Real Estate Information Archive

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!

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.

Once you’ve decided to buy a beautiful Prairieville home, the big question is  “How much house can I afford?”

You may already have a figure from the bank If you have gone to get pre-approval.  This may be more or less than what you had in mind. It’s only a starting point in your thought process.  The perception is that bank puts the upper limit on what you can spend, but the lender may not take into account everything you need to consider.

How Much Can You Afford?

Some lenders use different percentages to figure out how much should go for housing, but the most common guide to how much you can afford these days is based on the 28/36 rule.  The means your housing should be 28% or less of your gross income before taxes, while your debt (not including your mortgage) should be 36% or less of your income.  Based on an income of $60,000, you might be able to append about $1,400 a month on your mortgage, taxes, and insurance, but this would dip to $1,000 if you paid about $650 about for credit cards, car payment, and other loans.  (Click here for a handy 28/36 mortgage calculator to compute how the 28/36% rule would work out for you.)  Banks may use a magical formula based on your FICO score, but they are considering similar things: how your debt compares to your income.

With a household income of $120,000, your might be able to pay $2,800 for housing with no debt.  What if your spouse is laid off?  Do you have resources to help you make it for a while?  What if one spouse wants to stay home with the kids? What if your salary stays the same but your other expenses keep increasing?  Will you be able to handle increased energy costs if the home is bigger than your old residence?  A mortgage you can technically afford can become a noose around your neck.

Bottom line, you need to be honest with yourselves. If you are saving for your kids’ college or trying to keep them in private schools as well as number of expensive activities, a big house payment can cut off other life options unless your income increases.

Don’t Sacrifice It All For Your Down Payment

You can reduce the amount of the loan and the monthly payment by putting more money down.  It is a mistake to raid retirement funds ordeplete savings.  Experts say you should have three to six months savings on hand in case of job loss, plus about 5 % of the purchase price of your home as a cushion for emergencies and repairs.  In addition, you may need about 3-5% of the amount of the purchase price for closing costs and moving expenses. 

The last thing you want to do is buy a house that develops a leaky roof six months down the road that you can’t afford to fix.  You are better off putting down less down payment – even if that means you buy a less expensive home or consider FHA financing, as that requires a smaller down payment. At this time, it seems like that an extension of the first time homebuyers tax credit is likely in some form, so you can probably plan on some assistance for either your downpayment or other move-in expenses.

Since home price and interest rates low, this is great time to buy an affordable house – but not to overextend yourself.  Talk to Sandy Sandlin today about buying a Prairieville home  Sandy’s Team will give the most to date information about the status of the first time homebuyers credit, as well about the best properties in East Baton Rouge, Ascension, and Livingston Parishes.

This is a proud October for the 21 schools of Ascension Parish.  As a whole the district was named the fourth best school system out of 70 in the state, while 17 of the 21 schools improved their individual performance. 

The Ascension Parish district scored 105.09 in state performance scores.   This score was the district’s highest score ever and represents a 6.1% increase over last year.  Superintendent Donald Songy praised the “exceptional commitment and expertise of … teachers, administrators, and of staff” that resulted in this year’s success and laid the groundwork for “a pattern of steady growth from year to year.”  

Further, he noted the “the level of growth this year.provides us with reassurance that the strategic initiatives set in place are producing results and fostering an improved education for all our students.”  Assistant Superintendent Patrice Pujol added that Ascension had moved to the top due to high level assessments aligned with the Districts’ curriculum and teachers’ instructional practices.

Particularly noteworthy are the achievements of these schools:

12.6 point increase- Lowery Intermediate School.  For the second straight year, this school showed the larger improvement in the district and now has moved into the academically acceptable range.

12.5 points – Dutchttown High School

11.2 points - G.W. Carver Primary School

9.7 points – St. Amant Middle School

8.7 points – Galvez Primary

8.2 points – Donaldsonville High

7.6 points – St. Amant High

6.6 points – East Ascension High

6.3 points - Prairievile Middle

6.0 points – Dutchtown Middle

Seven other schools also shows great improvement, which qualified 17 schools to receive a Growth School Performance Score of 100 or more.  For more information on the progress of the Ascension School District over the years, see www.apsb.org/schoolscores.

As noted in our previous blog Top Schools Districts Attract Buyers to Greater Baton Rouge Area, 10 years ago, the State of Louisiana set out to improve school performance state-wide.  In 2009, nearly 80% of schools showed gains in their scores, while 43% met 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.

This good news on school performance is one more reason why buying a home in Ascension parish is a great investment for your family. When buying real estate in Louisiana., contact Sandy's Team  for the best properties in East Baton Rouge  and Ascension Parishes. 

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.

There was a time when a prospective homebuyer could be pre-qualified to purchase a home and everyone involved - the buyer, the seller, and the real estate agent - was confident that the deal would sail through the bank.  The buyer and seller planned for a closing date.  Since the passage of HERA, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, obtaining a mortgage involves full pre-approval. 

What's the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval?  With pre-qualification, the homebuyer would state their income and assets and advised if they were likely to qualify for a loan and for how much.  Pre-approval requires the applicant to submit documents such as a photo ID, most recent W-2's, current pay stub (possibly for the last 6 months),statements from savings or investment accounts, and maybe even information on any other outstanding loans and credit card balances.  The lender will pull a credit report and submit the information through an automated pre-approval process to obtain a maximum amount you can borrow.

Once the would-be buyer finds the home of his dreams - or the one he can afford according to the bank - he has to then wait for the lender to process a final approval.  At that point the application comes before a human underwriter who can approve or even deny the loan based on the information, the appraisal on the home, or any changes that have occurred.

This tougher approach is a reaction to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the lending practices that precipitated it.  Much of the HERA regulation was an attempt to help homeowners whose payments had increased beyond their ability to pay, perhaps due to deceptive lending practices.  For new borrowers, the act added more steps

What does all of this mean to you as a buyer?  The intended effect is that you will get a loan you can afford on a home you can afford. However, getting the loan will be harder as the requirements to qualify have escalated, while the process will take longer.  In theory, a greater awareness of your loan terms and home value is a positive thing.  However, the new standards for being approved might throw you off track in a couple ways. If you have a good but not great credit score per the new guidelines, you are likely to get a mortgage but will have to pay more for it.  You might even be denied your loan at the last minute, especially if your appraisal comes in too low or something has changed since you were pre-approved.  

If you are thinking about buying a home, now is the time to confer with your agent and set into motion your plans to be homeowner.  Sandy Ogburn-Sandlin and her team of agents can walk through the loan process and help you find your new home in Baton Rouge and other communities in East Baton Rouge, Ascension, and Livingston counties.