New Orleans and the Home Buying Season (C) 2013 by Wayne D. Lewis, Sr.

The buying season in New Orleans is just around the corner.  For those who are even thinking about selling or buying a home, it's like getting ready for the races to start.  The buying season in New Orleans is that period just after, or close to the end of the Mardi Gras season.  Perhaps anywhere else in America, this period began just after New Year's.  But in New Orleans, we answer to a different beat.  It is the beat of the Second Line, Rex, Endymion, or Orpheus.  We march to Sugar Bowls, King Cakes, big beads, "Hey Mister, throw me something!" and Purple, Green, and Gold. 

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/topic/real-estate#/business/best-housing-markets-2013-1C7661416

The real estate buying season mostly likely comes to an abrupt halt around Thanksgiving, and during that time, anything having to do with home buying is a finish to whatever was left over from the Summer and early Fall.  Perhaps, a few cash deals may sneak into the pot, but for intents and purposes, the buying season is closed until after Mardi Gras.  So what happens when the buying season starts?  Lots of things, and you need to be ready, whether you are selling or buying.



SELLERS-Putting your home on the market suggests strongly that you, as a seller, have done all that is necessary to make your home a great buy.  That, as a seller, you didn't just rely on your home's locaton as the only selling point when you enlisted the assistance and guidance of a real estate professional.  Here is what you and your agent maybe working on in preparation for the home buying season (In no particular order):

• Clean and Neat
• Curb appeal
• Updated
• Repaired
• Renovated

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20121231_safeinvestment.htm

BUYERS-The moment you find a house you like, suggests strongly that you have done several things as well.  Looking at houses doesn't make you ready to buy a home, there are several responsibilities that you have to fulfill as well.  From paying cash to financing your next home, the home buying process requires that you either know, or do several things to make sure your home buying process goes smoothly.  Here are a few things that maybe helpful to you and your real estate professional:
(In no particular order):

http://homes.yahoo.com/calculators/afford.html

• Financing in order
• Cash
• Loan
• FHA Loans
• Conventional Loans
• VA Loans
• Bond for Deed/Owner Financing
• Where do you want to live
• How much can I afford
• Size home
• How much can you afford
• House note
• Insurance
• Upkeep and Repairs
• Understanding the process of home buying
• Home Inspection
• Title Work
• Appraisal
• Insurance

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20130104_fixerupper.htm

The home buying season in New Orleans presents a number of unique qualities beside Mardi Gras.  Since New Orleans is not far from the Gulf Coast, oftentimes hurricanes can affect a closing.  A hurricane does not have to strike, it just has to be a named one in the Gulf Of Mexico and be a cause for rescheduling a sale.  Another unique character of New Orleans homes is the diversity of so many neighborhoods.  While there are subdivisions throughout the New Orleans area, there are older neighborhoods, particularly in the uptown areas that consists of homes valued at as little as $45,000 sharing the same block or proximity with $100,000 plus homes.  And there is little to be said about that discrepancy, because, well that's New Orleans.  But what impact does that have on the home buying season?  Perhaps anywhere else a lot, but here, New Orleans, it's business as usual, and those are the type of situations that make New Orleans home buying process exciting, and challenging as well.

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20130107_bestmarkets.htm

Whether a buyer or seller, even if new to New Orleans, the buying season here offers a tremendous opportunity to see what New Orleans has to offer.  From low to high price ranges; from single-family cottages to raised-basement Victorian multi-family units, anyone who is in the market to buy during the high point of buying will want to do a double-take on many of the great deals that are ready to be previewed and sold during New Orlean's home buying season.

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