Speaker 1: My next desk is Tiffany Halls. How are you doing, Tiffany?
Speaker 1: How are you look at it all out? You know?
Speaker 1: What do you do for a living? Tiffany? Because I
Speaker 1: thought you're gonna be a studio with me. I thought so,
Speaker 1: but they said, you know, you couldn't make it in
Speaker 1: I'm not mad at you because you're my friend. You're
Speaker 1: my friend. You're my friend. But tell us about the
Speaker 1: what ye have right now with your career. Um, you
Speaker 1: know I am at in Atlanta, yes, ma'am. Now when
Speaker 1: you say that, because you know we've been to I've
Speaker 1: interviewed you before, and you know my whole fear about
Speaker 1: having a closing the attorney because I signed a bunch
Speaker 1: of papers. I've been fortunate to buy a house in
Speaker 1: my life and as a stack of papers, I know
Speaker 1: nothing about what I'm signing, but I'm told to sign.
Speaker 1: So can you help? I'm sure it's a lot. You're
Speaker 1: laughing at me. You laughing at because you know this
Speaker 1: is this is a look that you can people give
Speaker 1: you all the time. So that's abot of trust I
Speaker 1: have to have with an attorney like you. So tell
Speaker 1: us exactly what are they may be doing the same
Speaker 1: thing outside what are we signing? So it's not necessarily
Speaker 1: a lot of trust that you have to have with
Speaker 1: the attorney. It's just you knowing what you are agreeing
Speaker 1: to as far as the terms of the actual loan.
Speaker 1: And so, as a consumer or as a buyer, if
Speaker 1: I'm purchasing a home, the number one thing that I'm
Speaker 1: concerned about is can I afford to purchase this home?
Speaker 1: Is the interest rate going to be sufficient enough for
Speaker 1: me to be able to make my mortgage payments each month? Um?
Speaker 1: And so those are the important factors as a homeowner,
Speaker 1: UM that I'm gonna go over with you in detail, like, hey,
Speaker 1: this is your note, and on your note, you know,
Speaker 1: it says you're interest rate is three point five and
Speaker 1: your principal and interest is this figure. But now on
Speaker 1: top of that, we have to add in your escrow
Speaker 1: for your taxes, your property taxes, and for your insurance.
Speaker 1: And so although your principle and interest is this amount,
Speaker 1: your monthly payment will be this amount once we include
Speaker 1: those s prows. And so as a buyer, that's the
Speaker 1: most important thing because you have to realize that when
Speaker 1: a lender is um lending you money, you're not signing
Speaker 1: anything in your favor. Everything is always going to be
Speaker 1: in the bank's favor. So if we make a mistake,
Speaker 1: you will correct it. Buyre um. If something goes on,
Speaker 1: you will correct it. If you have done anything fraudulent,
Speaker 1: we can't foreclose. If you don't pay, we can't fork close.
Speaker 1: So all those terms are definitely going to be in
Speaker 1: favor of the lender. So it's just important for you
Speaker 1: to know what you're comfortable with, UH and what you
Speaker 1: can afford. And once you figure that out, UM, the
Speaker 1: truth is you're either signing the documents and getting the
Speaker 1: loan or you're not. You can't negotiate anything. You know.
Speaker 1: Just interesting because we're gonna talk about the show that
Speaker 1: your star are, the unscripted series on Own Ladies Who
Speaker 1: List Atlanta. But one of the reasons I invited you
Speaker 1: on my show, the Live show on w C. Okay,
Speaker 1: let's just talk about it, because sometimes you get lost
Speaker 1: in reality and TVs. That's what she does for a living.
Speaker 1: She play acting because I really wanted to because I
Speaker 1: knew that wasn't the truth and I want to make
Speaker 1: sure clarify that. But because you deliver our skill and
Speaker 1: H and UH that am I wrong in this saying
Speaker 1: that's that not many African American male or female participate
Speaker 1: as closing attorneys. Um, there's a there's a handful of
Speaker 1: us out here. I didn't say that there's not a lot.
Speaker 1: There are definitely UM enough of us out here. And
Speaker 1: and actually it's an area law where you're starting to
Speaker 1: see more minorities UM entering this area of law. So back,
Speaker 1: you know, five ten years ago, you didn't see as
Speaker 1: many African American closing attorneys. But now like I'm literally
Speaker 1: seeing that pop up every were around Atlanta, around this
Speaker 1: metropolitan you know city here. UM. But we're still a minority.
Speaker 1: We're still not um the main person that you see
Speaker 1: at the closing table, UM, even in Atlanta, Tiffany. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, this interview is part of answering questions for
Speaker 1: Rishawan and people call it because an experience of how
Speaker 1: did you get started? Because you said you can go
Speaker 1: to school for this, you know, like I went to college.
Speaker 1: You know, I started out as a civil engineer, and
Speaker 1: I went over the chemical engineer, and then I went
Speaker 1: over to uh the math. Eventually got my degree in math,
Speaker 1: and I minored out and UM and the sociology. Was
Speaker 1: this what you wanted to do when you went to college.
Speaker 1: So when I went to I went to Savannah State
Speaker 1: University undergrad and I made a major that political science
Speaker 1: and minored in English, and my goal was to go
Speaker 1: to law school. Now at that time, I had no
Speaker 1: idea about trans actional law. I had no idea about
Speaker 1: real estate closing. Didn't even know when attorney was involved
Speaker 1: when you purchased the house. It wasn't until um when
Speaker 1: I graduated. I ended up getting pregnant with my oldest son,
Speaker 1: and instead of going a law school, I went and
Speaker 1: got my payer legal certificate and I applied to like
Speaker 1: a whole bunch of law firms, and the law firm
Speaker 1: that called me back was a real estate closing attorney's office.
Speaker 1: I got my first job, and so that was the
Speaker 1: first time that I was ever, you know, even aware
Speaker 1: that there was law associated with purchasing homes. And that
Speaker 1: was back in two thousand and six, two thousand seven.
Speaker 1: And once I got into that arena and I started
Speaker 1: learning the process and how everything went. Eventually, when I
Speaker 1: went to law school, it's all I knew how to practice.
Speaker 1: And so once I graduated a law school once at
Speaker 1: the bar. I just immediately, um, you know, opened up
Speaker 1: my own firm and started doing the residential real estate closing.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass
Speaker 1: with three Sean McDonald. Now let's return to Money Making
Speaker 1: Conversations Masterclass with Rashan McDonald. Now, okay, Now, opening your
Speaker 1: own firm? Is that a Is that normal? I'm just
Speaker 1: I'm just asking simple questions in my mind, you know,
Speaker 1: because that means that you know, you have from there
Speaker 1: the word firm. You know, they're all on TV now,
Speaker 1: they all got commercials out there, and you know they
Speaker 1: have billboards. It was strong on with the law and
Speaker 1: you know Morgan and Morgan and you know they they
Speaker 1: they they sponsored local news, which is shocking to me.
Speaker 1: You know, how you can have a law firm sponsoring
Speaker 1: local news. I don't get that, but they do it.
Speaker 1: And so how do you compete with all that super
Speaker 1: hype that's going on, all these millions of dollars as
Speaker 1: being spent? How does your firm cut through all that clutter? Um? Well,
Speaker 1: I never looked at it as a competition. Um. When
Speaker 1: I opened my firm, it was simply because I knew
Speaker 1: how to do everything. UM, and I paid three hundred
Speaker 1: thousand dollars to go to law school. Why am I
Speaker 1: going to apply to a law firm make seventy thousand
Speaker 1: dollars if that um and then has to work, you know,
Speaker 1: my ass off for everyone else. So the goal in
Speaker 1: my mind was, No, I did all this work, I
Speaker 1: know how to do this, so I'm gonna open up
Speaker 1: my own firm. Now I knew how to do all
Speaker 1: the real estate stuff, the practice, but when I didn't
Speaker 1: know how to do which actually builds UM my business.
Speaker 1: And I still at that time wasn't like, oh what
Speaker 1: am I gonna do with all these big law firms? No,
Speaker 1: I was like, more like, how am I gonna find
Speaker 1: my way? What's gonna benefit me? And I found the
Speaker 1: power of social media. UM. I have three children, so
Speaker 1: it's very hard for me to do traditional networking UM
Speaker 1: like going to different places, lunches, shake hands, getting out cards.
Speaker 1: It was very um difficult for me to UM even
Speaker 1: kind of like put myself out there being in front
Speaker 1: of people like, hey, I just graduated law school. Here
Speaker 1: my business cards. But then when I found out that
Speaker 1: like my audience, the people that I want to do
Speaker 1: business with with your real estate agents. They're all over
Speaker 1: social media and of course they want everyone to know
Speaker 1: that they're a real estate agent, so it's easy to
Speaker 1: find them. And that became my niche and how I
Speaker 1: got my business. Now I may not be the largest
Speaker 1: law firm out here, but the business that I do
Speaker 1: is enough for me. It's enough to employ um eleven people,
Speaker 1: it's enough to you know, take care of my family.
Speaker 1: And so for me, that's enough. There are people out
Speaker 1: here with lofty goals of wanting to be you know,
Speaker 1: the largest closing attorney, are not even closing attorney any firm. Um,
Speaker 1: I just don't have those goals because you know a
Speaker 1: lot of my goals are now to just you know,
Speaker 1: pour into my children. Um. So it's just all about
Speaker 1: you know, what you want, and I just really never
Speaker 1: looked at anybody else to compare myself and what I'm
Speaker 1: doing to what they're doing. Now, when you when you
Speaker 1: look at first of all, when I when I hear
Speaker 1: the way you talk, that means that you walk through
Speaker 1: a lot of unknown situations with a lot of courage.
Speaker 1: Because that stops a lot of people. A lot of
Speaker 1: people want their dreams to be accomplished, but fear, the
Speaker 1: not feeling comfortable, not not knowing, Hey is a paycheck
Speaker 1: waiting on me? Is is that idea is gonna work?
Speaker 1: Who's supporting me? How did you overcome the fear of
Speaker 1: the unknown? Before we go to break? Well, the big
Speaker 1: thing is you just mentioned is support. UM. So I
Speaker 1: am married. I have a husband, UM, who is a
Speaker 1: traditional husband in the sense that he pays all the bills.
Speaker 1: So it wasn't a situation where I was, you know,
Speaker 1: deciding whether I'm gonna pay my rent or open up
Speaker 1: my law firm. You know, I didn't have to think
Speaker 1: about something that some some people have to think about.
Speaker 1: So the fear of paying bills and all that stuff
Speaker 1: that was removed because the support that I had from
Speaker 1: my husband. UM. Now with that support, of course, you
Speaker 1: still have to have the focus and the mindset to
Speaker 1: actually go out here and get business and and find
Speaker 1: ways to be successful. But I honestly couldn't have any
Speaker 1: of that without the support of of my family. That
Speaker 1: is that was that was paramount and me opening up
Speaker 1: my law firm. Now we got two calls for you
Speaker 1: right now. Are you ready? Okay? Nikki from Atlanta? How
Speaker 1: are you doing, Nikki Hi resonnighting great? We have Tiffany
Speaker 1: on the call. What is your call today about? Hi, Tiffany,
Speaker 1: I'm a real chest what I'm a real starry nights off,
Speaker 1: but I'm a realtor and I'm just gonna give you
Speaker 1: props because you know, we do look for closing attorneys
Speaker 1: that return our calls and get the paperwork done on time,
Speaker 1: that do it right, have no issues with titles, etcetera.
Speaker 1: And you must be doing something right. So I really
Speaker 1: have calling into just pat you on the back and
Speaker 1: say you must be doing a great job. And I'm
Speaker 1: gonna look you up and see you know what's going on,
Speaker 1: because we are always looking for a great, great closing attorney.
Speaker 1: So I just really want to Colin and congratulate you well.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Nicky. Sometimes this industry is crazy.
Speaker 1: If you're a real estate agent then then you know.
Speaker 1: So we're always trying to do, you know, the best
Speaker 1: that we can to just make our way through the
Speaker 1: craziness of a real estate transaction. So it's always good
Speaker 1: um to get that pat on the back, um, just
Speaker 1: to keep us going. You know, a real estate is brutal,
Speaker 1: it is. I was gonna say it really is. And
Speaker 1: because you're dealing with, you know, such a large purchase,
Speaker 1: the um the buyers or sellers can do. You know,
Speaker 1: it's just an emotional roller coaster drive. But you know,
Speaker 1: if you have a good closing attorney that can keep
Speaker 1: everybody staying at the table, you know, obviously you're doing
Speaker 1: something right. So good job. Well, yes, so at our
Speaker 1: closing table we have Margarita's and wine and so keep
Speaker 1: you called that you called? Yes, well you know the
Speaker 1: thing what she called in. Let me just roll back
Speaker 1: here a little bit because obviously by Nikki's response, there
Speaker 1: are certain there there's different type of closing attorneys. You
Speaker 1: try to bring levity and calmness and celebration to your clothes, right,
Speaker 1: and so now that's different. Now, what what makes you
Speaker 1: What makes it good? I may have asked it, but
Speaker 1: having her call in what makes a really good closing attorney? Um?
Speaker 1: The what really makes a good closing attorney is just
Speaker 1: the ability to relate to the party. Like said, real
Speaker 1: estate is very emotional. The sellers are on high emotions.
Speaker 1: Number one. They may be selling a home that they
Speaker 1: have like emotional ties to their kids may have been
Speaker 1: born there, they may have lived there for several years,
Speaker 1: and so although they may be walking away with a check,
Speaker 1: it's still a very anxious and emotional time for them
Speaker 1: and for the buyers. You know, getting financing for a
Speaker 1: home is not easy. You go through a lot of
Speaker 1: ups and downs. The lenders take you through hell and
Speaker 1: back just to get the money, you know, to buy
Speaker 1: your home. So a lot of times, once you get
Speaker 1: to the closing table, you're honestly exhausted. Now, you know,
Speaker 1: I have to bring you from that point of exhaustion
Speaker 1: to now realizing that this is a happy occasion for you.
Speaker 1: Let's celebrate home owner ships. UM. Let's celebrate the ability
Speaker 1: to purchase homes and sell them and create wealth for
Speaker 1: our families. And that's really what separates me apart from
Speaker 1: other attorneys, just my ability to relate to people on
Speaker 1: all levels. You know, I close your standards. Buyer and
Speaker 1: seller are closed. Celebrities are close athletes, um, And you
Speaker 1: just got to come to people where they are. And
Speaker 1: when people know that you can relate to them, it
Speaker 1: just makes for an easier transaction. We'll be right back
Speaker 1: with more money Making Conversations. Masterclass with Rashan McDonald now
Speaker 1: let's return to Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rashan McDonald.
Speaker 1: You are articulate, you have three kids. Do you have
Speaker 1: a husband who as your back your employee? Loving people?
Speaker 1: You are very busy. I'm sure you do a lot
Speaker 1: of speaking engagements. How do you have time to do
Speaker 1: a television show on own that call that entitled Ladies
Speaker 1: Who Listed Latin? How did that come about? Activity? Because
Speaker 1: your schedule seems pretty robots. My stential is definitely busy,
Speaker 1: but a lot of my schedule is surrounded with real estate. UM.
Speaker 1: The show is a real estate show, and so this
Speaker 1: is not you know, Real Housewives of Atlanta or um
Speaker 1: any show like that where I would have to actually
Speaker 1: change the trajectory of my life. This is about real estate,
Speaker 1: and it's in my life. It's surrounded about real estate.
Speaker 1: So it was an easy thing for me. There's not
Speaker 1: basketball wives, you know, there's not all that over there,
Speaker 1: you know, all over that. And we're not saying anything
Speaker 1: negative about Real Housewives of Atlanta. What she's saying is
Speaker 1: that she was invited to come on the show that
Speaker 1: aligned yourself with her career. In her background what she
Speaker 1: does real estate, So it wasn't like a fictionalized role
Speaker 1: or character she had to play or scripted. Basically, they're
Speaker 1: kind of like recording what you do for a living
Speaker 1: correct correct exactly. The unincorporated a lot of my family
Speaker 1: with as well, and so it was just something that
Speaker 1: would aligned with my lifestyle. Now, with that being said,
Speaker 1: are you enjoying being No? No, being uh a notice
Speaker 1: on the streets being what is that and what is
Speaker 1: that participation in the TV show done for your brand?
Speaker 1: It's a little weird for me when I go into
Speaker 1: public cases and people know who I am and they're like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, there's a celebrity. They don't do that.
Speaker 1: If they'll do the oh my god, dude, oh my god,
Speaker 1: I'm just Tiffany, or they want to take pictures and
Speaker 1: I'm like, no, I'm just I'm just Tippany. I'm nobody.
Speaker 1: I'm nobody's special and you know, I'm just, you know,
Speaker 1: just a regular person. Well, I'm gonna tell you this,
Speaker 1: you're not a regular person because people want to call
Speaker 1: and talk to you on my show. We got another call.
Speaker 1: If ready for another call? Sandra Sandro from Atlanta. How
Speaker 1: you do Sandra, You're on the call with Tiffany halls,
Speaker 1: the very humble who doesn't like getting not brought to
Speaker 1: in public? Oh my god, it's Tiffany. Oh my god, Sandra,
Speaker 1: what is your question for the humble? And you know, regular, regular,
Speaker 1: regular regulatiffty can you guys hear me a little? But
Speaker 1: I love the show she was on. I love her spirit.
Speaker 1: She's beautiful, and God is gonna always continue to bless
Speaker 1: her her family. But I had one quick question. I'm
Speaker 1: kind of embarrassed about this question, but I'm gonna ask.
Speaker 1: Is this I've always wretched I'm almost sixty years old.
Speaker 1: Is the age factor a factor? Is first time home ownership?
Speaker 1: Absolutely not. In fact, the benefit of actually purchasing a
Speaker 1: home as you get older is that in some counties,
Speaker 1: like when your large metro counties, they have senior exemptions
Speaker 1: for taxes where you don't have to even pay the
Speaker 1: school taxes on your tax bill. And that is um
Speaker 1: the majority of the tax bill. So if your tax
Speaker 1: bill is four thousand dollars and you get the senior exemption,
Speaker 1: your tax bill may go down to five hundred dollars.
Speaker 1: And so now instead of s growing um based on
Speaker 1: a four thousand dollar tax bill, you're now s growing
Speaker 1: based on a five hundred dollar tax bill, so your
Speaker 1: payment is even lower. So there's tons of benefits for purchasing,
Speaker 1: you know, a home. Even if you're not young, you
Speaker 1: still have the ability to purchase something for your family. Yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: because I had thought about homeownership and then felt like,
Speaker 1: fel well, I'm too old of all the home. But anyway,
Speaker 1: and I was thinking, well, maybe I can get something
Speaker 1: and putting in my daughter's name, and would that be
Speaker 1: a u something to consider because I know as time
Speaker 1: go on then she could just have it or however
Speaker 1: and just we both have our names on the deed.
Speaker 1: Is that a possibility? So let me just change your
Speaker 1: sons and sand get that home in your name. It's
Speaker 1: called a will. You know, get a will, get a will,
Speaker 1: live your life. Gusto. You know, that's one thing I
Speaker 1: always getting on black people, African Americans about you are
Speaker 1: a special person. First of all, age and not be
Speaker 1: an excuse. Did anybody listen to me? Do not If
Speaker 1: you're seven years old you want to buy a house,
Speaker 1: buy and you're able to buy ninety years old. If
Speaker 1: you look at the house while you rolling down the street,
Speaker 1: and you're able to buy and go by, because that's
Speaker 1: what life is about. A life is about adventure, guaranteed.
Speaker 1: Come on, Tiffany, wrap it up, Timy, you you're the motivator.
Speaker 1: Come on differently each other, tell them saying okay, something
Speaker 1: else can tell think it happened to you at that
Speaker 1: young age. Um, I'm totally in agreement. Don't ever let
Speaker 1: age stop you from doing anything any day that you
Speaker 1: wake up living in a day worth going after what
Speaker 1: you want in life. You hear that sounds don't do,
Speaker 1: don't hurt anyway. I like her from the show Chilled.
Speaker 1: She don't like a lot of bes. I'm like her.
Speaker 1: And when we got heard her on the radio, I'm like,
Speaker 1: I gotta figure out how to call it that. I
Speaker 1: have to figure this out. Well, I'm gonna teach some
Speaker 1: some tea, some sund I'm gonna slow you down before
Speaker 1: you say a word on my little show and they
Speaker 1: get me taken off the You already said the word
Speaker 1: that bs. We can't get with no farther than that. Okay,
Speaker 1: now sound listen to me. Now you're special, okay, and
Speaker 1: it's a blessing. You have a dog you can share
Speaker 1: this opportunity with if you can get. You know, you
Speaker 1: already got the closing attorney. She's the real deal. It's
Speaker 1: Tiffany Halls. Okay, So go out there and find that home.
Speaker 1: You know it might be a little tight right now
Speaker 1: because home mortgages are inching up and they're doing that
Speaker 1: to slow down home purchases. You know. That's what they
Speaker 1: do when they inflation. They raised the interest rate. That's
Speaker 1: how they bring prices down because everything is available. It's
Speaker 1: kind of weird how they do. They make you spend
Speaker 1: money so you can stop spending money. That's how inflation works.
Speaker 1: The battle left, but it shouldn't stop you from going
Speaker 1: out there, taking your time. It doesn't have to be
Speaker 1: a big home, just a home that you love. But
Speaker 1: one thing for sure, I'm gonna give you this advice.
Speaker 1: Whatever home you want to buy, go by there in
Speaker 1: the daytime, go by there at noon, go by there
Speaker 1: at night, go by there on the weekends. Because your
Speaker 1: neighbors what you can't pick at. Your neighbors want you
Speaker 1: buy that home. That's who you got on the left
Speaker 1: and the right and in front of your in behind you.
Speaker 1: So take your time. It might be a cute little house,
Speaker 1: but make sure who you living next to is somebody
Speaker 1: that you want to be next to? Is that correctify?
Speaker 1: Because you can not change your neighbors. Absolutely, Soandre, thank
Speaker 1: you for calling in. We're about to wrap up this show,
Speaker 1: and I appreciate you. Stay a fan of her? Okay
Speaker 1: of hers? Okay, so yeah, I will. I can't wait
Speaker 1: till the next show come on? When are they coming?
Speaker 1: She's on the own network? Ladies who list Atlanta or Tiffany.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you something. We were wrapping up the show here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: blew up my phone. People calling in want to know
Speaker 1: what's going on. It means that you bring something, some
Speaker 1: great quality of life. And I want to appreciate you
Speaker 1: for coming on my show and I hopefully come back,
Speaker 1: but this time you're being studios. We have a lot
Speaker 1: of fun. Yes, sounds good to me. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me via m I and let's make that happen. Okay.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you, and stay safe. Tell your husband high
Speaker 1: for allowing me a few times in the afternoon, and
Speaker 1: your children stay blessed. Alright, Tiffany, all right you too.
Speaker 1: I'll talk to yourself. Oh definitely, definitely. And I wanted
Speaker 1: to tell everybody who listened to Money Making Conversation Again.
Speaker 1: Sandra called in on the show about age. We let
Speaker 1: we allow that limit and limits us so much and
Speaker 1: what we want to do in our lives. We get thirty,
Speaker 1: we think we've not not in and we're not inspired
Speaker 1: to do anything. Fardy, we start regretting our life. Fifty,
Speaker 1: we're trying to run the retirement. There's no such thing
Speaker 1: that there's nothing to run to look in the mirror, everybody,
Speaker 1: You can be whatever you want to be, as long
Speaker 1: as you want to put forth the effort to be
Speaker 1: that person that you want to be. Um with Sean
Speaker 1: McDonald host The Money Making convers his masterclass. See you
Speaker 1: next week. I'll talk to you next week.