Miriam Bernstein REALTOR® New Orleans Real Estate

KIVA is a program that extends loans to extrepreneurs around the world and is currently in two United States cities, New Orleans and Detroit. Micro loans as low as $25 can be contributed and anyone can lend money, you decide who you want to support, you are not contributing money to the organization but to specific individuals. Micro lenders around the world contribute. 450 individuals out of 100,000 started small businesses in the New Orleans area last year which is above the national average of 350 out of 100,000.

New Orleans is the model city for KIVA in the United States. Some points of the program.

$10,000 maximum loan

36 months loan term

15% interest/no collateral/no credit score - interest rate can be lowered with a good payment history

Borrowers need to have a viable business plan and the ability to repay the loan

Good Work Network processes the application.

The actual loans are posted on the KIVA site and are fully funded within 24 hours

Business support services available

Most banks don't make small loans and the borrowers from KIVA have been turned down by a financial institution

Loans are funding within 24 hours

KIVA New Orleans

The Times Picayune is reporting today that after the schedule was set Bruce Sprinnsteen requested to play at the Annual Jazz Fest held in New Orleans, LA. The line up this year is great and just got better. For the full line up, schedule and to buy tickets - New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Some of the other performers are:

The Beach Boys
Zac Brown Bandk
John Mayer
Herbie Hancock
Bon Iver
Neville Brothers
Al Green
Allen Toussaint
Bonnie Raitt

Jazz Fest and Bruce Springsteen Article from the Times Picayune

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

It has come to my attention that there is a HUD scam in place in many communities throughout Louisiana. A HUD home always has a white sticker in the window with the contact information for the company in charge of maintaining the lawn, and if there is any vandalism they are the individuals who make the repairs. In addition to the white sticker in the window there is a real estate brokers sign.

There are individuals who claim to be real estate agents who call and gain access to the properties. They go into the property and remove the white sticker and remove the real estate agent sign. There is also usually a sign in sheet in the house that they also remove. They remove anything that would indicate that the home is a listed property, on the MLS, home. They want it to look like they could own it.

In one instance an individual removed the legal listing broker sign and replaced it with their own sign.

These individuals then place signs on highway exits or on roadways or on poles that say:

"HOUSE FOR SALE - $55,000 555-55-5555"

They tell the individuals who call that they own the home and are trying to sell. They say they have two offers but if you bring them $2000. they will sell the house to you.

SCAM, SCAM, SCAM. HUD homes are owned by the federal government and the consequences are severe. In one case a buyer gave one of these crooks $2000. and realized he had been scammed and reported the individual to the police. He has been arrested.

This type of scam could be perpetrated on any vacant home or in fact on any home. Always insure that the individual who gains access is actually a licensee in your state. In Louisiana and I would guess in most states it is illegal to sell properties your don't own without a license.

Be careful out there.

Originally published at www.neworleanspropertylady.com/A-HUD-Home-Scam-Alert!

With 9 sporting events in two weeks New Orleans is hustling and busting. This evening is the LSU game and this town is packed, just packed. Large limos line the streets outside restaurants, streetcars packed and everyone it seems is wearing a LSU something, either a tee shirt or a hat. The excitement is in the air. All while Mardi Gras parades and balls have begun. From the New York Times:

"From Dec. 26 through Monday, the Superdome and the neighboring New Orleans Arena have hosted, or will host, nine sporting events. This includes two college football bowl games, including Monday night’s championship; three Saints games, including Saturday’s playoff contest against Detroit; and four N.B.A. matchups featuring the hometown Hornets.

This confluence of events, an athletic Mardi Gras of sorts, played out all over town. Crimson Tide fans waited for beignets at Café du Monde, while nearby a musician played jazz in a Saints sweatshirt. Lions supporters downed bottles of Abita at Bullet’s Sports Bar. Hotels turned on “no vacancy” signs and a parking garage downtown charged $100 a night.

“We’re going to see our city filled to the brim, to a magnitude beyond what we’ve ever seen, even with Super Bowls,” said Doug Thornton, senior vice president for the stadium and arena division at the arena management company SMG and the de facto director of Louisiana sports."

Read more - New Orleans is the Center of the Sports World

On Christmas morning there was a devastating fire in Stamford, CT. Five members of a family perished in a house fire, three very young children and their grandparents. Their mother and her companion were the only survivors. This story is so tragic and our hearts go out to them. This story however is a warning and it is a call to action to prevent this type of needless tragedy from happening again. In this particular case the first was started by ashes from a fire place being improperly disposed of, of a home that was being renovated and lived in without certificates of occupancy and a lack of fire detectors. The Stamford Fire Department has put together the sequence of events that is truly so sad, there was no plan of escape. We need to learn and prepare our own families so that they will know what to do if a fire breaks out.

The house in Stamford was over one hundred years old having been built in 1897. The homes in parts of the New Orleans are even older than that.

• In 1977 1 in 5 homes were equipped with fire protectors and in that year 5,865 people died from home fires. In 2010 with greater use of fire alarms the number of deaths dropped to 2,640. 96% of homes have fire detectors but only 75% have working detectors with 25% faulty or with spent batteries.
• No smoke alarms were present in 40% of the home fire deaths.
• Only 25% of homeowners have a plan in place if there is a fire

According to the National Fire Protection Association there is a 50% better chance of surviving a fire with properly placed smoke detectors.

In the event of a fire, remember that every second counts, so you and your family must always be prepared. Escape plans help you get out of your home quickly.

Twice each year, practice your home fire escape plan. Some tips to consider when preparing this plan include:

• Find two ways to get out of each room.
• If the primary way is blocked by fire or smoke, you will need a second way out. A secondary route might be a window onto a neighboring roof or a collapsible ladder for escape from upper story windows.
• Only purchase collapsible ladders evaluated by a nationally recognized laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratory (UL).
• Make sure that windows are not stuck, screens can be taken out quickly, and that security bars can be properly opened.
• Practice feeling your way out of the house in the dark or with your eyes closed.
• Windows and doors with security bars must have quick release devices to allow them to be opened immediately in an emergency. Make sure everyone in the family understands and practices how to properly operate and open locked or barred doors and windows.
• Teach children not to hide from firefighters.

When buying a home consider calling your local Fire Department and asking them to do an inspection of your home for fire safety.

Fema Website on Fire Prevention

Fire Safe Home

United State Fire Administration

United States Consumer Product Safety Commission

Originally published at http://www.neworleanspropertylady.com/fire-safety-and-your-home/