When beginning the search for a new home, our customers are looking for more than just the perfect elevation, floor plan, or community to live in. They are also looking for the perfect Sales Manager that will listen to their needs and guide them every step of the way to finding the home of their dreams. On this episode, we bring in the two more happy homeowners, the Thompson family,  to tell us all about their John Houston Homes experience. They share with us about the ultimate customer care they received from the sales managers and loan officers, and how that played an integral part in helping them find their way home.. not just once, but twice!

S2_Ep24 Why We Fell in Love with LaPaz (Ricky & Chalonda Thompson).mp3

Intro: [00:00:03] Welcome Home, a podcast brought to you by John Houston Homes. Join hosts, Chelsi Frazier and Whitney Pryor, as they walk you through the exciting adventure of your home buying and building journey.

Whitney Pryor: [00:00:19] Thank you for joining us today on the Welcome Home podcast. I'm Whitney and I've got Chelsi, our co-host here, hi Chelsi.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:00:25] Hi, good morning.

Whitney Pryor: [00:00:26] The weather is finally turning cooler. It's finally feeling like it's maybe close to Christmas.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:00:32] I know, for the longest time I was like, "is this November?" I feel like we're still in early October.

Whitney Pryor: [00:00:40] Today, we have on happy homeowners x 2, right?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:00:44] Yes!

Whitney Pryor: [00:00:46] They have bought with us twice, so we're happy to hear their story. Why don't you tell us a little bit more about them?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:00:51] Yeah, I would love to! We have Ricky and Shalonda Thompson on the show. They purchased a home in the very, very beautiful community of Lapaz Ranch. When I saw that we were building over there, I was trying to convince my husband to move. That didn't happen, but it's so, so pretty. They worked with our sales manager, Erin Miller, whom we have had on the show before. We've talked with her about the Midlothian community and what all is going on there. We've got the Thompsons on the show and we're excited to talk to them about their experience purchasing not just one, but two John Houston Homes. I think there's something to that if you come back again. We just want to share their story with our listeners. Welcome to the show, Ricky and Shalonda!

Ricky Thompson: [00:01:36] Thank you.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:01:36] Thank you, Chelsi.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:01:38] Tell us a little bit about yourself, like your background. Where you're from? What do you do?

Ricky Thompson: [00:01:43] Okay, I'm Ricky Thompson. I'm originally from North Carolina, born and raised. I'm a Military veteran. I joined the Army right out of High School, back in 1980. I graduated in 87', but I went in in January 88'. I spent five years in the Army. The first two years I spent in Germany, where I met my beautiful wife of 31 years now.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:02:06] Oh, congratulations!

Ricky Thompson: [00:02:08] We met in 1990 and got married several months after we had been dating.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:02:15] When you know, you know!

Ricky Thompson: [00:02:19] Spent two years in Germany and spent the other two and a half years in California. When I got out, we moved to the Texas, where she's from.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:02:28] Okay!

Whitney Pryor: [00:02:29] Great!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:02:29] I'm from Texas, as he just stated. This is my 15th year in education.

Whitney Pryor: [00:02:36] Are you a teacher?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:02:37] Well, actually, I teach Instructional Coaches to teach teachers. I supervise 30 Instructional Coaches on 23 campuses.

Ricky Thompson: [00:02:46] I'm a Fort Worth Police Officer, 14 going on 15 years now. Right now, I work as a School Resource Officer.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:02:56] Oh, I love that!

Whitney Pryor: [00:02:58] I love our resource officers.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:03:01] They're the best.

Ricky Thompson: [00:03:02] Fort Worth ISD doesn't have their own ISD police. They contract out with the city.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:03:09] That's how Midlothian does it, too.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:03:11] Really? Okay.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:03:14] Well, this is your second home with John Houston Homes. What brought you back to John Houston Homes and why LaPaz Ranch?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:03:22] Do you want me to start from the beginning?

Chelsi Frazier and Whitney Pryor: [00:03:24] Yes!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:03:26] Really, oh my goodness! Okay, our journey with John Houston Homes began with us looking at Laurenwood because we were living in Crowley. We lived in a Crowley for 20 years. Laurenwood offered the 1-acre home sites. We got excited about that because that's what we really wanted. I really wanted more land, but the compromise was the 1-acre.so we

Whitney Pryor: [00:03:44] That's right by the Chisolm Trail, right there.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:03:45] It was before they did Chisolm Trail, so it was still kind of country out there. They hadn't even really started that. There was talk about it, but they hadn't begun to construction yet. We ran into the Sales Manager who wasn't really a person who decided to listen to what our needs were, so we began looking elsewhere. As we were looking elsewhere, my husband got online and found out that there was a house that may fit our needs in South Pointe. We drove out to South Pointe and looked at it. The Sales Assistant encouraged us to go ahead and look at it, even though it wasn't quite what we wanted. We walked in and absolutely fell in love.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:04:24] Really?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:04:24] We fell in love with the tile, the flooring, all the upgrades that were in there, that we didn't realize we're upgrades, but just the quality and the thoughtfulness that was put into the design. The Sales Manager was not there that day. We went into the office because we wanted to go ahead and put a contract on the house and all that kind of stuff after seeing it that one time. Dan was there. We'd heard about Dan, but never met Dan. We got to meet Dan and talk with Dan, and he was like, "yeah, we were just talking about yall."I was like, "I don't know who you are, but okay." A week before coming over here, we were actually about to leave John Houston. He was like, "oh, no, no, we're not going to let that happen. We're going to make this right." I was like, "oh my gosh, I like this man!" He began to talk and we were listening. He began to listen and he took notes and he said, "I'm going to contact Lee." He contacted Lee DeGrande, who was the Sales Manager. Oh my gosh, it was phenomenal service from day one. We couldn't have asked for anybody better. She's a God send. She was approachable, reliable, knowledgeable and dependable. She asked questions, listened and took notes. I was like, "who does that?" She took notes, and I would say, "well Lee, I thought I said.." She said, "no, I'm looking at my notes and hat's not what you said." I was like, "okay, you're right, so this is what I meant to say." We just had a wonderful experience with her and Jean. Jean was wonderful. He was the..

Whitney Pryor: [00:05:51] Construction Manager?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:05:52] Yes, ma'am, that's exactly what his title was. Thank you so much! He was wonderful. It was just an all around amazing experience. We were there for four and a half years.

Ricky Thompson: [00:06:05] It was about four years. It wasn't the one acre lot, we just fell in love with the community. It was a new community, so we were probably one of the first 10 families to move into that community.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:06:21] We had no neighbors on either side.

Ricky Thompson: [00:06:24] Everything in the house, the upgrades that they had already put in there, it was just.. It was an inventory. We walked in and just..

Shalonda Thompson: [00:06:35] We still got to go to the Design Studio.

Ricky Thompson: [00:06:38] No, it was done. It was finished.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:06:40] Okay, it wasn't that one, but we got to walk through it. It was just beautiful. I told my husband, "everything that's in this house, it's like somebody saw through my brain and picked it out for me." It's exactly what I would have selected.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:06:51] That's cool!

Ricky Thompson: [00:06:52] We had looked at another house in the community and she was like, "no."

Chelsi Frazier: [00:06:59] Very firmly!

Ricky Thompson: [00:07:02] She said, "I want to leave." I was like, "no, there are some more houses over here we can look at."

Shalonda Thompson: [00:07:06] I was like, "nope, I'm done!"

Ricky Thompson: [00:07:07] The assistant was like, "we have a couple of more houses that are ready, just go look."

Shalonda Thompson: [00:07:15] She was so sweet!

Ricky Thompson: [00:07:17] I can't remember which model home it was.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:07:19] Oh gosh, it was named after the Sales Manager.

Ricky Thompson: [00:07:25] It was four bedrooms, three and a half baths. It had a game room and theater room.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:07:29] Oooh!

Ricky Thompson: [00:07:32] We loved it.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:07:34] Oh yeah, didn't want to leave, but I still wanted land. We still wanted land.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:07:39] Yes, you had that dream of the land.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:07:40] Yes, so that's when we began looking again. My husband had his sights set on Legacy Estates because it wasn't very far from our church home. Our church home is in Midlothian. It wasn't very far from there, so he had his sights set on there. We had a similar issue with the Sales Manager there, so we started looking at another builder. We walked in one day because my husband said, "let's go one more time." We ran into Chivon, who was so amazing. Chivon introduced us to Erin. She said, "I'm going to call her. She's going to be expecting you." I was like, "no, it's Saturday. It's close to the end of the day. She's probably wrapping up getting ready to go." Chivon said, "no, no, no, she's going to wait for yall!"I was like, "yeah right!"

Chelsi Frazier: [00:08:21] We'll see when we get there!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:08:22] Exactly! We drove over there and she was just so warm and welcoming. She was just marvelous and wonderful. I was like, "oh my goodness, I like her too!" She's so easy to talk to, just like Lee. It was like having that same experience all over again, so we knew that we were in the right place. We knew Erin was a God send. She listened, took notes and kept us abreast on everything that was coming to be as it happened. If I had questions, I could text her during the day while I was at work. She would respond immediately if she could. If she didn't have the answer, within 48 hours, I knew the answer. I just loved it. It's exceptional. I don't call it customer service because it's beyond that. It's more like customer care. You actually extend your heart out to the people that you're serving and you don't find that often.

Ricky Thompson: [00:09:12] Well, to go even further back, even before we moved to South Pointe, we had already gone out to McAlpin.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:09:25] Oh, that's true, yes.

Ricky Thompson: [00:09:26] That was the first place we looked.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:09:28] That was in 2015 or 2016?

Ricky Thompson: [00:09:31] I can't remember. It was earlier.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:09:35] We didn't talk to a Salesperson there.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:09:37] Okay, I was going to say Erin was at McAlpin back in those days too.

Ricky Thompson: [00:09:39] Yeah, we didn't talk to a Salesperson. I think maybe they were just starting.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:09:44] Mm hmm, they were just starting to build. They had maybe two houses built.

Ricky Thompson: [00:09:47] We just went back and forth like, oh, this is just too far of a drive and the property taxes are, you know..

Shalonda Thompson: [00:09:54] I was still working in Fort Worth, so I was having to make that huge commute. I was like, "I can't do it."

Chelsi Frazier and Whitney Pryor: [00:09:58] So, come full circle..

Shalonda Thompson: [00:10:00] Yes, because he tried to get me to move to Midlothian back then.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:10:03] He's been trying for awhile!

Ricky Thompson: [00:10:04] Come full circle, we ended right down the road from where we first started looking.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:10:10] You just had to have a pit stop in Mansfield.

Whitney Pryor: [00:10:15] I feel like that's the common theme with all homeowners we've talked to, though. It's their original gut feeling and then they're like, "no, let's do something else," then they end up right back where they started. It's not just you.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:10:30] Wow, I had no idea! After Legacy Estates, we were going to build with another builder, but came back and met Chivon. She introduced us to Erin. Jared was awesome, but oh my goodness, I cannot escape this day if I don't talk about Daniel. Oh MY GOODNESS!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:10:49] Daniel Campa?

Ricky Thompson: [00:10:50] Yes, he was amazing!

Whitney Pryor: [00:10:52] He is a lender with Trinity Oaks Mortgage.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:10:53] I'm at a loss for words.

Ricky Thompson: [00:10:54] He was amazing.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:10:55] I'm at a loss for words. It's rare that I have no words, let me put it that way.

Ricky Thompson: [00:11:00] Even yesterday, November 12th was a full year we've been in LaPaz. We closed last year, November 12th. Daniel sent me an email with a video of congratulations for one year.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:11:16] That's neat!

Whitney Pryor: [00:11:18] That's great!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:11:19] How do you ask for that?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:11:21] That's cool.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:11:23] You just can't do it. He sent something else. He sent an email around Christmas time last year. Just the customer care just continues and you don't even ask for it. It's showing their heart, showing the connection of people, that they really care about what they're doing and they really are good at what they do. Yes. It's just such a blessing. It's just an amazing.

Ricky Thompson: [00:11:47] With both of us being veterans, Daniel, was just like, "Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, I got you."

Shalonda Thompson: [00:11:53] He was phenomenal.

Ricky Thompson: [00:11:56] We were able to get in when the interest rates were really great.

Whitney Pryor: [00:11:59] Especially the VA loans, they have great interest rates!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:12:03] We actually still keep in contact with Erin. We're still trying to send homebuyers to her.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:12:08] You are?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:12:08] Yes, because we want them to experience what we experienced.

Whitney Pryor: [00:12:11] Yeah, especially whenever you're going through that process. Did you guys build in LaPaz or did you buy an inventory home?

Ricky Thompson: [00:12:17] So, they had just poured the foundation.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:12:21] They hadn't even poured the foundation ,honey.

Ricky Thompson: [00:12:24] It was going to be an inventory home.

Whitney Pryor: [00:12:25] Oaky, it was like going through the plans process.

Ricky Thompson: [00:12:27] Erin was like, "hey, y'all can change up stuff other than the bricks, structural things. We've already ordered brick. She was amazing in that standpoint. We were able to come to the Design Studio, change up some things and add things here and there.

Whitney Pryor: [00:12:46] That's what she wanted, the Candy Store!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:12:51] I got in there and he said, "okay, this is your budget." I was like, "oh gosh, I have to have a budget?"

Chelsi Frazier: [00:12:58] What?!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:12:58] Exactly! I don't like this. Erin said, "it's going to be okay." I was like, "you're just saying that to make me feel better Erin! I want this, this, this, this and this." She was like, "it's going to be okay." "No, it's not Erin!" It was wonderful. The young lady that helped us in a Design Studio was really sweet. I can't remember her name at this time. I'm so sorry. I'm bad with names. If I saw her face, I'd remember. Her and Erin worked really close hand in hand. The bathtub that I was able to get.. The standard one, I was like, "Erin, I can't do that one."

Whitney Pryor: [00:13:29] Did you want the free standing bathtub?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:13:31] No, I just needed a bigger, soaker one. I said, "this is my free therapy, Erin." I remember us talking about that. I said, "this is a huge deal to me." She said, "I remember Shalonda." I said, "this one won't do." She said, "let me see what I can do." I was like, "you're so wonderful. I love you so much!" She made it happen. Her and Jared made it happen. I was in my tub last night, and I am in there at least twice a week! That is my free therapy.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:13:56] Yes, you need that space in your house where you can just chill.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:14:05] Yes, a decompression zone. Yes, ma'am and then when you turn everything off, you unplug. I've got to have it. Yes. It's just been a life changing experience both times.

Whitney Pryor: [00:14:17] To go through that process, especially with it taking probably 6-8-10 months, somewhere around there for the home to be built. It is so important to have someone that is on your side. It will make or break your home buying experience. It sounds like you guys really were set on making sure that person was there and on your side. I'm so glad you guys found Erin.

Ricky Thompson: [00:14:43] Yes, yes.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:14:43] We did. Jared was walking us step by step. I was like, "Jared you said it was going to be this day." He said, "well Shalonda, something came up." I said, "Jared that's unacceptable."

Chelsi Frazier: [00:14:52] That's okay!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:14:54] He said, "just give me, I'm going to make it." I said, "okay Jared, I'm putting my trust in you." He said, "I won't let you down," and he didn't.

Whitney Pryor: [00:15:00] Good.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:15:00] He didn't.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:15:00] Good.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:15:01] Again, it was a phenomenal experience.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:15:04] You're talking about Jared Gullet, the builder?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:15:06] Yes!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:15:06] Okay good, because you want to have that good communication and contact with your builder that's on the pulse of what's happening in that home every week.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:15:16] Yes, ma'am! Even when we were in South Pointe, Gene Villareal, he was the same way. Oh my goodness, I said, "Gene, this is not my last house." What was the one that I wanted to build?

Ricky Thompson: [00:15:29] The Providence.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:15:29] Yes! He said, "Shalonda, in two years, I will build that Providence for you. I'm going to hold you to that." Then when we saw the house in LaPaz, I was like, "I don't want the Providence anymore Gene!" He was like, "Well, by the end, you know.."

Chelsi Frazier: [00:15:42] I want the Athens.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:15:44] Exactly!

Whitney Pryor: [00:15:45] Is that the plan you guys chose, the Athens?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:15:47] It is and all of our children are grown, so we're waiting for grandchildren. In the meantime, in between time, because of my service in the military, I have really bad feet and arthritis in my knee, so I couldn't climb stairs anymore. This is perfect. We can wake up in the morning and look out into the backyard, which is an acre and just take a deep breath! There's absolutely nothing out there.

Ricky Thompson: [00:16:11] What I love about the Athens is, when we talk to Erin, the bonus room. Once they got everything up and sheet rock, I was like, "Erin, we want to make this a theater room. Can we have them go back and rewire the home?" She was amazing. She got on it and they pre-wired it. That's our get away. On the weekends, we watch different shows and movies, so we are enjoying it.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:16:47] In our home in South Pointe, the theater room was already pre wired. That was a huge selling point for him because in the house we were going to build, he was going to have to pay for all of that. It was like 5k or 6k. We were going to do it through, what is the name of, oh gosh, I can't think of a company that's with John Houston that does the electrical.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:17:08] In Charge.

Ricky Thompson: [00:17:09] Home Pro!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:17:10] Home Pro, we we're going to do it through them. It was going to be like 5k or 6k, but then when he saw that the house on Reese Parks came with it, he was like, "oh yeah, this is it!"

Chelsi Frazier: [00:17:19] Do you all have those huge movie theater kind of chairs?

Ricky Thompson: [00:17:23] Yes.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:17:23] Yes, we do. Six of them.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:17:26] Oh my gosh!

Ricky Thompson: [00:17:28] With a big 110" screen.

Whitney Pryor: [00:17:30] It is 110" wow! It's not a projector?

Ricky Thompson: [00:17:35] Yes.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:17:35] Yes.

Ricky Thompson: [00:17:37] The projector has 3D capability.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:17:41] That is so cool!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:17:42] It's his toy.

Whitney Pryor: [00:17:46] I'm going to give you my cell number after this and you can just invite me over for your next movie night.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:17:50] You know what's really great to watch on it, though? Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:17:54] Oh, I bet!

Whitney Pryor: [00:17:55] Oh, I bet that is neat! It's one of my favorites.

Ricky Thompson: [00:17:58] All the Marvel movies.

Whitney Pryor: [00:17:59] Oh yeah, that's her. She loves Marvel movies.

Ricky Thompson: [00:18:04] We own them all, the 4K versions.

Whitney Pryor: [00:18:05] Hmm.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:18:06] Shalonda, I'm speechless.

Ricky Thompson: [00:18:11] They pre-wired the living room and we had speakers put it in the bathroom. If she's taking a bath, she can listen to music.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:18:20] Free therapy!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:18:23] Wow, yall are smart.

Ricky Thompson: [00:18:24] We are loving every minute of it!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:18:26] We are not moving anywhere else!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:18:28] Yeah, I was going to say..

Whitney Pryor: [00:18:29] Your forever home.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:18:29] Mm hmm, yes mam!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:18:30] You made your house the place that you just want to be. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Ricky Thompson: [00:18:33] Yes.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:18:34] Every now and again, we sit out on the front porch or sit out on the back patio and act like old people.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:18:41] In your rocking chairs.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:18:43] Yes, we actually do have rocking chairs on the front porch.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:18:46] I love it! That's the Texas coming out.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:18:49] Yes! We just kind of sit there, rock, reflect and think.

Whitney Pryor: [00:18:54] Sip your sweet tea?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:18:54] Yes, well I drink sweet tea and he drinks water. I'm from Texas, he's not, so I've got to have sweet tea. It's a staple, we have to have it.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:19:04] It's so quiet out there, isn't it?

Ricky Thompson: [00:19:06] It is and we have wonderful neighbors.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:08] Oh yes, on either side.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:19:10] That's good.

Whitney Pryor: [00:19:10] That's good.

Ricky Thompson: [00:19:11] We are enjoying everybody.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:12] Oh, and actually, we had a wonderful neighbor that lives down the street and kind of around the corner. One of my packages got delivered to her house and she drove all the way to our house.

Whitney Pryor: [00:19:19] She brought it to you.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:20] That was so unexpected. We hadn't even had the opportunity to meet each other.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:19:25] Oh, that's nice.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:27] She was like, "I think I have something that belongs to you." I was like, "err"?

Chelsi Frazier: [00:19:31] What could it be?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:33] Yes!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:19:35] Did yall turn that flex space into your movie room?

Ricky Thompson: [00:19:37] Yes.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:37] Yes, we did.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:19:38] Okay, cool and y'all just have the one story, right?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:42] Yes, ma'am, with the 12' ceilings.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:19:44] That's what I was going to ask you, if you got those vaulted ceilings.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:46] Oh yes, got to have them.

Ricky Thompson: [00:19:48] Yes.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:48] Got to have them.

Whitney Pryor: [00:19:49] The Athens is our most popular plan on 1-acre lots.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:51] That's what Erin was telling us.

Whitney Pryor: [00:19:54] Everyone wants that plan.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:55] We just went by to check on Erin, what about a month ago?

Ricky Thompson: [00:19:58] Yes, we went by it there.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:19:59] Mm hmm, we went by to check on her because we love her.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:20:03] She's so sweet.

Whitney Pryor: [00:20:03] She's so sweet.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:20:04] Yes she is!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:20:06] Is there anything that you picked out for the inside of the house that you really, really, really love, like countertop or flooring?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:20:14] Well, the staining on the island and the stain on the tub skirt. It tied into the stain that we did on the cabinets, but that's not really structural, though.

Whitney Pryor: [00:20:26] Did you get all of your cabinets stained?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:20:30] No, they are all white.

Whitney Pryor: [00:20:31] They are white?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:20:32] Yeah, we couldn't change the color of that. I don't like white cabinets, but Erin was like, "it's going to be okay."

Whitney Pryor: [00:20:37] Did they grow on you?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:20:37] They did because when I saw the countertops, I was like, "oh, I see why they did this." I love it, love it, love it!

Ricky Thompson: [00:20:44] We were able to add the beam in the kitchen.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:20:47] Oh no, in the dining room.

Ricky Thompson: [00:20:49] Dining room.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:20:50] Yes, the exposed beam.

Whitney Pryor: [00:20:53] Is it vaulted?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:20:54] Yes, it's vaulted.

Whitney Pryor: [00:20:56] That's really pretty.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:20:57] What else do we add? Oh, we change the mantel and had it stained.

Ricky Thompson: [00:21:03] The mirrors in the bathrooms.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:21:05] Yeah, those were upgrades because they were in the model home. I said, "Erin, I want those."

Whitney Pryor: [00:21:10] Are they framed in?

Shalonda Thompson: [00:21:13] Yes! She said, "where do you want them?" I said, "master bathroom." She said, "taken care of."

Chelsi Frazier: [00:21:19] Erin just took care of you!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:21:22] She did! She added two more lights on the back patio that we wanted. Speakers somewhere else.

Whitney Pryor: [00:21:30] Did you guys add speakers on the back patio?

Ricky Thompson: [00:21:32] We didn't, but in South Pointe, It was pre-wired and we never put speakers out.

Whitney Pryor: [00:21:39] Okay, Mm hmm.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:21:40] It wasn't something you really ever needed?

Ricky Thompson: [00:21:42] No.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:21:43] We didn't spend that much time out there.

Chelsi Frazier and Whitney Pryor: [00:21:44] Yeah.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:21:45] Even though I'm from Texas, I'm not an outside girl. I learned that in the military because my job had me outside. I was like, "I hate this. I'm too bougie for this!"

Chelsi Frazier: [00:21:54] You've done all the outside you're going to do.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:21:57] Exactly! Now, when I have grandchildren, I may sit out there with them for a little while, but it's got to to be screened in, so that's my next project!

Ricky Thompson: [00:22:02] Yes, we are going to get the back porch screened in.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:22:07] I love a screened porch! Thank you both for your service. As veterans in the school system and out there on the front lines in the police force.

Whitney Pryor: [00:22:20] You guys truly embody service and we appreciate that.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:22:25] Thank you for all that you do.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:22:27] You're welcome.

Ricky Thompson: [00:22:28] You're welcome.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:22:28] This has been fun!

Chelsi Frazier: [00:22:30] It has, first podcast in the books!

Shalonda Thompson: [00:22:35] Yes, we've never done this before.

Chelsi Frazier: [00:22:38] You can come back anytime.

Whitney Pryor: [00:22:39] Definitely.

Shalonda Thompson: [00:22:39] Oh, yall are so sweet!

Whitney Pryor: [00:22:41] Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Welcome Home podcast. We would love to hear from you with any questions or comments about your home buying experience or what questions you have about the whole process. Feel free to give us a call at 866.237.7803 or email us at info@jhoustonhomes.com. You can also visit our website jhoustonhomes.com

Chelsi Frazier and Whitney Pryor: [00:23:07] Welcome Home!