Gulf Mortgage Group is offer a free 1-0 Loan Buydown Program that runs through 6/30/26! On all conventional and government purchase loans, Gulf Mortgage is covering the cost of one-year temporary rate buydowns! This allows buyers to get a 1% lower interest rate for the first year of their loan with NO additional cost to them. This is a great way to ease into homeownership and save some money during that first year! David Bryan with Gulf Mortgage Group has this loan program in

I had lunch last week at one of my very favorite lunch spots - Martin Wine Cellar (Moss Side Lane) in Baton Rouge - 70808! This place is truly a hidden gem. Martin Wine Cellar initially opened in New Orleans as a wine/spirits shop with a deli. They've since expanded to Baton Rouge and I can't get enough of their food! All the lunch food is made fresh to order - it really is some of the freshest food that I've had in Baton Rouge. Price and portion sizes are great as I alway

Accessing your home's equity can be a challenge for self employed individuals and/or small business owners. Some lenders have a difficult time wading through all the income/expense/tax documents that are in play in these instances and because of that either won't provide a HELOC option or undervalue the equity they allow you to access. Synergy One Lending has rolled out a HELOC program designed to streamline both the information provided by the borrower as well as the approv

Self employed clients can have a challenge at times getting approved for a home mortgage. Some lenders don't have the experience to successfully deliver this type of loan program, others don't offer it at all. David Bryan with Gulf Mortgage Group has this loan program in place. David is based in Prairieville, but can offer this mortgage program anywhere in the State of Louisiana. I've worked with David in excess of 15 years - he's a super talented lender with great custome

I've officially completed my required continuing education courses for 2026 with this CE class on successions completed on Tuesday. Super informative class about the importance of keeping your estate planning up to date so as to make your wishes clearly known to your heirs after you pass. Lots and lots of stories about unintended consequences and complications for heirs because their parents(s) didn't manage their affairs in the later years of their lives. This course was

There are many types of specialized loan programs available in the market and here's one designed specifically for physicians. David Bryan with Gulf Mortgage Group has this loan program in place. David is based in Prairieville, but can offer this mortgage program anywhere in the State of Louisiana. I've worked with David in excess of 15 years - he's a super talented lender with great customer service. If you are a doctor/physician and looking to purchase a home, give David

We have successfully completed the inspection period for my Buyer's purchase of their new home in Shamrock Plaza Subdivision - 70814! After a thorough inspector by Clayton Weeks (our home inspector) , my clients and I sat down to review and make a decision on what type of a repair request we wanted to send over to the Seller for review and response. Our loan type is an FHA loan, and there are some property conditions that must be met or the appraiser can and will require rep

My Dad turned 84 today and we celebrated in style at one of our favorite restaurants in Baton Rouge - Willie's on Coursey Dr. As you will see from the pictures of our lunch this place totally rocks!! First picture is the onion rings appetizer - expertly battered and fried and banging remoulade sauce for dipping. Next picture is the fried fish entree - 4 fried shrimp, 3 fried catfish fillets, jalapeno hush puppies and french fries - just an amazing plate of food! And it cam

I just completed a 2 hour continuing education class called 'Untying the Knot' that deals with all the real estate issues related to divorces and how a divorce can impact our real estate listings and sales. Needless to say, there was some very eye opening information delivered about divorces, separations & how separate property is handled under Louisiana law - but also super informative! This course was put on by Commerce Title and was taught by one of their real estate att

Very special lunch today with my Dad as today would have been my parent's 61's wedding anniversary. We celebrated at Mestizos which was one of my mother's favorite restaurants! Pictured above is the queso with ground beef appetizer. This is my father's favorite lunch dish - the grilled redfish with rice and seasoned vegetables. My mother was a taco girl and she'd nearly always get some sort of a taco for lunch here. This is my go-to lunch dish! I order the a la carte bee

One of my key lending partners has just announced new loan limits for conventional conforming residential home loans in the Greater Baton Rouge Area! The conventional home loan amount has increased to $832,750 and is available right now - no waiting period. Specific loan question? Reach out to Ryan Larussa with Synergy One Lending and he'll be glad to help you out - Ryan is one of my most trusted lender partners! I'm always available to answer questions about specific homes

Every calendar year, the Louisiana Real Estate Commission requires all licensed agents/brokers to complete 12 hours of continuing education. One 4 hour class is mandatory for all licensees in the State of Louisiana and the remaining hours are elective courses that individual agents choose. I completed the mandatory 4 hour course earlier today and it was all about technology, transparency & trust. The off-site class was hosted by Gulf Mortgage Group and Commerce Title with

My favorite pet store - Parish Pets - has relocated to a new building on Government St in Mid-City Baton Rouge 70806! They previously were located on N Foster, but elected to relocate into a bigger, better and much higher profile location right smack in the middle of Government St. They completely gutted and remodeled a building that had become an eyesore into one that is beautiful on the inside and out! Plenty of parking and a huge, grassed & fenced in backyard are some of

Finished up lunch with my Dad at Doe's Eat Place - first time there and guaranteed will NOT be my last! Doe's is a long-time Baton Rouge restaurant located on Government Blvd in Mid-City. They are known for their steaks and just general fantastic food. We started with Brussel Sprouts which were roasted to perfection. Just a touch of heat, but plenty of texture from the roasting. My father and I both ended up getting the Chicken Fried Steak. Being born and raised in Texa

Fannie Mae has now removed the minimum score requirement as part of the loan underwriting process! That's huge news for the consumer loan market and will open up an avenue to home ownership for a whole new group of individuals. Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriting (DU) system will now review your entire overall financial profile which includes income, assets, payment history & credit behavior in making an automated DU approval/deny decision. The key takeaway from this is that

New exciting economic news for Baton Rouge has just dropped. ChillCo which is an commercial HVAC company headquartered in St Tammany Parish is expanding their Baton Rouge based facility. Their Baton Rouge operation has been in place for 15 years, but the company has now decided to purchase and expand their current facility. They are spending $2,400,000 to refurbish, renovate and expand their facility on Airline Hwy in Baton Rouge which they expect to be complete in about 6

One of my key lender partners has announced new upper limits on their Conventional Loan program and it is now $819,000 up from $806,500! ...

Fannie Mae has just released new down payment guidelines for owner occupied multi-family investment properties and it is great news for...

Several years ago, a controversial (at the time) plan was put forward for a complete revamp of busy Government St in Baton Rouge. ...

What is this 2/1 interest rate buydown that's been in the mortgage news lately and how does it work? Ryan Larussa with GMFS Mortgage has...