Residents of St. Tammany Parish to Miss Holiday of Lights

In the Greater New Orleans area, holiday celebrations abound and are also a very popular tourist attraction.  However, here locally in St. Tammany Parish, there are a few events that always draw a huge crowd and are anticipated by the residents of St. Tammany Parish every holiday season.
For those who call St. Tammany Parish home, they have always looked forward to the Holiday of

Lights celebration at the Tammany Trace Trailhead on Koop Drive in the city of Mandeville.  Unfortunately, this will not be the case come holiday season this year.  Pat Brister, President of St. Tammany Parish government, informed residents that the two-weekend holiday celebration will be cancelled due to the lack of funds.

This free annual event was enjoyed by residents for 17 years and featured entertainment by local schools, musical and theater performances, caroling, carnival rides, pictures with Santa and a tour of the holiday lights display in the Koop Drive campus. The St. Tammany Parish government was one of two sponsors which funded

the annual event that reportedly cost the parish $75,000 each season.

While this sad news might come as a surprise to the community, parish officials anticipated it as a cut to the St. Tammany Parish operating budget for 2018 which forecasts an $18 million-dollar revenue shortfall. The parish feels there is no way around the budget cut which stems from the failed attempt to renew sales taxes linked to the jail and courthouse.
Click Here and Here for the Sources of Information.

Increase in Private Residential Construction Spending

Private residential construction spending is spending on construction by private parties and homeowners.  Data about this construction spending is collected from retail and wholesale outlets nationally. It seems that homeowners and small builders have a positive outlook on the economy and are spening money on new home construction on their own land or lot, as well as additions and remodeling to existing homes that they own.  Many people buy land and hold it for awhile before they decide to build a new home.  By owning land, there is an opportunity for new home builders to be able to more easily qualify for a construction loan by utilizing the equity in the land.

In addition to new home construction, homeowners are improving their homes as well, by contracting popular remodeling projects, such as kitchen, master bath, and outdoor area remodels.  Additions of pool houses, mother-in-law suites, and over-the-garage apartments are also popular construction projects for existing homeowners, which contribute money to the total amount of private construction spending during the month of July.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) did an analysis of the Census Construction Spending, and the data showed an increase of private residential construction spending of .8% in July over June, 2017, to an amount of $523.1 billion.  This increase was also an 11.6% increase year-over-year compared to 2016, and it was the third consecutive monthly increase for private construction spending after it went down slightly in April, 2017.

The breakdown in construction spending between single-family home construction and home improvement of existing homes shows that new home construction went up by .8% compared to June to reach $264.1 billion, and $192.4 billion was spent on home remodeling or renovation, which was a 1.41% increase month-over-month.  Also remodeling / renovation spending was up a total of 16.5% year-over-year compared to July, 2016.

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

NSA Index Is Reporting an Increase in Home Prices

The U.S. National Home Price NSA Index is reporting an increase of 4.3% over the peak of the same index in 2006, which was at its highest level right before the housing crash.  Home prices went up in June, 2017 5.8%, which was slightly higher than May’s 5.7% increase.  The index, which is formally called the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, was also up 43.7% above its lowest point in 2012 after the housing market crash.  Home prices have continually risen since the real estate market began its recovery, and they continue to climb. In fact, housing pricing reached another all time high in June.

“The trend of increasing home prices is continuing,” says David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Price increases are supported by a tight housing market. Both the number of homes for sale and the number of days a house is on the market have declined for four to five years. Currently the months-supply of existing homes for sale is low, at 4.2 months. In addition, housing starts remain below their pre-financial crisis peak as new home sales have not recovered as fast as existing home sales.”

According to Blitzer, the housing market now has the “problem” of not having enough supply to meet the demand.  Even with the increase in home pricing, there is a reason that home buyers are still purchasing homes for sale despite the continuous price increases.  Unemployment rates continue to decline, and jobs are being added to the market at an average pace of 200,000 jobs per month.  Mortgage rates have flinched with increases from the Federal Reserve, but they are still holding steady at or below 4%, which is a historically low interest rate for home buying purchases.

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

French Country and French Acadian Style Homes

A single-story home, commonly called a ranch home doesn’t have to be a “boring box” floorplan.  There are many French Country and French Acadian style homes built throughout the Greater New Orleans area which offer a variety of floorplans that are elegant and stylish while still within the price range of either a first-time home buyer or a fully custom home with all the “trimmings.”  Single-story of ranch style homes also can save homeowners money because their design is easy to make energy efficient without the necessity of cooling and heating the 2nd floor area. With all of the choices of one-story floorplans available from French Country Design to French Acadian Style, home buyers can work with their builder to customize their floorplan design to build a Semi-Custom New Home with selections chosen buy the new home buyer.

Another reason to purchase a ranch style, one-story home is that these homes offer amazing opportunities for empty nesters, baby boomers looking for low-maintenance homes, and young families.  Avoiding having to use stairs or having to clean an entire second story of a house is a detracting factor for home buyers in these categories when it comes to buying a home. In terms of fire safety, it is also easier for home buyers in these categories to be able to escape a home through a first-floor window in case of fire or an emergency.  So, a French Country or Acadian-style home may be an attractive home style to purchase.

Ranch-style homes also offer unique floorplan designs that can accommodate a “roommate” floorplan.  This means that the master bedroom can be built on the opposite side of the house, away from the “action” of other family members or visitors to be active in other parts of the house without disturbing those in the master bedroom. This also comes in handy for homeowners that require a home office – this room can be separated from the rest of the house during “office hours.”

A final benefit of buying a one-story, ranch style house is the opportunity to renovate or expand the house if you wish.  Adding an extra room, an addition, or expanding existing space to a one-story home is much easier than building on to a two-story home.  Whether you are making room for a bigger family, adding on studio space or a home office, or upgrading a kitchen, master bath, or great room to make the home more livable, you will have less cost and hassle doing these types of renovations to a one-story home versus a two-story home.

It is your choice as the home buyer as to which type of home is attractive to you, where you and your family can live “happily ever after,” but the options on a one-story, ranch-style home offer many benefits to new home buyers.  Ron Lee Homes offers a huge variety of floorplan designs to accommodate the one-story lifestyle. Contact Us Today to begin your home design process. Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.


Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Good News for Residents of St. Tammany Parish

Even though the 10-year statistical snapshot for the parish of St. Tammany includes 2006, a “boom” year for the parish, the snapshot revealed some very good news for residents of St. Tammany Parish, as well as home buyers looking to move into the parish. A report by the St. Tammany Parish

Economic Development Foundations shows a 10-year overview of the population, employment, wages, income, housing, and much more.

According to the report, the population increased 26% from 223,062 to 253,603 from 2006 to 2016. The really good news was that total wages increased by nearly 63% from $2.4 billion in 2006 to $3.9 billion in 2016.  Most of the job growth was seen in the science and technology sector, which saw a 40% increase.  Overall, household income increased from $75,016 to $88,614 during the 10-year period, which is an 18% increase.  Science and technology job wages grew from $163 million to $293 million in 10 years, with an average wage of $62,400.

“I think the biggest impact, to me, is knowing the opportunities and wages for science and technology jobs increased so much,” said Brenda Bertus, the foundation’s chief executive officer. “That tells me

there are more of those jobs here. Those are really good jobs,” Bertus said.

Local real estate companies as well as the U.S. Census & U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis contributed to the statistical data about the residents and economic information in St. Tammany Parish.  They also reported on building and business permits, housing prices, apartment rent, and sales taxes.

After the initial boost of buildling permits just after Hurricane Katrina in 2006, the report showed that housing sales increased around 42% over the last 5 years, and the average rent for apartments went up 38%. Business numbers increased from 6,728 in 2006 to 7,900 in 2016, which is approximately a 17% increase.
Access the Full 10-Year Report Here.
Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Know Your Home Buying Process

There are many tools that you can use during the home buying process.  You can do the majority of your own research by using online resources on the Internet.  You can manage your finances and credit and get quotes from lenders and banks on your mortgage.  You can research different areas of

town to find the best locations to buy your home by checking out reviews of area information.  Once you find out how much you are able to spend, where you want to purchase your home, and different homes that you would like to actually go out and visit, you can retain a Realtor to act as your buyer’s agent to buy your new home.

Even if you hire a Realtor, you are going to want to stay the savvy, “in the know” home buyer who knows the questions to ask and the information to get in order to get the best home for the huge investment that you are going to make on your home.  Below is information which is important to know when buying a new home.

What Is Allowed

Unless you are buying a home in an established community with known restrictive covenants and a homeowners association, you are going to want to make sure that anything you want to do to or store at your home is allowed.  Zoning laws can hamper a new homeowner’s aspirations by not allowing you to run a business out of your home, build a workshop at your house, build a fence, store your boat or RV, or add an addition.  So, before you sign on the dotted line, be sure to know if the home you are buying has any zoning or covenant restrictions.

Use an Inspector

If you are buying your home “as is” with no changes or required improvements by the seller, then you won’t need to worry about the condition of the home.  However, if you want to make sure that you get your return on investment, and don’t “buy a lemon,” you will want to make sure you get a home inspection.  Realtors know many people in the real estate industry, so they may be able to recommend a quality inspector to you, but make sure that the inspector they use is extremely thorough and has your, as the buyer, best interests in mind when making the inspection.  You definitely don’t want an inspector who glosses over a report so that your Realtor can “make the sale.”  You may want to get a referral and hire your own inspector.  If necessary, get the seller to cover the cost of a home warranty that covers all major appliances and structural systems of the home to “cover your bases,” as well.

Your Contract

Just like your parents and teachers always taught you, don’t sign anything unless you read it.  This applies to every piece of paperwork that you are going to sign regarding your new home purchase, from your contract, to counter offers, to waivers, to your closing documents.  Not only should you make sure that you read everything, but you should also be sure to “read all of the fine print.”  If there is anything that you absolutely don’t understand, make sure you get it clarified before you sign anything.  Another important point about this is to get everything extra in writing.  This includes everything that is outside of or not written on the paperwork that you are reading and signing.  If the seller promises to fix a faucet, repair a door frame, or include additional equipment to “make the sale,” make sure you get it in writing.

Negotiate Everything

Most everything is negotiable when buying a home from the home price, the purchase of a warranty, home repairs / deductions, and closing costs.  Any chance you see to save yourself some money, attempt to negotiate.  It never hurts to ask the seller, especially if you are already qualified with guaranteed money from your lender.  The worst thing that can happen is that the seller can so no.
Using the tips above along with the other tools at your disposal to make a good home buying decisions, you can retain a Realtor and then monitor the process yourself to make sure that you are fully informed during your home buying process.


Click Here for the Source of the Information. 

Buying a New Home – Fix Your Financing!

Financing is one of the biggest factors in buying a new home.  From the appraisal, to the loan application, to the Good Faith Estimate, to the mortgage, to the large amounts of paperwork that get faxed, scanned, and e-mailed; you can almost spend as much time acquiring money to buy your home as you did finding the home itself.  Sometimes searching for a home takes less time & effort! In order to have the best chance at bidding for and putting a contract on the home that you are going to buy, we recommend that you begin with a lender commitment letter which shows your potential seller that you have the financing and ability to close on the loan. This gives you an edge over other home buyers and also dictates the amount of money you are able to spend on a loan.

Before you ever get this letter from your lender, you are going to need to seriously examine your financial situation in order to determine if you are ready to go through the rigorous loan process required most banks and lenders.  In order to do this, you will need to look at the amount of money you make, how long you have made this amount of money, if you are employed and how long you have been at your current employment, how much your monthly bills are (minimum payments on credit cards and fixed loans), and your credit score.

Your credit score should always be a work in progress in your daily life.  Pretty much all of your financial decisions in life affect your credit score, so you are not going to want to just wake up one day and decide to buy a home.  You will want to check your credit score, and if it need improvement, come up with a plan to get rid of all of the negative information on your score before you apply for a mortgage.  The earlier you start on your plan and get your score up, the longer you have a consistent good credit history, the better chance you have at an excellent interest rate and quality loan offering.

If you have low / no credit, there are several things you can do to “get some credit.”  Secure loans and credit cards are a great way to establish credit because these products are designed to report to the credit agency monthly with your on-time payments.  This establishes that you can maintain payments / credit and also boosts your score.  Another way to work on establishing your credit is to stay super strict on your credit usage.  This means that you should use a low percentage of the credit available to you and make your payments on time. Keeping your “credit utilization ratio” below 30 percent makes the credit agencies “happy.”

Finally, kind of a no-brainer, common sense concept, but you want to get rid of all derogatory marks on your credit.  This includes old utility bills, written off credit cards, old medical bills, and any other reported debts that you owe.  Really working on your credit score is vital to having the best chance at financing a new home loan with a lender or bank.  When you are ready to get started on your home buying process, Contact Ron Lee Homes for Homes for Sale to Build a New, Custom Home.  Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.


Click Here for the Source of the Information.