Category Archives: For All Home Owners

Top 5 Outdoor Features that Buyers Love

Favorite outdoor living features for home buyers

Have you created outdoor living spaces?  While the summers in New Orleans can make you want to disappear inside with the air conditioning, having outdoor features can add value to your home. We preach curb appeal all of the time to anyone considering updating, renovating or selling, but that appeal for buyers has grown from…

Is Pulling Listings from Online Syndicators in the Best Interests of Home Sellers?

Searching for homes for sale in New Orleans

Last week, there was a heated discussion in the real estate industry when a San Diego broker publicly announced via a YouTube video that they would no longer allow their listings to be displayed on realtor.com, Trulia or Zillow.  It’s a little long, but here’s the video in its entirety: If you can’t see the…

FREE Trees for Entergy Customers

tree and blue sky

I don’t often read the little messages on my electric bill, but I’m happy I did it this month. From now through November 26, 2011, Entergy is partnering with The Arbor Day Foundation to give away 10,000 free trees to customers. It’s quick, it’s easy and can be done right online at Entergy.com/arborday.  All you…

Don’t Confuse Maintenance for an Upgrade

Pricing a home can be a balance between a science and an art.  One of the things that plays into how a home will be priced is the number and quality of upgrades.  That’s where some home owners can get a little frustrated with their agent when they are told that some of the hard…

Who Pays the Transfer Tax on New Orleans Properties?

This question popped up in the mailbag this week and it’s an easy one to answer. The home seller pays the Orleans Parish property transfer tax. This applies to all transactions involving a New Orleans property – even the refinance of an existing mortgage.  Yes, I realize that there is technically no transfer taking place…

Rate Wait – Mortgaging Our Future

Mortgage rates

From the boardroom to the man on the street, there is so much discussion on interest rates.  People who couldn’t spell the word refinance are trying desperately to take advantage of these current rates, and rightly so.  The question is: how long are these rates going to last?  We’ll spend some time today discussing a…

Improving Your Home? Don’t Miss Your Louisiana Rebates!

Whether you are selling your home or are just improving it for your own enjoyment, there are some rebate programs that reward Louisiana residents for improving the energy efficiency of their homes.  Programs are in place through February 2012 or until all of the allocated funds are gone.  With the focus on cutting government costs,…

Are You Prepared for a Flood?

West Bank flood waters

With all of the rain we have experienced in the last 24 hours, streets all over the West Bank and in New Orleans were flooded.  I hope no one had damage, but given some of the video footage that residents supplied to the news outlets, it looks like some brain surgeons still haven’t figured out…

Saving vs Paying Off Debt: The Great Debate

Nest egg - new orleans real estate

We welcome guest blogger Miles Victor of Fidelity Homestead with his take on saving vs paying off debt. Usually, my time is spent fielding questions from people about how they can better their current financial situation.  I’m frequently asked about our banks products and how they can help individuals “weather the storms” of life.  The…

Fannie Mae Now Offering Podcasts with Foreclosure Information

With so many homeowners struggling today, this is good information to have in a format that fits busy lifestyles.  Download the information you want and listen to it in the car, on your computer, your iPad or on your smart phone.  Kudos to Fannie Mae for being so forward thinking and going to the consumer….