Creole Creamery, New Orleans Ice Cream at its Best! Take a Break!           Need a break from real estate shopping or just want a New Orleans Ice Cream experience then stop at the Creole Creamery located at 4924 Prytania Street, New Orleans.  Its a good experience that you will remember.  Its hard to visit only once,  most people return again and again.  Treat yourself after a long walk or tough day.NOLA Eats      When its 90 degrees and 100% humidity,  the ice cream just tastes better.           There are an assortment of flavors from which to chose.  You need to be brave and pick something that you have never tried.  I like the waffle cones but then that is my taste.  The open at noon daily.  Once a bakery now an ice cream shop.  New Orleans is great at recycling icons from the past. 06/11/2009

HUD has announced that the $8,000 2009 tax credit can be used on closing costs!  This means that if you are a first-time home buyer here in New Orleans, you can apply the $8,000 to your closing costs at the closing table.  There are a few bits of information that you need to know regarding this tax credit...first of all, your have to qualify for the tax credit. Secondly, the loan must be FHA-approved.  Please note that the credit cannot be used to cover the 3.5% down payment that FHA requires.  Also, using the $8,000 at the act of sale is not as easy as simply writing it is a credit to the buyer, it may require a bridge loan from a different lender.  Take a look at the article posted on Realtor.org. So if you are looking for real estate in New Orleans and want to learn more about this t... 06/11/2009

Have you heard of this new program that is sweeping New Orleans real estate? I mean sweeping! It seems as if every buyer I speak to is intending to take advantage of this program in New Orleans. So what is the soft second program? The Finance Authority of New Orleans in cooperation with the LRA , the State Office of Community Development and the City of New Orleans created the Pathway to Home ownership Soft-Second Mortgage Loan Program. This is a great program where a borrower can potentially get up to $65,000 in “free” money to reduce the size of the note in addition to up to $10,000 in closing cost assistance. KEEP READING. 06/11/2009

New Orleans Real Estate Market Report May 2009 This market report focuses on Single Family Homes. May 2009 - 1858 properties for sale in New Orleans. -7.4% May 2008- 2007 properties for sale in New Orleans. 170 properties sold in New Orleans in May 2009. -33.6% 256 properties sold in New Orleans in May 2008 . Keep Reading New Orleans Property Market Report May 2009 You may also be interested in: New Orleans Real Estate - The Definitive Blog ______________________________________________________________ This New Orleans real estate market report was provided by Darryl Glade, Realtor with RE/MAX N.O. Properties. Darryl can be reached at darrylglade@remax.net or by phone at 504.451.8960. Darryl's office is conveniently located in Uptown New Orleans at 8001 Maple Street. Darryl works throug... 06/11/2009

New Orleans Real Estate Condos Market Report May 2009 This market report focuses on Condos in New Orleans. May 2009 - 718 condos for sale in New Orleans. -15% May 2008 - 845 condos for sale in New Orleans. 36 condos sold in New Orleans in May 2009. -46.3% 67 condos sold in New Orleans in May 2008 . Keep Reading May Market report You may also be interested in: New Orleans Real Estate - The Definitive Blog ______________________________________________________________ This New Orleans real estate condo market report was provided by Darryl Glade, Realtor with RE/MAX N.O. Properties. Darryl can be reached at darrylglade@remax.net or by phone at 504.451.8960. Darryl's office is conveniently located in Uptown New Orleans at 8001 Maple Street. Darryl works throughout the Greater New Orleans ar... 06/11/2009

Cotton Mill Condos #211920 PoeyfarreNew Orleans Warehouse District$229,211          This condo has some great points and several worthwhile additions have been made to the property since I last sold the condo several years ago.  I was totally impressed with what the current owners had done to improve their living space over the last 2 years.    The condo was a nice buy when they bought it with 4 large windows and an open floor plan.  The original wood floors throughout is always a plus.  The professional paint job that they had done really gives this unit a designers touch.  The entire unit was painted including the columns, beams and walls.  It just looks great.  Having this done is not cheap but now its already been done for you.     The condo is almost 750 sq. ft of living with ampl... 06/05/2009

Lot next door Program   Various programs were started to help in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. One such program is the Lot Next Door. The lot next door program is starting to take hold in parts of New Orleans. The lot next door is where current property owners can purchase the lot next door if it has been purchase by the Louisiana Recovery Administration (LRA). These lots were sold to the LRA due to damage incurred during Hurricane Katrina. The first offering is to neighbors who have rebuilt or in the process. The property is cleared of all storm damage property and sold to the neighbor next door. This is all well and great but I see an issue that many have not thought thru. In Lakeview, it appears that the average lot is selling for about 15k. These sales at this price will drag... 06/03/2009

448 Julia StreetGallery Row Condos #203New Orleans Warehouse District$231,900 Near the Corner of Julia Street and Magazine Street , New Orleans Warehouse District      Another premium condo in Gallery Row condos located at 448 Julia Street in the heart fo the New Orleans Warehouse District.  The condo is 737 sq. ft. on the second floor overlooking the courtyard.  The three large windows allow plenty of natural light without direct sun.448 Julia Street is known as Gallery Row Condos.  Its a great location in the New Orleans Warehouse District right in the middle of the New Orleans Art district and next door to the Children's Museum.  Its with blocks of the French Quarter and a block from Emeril's.         The French Quarter is only blocks away.  Gallery Row is a 48 unit condo complex th... 05/31/2009

New Orleans Real Estate Market Report April 2009 This market report focuses on Single Family Homes. April 2009 - 1845 properties for sale in New Orleans. -8.7% April 2008- 2020 properties for sale in New Orleans. 167 properties sold in New Orleans in Apr. 2009. -34.8% 256 properties sold in New Orleans in Apr. 2008 . The average price for sold properties was $221,000 in Apr. 2009. 10.5% The average price for sold properties was $200,000 in Apr. 2008. The average days on market for sold properties was 95 in Apr. 2009. -4% The average days on market for sold properties was 99 in Apr. 2008. You may also be interested in: New Orleans Real Estate - The Definitive Blog ______________________________________________________________ This New Orleans real estate market report was provided by Dar... 05/28/2009

New Orleans Real Estate (Condos) Market Report April 2009 This market report focuses on Condos in New Orleans. April 2009 - 741 condos for sale in New Orleans. -17% April 2008 - 893 condos for sale in New Orleans. 31 condos sold in New Orleans in April 2009. -34% 47 condos sold in New Orleans in April 2008 . The average price for sold condos was $329,000 in Apr. 2009. 18.8% The average price for sold condos was $277,000 in Apr. 2008. The average days on market for sold condos was 128 in Apr. 2009. 0% The average days on market for sold condos was 128 in Apr. 2008. You may also be interested in: New Orleans Real Estate - The Definitive Blog ______________________________________________________________ This New Orleans real estate condo market report was provided by Darryl Glade, Realtor... 05/28/2009

New Orleans Real Estate Market Report March 2009 This market report focuses on Single Family Homes. March 2009 - 1878 properties for sale in New Orleans. -7.6% March 2008- 2032 properties for sale in New Orleans. 196 properties sold in New Orleans in Mar. 2009. -8% 213 properties sold in New Orleans in Mar. 2008 . The average price for sold properties was $217,000 in Mar. 2009. -1.1% The average price for sold properties was $219,000 in Mar. 2008. The average days on market for sold properties was 96 in Mar. 2009. -7.7% The average days on market for sold properties was 104 in Mar. 2008. You may also be interested in: New Orleans Real Estate - The Definitive Blog ______________________________________________________________ This New Orleans real estate market report was provided by Dar... 05/28/2009

New Orleans Real Estate (Condos) Market Report March 2009 This market report focuses on Condos in New Orleans. March 2009 - 736 condos for sale in New Orleans. -15.4% March 2008 - 870 condos for sale in New Orleans. 35 condos sold in New Orleans in March 2009. -20.5% 44 condos sold in New Orleans in March 2008 . The average price for sold condos was $253,000 in Mar. 2009. 4.1% The average price for sold condos was $243,000 in Mar. 2008. The average days on market for sold condos was 138 in Mar. 2009. 25.5% The average days on market for sold condos was 110 in Mar. 2008. You may also be interested in: New Orleans Real Estate - The Definitive Blog ______________________________________________________________ This New Orleans real estate condo market report was provided by Darryl Glade, R... 05/28/2009

New Orleans Real Estate - Learn more about FHA-Insured Mortgages Today's New Orleans Real Estate blog post is all about FHA-Insured Mortgages. With the credit market as tight as it currently is, it helps to understand all of your options...and FHA is a very strong option. According to Realtor.org, since FHA was created in 1934, it has helped over 34 million families buy a home. First of all, FHA stands for Federal Housing Administration. So, what does FHA actually do? They basically insure mortgages backed by banks and other lending institutions and because these loans are backed (insured) by the U.S. Governement, banks are able to extend loans to more of the community. Since the governement backs the loans banks are willing to give loans to applicants with perhaps less than perfect cre... 05/26/2009

New Orleans Condos-The Studio condos, are they good buys?       Studio condos are generally condos that are small and have no separate bedroom.  They are too small in most cases to have room for a bedroom.  In the current market most studios are not good buys.  They sit on the market for long periods of time which tells me they are less desirable.  Its not until the prices becomes very very good that they will sell.  There are always one bedroom units in the same price range so the studios tend to sit and sit.       There are exceptions to my thoughts but those units better have some great features to make it a salable product.  The French Quarter has the most studios followed by the Warehouse District and Uptown.  We as as agents get to see them a lot as they are slow to sell.  Many ag... 05/25/2009

So I already have 1001 reasons to love living in New Orleans...here are 75000 more reasons to love this place. For 1st time homebuyers, you can get $65,000.00 towards closing, and afraid of the insurance hit? Get $10,000.00 towards closing costs including the insurance!  You need at least 3.5% down, but what a heck of an investment! If you buy a $200K property, you get that downpayment money back from Uncle Obama at tax time...and you thought you didn't have a rich uncle! There is a specific process to applying and proceeding working the deal which if structured right essentially makes you get a "no money down" deal if looked at over a 1 year time period perspective. So if you think good food, wonderful people, and something fun to do every weekend is not enough for your lifestyle as a ... 05/20/2009

Whitney and Sloo Condos located at 404 Notre Dame, Another New Orleans Warehouse District Choice !  New Orleans Condo Reviews     The 27 unit condo complex often known as just 404 Notre Dame is located on the corner of Tchoupitoulous and Notre Dame in the heart of the New Orleans Warehouse District.  The Whitney and Sloo building was once a leather factory for the horse and buggy era.     Generally I can find out a lot about these old building but this one had very little about it on the internet other that the origional owners. Have no idea of what it became after the horse and buggy era.    The complex was one of the earlier condo conversions in the downtown area.  The units are very large by today's  condo  standards.  They were built as condos.  The one bedroom units are over a 1000... 05/18/2009

Whitney and Sloo Condos at 404 Notre Dame Loft #9, A Large one Bedroom condo with garage parking. Condo Listings        I just listed this very spacious executive condo in the center of the New Orleans Warehouse District.  It comes completely furnished.  It has had one owner since the conversion 9 years ago and is in tip top shape.  Its unusual since most one bedrooms are much smaller than this unit.  The condo is 1033 sq.ft. of living area.   All the rooms including the bathroom are larger than the normal downtown condo.         Its got a killer location on the corner of  Tchoupitoulas and Notre Dame.  The third floor condo as 5 large windows which spreads natural light throughout the condo.   You can walk from this location to the Convention Center,  the French Quarter, Riverwalk, Sup... 05/13/2009

New Orleans Real Estate - 1031 Exchange - Tax-Deferred Have you ever heard of a 1031 Tax-Deferred Exchange? I would bet that you have...to a certain extent. This New Orleans Real Estate blog post is intended to give a very general and basic look at 1031 exchanges. As always, please consult with your tax professional or attorney for more specifics. So first of all, what is a 1031 Exchange? According to 1031.org, a 1031 exchange is "a method by which a property owner trades one or more relinquished properties for one or more replacement properties of "like-kind", while deferring the payment of federal income taxes and some state taxes on the transaction." Basically, it seems like you sell a property and then buy another immediately in order to defer paying taxes on the proceeds from the s... 05/12/2009

    I have started labeling the photos I enter inot the MLS in an effort to add more info about the properties that I list.  Its short and to the point.  Much like the postcards we use to send home before e-mail and digital photos. In this photo I am featuring the street below givng the buyers an idea of the neighborhood.  Maybe it will make a difference. Its quick and easy to read.      Each photo may have one thing that stands out.  Just beginning to try this with the help of picnik which I learned about on Active Rain. I tried to put too much in the beginning.  Soemthing simple seems to make the point better and quicker.   05/10/2009

Selling your New Orleans Condo? Know the competition! Get you condo sold quicker?  Selling your Condo       It's not what you paid for it.  It's not what you owe.   It's not what you what it to be.   It's not what you put it to it.  It's what the condo is worth that counts.  The price or value is what people will pay for your condo.  Buyers have many choices to choose from in all categories.  The other condos in your price rang and area are your direct competitor.       Knowing them is the key to getting your condo sold at the best price .  A good agent can give you this info and show you where you will fall in the order of units for sale.  Know how you compare?      You want to slot your condo into the correct group by pricing or updating to get slotted higher.  It  really does get bac... 05/07/2009