Real estate in New Orleans (Jefferson, Franklin: for sale, rent, insurance)

[Sevenohseven]

I've been searching online (Zillow, realtor.com, etc) for a house in the New Orleans area for three months. I've come to these conclusions:

1. Beautiful/unique houses sell quickly.
2. Double shotguns are affordable and readily available but are probably located in high-crime areas.
3. Contractors seem to favor the "open floor plan" which means you can see the refrigerator from the living room. Yuck. (In one house there was actually a bed next to the refrigerator!)
4. The more bland the house, the more likely it is to have stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
5. Many houses are overpriced--one of them was listed for sale at ten times more than its estimated value!

I know I sound cynical. It's possible (I hope!) that I'm misinformed. Anyone have any suggestions for finding a nice older (preferably historic) house in a decent (low-crime) neighborhood for less than $225K?
Thanks!

[rburnett]

Originally Posted by Sevenohseven

I've been searching online (Zillow, realtor.com, etc) for a house in the New Orleans area for three months. I've come to these conclusions:

1. Beautiful/unique houses sell quickly.
2. Double shotguns are affordable and readily available but are probably located in high-crime areas.
3. Contractors seem to favor the "open floor plan" which means you can see the refrigerator from the living room. Yuck. (In one house there was actually a bed next to the refrigerator!)
4. The more bland the house, the more likely it is to have stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
5. Many houses are overpriced--one of them was listed for sale at ten times more than its estimated value!

I know I sound cynical. It's possible (I hope!) that I'm misinformed. Anyone have any suggestions for finding a nice older (preferably historic) house in a decent (low-crime) neighborhood for less than $225K?
Thanks!

1. Yes
2. Wrong. Double shotguns, duplexes and mult-ifamlies in general are in every older portion of the city even in pricey safe neighborhoods.
3. I can't speak to what the contractors did 100+ years ago when most of the older housing was built.

People have different definitions of a "decent (low-crime) neighborhood". If you want an historic house for less than $225k, you might want to consider raising your budget, looking for a double and renting one side out. If you want single family house that's still historic (100+yrs), then you'll be looking at transitional areas close to the nicer neighborhoods.

For example, this one is sandwiched between Hollygrove to the west(rough) and Fontainbeau across Carrollton (nice). This is a quasi decent area for $219k: 8225 Apricot St, New Orleans, LA 70118 is For Sale - Zillow This area is probably your best bet for a big house at your price point.

There is safe, cheap and historic and you get to choose 2.

All that said I HIGHLY recommend that you rent for a year and figure the city out. It will take you some time to figure out where you want to be. There are a lot of different areas and New Orleans is very much a block-by-block city in that things can change quickly in a short distance.

[Sevenohseven]

Thank you so much for your advice. I appreciate the time you took to give me the link. That IS a nice house: great moldings and ceilings. It's good to know about the shotguns, too. I'll keep looking at those.

As for renting: unfortunately, I have a dog and four cats, and I don't know how landlords down there feel about that. They're pretty strict about renting to pet owners here.

[Neworleansisprettygood]

Originally Posted by rburnett

There is safe, cheap and historic and you get to choose 2.

This statement could answer just about any question about real estate in N.O.

I'd also add that other than the "elite tier" of public schools (Franklin, Lusher, maybe a few others) your best bet is to send the kids to private school. That's part of the true cost of living here.

[rawrockills]

From my experience, most younger people desire the open floor plan. So this dictates what the contractors have steered towards.

[PdxtoNola]

Originally Posted by Sevenohseven

As for renting: unfortunately, I have a dog and four cats, and I don't know how landlords down there feel about that. They're pretty strict about renting to pet owners here.

I have a dog and two cats and have not had a problem renting. Be prepared for a pet deposit, but many owners just want to know you don't have an "liability" animal not covered by many insurance policies.

[Sevenohseven]

Thanks for the replies. I'm starting to get discouraged that I'll even be able to afford to live there.

[Dream34]

Honestly, I think that if you are limiting your search just to the city proper as opposed to neighboring parishes then you are selling yourself short. If you are willing to look at Algiers then Jefferson Parish on either side of the rive should not be a stretch. There are plenty of safe, affordable neighborhoods with nice streets, low property taxes and an over excellent quality of life. While you would not have all of the cultural amenities you would enjoy were you to live in Mid City, Uptown, or other historic parts of the city you still are going to be able to enjoy many unique aspects of New Orleans culture (contrary to popular belief it does not end at the parish line or once you cross the Mississippi River). I live in Old Jefferson and I am a 5 minute car ride and 15 minute bicycle ride from Audubon Park and Uptown, yet just around the corner from the suburban amenities of Elmwood. We have an older house which has many of the same amenities and a bit of the charm of other homes we looked at Uptown and in Mid City at a fraction of the price. So far as the schools are concerned they are a bit better than those in New Orleans; however I would still look carefully and try to get your children into a charter school. Personally my child attends a French immersion school, which is a state charter school in New Orleans. Unfortunately at this point they only go up to 4th grade, so it's not an option for High School; however ISL (International School of Louisiana) has campuses in both New Orleans and Jefferson Parish and both are very good schools.

[Sevenohseven]

Thank you for all the help. I hadn't heard of ISL. is the International High School the same school?

[Dream34]

Originally Posted by Sevenohseven

Thank you for all the help. I hadn't heard of ISL. is the International High School the same school?

Yes, they offer French, Spanish, and Mandarin immersion programs.