Mortgage Motivation
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Mortgage Motivation
From Mortgages to Masterpieces: Liz Breaux and Corey Fontenot on Creating Luxury Homes
From the tales of our early days navigating the mortgage industry to the present excitement of showcasing stunning custom homes, this episode is a treasure trove of insights and warmth. Joining me is the ever-passionate Liz Breaux, who not only played a pivotal role in my career but also brings her fervor for Milton Hebert Construction's artistry to our discussion. Liz shares anecdotes about representing this exceptional builder for over six years and the unique craftsmanship that sets Milton's homes apart — where upgrades are the standard and personal pride is a hallmark.
On the flip side of the home-building coin, we're joined by Corey Fontenot, a realtor with Latter & Blum, who gives us a peek into the collaborative effort it takes to bring Milton Hebert's visions to life in new construction listings. Corey provides a glimpse into the deliberate and detailed planning process that ensures not a single inch is squandered, creating homes that are as practical as they are picturesque. Don't miss out on the chance to learn about the upcoming April 13th showcase event and the opportunity to potentially call one of these masterpieces your own, featuring homes that boast an 18-foot grand foyer and custom details that will leave you in awe.
Welcome to this episode of Mortgage Motivation. I'm so excited to have my colleague, ms Liz Brough, with me today. Thank you, liz, for joining me and thank you for our relationship. Needless to say, I think we're the two oldest in the industry, right, or the longest, I don't want to say oldest, we're the longest in the industry, right.
Speaker 2:We're the oldest. There's no denying that.
Speaker 1:Well, liz and I, people often ask how did I get in the industry? And I want to thank you for bringing me into this industry, liz, because you know it has provided a life like no other and I'm so grateful that we're working back together. But enough about me and you. We're excited about what's coming up and the builder that you represent. Tell me a little bit about the builder that you work so closely with and love so much.
Speaker 2:So Milton Hebert, milton Hebert Construction. He's been in the business for many years. We've been doing business together at least six years. He lives in my area. He does a true custom home. When you get a bid from him there are no upgrades, it's already upgraded. But he does do spec homes and whatnot. I highly recommend him to all of my clients that are looking at building. So him and his wife are partners, melissa Abare and Milton. They help each other. She does the colors, he does the builds and he's a hands-on builder. You will see him at the location swinging the hammer and operating the skill saw. He's not just one that hires subcontractors and is not involved in his project. He takes very personal pride in his product and what he does because he's so hands-on.
Speaker 1:And one thing about Milton and Melissa they truly are a partnership. When I see them together, I had the opportunity to visit with them for a little while last week and they were just so happy all the years they've been married and they still compliment each other and just wonderful people to be around. So I can only imagine the experience of the client you know when working with them. So we have a super exciting event coming up, starting on the 13th of April. Am I correct, corey?
Speaker 3:That's correct.
Speaker 1:Corey, tell me a little bit about you and who you represent and where you come from. Tell me who Corey Fontenot is.
Speaker 3:So my name is Corey Fontenot, I'm a realtor with Ladder Bloom and I'm one of the listing agents who represents Milton Hebert, melissa and I represent him on all of our new construction listings.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. So what's your role with them? If a client is interested in an Hebert home, what's your role? How do you handle that?
Speaker 3:So we sit down, we represent Milton's side and we're very active and we engage in helping them plan the home. We really scrutinize the floor plans. Milton is very detail-oriented. If you look inside of a Milton Abare home you're never going to see any wasted space in the floor plan. Wasted space is wasted money. So we scrutinize the plans. We build it exactly to what they want so they're not paying for things that they don't want or are never going to use, making all their dreams come true, right. Correct.
Speaker 1:So you will have a home in the upcoming parade starting on the 13th. Is that a custom build or is that a home that's for sale?
Speaker 3:That is a home that's for sale.
Speaker 1:So they can go under contract Correct Upon the viewing and you'll be there to write those contracts up, right?
Speaker 3:Correct. Melissa and I will both be there and we'll be walking around explaining the features of the home. Milton will be there to answer any questions that someone may have. You know, if they want to do a custom build based on this plan or something else, if this is not the home for them. The home is going to be twenty three hundred sixty five square feet. It's four bedrooms, three full baths. It has a dedicated office space. There's a lot of wow factor that went into planning this home. When you walk into the home, there's an 18-foot grand foyer entrance. Oh wow. So it's got a lot of high ceilings. You know Milton always does custom cabinets, detail-oriented trim work. The patio is one of the best features of the home. It's huge, it's going to have a gas fire pit, it's got a custom stained TV feature wall to mount the TV on and it's going to have a long island, or actually it's going to be an L-shaped bar with a cooking area.
Speaker 1:Definitely an entertainment right.
Speaker 3:Correct.
Speaker 1:Entertainment space, and you know that's so important in the South because when families get together, they want to be together and spend that quality time, and I just feel we do that better than anyone else, right. Right and we're so grateful to have great weather. It may get a little hot, but for the most part we can enjoy the outdoors for majority 75% to 80% of the year. So is that the only home he has available for sale at this time, or are there other specs that are available that they can take a look at?
Speaker 3:So we actually have one a lot over from it, 128 Cape Town Avenue, and it's going to be based on the same floor plan, similar square footage, that one's 2364 square feet. It's got the same patio set up and it's priced the same. Both of the homes are priced at $496,000. Right now that home is in the sheathing stage so they're getting ready to put the roof on it. Once that's done, they're going to go ahead and do all the plumbing, electrical rough ends, and then they go to sheetrock.
Speaker 1:But they can go under contract for that home at this time.
Speaker 3:Correct. Both homes are available for contracts.
Speaker 1:So, corey, what happens if they're interested in custom building and not buying one of these homes, the floor plans that are already done? Can Milton provide that service as well?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. We do custom homes all the time. In fact, we've got two of them under construction right now. We have a lot of floor plans in inventory, so sometimes we'll meet with people and we have a plan that'll work perfectly for them, or we can modify that plan with our architect and save the client a lot of money.
Speaker 1:And if they're looking to custom build, whether they're custom building or purchasing, how does Ms Liz come into play?
Speaker 3:She provides the money, we provide the house. She provides the money so she's able to get them to the closing table.
Speaker 1:So, liz, tell us a little bit about your interaction with the client on the approval process.
Speaker 2:It's always hands-on. At the end of the day, we become friends and the relationship is established up front. If it's a custom build, then they purchase the home once it's 100%. I'm sorry, if it's a spat, they purchase it once it's 100% complete. If they own their land and we're doing a custom build, then we do a one-time closed construction loan. Gmfs truly has the program figured out. All the boxes are checked, so it's really a smooth process. A lot of clients aren't aware of that, how simple it is, or how easy we make it or GMFS does.
Speaker 1:And how does someone get in touch with you?
Speaker 2:It's very simple. You can call me. My number is 337-278-3834. That's my cell, or the office line which also rings to my cell.
Speaker 1:So, either way, they want to reach you. So step one is to reach out to Corey about, or Mr Milton about, those custom built homes. Mr Milton refers you to Ms Liz to develop that budget, whether you're purchasing or building on your lot, and then Mr Corey puts them under contract, right?
Speaker 3:We'll have a consultation meeting with them in Milton's office. We'll go over the features that they're looking for so that we can get an accurate bid for them and then, once we have everything done, then we can go from there.
Speaker 1:We're super excited about the parade house. Give us the address one more time.
Speaker 3:It's going to be 132 Cape Town Avenue in Youngsville and that's in Montcherie subdivision.
Speaker 1:And that starts on April 13th. Please join us. You will not want to meet this home and you will not want to meet the opportunity to spend a little time with Milton and Melissa. Wonderful couple, wonderful people. Once you meet them, we have fallen in love with them. Thank you, liz, thank you, corey for joining me, and y'all have a great day.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having us. You're welcome, you too.
Speaker 1:Bye-bye.