Jay White

BY JAY WHITE

Clients often contact mortgage lenders after talking to other lenders about a mortgage. While their first instinct is to contact whomever they are making payments to, or most familiar with, there are benefits to first contacting a lender who specializes in mortgages. 1. Mortgage lenders get you to the closing table quickly. Mortgage lenders with experienced mortgage originators know what documentation is required for underwriting. They help you understand what is required, and ensure you don’t provide more documentation than needed, helping you complete your home loan transaction quickly. 2. Keep your cash reserves. Even if you have millions of dollars in your bank accounts, it might serve you better to have cash on hand as an emergency fund, or available to make other investments. There is no true relationship between the amount of money you have and mortgage loans. Contact a mortgage lender to discuss your options. 3. Mortgage lenders help you win offers. In today’s environment, a fully approved loan from a lender is more likely to seal the deal than a prequalification letter from another lender. Mortgage lenders are quicker, because they specialize in mortgage lending; others focus on multiple products. To win offers today, you need to be able to close in three weeks or less and to come fully approved. Quick prequalifications no longer work. 4. Receive an expert appraisal. Not all appraisals are equal. Some lenders use large national appraisal management companies. Appraisers who are experienced will not sign up with these companies, as they keep in excess of 50% of the appraisal fee. Rather than getting an experienced appraiser, you might end up with a novice appraising your home. For peace of mind, choose a mortgage lender who partners with highly rated appraisers.

Mortgage lenders are nimbler, focusing only on mortgages, while being customer-service driven. Other lenders have many products, such as depository accounts, car loans, personal loans, credit cards and financial advisement, as well as mortgages. Mortgage lenders do one thing, and do it well. The next time you are thinking about refinancing, or buying a home, contact a mortgage lender to see the true difference.

Jay White, top 1% in the nation in mortgage originators according to Mortgage Executive magazine, has 19 years of experience and is a multimillion dollar producer for Bay Equity Home Loans.

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Cobb Couple Reap Sweet Success

Honey Producers Blossom From Gardeners to National Award Winners

EQ www.atlantashometownhoney.com

PHOTOS BY RED BARYL PORTRAITS From left, Kim Higgins, Tyler Jasper, Brian Higgins, Aimee Prestridge and Amber Swearingen. Employees not pictured: Sandra and Bryon Wilson, Colin Moore, Brooke Cobb, Madison Ballard and Veronica Delanuez.

In 1992, Brian and Kim Higgins decided to build a few hive boxes to attract honeybees to their property. The couple wanted to grow fruits and vegetables, but weren’t having any luck. An agent of the Cobb County Extension Service said the reason was the lack of honeybees for pollination.

Fast forward to 2022. The Higgins now run Home Town Honey, a nationally known, award-winning company, and have created a line of honey products they sell at more than 100 retail outlets in metro Atlanta. Products also are available at local farmers markets, from Brookhaven to Kennesaw, including the Cobb County Farm Bureau market at Lost Mountain Park.

“It feels like overnight we went from building our own hive boxes to having five farms in Kennesaw, Acworth, Woodstock, Marietta and Cartersville, and winning the national award for the best honey in the nation,” Brian said. “We have been proud members of the Georgia State Beekeepers Association since 1995 and support The University of Georgia’s bee research lab.”

Home Town Honey is 100% pure, raw local honey; many customers buy it to help control their allergies. Other products include beeswax candles, bee pollen, honey soaps, liquid-filled honey candy, honey straws and lip balms.

In addition to the medicinal qualities of honey, some customers have come up with creative ways to share the product.

“We bottle and sell 2-ounce honey bears for baby showers. Clients will tie a blue or pink ribbon around the bear’s neck and tag them, Baby to Bee, to give as shower gifts,” Brian said. “We also bottle 2-ounce hex jars of honey for wedding favors. The couple will print their own label saying, Thank You for sharing this day with me and my Honey, and include their names and date on the label.” starting the company in 1995. Because honey is considered food, the Higgins have to obtain all the proper licenses, and meet Georgia Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements.

Home Town Honey is a member of the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers club, Georgia Beekeepers association, and the American Beekeepers Federation. In 2016, the company won first place at the American Beekeepers Federation national convention for their wildflower honey.

Brian has served six years on the board of directors for the Cobb County Farm Bureau and has served as a director on the Georgia State Honey Commodity Board for the last five years.

The couple are lifelong Cobb County residents. He is a Sprayberry High graduate, and Kim went to Lassiter High. The business has been a family affair through the years, as their children, Sandra and Branden, have helped with in-school field trips, bottling and labeling jars, making deliveries to stores and manning the booth at farmers markets.

To find a retail outlet near you, check the list of retailers and farmers markets at www.atlantashometownhoney.com.

Success

Option for this Mega Agent

Mix a longtime interest in real estate with a desire to build a career grounded in kindness, expertise and trust, and you get a passionate and dedicated Realtor who loves sharing her knowledge to help her clients.

Joannie Bates describes herself as one who, no matter the obstacle, “will do what it takes to find a solution that works for everyone. I live by the mantra: Success is the only option. The achievements I’ve had as a Realtor prove that I always find a way.”

As a Realtor with Keller Williams Signature Partners, Joannie works with a wide range of clients, from luxury buyers to investors, and all buyers and sellers in between. The concierge service she provides starts with examining each client’s individual needs, and meeting them. Her experience as a homeowner, landlord and investor, before she became a Realtor, made the move to this profession a logical one.

“I began my career as an investor nine years ago, and started working for clients as a Realtor two years ago,” she said. “I have always loved good design, great craftsmanship and real estate. I love to put my knowledge and expertise to use for my clients.”

Joannie has a bachelor’s degree in human resources from Michigan State University, is a licensed Realtor in Georgia and is a member of the National Association of Realtors.

Success is the Only

Option for this Mega Agent

She values her experience in raising a family: She’s a former home-school teacher to her four children, and on the board of the Harrison High School band, as head of fundraising, corporate sponsorships and community outreach. Her concierge approach is exactly what it sounds like: a customized plan of action based on each client’s situation. Depending on what’s needed, Joannie has found winning solutions for her clients:

 One of Joannie’s recent sellers had been in her home for decades.

While Joannie truly understood the sentimental value her client had in the home, she knew she needed to help the client shift her thinking to selling a product. Some simple changes, such as moving furniture and adding special décor touches, ensured that the home was ready to sell the minute the listing went live.

 One client was a single mom in dire financial straits, who was about to lose her home. Joannie found an investor to purchase the home under a special type of loan called Subject-

To. The investor is leasing the home back to the client for more than two years, so that she can stay in the school district while her daughter finishes high school.

 Joannie spent time educating a client about how to find the right investment property, and they looked at more than 100 homes in the process. “It worked out so well that Joannie’s dedication to the industry drives her to stay up-to-date on market trends; she admits that she “geeks out” on the numbers. Knowledge of the market has helped her earn success over the past few years. In 2021, she closed more than $6.5 million in sales, earning the designation of Mega Agent at Keller Williams Signature Partners, and putting her in the top 10% of all agents in her 350-person office.

This year is proving to be strong, as well. With several listings coming on the market, and many buyers who’ve sought her services, she is optimistic about 2022, and is confident the Atlanta housing market will remain strong.

Metro Atlanta, and especially the Kennesaw-Acworth community, holds a special place in Joannie’s heart.

“I’ve lived in this area twice over the course of my life,” she said. “Once, right after I got married, and I’ve now been back for almost 10 years. I love Kennesaw, Marietta and Acworth. It’s where I raised my kids when they were young, and where I’ve launched this career. This area is a wonderful bubble, and it’s great to be in this season of life, where I really get to enjoy all that it has to offer.”

he came back to me right away to buy a second property,” Joannie said. “He knew the market so well that he was able to look at one house and purchase it right away. He’s sitting pretty, and I feel great about my role in helping him get there.”

 Then, there was the classic real estate story where a sale fell apart after putting a home under contract four days after it went on the market. “I completely redid all the marketing. The clients had moved, so I jumped in and did what was needed — taking dogs out, meeting painters and turning lights on and off to keep things moving smoothly. I’m happy to say that this story has a fairy tale ending, because

I was able to STILL finalize a deal for my clients where they sold the home for $30,000 over their asking price!”

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