What's the matter with this house? (New Orleans, Chalmette: sale, high crime, hotel)

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by moiraesfate

Yeah, whatever you've decided is the truth. You might like to go look at the history of the city to get it.

I get tired of explaining everything to everyone all the time because they can't think.

You aren't even from New Orleans, or Louisiana, or this country for pete's sake. Don't tell me about MY state as if you are a native.

[sconley9922]

Originally Posted by moiraesfate

Yeah, whatever you've decided is the truth. You might like to go look at the history of the city to get it.

I get tired of explaining everything to everyone all the time because they can't think.

What in my post have I said that isn't true? You can look that up yourself. Born and bred in new orleans , was taught about my city in high school....I'm not pulling this out my a$$...and Like Annie said, you aren't even from here.

[Neworleansisprettygood]

Moira, I always to to be nice to you, but Algiers is, in every sense, part of New Orleans proper. It's a lot easier to get to the Quarter from Algiers Point than a lot of other places in the city, and they vote for the same mayor, pay Orleans Parish taxes, etc. I grew up in suburban Algiers, and while I get what you're saying, there's no need to be so defensive.

[Sevenohseven]

Thanks, everyone, for your insight.

Chip N Sawbones: We are handy, but not to a "This Old House" extent. So much for our fantasies about living in a "manor" (as this is described in the listing). Thanks for your expert opinion.

Moiraesfate: You're right about the price. The house was originally listed at $499K. Although I can't find that old listing anywhere now.

catavenger: As a fellow Phoenician, I can say that there are a lot of affordable houses in Phoenix, but most of them are not in good areas. I'm not talking about Scottsdale, Chandler, or other outlying areas, but Phoenix proper (excluding Phoenix's historic districts). I live in the Woodlea-Melrose Historic District near 7th Avenue and Indian School. I wish I could afford to live in the Roosevelt or Willo Historic Districts, but they are way too expensive. I can only afford my neighborhood because I bought my house in 1994 when it was still relatively cheap. I've lived in the Phoenix metro area for more than 40 years and I've seen it deteriorate into a third-world-looking country. I know that New Orleans has crime and poverty too, but at least it has music, art, history, etc. to make up for it.

[moiraesfate]

Yeah, its a pity too. You can see how pretty that house could be if it were updated. I just can't imagine the money and work it would take.

[Chip N Sawbones]

Eventually the price will fall low enough that it'll be cost-effective to hire a contractor to do a rebuild. It might take a long time though, since the general rule to make money remodeling houses is to find the worst house in the best possible neighborhood and fix it up, and this one's in a bad location. Even so, the size and the historical nature of this house means that at some point it will be fixed up and sold for a nice profit. Without a contractor, I'd say it would be a great deal at around $150,000 for the right buyer. If someone who knows how to do the work was to come along with enough money to pay for the materials and to live on for a year while they were working on the house, they could turn it around for a nice profit. With $60,000 in materials to put in a modern electrical system, kitchen and bathrooms and restore everything else, that antique house on that much land would be worth $300,000 or more, maybe a lot more - not a bad profit margin for eighteen months of work, no high school or college degree necessary!

The problem is that most of the people who know how to do the carpentry, plumbing and electrical work this house requires don't have that much money to spare, and the people with that much money don't have the construction skills. For the few that have both, houses like this one are a great opportunity. I was able to turn $80,000 worth of foreclosed house in terrible condition plus $12,000 in materials plus nine months of work into a $180,000 house, but this particular house is still a little out of my league.

[Sevenohseven]

Sounds like you're considering it?

[Chip N Sawbones]

Not with that house. I'm currently renovating a house in the Upper 9th Ward that's much smaller, cheaper and is in better condition. Between that and medical school, I'm too busy for another big project.

[Sevenohseven]

Medical school? Puts a new slant on "Chip N Sawbones." Not that there was ever an old slant...

[Chip N Sawbones]

Yeah, I came down here to go to Tulane.