Archive for July, 2008
French Quarter Condos-Beauregard House Condos-1350 Bourbon Street
July 31st, 2008 categories: French Quarter, New Orleans Condo Reviews
The Beauregard Condos are at the far end of Bourbon Street near Esplanade Ave. where the night life fades away into the neighborhood of the French Quarter. The condos serve as mainly second homes surrounding a courtyard and a pool. The 25 units are mainly small one bedroom units of between 500-600 sq. ft with some larger units.
The condos have a living area, bedroom, kitchen and small dining area. Most of the condos open onto a balcony overlooking the courtyard below. Parking does not exist for most condos in this price range in the Quarter but parking is available on the street or in nearby lots. Having a quiet pool and courtyard can really add to the pleasure of the experience in the French Quarter.
Its always interesting to see behind the gates to see the courtyards, patios and pools where people can enjoy themselves after the French Quarter nites and walks during the day. Best to take that walk early in the Summer heat of July and August because its brutal even for the locals.
Currently there are three units in the building for sale. The prices are $234,500, $235,000 and $250,00. The variables are location within the complex and the amount of updates that the units have. Many times you can get a furnished unit for the sales price. The condo fees run about $310 per month and include upkeep of the common areas, Insurance, pool upkeep,management and maintenance. The units have the same floor-plan as each other. Good way to compare one with the other.
Most of the units have a balcony directly on your front door. The units with views of the streets are some of the better units. There is no elevators in the buildings nor do the smaller units have their own washer and dryer.
Recent sales include two units, one in July of 2007 for $253,000. The other was a larger unit that sold for $320,000 in February of 2008. You do not have a large turnover in many of these complexes. Its alwys a good idea to know the motivation of the seller and what they initially paid for the unit. That is why its always good to have a buyers agents to give you all the info and possible things you can do and ask for.
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Louuisiana State Bond Money- Works for Condos too!
July 31st, 2008 categories: Julie's Mortgage Tips
Put your name on the waiting list for state bond money. The rate is 6.625% with 0 points and 0 origination fees. You also get 4% of your loan amount as free closing cost assistance. Last month all of our clients who were on the waiting list received the bond money. The state put their own money up in $5,000.000.00 increments for the people on the waiting list.
Julie Baudier
Baudier & Grace Mortgage Group
504-583-1793
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Condos New Orleans- Federal Tax Credit is Yours-Read the details!
July 30th, 2008 categories: Condo Knowledge
First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance
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The tax credit is available for first-time home buyers only.
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The maximum credit amount is $7,500.
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The credit is available for homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before
July 1, 2009. -
Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
You can visit this site for more details and questions. This is Federal tax credits for purchases of homes and or condos.
This means that if you buy something for over $75,000 and meet the details its a tax credit which is much better than a deduction. Its like cash. You owe $5000 in taxes and with the credit you get a check for $2500. That is the way that I read it. This is hard to pass up if you are on the fence on buying a house or a condo. Have a couple of thousand to save or decorate. This is great news for people thinking about purchasing. Do not wait till the last minute as many people will.
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New Orleans French Quarter Condos- 627 Ursuline Street- Much like a Treasure Hunt!
July 28th, 2008 categories: French Quarter, Second Homes
Selling condos in the New Orleans French Quarter is always an experience and much like a Treasure Hunt. Walking on the same streets that real pirates did almost 200 years ago in the French Quarter is like going back in history. The condos vary in size and quality and there are few new buildings that have been built in the last 100 years. All the units are going to have their pros and cons. A lot of times finding the right unit takes a little more time than other areas. But there is however little driving and old fashion foot work. Its more the nature of second homes and what you client desires.
Jack and I recently had a client who knew precisely what he wanted. The condo had to have a street balcony. It had to be between Bourbon Street and the Mississippi River. It had to have historic qualities and would be no more than $350,000. We knew it would be a one bedroom and have no parking so the search was started last fall in October of 2007. We knew it would not be in a larger complex as there are few and none of those would meet his criteria. We did know the client was very serious and had several hundred thousand to put down. You can do so much more with a motivated client that has no financing issues. The hunt would begin !
Time in this case was no issue. Jack and I put the client on an automated search for a price range and location. Some units have balconies to courtyards so those would also come up in the search but our client wanted a street balcony. Units would come up regular basis and we would weed out the ones that would not work. Many times the descriptions did not tell the full story so Jack would call the listing agent to get the details. Many times this would solve the mystery and eliminate the unit. Read the rest of this entry »
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Garden District Condos-1627 Conery St.-Historic Condo Renovation! What do you get for $192,500?
July 23rd, 2008 categories: Condo Listings, Historic Homes
This exciting condo at 1627 Conery Street in the New Orleans Garden District is a new listing of mine. This is a great example in how we in New Orleans love to keep these old buildings and reuse them. The developer really has gone the extra mile to leave the old fireplaces with the exposed brick, wood plank floors while at the same time giving people what they want. This is what we like about Historic Renovations.
The unit was renovated down to the studs meaning new electrical, new a/c-heater, new water pipes and much more. At the same time people want new kitchens, new baths, crown molding and lots of windows. I would guess this building was about 80 years old.
This Garden District condo has two bedroom and one bath and is in a great location. You are within half a block of St. Charles Ave. and public transportation via the New Orleans Street car line. There is no parking but street parking in front of the unit does not seem to be an issue. Most people living here would love to park and walk.
The Condo features include 12 foot ceilings, crown molding, recessed lighting, renovated windows that work, under counter lighting, ceiling fans, custom cabinets, travertine tiles, upscale granite counter tops, new stainless steel appliances, and windows that still work. Whenever you have windows with natural light and high ceilings the unit lives much larger than the 753 sq. ft. of living. The condo fees are reasonable at $187 per month. This cover insurance, flood insurance, water and up keep. The building has never flooded. Read the rest of this entry »
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New Orleans scores well on the walking score, Check it out!
July 21st, 2008 categories: New Orleans Origionals
The New Orleans Warehouse District scores well on the Walk Score. Its a neat tool for a couple of smiles and conversations. The New Orleans French Quarter scores even better. These neighborhoods existed well before cars, so things had to be close. You had local markets in neighborhoods and public transport was good because it had to be. Few families owned cars before 1950 in New Orleans. Check out the link above and see what your score neighborhood score is.
One of the nice things about walking is that you get to see the sites. There will be something for everyone to see. I am sure the score did not give you the conditions of the streets or the joys of walking in our humid summers. Walking here you can easily work up a sweat which is not all that bad. In New Orleans you can always dress down, fashion city we are not.
The Warehouse District scored a 92 on the test. The French Quarter a scored 98. There were no bonus point because you can walk and drink at the same time, it just has to be outside of a bottle. Its the go cup which may have had it origin in New Orleans.
The Warehouse District has a lot of small streets and wide sidewalks to make you walks easier. This is a photo of Lafayette Street several blocks from the Super Dome, several blocks to the French Quarter, several blocks to the Mississippi River.
You can actually walk across the Mississippi River for free on the New Orleans Algiers Ferry which is free. It operates from 6 am till Midnite from Canal Street. Best way to ride is not to sit down but walk down to where the cars are. There you get the breeze and the feel of the Mississippi River. You can walk around while the ferry motors across. The views are great and you cannot beat the price. No meter maids will hassle you either.
I did not check out the scores in the Uptown 0f New Orleans but I sure they are high as well. Many people walk for their health in Audubon Park. Take your dog along and it will become habit forming.
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New Orleans Warehouse District condos-Paragon Lofts-900 S. Peters
July 19th, 2008 categories: New Orleans Condo Reviews, Warehouse District
The Paragon Lofts located in the New Orleans Warehouse District is a small complex of larger size units. Most of the 21 condos are spread over the upper 3 floors. Most of the units are 2 bedrooms condos with two baths units and measure over 1500 sq. ft. of living area. There are a few one bedroom units. Everyone likes balconies but this is one of the few complexes in the New Orleans Warehouse District that has them. The 900 S. Peters location puts them in the middle of the Warehouse District, a couple of blocks to Riverwalk and to Harrahs Casino.
All the condos have secure garage parking spaces on the first floor with a secure entrance via elevators to the units on the 2nd and third floors. The penthouses and terrances are on the top floor. The Paragon condos were finished in August of 2000. There has not been a lot of turnover since that time.
The units are upscale with a lot of individual tastes put into each of the units. Its not your typical developers units and the owners did a lot of custom work for their units. The condos have wook floors , stained concrete floors, exposed brick, cypress beams, balconies, and garage parking. The balconies are a real plus as few buildings in the area have them. They have some great city views. The larger units are in the 1700-1800 st. ft. range.
They are professionally managed and the owners have a very quiet complex on a one way street that is rarely ever very busy. You have as many walkers as cars sometimes.
There are currently 3 units in the building for sale. A one bedroom for $345,000, a two bedroom for $519,000 and a penthouse for $629,000. The last sale in the building was for 430k with the 2 previous sales dating back to 2005. The sales price on those units were 700k for a super decked out corner unit and a 575k for another unit that I did not get to see. As the price of the condos goes up I think you have fewer sales as people can afford to keep them longer.
There are currently 38 condos in the Warehouse District for more than 500k that are for sale . This number does include several pre-sales. There are 11 units for more than a million. The best of the units are selling but the competition is stiff for the things that people want. Its much more than just the size of the unit in this price range.
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New Orleans Luxury Condos-2600 St. Charles Ave.-St. Charles Residences
July 18th, 2008 categories: New Condo Projects, New Orleans Condo Reviews
Six Luxury New Orleans Condos are now under construction at 2600 St. Charles Ave. The St. Charles Residences are 6 large units with over 2500 sq. ft. with all the amenities that you would expect in luxury condos. The units are being marketed by Keller Williams and are priced at 1.6 million plus.
This was the location of the former Scheinuk Florist where the Easter rabbits always were. You have got to love the location and the fact that is residential rather than another drug store or fried chicken place.
The New Orleans Luxury Condo market welcomes new additions as this market is still developing as people decide that condo living can be a plus. There just have not may many new developments in the uptown New Orleans market. Most of the upper end condos have been built are on the Lakefront and in the downtown area. Even in those areas there have been few in the last 5 years.
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New Orleans Condos- The wall paper discount could be worth thousands?
July 15th, 2008 categories: Condo Knowledge
Getting the top price for your New Orleans condo is up to you. You want to definitley do all the cosmetic issues in order for the unit to look fresh and appealing. You will sell the your unit faster and get more money for it in the end. If you do not have time to do it, you need to hire a professional to get it done correctly. A general rule that I use if you can paint and do the cosmetic things needed then you will sell it for $4000-$5000 more. It may cost you $2000 so its a great return. Going one step further and having it staged will make the unit sell for more and quicker.
If you want to get less and have the unit stay on the market longer then have a messy tenant that has little incentive in seeing the unit sold. This can be an agents nightmare as its hard for people to overcome a picture of confusion. We all have these and try to work around it but the results never seem to change. It takes longer and you get less.
Agents and professional Stagers know how to spiff up a unit to make it salable. You still have to be priced correctly but it always makes a difference. Buyers are always going to look at 6-7 units before making a decision. Put your self in their shoes. The 2 photos are good examples how you can make a room look a lot larger by doing away with outdated wall paper. Doing things like this can pay dividends and you will get the unit sold quicker. it is a competitive market and the best sell.
On the other hand if you are the buyer you should get the wall paper discount as the unit tends to stay on the market longer. It will end up selling for less as the seller did not figure this out or listen to the agent. You see the wall paper discount daily, take advantage of it.
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New Orleans Warehouse District Condo Update-July 2008
July 13th, 2008 categories: Market Trends, Warehouse District
The heat and humidity of the New Orleans summer is upon us but sales are still happening. Sellers have a nice unit and it has to be priced right to get the buyers attention. The big trend that I have noticed is the demand for the 300-400k,` 2 bedrooms are way up over that of a year ago. I have sold several units this year around the 300k price to people that are buying them as second homes. This second home segment of the market was missing last year. You also see more people coming for jobs that are also buying condos as their primary homes.
There are currently 181 units listed as active which includes some pre-sales and a good number of developer units. There have bee 38 sales since May and there are currently 33 units under contract. The price levels remain rather stable year over year. Condo fees have leveled off as the effects of Katrina have vanished from the scene in this area of town. The energy prices seem to be having little effect on the area.
The energy prices may be having a positive effect on condo sales. The commutes are small and the need for a car is much less in a downtown area. You can walk more or take the streetcar to avoid the increased fuel prices. I tend to see an even split of locals and new comers choosing this area as place to settle.
The expansion of the World War Two Museum in the Warehouse District is moving along will a completion date of next summer. The expansion will triple the size of the present day museum. There are several new apartment complexes expected to be completed in the next year as well. Lots of construction in the area.
Rentals have been hard to find as owners are not renting the units out as much and the demand has eaten up most of the supply in most of the complexes.
My son Marcus just moved back for Houston for a better job, now that is a switch. He had been there since Katrina and wanted to return to a small town.
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