Lending Advice for Home Buyers in Lafayette

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Today I want to speak about the lending process and some of the best practices that you should be aware of when you work with them.

One of the most important things that you can do is to keep all lines of communication open with your agent and the lender. This will speed up the time of your transaction and make it much less stressful. The quicker you can get documents to your lender, the quicker you can close the transaction.

At a minimum, we speak with our lenders at least once per week, and sometimes we contact them two or more times. We think the determination between a bad lender and a good lender is the way they communicate with us and our clients.

If you would like to hear about some of our preferred lenders, please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to speaking with you!

Our Market is Looking Pretty Great

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We have been seeing some great signs in the Lafayette real estate market lately. Today we are going to run through the statistics for July and give you an update on those.

July's market statistics look really good. We have seen a 7.5% increase in units, a 13.5% increase in dollar volume, and a huge increase in new construction.

Another thing that's on the rise is our average sale price. It has gone up 5.5% and now sits at $268,500. Overall, our listing inventory is up 5% and new construction is down a little bit.

Right now, we are looking at a 4.5 month supply of inventory on homes listed under a million. The most activity in our market, however, is seen in the $150,000- $300,000 price range, where there is about 3-4 months of inventory.

Interest rates are still doing fantastic. A 30-year fixed rate can be had for 4% and 15-year fixed loans are even lower at about 3.375%.

Overall, the market looks really strong and there is a lot of movement. If you have any questions for us, we would love for you to give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help out!

How we helped Amber by always going above and beyond

"We had great results. Robin helped in every way she could and now we have a beautiful new home."

-Amber Morrow, Home Buyer

How we helped Allen by making the process easy for him

"It was very easy, and very quick. Robbie knew what I wanted and made it nice and simple for me. He made everything fit for what I needed. He was always able to go out and look at houses or if I needed anything outside of that, he was right there and able to take care of it for me. "

-Allen Green, Home Buyer

How we helped Blaise by providing a consistent level of excellence

"We had 14 showings in less than a week and three offers! I’ve used Robbie Breaux & Team a couple times and I’ve referred them a couple times so I’ve come to expect his level of excellence. But one thing he did in closing was point out that his commission on my house was too high.  That was over and above when it came to honesty."

-Blaise Gregory, Home Seller

How Do Fantastic Lafayette Market Conditions Affect You?

Selling your Lafayette home? Click here for a free Home Value Report

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Today, I share a full Lafayette market update for the first half of 2015. 

We've already had a little over 1,600 sales since January, which is up from the mid 1,500's in the same time frame last year. In total number of units sold, sales are up about 4% - while in dollar volume, sales are up 11%! This is likely due to a jump in average sales price, which went from $217,000 last year to $231,000 this year.

Despite all of these fantastic market trends, interest rates remain near record lows! The best way to get an idea of where our market is going to head moving forward is to look at pending sales. Currently, we had 340 homes that went under contract in Lafayette Parish in comparison to only 301 at this time last year. This is a difference of about 11%, and year-to-date we're a little over 4%. 

What does all of this mean for you? Well, it doesn't look like our market is going to slow down anytime soon. Inventory levels are healthy, and the market is active, making now a wonderful time to consider making your move.

If you have any questions about our market, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're always here to help with your real estate needs. 

Are Home Inspections Important in Lafayette?

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Hey there everyone, today's topic is home inspections, and the importance of getting them done. So, we are now currently under contract with a buyer and seller who have agreed to terms and price. The next step is scheduling a home inspection, as well as a termite inspection. 

A general home inspector's job is to look for symptoms to see if a specialist is needed to address a larger problem, whether it's for the roof, plumbing, electrical, or other parts of the home. Once we get bids from all the specialists out there, we submit them to the seller to get them fixed. After this, one of three things will end up happening:

1. The seller will come off the house price
2. We can get cash in lieu of repairs
3. We can get them to fix the problem

Once we submit this to the seller, they have 72 hours to decide if they will do some, all, or none of the repairs. If they agree to do all, we proceed with financing. If they agree to do none or some of the repairs, you then have 72 hours as a buyer to decide whether you want to accept, reject, or counter. This continues until either we can get an agreement, or the contract dies.

If you have any questions for us about home inspections or anything else, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help you out!

What Do Home Warranties Cover?

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Buying a home? Search all Homes for Sale

Hey everyone, today we are excited to talk to you about home warranties! This is a topic our clients ask about a lot.

Basically, a home warranty is an insurance policy that covers major appliances, as well as roofing defects and electrical work in case of repair. Essentially, if something goes wrong with one of the items that's covered, you pay a small deductible, and the home warranty company will come out and fix it, as long as it is not a pre-existing condition. 

The last thing you want to have is a huge bill to replace an A/C unit or water heater, so we recommend that any time you purchase a home, a home warranty should be included. If you choose to work with us to sell your next home, we will provide free home warranty coverage for your home while we are listing it. 

If you have any questions, or are interested in buying or selling a home here in Lafayette, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I can't wait to hear from you!

How to Handle Multiple Offer Situations When Selling Your Lafayette Home

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Buying a home? Search all Homes for Sale

With the spring real estate season in full gear, there is no better time to discuss how to handle multiple offers when selling! 

From a seller's perspective, it really doesn't get much better than having multiple buyers making offers on your home. The first thing you need to do is take a look at the particular terms of each offer. Ask yourself the following questions when looking over offers:

• How much money is getting put down?
• What kind of deposit are they putting down? 
• Are they pre-approved?
• Is their financial institution credible in our market? 
• Are they considering a conventional loan or a government loan?
• What concessions are they willing to make? 

After answering these questions, you should be able to pick the best offer! We are experts at making your home attractive to the widest range of buyers and generating multiple offer situations for our listings. If you would like us to do the same for you, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to help you sell quickly and for top dollar! 

Where's the Lafayette Market Heading?

Selling your Lafayette home? Click here for a free Home Value Report

Buying a home? Search all Homes for Sale

Hello, and welcome back! Today, we're going to give you a quick update on where the Lafayette market is heading! 

The sales for Lafayette Parish are up 7% compared to where they were at this time in 2014. Since 2012, we've seen a 33% increase in home sales in our area! The average number of days on the market is hovering around 87, down from 93 at this time last year, and dollar volume is up 10.8%. In fact, since 2012, we've seen a jump in dollar volume of 58%! Additionally, the average sales price is up 3.5%, and the median sales price has risen to $195,000 from $187,000 last year. 

What do all these numbers mean for you? 

They mean that our market has not only recovered, it has caught fire! Pending sales contracts are up 20%, as we have 399 homes currently under contract, compared to only 333 this time last year. With a healthy five months of inventory, it's looking like our market will continue going strong through the summer.  

If you have any questions about market conditions in your particular area, or if you have real estate needs of any kind, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to help you take advantage of these stellar conditions!