[Calc Review] Help me analyze this deal in New Orleans

[Ben Rothwell]

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[Mike Wood]

@Ben Rothwell A couple of comments to your analysis.  I own one of these duplexes only a few blocks down.

1) they are old houses, typically in need of repair.  The first floor will be renovated since Katrina, as the area had 8ft of water.  But the original house was build in the late 1940's and have been well used for rentals for a very long time, with typical houses having alot of deferred maintenance.

2) Your rents are high, assuming its the standard 2/1 up/down duplex.  Each unit is small, around 750-800ft2 each. Not having central air and no laundry will likely keep you at a maximum rent of $900/unit (right at section 8 rates).  Rents have been pretty stagnate in this area for the last 10yrs.

3) Your insurance and taxes are low.

4) If you go for students, your vacancy will be higher, especially during the summer.  I dont market my units toward students due to this, but I have had student tenants in the past. If you dont market to students only, 8% vacancy would be high for the area if your priced right.

5) You'll need to account for lawn care as the tenants of duplexes will not take care of the lawn in this area.  Its likely $80/month during spring/summer/fall, $40/month during the winter.

6) You'll need to pay for water/sewage/trash, as all of these duplexes only have one meter.  This will likely be $90-120/month.

With the above said, I am not a super fan of this part of NOLA for rentals.  The rental pool that wants to live in this area is limited, and it shows in the application pool.

I would also say that this rental is way overpriced, given the lack of central air and the original crappy kitchen.  Doubles in these neighborhood (they are all the same) might sell for $160k, and even at that price, I would not be a buyer.  There are much better areas that command higher rents than this part of Gentilly.