Fountain at the Entrance of River Club in Covington, Louisiana

Waterfront Home Living in St. Tammany Parish

Owning a home in a waterfront community in St. Tammany Parish is a wonderful experience. Having access to a river or a lake provides a peaceful and restful environment that is also kind of freeing, especially if you are a “water person.” With the environment of a river or lake also comes the lush vegetation and wildlife, such as water fowl, turtles, and frogs. There is just a different kind of feel and sound when living on or near the water.

Being near the water also allows a homeowner to be able to enjoy recreational activities, such as water sports, boating, canoeing, swimming, floating, and fishing. Many waterfront communities also carve out walking or hiking paths around the water area for residents to enjoy. Having a home with a water view is also a tremendous advantage, both while you are living there and also as a benefit of selling your home.

Homes in waterfront communities tend to come at a higher price range because the lot on which they are built are often priced higher because they are a prized commodity.  With the right care and attention, a home on the water can be an incredible real estate investment.

Homeowners of waterfront homes must be sure to look out for damage that can be done to a home because it is located on or near the water. Problems caused by moisture in the air such as mold, degradation of stone, metal or wood, bug issues, and water intrusion can take a toll on the quality building of a new home for sale. Staying on top of the maintenance of your home by painting and sealing the exterior of your home often, keeping a current termite contract, and investing in sturdy building materials to begin with can go a long way in ensuring that your home stays in good shape both for you and your family and for if or when you ever decide to sell.

Ron Lee Homes is now offering a new, custom home for sale in a waterfront community in Covington, Louisiana, in River Club. This new home is just a brief walk down the street to an extensive boat dock, boardwalk, and pavilion on river. If you haven’t yet had the chance to tour this new community or our new home for sale, Contact Us at 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com to schedule your private tour today!


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School Districts Can Affect the Value of Your Home

Anecdotal evidence shows that home buyers will pay up to 10% more for a home that they buy that is in a good school district.  In fact, many people buy homes in good school districts even in the family planning stages before they ever have kids.  Therefore, if you have children or are planning to have children, and you are interested in your children being able to get into a good school, you will need to make sure you have the time and budget to plan your home or new home search.

The first thing you need to do is to decide whether you want your kids to go to public or private schools.  Private schools don’t have districts, so buying a home in order to be close to a private

school or knowing that your child will be attending private school will make your home buying decision more flexible.  If you are planning on sending your kids to public school, then you need to get serious about figuring out which is the best school district for you, your kids, and your family. It’s not just about test scores and ratings when it comes to schools. There are other factors to consider such as extracurricular activities, sports, clubs, friends and lifestyle expectations.

Once you have narrowed down the school district in which you would like to live, be sure that you have allocated enough time before the next school year to find a new home to buy.  Expect there to be competition for homes going on the market in a good school district.  Because, not only are the homes going to probably sell quickly, there are other benefits to buying in a good school district such as home values which make the homes more desirable and a better real estate investment.

When choosing the right home to buy, make sure that all of your finances are in order.  Get pre-qualified with a realistic lender, so that you look better to the seller once you make an offer.  Being able to close quickly on a home can make a seller more interested in working with you.

Be ready for the price tag of living in a better school district when it comes to property taxes.  Property taxes help pay for your kids’ public school education, but when your home is located in a better district, you “get what you pay for.”  Other than that, buying a home in a really good school district is a way to invest in not only your childrens’ futures but also in your financial future with great equity in the resale value of your home.

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Decisions to Make When Installing a Fence

Sometimes you like the idea of having a yard with no boundaries, where you can see everything from your front or back porch with nothing obstructing your view.  Or, if you have pets who also like freedom or maybe neighbors you’d rather not have seeing you, you might want to install a fence in your front yard or backyard.  Believe it or not, getting a fence installed can take quite a bit of work on your part when it comes to selection of material, parameter of the fence, and finding the right fence contractor.

Here are some tips that will help you get started on the process. The look of your fence and its requirements are totally up to you!

Fence Purpose
What is the purpose of your fence? Do you want more privace and need a wood-slatted or vinyl privacy fence? Do you have pets that are just as smart as you are and need a secure fence to keep them from “visiting” everyone else in the neighborhood?  Do you need boundaries for your neighbors where they can see you and you can see them, but they can’t just walk on over?  Whatever type of fence you need, you need to begin there when making the next decision steps of your process.

Materials & Aesthetics
The next thing you will need to decide is how you want your fence to look.  There are several decorative fence styles that are popular in St. Tammany Parish. There is the “farm fence” which is a

1/2 to 2/3 tall fence with horizontal poles or boards, typically painted white.  There is the popluar picket fence which is seen around many homes in Madisonville and Mandeville.  There is the horse fence with is like the “farm fence” but is actually used as a fence to keep horses or cattle in.  This fence typically is taller with more horizontal rails.  It is also popular in north Covington and Folsom.  There is the 6′ or 8′ privacy fence which completely covers the area to make it…private.  You can also upscale your fence with a mixutre of materials including stone columns and wood slats or brick columns and wrought iron pickets.  Whatever type of fence you choose, be sure to be budget conscious and buy what you can afford.

Fencing Cost & Care
Which brings us to the next point – cost. Not only do you need to consider the cost of the materials but also the cost of installation. In Louisiana especially, you need to consider the elements when installing your fence because the weather here can wreak havoc on your materials.  Vinyl, aluminum, brick, & wrought iron will definitely last longer than wood (even treated wood) any day.  Going with a cheaper product, such as landscape timbers, may save you money in the short term, but you will definitely be replacing that fence in the near future.

Map Your Fence
If you are located in a neighborhood, you will want to be very clear where your property lines are located so as not to intrude on your neighbor’s property. That is a definite way to keep the peace between you and your neighbor.  You will also want to walk the proposed fence line with your installer to be sure that he or she is very clear as to where the fence needs to be installed.

Homeowners Association
Some homeowners associations have very strict rules as to where a fence can be constructed and even what materials may be used.  Be sure to check with them before beginning your project to make sure your fence proposal falls into their guidelines.  In some areas, you may have to get a letter from your HOA to get a permit from the city or parish before you begin.

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Pelican Park to Redevelop Old Baseball Field

Trying to keep it “in house,” Pelican Park is looking to redevelop an unused baseball field called Green 5 into something else either recreation or fitness that might target adults. The budget for this redevelopment will come from the operating budget of Pelican Park, and will be an investment of $500,000 – $800,000.

Comments were solicited from the public, and recommendations included an indoor Olympic-size swimming pool, complete with diving.  However, the estimated cost of that type of project could be

upwards of $25 million, and that would not work within the park’s budget.

Green 5 is a 4-acre area which used to be used for baseball, but with over 30 athletc fields, it now stands “idle.”  It is situated around the center of the complex, and the lights that used to light the field no longer meet the safety requirements, and the cost of bringing them up to standard would be too expensive.  Also, baseball programs for older kids are no longer offered at Pelican Park.

A study to determine the best use of the 4-acre plot was awarded to Neel-Schaffer, Inc., an engineering, planning and construction management firm, at the cost of $20,540. Ideas of what might replace the field included pickleball outdoor courts, bocce, horseshoes or shuffleboard, outdoor fitness area with exercise equipment, a shaded picnic area, or a walking track.

A board of directors meeting held February 28th took the recommendations of Neel-Schaffer, Inc., and decided to use the space for an exercise / activity area with walking trail, outdoor fitness equipment, a 3/4 acre pond and six pickleball courts.

“Other elements of the project include areas for bocce, horseshoes, shuffleboard and a small section where poles will be erected for ‘hammocking.’ The plan also involves razing one maintenance barn near the ball field and converting a second barn into a pavilion,” park director Kathy Foley said.
“We’re moving forward with it,” Foley said. “We think it will offer something for people who might otherwise not use the park.”

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Architectural Styles When Building Your Custom Home

When building a fully custom home, the sky’s the limit as to what type of features, customizations, materials, and new home design you would like to use.  One of the options that home buyers forget they have is the exterior and interior architectural style that is available to them when designing the facade and different rooms of the home. Architectural style can truly define the way a home looks and feels both on the outside and the inside. The outside look is more obvious, such as the French and Spanish architecture you see on the many homes and townhomes in the French Quarter.  The interior architecture can be more subtle and less well known to other people and even your builder.  If you have your heart set on a specific architecture or floorplan layout based on an architectural style, don’t hesitate to let us know during the floorplan design of your custom home.

Several architectural styles are well-defined and easy to recognize and are listed below:

Mediterranean
Just like it sounds, this type of home makes use of exterior spaces in order to soak up the feel of the Mediterranean (or in this case, the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Pontchartrain in the Greater New Orleans Area).  These types of floorplans will have extensive verandas, courtyards, patios, sun rooms, or covered screened porches. The exterior finish typically includes plaster or stucco with low slope or flat roofs.  Interior details include decorative tile and exposed wood beams.

Southern
In order to compensate for the extreme heat of southern climates, southern architecture emphasizes

protecting the exterior of the home with wide covered porches around the entire home, long overhangs, functional shutters, covered verandas, elevated, open living spaces and sometimes decorative columns in the front.

Modern
Introduced during the ’50’s and 60’s, modern architecture becomes more simplistic with less ornamental design.  Horizontal windows, plain fireplace surround – basically ranch-style homes with low roof lines.  However, this simplicity is offset by high-quality material finishes, such as stone, wood flooring, and marble.

Cottages
Just like they sound, cottages are designed to be smaller, lower maintenance homes with incredible use of square footage space.  The term cottage brings to mind a cramped, small home with a lower mortgage, but builders have been quite innovative in building cottages with excellent use of space in the floorplan. Built-in window seats and shelving utilize empty walls to create more space for “stuff.” A spacious front porch also adds to the size of a cottage home.

At Ron Lee Homes, we have built numerous styles of architecture and have many different floorplan styles from which to choose.  You can bring us your ideas and pictures, and we can design the style of home that you want.  Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes to make an appointment to create your floorplan design today!

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Builder Tips When You Build a New or Custom Home

As a builder, we offer an in-depth building process from design and layout to the final punchlist.  We try to put ourselves in the shoes of our home buyers to make sure we anticipate the questions and needs you will have during the home building process, especially if this is your first new home build or custom home build.  However, we also want to give you as much industry advice as possible to make sure that you feel comfortable with working with us as a builder. Below are some tips to following when working with a builder.

Use a Realtor Who Represents Your Interests
While we, as a builder, don’t use an on-site sales representative, some builders and developments do.  Make sure that you find a Realtor who is used to working with new home sales and knows the ins and

outs of information that you, as a home buyer, will need to know during the building process.  That way, if your builder does not explain something to you in full or there is missing information, your buyer’s representative will know the questions to ask and information to get.

Research Your Builder
One way to know if you are using an excellent, quality builder is to view their work, while it is under construction. As we constantly have new or custom homes under construction, we can take you on a tour of our homes to show you the craftsmanship and quality construction in person and answer any questions you may have. Another way to vette your builder is to read any testimonials or reviews. We have multiple testimonials on our website as well as reviews on social media of our satisfied customers. Finally, we have an extensive list of Completed Projects on our website which show in-depth pictures of the finished homes and remodels we have done.  You can get a a good idea of the features and fixtures that we offer in all of the new homes and custom homes that we build.

Know Your Specs
When you view a completed home or model home of a builder, there may be upgraded features or thoughtful extras which may or may not be included in the floorplan that you select or design.  As a

builder, we try to be as thorough as possible to cover every detail in your new or custom home, so that you know exactly what types of features, fixtures, and trim that your home will have once it is built.  However, if you want to go room-by-room asking about the features of each room to ensure that you understand all of the specific details that will be built in your home, we have no problem with that either.

Written Agreement
Once you are comfortable with everything that will be included in your home, make sure that everything we put in our agreement with you is to your complete satisfaction.  We pride ourselves on finishing our projects on time and on budget, barring any unforseeable weather events. Therefore, our agreements have specific budgetary and timeline parameters that are defined specifically in our contracts.  Make sure that if you are working with another builder that they offer you the same.

Building a new home is more complicated than shopping for a previously-owned home. However the flexibility of having choice of selection of flooring, cabinets, countertops, paint colors, fixtures, appliances, and so much more can make the building process a very rewarding experience.  So, whether you use us as a builder or someone else, we hope that you find these tips useful.

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