Today is Christmas and no, these pictures are not from Louisiana. As I write this, it is cloudy, raining, and the ground is yellow for the most part, not white. This may be the only day of the year when I kinda miss the snow. Kinda. Just for the look, not the cold. I took these pictures in Quebec City last February and thought they would make a nice virtual Christmas card.

Merry Christmas!

Originally Posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

My daughter and I went to the Acadian Village Wednesday night to see the lights. We arrived early and the walk through the village was a breeze. By the time we left, shortly after 7pm, the sidewalk was packed with people and traffic in the streets leading to the village was pretty bad, too.

Tonight is the last night and the last chance this year to see Noël Acadien au Village and its half million lights! Doors open at 5:30 and the event ends at 9pm.

There are also rides for the kids, food, and Santa (of course). The little girl in the pink shirt here is mine. She had a blast!

Originally Posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

If you have been thinking about buying a home in Lafayette or elsewhere, you probably wonder about what it takes to get there. Here are some questions to answer that will help you get started in your quest to home ownership.

• Are you secure in your employment and do you have a track record? Lenders will want to not only see your current income, they will also ask for copies of your tax returns for the past two years. You will have to show that your income has been stable for a couple of years .
• Do you have a good credit score and credit history? Your score is important when you are considering buying a home. The higher the score, the lower the interest rate you will have to pay. A higher credit score can save you hundreds of dollars every month. Lenders will also look at your credit history: how long you’ve had accounts open, any late payments, etc. You can look at your credit report once a year for free by going to freecreditreport.com. To look at your credit score costs a little but if you are just starting the process, it may be worth it.
• Do you have money in savings? Yes, it costs money to buy a home. Even if you can obtain 100% financing, there will be closing costs involved. Closing costs include lender’s origination charges and document preparation, attorney fees, appraisal fees, inspection fees, etc. You may be able to ask the seller to cover some of these fees but likely not all. If you do not have any cash, start saving today!

And as always, if you have any questions about the home buying or home selling process, feel free to contact me. I’m always just a couple of clicks away!

Originally Posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

Home sales in Maurice, LA, rose sharply in 2011 mainly because of new construction in the area. Of the 65 homes that have sold so far this year, 35 were new homes. Last year, only 4 homes out of the 41 homes sold were new construction.

There are currently 12 home sales pending, 4 of which are scheduled to close before the end of the year. That would bring the total number of sales to 69 for 2011. Nine of the 12 pending sales are also new construction (in Kirkland Estates).

Two subdivisions mostly contributed to these numbers: Kirkland Estates, which is located off of Kirk Road east of Maurice, and Victoria Manor, located off of Beau Road on the south side of the village. Victoria Manor is now completely built up with no more lots or homes available while Kirkland Estates is near full as well.

There are currently 16 homes for sale in Maurice and a few proposed constructions. Prices vary between $100,000 and $340,000. Click here to view active listings in Maurice.

Originally Posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

Home sales were down in November compared to October. This is somewhat typical for this time of year. However, sales in Lafayette parish were not down as much as those in Acadiana as a whole.

Here, I usually show how sales in Lafayette parish compare to that of last year. Today, instead, I’ve decided to show the graph of sales for Lafayette and Acadiana for the same period last year. What is really obvious here is that the home buyer credit created a boom in sales up until June when it expired and sales really dropped afterwards. Home sales were nevertheless stronger in November last year than this year.

If we take a look at volume sold, we see that sales are up in volume for Acadiana and down by about $2,000,000 in Lafayette parish.

There are currently 453 home sales pending in Acadiana and 276 in Lafayette parish.

Originally Posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News