Prairieville, LA

Sandy Ogburn-Sandlin with RE/MAX Excellent Properties was recognized among the "Top 100" agents in the country in the Wall Street Journal published June 10th.

The article states top performing sales professionals ignore market turndown & turn in record year. The Wall Street Journal announced the 2009 rankings of the top real estate professionals in the country based on calendar 2008 results.

The Wall Street Journal list is based on a survey of over 7000 brokerage firms, association of Realtors, and hundreds of other sources to determine the top real estate professionals in the United States. The definition of what constitutes an individual sales professional and a team has been developed from the input from dozens of industry professionals, states the Journal.

Sandlin has been listed as #1 in the state by RE/MAX Dixie region for the past 15 years.

"When the market gets a little difficult we always seem to do more business," said Sandlin. "Our buyers and sellers realize in times like these they really need a Realtor® with a lot of experience and knowledge to help them make the right decisions" said Sandlin.

"My team understands the importance of market research and we always advise our clients based on supply and demand," said Sandlin.

RE/MAX Excellent properties is located at 16581 Airline Highway in Prairieville.

Wondering how much home you can afford? Sandy's Team will help you work up the numbers and help you find an affordable home in Prairieville, Baton Rouge, or anywhere else in the tri-parish area of Ascension, East Baton rouge, or Livingston. Visit our Sandyco.com website today.

If you're thinking of buying a new Prairieville home this year, you may already be familiar with the $8,000 first time homebuyer's tax credit. That's a great incentive! It can now even be used toward the downpayment or closing costs, but if you wait to get with your tax return, it could pay for most of your new deck or buy a lot of drapes and appliances.

Even before the current tax credit came into being, there are many tax advantages to owning a home. Some might help you now and some later, but since buying a home is a long term investment over time, most of these credits will interest you.

Yearly mortgage interest deduction: You can deduct up to one million dollars in interest on you primary residence or second home. These deductions are familiar to most people. Recent discussions about reducing or eliminating this mortgage credit met with public outcry, so you are safe in assuming that mortgage interest will offset your mortgage in the future.

Property tax deduction: All property taxes are deductible as well.

Points: If you bought a new home or refinanced an old one, your origination fees or points are deductable in the year you paid them. Closing costs are not deductible but hold on to your records - you may be able to deduct them when you sell.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI): If you need PMI because your down payment is less than 20%, you can deduct the cost of premiums if your income was less than $100,000 and your loan originated between December 31, 2006 and January 1, 2011.

Moving expenses: If you relocated for a full time job 50 miles or more away, the cost of packing, transporting, and storing your furniture is deductable.

Energy credits: If you replace door or windows, add insulation, or add alternative energy sources, you can qualify for a credit. Make sure to follow government directives so you purchase the right thing and keep your receipts.

Damage claims: If your home was damaged from a sudden unexpected event such as a natural disaster, fire, vandalism, or theft, you can deduct whatever your home insurance did not pay, less a $100 deductible and 10% of your gross income. Hopefully you won't need this credit, but knowing how hurricanes love to visit Louisiana, this could come in handy.

Capital gains: When you sell your home, you may have to pay capital gains tax - but not unless your profits exceeded $500,000 for married couples or $250,000 for single owners.

Improvements and closing costs: You can't deduct the cost of home improvements for your personal residence. When you sell, the cost of any permanent improvements as well as closing costs can be deducted to offset any potential capital gains liability.

Short sale debt: You can exclude debt up to $2 million if the lender forgave the debt in 2007, 2008, or 2009 after the short sale of your home.

Buying a home is not just a dollars and cents thing for most buyers. The various tax credits and incentives, however, make your purchase even more attractive.

Want to know more about the home buying process? an in-depth look at what to consider when buying a home, don't forget our Free Seminar for Baton Rouge Area Homebuyers on June 23 at 6:00 pm. Lending representatives will be on hand to address credit and mortgage issues. To register or for more information, please email info@sandyco.com or call (225) 292-7609.

Wondering how much home you can afford? Sandy's Team will help you work up the numbers and help you find an affordable home in Prairieville, Baton Rouge, or anywhere else in the tri-parish area of Ascension, East Baton rouge, or Livingston. Visit our Sandyco.com website today.

After the problems of the last few years, new home buyers are encouraged to buy "affordable homes," a very attainable goal in the Ascension - East Baton Rouge area. Five years ago, lenders encouraged home buyers to stretch the definition of what was affordable to a figure far in excess of the traditional formula: buy a home valued at three times your annual household income. The emphasis was put on the monthly payment, which is one reason why people who should have bought $200,000 homes were buying $400,000 home because some crazy mortgage packages made their payment "affordable" until the interest rate adjusted or some other term of the loan kicked in. Fortunately, lending in the Baton Rouge-Prairieville area was more conservative, which is why the foreclosure rate in the area is much lower than elsewhere.

Now, many lenders are going back to basics. With housing prices coming down to earth, due to market adjustment, foreclosures, and in some areas, a big supply of bank-owned homes on the market, price will not impair a buyer from getting a home. This is especially true in the Prairieville area. The median listing price of a three bedroom home in Prairieville, according recent statistics is $256,900 ($250,000 Ascension Parish total) and $179,500 for Baton Rouge ($179,500 for East Baton Rouge Parish total.) The median income there, according to Realty Times data, is $56,600 for all buyers and $45,280 for first time buyers. With a 20% downpayment, buyers at the median income can easily afford a $257,000 home. First time buyers who typically have 80% less income and who often put down the minimum 3.5% with FHA, could afford a $141,000 home.

Aside from the cost of the home, lenders look at housing debt to income and total debt to income ratios. The goal is to keep monthly housing costs (mortgage, home insurance, taxes, mortgage insurance) under 30% of income and total debts (housing, car, credit cards, other loans) under 36-43%. Interest rates, which vary by the borrower's credit rating, affect the amount of the mortgage payment.

Current interest rates help define what is affordable. Someone with a 680 credit score, a 40% debt-to-income ratio, and a household income of $50,000 would qualify to borrow $180,000 at 5% rates. At 5.5%, they could borrow only $168,000, while at 6.5%, the amount would drop to only $158,000. These days, 620 is the credit score floor where it likely a lender will grant a mortgage - but at a much higher rate on a cheaper house. For credit scores over 720, excellent financing deals are available - especially now when the government is helping keep rates low.

Wondering how much home you can afford? Sandy's Team will help you work up the numbers and help you find an affordable home in Prairieville, Baton Rouge, or anywhere else in the tri-parish area of Ascension, East Baton rouge, or Livingston. Visit our Sandyco.com website today.

First time buyers: For an in-depth look at what to consider when buying a home, don't forget our Free Seminar for Baton Rouge Area Homebuyers on June 23 at 6:00 pm. Lending representatives will be on hand to address credit and mortgage issues. To register or for more information, please email info@sandyco.com or call (225) 292-7609.

http://www.ascensionrealestateappraisers.com/ - Ascension Parish Real Estate News - $7.7 Million Lots Sale Indicates Trend Towards Smaller, More Affordable Homes To Be Built and Sold

The Baton Rouge Business Report is reporting a $7.7 Million Lots Sale In Keystone Of Galvez Subdivision, purchased by the very active Vicknair Builders. At a time when some local builders who built on the higher end of price range and still can't sell their inventory and now with Allstar Homes offering a free $15,000 with a home purchase, Vicknair Builders, who builds in the more affordable $130K to $180K market, is in a building boom in several local developments.

Here's the link and snippet:

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/2009/may/27/1000/

"Developer Kevin Nguyen sold 199 lots in his Keystone of Galvez subdivision to A and T Management. A and T, headed by Allen Tomlison, paid $7.7 million for the lots off La. 933 in a deal that happened Tuesday. Tomlinson bought 145 lots at $40,000 each and 54 lots at $35,000 per lot. They will construct houses on them for sale. Tomlinson and Vicknair builders have been buying lots in Galvez in blocks of 10 for the past year before they went ahead and bought out the rest of the developed properties in the subdivision. Nguyen kept the remaining land that has been approved for an additional 500 lots. He will install utilities and develop the lots as market conditions improve.-Tom Cook"

When spring comes, some people think about moving and start preparing their home for sale. Others think about how nice it will be to enjoy the yard and the other nice features of their homes and prepare them for summer enjoyment. May is a great time to undertake the annual maintenance that will keep the place in tip-top shape and might even uncover some more major things that need attention.

This year, homeowners can get tax credits for adding energy saving featured to their homes. As you are doing your spring maintenance, consider replacing windows or doors, adding insulation, getting a new heating or cooling system, placing your thermostat, or adding solar panels or another "green" temperature control solution while the incentives are available. Assessing the situation now will give you some time to plan.

The Obvious Things to Do

Even very good housekeepers are called to action when light floods the home in spring and draws attention to dirty windows and dusty blinds. Taking down the blinds and drapes and then washing the windows is a great project for a sunny day. You can vacuum the tops of the drapes where dust tends to collect and soak dusty blinds in the bathtub while you do your magic with a rag and a squeegee on the windows. You can use a hose to help you rinse outside windows. If your home has high cathedral ceiling windows or is multiple stories, you might think about calling in a window washing service.

As you're doing the windows, make sure to take a look at the screens. Ripped or torn screen are unsightly and don't do their job. After giving all the screens a good washing, repair or replace them before putting them back up on the window. For tips on screen repair, see our previous blog New Screens Give a Fresh Look to Your Louisiana Home.

Since spring marks the changing of the guard in your heating and cooling systems, this is good time to have your furnace and air conditioner serviced by a licensed professional. In any case, this is a good time to replace the furnace filter and vacuum all the vents and grills. Your air conditioning filter will also need changing or cleaning. Take a look at the outside unit and brush away any dirt from the evaporator pan and clean and replace the pan at the bottom of the unit. To prevent the build up of mold, mildew, and algae in air conditioning lines or drip pans, do preventive maintenance with bleach - a cup in the pipe that drains the moisture from the house into the ground and a capful or two in the pans.

Spring is a great time to wash down your home to remove winter dirt. You might even think about having it professionally power washed to remove winter dirt. If you see that your paint is peeling or dull or the siding needs help, you have time to paint (or hire a painter) or take the plunge and have siding installed. A paint job can be costly but it lasts six to eight years; maintaining the exterior of your home is important to maintaining property values. When you do want to sell your home, a pleasing exterior is crucial.

Landscaping is the other part of creating an inviting outside. After cleaning up from the winter, it's time to plan a schedule for lawn maintenance and planting. Make sure that your hoses and automatic sprinkling systems are in good condition. If you don't like to do outside work, there are plenty of lawn services around who can keep your property looking great.

Spring is a good time to rid the closets, garage, basement. and attic of unneeded clothes and other items. In our current economy, what you aren't using could be very helpful to someone else. You might plan a yard sale or take your discards to the Salvation Army or a shelter.

The payoff

Aside from the merits of having a clean home, having one that is maintained is also cost effective. You can alert yourself to things you need to take care of and be able to better budget for big projects. This year, you can assess whether to install energy efficient features with some help from the government. Finally, even if moving isn't on your agenda now, you will be able to prepare the home for sale much more quickly if you have taken care of maintenance issues as they come up.

Thing of buying or selling your Louisiana home? Sandy's Team will help you close the deal in East Baton Rouge, Livingston Parish, or Ascension Parish. We have a great stock of new and pre-owned homes available. Give us a call at (225) 677-SOLD, or check out our website, or email info@sandyco.com.