The complexes are generally small so most do not have a lot of amenities.  Most do have locations where walking is great and they are close to the streetcar line, shops, coffee houses, bars and restaurants.  The best ones have all the historical features left in tact. 

     The one difference you will see is how the developer finished the unit and how much was done to the entire building.  Some developers will do the basics when turning it from a rental unit to a condo.  Others like this one pictured below will put much more into the entire package. 

    This one has a newer roof, updated electrical, gas stove, brick walk ways, freshly painted, great windows that all open, nice wood floors, fireplace, new heat and a/c and as many details left as possible.  Few fire places are actually working as they were coal burning in the day.  The owners would bring hot coals from the kitchen and put them in the small fireplace for the night.  We normally only have 30 such nights in New Orleans.  Often they are found in every room.

     The way the condo is finished should be reflected in the price.  The bargain today may turn into a money pit down the road.  You should treat the inspection of these condos more like  you are buying a home.  Check out the entire building and review the upkeep of the building.  Many times residents think nothing needs to be done until it is broken.  Best to have someone in the association that knows that it is better to fix small things before they become bigger.  It sound like common sense but then again……

     It always pays in the end to get the best unit which is the balcony and porch units as those hold their values better.  Most people want the premium condos when it comes to resale.  Its very hard to put a price on a balcony or porch but you will surely enjoy the time you spend on them.  Kinda of like priceless…

     You tend to find more people living in these historic condos on a full time basis as they are in great locations and have more room.  This however makes it great for a second home person knowing that someone is there all the time.  They are also easy to rent as well.  Lets walk down the street and grab a bite to eat…

     St. Elizabeth Condos located at 1314 Napoleon has had a long history of being something else.  It remains once of the best condo conversions in New Orleans.  The historic character could not be duplicated.  Its 47,000 square feet and features galleries front and rear.

   St. Elizabeth’s  was built as a boarding school in 1865, Converted to a girls orphanage in 1870, Closed in 1989 as an Orphanage, Bought as a home by Anne Rice in 1993.  Converted into Upscale condos in 2004.  Now that is some history.  Seeing the  units is even better.

     The interesting comment is that most of these are in residential New Orleans neighborhoods rather than on main streets or around commercial properties.  The turnover in these style units tends to be less than in the larger complexes. 

      There have been several in and around Tulane and Loyola University which are suited for students, residents and other first time home buyers.  Many will not have parking but street parking is easy and this does not bother many.

    The resales have been good so long as the condos are well maintained.  The developers of these types of units are a key factor in future values.  Many are just thrown together and while others are well thought out.

     Most of the buildings were once small apartment complexes that were built in the 1920’s or 1930’s.  Many were large homes that were divided into apartments many years ago.  The zoning allowed this in those days.  Most of the complexes are in the more  historic neighborhoods of New Orleans.

      The condos in and around the New Orleans Garden District have maintained their value thur the latest downturn.  I think the main reason is that they are hard to duplicate and expensive to duplicate.  When you have high home prices in an area the only way to start may be with a purchase of a condo.

     This does not mean all the condos are a good buy but its a great place to look to find that condo that has all the ingredients that people will want.  It is no surprise that most want the same things.  The historic features of wood floors, high ceilings, large windows, lots of natural light, porches, balconies, old woodwork, brick fireplaces, and the location are things all people want.  Oddly enough these features can be found in all price ranges.

     Most fireplaces are not in working order but its a nice feature to have.  Many condos will have more than one.

     New Orleans was captured early on in the Civil War and was not burned down like some other Southern Cities.  Maybe because General Sherman was the first President of LSU.  He was not involved  in the capture of New Orleans at that time.

  ” The population of the city doubled in the 1830s, and by 1840 New Orleans had become the wealthiest and third-most populous city in the nation. It had the largest slave market. Two-thirds of the more than one million slaves brought to the Deep South arrived via the forced migration of the internal slave trade. The money generated by sales of slaves in the Upper South has been estimated at fifteen percent of the value of the staple crop economy.”

      ” The slaves represented half a billion dollars in property, and an ancillary economy grew up around the trade in slaves – for transportation, housing and clothing, fees, etc., estimated at 13.5 percent of the price per person. All this amounted to tens of billions of dollars during the antebellum period, with New Orleans as a prime beneficiary.”  From New Orleans Wikipedia ,  read the rest of the story.

     The great thing about the area is you can spend 1/2 day walking in the area viewing the historic homes and its free.  Just do a little homework so you will wander by the correct  homes.  You can take a streetcar to make the trip even more enjoyable.  Guided tours are available for those who do like homework.  The Garden District will give you camera a workout.  These were just random shots that I took on a Spring like day in Jan. 2009

      The area is like a Garden so its good to get the home photos  before everything starts growing again. 

      Garden District Condos- Homes can be expensive in the area- You can however get some great condos in the area where you can get the feel of the area at a much lower cost.  The historic condos have been one of the strong points in the New Orleans market.  They are hard to duplicate and the nice buys are still rather hard to find.  Its an area that is worth checking out if you like the feel. 

 New Orleans Garden District Condos-Historic condos and homes are all here! 2512 Magazine Street- the Livaudais House

New Orleans Luxury Condos-St. Elizabeths Condos-1314 Napoleon Ave-Plenty of history here.

    Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope everyone is full of turkey and had a good time with family and friends today.  You always eat too much!   That is easy to do in New Orleans.  Just wanted to share some of my recent photos using  www.picnik.com to do some fun things.  The initial version is free and only $25 for the fancy version.  I use it weekly so its a good buy.

      The New Orleans French Quarter has been here since 1718 but these shot guns came much later and were not mansions.  Just wanted to call to the attention of detail with the Victorian gingerbread work  that became popular from 1830 to 1910.  The owners of these shotguns could dress them up with the style of the day which was Victorian Gingerbread work.  They could also be very creative with the colors not of American but those of the West Indies.  I guess you could say they were works of art since they are found in few places beyond the New Orleans area that I know of.

    The New Orleans French Quarter and the historic homes brighten the streets and the lives of the people living and visiting the area.  Its a mixture of Creole, West Indies, Italian and Irish who settled in in these shotgun neighborhoods.  Much of the style is dictated by the hot humid climate in which we lived before autos and A/C.  My guess is most of these shotguns were built around 1900.

     “Creole cottages and shotgun houses dominate the scene in many New Orleans neighborhoods. Both have a murky ancestry. The Creole cottage, two rooms wide and two or more rooms deep under a generous pitched roof with a front overhang or gallery, is thought to have evolved from various European and Caribbean forms. The shotgun house is one room wide and two, three or four rooms deep under a continuous gable roof. As legend has it, the name was suggested by the fact that because the rooms and doors line up, one can fire a shotgun through the house without hitting anything. Some scholars have suggested that shotguns evolved from ancient African “long-houses,” built here by refugees from the Haitian Revolution, but no one really knows.”

    “It is true that shotguns represent a distinctively Southern house type. They are also found in the form of plantation quarters houses. Unlike shotgun houses in much of the South, which are fairly plain, New Orleans shotguns fairly bristle with Victorian jigsaw ornament, especially prominent, florid brackets. Indeed, in many ways New Orleans’ shotguns are as much a signature of the city as the French Quarter.” as per the New Orleans Convention Bureau, I could not have said it better but I may show it to you better.

“NEW ORLEANS DEBUT: The shotgun house, considered an African American architectural form, is thought to have come to this country in the 19th century with free blacks migrating from Haiti to New Orleans. There, the style blended with Louisiana’s African, French and Arawak building traditions, then spread throughout the South, most often as cheap housing for low-income workers.
Researchers think the Haitian shotgun was a mix of West African and West Indian architectural styles. Folklorist and social historian John Michael Vlach says the porch and gable-end door came from native Haitian tradition, and the wood construction was borrowed from French colonists. However, he has traced the basic design to West African slaves, specifically Yoruba tribesmen. Some think the name shotgun comes from the Yoruba word “togun,” meaning “house” or “place of assembly.”

“STYLE CHARACTERISTICS:The design is simple, a row of several rooms with a gable-ended entrance. There is no hall. Most are one-story homes, but many in New Orleans have a camel-back — a second story at the rear of the house. A narrow front porch covered by a roof apron with columns and brackets is common; it often incorporates elaborate Victorian ornamentation. The rooms are relatively large, about 14 feet square, with high ceilings, some molding, ceiling medallions or other decorative woodwork. As shotgun homes evolved, they were dressed up with decorative features borrowed from Greek Revival, Victorian gingerbread and other styles popular at the time. ” Oddly enough found this in a blog from The Oregonian that has a nice explanation.

     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. 

Three of the four units have been sold.  This is the developers own unit and has a couple of extra touches.  The master bedroom is very large. The blinds and appliances will stay.  You have more than the normal amount of recessed light and the light fixtures are not your off the shelf Home Depot items.  The under the counter lighting, the travertine hallway, and crown molding are all extra touches.  The nice thing about a total renovation is that there should be fewer things to break since most are new.

The bathroom is an executive bath all the way with the exposed brick fire place left in tack.  The travertine shower stall and custom vanity with the tall ceilings add to the overall feel.  Get the executive feel in a condo.  Once again this is a great location for someone working downtown, working at the LSU and Tulane Medical schools, attending Loyola and Tulane, a short ride to Audubon Park and even for people working on the Westbank of New Orleans.  You are a short trip to the New Orleans French Quarter and the New Orleans Warehouse District.

     The Livaudais House features 8 condos of varying sizes and types are located  among single family homes worth millions and a block or two from the local coffee shops.  its also with walking distance for grocery shopping and much more.  You can walk to the St. Charles Ave. Street cars and are about 25 blocks from the French Quarter.  You can be at Tulane the Med. School which is downtown in 15 minutes tops.

     The 2512 Magazine condo has one very large master and a smaller bedroom on the other side of the condo which would be perfect for a room mate.  The kitchen was updated, the hardwood floors and old fireplaces really brought that historic condo to life.  The secure entrance and parking spot on the side of the unit was a big plus.  Jogging and pets are allowed.  Everything is within walking distance and viewing the nearby homes and gardens is free.

     The open floor plan is much more spacious than these photos indicate.  The kitchen and appliances have been updated and were all in good shape.  The big negative in the unit was having carpeting in the large master but that could be changed and would enhance the value of the unit.  The unit sold for 215k.  There is the large one bedroom upstairs that is waiting for the act of sale and a one bedroom next door for 158,500k.  Its a great unit for that price.  I will have to look for another buyer in that price range.

     The historic New Orleans Garden District homes in the surrounding area truly from another era as you can see from the couple of photos I took as the sun was setting.  These were within two blocks of the condos.  I did take 8-10 such homes as we circled the block.  The only way to live in this are is via a condo based on the housing prices in the area. 

     The neighborhood is made for walking and with gas prices high this is an ideal location.  Its the way neighborhoods were before the auto, the golden arches and the Wal-Marts.  That is why the values of these locations are very hard to duplicate.  Walt Disney would have a hard time duplicating what you can see within 5 blocks of the condo.  Its just another New Orleans choice.   

Many of the early residents lived in New Orleans during the winters and ran plantations during the spring and summer. The plantations line the Mississippi River in the pre-1850’s. The housing styles came from Europe and of those in other French and Spanish colonies that had similar weather. The idea was mainly to keep cool and an air flow thru the houses. Many of these old homes have been converted into condos and no one wants to cut the grass anyway these days.