The golden rule of real estate has always been, "Location Location Location." Today in Louisiana it's more like, "Location, Insurance, Mortgage."

When we say "real estate" we're mostly talking about something more than just a transaction. "A man’s house is his castle," as the old saying goes, or maybe we should say a person’s house is their castle. But whatever, the adage speaks to something really meaningful about the value and significance we place on home ownership. It defines who we are. And for most people their home is their single most valuable asset. 

As recently as 2005, nearly 70% of Americans owned their own home. Today that figure is closer to 60%. And with the rising costs of homeownership, it is hard for many people to buy a house – especially their first house.

But there are plenty of people in the business of buying and selling houses and helping others do the same.  

Trey Willard is a realtor and owner of the W Group, a residential real estate brokerage firm based in Baton Rouge that Trey founded in 2020 and has grown in the years since to include more than 50 agents in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette. Trey is a native of Baton Rouge who got his start as a professional DJ and also worked as a server at a chain restaurant, where he honed valuable skills - like how to read a room and quickly build reslationships. Trey got into the real estate field in 2010, when he started out as an assistant to a local Keller Williams agent and realized he had found his calling. 

Mimi Doucet is a senior loan officer at GMFS Mortgage, a Baton Rouge-based residential mortgage lender with locations in over 12 states and more than 200 employees.

GMFS was founded in 1999. Today it's the largest residential brokerage in Louisiana and has helped more than 150 thousand people buy a home.

Mimi has been a mortgage broker for more than 30 years, getting her start in the early 1990s and working at several firms before joining GMFS in the early 2000s. She has been recognized by the industry as one of the top lenders in the state for the number of loans she has closed.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.la.

The golden rule of real estate has always been, "Location Location Location." Today in Louisiana it's more like, "Location, Insurance, Mortgage."
When we say "real estate" we're mostly talking about something more than just a transaction. "A man&rsquo;s house is his castle," as the old saying goes, or maybe we should say a person&rsquo;s house is their castle. But whatever, the adage speaks to something really meaningful about the value and significance we place on home ownership. It defines who we are. And for most people their home is their single most valuable asset.&nbsp;
As recently as 2005, nearly 70% of Americans owned their own home. Today that figure is closer to 60%. And with the rising costs of homeownership, it is hard for many people to buy a house &ndash; especially their first house.
But there are plenty of people in the business of buying and selling houses and helping others do the same.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Trey Willard is a realtor and owner of <a href="https://www.thewgrouprealestate.com/">the W Group</a>, a residential real estate brokerage firm based in Baton Rouge that Trey founded in 2020 and has grown in the years since to include more than 50 agents in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette. Trey is a native of Baton Rouge who got his start as a professional DJ and also worked as a server at a chain restaurant, where he honed valuable skills - like how to read a room and quickly build reslationships. Trey got into the real estate field in 2010, when he started out as an assistant to a local Keller Williams agent and realized he had found his calling.&nbsp;
Mimi Doucet is a senior loan officer at <a href="https://gmfsmortgage.com/">GMFS Mortgage</a>, a Baton Rouge-based residential mortgage lender with locations in over 12 states and more than 200 employees.
GMFS was founded in 1999. Today it's the largest residential brokerage in Louisiana and has helped more than 150 thousand people buy a home.
Mimi has been a mortgage broker for more than 30 years, getting her start in the early 1990s and working at several firms before joining GMFS in the early 2000s. She has been recognized by the industry as one of the top lenders in the state for the number of loans she has closed.
Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mansursontheboulevard.com/main/home">Mansurs on the Boulevard</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="http://albaledomedia.com/">Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez</a> at <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2025/02/10/location-insurance-mortgage/">itsbatonrouge.la</a>.

OUT TO LUNCH finds Baton Rouge Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel combining her hard news journalist skills and food background: conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

It's Baton Rouge: Out to Lunch

OUT TO LUNCH finds Amy Irvin conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's on the Boulevard. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

OUT TO LUNCH finds Amy Irvin conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's on the Boulevard. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

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