Baton Rouge Louisiana Real Estate

The Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Market, which includes East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Ascension, Iberville, the Felicians, and West Baton Rouge, has shown a steady increase in sales over the same period last year for the past couple of months.  This year alone, through February, our real estate market has 100 more homes closed than this same period last year.  This may not seem like a big increase, but if you look at the past couple of winters, each year was a little worse than the year before.  Does this mean that our market has turned around?  I think we won't know that until it has happened.  I strongly suspect we will have a very strong spring and summer, but going into the election things may get sluggish as everyone gets involved with the presidential election.  

These low interest rates are not expected to hold indefinitely.  Typically, rates will remain low the year of a presidential election then they tend to trend upward after that - depending on which party wins.  

My team noticed the sales trend the last quarter of 2011 and thought it would hold through the winter, and so far, that's what our real estate market has done.  Don't play the waiting game.  Give us a call and start shopping for  home or investment now!!

We get this question a lot.  Most buyers think they need to see everything, just in case we missed that perfect house!  My team spends many hours a week showing and previewing homes so that when you want to see something, they can help you locate the right house very quickly.  Sometimes you only need to see one house and you know that it is the one.  Sometimes, you have to look at 10 houses because you aren't clear on what you really want.  The more you can help us, the quicker we can find you the perfect home!

Now, I am a horrible buyer.  The house we are in now I had to look at 6 times before I bought it!  Can you imagine why I needed to look at it so often?  Well, it didn't meet two of my criteria.  I needed a big kitchen with a large island and I wanted two fireplaces - one in the keeping room.  My house has a small kitchen with an o.k. sized island and it only had one fireplace.  I'll never forget my husband asking me why I needed a big kitchen since I don't cook!!!  And, he pointed out, if I really had to have a 2nd fireplace, put one in!  So we bought it, I had the 2nd fireplace built plus bookcases on both sides!!!  The house was the right price, the right location, the right size, and full of wonderful amenities.   Since I was very clean on what I wanted it was pretty easy for my husband and me to compromise and get the perfect house!

When searching for the perfect house in the Greater Baton Rouge Area, let my team help you pick out the right home for your next real estate purchase!  Let us save you time and energy - just make a list of what you want in your next house and let us start shopping!

Pat Wattam receiving award from Marti Dittier

Pat Wattam was named REALTOR of the year by the Greater Baton  Rouge Association of Realtors at their annual installation and awards Ceremony!  "I am thrilled to receive this wonderful honor from my peers!" Pat said after the ceremony.    The award is given to the REALTOR who not only is good in sales but also contributes to the board by serving at the local, state, and national levels as well as giving back to the community.

My financial advisor, Wally McMakin with McMakin Financial, sent out a great email this morning with the difference between 'debt' and 'deficit'.  Here's what he had to say:

In this age of a stimulus spending and bailouts, 'debt' and 'deficit' are often used to describe the federal government's financial situation.  Many people use these words interchangeably, yet they have significantly different meanings.  

Budget deficit:  When the federal government spends more money in a fiscal year than it collects in tax revenue, it creates a budget 'deficit'.  In the rare instances when the government expenditures are less than tax revenues, the result is a budget 'surplus'.  Budget deficits have been the norm in recent decades.  For example, in the past 28 friscal years (1982 - 2010) , there were only 4 years in which the federal government ran budget surpluses.

National debt:  How can the government spend more than it collects?  By borrowing money.  The total amount owed by the federal government is called the 'national debt'.  Because the federal government guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest, many individuals, corporations, state, and local governments, foreign governments, and others are willing to lend their money.  Although Treasure Securities pay relatively low interest rates, they tend to appeal to investors seeking lower risk.  There's also quite a big of borrowing between federal agencies.  For example, Congress has long been in the habit of borrowing excess Social Security revenues.  As a result, the national debt is divided into two categories:  debt held by the public and intergovernmental holdings. As you can imagine, there's considerable debate over how long the government can keep borrowing to financing spending.  Regardless of how you feel about government spending, you might benefit from understanding the terminology.

Thanks Wally for that enlightenment!

Reading this just makes me think of all our home buyers qualifying for a home loan.  Our federal government couldn't qualify for a home with all the deficit the country has!!  I also equate deficit with debt - you spend more than you make, it's a deficit.  You create debt by owing money.  The less you owe, the more of your income you keep, the wealthier you are!!  It's something to think about as we watch the politicians jockeying for their position before tomorrow!!  Pat

There is nothing better than enjoying a concert band for the 4th of July.  We are so fortunate in Baton Rouge to have a fine community band.  The Baton Rouge Concert Band will once more play at 7:30 on the 4th of July on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol, 900 3rd Street.  The FREE concert is also a good area to view the fireworks.  Under the direction of Sheily Bell, not only will the group perform marches and patriotic music, but also music from Star Wars and Led Zepplin in Concert!  Don't miss out!  Put this on your calendar!!

I know so many people are scared when they think of owning rental property.  The reason I know?  I felt the same what 10 years ago!  When I finally took the plunge, I wondered why it took me so long to see the light!!!  To create wealth, your money has to WORK for you!!!  Owning real estate I have something that I can touch and have some control over it's performance - either by raising rents, enhancing the condition, refinacing to get lower interest rate, or pay it off to generate more income.  

Common Fears:

1.  Don't want to get calls all hours of the night with repair problems, or, don't have any repair skills and the cost to maintain will eat away all profit.  SOLUTION:  place an Old Republic Home Warranty, or other warranty such as AHS, on the property.  If the rent is high enough, have the tenant pay the deductible unless it is a major repair - such as air or heat.

2.  Finding Tenants.  SOLUTION:  We'll help you write you ad and show you how we prospect for tenants for our personal rentals

3.  Property stays vacant too long.  SOLUTION:  Price it competively and make it the prettiest property for the price.

4.  How to price.  SOLUTION:  look in the newspaper and Craig's List to see what your competitors are charging

5.  Where to find a good buy.  SOLUTION:  Let us help you find it.  We ask you questions, find out what your goal is, then help you find the right property!!

Don't be afraid!  You can create financial freedom through the ownership of rental property.  Let us help you make a plan that works for you.  

Call today for a private consultation!  225-298-6900

I received this information from my financial planner, Wally McMaking with McMakin Financial Services that I thought I would share with everyone.

Baby Boomers and Retirement

Procrastination, timing (bad), and poor financial decisions have caused many 'boomers' to face financial disaster just as they are ready to retire.  The situation is serious because 'boomers' have not saved enough for retirement but still want to retire early.  A recent business report form the Associated Press explains the reasons for concern among 'boomers".

REASONS FOR CONCERN

1.  Pension plans are a thing of the past.  In 1980, 39% of workers had a guaranteed pension payout during retirement.  Today, that number has been drastically reduced to 15%.  pension plans have been replaced by 401 (k) plans. which require the employee to save more for his retirement and do not guarantee a fixed payout during retirement.  Today, 42% of workers have 401(k)s.

2.  "Boomers" relied on their homes for part of their retirement income.  The idea was to downsize before retirement and use the profit to subsidize retirement  income.  In some parts of the country, the crash in housing prices has slashed home values by a third. Locally, however, real estate has only dipped about 11% in 2010 compared to 2009.  We are still 38th in the nation in foreclosures - and this is the one time we like being on the bottom of a list!

3.  Mortgage debt for'boomers' is another problem.  Twothirds of boomers between ages 55-64 have a median mortgage debt of nearly $100,000.

4.  Too many boomers are relying on social security to fund their retirement income - no explanation required.

5.  Health care costs in retirement eat up a higher percentage of income.

6.  The unemployment rate is near 10% and many boomers both WANT and NEED to work longer than pervious generations.

Wally told me that it is never to late for many boomers to start planning.  Here are five areas he suggested to think about and act upon NOW:

1.  Create a plan

2.  SAVE MORE NOW!

3.  Retire later.

4.  Scale back your lifestyle

5.  Delay your social Security Income.

Call Wally if you want to discuss any of these ideas.  He has done a great job for us personally.  225-926-9585

wally.mcmakin@smhgroup.com

You've closed on the house, depleted some of your savings so what do you do next?  Try these tips to build your money back up.

1.  Don't Splurge!  It's tempting to buy all kinds of new stuff for the house, but only spend what you have budgeted for it.  Make a list of what you want to do, then as you rebuild your savings, you know what you will want to purchase next!

2.  Rebuild your emergency savings!  This is more important than redecorating!  This should be your first priority.  If you dipped into your reserves to buy the house, then you need to build it back up as quickly as possible to offset any unexpected expenses.

3.  Automate your payments.  Late payments are now even more damaging than ever before.  Automating them insures that your payments are timely and that helps your credit score!

4.  Keep good records.  You'll need receipts and other documents at tax time.

5.  If you home value drops, don't forget to appeal your tax rate.  You can sign up for automated monthly updates on your general location with Market Snapshot.

Using these steps will help get your homeownership off on the right foot.

Curious on what is happening with the Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Market?  See the video below for an update and a comparison from 2008-2010.

As the media would have us believe, the value of home ownership is over because of the decline in property values in several parts of the country.  I don't know about you, but to me, home ownership is extremely valuable!  My home is mine to do with as I please - decorate as I please, update it as I see fit.  But I also consider it a very important part of my financial plan.

 However, another part of my financial plan is owning rental property!!  So, if the value of home ownership is over, then ownership of rental property must be high on everyone's list.  People need a place to live, and if they can't own a house, then they have to rent someplace - and why not rent from me......or you!!

Rental property, property owned and managed, is a great way to create financial freedom or a nice retirement income.  Call me today and I will show you how to do this.  We will help find you a home that cash flows in the Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Market, give you the forms you need to interview prospective tenants, and in general, just show you the way.  We love helping the first time investor learn the ropes.  Don't delay!  Call us today at 225-298-6900!!