little ones. But if that's a, you know, a place for you to start a relationship. Right, exactly. To your point, you can grow with them. Yep. Right. Yeah, because one day they're going to outgrow that office in the working space.

Yeah. Sure. Got you. Okay. Well, good information. We still have some more questions for you, but we're going to switch over to Mitch for a little bit here and learn a little bit also about him as well. So I know Mitch myself personally. We've hung out at the cigar bar a few times.

Mitch has helped me with my own personal insurance needs. Thank you for that. And so, you know, I've learned a little bit about your backstory, but for those that don't know, can you tell us a little bit about what you were doing before you started running Comparian? And what was your other life like? Because you had a couple of other lives. Yeah, yeah. So I've kind of done the full spectrum of kind of the real estate services industry. So I started out, I mean, years ago out of school, I started out working for nationwide insurance.

So I was doing direct sales there. I kind of cut my teeth, learned the industry really well. It was really successful. And then kind of overnight just transitioned into real estate. So I was actually a real estate agent with J.B. Goodwin realtors. For primarily focused on like first time homebuyers, did that for six years. That was kind of like what window of time. Can you give me that?

That was, yeah, that's great. So 2014 to 20, like late 2019, early 2020. So right before COVID. Right before COVID. Oh, yep. So towards. the end of 2020, I actually transitioned into Wells Fargo. So I was actually doing residential mortgages for Wells Fargo for three years until last February when the interest rates kind of changed

that market for us a bit. You know, I was fortunate enough when we got let go, had a lot of runway, good severance. And so when I was looking at opportunities, comparing made a lot of sense. I was able to kind of take a lot of my skills, my network that had kind of built up and transition it into this new exciting organization. The best part about being an independent agent is that we're able to offer so many different options for our customers. We can act really as a true fiduciary. So not everybody's going to be the best fit for every product.

And so that's what I really love about what I'm doing now. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. And what does a good referral partner look like for you? Who tends to send you good business? Yeah. So that's been like obviously there's the obvious ones, your real estate agent.

are great. Loan officers, even really anybody related in the real estate industry, car dealers can be good. But I've had a lot of success, you know, working with the trades. So, you know, your HVAC, roofers are fantastic electricians and plumbers are huge for me. We can offer if any time one of these tradesmen replace one of these major systems in a home on the homeowners insurance, you're looking at 10, 15, 20% discounts off the bat with your carrier. A lot of people don't know. know that. Wow. And so it's been a great way that I've been able to integrate into the sales process with a lot of these people like, hey, I'm an added benefit. I can add your client, whether it's just reviewing their policies. Even if we don't write them something, I can make sure that they could save money with

their current insurance carrier, too. I like that. Yeah, no, that is really slick. That's actually news to me. Yeah. I didn't know that. Yeah, I didn't know that. So keep that in mind if you get an upgrade and you've got a new machine that's more energy

efficient and this, that, and the other, basically the insurance is saying, hey, we can give you a better deal because you're less of a risk in a sense, right? To us. Oh, exactly. Yeah. So, I mean, roofs are the big one. So the roof is the most common claim you're going to have. You know, it hails right now.

I mean, we had a hailstorm in St. Antonio just last week. Got a lot of fun calls about that. But, yeah, we're in the peak hail season already, and it's going to go really all the way through August probably. So your roof is a huge significant factor. Your H-FAC, you know, EATG. We can go to EATERITY for a great H-FAC system. But those give you. pretty significant discount. And then especially in San Antonio and the older homes, the electrical panel.

When the electrical panel's been updated, that can be a significant, you know, it mitigates a ton of fire risk on these properties. So yeah, basically the younger you can make the systems in your home the better. Okay. Yeah. And anytime you upgrade those things, you should essentially be thinking about Mitch and saying, I need to call him, let them know that I upgraded these things. Absolutely. And then you can literally give a quote and like, okay, yeah, your rates would go down by X. Absolutely. Yeah, we take a look at that all day. That's where I really specialize. I take a look at kind of a full risk profile for my client. We take a look at the age of the systems in the house. And different carriers have different tolerances, you know, and appetites for the level of risk they're willing to take. And so a carrier that if you have an older home, it might be significantly more the second we update that system and their system. You get that deep dive look. You can see significant savings. Okay. So, I mean, I'm 36 now, but I had the same car insurance when I was in college.

And now I noticed that maybe I wasn't properly insured back then as I am now. But what are some of the things that you can help people with if they already have an insurance or if they're going through some, maybe buying a new home or how do you know if they have the right insurance for themselves? Yeah, no, that's a great question. And so that's why our initial consultation is so important. we ask, you know, kind of piggybacking on what we were talking about before, the age of the systems is something a lot of people don't deep dive in. Other agencies don't. One of the biggest things that I look at when I first see the policies for any of my clients, especially on the auto insurance side, is going to be their liability limits. So state of Texas, the state minimum for liability insurance is just $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident for the bodily injury.

So that's if somebody gets hurt, they're only going to pay out a max of $60K. and then 25,000 for property damage. You know, if you're driving around Stone Oak right now and you rear into Mercedes, you might hit your whole limit right there off the bat. And so they can come after, you know, assets and income. You know, so it's really important. That's one of the first things I always check when we're looking at anybody's situation. Just explain, hey, has anybody ever taken the time to talk to you about in the event of an accident,

how much you might be liable for? So that's the first step. But there's a lot of different factors. your employer can be a huge, your employer and your occupation can get you discounts. You know, there's different, every company's got partnerships and affinity partnerships with different carriers. So it's always important to take a look at those options. If you have kids, 16-year-olds who are driving, if they got good grades, that's a huge factor. You can get up to 20% off your policies if your kids are good drivers.

Interesting. Yeah. Interesting. Wow. Did you say good grades? Yeah. If you got a 3.0 average or more, you can, get a huge big decrease.

Wow. And while we're on that subject, let's make something crystal clear. Okay, what's the adult version of a grade score? The adult version? Well, I mean, that would be your credit score. It would be your credit score. Yeah. And so, and let's make sure we understand this from the expert.

Are your insurance rates tied to your credit? Absolutely. 100%. So it's the same system. They're basically saying, okay, you get good grades. We'll give you a discredit. You get a good adult grade, which is a good credit score, will give you a discount. Yep.

Yep. It's not, so it's a soft hit on your score. So it's not going to be like a hard inquiry like when you're applying for a loan or anything like that. But everything's a factor. They're definitely taking that into consideration. What it's called is an insurance score. So it takes credit, but it also takes how long you've been with a carrier if you change

carriers often, what your current liability limits are. So if you carry state minimum liability, you can actually be seen as a higher risk to into these insurance carriers where it seems kind of counterintuitive. intuitive if I carry higher limits and I'm in an accident, I might have to pay, you know, that carrier is going to pay out more potentially. But people with lower or people with higher limits actually make better decisions financially long term. Sure. I got you. Yeah, no, that's interesting. And is it true that it's on a on a, on a Z? Is that how the, scoring system is for insurance? Is it, or is it literally going off of the like a number?

So, yeah, we don't see like, you know, if you, if you don't see like six 50 or I don't see a six 50 or an 820 and it. The insurance has its own kind of. It is kind of like an aid is a letter a letter grading thing. Okay, that's what I thought. Yeah, that's what I thought. That's what I had always heard. Is there insurance credit repair? Is there a way to clear it clean up by insurance score?

I mean, so I haven't asked, honestly, I haven't been asked that question before. But I mean, so if you go through a credit repair service, it's obviously going to help. Yeah. But there's, like I said, it was why I bring up the insurance score. There's so many factors outside of credit that can affect it. It can be the biggest thing, you're having a lapse in coverage. even if you go just a few days without coverage, that can drastically affect your scores. Because, you know, when you look at it, it makes sense.

When you see an insurance carrier and they see, hey, this person was uncovered for three days, what happened? We don't know. And so if they write a policy on them and then they immediately come with a claim, that might have been potentially, you know, something that shouldn't have been filed. I see. Yeah, but like, what if you have an accident? And, you know, is there a way to kind of some of these insurance carriers have what they

would call like a, almost like a forgiveness? Yeah. Right? No, that great question. Yeah. So, yeah, there are many carriers who have either accident or a combination of minor violation forgiveness. Yeah.

Too many speeding tickets. Yeah. And those are great opportunities to, you know, obviously sell. It keeps us people in our book for quite a while. So that's a good thing too. But it's a good, great benefit. So it'll waive that. Generally, it's the first accident and violation per driver.

Okay. Now, if you get two, what happens a lot of times is they'll rate both. So you want to make sure it's kind of like a, hey, here's a get out of jail free card. Yeah. Tighten it up. You know, what's crazy is that my background, I used to be in the credit space myself. So I spent a lot of time in that world. And I found that a bad credit score can actually cost you more on an auto policy than a DWI.

Oh, wow. In some cases. Like in the right scenarios, like in other words, if you have a DWI but you have really good credit, the person would just really crappy credit and no DWI. could still sometimes actually pay more. I mean, it's just insane. In other words, the credit score really makes a big impact on the insurance. It really is.

It's a significant factor. Yeah, it is. So just like with anything else, you know, good to keep in mind. Try to improve your credit so you can buy commercial properties, so you can have good insurance so you can get qualified for a new HVAC system. I mean, it just affects every facet of life, right? So, and no matter what it is that we're doing. Mitch, who is your kind of, are you mostly full?

focused on auto or you mostly focused on the home or you'll just, it's really just anything that people need. Yeah. So I specialize in personal lines. So auto insurance, homeowners insurance is key. But really, you know, we take a look at the full profile. So, I mean, a big thing that we do is life insurance as well. Okay. I think it's frankly the most important product we sell. People in the city, you know, you see these plate sales happening all the place. All the time. All the time. Or go fund me. Yeah. And a lot of a big, a big kind of thing that people don't realize is that the barrier to entry to an affordable life policy isn't that much. A lot of people think it's too expensive. But they just might not understand the difference between like a whole life product and a

term life product, how flexible those products can be to kind of fit any sort of financial situation or even achieve any goal that they're trying to. Sure. Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Well, that's good stuff. And I really appreciate all the information. The insurance is again, I was kind of mentioning when I got here. It's like, It's kind of a boring, but necessary, dare I say evil. Absolutely. I get it. The good news is that you got me.

I don't think it's boring at all. But, you know, it takes a special. We got a guy that actually nerds out on insurance. Yeah, that's who you want as your agent. Yeah, don't go online and try to find a good rage. Yeah. Anything online is usually going to change. Sure, sure.

Yeah, and I'm just going to throw this out there, too, as kind of we wrap up with Mitch's segment or information is that there's still a lot of the big box guys, right? The big box cubicle insurance companies, we should call them, right? And there's one in particular in San Antonio that's a little bit more military focused, you know. I had been a member since the year 2000. And after 23 years with that company, I mean, I couldn't afford it anymore. It's expensive. They priced me out, you know.

And it was one of those things like my dad had it. He was in the military. He joined in 1967. And so it was like, you know, there was almost emotional thing. And then I was like, why am I, you know, it's just, it's too expensive. You know, so then when I got with Mitch, he shopped around. He got me a really good fair rate. And I've talked to a lot of people and a lot of them are like, yeah, I used to be with that company for a long time too.

And it's just too expensive. So sometimes, especially in this economy, the gas prices are going up again. And we got a lot of inflation. We got to find ways to trim costs, you know, whatever it takes. So contact this guy. Appreciate it. He'll do that. He'll do that.

Back to our real estate agent. Priscilla, I have a question for you. Yes. So you started back during COVID, right? No, after. After COVID. Uh-huh. I just find it amazing how, like, what are some of the things that you're doing to constantly find new clients or to constantly prospect?

A lot of networking. I do a lot of networking. I'm in a lot of networking groups and referrals is big as well. So networking referrals are my biggest. Can you mention some of the networking groups that have worked well for you? Are there any in particular that stand out? So working women's of San Antonio, or working moms of San Antonio, I'm sorry. Okay.

I don't think they'll let us join that one. No, sorry. But small business owners that are moms. And so that's one that's huge. I've got a lot of my clients from that. Okay. And then I've done some B&I, well, I've never done a BNI type thing, but something like that. Okay.

I've done other ones. Y'all put me on the spot. How about, have you visited the B&I's? So I haven't done that yet, actually. It's on my to-do list. Yeah. That's how we know each other. We're all B&I people.

Yeah, I got invited to one about a few weeks ago, and I think it was spring break and I had to be with my kids. So I couldn't go that week. But I do have it on my to-do list and I do want to make ones for sure. That's pretty cool that you're finding like your niche of what works. Yes. That's right. So that's pretty cool. Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. Okay, so if I'm a real estate agent, we're getting close to wrapping up here and I am considering joining the real estate world, do you think that commercial real estate is a good fit for, you know, most anybody or is that something that people need to really give some serious consideration to? because I heard that there's no payouts for the typical person doesn't get paid for a while. Right. Yeah. So it is a little harder, I will say, for sure. It's not like residential where you get paid fast. Yeah. So my deals do take a little longer than others. So if you're a single mom or something like that, it's going to be harder. Unless you have a good cushion and amount of money, it's hard. So I'm very lucky that my husband works.

Sure. You know, and does what he does because he's able to support us. And so, yeah. So that needs to be really taking into consideration. You need to have a decent little runway to build and grow on this thing. Yeah. For sure. Yeah, because if not, you know, and you don't get paid for it.

Because you get paid whenever we sign lease and we don't get paid again until they move in. So it could be 120 days. And then let's just say they get free rent on top of that because I do get free rent. Yeah. And so, you know, and things like that, I make sure and help my clients get everything that they can. sure um you know for benefit for sure um so yeah i can take a while okay so um tell us what your who's your ideal prospect right now who are you looking for is there anybody in particular that that small business owners just yeah anybody looking for locations um to lease ren or buy correct correct yes um and

so yeah that's kind of who like to help you know especially if they're women i love helping women um just because you know go women okay yeah i mean i like I love helping guys do. I got you. No, but you can relate to them. Yes. So that might be one of the reasons why you can. Right.

Yeah. Yeah. So I do love that. So you mentioned that you're married and you have a special needs son. Yes. Is it? Uh-huh. Do you have any other kids?

I do. I have three others. I have four kids and two grandkids. Very nice. Yes. Yes. So what does Priscilla do when she's not with her mind completely wrapped around real estate? What does your downtime look like?

Spending time of my family, my kids, like. Tomorrow I have my granddaughter, so that's really exciting for me. Nice. I love being with them as well. And then, you know, either traveling to Austin or being in here or being in San Antonio with them and just, you know. I was just going to ask, you still go to Austin? I do. My family lives in Austin.

My 24-year-old, 25-year-old, I'm sorry, lives in Austin and with his son. So I go and, yeah, visit them. I love that town. It's beautiful. It is, but it's so. But it's jam-packed. Yeah. Yeah.

Little sardine can. Just a little bit there. Yeah, especially traffic-wise, right? Yeah, yeah. I'm always like, I will never move back here for that. Yeah, yeah, that's been a nightmare for a long time. Yeah. Either way, great information.

Thank you very much, Priscilla, for sharing everything from your commercial real estate, woman in commercial real estate point of view that was really informational and really insightful. So thank you for being here today. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. And thank you again, Mitch. Appreciate it. As well.

And again, on behalf of Air Eritory Comfort Solutions, the Agents Lounge Podcast, Thank you guys. And our first time going Facebook live. We'll see you guys later. And that does it for another episode of the Agents Lounge. We'll catch you here next time. You've been listening to the Agents Lounge Podcast, brought to you by Airtegrity Comfort Solutions. To learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or to listen to past episodes, please visitagentsloungepodcast.com.