All Forum Posts by: Scott Stevens

Could mean you won't have to spend as much on the rehab if it's a rental.

Mark, I know you said you'd live in the home first, but let's say it is in fact a 124k home that would rent for $900. Have you thought about finding a home like this for rent and just renting for a while and spending some more time here on BP learning before buying a house? Either way, if you rented or sold, I don't see an upside whether you do either in the next 3 years. When you rent, you don't have to pay for as many fixes as if you were a home tax payer. Consider the potential loss of your time involved in any work you do on the home. I've done it and regret spending all that time of my life painting. You don't get that time back. 

The same things you will be looking for in this house may be the same things your future retail buyer and their home inspector may be looking for and what you may not uncover, they may uncover. Remember, some buyers can be picky and shy away from certain things in a house because they think they are dangerous. Is this home functionally obsolete by today's standards? What's your game plan with the home? Sell or rent?

Hey Josh,

I went to school two hours away in Mobile, Alabama and worked there for a couple months at Tulane in N.O when I first went on active duty with the Army. I would say to take a Streetcar ride down Saint Charles Avenue and back. That's the only route I'd go, don't bother going up Canal Street or along the river. 

One good place alot of locals, and some tourists go for breakfast is the Trolley Stop along Saint Charles Avenue. I don't eat Seafood, so outside of that suggestion, I can't recommend restaurants. I enjoy bbq, and it wasn't that good in N.O. 

If you like to run, check out Audubon Park. Even if you don't, it's a nice place to walk through, and across from Tulane. That and Magazine street may have some shops to go through. 

I actually just enjoyed walking through the French Quarter and looking into the houses and courtyards. When you walk through the streets, the part of the house you see is actually the back of the house. If you want to hear jazz, you could probably hear some on Royal Street closer to canal street.

For Jazz, and where the locals go, you'll want to go to the Fauborg Marigny. There should be some bars there that play jazz. Two things you can find in N.O are beignets, which I'd go to Cafe Du Monde for. I'd also get some Pralines while there. Personally, I liked them from Laura's Candies along Chartres street the best, but they're all over. 

You may try a ghost tour there. One place you may look up prior to going is the Lalaurie Mansion on Royal Street. I always stop by and stare when I'm in N.O. 

A word on safety, as I'm sure you are aware, N.O isn't the safest place, but don't let that scare you. You'll be safe throughout the French Quarter,, most of the Central Business District, and along Saint Charles Avenue and should be fine a block North of Saint Charles and a few blocks south. You should be fine in a little ways in the Marigny as well. Sections can change like a checkerboard, so one minute you'll see huge houses along Saint Charles and a block or two up and it's run down, but at least you have a good indicator of when the place turns bad. Enjoy it, it's hard to not enjoy the city. Expect it to be somewhat unclean and you won't be dissapointed. It's the one city I don't mind that it's dirty. It has somewhat of a do as you please attitude. You can drink on the streets throughout the city (double check that when you are there), but I have never seen any issues with drinking all over the city on the streets.

 That is right. That is basically what 3 of my 4 A/C repairs have been at my rentals. I feel like an idiot having to call an A/C company when I have already diagnosed the problem and have to use them because they keep the capacitors on hand. Definitely should buy one for each rental. 

 All those should be expected, I agree, not major life events. 

The question is this.... do you have houses right next to it? It would be different in a multifamily where one problem tenant can cause issues with your other tenants, but.... are these kids destroying your home? If not, and the rent is paid on time.... then, here's what you have to ask next.... Are the neighbors who complained paying your rent? Will they care if you evict her and your house sits empty for a few weeks or months? Ask them if they'll help you pay holding costs until you find a quieter tenant. 

 Yes, that's part of it, and a big part of why I just want to move into a cheap apartment and enjoy my weekends now instead of constantly doing something around my house. It's understandable. There is a loop of townhouses in the area with over 150 townhomes. Although each one is almost identical, you can almost tell which one has a home tax payer living in it as opposed to a tenant by the landscaping on the outside. Where the tenants live, the bushes will not be tripped and there will be alot more weeds in the beds along the entry walk. Could also be lazy home tax payers too. 

Does anyone know, would one of the "high efficiency" April Aire brand 5 inch filters that goes into the indoor unit put more of a strain on the system than the 90 day filters?

 Could you explain that a bit more? Which unit did you mean? the air conditioner, or the home? As in, the cheapest filter may not catch all the dirt, thus making the home dirtier? 

Do you think it's better to use the cheaper filters or the kind that say they offer 90 days of air flow? The AC tech told me that a family of 5 is gonna clog a filter faster than a single person living in the home. It makes sense, but something I never even thought of til today.