West Bank Real Estate FAQs: What Information Do I Need Before I List My Home?

Once you have made the decision to list your West Bank home for sale, there are a few things that you will need to have available to make the process a little smoother.  While this list might not cover everything, it’s a good starting place. 

As you gather all of this information together, I recommend making a file folder to keep it all in.  Of course, don’t forget where you put the folder.

Documents Needed

Floor plan (if available)  Buyers love to have a floor plan for their new house, especially if they plan to make changes OR if additions have been made to the home over the years

Flood insurance policy  There are 2 reasons for this:  (1) it contains your flood zone, which is needed to complete the disclosure and (2) many of the flood zones have changed over the years.  If you have a flood policy that allows you to be "grandfathered" in under an old zone, buyers may want to assume that policy.

Most recent appraisal  If it’s more than 90 days old, the value may have changed, but the measurements have not.  Being able to say that an appraiser measured the square footage of your home (instead of an agent) lends more credibility to the number.

Survey  The wonderful thing about surveys is that they are rarely outdated.  Unless you have given away or sold a portion of your land, the boundaries of your lot are the same now as they were when you purchased your home.  A survey is especially important to buyers if you don’t have a fence around your yard, since one will be needed if they plan to install anything around the property lines.

Flood elevation certificate (if available)  Many lenders are now requiring flood elevation certificates during the loan approval process.  If you can provide an existing certificate for the buyers, this is one less thing that could possibly delay a closing.

Home Owner’s Association Covenants and Restrictions  Residents of gated communities or those that have deed restrictions should provide copies of any and all information related to the Home Owner’s Association.  Rules, regulations, covenants, restrictions and contact information for association board members can all be requested by the potential buyers, so it’s better to have this package prepared ahead of time.

Information Needed

The Louisiana Property Disclosure form has page after page of questions for you to answer about the history of your home.  To save yourself some time, gather the following information before you meet with your West Bank REALTOR:

• Names of all people who are on the title of the house  Not only are the names of all of the owners needed, but their signatures are needed as well on all of the listing documents.  Don’t schedule a time with your agent when everyone who needs to sign is not available!
• Age and type of air conditioning/heating systems
• Age of hot water heater
• Dates of any damage to the home and details on how/if it was repaired
• Termite contract details  Who is the contract with?  When does it expire?
• Home warranty information (if applicable)
• A list of any improvements done to your home  The very things that you love the most about your home are probably the things that will attract a buyers interest as well.  You can help your agent craft the perfect description of your home by sharing all of the recent changes and improvements made to it!

Still have questions about listing your West Bank home for sale?  Give me a call or drop me an email and I’ll be happy to discuss your personal situation with you privately.

Copyright 2008.  Lisa Heindel and West Bank Living.  All rights reserved.

Is Your House Invisible to Buyers?

I know…I’ve gone on and on about the statistics.  Over 85% of today’s buyers are looking on the internet for their new home.  Listings with multiple photos and virtual tours get more views and more attention from buyers than those without.  Kind of common sense, huh?

Well, if I know this, and you know this, then please tell me why there are agents who still don’t get it.  I’d really like to understand. 

I was going through the MLS this morning, looking for the perfect new listings to send to my buyers.  Here’s the info on the 40 that I viewed this morning:

• 4 had only 1 picture (the MLS allows us to upload 8 photos)
• 19 had NO pictures and
• Zero - that’s right - not a single one of them had a virtual tour

Despite the glowing descriptions, carefully crafted by the listing agents, it all comes down to one question.  Is this how you attract a buyer to your property?

Interested in buying a West Bank home or selling your West Bank home?  Contact Lisa Heindel.  It would be my pleasure to assist you with all of your real estate needs.

Copyright 2008.  Lisa Heindel and West Bank Living.  All rights reserved.

New Orleans West Bank Home Sales by Neighborhood

Almost without fail, after the monthly West Bank real estate market reports come out someone contacts me about their particular neighborhood.  I’d love to be able to do monthly reports on every subdivision, but the West Bank is pretty big and I do need a little time sell a house or two now and then. 

The chart below shows the October 2008 home sales for a few of the most popular communities.  If you don’t see yours here, drop me an email and I’ll be happy to add it.

Subdivision	# Active Listings	# Pending Sales	# Homes Sold	Average Listing Price	Average Sold Price
Tall Timbers	17	3	0	$246,408	N/A
Bocage	17	1	1	$178,500	$195,500
Park Timbers	9	2	0	$264,355	N/A
Walnut Bend	11	3	2	$183,881	$126,000
Barkley Estates	10	2	1	$424,960	$290,000
Plantation Estates	4	2	1	$347,500	$284,000
Bent Tree	7	3	4	$215,000	$160,500
Springwood	8	1	0	$510,725	N/A
Village Green	5	0	1	$238,380	$190,000
Stonebridge	36	3	6	$319,750	$395,000
Timberlane	17	3	1	$359,000	$220,000
Magnolia Trace	4	0	0	$372,500	N/A
The Residence	3	0	0	$471,900	N/A

All information provided by GSREIN and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.  The number of active listings and pending sales are as of 11/17/2008.  Sold data is for the month of October, 2008.

The most interesting thing to me is the wide gap in most neighborhoods between the average listing price and the average sold price.  If you are a seller wondering why your West Bank home hasn’t sold, here’s your sign.

Copyright 2008.  Lisa Heindel and West Bank Living.  All rights reserved.

Don’t Talk to the REALTOR!

There is a perception of many REALTORS as middle aged women or men with too much/not enough hair, too much make up, too much perfume, too much gaudy jewelry, too big of a car….everything in excess and then on top of all of that - they are PUSHY, PUSHY, PUSHY!

Don’t talk to the REALTOR…if you give them a phone number, they will call you every day and hound you about buying or selling a house.

Don’t talk to the REALTOR…if you give them your email address, they will send you more spam than those male enhancement companies about buying or selling a house.

Don’t talk to the REALTOR…they are desperate now that the market has changed and will tell you anything to get you to buy or sell a house.

You get the picture…

 

I, for one, am tired of the old REALTOR cliches, as true as they may be for some in the industry.

I’m looking forward to the day when I can hear:

Talk to my REALTOR…she communicates with me in the way that I want and keeps me up to date with useful information about the market in my area

Talk to my REALTOR…he sends me the newest listings and lets me decide what I like

Talk to my REALTOR…she knows what’s going on in today’s market and the neighborhoods

Talk to my REALTOR…he has contacts for everything - mortgages, inspectors, title companies

Talk to my REALTOR…she made buying/selling easy and fun

Am I dreaming too big?

Saturday on the West Bank: Farmer’s Markets

What a gorgeous Saturday!  Sun shining, a sky so clear it almost hurts to look at it, and the fall breeze is finally blowing.  What a perfect day to be outside on the West Bank.  After showing a couple of houses this morning, I spent some time wandering around the farmer’s markets, picking up a couple of things here and there and taking pictures.  How was your Saturday?

First stop, Gretna Farmer’s Market

Besides all of the salsas and sauces and fresh produce, there were some wonderful homemade breads.  After much deliberation, I chose the tomato, olive and goat cheese pizza bread- YUMMY!! 

While strolling through the market, I saw that a gentlemen was selling muscadine wine, so I stopped and asked him about muscadine jelly.  It’s one of my favorites…my grandmother used to make it for us all of the time, but I rarely find it anywhere.  He didn’t have any, but he kindly suggested that I try some of the other local farmer’s markets - it’s out there, I just need to find the right person.  OK, I know just where to go.

Back in the car and off to the Westwego Farmers and Fisheries Market.

There were pony rides for the kids (and some adults too!), a band playing on the stage, local art on display, and lots of fresh produce.  After grabbing my bag of satsumas, I continued to explore.  Finally, JACKPOT! 

 

A table full of jams, sauces, pickled green beans and (YAY!) muscadine jelly.  Nichole Rodrigue, of Jovial Jellies Pickles & Preserves had a great selection of reasonably priced items and will even create made to order gift baskets all year round.  I can’t wait for breakfast tomorrow - anyone want to join me for coffee and a hot, buttered biscuit with muscadine jelly?

Please support your West Bank businesses!

• The Gretna Farmer’s Market is located on Huey P. Long Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets and is open every Saturday from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, rain or shine.
• The Westwego Farmers & Fisheries Market is located on Louisiana Avenue in Salaville and is open every Wednesday and Saturday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, rain or shine.
• Jovial Jellies Pickles & Preserves - visit them at the Westwego market.  You can order gift baskets by calling (504) 352-5115 or emailing Nichole Rodrigue at  nlrivere@cox.net.

If you are considering buying or selling a home on the West Bank of New Orleans, please contact Lisa Heindel.  It would be my pleasure to assist you with all of your real estate needs.

Copyright 2008.  Lisa Heindel and West Bank Living.  All rights reserved.

Next Page »