What’s the real secret to that feeling complete with your home and financing? It is the right loan with terms that fit your budget. It is the right look. Today I will be sharing some mortgage tips and John Lawhon of Lawhon Landscaping will be share his expert tips on creating curb appeal that makes you happy with your home.
Host: #JoGarner #MortgageExpert #MortgageLoanOfficer (901) 482-0354
Co-Host: #JohnLawhon #LawhonLandscaping #midsouthlandscaping (901) 754-7474
Subscribe for weekly Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe podcasts with show notes www.JoGarner.com
#mortgagestrategy #memphislandscaping #curbappeal #affordablemortgage
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LET’S GET STARTED…(Jo) (Good morning, Memphis! Welcome to our internet listeners and podcast listeners across the 50 states! . You’re on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Originator. You can connect with me at www.JoGarner.com. Our topic today is Mortgage Loans to Lawns-How To Design the Way You Want to Live. Call us live today August 30, 2025.
Introducing John Lawhon of Lawhon Landscaping
(Jo) John Lawhon of Lawhon Landscaping is our landscape design expert today on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. John you have been nominated again in the top five of Memphis Most Community Awards. Your customer testimonials and your local landscape designs like Page Robbins Center and the Collierville, TN Town Square speak for the quality of your work.
Take a moment and tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and what services you offer your clients. (John Lawhon has about a minute and a half to intro himself and talk about the services he offers)
(JO) CLEAR VISION GIVES YOU ENDURANCE TO GET WHERE YOU WANT TO GO
(Jo) John, just like you help people get a vision for how they want the OUTSIDE of their home to look and to work, I help people design their FINANCING to help make their vision a reality.
Getting a vision in mind of what you yearn for your life to look like reminds me of something my sales coach told me a while back. He said, “When you have clear vision, you will have greater endurance. “
DIANA NYAD’S STORY
Then he told me the story of Diana Nyad, the first person known to swim from Cuba to Florida unaided. Diana tried several times to accomplish this goal and failed. Once she was attacked by a jelly fish. Another time she tangled with some aggressive sharks, but most of her failures came from sheer fatigue.
The final time she made the attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida, she was becoming extremely tired just in times past. But this time her coach, who was on a nearby boat, looked up and started yelling to Diana, “ Look up at the light! Do you see that light ahead?”
Diana was so worn out as she swam. She could barely see a light in the distance and thought it was a sunrise. Her coach started waving his arms and yelling louder, “That light is on the Florida coastline! Don’t give up, Diana! Keep swimming!” Once Diana got the clear vision of the Florida coastline, a new flood of adrenaline pushed her forward with a new endurance that bolstered her across to accomplish her vision. (By the way, Diana Nyad was in her 60’s when she made this record-breaking swim.)
USING VISION BOARDS TO GET WHERE YOU WANT TO GO
Who do YOU want to be as a human? What does your home and your home life look like the way you want it to be? How do you want your family situation to be? Do you want children, friends in your home? How to you want to feel on a typical day in your life? What do you want people to be saying about you?
I challenge you to build a vision board for yourself. My retired US Navy friend convinced me to make one and they really work. Print pictures that represent the way you want your life to look and feel– your home, your work and more. Cut pictures out of magazines, print pictures that you find online and paste them on your vision board. Then put your vision board where you can see it everyday and watch what happens.
I have been in the mortgage business for almost 30 years and have seen so many ways real estate has fortified a good life for my customers. I believe that you can accomplish ANYTHING owning real estate. And if you buy it right and keep buying more of it, the possibilities are endless on what you can do in life for yourself and others.
Make your plan. Let’s work your plan. If the deal works for you today, let’s do it today. Connect with me at www.JoGarner.com Call or text me at (901) 482-0354. Let’s talk about what YOU want to accomplish with YOUR mortgage.
Later in the show I want to share with you some brilliant financing ideas that some of my hall of fame mortgage clients have implemented to get them closer to their vision of the life they want.
(JO) John, take a few minutes and let’s keep talking about the power of creating a vision of what you want to do rewarding curb appeal and designing the outside of your home for how you want to live.
OUTRO: You’re on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Originator. What do YOU want to accomplish with YOUR mortgage? I can make the mortgage process EASY for you with the right mortgage. Connect with me at JoGarner.com When we come back, we will hearing more tips to homeowners and homebuyers from John Lawhon of Lawhon Landscaping. (901) 754-7474.
2nd Segment 9:18 AM to 9:30 AM
TOPICS COVERED BY JOHN LAWHON OF LAWHON LANDSCAPING
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY John Lawhon:
Planning to Make Your Landscaping Pleasant to the Eye and Add Value to Your Home
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Creating Eye-pleasing curb appeal on a budget to help sell a home.
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Eye-pleasing ways to deal with overgrowth and revamp landscape
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Pretty Ways to control out-of-control water on the lawn and around the house
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Expanding Your living space by simple landscaping techniques
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Landscaping on a budget
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Landscaping the big, big project in phases
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What are some well-known locations that showcase your landscaping work and designs
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Give an example of when you have completed a major landscaping project in phases for your customer
3rd SEGMENT 9:35 AM-9:45AM)
TOPICS COVERED BY JO GARNER, LICENSED MORTGAGE OFFICER
Building Your Financial Foundation -Budget, Savings and Credit
The primary building blocks for your financial life are your budget, your nest egg and your credit. You can get lots of diffferent advice from financial gurus online, in books and others. Common advice I hear is to keep your total house note including taxes and insurances under 35% of your income. Keep your total debt including the house note under 45% of your income. Lots of mortgage software will approve you for a lot higher debt ratios, but don’t finance yourself into a corner.
BUDGET
Review the last few months of your bank statements, and credit credit card statements and other financial trackers. Remember those once a year bills you have to pay. Once you know the TRUTH about what your income is and what you are spending, now you can put some strategies in place to curb your spending without pruning out the joy in your life. Now you know what you can comfortably afford on a monthly house payment.
SAVINGS
The same financial experts suggests keeping an emergency fund to cover a minimum of 3 months of living expenses or more—one year of living expenses for those who are self employed .
CREDIT
The best way to keep your credit in tip top shape is to make all of your payments on time. The second best way is to keep your revolving credit usage very low on each card, Only borrow a small portion of the credit limit on each credit card.
Keep to minimum new credit inquiries. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to check your credit status once a year for free. Pick up my book “Choosing the Best Mortgage-The Quickest Way to the Life You Want” on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
Your vision comes alive one step at a time
- MR. FIX-IT TAKES ONE STEP AT A TIME TOWARD HIS DREAM HOME (competitive market_
Meet Ricky. Ricky is barely out of his twenties and wants a shop next to his house so he could work on cars and fix stuff. He also wants to be in a particular upscale neighborhood. His dream house was like having champagne taste on a beer budget. Ricky engages his imagination and some ingenuity.
He found a house in a neighborhood that was going steadily up in value, even though it wasn’t the upscale area he initially wanted. The property had a garage. This house would not break the bank for Ricky. Ricky took action with a smart offer and beat out any competition to buy his house. Over time he transformed the garage into an awesome shop by installing a work bench and later some racks for his tools. The house was going up in value too. Ricky would one day be able to launch from this home up to the more upscale neighborhood he originally wanted.
When You Really Want Something-Negotiate a Design that Makes Everyone Happy
Right after the Garrison’s accepted the offer from a buyer to sell their home, they got word that the sellers on the house the Garrison’s wanted to buy had accepted a different offer. “We have to find a home now before we are homeless,” he said a little urgently.
The house the Garrison’s found next was a perfect layout but needed some paint and needed some better looking carpet. The sellers said they were strapped for cash until after the home sold. The Garrisons really wanted the house but really wanted the new carpet and paint done too and by their contractor of choice. So the buyer and seller were at an impasse.
The Garrisons negotiated for the sellers to agree to put money for the new paint and carpet in an escrow account to be paid directly to the vendor of the Garrison’s choice after closing. The sellers would have the money after closing and the Garrison’s would still get to pick the paint and the carpet they wanted.
Since the carpet and paint were simply cosmetic improvements to the property and not required to be completed before closing, this arrangement worked for both parties. But if they had not sought out advice from the realtor and lender on what to expect from the appraisal, they may not have been able to get the arrangement as perfectly as the did. Preparation….
Note: For contracts where the buyer will be getting a traditional mortgage—STAY AWAY FROM DECORATOR ALLOWANCES OR CARPET ALLOWANCES from the seller to the buyer. These cause problems and delays because of stricter lending guidelines. Take some advice from the way the Garrisons crafted their negotiations documenting that money did not flow through the buyer’s hands.
The arrangement the Garrisons had with the seller may have also worked if the contractor had agreed to paint and get the carpet replaced before closing and wait to be paid when the house sold 3 or 4 days later.
MIKIA MITLIN LOOKS INTO THE FUTURE TO CHANGE HER FUTURE
(Jo) I think my mortgage customers have been looking into the future. Here is a perfect example of someone looking into the future and taking action to profit. Mikia Mitlin,(not her real name) a single professional in her late 30’s. She had been renting her whole adult life, stressing at every rent hike. Now it was time for her rent to go up AGAIN. She was already paying more for food and gas and everything else.
Mikia started watching videos and reading online about the real estate market and the forecasts for the future. Home prices, she decided, were going to keep going up and so were the mortgage rates. If she could manage to buy her own home now, she would feel good about paying for something that would go up in value over time. With some help from a realtor friend from her church and her mortgage officer, Mikia was persistent, prepared and had a strong preapproval letter from her mortgage officer. This is what Mikia said, “Just help me own my own home. If I can buy my home, I don’t care what the rates are. I can always refinance later if rates come down one day.”
Let’s you and I talk about YOUR plans to save on your mortgage costs or your plans to build your real estate portfolio. But you have to talk with me personally so I can work with you. You can connect with me at www.JoGarner.com or call me directly at (901) 482-0354. MAKE YOUR PLAN, LET’S WORK YOUR PLAN. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY!
MAKE YOUR PLAN. LET’S WORK YOUR PLAN. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, LET’S DO IT TODAY. I can make the mortgage process easy. Connect with me at www.JoGarner.com You can email me at Jo@JoGarner.com or call me at (901) 482-0354
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK
John Lawhon of Lawhon Landscaping has about 1.5 minutes to offer a tip
Jo Garner’s tip :
One of the best tools for redesigning your financial life is using a mortgage refinance when it makes sense.
#1. Cash out refinance to combine your low balance first mortgage and high balance, higher interest rate debt into one single digit, fixed rate mortgage. When you can save several hundred dollars a month on a cash out refinance, consider using the extra savings to pay the mortgage off early.
#2. Cash out refinance to buy an additional property
#3. Cash out refinance to modify your home to fit the way you want to live in your home.
What do YOU want to accomplish with YOUR mortgage? I have the knowledge and experience. Let’s look at traditional mortgage products, alternative mortgage products and even combinations of products. I can help you get you what you need and make the mortgage process EASY. Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer 901 482-0354 www.JoGarner.com
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Talk Shoppe equips with education, engages by offering connection opportunities between business people and empowers businesses in a supportive community. Talk Shoppe meets every Wednesday 9A-10A CT at Independent Planning Group’s conference room 110 at Clark Tower 5100 Poplar Ave 1st floor Memphis, TN
(Thank you Ben Hunter 901 660-2912 outstanding Financial Professional at Independent Planning Group for being Talk Shoppe’s location sponsor)
Talk Shoppe on Wednesday September 3rd 2025 “Smart Investing Without Paying Millions-Why Partnering With A Real Estate Professional Pays Off’ Realtor Silvana Piadade of EXP Realtors 901 647-6661
Talk Shoppe says thank you to the generous sponsors who support business owners and sales people in our community. Thank you to Troy and Lynn McDonald of Erin McDonald Insurance Agency for all the work you do to keep Talk Shoppe a fun and supportive business networking group free to our business community. Lynn heads up the Speaker Committee and the Charity Committee. Troy is our very fun and innovative Master of Ceremonies. For your home and auto insurance and more, call Lynn and Troy McDonald at 901 849-7101.
Thank you to Talk Shoppe sponsor Chuck Bohannon, booking agent for Santa Claus in the Mid South. Get an early start on getting your Christmas postcard pictures taken with the “real” Santa Claus. Go ahead and book Santa early to appear at your holiday events. (901) 619-6436.
MAKE YOUR PLAN. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY.
Subscribe for weekly Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe podcasts with show notes at www.JoGarner.com
SPECIAL NOTE: REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE DOES NOT ENDORSE 100% OF THE CONTENT ON THIS EPISODE. REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE RECOMMENDS THAT YOU CONSULT WITH A FINANCIAL, LEGAL OR OTHER CERTIFIED, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL BEFORE ACTING OR INVESTING ON ANYTHING YOU HEAR OR SEE FROM THE CONTENT ON THIS SHOW OR BLOG POSTS. THE INFORMATION WE SHARE ON REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE IS GENERAL IN NATURE MEANT FOR GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND NOT AN OFFER TO LEND. EXAMPLES GIVEN FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ON REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE AND MOST ARE BASED ON TRUE STORIES BUT WE USE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS AND DO NOT DIRECTLY REFLECT REAL PEOPLE OR EXACT DETAILS IN ANY OF THE SITUATIONS. JO GARNER IS A LICENSED MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATOR. (EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY)
QUOTE CORNER:
QUOTE CORNER: From www.pastpresentfuture.com “I know the voices aren’t real, but man, do they ever come up with some great ideas.”
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CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
REJOINDERS:
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Eve Sotirou, Waterville, Maine
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Craig and Karen Meadows in Holly Springs, MS Meadows Home Builders
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Brett Bernard, John Stamps Real Estate Investment Division
Transitional Music:
PICK UP YOUR COPY OF “CHOOSING THE BEST MORTGAGE-THE QUICKEST WAY TO THE LIFE YOU WANT” by: JO GARNER
An essential guide for real estate professionals and their customers.
On Amazon and Barnes and Noble
ABOUT JOHN LAWHON OF LAWHON LANDSCAPING:
(901) 754-7474
Beautiful gardens begin with thoughtful design. The staff of Lawhon Landscape Design includes professionals with degrees in Landscape Architecture, Plant Pathology, Studio Art, and Agronomy. Our designers and plant professionals create outdoor living spaces with your lifestyle in mind.
Our many years of experience in design, installing, and maintaining Mid-South landscapes make us uniquely qualified to create gardens that are both beautiful and practical to maintain.
A Family Business
Our business was started in 1958 by Rex and Beth Lawhon and was one of the first weed control companies in the Southeast. Over the years, we have kept our client list small and personal in order to serve the gardens of Memphis with the best in lawn and shrub care. The high quality of our work has paid off over the years by the many repeat customers we have – both residential and commercial. We follow the philosophy of doing it right the first time. We hope that you will give us the opportunity to serve your garden needs as well.
In 1985, we expanded our family company by offering a complete design build landscape service. John Lawhon, with a degree in Landscape Architecture, offers complete landscape designs for every budget as well as outstanding plant installation services. In order to help maintain your landscape, we offer complete irrigation system installation. We have verything you need to make your home more beautiful than ever.
ABOUT JO GARNER-MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER:
www.JoGarner.com (901) 482 0354 jo@jogarner.com X @jogarner NMLS# 757308
(currently working with Everitt Financial dba Supreme Lending)
ONLINE LOAN APPLICATION : https://jogarner.supremelendingLO.com
“Whatever YOUR personal priorities are, my job is to help you get the mortgage terms that will give you bragging rights when you talk about it and help you score on hitting your goals .”
As a mortgage loan officer, my job is to help you get to the benefits you want from your financing terms. What is most important to you? I can help you find the financing terms that will help you get to what you want. What is your comfort level on a house payment? How much are you comfortable paying down,? What type of financing do you need to get the house you want to buy or refinance?
Different clients have different priorities in life—some are buying their first home with very little down payment funds. Some are recovering from medical challenges, divorces or preparing to send children to college and some are embarking on a long term goal of buying properties to build rental income.”
Jo Garner is a mortgage officer with extensive knowledge in helping her clients find the right mortgage program and making the refinance or home purchase mortgage process EASY. She offers conventional, FHA, VA or other loan programs for primary residences, second homes and investment properties.
Jo can help you look at rent vs buy, when it makes sense to refinance, how to get the best deal on your home purchase financing.
Jo Garner has been in the real estate/financing business for over 30 years. She grew up in West Tennessee and got her start in real estate in Portland, Maine where she first began her real estate career. She received her real estate education from the University of Southern Maine and was personally mentored in San Diego, California by Robert G. Allen, author of Nothing Down, Creating
*Wealth and The Challenge.
On moving back to West Tennessee in 1987, she went into business buying and selling discounted owner-financed notes secured on real estate. In 1990 Jo went to work for a residential mortgage company and has been a mortgage loan officer for over 30 years.
In addition to her work in the mortgage field, Jo Garner is the primary sponsor and founder of Talk Shoppe in Memphis. www.TalkShoppe.com Jo Garner also host the radio show Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe airing on News Radio AM 600 WREC and iHeart Radio with podcasts and show notes published on www.JoGarner.com Pick up Jo Garner’s book on Amazon or Barnes Noble “Choosing the Best Mortgage-The Quickest Way to the Life You Want”