Gareth Beale

New Orleans Saints more of a litmus test than you may think

"It's Just a Football Game, is it really going to change your life", That's what was being said to me as I kneeled on my hands and knees hoping that the football Gods would somehow speed up the fabric of time and end the Super Bowl with the Saints leading. It got me thinking this morning, would the New Super Bowl Champs change my life? Well maybe it would change my life in a 6 degrees of separation kind of way. Stick with me because this could get messy.

I am sure everyone noticed the roadside Saints merchandise tents popping up all over town. Well there is a reason that they are there, people are spending money. I myself spent $112.00 on new hats for the kids, a more feminine jersey for my wife, the NFC championship hat (the Super Bowl hat is notoriously ugly, and once again they didn't disappoint) and some sort of car flag that lets everyone know I am a card carrying member of the "Who Dat Nation", and please don't steal my car. All this before the Saints even won "The Game". Who knows what I will be purchasing now, Reggie Bush Bobble Head, Lock of Drew Brees' hair in a super dome locket, Colts toilet Paper?

So if I'm typical of the middle class, mid thirties, balding, chubby (in a good kind of way) family man, and I'd like to think that I am, then we all went out spent some money on frivolous Black and Gold Stuff. Why is this out of the norm? Well for the last 8 months to a year I, like my chubby brethren have been hording our dimes and nickels like the Monopoly Banker holds on to blue 50's. I'm talking meatloaf instead of New York Strip, hitting the 89 button instead of 93 button at Shell, the whole nine yards. Heck I re-gifted kids Christmas presents. Not that I made any less money, but I watch Television and by the looks of things I thought by now we would be half-way to Mad Max Beyond Thunder Dome type living (if you haven't seen it, you should). Now before you do something crazy like eating your one year emergency food supply, I am no expert on world economy. But it felt good, putting the brand new Saints cap on my son's head, and I went one step further this week and booked a weekend to take my wife to a Mardi Gras Ball. The Saints Winning the Super Bowl, makes us feel good. Maybe good enough and for long enough, that some people who have been too petrified to buy a house, actually pull the trigger and purchase that house that they are qualified to buy. Even if it was previously owned by Tina Turner's hair dresser (Ubiquitous Mad Max reference).

I don't really care what tax credits, or incentives the federal government gives. If purchasing a home doesn't FEEL right, people aren't going to do it. And lets be honest things haven't FELT right for a while around Southern Louisiana. Maybe all that talk about Normalcy that politicians and pundits were talking about isn't what we needed at all. Maybe what we all needed is a good ‘ol shot of feel good Saints the whole time. I can give no guarantees that the real estate business will go into hyper drive, or even that in 6 months we all won't be eating dog food out of unmarked cans, driving cars with chicken wire across the windshield, and running from Mohawk clad renegades (really go rent the movie). But driving around town today, no one was complaining about the New HUD-1, or the Chaotic nature of the new Good Faith Estimate, everyone was just happy to be living in area blessed to be part of the "Who Dat Nation".

Oh and getting back to the original question, how will this all change my life...well I DO work on commission. "BLESS YOU BOYS"

The closings over, you have the keys, and your ready to move in. Buying a new home is an exciting time, and busy time. It is very easy to over-look some basic things that need to be done as soon as you get into your new home.

Call the utility companies. Gas, electric, cable, telephone, garbage service, and any other providers for your home must be called to ensure service is in your name. You can also double check what day your garbage will be picked up and when your bills will be due.

Local Parish Tax office. Don't forget to apply for a homestead exemption. Visit your local Assessor's office and bring your settlement statement given to you at your closing.

Your New Address. Don't forget to inform creditors and magazine subscriptions of your new address. In most areas, you can now change your address online through the Post Office.

What's Your Number? Make sure your street number is identified and easily visible from the road. Reflecting house numbers on your mailbox work well.

Find your Main Circuit Breaker. Take time to locate the main breaker box for your home and label each breaker correctly.

Fire Extinguishers. Be sure to have at least one basic "all -purpose" fire extinguisher on each floor in your home and one for the kitchen. It is much better to be safe than sorry!

Emergency Exits. Get the family together and plan your evacuation routes in case of an emergency such as a fire.

Emergency Kit. Make sure emergency phone numbers are all posted in one place where everyone can find them quickly in case they are needed. Also put together a first aid kit and make sure everyone knows where it is.

Smoke Detectors. Make sure there are adequate smoke detectors in your home and all work properly. Change batteries every six months.

Locate the main water shut-offand make sure all household members know where it is located. It is also a good idea to purchase a water cut-off wrench in case it is necessary to turn off your water supply from the meter. (When you need this, it tends to be an emergency, with yelling and screaming...I know from experience)

I know that likely much much more, but once you have these things done, relax a little, and enjoy your new home.

New Subdivision in Prairieville

Shadows of Ascension, Phase 1 of 5 now open. Come and join the fun September 7.

All Homes are going to open to the public, come meet the developers, and the builders. Free food, door prizes, local marching bands, New Country 100.7 Broardcasting live and more.

Click Flyer for more info

Just a few weeks ago I attended a Sales Meeting for RE/MAX First agency. There was talk about how to handle the negative media outlook of the market. Linda Fredericks, President of The Greater Baton Rouge Board of REALTORS had attended a program on how to show that the real estate market is local and that it is actually a time to buy a home. We talked after the meeting and came up with a plan.

It was a simple one, use the marketing reps of local title companies to distribute the message that the board wanted to get to Realtors. Where as the board may see their members on a monthly basis, the Title company marketing reps hunt down Realtors daily. Rather than try and recite a 3 hour program it was cut down to Ten points.

1. Home values are NOT falling like bricks in the Baton Rouge market (the median price is actually higher now than a year ago)
   
2. Louisiana is ranked 43rd in Foreclosures (finally Louisiana is at the bottom of the list for a good reason)
3. As of this conversation the the market had a 6 month inventory (not 12+ month like projected)
4. The amount of commercial growth in the area
   
5. Coca - Cola has a new 800,000 sq ft facility opening 20 min North of Baton Rouge
6. In the last year we have had a Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop open up in the area
7. Area Chambers of Commerce have all had large growth in the last year
8. Dr. Lauren Scott recently projected nearly 15,000 new jobs in the Baton Rouge area over the next two years
9. Albemarle is moving their headquarters to Baton Rouge
10. Health Expansions, all of the area Hospitals are in some sort of growth

A meeting was set and the big question was would Title companies come together to put the word out to Industry vendors and Realtors. While Title companies are cordial and may even co-sponsor events, it is rare that we "Join" forces in such a manner to not only share information, but distribute each other's information. But there is a common goal here. If we consider the media's constant barrage of negative spin as the enemy, than any enemy of my enemy is an friend.

The outcome of the meeting is that there are a dozen title companies as well as Mortgage companies and Inspection companies teaming up to research positive points of the market (it is easy it is called the truth) and distribute to REALTORS and Joe public. We can either work together as an industry or sit back and wait for MSNBC to say, "Okay everyone, NOW is a good time to Buy a house in Baton Rouge".

I don't see that happening