Play Chess...Not Checkers Even though the objective of Chess is simply laid out — obtain the other player’s King — the process in which to obtain this goal is much more strategic. Chess requires a greater understanding of the ability of each of the 9 different pieces on the board and a risk assessment that takes longer than a simple scan of the board. “It’s a game in which the winning strategy is dynamic and requires complex thought across many turns, both for the player and their opponent’s turns.  Chess requires a player to understand the context behind the moves on the board rather than just the risks offered by each individual turn.” – Play Chess Not Checkers by Zach West You may have heard the saying, “Play Chess, Not Checkers” before, but how does this apply to real estate?Plan p... 02/16/2016

CoreLogic’s latest Equity Report revealed that 256,000 properties regained equity in the third quarter of 2015. This is great news for the country, as 92% of all mortgaged properties are now in a positive equity situation.Price Appreciation = Good News For HomeownersFrank Nothaft, CoreLogic’s Chief Economist, explains:“Home price growth continued to lift borrower equity positions and increase the number of borrowers with sufficient equity to participate in the mortgage market. In the last three years, borrowers with at least 20 percent equity have increased by 11 million, a substantial uptick that is driving rapid growth in home equity originations.”Anand Nallathambi, President and CEO of CoreLogic, believes this is a great sign for the market in 2016 as well, as he had this to say:“Hom... 02/10/2016

You’d think that the single most influential factor governing a potential Metairie home buyer’s decision on whether to buy now or hold off would be the ongoing bottom line—that is, the amount of an anticipated monthly mortgage payment.Maybe not. The New York Federal Reserve argues otherwise. Not just a little bit otherwise; “dramatically” otherwise.To cut to the chase (and that’s a good idea, for reasons that we’ll get to later), what is more likely to impact that decision—especially for those who are currently renters—is the size of the down payment.It follows that Metairie home renters are more likely to be encouraged by any relaxation of down payment requirements than they are to be discouraged by a rise in mortgage interest rates (with the resulting increase in the monthly payment).... 02/06/2016

Built into the way a Metairie home changes ownership is the institution of the appraisal report—the document which attempts to place a dollar value on the property in question. That word “attempts” is the key when it comes to appraisals. Although it would make life easier if Metairie appraisals consisted of completely objective, scientifically verifiable calculations, in the real world, they can’t be.Metairie appraisals are created by locating comparable properties that have sold recently on the open market, then adjusting that dollar amount to reflect the differences between them. That’s where perfect objectivity becomes…um…subject to interpretation.If only any two homes were exactly the same in every detail, the latest price paid for one would be the best appraised value for the other... 02/04/2016

When you go searching for the latest Metairie real estate news online, as likely as not you will find the lion’s share is dominated by advertisements (not to complain: I advertise, too) and the current Metairie listings.There is rarely any true Metairie real estate news as such—since what’s ‘new’ is principally the arrival and departure of the latest batch of Metairie homes for sale.All the other nuggets of Metairie real estate “news” are actually news’ first cousins: features about real estate—most of which deal with the age-old verities of the field rather than anything that is truly up-to-the-moment new.The other day, while hunting down the latest Metairie real estate goings-on, as usual, our national Realtors’® web site kept coming up.This is not unusual, since our organization is o... 02/04/2016

Looked at from one perspective, there has been a “bailout” of enormous magnitude.Okay—maybe you have to expand the meaning of “bailout” just a bit, but if you do, many Metairie homeowners can be counted among the most prominent beneficiaries.We Metairie real estate agents wouldn’t be complaining, either. As bailouts go, it’s the least controversial in a long time—probably because there are no politicians involved (so they aren’t quarreling about who’s responsible for what).The colloquial term “bailout” has become a household word of late.“Bailout” comes from a straightforward nautical solution for a sinking ship: grab a bucket and bail as fast as you can.The odds of success increase if you can also stop more water from pouring in.Wikipedia’s definition is “providing financial support to... 02/03/2016

A sizable portion of the recruiting business has gone online, and a lot of small and medium-sized businesses are using them.We hear a lot of ads for them—promising job hunters an efficient way to distribute their resumes; promising business managers an efficient way to attract new talent.Busy Metairie business managers are assured they’ll snag quality candidates to fill their open positions by simply filling out an online form describing their job vacancies.Some even promise to deliver the resumes of dozens of candidates almost overnight (if not actually overnight!) using their online job-hunting database systems.What is left unsaid is what personnel professionals know to be the most important next step in the recruiting process: the interview.If you are wondering what this has to do wi... 02/03/2016

Suppose you had done everything right: Interviewed several Metairie real estate agents and compared what they told you Prepped your property to near-perfection before the professional photographer’s arrival Confirmed all the descriptive details before they appeared in the Metairie listings… Yet six months later, the place still hadn’t sold.Your agent had done a reasonable job, it seemed—yet the results were disappointing.Not nearly enough showings for one thing.And even though the marketing materials seemed sufficient, the response had been, in the end, weak. What do you do now?There are several guidelines to follow that will increase the likelihood of a timely sale. Of them, two are absolute musts.One of them is well known—mentioned in every credible source of residential real estate k... 02/02/2016

“Is now a good time to sell?”A Metairie home is never put up for sale on a whim.Although outside events can conspire to control the timing of that kind of major real estate venture, in most cases, the sale or purchase of a home happens on a timetable the Metairie buyer or seller thoughtfully works out.That can be when a move will least interfere with everything else that’s going on (school and career schedules are often the ruling considerations).Or, it can be when surrounding conditions seem particularly auspicious.The answer to the “is now a good time to sell” question looked to be a pretty firm ‘yes’ last fall for a number of reasons.The rebound in Metairie home values had been underway for long enough that in many instances, previous high water marks had been equaled.Many who would ... 02/02/2016

For Metairie first home buyers who are of a certain age (for the moment let’s call that 40+ or so), the prospect of making such a prodigious commitment should be less intimidating than for the younger set.You have been around for long enough to have seen the ups and downs of the economic cycles; most likely have had a number of different jobs with good and bad employers; may even have entered into the entrepreneurial arena yourself.You’ve also observed friends, relatives and colleagues who as they acquired their Metairie first homes, and have seen how they have fared as they enjoyed the benefits of homeownership and weathered the accompanying responsibilities.You know from observation that it doesn’t take spectacular luck or extraordinary business acumen to buy and own your first home—y... 02/02/2016

As its name clearly implies, The 184 Things a Real Estate Agent Does for You is an exhaustive list of the actions a Metairie real estate agent is called upon to perform on behalf of a client. It is an authentic real estate Golden Oldie.Whenever someone wonders aloud what it is that Metairie real estate agents do to earn their commissions, many of we agents have the option of digging around in a drawer for a wrinkled printout of The 184 Things.If there were a Real Estate Hall of Fame, The 184 Things would be sure to have its own spotlighted exhibit…or even an interactive video display (so the kids could push colored buttons that would seem to make the list interactive).Since the list is 184 items long, it’s a good bet that, given the option, very few of our clients would have read the wh... 01/22/2016

Even if you don’t pride yourself on your artistic flair, you probably have developed fairly firm ideas about what makes some Metairie homes come across better than others.Without even consciously thinking about it, you know as soon as you walk through a front door whether that immediate impression is strongly positive, just so-so, or sub-so-so­. A Metairie home’s agreeable first impression can usually be laid to a combination of pleasing architecture, diligent maintenance, and appealing décor.Not every home in Metairie has all that going for it, but there can also be a saving note: sometimes the most important impression comes from just a few minor touches­­­­­—clever accents that just seem perfect.Now that we’re wading deeper into the months when the Metairie’s bad weather days are sta... 01/06/2016

It’s usually around this time of year when the one in charge of keeping track of your Metairie household’s finances either sits down to do some budget arithmetic, or (at a minimum) goes hunting for a new shoe box to hold the coming year’s tax receipts. Both activities are simply exercises in ascertaining what is being spent (philosophers might recognize this as a Search for Enlightenment) – rather than actually doing anything about it.For those Metairie mortgage holders more inclined to be actively engaged in improving their budgetary bottom lines, the credit.com website recently presented a question not often heard: are there any drawbacks to prepaying your mortgage?Normally, the idea of making extra mortgage payments is presented as an unalloyed great idea. What’s not to like?You pay ... 01/06/2016

New Year’s Frame of Mind and Metairie Real Estate  Along with all of last week’s New Year’s Day festivities came what you could call the New Year’s Frame of Mind:The familiar, this-time-of-year special consciousness of the passage of time.For most Metairie residents, all the other seasons come and go with everyone too busy tending to everyday affairs to pay much attention to the big picture:The progress (or lack of it) toward the major goals most everybody hopes to achieve.It’s that New Year’s Frame of Mind that’s behind the impulse to make New Year’s resolutions.After all, there’s no such thing as ‘Fourth of July resolutions,’ or ‘Labor Day resolutions,’ even though a quick check of the calendar confirms they come once every year, too.Nope; it is the moment when the crystal globe slid... 01/05/2016

Frank Rubi Real Estate, LLC Great Louisiana HomesGreater New Orleans | Baton Rouge   Metairie | KennerEn nombre de todo el equipo a Frank Rubi Real Estate, LLC le deseamos la paz, la salud y la prosperidad en el Año Nuevo 2016.Gracias por su confianza y la confianza que tiene lugar en Frank Rubi Real Estate, LLC usted. Todo lo mejor en el 2016 Frank Rubi FELIZ AÑO NUEVOContratar a un Mandisonville | Covington | Corredor de Bienes Raíces que puede explicar la importancia de los consejos de sentido común en la venta de la propiedad en St. Tammany Parish, San Carlos o Jefferson Parrish. Como agente de bienes raíces que recibo estadísticas sobre la tendencia actual de bienes raíces y hará esfuerzos de su compra o venta estén arriba - a - día con lo que los compradores y vendedores están bus... 12/31/2015

A key step in preparing a home for sale is creating its listing for Metairie’s online MLS. It’s part science—getting all the physical details exactly right (trickier than you’d think)—and part invention.The goal is to devise phrasing that accurately portrays the property’s unique appeal without relying on clichés.  So it’s not surprising that when The Wall Street Journal sent out the email plea for all itsMansion magazine readers to “vote for the listing of the year,” it struck pay dirt around here.Oh boy! We’d be able to compare our Metairie listing efforts with the best-of-the-best from around the globe!Visions of an online Academy Awards-type show for real estate listing writers materialized…But from the start, there were issues. For one thing, there was the actual ‘ballot’ itself.Th... 12/30/2015

When Purchasing a new home in SouthEast Louisiana, these phone numbers and website will come in handy: Important Phone NumbersEntergy 800-368-3749ATMOS (Gas) 800-547-4321Cox Cable 504-304-8444AT&T 888-757-6500Times Picayune 504-822-6660 Jefferson ParishAssessor Eastbank 504-736-6370Assessor Westbank 504-362-4100Public School 504-349-7600Water/Garbage 504-736-6060Plaquemines ParishAssessor 504-297-5256Public School 504-595-6400Sewerage/Water 504-391-2386GarbageNorth Office 504-391-8275South Office 504-564-1809Orleans ParishAssessor 504-658-1300Public Schools 504-304-5680Catholic Archdiocese 504-861-9521Sewerage/Water/Garbage 985-783-5110St Charles ParishAssessor 985-783-6281Public Schools 985-785-6289Water/Garbage 985-783-5110St John the Baptist ParishAssessor 985-652-5311Public Schools ... 12/21/2015

Click here to check out the parks and playgrounds of Metairie, Louisiana! We hope you thoroughly enjoyed reading our blog - The Williams Team loves staying up to date on what is going on in our community, as well as helping our community BUY, SELL, & INVEST in Real Estate. Our belief is that Real Estate should be about building lifelong relationships and providing the ultimate experience, not just buying and selling homes. The Williams Team's strong fundamentals of dependability, commitment, and integrity are the keys to getting the job done right.www.thewilliamsteam.com | 985.796.7169 |The Williams TeamWhen you're looking for a real estate team - choose The Williams Team of Keller Williams Realty Services. The Williams Team of Keller Williams has quickly become one of the Southeast Lou... 12/09/2015

         Frank Rubi Real Estate, LLC Great Louisiana HomesGreater New Orleans | Baton Rouge   Metairie | Kenner | Northshore     Residential Market Report The Year To Year comparison show a 110% Increase in Listings. Year to date also shows an increase of 7% in average price per for Homes Sold. The 70006 zip code  includes Pontchartrain Garden and Pontchartrain Shores.    Metarie is Red Hot.  NEW LISTINGS HOME SOLD AVG PRICE DAY ON MARKET 9/1/2015 12 $225,829 137   9/1/2014 7 $205,100 61    Year to Date 2015  118  $251,164  70      Looking for a new home. Work with a Realtor who can get the new listings information in your hand fast. Homes for Sale in Metairie and Kenner, LA. which are priced right do not last long. You have to work with a Realtor who will put you in the forefront so yo... 11/05/2015

Look over the carpeting in your home.If the carpeting is old and outdated, or the color severely darkens a room, replacement is necessary.Many houses have languished on the market with no offers because of old and outdated carpeting. Once the carpeting was changed, offers to purchase these same homes began arriving almost immediately.Don’t sabotage your home sale. Make sure your carpet is presentable.Spot clean any tough stains, and shampoo throughout your home. Make sure the carpeting is secure in the corners and in transition areas to tile, linoleum, and doorways.What if your carpeting is worn, outdated, or doesn’t present your home well?If you must purchase new carpeting, purchase neutral colors. Bright or unusual colors may clash with the prospective buyers furnishings. You don’t wa... 11/04/2015