Real Estate Information Archive

"Laissez les bon temps rouler!" (Let the good times roll!). Time for two weeks of celebration...great food, music, parades, and of course King Cakes! The floats are decorated, thousands of king cakes have been baked and now it's time to party! If you live in Louisiana, you just have to make it to at least one parade! Whether you live in Prairieville, Baton Rouge, Gonzales, or anywhere else in Louisiana there is a parade nearby. Be sure to check one out!

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Prairieville buyers have plenty of reasons to buy a great house in Ascension Parish or anywhere in the Greater Baton Rouge areas. After all, homes are plentiful and well priced, the interest rates are low, and of course, the home buyer’s tax credit is in effect through April 30.  Yesterday, the FHA made an announcement that impacts anyone who buys after the tax credit has expired. The best advice to potential home buyers is to buy now, if you can can to beat the FHA clock.

FHA has always been a good financing option if you less downpayment in hand and if your credit score was a bit lower than what some banks liked.  Over the last few years, FHA has written almost 30% of the loans (up from 3% back in 2006) and has suffered from rising delinquencies.  The agency now must build its reserves and keep FHA-insured financing alive and well for homeowners.  HUD Secretary wants borrowers to “have more skin in the game” as a way to reduce future defaults.

Some of the new rules apply to lenders who must now increase their reserves and practice more responsible lending practices.  These are effective immediately. So what are the new rules that affect buyers?

Mortgage Insurance Payment (MIIP) will increase from 1.75% to 2.25% of the one and be added to the balance at closing. This will go into effect April 5, 2010.

Credits scores must now be at least 580 if you want to qualify for a 3.5% down payment.  If your credit score is lower, you must come up with 10%.

Sellers will only be able to contribute 3% to the closing costs, as compared to 6% now.

These changes are reasonable, but they will cost new buyers more.  All three changes will be effective by late spring-early summer which means those who buy before April 30 will reap some benefits of the tax credit and be able to go by the old rules (except for the MIP increase effective 4/5/10.)  Currently, interest rates are low but expected to rise by late spring, so buyers will benefit from that as well.  After that, if your credit score is low, you may have to save longer to get your downpayment in order, while all FHA borrowers will pay more MIP and closing costs.

If you are ready to buy a home, call Sandy’s Team to discuss your home buying plans.  Sandy and her team can find you the perfect place to call home in the new year in Greater Baton Rouge area, including Baton Rouge, Prairieville, Gonzales, Denham Springs, Watson, Walker, Central, Greenwell Springs, Zachary, Baker, Port Allen, Brusly, Geismar, and St Amant.  We can also you answer any questions you might have about the home buyer's tax credit - $8,000 for first time buyers or $6,500 for repeat buyers.

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As part of the Midwest celebrated Christmas or its aftermath with snow, Ascension Parish and the surrounding area was pelted with so much rain that some roads remain flooded today.  With the kids out of school, holiday gifts to exchange, and homes to buy, no one wants to be inconvenienced or endangered when out on the road.

Here are some timely tips for driving in wet weather issued by Ascension Parish in mid-December.

First, check for updates on the Ascension Parish website or local TV or radio stations on the status of local roads.  If your destination is the midst of a flooded area, think about rescheduling or at least call ahead to make sure the place is open.

Second, plan ahead and allow for more travel time.  You might have to detour or drive more slowly. 

Third, drive slowly, especially if the roads are water-covered.  You will be better able to stop and avoid road hazards and refuse that has blown unto the road.

Fourth, keep ample distance from the car ahead of you!  Follow in their tracks if possible.

Fifth, brake early and gently.  If you pass through water, tap your brakes lightly to dry them out.  Remember not to try to stop quickly with wet brakes.

Sixth, avoid driving through standing water.  If you can’t see the road markings through the water, it’s better to turn down a side street or turn around.  A foot of moving water can lift your car off the road!

Seventh, if you hydroplane, slowly release the gas pedal and steer straight until you regain control rather than braking or turning the wheel suddenly.  Don’t use cruise control

Eighth, turn on your lights if you are using your wipers.  It’s state law and good sense.

Ninth, be extra careful at night. 

A lot of traffic in Ascension these days is due to people who want to take advantage of the home buyer’s tax credit.  Sandy Ogburn-Sandlin and her team at RE/Max Excellent Properties can show you new and resale homes in Ascension Parish as well as neighboring cities in the Baton Rouge market that offer great values for first time buyers and repeat buyers!  It's likely that homes will move quickly with the new incentives in place, so contact Sandy's Team today to jumpstart your housing search!  Drive as quickly as conditions allow to take advantage of the great home values today!

Even in Greater Baton Rouge, where home prices have not fallen as much as elsewhere, some who would like to move have put their plans on hold until things are a little better for sellers.   In a buyer’ s market, a real estate agent often has to deliver the bad news that the seller has to lower their asking (and selling ) prices a bit to be in line with the market.  The new Home Buyer’s Tax Credit promises to shake things up for sellers as well as buyers.

The Home Buyer’s Tax Credit offers you a chance to reassess your position. Now, repeat buyers who have lived in their home for at least five of the last eight years qualify for a $6,500 tax credit.  If you have been thinking of making a change the credit allows you to do that.  Why?

First of all, if you have a home priced under $250,000 in most parts of the country, your home is on the radar screen of many first time buyers.  True first time buyers who have never owned a home tend to be younger and not as affluent, for them, so an affordable home might be just want you want to sell. In, home at these price points are selling much faster than last year. If you want to sell, you might not only find a buyer, you might get multiple bids on your home.

Second, if you have been wanting to move, the $6,500 might give you the help you’ve need. This will offset the closing costs, partly compensate you for any loss in value, or give you some working capital for projects in the new house.

Third, when you are house shopping, you will also have the “buyer’s market advantage” on your side and be able to get more house for your money.  If you are looking for a bigger, better house, the seller may have lowered the price to meet the market.  With low interest rates currently offered , you might be able to find your dream at such a deal you fell less pain at how much you had to lower your price.

Fourth, the credit is called a move-up credit, but you don’t have to buy a more expensive home to qualify for the $6,500.  If you are looking to downsize due to retirement or a lifestyle choice to simplify, you find a new place that costs less and still get the tax credit.

Fifth, if you’ve been wanting to turn your home into a rental, this could be your chance.   Current interpretations of the new law do not prohibit you from keeping your current home as investment property any buying another for yourself as the primary residence.

Sixth, this credit could give you a chance to revisit a prior decision.  Say you moved north for a job, but now, a few years later, you realized you miss the Prairieville or want to be closer to your kids. If you have rented for more than three years, you can use the First Time Home buyer’s Credit to buy a new home or condo up North. If you bought and have lived in your home at least five of the last eight years, you can sell and buy elsewhere with the $6,500 bonus. You can even turn your current home into vacation home status, buy a primary residence and claim the credit. (For some of these trickier scenarios, make sure to consult your tax advisor.)

The purpose of the new credit to is to stimulate the housing market at all levels, although homes that sell for over $800,000 won’t qualify. Since the credit is expected to cost the government $10.8 billion in lost taxes (plus $10 billion for the first phase), it is highly unlikely that it will be renewed. As the time lines roughly correspond to when interest rates are likely to remain low, this next five + months are the perfect example of a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for you as a  seller to move your home.

The new credit can work for you!  Let Sandy and her team show you a wide selection of beautiful new and pre-owned homes in the Greater Baton Rouge area, including Baton Rouge, Prairieville, Gonzales, Denham Springs, Watson, Walker, Central, Greenwell Springs, Zachary, Baker, Port Allen, Brusly, Geismar, and St Amant.  We can also you answer any questions you might have about the home buyer's tax credit - $8,000 first time  buyers or $6,500 for repeat buyers.

Business Week recently named Baton Rouge one of the U.S. Metro’s Least Touched by Recession as well as placed it as No. 8 on the magazine’s list of Top 10 Metros in the U.S.  Based on a Booking's Institute’s assessment of the economic health of 100 cities with populations over 600,000.  Baton Rouge fared well in the four areas studied: job growth, gross metro product, unemployment change, and home price change.

As the capitol of Louisiana, Baton Rouge has a stable base of government employment plus a strong, expanding energy sector and a strong educational sector.  In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the vibrant economy in Baton Rouge has been sparked in part by a construction boom.  Thousands of displaced families arrived in Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina and temporarily doubled the population.

Not everyone stayed, but the influx of people, as well as rampant property destruction, spurred demand for services and activity in the residential and commercial construction.   Currently, there are $5.1 billion of commercial construction projects underway, which includes Katrina repair and corporate expansion.  ExxonMobil (XOM), for example, is building a new chemical plant, while the French company SNF is building a new plant in the area.

This activity has made for good job growth and lower than average unemployment.  Baton Rough unemployment is currently 7.1%, a good 3% lower than the national average.  Wage growth has been weak.

It has also maintained the gross metropolitan product (GMP), which measures the value of all goods and services produced in the area.  Baton Rouge peaked in 2009 and hasn’t declined much. This indicates that demand has remained stable, despite the recession.

In the Baton Rouge area, housing prices were up 3.3% in through June 30, 2009 according to the recent report mentioned in BusinessWeek, and have remained stable in the 9 parishes that make up the Greater Baton Rough area.  Though housing sites like Trulia show that prices are down in the city of Baton Rouge at the moment, the area is viewed as a market where prices will rise.

The Greater Baton Rouge area includes nine parishes - Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Point Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana. 

Beat the recession blues!  Buy a new home in Baton Rouge!  Sandy and her team show you a wide selection of beautiful new and pre-owned homes in the Greater Baton Rouge area, including Baton Rouge, Prairieville, Gonzales, Denham Springs, Watson, Walker, Central, Greenwell Springs, Zachary, Baker, Port Allen, Brusly, Geismar, and St Amant.  We can also you answer any questions you might have about the home buyer’s tax credit - $8,000 for first time  buyers or $6,500 for repeat buyers.

If you are looking to start a business, particularly in high tech, Baton Rouge is a great place to come.  Ranked at #9 on CNN Money’s Best Place to Launch a Business in mid-sized metro areas, Baton Rouge offers a combination of young engineering talent, tax incentives, and quality of life that pulls in new entrepreneurs.

Between 2004-2007, the small business growth rate was 9.3%, as compared to 5.92% for other “Best Places.”  In 2007, this translated to 16,860 new small businesses with 1-49 employees.  Much of the growth was in the technology sector, as engineering and construction firms settled in the state capital to work on post-Katrina restoration projects, some with Federal Go Zone funds.  To further promote business, the State of Louisiana approved tax incentives of up to 40% for firms that do research and development in the state, as well as 35% of the state income tax for digital media companies.

Some of the new business were developed to provide services and housing to the increasing population.  After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Baton Rouge experienced a large population increase when displaced hurricane victims moved in.  Some returned home but the region has retained an 11% population growth.

As the location of Louisiana State University, Southern University, and Baton Rouge Community College, Baton Rouge has a pool of educational talent. Some 28% of the population has bachelor’s degrees, which make for an educated workforce.  Average hourly wage for workers in the Baton Rouge area is $17.89, as compared to $18.35 in other “Best Places.

A key thing that attracts small business – and their customers – to Baton Rouge is the quality of life, marked by Louisiana cooking and a growing social nightlife scene.  In an inviting business client, such amenities, coupled with a comfortable pace of life, make workers happy to stay put in Baton Rouge.

Well before Katrina, the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce embarked on The Campaign for a Greater Baton Rouge to promote the nine parishes in the region (Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana) as an economic unit.  The group hoped to broaden the economic appeal of the area to more than the petrochemical industry.  The recent accolades from CNN Money indicates that Baton Rouge is well on the way to becoming a more diversified

Looking for a place to call home in the Baton Rouge area?  Sandy’s Team at Re/Max Excellent Properties, headed by veteran Realtor® Sandy Ogburn Sandlin, are local experts in East Baton Rouge/ Ascension Parish real estate.  Our new website presents the homes you will want to call yours in Prairieville, Baton Rouge, and the other fine communities in the area. Contact Sandy today for the blend of friendliness and professional competence that have made us area leaders in real estate.

You can fall in love with a house anywhere the greater Baton Rouge area, but when you finally make the move, the house located where the schools are the best is where you put down your money.  That's why the latest report from the Louisiana Department of Education is great information for people looking to settle in the East Baton Rouge-Ascension Parish region.  You don't even necessary have to go the most expensive area to find a home either, as great valued are available whatever your price range..

With a goal of 100% accountability in important measures of student performance, several area school districts exceed that goal for 2009.  These include:

Zachary Community School District (116.8)

Zachary, LA in East Baton Rouge Parish has been the top performing district in Louisiana for the past five years.  Fourteen miles north of Baton Rouge and 80 miles northwest of New Orleans, Zachary is a small town with a high percentage of college graduates. 

West Feliciana Parish (110.9)

St. Francisville, LA in West Feliciana Parish has second highest top scores. The town of 1,600 people is located 30 miles northwest of Baton Rouge and about 100 miles northwest of New Orleans.

St. Tammany Parish (109.6)

Slidell, LA, roughly 30 miles north of New Orleans, is the main city in St. Tammany Parish.  The schools are top notch, offering Advanced Placement and Honors classes at all schools.

Ascension Parish (105.9)

One of the fastest growing parishes I Louisiana, Ascension Parish  reached its highest performance level ever and improved its scores by 6.1% district-wise for all schools

Overall scores for all districts is 91% this year.  This represents as 4.7% improvement since 2008 and a 22% increase since 1999, when performance levels stood at 86.3%.  At that time, the state fared poorly in comparison to other states to other states , so assessment measure were developed to be accomplished within 10 years.  The sate falls a little short of its goal, but the 16% increase in performance very encouraging.

According to State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek, "This progress is a tribute to the administrators, teachers and students in our classrooms and represents the good work of many individuals and organizations over many years,"

"We are very pleased by these gains - among the highest we've seen in the history of accountability. And in comparison to the last several years, where for the most part we saw marginal gains, a gain of nearly 5 points reinforces our efforts and tells us that many superintendents are focusing on the right things and are moving in the right direction."

The scores are actually reflect several measures, depending on the grade level. For grades K-8, School Performance Scores (SPS) are calculated for K-8th grade schools using student test scores (90%) and attendance (10%). Schools with a 7th and 8th grade configuration receive a SPS based on attendance (5%), dropouts (5%) and student test scores (90%). High schools (grade 9-12) receive an SPS based on test scores (70%) and their graduation index (30%).

District Scores include student permanence on standardized tests (LEAP, iLEAP and GEE), along with as attendance, dropout and graduation outcomes - calculated using the same formula as School Performance Scores - but using only one year of data.

Over the past school year, 65% of student scored Basic or above on statewide -administered assessments as compared to 45 in 1999.  There is still a considerable gap of 23.4 points between races on the assessments, but the gap has narrowed by 10.3% in English and 9.8% in

In 2009, nearly 80% of schools showed gains in their scores, while 43% net their growth targets this year vs. only 25% last year.  Twenty eight percent of schools exceeded an SPS of 100; the percentage of schools with scores under 100 decreased from previous years. Additionally, the number of Academically Unacceptable Schools (AUS) fell from 90 to 55, or 4.3 percent.

Despite achievements, which have resulted in higher scores on college admission tests , Louisiana is committed to bringing all children up to basic and closing performance gaps between races.  For more information about Louisiana's education efforts, view the LDOE press release.

Now that the public school system in many parishes are proving  to be an even better  choice for buyers, finding a place where  achievement is high is one of the priorities while buying real estate in Louisiana.  Contact Sandy's Team  for the best properties in East Baton Rouge  and Ascension Parishes. 

Three is the magic number for homeowners who want to claim the $8,000 tax credit for buying their new home.  That's the number of years it must have been since you owned your last home to qualify for the credit.  If you owned a home in the past, as long as three years have passed, start shopping!  The new credit will give you an $8,000 head start.

The first time homebuyer's credit sounds like it only applies to you if you are 25 and looking for your starter home.  In reality, it can apply in any of these scenarios:

• When you retired a few years ago, you moved to an apartment.  You want to be homeowner again.  Go for it!
• You moved to Prairieville a few years ago from up North.  You weren't sure where in the Baton Rouge area you wanted on locate, so you've been renting a place ever since.  You know more about the area now and are prepared to buy.  Go for it!
• After you'd owned a home for a while, you found that your income at the time wasn't enough to cover the extra maintenance costs sometimes involved in home ownership, so you went back to renting. Now, three years later, you are in a better position to face unexpected challenges, so you want to buy again.  Go for it!
• Back in 2005 or 6, you mother was ill, so you sold your home and moved in with her.  Now, she's passed on and you want a place that reflects your taste.  You love those new condos over at the Quarters at Dutchtown and really want to buy.  Go for it!
• When you were married, you owned a home.  When you got divorced four years ago, you sold the home and moved back home.  Now, you are ready to own again.  Go for it!

It doesn't matter what got you out of homeownership three years ago.  As long as you or your spouse have not owned a home for three years, you are considered eligible to get a 10% credit on your home up to a maximum of $8,000..  Of course, you must be creditworthy and not exceed income limits of $75,000 to $95,000 for singles and $150,000 to $170,000 for couples.  The credit is a true credit that does not have to be repaid so long as you keep the home for three years.

Sandy Ogburn Sandlin and her team would like to help you realize your dreams of home ownership - or "re-realize" them if you are reentry homebuyer with that magic three years since you last owned a home.  Contact Sandy's Team today for the best in East Baton Rouge, Ascension or Livingston parishes.