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Important Tips Before Shopping for New Homeowner’s Insurance

September 3, 2022

Important Tips Before Shopping for New Homeowner’s Insurance
 
On the September 3, 2022 episode of The Real Estate of Texas presented by Solid Realty Group, we already talked about roofing & insurance with a claim adjuster-turned general contractor but in this show, we’re strictly talking homeowner insurance with an expert. Jessica and Cali discuss:

  • Premium differentials between actual cash value and replacement value on your homeowner’s insurance
  • Named perils: sure they’re cheaper, but are you getting all the coverage you need?
  • What should you be looking for when you’re shopping for a new home AND a new homeowner’s insurance policy.
Special Guest: Patrice Davison of Davison Insurance

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE WITH SUBTITLES:

 

EPISODE #108 – HOMEOWNER’S INSURANCE + UNDER THE FIG TREE


Original Air Date: 9/3/22


Then, in the second half of our show, we hear the origin story of Lauren Watson, owner of Under the Fig Tree located in Boerne, Texas. She’s a former special ed teacher who’s living her dream of having a neighborhood fashion boutique. Her shop is a local Boerne staple and community hangout!

Catch up on all episodes of this weekly podcast here. If you live in the #Boerne area, tune in every Saturday morning at 10:30am on Boerne Radio 103.9FM to hear The Real Estate of Texas presented by #SolidRealtyGroup

READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THIS EPISODE:


Episode #108 – Homeowner’s Insurance, The Real Estate Of Texas

Patrice Davison [00:00:05] You know, my roof is totaled. I don’t know what to do. Well, here’s $2,000 for an actual cash value versus here’s $40,000 for a replacement value. So you’re going, you’re going to notice a big difference in premium for the two policies, a couple hundred dollars, and it’s worth it to ask Does this policy have a limit on replacement value, age of roof?

INTRO [00:00:33] Welcome to The Real Estate of Texas with the gals of the Hill Country brought to you by Solid Realty Group in Boerne, Texas at SolidRealtyGroup.com. And now your hosts, Jessica Johnson and Cali Redd.

Jessica [00:00:47] Good morning, guys. My name is Jessica Johnson and I’m here with my wonderful business partner, Ms. Cali Redd, and we are The Real Estate of Texas, and we have Patrice Davison of Davison Insurance. And we have brought Patrice on today because a couple of shows ago, we had a roofer on and we had a bunch of questions that were introduced that we wanted to know a little bit more about. So first off, Patrice has been here in Boerne for quite a while, haven’t you, Ms. Patrice?

Patrice Davison [00:01:18] Yes ma’am.

Jessica [00:01:18] Yes, ma’am. So she just celebrated her 40th year with Davison Insurance, and we went to her ribbon cutting, which we were super excited to be at, at the south side of Main. But Patrice, now that we’ve got you here, tell us a little bit about yourself. We want to know about about the insurance company you run.

Patrice Davison [00:01:36] Well, my mom actually started it out of her home 40 years ago and she got big enough. Well, she started selling life insurance. She sold Boerne out. So that’s when she had to start working for selling auto and home and all those other things. And she got big enough that the company said, you’ve got to move out of the house and onto Main Street.

Jessica [00:01:57] Wow.

Patrice Davison [00:01:57] So they found the 915 North Main Street building. They bought it from Dr. Day. Old time doctor, Boerne people will know that. Or actually it Dr. Smart. Doc Smart. That’s who it was.

Jessica [00:02:09] That’s an even better name. Doc Smart.

Patrice Davison [00:02:10] I know. And they they bought the building and land and they fixed it up. And that year my mom came up with terminal cancer and put the red flag up, “help, help! You know, are you interested in buying an agency existing?” My husband and I said, “yeah, we’ll move to Texas. We’re tired of ice.” You know? And snow we were from Northern Illinois and came down and been doing it ever since.

Jessica [00:02:34] How fantastic! How fantastic! So generally what you guys do is homeowners insurance, correct?

Patrice Davison [00:02:39] That’s our biggest niche in our office.

Jessica [00:02:40] Okay.

Patrice Davison [00:02:41] Yes.

Jessica [00:02:41] Okay. So what we’re going to do today is we’re going to kind of ask you some of your expertise on there. So one of the things that, that had been brought up is the differential on your insurance between actual cash of value and replacement value. So will you explain a little bit how your policy runs that and what it does and kind of price of value to each of those and why people should work on one thing or the other. Or maybe it’s just whatever their choices.

Patrice Davison [00:03:12] Or how much money they can spend.

Jessica [00:03:13] That’s true.

Patrice Davison [00:03:14] That’s a big part of that. Replacement value on your home is going to say, “hey, no matter what happens to the home, whether the roof is blown off or it’s burnt in a fire, whatever it is, we’re going to pay you to replace that part of the home. We’re going to pay you.” If you have actual cash value. They’re only going to pay partial for that claim.

Jessica [00:03:37] Okay.

Patrice Davison [00:03:37] Depending on how old the item is. If it’s the roof and it’s 40 years old, they’re probably not going to give you a whole lot. If it’s 25 years old, they’ll give you more. If it’s three years old, they’ll give you most what it would cost to replace the roof.

Jessica [00:03:51] Okay.

Patrice Davison [00:03:51] But you want replacement value on your home and your contents.

Jessica [00:03:55] Okay.

Patrice Davison [00:03:56] Very important in case of a claim. Once again on your contents, if your couch burns up, you have replacement value, you go out and buy one brand new just like it, whatever it is. If you only have actual cash value, they’re going to give you partial payment on it and on a couch and maybe give you $25, $30 bucks.

Jessica [00:04:15] Okay.

Patrice Davison [00:04:16] Instead of, you know, $500 bucks, what a couch might cost you. Same type couch.

Jessica [00:04:21] Okay. So if you have a house here, say, in Boerne, just so we can stay local, and you choose between the actual cash value or the replacement value, what are you talking about in premium differentials for that?

Patrice Davison [00:04:35] It could be hundreds of dollars.

Jessica [00:04:37] Per month? Per year?

Patrice Davison [00:04:38] No, per year. Per year.

Jessica [00:04:39] Okay. Okay.

Patrice Davison [00:04:40] It could be hundreds. Lots of hundreds though.

Jessica [00:04:42] Okay.

Patrice Davison [00:04:43] Some companies now are offering and when I’m going onto the roof now, since you brought up about the roofer, some companies say, “hey, you know, we’re not we’re in Hail Alley here in Texas, guys.” Roofs get beat up all the time by hail. So companies say, “you know what? We’re not doing replacement value on roofs, period.” You’re going to pay. You’re going to pay a much lesser premium for that. Okay? That’s just some, a very small amount of companies. A lot of companies say, “hey, after 20 years though, we’re not playing replacement value, we’re going to only pay you actual cash value because your roof is 20 years old.” If you get a policy that has replacement value on it, full replacement value, no matter how old that roof is, you’re going to get a new roof if it’s taken out by hail or fire, whatever it is. Those policies are a little bit more expensive, but you’re paying for, you know, heartache, not having a heartache and a claim. Yeah, you know, my roof is totaled. I don’t know what to do. Well, here’s $2,000 for an actual cash value versus here’s $40,000 for replacement value. So you’re going, you’re going to notice a big difference in premium for the two policies.

Jessica [00:05:55] Okay.

Patrice Davison [00:05:56] A couple hundred dollars. And it’s worth it to ask, does this policy have a limit on replacement value, age of roof?

Jessica [00:06:04] Gotcha.

Patrice Davison [00:06:05] Yes.

Jessica [00:06:06] And so with insurance policies, what is the biggest thing that people are actually doing with an insurance policy?

Patrice Davison [00:06:15] How so do you mean?

Jessica [00:06:16] So when you You get a loan and your lender says you’ve got to have homeowner’s insurance and people are like, “okay, let me get a policy quote.” And they just kind of say, this one’s the least expensive. I’m going to go with it. Or they don’t understand why one insurance company happens to be so much more expensive. And they’re told, “oh, these policies are pretty comparable.” What is it that you really go through and line item, “hey, this is why our policy’s better versus this one or this is what this one’s actually going to do versus that one.”
 
Patrice Davison [00:06:47] And those are called Named Perils.
 
Jessica [00:06:49] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:06:50] So fire, lightning, windstorm, hurricane, you know, those kind of things Named Perils. All policies should have most of those on there.
 
Jessica [00:06:58] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:06:59] So, so you’re not really comparing that so much as you are, does this one have replacement value for the home and contents? Does this one only have replacement value until the roof is 20 years old?
 
Jessica [00:07:09] Mm hmm.
 
Patrice Davison [00:07:09] And then you’re going to start depreciating it even more every year. So there are some policies out there that they’re considered an all inclusive. And that says, unless it’s specifically excluded, we’re going to cover it.
 
Jessica [00:07:23] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:07:23] We’ve had a couple of instances where clients have, you know, had a bizarre, truly bizarre incident happen. And if they have the all inclusive policy, which costs more so, a lot of people say, “no, no, thank you!” They’re covered. Weird things. We’ve had a client were they pulled out of their garage, hit the garage door remote. The garage door came down, fell off the tracks, smashed to smithereens. That’s just not covered under a Named Peril Policy.
 
Jessica [00:07:52] Hmm.
 
Patrice Davison [00:07:52] But under an all-inclusive, it would have been covered. Nowadays, it’s not as big a deal because you have higher deductibles now. Back then, they were $250 deductibles. Now you’ve pretty much got, you know, 1,001% and 2% deductibles. So getting the all inclusive, it can pay off for you in the long run. But it’s, it’s much more expensive.
 
Jessica [00:08:16] So on things like that, do you always recommend those to clients or those?
 
Patrice Davison [00:08:22] No, no.
 
Jessica [00:08:22] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:08:22] I will talk to you about it. And most people are like, “you know what? Those little odd things I can handle. I’ve got a husband, he can handle the small stuff.” You know? That’s exactly although mine, I get scared if he handles it, but they say I don’t need that. That’s, that’s really not going to happen. And it’s not I’m just mostly worried about fire, lightning, windstorm, hurricane, hail. You know, there’s like ten named things.
 
Jessica [00:08:49] Yeah.
 
Patrice Davison [00:08:50] Those are called Named Perils.
 
Jessica [00:08:52] Now, one of the things that had also been mentioned, back to the roof replacements, is there was oh, what was that word, Cali? Do you remember? He had said there was like an extra percentage that was covered.
 
Cali [00:09:05] Averages and losses, I think is what he said. So if you hire a general contractor, then you can get additional things done. Right? What did he say that was?
 
Jessica [00:09:13] Yeah, like, like he had mentioned that, “hey, there’s a hailstorm and you have to get the roof replaced.” But it damaged your windows and it damaged your fascia boards and it damaged the siding to your house. That, part of the payout for the, the replac the replacement value of it was to also do those additional items which covered a general contractor from in doing the work versus just a roofer who wasn’t able to do those additional things.
 
Patrice Davison [00:09:40] Right. And what that does is they include labor.
 
Jessica [00:09:43] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:09:44] So, you know, when you, when you have a claim, the adjusters go, “okay, well, that’s going to be, you know, $40,000 for the roof, but we know it cost an additional $10,000 just to have a roofer do it.”
 
Jessica [00:09:56] Hmm.
 
Patrice Davison [00:09:56] So it’s just included in the cost per square foot.
 
Jessica [00:09:59] Okay. Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:10:00] So they do include that automatically.
 
Jessica [00:10:02] Okay. Now, the replacement values, do they actually cap out? Is it like, “oh, okay. We’ll replace it up to this dollar amount?”.
 
Patrice Davison [00:10:10] Yes.
 
Jessica [00:10:10] Okay. Okay.

Patrice Davison [00:10:11] But you have what the face of your policy is, normally.
 
Jessica [00:10:14] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:10:14] You know, so that’s why you want to make sure that your home is insured to “Rebuilding Value.”
 
Jessica [00:10:19] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:10:20] Not to what the taxes say. Kendall County Tax Appraiser office. Not what your mortgage company says because they’re only interested in their part that they own.
 
Jessica [00:10:30] Right.
 
Patrice Davison [00:10:31] You know, they, they you may only have a $40,000 loan left still on your $500,000 home. So you want to make sure that you’re insuring it for full replacement value.
 
Jessica [00:10:40] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:10:41] No matter what. Yes, it’s going to cost a little bit more, but that way you’re never out of pocket.
 
Jessica [00:10:46] Right. Minus your deductible.
 
Patrice Davison [00:10:48] And a claim Yeah, minus your deductible. And and some people just, they don’t think about it until they have a claim. That’s a nightmare.
 
Jessica [00:10:55] Right. Right.
 
Patrice Davison [00:10:55] The other thing on a claim that I like to tell people about is, do an inventory of your contents. It is so important if you have a claim. I don’t care whether you take pictures of all your contents or you put it on a computer list or you write it down. Whatever it is. Because if that’s the part of the home that’s damaged, let’s say it’s just your kitchen and pantry.
 
Jessica [00:11:16] Mm hmm.
 
Patrice Davison [00:11:17] Well, now you have to list every single spice. If you want to get reimbursed for it.
 
Jessica [00:11:24] Oh, okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:11:26] Now, how much money did you spend on those spices? Could have been, you know, like in my cabinet, I’ve got hundreds and hundreds of dollars. How about your clothes and your linens? So take a picture. Because that way, when they say, “okay, make us a list of everything you lost.” Because it’s not just like, “here’s a check.”
 
Jessica [00:11:44] Right, right.
 
Patrice Davison [00:11:44] Give us a list of everything you lost. You’re already stressing. You’ve had a major claim.
 
Jessica [00:11:49] Mm hmm.
 
Patrice Davison [00:11:50] Now I got to give you a list of everything.
 
Jessica [00:11:52] Yeah.
 
Patrice Davison [00:11:52] Oh, crap. I have those pictures. Let me look at that. Oh, look, I forgot all about Mom’s coat or
 
Jessica [00:12:00] Yeah.
 
Patrice Davison [00:12:00] Yes, or all the little knickknacks above the cupboards in the kitchen.
 
Jessica [00:12:03] I was I was reading something really interesting the other day that said that the average person has about 300,000 things in their home.
 
Patrice Davison [00:12:11] Mm hmm.
 
Jessica [00:12:12] And I was like, that doesn’t even make sense to me. But then when you start thinking about books, and silverwares, and plates and all of that, it adds up. But 300,000 items, like how do you accumulate that much stuff?
 
Patrice Davison [00:12:23] You know, and we never, ever thought about spices till we had a client who did have his home burned. And he said, “But what about my spices?” And I went, “I never even thought about those.” So they had to list everything they had.
 
Cali [00:12:36] Or vitamins. I probably got a $1000 dollar worth of vitamins in the cabinet right now.
 
Patrice Davison [00:12:40] Exactly what’s in your garage, right?
 
Jessica [00:12:43] I know.
 
Patrice Davison [00:12:43] You know?
 
Jessica [00:12:44] It’s wild. Yes. So, in case you guys are just joining us, we have the pleasure of being here with Patrice Davison with Davison Insurance. And we’re just asking her some questions about what to do with your homeowner’s policy and why you should do certain things. One of the other questions that I had for you was, what is the deal with calling your insurance in questioning a claim versus actually filing a claim?
 
Patrice Davison [00:13:13] Okay. This is where it can be different with different companies, too, by the way.
 
Jessica [00:13:17] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:13:18] Some companies and, none that I work with, but that I’ve heard of.
 
Jessica [00:13:22] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:13:22] If you call the agent and you tell them, “I was just in an accident. I don’t want to file a claim, but this is just in case the other guy calls” Those companies go, “hey, you’ve called us. We’ve got to we’ve got to make it a claim now.” Most of the agents around here, at least in the Boerne area, say, “well, okay, let’s talk about this a little bit. We will make a note that you called us, but that you don’t want to claim at this point. Okay. Not a big deal. We don’t have to file a claim at that point. But if the other person calls that you hit, you’re kind of required to put in a claim at that point.”
 
Jessica [00:13:56] Gotcha.
 
Patrice Davison [00:13:57] But let’s say that you you took a little bit of hail damage. You don’t think there’s a whole lot. It’s probably not going to meet my deductible. You can let your agent know. They’ll make a note. And in our office, we actually send a letter out that says, “hey, by the way, thank you for letting us know. At this time you don’t want to file a claim, but if you change your mind, just let us know. It’s no big deal.”.
 
Jessica [00:14:17] Mm hmm.
 
Patrice Davison [00:14:18] But it is a big deal if it comes up to a year after the date of the claim, though. If you go a full year and it’s a year and a day, the insurance company has a right to say, “we’re not paying it. It’s been over a year.” So it’s well worth it for you to talk to your agent. But like I said, most of the agents here in Boerne will talk to you about it. They won’t file a claim, but they’ll acknowledge that you called them worried about it.
 
Jessica [00:14:41] Right.
 
Patrice Davison [00:14:42] Yeah.
 
Jessica [00:14:42] But then I guess my question is, say a year and two days and then there’s another hailstorm or there’s another set of damaging circumstances that come about. And at that point, you do have enough damage where it is worth it to file a claim against your insurance. Is that claim technically denied because you had a problem a year and two days ago?
 
Patrice Davison [00:15:04] Not necessarily.
 
Jessica [00:15:06] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:15:06] It can be.
 
Jessica [00:15:07] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:15:07] It can be, but because you didn’t fix the prior damage. But then you’ve got two deductibles.
 
Jessica [00:15:15] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:15:16] The first claim you’ve got that deductible because that happened a year and five days ago, or whatever. And you’ve got another deductible because it just happened.
 
Jessica [00:15:22] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:15:23] That’s why it’s really is best to kind of let your agent know what’s going on. It’s, it’s okay, you know? They’re not against you. They’re for you. Having an independent insurance agent is the best thing you could probably do. Or just having an insurance agent. We just want to make sure, “hey, so you didn’t file a claim last time or you did and you got paid and you didn’t fix your roof. Now you have another claim with hail damage. You didn’t fix your roof before? We’re not paying the second claim.”
 
Jessica [00:15:53] Well, yeah, because you had whatever you were given
 
Patrice Davison [00:15:55] The money to fix. Exactly.
 
Jessica [00:15:57] Right.
 
Patrice Davison [00:15:57] So it can get very sticky, especially with hail claims, those kind of things. So just talk to your agent. They’re there for you.
 
Jessica [00:16:06] So you had mentioned there was a difference between you said, independent agents and what else? What else was it?
 
Patrice Davison [00:16:12] And then they’re just a captive agent.
 
Jessica [00:16:15] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:16:15] Like State Farm has a captive agent. That’s who they work for State Farm.
 
Jessica [00:16:20] Oh, okay. Oh, okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:16:21] Farm Bureau. They are captive agents. They work for Farm Bureau. An independent agent, which is what Davison Insurances is, we work with a number of different companies so we can shop your insurance. Yes, I know this premium is a little bit high, but it’s the one that has the replacement value on the home.
 
Jessica [00:16:36] Okay.
 
Patrice Davison [00:16:36] Full. No matter how many years down the road it is. Could be 40 years. We don’t care. You’ve got replacement value on that roof.
 
Jessica [00:16:42] Mm hmm.
 
Patrice Davison [00:16:43] Um, the other company, you only have that replacement value on your roof for 20 years. And it’s going to state that in your policy, by the way, you’ve only got this many years left.
 
Jessica [00:16:52] Gotcha.
 
Patrice Davison [00:16:53] So, yeah. So, you know, it’s worth it to get somebody to shop it for you.
 
Jessica [00:16:57] Yeah.
 
Cali [00:16:57] So I have a question for you, too. The um so, so say you own your home and then you want to go and buy a lot that you’re going to build on sometime in the future. No particular plans, but you, but you just purchased some land to build on. Whether it’s in a neighborhood or not, you just got this lot sitting out there. How would you go about insuring that? Would that be a separate policy or that can be just added on to your current policy?
 
Patrice Davison [00:17:19] Normally it could be added on to your current policy, but if it’s truly vacant, there’s really no charge and no where to put that on a policy itself. It’s vacant, there’s nothing on there. So it automatically extends with most companies your liability, meaning that if somebody comes on that property, whether, you know, imagined or not and gets hurt, whether it’s imagined or not, you’ve got automatic coverage. That’s only if it’s truly vacant. They don’t have to charge you. They don’t list it on the policy. But if it even has a water pump on it. You know, a lot of people have wells. You know, if it’s got a water pump or a pumphouse or something on it. Or your RV’s on there so when you go play on the weekends then your liability can be extended to that property. Very, very inexpensive, $20-$30 bucks, at the most. If it’s a commercial property, however, that’s going to require a commercial policy. We’re only talking about if you’re building, or going to build
 
Cali [00:18:18] Right. Residential
 
Patrice Davison [00:18:19] Right. Residential.
 
Cali [00:18:20] Okay. So if it doesn’t if it’s truly vacant, has nothing on it, then it just as an automatic extension.
 
Patrice Davison [00:18:26] Normally with most companies. Check with your company, talk to your agent. Yeah.
 
Jessica [00:18:31] Yes. So, Patrice, if anybody has any more questions or they want to follow up and check on their policy or they want to get some more comparisons, how can they reach out to you?
 
Patrice Davison [00:18:39] They can call us on 249-6112 That’s an 83-number, 830. Our 800 number works also, 1-800 249-6112. They can email us. We’ve got uh www.Davison-Insurance.com. We’ve got a website. You can email us. We’re in there. You can find us. You can Google us, we’re there.
 
Jessica [00:19:04] Forty years? You better be in there! I mean, you’re in the Hill Country Weekly.
 
Patrice Davison [00:19:07] You ask any of your neighbors, they know who we are.
 
Jessica [00:19:09] They know who you are. We all know who you are. And my parents use you. I mean, we everybody knows who you are. But before we end the show, Patrice, I just want to ask you one question.
 
Patrice Davison [00:19:20] Yes ma’am.
 
Jessica [00:19:20] What is your favorite thing about Boerne?
 
Patrice Davison [00:19:23] Like you guys. Just having my buds here, you know? Seriously. And people are just nice.
 
Jessica [00:19:29] They are.
 
Patrice Davison [00:19:30] They, you know you’re going to find maybe a couple that just aren’t. I’m very lucky. I don’t know very many of them. You know, they come in our office, we can usually change that around pretty quick.
 
Jessica [00:19:41] You can, for sure, for sure. Well, thank you so much, Patrice, for joining us today. We’re happy to have you here on The Real Estate of Texas.
 
Patrice Davison [00:19:49] Thank you, Jessica.
 
Jessica [00:19:50] We’ll be right back with Lauren, Under the Fig Tree and our community corner. Stay tuned, y’all.
 
COMMERCIAL [00:19:58] The Real Estate of Texas is always changing. Get a solid start to buying or selling a house with Solid Realty Group. Hey, y’all! I’m Jessica Johnson, co-owner of Solid Realty Group Bernie’s 5-Star REALTORS, where we have saved our clients over $3 million. Given today’s rising home values and interest rates, every penny counts. Call Solid Realty Group to buy or sell and we can help you save more and stress less. Call us at 210-827-3733. SolidRealtyGroup.com.
 
Cali [00:20:36] Welcome back, everybody. Thanks for joining us here on The Real Estate of Texas. Solid Realty Group. We are joined today by Lauren Watson with Under the Fig Tree right here on the Main Street of Boerne.
 
Lauren Watson [00:20:46] Hey guys!
 
Cali [00:20:46] Welcome, Lauren.
 
Jessica [00:20:49] Hi Lauren!
 
Cali [00:20:49] Thanks for coming.
 
Lauren Watson [00:20:49] Thanks! How are y’all?
 
Jessica [00:20:51] Fantastic. How are you today?
 
Lauren Watson [00:20:53] I’m fabulous.
 
Jessica [00:20:54] All right. So tell us a little bit about Under the Fig Tree.
 
Lauren Watson [00:20:57] So Under the Fig Tree has been a long term dream of mine, for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been into fashion. I worked in the fashion industry right after college. Take that back. I was a special ed teacher for a semester and then went to the fashion industry. And I’ve just been a boutique shopper. I’ve been working in boutiques all through college. After college I started working on the wholesale side in Dallas and then spent 17 years at a company in Austin where I realized that living your dream is way Worth way more than anything else. So
 
Jessica [00:21:39] So how was that born? Tell us what you decided to do to make Under the Fig Tree a Boerne staple.
 
Lauren Watson [00:21:45] Well, God led me here. It’s 100% God. I had been praying. I’ve never lost my faith. I have gone through a lot, just as we all have, but went through a period where I lost so many people that were close to me and my faith never wavered, but it was the size of a mustard seed. And so I kept praying, you know, “God, something something has to change and I really want to be happy.” And so God led me to where we are today and opening up a store that I can share with the community of Boerne.
 
Jessica [00:22:22] And what does your store cater to?
 
Lauren Watson [00:22:24] I cater to anyone and everyone.
 
Jessica [00:22:26] I know, that’s so wonderful.
 
Lauren Watson [00:22:27] Jesus Jesus loves everyone, and that’s my philosophy also. None of us are perfect except the Almighty and I, I fully believe in that. And I fully believe in loving your neighbor and showing women that you’re beautiful on the inside and the outside, but more importantly on the inside, and that God loves you just as you are.
 
Jessica [00:22:51] Indeed. Indeed. So what’s your favorite thing there for people to come shopping for?
 
Lauren Watson [00:22:56] Well Hmm I honestly just like the fact that people come in and it’s a hangout and it turns into a party a lot.
 
Cali [00:23:05] I have to say that, if you’ve never been down to the Fig Tree, it’s an experience. You don’t just walk into the shop, you hang out in the courtyard and you mingle. It’s, it’s just so, so much fun. It’s totally different.
 
Jessica [00:23:14] And you have a great mascot, too.
 
Lauren Watson [00:23:15] Oh Scarlett. She’s famous in our small, small town.
 
Jessica [00:23:19] She is.
 
Lauren Watson [00:23:19] They love her. People will come in asking for her all the time. And then their favorite thing is, “well, how much for the dog?” And my response is always, “oh, there’s no returns on that one.” Yeah, take her. You got her.
 
Jessica [00:23:31] Indeed.
 
Lauren Watson [00:23:32] And just kidding y’all can’t have my dog.
 
Jessica [00:23:36] She is not for sale, guys. But no but you also host like wonderful events for the Hill Country, Women in Business groups. You bring people together, you do an incredible amount of stuff for the community. So we’re so very happy to have you. So, if people want to go check you out and take a shop around and they want to look, how do they get in touch with you? Where are you located?
 
Lauren Watson [00:23:54] Yeah. So one, thank you for acknowledging the community events. It’s been fabulous. The courtyard: I feel like God gave us that courtyard to share with, with this community because it is so magical. Um, and I am located at 108 Newton Alley just off Main Street behind Flashback Funtiques and in front of Tusculum’s parking lot. It Is a gated courtyard. So you will come through the gate and it’s like Alice stepping into Wonderland when you get in there.
 
Cali [00:24:21] It is. That’s exactly a very good description. So perfect. But you also have an event that you’re helping out with coming up soon, right?
 
Lauren Watson [00:24:29] I do.
 
Cali [00:24:29] Tell us about that.
 
Lauren Watson [00:24:30] Yeah. So September 17th is the style show. The retailers are putting on a style show on September 17th at the Bevy and our own very own Shan Oh, she’s not there, but our very own Shan will be the emcee for the event. And then where The proceeds will go to benefit the Kendall County Women’s Shelter.
 
Jessica [00:24:52] Oh, how fun. So September 17th, where can they find more information?
 
[00:24:56] Online. Um, they can type in Boerne Retailer’s Style Show or on Facebook: it’s on my page. I know it’s on several of the other retailers around town have posted it. Jolie’s posted it. Handmade on Main that a bunch of us have posted.
 
Jessica [00:25:12] And your your website is
 
Lauren Watson [00:25:15] I do not have a website.
 
Jessica [00:25:16] Well you have a Facebook.
 
Lauren Watson [00:25:17] I have a Facebook.
 
Jessica [00:25:18] And so people can find you there. It is?
 
Lauren Watson [00:25:20] Under the Fig Tree.
 
Jessica [00:25:21] Okay, perfect. Yeah. Go and like her page and check it out and come join us on September 17th. I think it’s a great event. It’s going to highlight the uh, the Kendall County Women’s Shelter, and it’s a wonderful event to be part of. And thank you so much for joining us, Lauren.
 
Cali [00:25:34] In the meantime, go shopping.
 
Jessica [00:25:36] In the meantime, go shopping. Yes. yes.
 
Cali [00:25:37] Under the Fig Tree with Lauren Watson.
 
Lauren Watson [00:25:38] Absolutely. And then since today is September 3rd, that means it is college football! And I just have to say, being in Aggie territory, I bleed burnt orange. So, go Longhorns! And we’re going to start tailgating at the boutique on Saturdays. It will be a wonderful burnt orange experience for y’all.
 
Jessica [00:26:00] How fun. How fun. Well, thank you guys so much for joining us for The Real Estate of Texas here at the wonderful Richter’s Tavern. If you guys haven’t had a chance to check it out, please come join them. They’ve got some fresh, homemade sourdough bread that they make every day at their Bakhaus. It’s absolutely delicious. So I hope you guys have a wonderful Saturday. We look forward to seeing ya’ll soon.
 
Lauren Watson [00:26:20] Thanks, guys.
 
Cali [00:26:21] Thanks, Lauren.
 

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