Act of Sale for the Nearly 300 Acres of Land in St. Tammany Parish

The act of sale for the nearly 300 acres of land that currently encompasses the former Southeast Louisiana Psychiatric Hospital – now known as Northlake Behavioral Health – will be held, Thursday, March 26, 2015, at 2pm.  The sale is between the state of Louisiana and St. Tammany Parish.  The parish negotiated a sales price of $15.4 million to buy the property, and the parish

plans on utilizing the land for a few different purposes: possible expansion for Pelican Park, a new roadway from Hwy. 190 (Florida St.) to 1088 reducing congestion for both Hwy. 190 and Hwy. 59, and to bolster the government’s wetland mitigation bank.

St. Tammany Parish’s wetland mitigation bank is served by Mossy Hill Mitigation Bank which also serves the wetland preservation needs of Washington and Tangipahoa Parishes.  It will also review requests for credit from areas outside of these areas on a case-by-case basis.  The idea is that builders and developers may purchase a one-time credit from the Mossy Hill Mitigation Bank to offset the impacts that their construction will have on the wetlands involved with the project.  They must offer another portion of the project that is close to or adjacent to the job that they own in exchange for this credit so that the wetlands in other areas are preserved.

“When impacts to jurisdictional wetlands are unavoidable, a one-time credit purchase from the Mossy Hill Mitigation Bank prevents mitigation cost overruns and irrevocably transfers your perpetual mitigation liability to Ecosystem Investment Partners (EIP), one of the nation’s leading providers of environmental credits,” according to the website for the Mossy Hill Mitigation Bank.
St. Tammany Parish’s Pelican Park may purchase as much as 100 acres of the land involved in Thursday’s act of sale to expand upon its already 321-acre park. In conjunction with the expansion is the hope that St. Tammany Parish will go ahead with the road building / expansion project between 190 and 1088 in order to construct a second entrance to Pelican Park on this cut-through road.

The “fate” of Northlake Behavioral Health is secured through this act of sale because one of the conditions of the purchase was that St. Tammany Parish leave the buildings and land belonging to the psychiatric hospital campus intact and operating as a behavioral health hospital.  Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, the current company that mangages operations at the hospital through a privatization program has expressed interested in purchasing the entire campus and land from St. Tammany Parish.

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Ron Lee Homes Now Offers Renovations and Remodeling

Floorplan design is the most essential part of the home building process, and Ron Lee Homes takes great care and pride in offering unique, beautiful semi-custom and fully custom floorplan designs for our clients.  Ron Lee has been designing and building state-of-the art new homes in St. Tammany Parish for over 20 years.  His hands-on approach to his projects has not only exponentially increased his knowledge of home building techniques that are both technology savvy and energy efficient but also stylish and elegantly beautiful.  He has found that even the smallest details such as matching tile choices for flooring and backsplashes as well as crown molding and built-in cabinetry trim selections can create a stunning display of craftsmanship and workmanship in the homes that he builds.
With this standard in mind, Ron Lee Homes has recently hired Cheryl Murphy, a design specialist who worked for many years with Floor to Ceiling off of Florida Street in Mandeville, Louisiana.  The purpose of adding her to the team at Ron Lee Homes is so that we can offer an even more specialized design service experience for our customers while they are building their home with us, or if they have an individual remodeling or renovation project that they need handled.  Many people may have heard of making “selections” during the home building process.  Some builders offer minimal selections such as carpeting colors, tile design choices, paint colors, siding colors, etc.  For the homes built with Ron Lee Homes, our custom home design process can be extensive, and the choice of selections can be “dizzying.”  That is where Cheryl Murphy will take over and make the process of navigating the selection choices a more manageable and pleasant experience for the custom home building part of her job.

With her background at Floor to Ceiling, Cheryl was a designer who helped home buyers, renovators, and remodelors find the perfect selections for their kitchen, bath, cabinetry, and flooring.  From wood styles and colors, to kitchen cabinetry, countertops, fixtures, and appliances, to flooring choices, Cheryl will use her instinctive design skills to help clients choose the perfect blend of color, textures, and styles to make their project the very best that it can be both architecturally as well as aesthetically.  In addition to the construction aspects of the renovation and remodeling projects, Cheryl also excels at helping her clients choose accessories such as bathroom furniture, rugs, floor coverings, blinds, drapes, and other window treatments, and even specific requests such as wall art, sculptures, and stand-alone pieces. Lighting packages are also a specialty of Cheryl Murphy’s design skills.  She can help clients completely change the look and feel of the room that they are remodeling by completely changing the lighting scheme throughout.

So, whether you are building and designing your home with us as a semi-custom or custom home project, or you have a smaller remodeling or renovation project, you will have the expert assistance of Cheryl Murphy with Ron Lee Homes to help you make the perfect selections for you and your project.  For More Information About Renovations and Remodeling by Ron Lee Homes, Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

Visit Ron Lee Homes' Open House This Weekend!

Ron Lee Homes is holding an open house at Bedico Creek in St. Tammany Parish this Saturday from 12pm - 2pm.  We would love for you to come out and visit our new, custom home with tons of gorgeous and exciting features!!  You will also have a chance to tour St. Tammany Parish's fastest selling new master planned development in Madisonville, Louisiana - Bedico Creek Preserve!  We hope to see you out there this weekend!

OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND!!

Bedico Creek Preserve
420 S. Fairway Drive
Madisonville, LA 70447

Click Here for Directions!

Saturday, March 14, 2015
12:00pm - 2:00pm

 

Approximately 3,600 Living Square Footage
4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths With A Gameroom

French Style Home
The Perfect Home for Entertaining Inside and Out!!!!
Exposed Beams on Front Porch
4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths
Open Floor Plan
Designated Formal Dining
Beautiful Chef Kitchen for Entertaining with Large Island
Butler’s Pantry between Kitchen and Dining
Walk in Pantry, Mudroom for all your Shoes, Coats, & Bookbags
Spacious Master Suite with Built in Library
Exquisite Master Bath, You don’t want to miss this one!!!!
Huge Outdoor Patio overlooking Large Lot
Outdoor Kitchen for Socials
3 car Garage with ample storage
Large Gameroom over Garage for Kids (or Kids at Heart)
Walking Distance to the Community Pool, Firepit, and Pond

Contact Us By Calling 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com for Your Personal Viewing of Plans and to Discuss Pricing.

 

Three Ways Homes Are “Getting Smarter”

It seems that the faster that you keep up with the latest, state-of-the-art technology, the faster technology changes.  Builders both nationally and locally in St .Tammany Parish are learning very quickly that they either have to stay abreast of their knowledge of high-techn options and accessories for the new homes that they build, or they may lose potential home buying clients.  At Ron Lee Homes, there is a constant stream of education and educational courses and seminars that are offered by the National Association of Home Builders, and both Ron Lee and Nancy Lee of Ron Lee Homes continually are attending these classes and courses in order to stay on the cutting edge of building technology.

Informational articles are also helpful to advise and inform both builders and home buyers alike about the latest trends in technology and how these trends affect the real estate market.  Below is a list of up and coming products that are being offered as high-tech accessories or necessities for new homes being built.

1. Lighting by Bluetooth: Technology has advanced so much that you can now build a network throughout your home where all of your lighting and light switches are on what is called a mesh network.  Each part of the network works off a node that “talks” to the other parts of the network, and the network can be accessed through Bluetooth and any smart device.  When using this network, you can install a new light switch by sticking a new plate to the wall by using double-sided tape if you would like.

2. Talk to Your Home: As you may or may not already know, there is technology out there that makes it so that you can control your thermostat, alarm system, lighting system, and garage door openers by using a smart device like a smart phone, tablet, or pad.  The systems are already “wired” or networked together and you can access them by using an app. The newest technology makes it so that you can use a language processor like Siri to “talk” to your home.  You simply speak the commands into your smart device, and then that device talks to the systems in your home.

3. Low Power Wifi: This is a fairly new development on the market . The idea behind this device which is a super long-lasting “battery” that has Wifi capability, is that it will “retrofit” existing features of your home which use batteries and turn them into “smart devices.”  One of the examples of this product is called the Roost.  The Roost is installed in your smoke detectors, and if smoke is detected, it sends a notification to your smart device.  This is just one of the many ways that such a device could be used to retrofit existing appliances and features of your home.

With technology moving, it seems sometimes, faster than the speed of light, it is the goal of Ron Lee Homes to stay on top of the latest trends and to be able to troubleshoot solutions to make the technology in the new custom home that you build with us user friendly for you and your family.  Contact Us Today to discuss your technology needs.  Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Involvement in the New Home Market is Beneficial

According to all of the statistics from many corners: housing research firms such as Zelman Associates, investors in the stock market, the National Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), involvement in the new home market is beneficial on many different levels.  Investors are significantly pleased with the robust returns of national publicly held home builders such as Meritage Homes Corp., Toll Brothers Inc., Taylor Morrison Home Corp. and Standard Pacific Corp.  The U.S. Home Construction Index of the Dow Jones

has seen a 10.8% gain excluding dividends for its investors.  Toll Brothers Inc. celebrates a 13% increase in orders year-over-year compared to 2014 as well.

Builders are reporting the sales of new homes have gotten off to a tremendous start in January and February of 2015.  The NAHB is also in line with this assumption, so the only downward impactful news out of all of this is that the sale of existing homes is faltering.  However, for once, there is good news associated with this negative trend.  Because of the real estate market recovery after the Recession, the inventory of homes that are on the market to be sold that can immediately be bought is 4.7 months.  This means that it would take only 4.7 months to buy every home that is currently for sale in the United States.  During the Recession, the inventory of homes reached almost 2 years, so this low amount of inventory is an indicator that the housing recovery has truly taken a positive turn.  However, during a healthy housing market, the inventory normally stands around 6 months.  So, existing home sales have slowed to their slowest pace in 9 months because of this and other factors.

Last year, both builders and Realtors alike suffered through the numerous and overwhelming polar fronts that came sweeping down from not just Canada but the Arctic itself.  These weather patterns last year literally had the housing market at a standstill during the 1st quarter of 2014.  While not as bad this year, the weather has affected people’s home shopping habits and kept them indoors.  Also, January and February are not normally booming months for real estate sales, so it’s definitely not time to panic and start liquidating all of the assets just yet!

While the two factors above may be slowing down existing home sales, overall, home sales are set to increase during the spring which is typically the “busy season” for real estate because of three factors: the economy (GDP), job growth, and interest rates.  The GDP has been increasing each quarter for the past 1.5 years.  However slight, these increases seem to be “piling up” so that even some economists are surprised by the growth each quarter of the GDP.  Unemployment has been dropping for many months in a row and showing a consistent increase in available jobs each quarter as well.  The job market is getting so robust that people that had been on long term unemployment are once again entering the job market.  Finally interest rates for mortgages are still unbeatable at lower than 4%.  They do climb over 4% every couple of weeks, but even at those rates, they are still lower than an average interest rate in a “normal market” of 5.5% to 7%.

Investors, builders, researchers, and economists are sure to have their eye on the real estate market for both new homes and existing homes moving into the spring quarter (and hopefully the busiest quarter), so they will be able to predict if this sales phenomena is merely a lull or an actual trend.  In the mean time, new homes are for sale throughout the United States, and at the moment, buyers are interested in purchasing them.

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Building a St. Tammany Parish Parade of Homes House

Ron Lee Homes is currently in the process of building a St. Tammany Parish Parade of Homes house located on Lot 297 in TerraBella Village in Covington, Louisiana.  Each year, builders in St. Tammany Parish have the opportunity to showcase their custom home expertise and innovation by building a unique and exceptional home for sale for the St. Tammany Parish Home Builders Association’s (now called the Northshore Home Builders Association) Parade of Homes.  Residents and visitors of St. Tammany Parish and the Southshore come out in droves over 2 full weekends of touring new homes, custom homes, and homes for sale.  This is when home buyers get an idea of the type of home amenities, both interior and exterior alike, that they would like to use in the homes that they build or the homes that they buy in St. Tammany Parish.

2015 St. Tammany Parish Parade of Homes Information for Ron Lee Homes

Terra Bella Village Lot 297 924 Chretian Pointe Avenue Covington, LA 70433

Buying a custom home is a lot of fun because at every step along the way, you get to make choices about the materials – countertops, cabinetry, flooring, paint colors, millwork, appliances, and fixtures – that you want to see carefully crafted into your new, custom home.  Our goal at Ron Lee Homes is to set your imagination free!  The sky’s the limit when you hire Ron Lee Homes to design your floorplan and assist you with making custom amenity  selections.  We want to dream with you and help your vision come to life and build you the type of home where you and your family will spend many happy hours.

During the St. Tammany Parish HBA’s Parade of Homes, we build a new, custom home that includes a myriad of tasteful and exceptional selections of custom interior and exterior amenities that we want to showcase to potential home buyers.  Our floorplan designs come from over 24 years experience of building new homes on the Northshore.  We have had feedback from hundreds of our customers as to the style and type of floorplan that they like and what is efficient and workable for almost every type of household.  You won’t want to miss this year’s Parade of Homes house in Terra Bella Village. 

This French Country Style floorplan design has two-story front porches that overlook Terra Bella Lake.  The home is a 3 Bedroom (with either a 4th bedroom or Gameroom), 3 Bathroom floorplan with approximately 3,550 living square feet and 5,431 total square footage.  Most of our floorplan features are a secret until the big unveiling on the Parade of Homes Weekends, but in addition to a spectacular design, must-see master suite, and alley access, 2-car garage, this home also features outdoor living areas for entertaining and cooking.  You won’t want to miss the preview of this new home for sale by Ron Lee Homes in Covington, LA!  For More Information, Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

Remodeling Outlook Is Favorable for 2015

The remodeling outlook is favorable for 2015 both locally and nationally according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  As there are many types of memberships for a traditional home builders association, there are many facets of the national real estate market that the NAHB keeps tabs on with remodeling and renovations being one of them.  The remodeling business tends to

trend upwards and downwards with the new home and existing homes market.  Whether homeowners are getting their house ready to put on the market and sell, or they are building an addition onto their existing home in order to make more room because they feel the real estate market may not be stable enough to move makes a difference as to how much business a person in the renovation business can get.
According to the press conference hosted by the NAHB Remodelers at the International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, the remodeling business forecast projects a 3% growth year-over-year compared to 2014, and another 1.5% growth is expected for 2016.  The panel of remodelers who attended the press conference commented that it was changing homeowner demographics and financial security that have loosened up the market to allow more people to have renovations done to their homes.
“Remodelers are responding to calls from home owners on steadier financial footing than recent years,” said 2015 NAHB Remodelers Chairman Robert Criner, GMR, GMB, CAPS, CGP, a remodeler from Newport News, Va. “From major kitchen remodels and bath facelifts to room additions, the members of NAHB Remodelers look forward to providing professional remodeling services in 2015.”
According to the NAHB, the RMI (Remodeling Market Index) which surveys the confidence of remodelers in 4 categories – calls for bids, amount of work committed for the next three months, backlog of jobs and appointments for proposals – resulted in a score of 60 (any score above 50 means that confidence is high).  In all 4 categories, the RMI saw an increase, and the score of 60 was a record high for this survey.  Many economists, remodelers, contractors, and builders alike are cautiously optimistic that the real estate market has taken an upward turn that should not reverse itself.  Ron Lee Homes in St. Tammany Parish Louisiana now offers complete remodeling services for the St. Tammany Parish area.  For More Information about remodeling your home, Contact Ron Lee Homes today at 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

Click Here and Here for the Sources of the Information.