Sandy Ogburn Sandlin - Fine Baton Rouge area homes

People who find themselves unemployed and behind on the mortgage, may find help coming from an unusual source, their mortgage company. Even though CitiMortgage is facing tough times as its stock plunges to almost $1 a share, they have not forgotten they are the not the only ones facing hard economic times. The company has announced recently it has plans to help homeowners who are behind on their mortgage.

CitiMortgage announced on March 3^rd, that they will be reducing the payments of homeowners who have lost their jobs and are behind on their payments. Borrowers who find themselves 60 days or more behind on their payments, or those who are in foreclosure may be able to reduce their mortgage payment to $500 per month for three months. You cannot participate if you are eligible for a long-term loan-modification using criteria developed by the FDIC and adopted by Citi. The new Homeowner Unemployment Assist initiative is available only for first mortgage loans on a principal residence. Your mortgage must have conformed to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's limits at the time of origination.

This is good news for many homeowners. Thousands of homeowners may be eligible for this relief initiative. If they are still unemployed after the three months, CitiMortgage has stated they will continue to work with homeowners on an individual basis. It is really wonderful to see a mortgage company step up in the midst of its own financial hardship and help the American Homeowner. This is especially good news for homeowners who may have feared foreclosure as the moratorium that was in place with CitiMortgage will lift on March 12.

Once again this shows that in the long run, purchasing a home is a good investment that will not be lost in times of trouble. Sandy's Team can help you buy an affordable home in Baton Rouge or anywhere in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, and East Baton Rouge Parish.

You grab your morning cup of coffee and the paper and sit down for a few moments of quiet reading. Then it happens. In the blink of an eye, your quiet day is gone. You cannot believe your eyes!! The object of all your desires is on sale. Your blood begins to pump as you grab blindly for your car keys and wallet, when for the second time that day, something catches your eye. Can it be true? The desired object is on sale at TWO different stores! Have all the stars aligned? Should I stop and buy a lottery ticket? You head out the door to the store with the lowest price.

Many people will drive through a snow storm with 6 foot drifts to save money. Admit it. You know you are one of those savvy shoppers. We all like to get the most for our money. This is even more true when it comes to the buying a home.

One of the single most important things to consider when putting your home on the market is the price. Why? Well, let's look at Kathy and Bill. Kathy is finally ready to take the plunge and buy her first home. What determines which houses she will look at? Price. She will talk to her real estate agent and ask for listing information on houses up to $155,000 to $169,000. Kathy just defined her "Zone." Enter Bill. Bill just put his house on the market for $170,000. It seems like a good solid price and really comparable to the listings in his area. Meanwhile, Kathy is still searching for her new home. And never the two shall meet. Someone who priced his house at $70,000 might come down to the top of her price range, but she is not looking at anything that starts with $17_.

Now let's change the scenario. Bill lists his house at $169,500, a bit lower than other houses in the neighborhood.. It is not a significant difference for either a buyer or a seller when it comes to cost, but when it comes to perception it means everything. Bill's house is included in the listings Kathy's agent gives her. It is at the high end of her range but she decides there is just something about that house. She makes an offer within 24 hours of the showing. A few negotiations and a contract later, Bill and Kathy are both very happy as they leave the closing. Kathy has her dream home and Bill sold his home.

What changes the scenario may seem like so little from the eyes of a seller, logically they may say the buyer can always make an offer. The problem is the one person who may love your home may never see it if the price is not right. Knowing that the Price Must Be Right, where do you start? Your real estate professional can help you by doing a cumulative market analysis. They can help you find that magic number that will make buyers want to grab their car keys and head to your first open house!! Hey, they may even stop for that cup of coffee on the way!!!

We have good coffee and lots of great homes in Praireville, LA. Check out what Sandy and her team have to offer in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, and East Baton Rouge Parish on the web

Recent figures released by Realty Trac, a national firm which monitors housing statistics, indicated that foreclosures in Louisiana in January of 2009 were far below the national average. Only one home out of every 3,833 had filed for foreclosure, as compared to one out of 466 nationally. Louisiana ranks 42^nd among the states and the Distinct of Columbia. On a list of foreclosure increases for the nation's 100 largest housing markets, Baton Rouge was ranked 99^th, right above Syracuse, New York.

The lower rate might be due to a more favorable ratio of buyers' home prices to income that was held to in Louisiana. Throughout the 1990's, buyers nationwide bought homes that were 3.25 times their annual incomes, but after 2002, the figure soared to 4.70 times income. Though the ratio peaked at 4.25 in Baton Rouge itself in 2006, much of the rest of the local market stuck to the more traditional ratio.

Though some subprime loans made in Louisiana may be at risk for foreclosure, Mike Anderson, president of the Louisiana Mortgage Lenders Association in Baton Rouge, noted that a preference for more traditional 30 year mortgages may have reduced the risk for many borrowers in the past. Less optimistic students of the local market, such as Bonnie Boyter of Coldwell Banker, claim that subprime-driven foreclosures may hit the area by the end of the year. These predictions were made prior to the President's announcement of his housing bill to prevent foreclosures, so actual foreclosure activity might be greatly reduced through loan modification and other measures.

Fewer foreclosures mean that area home shoppers may have fewer bargains in the mix of available homes, but there are still plenty of great affordable homes in Ascension, East Baton Rouge, or Livingston Parish and Sandy's Team can help you find them.

Touched by hurricanes and recent economic trends, the Louisiana housing market is a bit different than elsewhere in the U.S. After hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, request for building permits soared to 6,500 in 2006 as there was great demand in East Baton Rouge Parish for new homes. The demand for new homes fell off as many potential homebuyers returned home. As the poor economy was reflected in housing, new housing permits in 2008 fell to only 2,500. In Baton Rouge itself, the drop off was from 1,199 in 2007 to 722 in 2007. More hurricane activity in 2008 from Gustav and Ike sent people running to Home Depot and home improvement companies as victims sought to repair their homes, not build new ones.

Builders of new homes are cautiously optimistic that 2009 will be a good year and 2010 a great one for housing, especially for new housing starts. The Baton Rouge housing market has been rocked with fewer foreclosures than elsewhere. Apartment dwellers and housing renters are people ready to buy, not displaced former homeowners who are out of the running for homeownership due to recent foreclosure. Local housing experts are hopeful that the recently-passed $8,000 new buyer tax credit will motivate swarms of buyers to seek newly constructed homes.

Billy Ward, of Baton Rouge area Champion Builders, looked optimistically at a recent survey of renters. At any given time 10-15% or renters are in the market for homes; this time, 60% responded positively to homebuilder association questionnaires about their buying intentions. Many of these current renters seek homes in the $150,000 - $200,000 range, an area where there is a shortage of affordable housing.

Builders are trying to be responsive to the market demands for lower cost housing. There is currently an oversupply of homes in the $300,000 -500,000 price range in Ascension, Livingston, and south East Baton Rouge Parishes, so much of what is going up will be a good economic match for new homeowners. Building supplies and labor costs have actually declined by 20% since 2007, which facilitates profitable construction of more affordable homes.

A good realtor can help you find what's available. If you're ready to settle in a new Ascension, East Baton Rouge, or Livingston Parish home, contact Sandy's Team today to see your beautiful homes in your price range.

Buying a home is a lot like marriage -it is a long term relationship. With buyers suffering from a fear of commitment and many homes on the market, how do you make yours the Belle of the Ball? Here are a few hints to help your home catch the eye of potential buyers.

It's time to look at your home with new eyes. Take a real long look at your home, inside and out. Do you see a yard only a mother could love? Well, it is time to do something about that. Try to see the house as if you were the potential buyer. Is the landscaping neat and tidy? Are the gutters sagging a bit with age? How is that paint job looking from the street? Make sure that first impression makes the buyer like what they see. If you were the buyer what would you think after that first glance?

It's time to get to work. Kick clutter to the curb! Remember potential buyers are interested in what can be, not what has been, so put away personal items. They have no sentimental value to your buyers and can make it hard for them to imagine this as their home. Remember the basics...Clean! Clean! Clean!! Scrub the house from top to bottom and from bedroom to garage. When you think you have cleaned it all, clean it one more time. Make all those repairs you have been meaning to get to, from paint touch ups to fixing that gutter! Make sure everything is tip top! When you think you're done, take one more look around with a critical eye. If the house looks so good you have to remind yourself why you wanted to sell your home, then you are ready!!!

Just remember, it is the small things that can ruin a potential relationship. Keep your home ready to show; you never know if you will have 15 minutes or an hour notice before that special someone walks through your door. If you take time to prepare, it will not be long before you hear those magical words come out of a potential buyer's mouth: "I think I'm in love!!!"

Want to fall in love? Sandy's Team wants to be your matchmaker for your new Ascension, East Baton Rouge, or Livingston Parish home.