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re: Where to buy first home in BR area?
Posted on 2/8/13 at 2:14 pm to Giantkiller
Posted on 2/8/13 at 2:14 pm to Giantkiller
Looks like I don't want to be neighbors with people from Zachary or Baker... they would just bicker all the time. 
Thanks for all the replies so far
Thanks for all the replies so far
0
Posted on 2/9/13 at 9:38 am to Paul Allen
Zachary - best schools in the state
__________________________
i don't agree with this assessment. if it's based on the state test, they probably did like West Feliciana - sat around studying for that test instead of teaching other things.
why surely they should do good on it.
__________________________
i don't agree with this assessment. if it's based on the state test, they probably did like West Feliciana - sat around studying for that test instead of teaching other things.
why surely they should do good on it.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 6:48 pm to lsufan112001
Not at all. My wife is a teacher and we have 2 kids in the system. Not much is talked about the test until a few weeks before. Parents actually give a shite, that is the difference.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 7:41 pm to AutoYes_Clown
Let me give you a little contra advice.
Do not buy a house anywhere until you can put down 30+% down on it. 50% would be better. That might be 4 or 5 years from now for you--I don't know but do not wrap a mortgage around your neck until you decide on your family size and career. Leave yourself some flexibility. You are going to have career opportunities and I hope you have 5 or 6 kids :)--either way you will want to trade houses.
I know everybody says you are throwing away rent but ask people in Florida now or people who had to sell homes in Louisiana or Texas in the late eighties just how bad it can be for home owners.
Perhaps at your age and with your fixer up ability you might want to buy a duplex or a four plex and live in unit and rent the rest for a couple of years.
Do not buy a house anywhere until you can put down 30+% down on it. 50% would be better. That might be 4 or 5 years from now for you--I don't know but do not wrap a mortgage around your neck until you decide on your family size and career. Leave yourself some flexibility. You are going to have career opportunities and I hope you have 5 or 6 kids :)--either way you will want to trade houses.
I know everybody says you are throwing away rent but ask people in Florida now or people who had to sell homes in Louisiana or Texas in the late eighties just how bad it can be for home owners.
Perhaps at your age and with your fixer up ability you might want to buy a duplex or a four plex and live in unit and rent the rest for a couple of years.
This post was edited on 2/9/13 at 7:43 pm
Posted on 2/9/13 at 7:52 pm to I B Freeman
not many people have 30 to 50% sitting around, that's around 60 to 75K for the average house.
unless you're staying with parents and can save.
unless you're staying with parents and can save.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 8:08 pm to lsufan112001
quote:
not many people have 30 to 50% sitting around, that's around 60 to 75K for the average house.
Correct but a young couple working with a good income should be able to save it in 3- 5 years and just think how much money in the long run that will save them.
Many young couple make the mistake of getting a big mortgage looking at both of their incomes and then when the woman starts having kids they are forced to get her back to work ASAP to make the mortgage. They would be in a much, much better position down the road if they will bite the bullet now and save for a much bigger down payment. IMHO.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 8:42 pm to GFunk
quote:
For my money, with quality schools, infrastructure improvements galore, and a stereotype that's more bark than bite regarding the general intelligence levels of our citizenry, you can't beat the LP.
My wife and her whole family are from Denham and it's a good place to live. However, there is no way in hell I would fight that traffic everyday. I go with her to see her family about once a week and I dread it. I am from East Feliciana parish and never really cared for living in a big city like Baton Rouge. I moved to Zachary for a few years and it has great schools (no they don't teach standardized test taking skills year round) but the population has pretty much outgrown the infrastructure. Highway 64 without a turning lane in the middle of town is a nightmare. I live in Central now and I love it. Good schools, nice neighborhoods and really easy commute for me from home to my work in North Baton Rouge.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 9:09 pm to I B Freeman
quote:
Let me give you a little contra advice. Do not buy a house anywhere until you can put down 30+% down on it. 50% would be better. That might be 4 or 5 years from now for you--I don't know but do not wrap a mortgage around your neck until you decide on your family size and career. Leave yourself some flexibility. You are going to have career opportunities and I hope you have 5 or 6 kids :)--either way you will want to trade houses. I know everybody says you are throwing away rent but ask people in Florida now or people who had to sell homes in Louisiana or Texas in the late eighties just how bad it can be for home owners. Perhaps at your age and with your fixer up ability you might want to buy a duplex or a four plex and live in unit and rent the rest for a couple of years.
I appreciate your advise. My wife and I have set up our entire financials based on one income. When we got married, we chose to pay off $40k in debt as opposed to getting a house. I owned a business and worked with real estate investors through the 2000's. Although I have never personally been signed on a mortgage, I have been around real estate for a few years. I know putting 30% might be better right now, but so is 100% cash. At some point, my wife and I has to take a chance on leverage and financing. If we didn't, we'd have money, yes, but we would be kid-less at 35+ years old. We both have looked long and hard, and agree that the time is right.
Posted on 2/10/13 at 3:03 am to AutoYes_Clown
quote:
I appreciate your advise. My wife and I have set up our entire financials based on one income. When we got married, we chose to pay off $40k in debt as opposed to getting a house. I owned a business and worked with real estate investors through the 2000's. Although I have never personally been signed on a mortgage, I have been around real estate for a few years. I know putting 30% might be better right now, but so is 100% cash. At some point, my wife and I has to take a chance on leverage and financing. If we didn't, we'd have money, yes, but we would be kid-less at 35+ years old. We both have looked long and hard, and agree that the time is right.
My advice would be just the opposite from IB's. Reach to buy as much house as you can. Time is on your side. Your income will increase, the value of the house will appreciate, and the value of the dollars that you use to repay the loan will decrease. This is particularly true in a real estate market like Baton Rouge which has remained relatively stable over the years, i.e., no big boom and bust years except for the brief spike after Katrina.
That big mortgage payment won't seem big at all in five or ten years.
This post was edited on 2/10/13 at 3:05 am
Posted on 2/13/13 at 10:13 pm to GFunk
quote:
Walker
Has seriously changed since the post-Katrina St. Bernard invasion.
Im from St Bernard (I'm allowed to say this)
This post was edited on 2/13/13 at 10:13 pm
Posted on 2/14/13 at 6:03 am to Layabout
quote:
My advice would be just the opposite from IB's
Most people with financial sense would disagree with IB considering current mortgage rates.
Posted on 2/14/13 at 2:46 pm to AutoYes_Clown
quote:
What we are looking for: An area that will be great in ~10 years. We are both very handy fixer uppers so we are not afraid of work needed.
Sounds very familiar... Wife and I were in the same boat and recently purchased in the Southdowns area, off of Stuart next to the school. The home we found was a 1940's cottage that an elderly couple ran down. Terribly unkept. Luckily the contractor had great foresight and imagination. The home was gutted, square footage was added, walls taken down, new porch and patio, tons of yard/tree cutting work, new carport, etc. Basically a full rebuild while keeping that cottage character. We've been able to do a lot of work and it's been really rewarding. Once we're done with a few more projects, we anticipate a nice updated appraisal value.
Like you, we wanted to move to an area that will keep values for 10-15 years. I believe Southdowns is one of those. In the few months we've been there, we've seen homes purchased and work being done on them. There are a lot of ratty homes mixed in with renovated ones, but I know they'll be flipped soon enough.
Having said that, I'd suggest Southdowns, University Gardens, Old Goodwood, and Westdale Heights. Those are the neighborhoods we targeted all of last year.
Also, here's a recent article that highlights the Southdowns and University neighboorhods and talks about property values and longevity. I know things have chenged in the market, but you'll get the idea.
ETA: We moved from the Fairhill subdivision in South BR. It was a new construction home in the last filing. We moved from there because we were worried about property values. With the new casino so close, as well as new developments planned (read: more cookie cutter acadian style homes), we knew we had to get out if we wanted to build equity.
This post was edited on 2/14/13 at 2:59 pm
Posted on 2/14/13 at 5:57 pm to AutoYes_Clown
Anyone familiar with the Maurepas area?? Is nice housing there affordable??
Posted on 2/14/13 at 6:05 pm to JonTheTigerFan
quote:
Highway 64 without a turning lane in the middle of town is a nightmare.
They just delayed putting one in by about 6 months. When they do put it in -- God help us all for that period of time until it is finished. I live on the west side of 19 and try to stay on it as much as possible. 64 b/t 19 and plank isn't quit seigen lane, but it is congested.
Posted on 2/14/13 at 7:54 pm to rmc
Just read that in the paper about 64. I live on the west and my business is on the east. I take mchost to go around everything. Moving my office to the west side very soon!
Posted on 2/15/13 at 6:41 am to ColdDuck
quote:
God help us all for that period of time until it is finished. I live on the west side of 19 and try to stay on it as much as possible
Thank God Sammy's is on the west side.
Posted on 2/15/13 at 7:08 am to ColdDuck
quote:
Moving my office to the west side very soon!
New building being built in front of Copper Mill Elem?
Posted on 2/15/13 at 4:01 pm to 40 Rouge
If te median prices in fair hill are mid 200's- high 200's how do you anticipate the new neighborhood going up on bluebonnet south of there will affect prices if the new construction starts high 30's-400's? I've been looking in the southern (newer part) of Springlake. I don't really see the casino making a diff one way or another right now. Prices have held steady since its opening.
Posted on 2/15/13 at 7:55 pm to man in the stadium
Small update: I got pre-approved for a mortgage today. I feel much more comfortable now because the conservative debt-to-income we were calculating(and the home prices we were looking at) turns out to be VERY conservative... it would put us at 13% debt-to-income with both of us working... 23% with one of us working. 
We will expand our price range a little bit to see whats out there.
The wife and I are meeting with Giantkiller's wife tomorrow.
We will expand our price range a little bit to see whats out there. The wife and I are meeting with Giantkiller's wife tomorrow.
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