New Orleans Real Estate by Eric

New Orleans Warehouse District Condos- Julia Street can be considered Main street or the center of the Warehouse District!

      The New Orleans Warehouse District is an area of Old Warehouses, office buildings and new construction that features condos as the primary form of residences.  This is the New Orleans answer to downtown living.  The center of the area is Julia Street for several reasons,  its the geographic center and a large majority of the condo complexes are on Julia Street or the immediate area. 

      Julia Street is home to several condo complexes that have sprung up over the last 5-6 years including Magazine Place , Gallery Row , Julia Place , The Lofts , The Rotunda, and 835 Julia Condos.  Julia Street is home to the Children's Museum, offices, hotels and  numerous art galleries.  At the end of Julia nearest the Mississippi River is the beginning of the River Walk shopping complex as well as the New Orleans Convention Center.  

     The Julia Street location is an easy walk to the New Orleans French Quarter.  The interstate is blocks away so its easy to go East or West on I-10.  Harrah's Casino, Fulton Street, Audubon Aquarium, and various hotels have a very large presence near the New Orleans Convention Center.  The central location has made the area a favorite spot for second home owners as it is very family friendly.  Its an easy walk to many of New Orleans better restaurants.

     The New Orleans Warehouse District is within walking distance to the downtown area so it has become a trendy place to live for young professionals who chose an urban lifestyle.  It has become a favorite place for medical students, residents since the Warehouse District and Julia Street is about a mile away from Tulane and LSU Medical Schools.

    The Julia Street area is ideal for walking.  The St. Charles Ave. street car line crosses  Julia Street in the 600 block.  This makes it an easy ride to Uptown New Orleans.  The area got its major lift with the expansions of the New Orleans Convention Center, New Orleans Area-Home to the Hornets and the Super Dome activities.  The Convention center attracted more hotels to the area and the attractions and living experiences have expanded since the early days.

    I used picnik.com for the photo program that is free to use and experiment with before getting the upgraded version of around $25 per year. I used the free version for a while and found it to be a great buy, lol.  Its well worth trying.

New Orleans Condos- What do condo fees Cover? Most often asked question? Who pays the Insurance?

     I get this important question asked about condos very often.  Who pays for the homeowners insurance?  Many buyers are surprised to learn that the condo fees cover property and casualty insurance on the individual condo and common areas.  I always think people know this but lets talk about it a little more in detail.  In order to get a loan from the lender, they will  make sure the condos have the proper insurance to protect their investment.  If the condo is in a flood zone then it is required to have flood insurance as well. 

     The highest deductible that most lenders will allow is 10% with some reserves to back that number up.  Many complexes have a 5% deductible.  They also look at reserves and pending lawsuits to make sure their investment is safe.

    The condo fees do not cover your contents and those policies are easy to get often costing less than $500 per year do up to 40k of coverage.  Rarely do I hear of people using this but its better to be safe than sorry. 

    The insurance is often the major item in the condo fees. In small associations it is many times over 50% of the fee.  The next largest item in condo budgets is the upkeep of the property.

      The larger the condo association the more people are paying for the common elements and generally the fees tend to be lower.  Other things that are normally in the fees are water, common electricity, security, pool maintenance, clean up, termite contracts, landscaping, salaries, elevators, condo reserves and management fees.  Most condos I sell are managed by a professional often on site for the larger units and off site for the smaller units.  The smaller units are managed by the owners.

    The fees are generally based on the size of the unit when the condo was originally old.  Condo fees go up when costs go up or the majority of owners want to add more services.  As a member  your vote and voice counts.  Making sure the complex in top notch shape is the best way to protect your values.  I do see where this is not done and the value craters as no one wants to live there.

How much is this New Orleans Condo worth? What should my offer be?

     An experienced agent will tell you, its not what the seller's are asking.  But more what the condo is worth.  The seller may not be asking the correct price!  So its not how much off that you can get of the asking price.  If a seller is more than 10% over the correct price the condo will get stale and lose its shopability.  They may not know how to figure out the value or may just want to see if it gets more.  There are many variables when pricing a condo and all these may not be taken into account by the agent and the seller.  Many times the seller cannot look at the numbers with an open mind and wants more than its worth. 

     Sometimes however sellers  just want to sell and will put a very good number on the property.  In these cases the seller may come of little if the value is there.  Sometimes the agent does not know the correct price and advises their client wrong.  Both find out the error in time.  I have made the pricing error as well.  This happens when there are not many numbers available to draw a conclusion. 

     When valuing a condo here are some steps to take- Its More than just size or square footage.  It is important but certainly not the only factor in the pricing?

What are condos in the building selling for?  How is this condo any different than the others?  How does the condo rank with the competition and the recent sales?

Is the unit updated?  Anything special that was done to the unit.  What has been updated, Kitchen and baths? What would it cost to update? 

What floor is it on, first floor units tend to go for less.  What is the floorplan?

What is the view, this is a large factor.  How many windows does it have. No one likes a dark condo without light.  Do you have value in a balcony or porch? Certainly? 

What are the negatives of this unit?  What are the positives?  What are the Condo Trends in the area and the building?

Does the unit have parking, parking can be a big plus in urban areas such as the French Quarter, Warehouse District and uptown New Orleans.

What are the floors?  What type of flooring, carpet is out. Are the appliances new?

Is the square footage all one one level?  This is more valuable than loft space made within the unit.  Does the unit have high ceilings to give it a bigger look?

    Andrew Jackson may not know what the condo is worth!  But Eric will!  In the end you are going to rank the condos in your order of preference.  You are going to look at all the pluses and minuses when figuring out which is your favorite unit.  Then we can figure out what the correct price of the unit is.  We may be able to get it for less than the numbers say.

The market has been very stable for 3 years so values are also very level for most and up for only the better units.  Some sellers may have paid too much and those sellers just take longer to adjust to the correct price.

     The sellers motivation is also a key factor.  Always a good idea to find this out.  In this current buyers market there will be some good deals as some sellers just want to sell.  Many remain stubborn but tend to come around as the bills come due, taxes, condo fees and no rent coming in.  A 200k condo can easily have a carrying charge of 1500-1700 per month.  Waiting 3 months can easily cost a seller $5,000 that will never be seen again.

      Many time developers only take the size into consideration.  You can get some great deals that add to your resale value.  This happens more than you know as its not easy to get the values right.  You take a chance in a new building but the value is there if you choose correctly.  The listing agent may never let you know.  

  As an experienced buyers agent I can help you with this.  I have always put a lot of emphasis on the resale of the unit.  I know what most people want and what the most popular features are.  I also know what things they do not like and issues that are harder to overcome.  I can rank the unit in terms of the past sales  to see where your favorite may rank.  Seeing and showing the areas makes this a much easier process.

They are escentially going out of business as we know them.  The government bailoout will be the last straw. Filing bankruptcy would be the smart thing to do giving them time to restructure and become a vaible force again.  There are just too many car manufacturers for cars being bought.  These companies make things people are not willing to buy.

Is this another Amtract or Post Office. Politics and business means not much will change. What is you feel? Another bailout and then another. Are you ready for a National Auto Company?

Federal Fibre Mill Condos, Common Areas grade an A Plus! Common Areas are part of your values!

    The Federal Fibre Mills Condos is one of the oldest downtown condos but has one of the best common areas in the New Orleans Warehouse District at any price point.  The Federal Fibre Mills is located at 1107 S. Peters is a block from the New Orleans Convention Center.  The block across the street is a green space park to be enjoyed by all.  The key point is that common areas done nicely help make up the value of your condo, it is not just all about size.  The value grows over time as its harder and harder to match. 

     One of the most important factors in valuing your condo is the appeal of the common areas that you are going to see day and nite while you are living or visiting your condo.  The Federal Fibre Mills Condos were built as housing for the 1984 Worlds Fair and was actually the site of the German Beer Garden for that period.

     The original developer was giving people an idea of downtown living which was foreign in New Orleans at that time.  What it was like to live in an urban environment.  To accomplish this he left the exposed beams, larger windows, higher ceilings, exposed brick and the large open spaces in each of the units even though they are small.  New Orleans always had the French Quarter but it had no large condo complexes.

    The lobby with the exposed beams going the top floors and open spaces make this more like a hotel lobby.  The Fibre Mills pool and courtyards are one of the best in town with the tropical foliage and walking paths.  The interior units have the courtyard views that over look the tropical courtyards.  Alot of effort was given to quality of life issues which still mean a lot 25 years later.

      An exercise room which is very common today but virtually unknown in its day was added above a dressing room that serves the pool.  There is a huge party room that is used for parties and meetings in the courtyard.  All these add value to the owner and the units.  The demand for these items goes up and keeps the values steady

    The Federal Fibre Mills has parking half a block away.  The security get high grades for watching the front and know all the owners.  There is a manager on site with a couple of people that maintain the common areas.

New Orleans Statues, Some little known? Some well Known! All have a History!

       New Orleans is a city of statues, some in unexpected places, some very well known and others almost  forgotten .  Here are a few that everyone will know and some that you may never seen.  New Orleans has more statues that any city its size in the United States and maybe the world.  That will be another blogs.  You can maybe guess why that is? You may be dead on !

    This one is at St. Elizabeth's Condos on Napoleon Ave.  This was once an orphanage and home to Anne Rice, the vampire author.

    This one is outside the Louisiana Super Dome remembering the soldiers who fought in Vietnam.