The Closing Table with Lawyers Title

What does it take to leave a top 3 state-ranked real estate team, move across the country with zero local connections, and build a $20M business in a tough market? In Episode 141 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede sits down with Taylor Racek of Monument Realty. After eight successful years in Oregon, Taylor relocated his family to North Texas to build his business entirely...

How do you build a $20M+ annual real estate business alongside your spouse without sacrificing your marriage? In Episode 140 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede welcomes husband-and-wife duo Chris and AnnMarie Mendez from The Bray Team at Compass. Fresh off celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary, Chris and AnnMarie share an unfiltered look at blending marriage and real e...

What does it take to build a 30-plus-year career in real estate through every market cycle? In Episode 139 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede welcomes Howard Roth, a seasoned Realtor licensed in Texas and Oklahoma who has closed over $200 million in new construction alone. Drawing from his roots in Chicago to his current work across DFW, Broken Bow, and Kingston, Howard del...

The core foundation of real estate hasn't changed in decades—it is still driven by human relationships, trust, and real-world experience. In Episode 138 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede welcomes back top producer and team leader Stacey Feltman (Stacey Feltman Group) for an unfiltered look at what it takes to navigate today's shifting market. Drawing from 14 years of hands...

There are only five things in real estate that actually make you money—are you letting AI free up your schedule to do them? In Part 2 of this special AI series on The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede welcomes back Brian Force, Executive Director of Productivity at United Real Estate. Brian breaks down how real estate agents can move past digital "tinkering" and use AI as a high-...

Is tearing down I.M. Pei’s iconic Dallas City Hall a necessary upgrade or a billion-dollar political move? In Episode 137 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede welcomes back top-producing brokers and podcasters Jeff Updike and Weston Pugh from Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate (hosts of the Sold with Updike Pugh Podcast). Together, they unpack the complex, high-stakes municipal de...

The way consumers search for homes is undergoing a fundamental shift—are you prepared for what comes next? In Part 1 of this special two-part series on The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede sits down with returning power player Brian Force, Executive Director of Productivity at United Real Estate and real estate entrepreneur. Together, they analyze the practical, utilitarian ways...

Staging isn't just about throwing cute pillows on a couch—it's a high-stakes, multi-million dollar business strategy. In Episode 134 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede welcomes back serial entrepreneur Nikki Watson, owner of The Design Quad—the largest home staging and interior design company in the nation. Featured on HGTV, A&E, and CNN, Nikki shares the raw, behind-th...

The easy way out of real estate is officially gone. Are you executing the fundamentals required to survive? In Episode 133 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede welcomes back two heavy hitters for an explosive "Inside the Minds of Power Players" segment: Nick Good, Team Leader of the Good Home Team and best-selling author of The Six Figure Agent, and Brian Force, Executive Dir...

Is your real estate business still relying on antiquated dinosaur methods, or are you scaling your brand through video? In Episode 132 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede assembles a powerhouse panel from the Hunt Global Collective. Featuring founder Daniel Hunt, relocation specialist Luke Jones, and top-producing $60M advisor Tommy Wooten, this episode acts as an unfiltered...

Is your business strategy built on hard data or panicked headlines? In Episode 131 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede welcomes back Kris Jones, Sales Leader for Ebby Halliday Realtors' Prosper and Celina offices. In a refreshing alternative to standard market doom-and-gloom, Kris provides an objective, field-tested guide on navigating real estate corrections, advising anxio...

DFW is growing by an estimated 300 people a day—is our infrastructure moving fast enough to keep up? In Episode 130 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede dives into the state of North Texas roadways with Brian SanFilippo, Project Communications Manager, and Rachel Kulhavy, Senior Manager of Engineering Operations at the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). This panel breaks d...

Are you ready to trade traditional cold outreach for a scalable content engine? In Episode 129 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede cracks open the mechanics of podcasting with industry experts Jeff Updike and Theresa Flood. Moving past the superficial metrics of "likes" and subscribers, this panel discusses the deep business benefits of episodic audio—from clearing client fe...

We are in a highly quirky, hyper-local market—is your strategy keeping up? In Episode 128 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede welcomes back real estate power-brain Chris Ohlig from Compass and Smile Property Management. Chris shares a direct, blunt look at what it takes to get listings closed in today's market, using a real-world case study of a house that went through three...

Stop just putting a sign in the yard—it’s time to activate your listings. In Episode 127 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede sits down with Ty and Sarah Duncan to unpack their exhaustive 5-phase circle prospecting system. While many agents rely solely on their sphere, the Duncans share how they use every new listing as a vehicle to build long-term, high-value relationships in tar...

Are you the salesperson or the CEO of your business? In Episode 126 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede sits down with power player Brianna Castillo to discuss why delegation is the ultimate key to scalability. Brianna shares her rigid, multi-step hiring process—including the famous "Time and Energy Audit"—designed to help you stop being the bottleneck in your own business. In th...

Is it time to trade your boat trailer for a red-carpet experience? In Episode 125 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede sits down with Chris Wallace from Freedom Boat Club. As a 5-year member herself, Tamera explores the "Luxury Without Ownership" model that is taking over DFW waterways. From concierge dock service to unlimited free training, Chris explains why more boat owners are...

A bad moving experience can kill your next referral—but a great one can secure your next five. In Episode 123 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede sits down with Jameson Olsen from All My Sons Moving & Storage. With 14 years in the industry, Jameson shares her powerful personal story of why she is passionate about moving and how she has turned a traditionally stressful event i...

In Episode 124 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede sits down with Brooks Kelly, Division Manager at American Portfolio Mortgage and loan officer coach. They tackle the growing trend of consumers using ChatGPT to navigate home sales and financing, and why relying solely on AI might lead to "hallucinations" and thousands of dollars left on the table. In this episode, you’ll discove...

Texas has nearly every natural disaster possible—but that isn't the only reason your premiums are soaring. In Episode 122 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede sits down with insurance expert Nick Klein to discuss the state of the 2026 insurance market. From the densely populated hail-prone fields of North Texas to the shocking rise of "nuclear verdicts" in personal injury law, Nic...

The way homes are appraised is changing forever on November 2, 2026. In Episode 121 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede sits down with Matt Hyatt, a nationally recognized valuation expert, to unpack the transition to the Unified Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6. This isn't just a form update; it's a move toward dynamic, data-driven reporting that will change how Realtors collect infor...

Are you prepared for the May 2026 Texas contract rollout? In Episode 120 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede and Melissa Hailey provide an essential roadmap through the latest TREC and Texas Realtors updates. From the official definition of "Legal Holidays" to the radical restructuring of how broker compensation is handled in the One-to-Four Family Residential Contract, this epis...

Is your AI helping you win deals, or is it just creating "AI Slop"? In Episode 119 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede sits down with Jason Northcutt, team leader of North Realty Group and an expert in AI integration. Jason moves past the generic advice and shares his custom-built workflows—including a massive Land CMA prompt that pushes against actual appraisal standard guidelin...

Are you waiting for the market to change, or are you making the market change for you? In Episode 118 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, Tamera Gaede sits down with Eric Sachs, co-founder of Breakthrough Broker, to discuss how agents can move past "paralysis by analysis." Eric shares his "traditionalist" approach to real estate, explaining why a one-page business plan and consistent sphere m...

Mortgage rates have officially dipped below the 6% threshold—is this the tipping point the 2026 real estate market has been waiting for? In Episode 117 of The Closing Table with Lawyers Title, host Tamera Gaede sits down with Chris Pedison, Senior Loan Originator at Cross Country Mortgage. With over 20 years of experience, Chris breaks down why today’s 5.99% rate is a game-changer and how it align...