All Forum Posts by: Kimberly Jones

@Andrea E. you can actually do corporate rentals on airbnb https://www.airbnb.com/sublets

"Hot" is a good way to describe it, but not in the way you think. Hollygrove is about the only part of town I do not like to go into. It definitely is not for the faint of heart. Don't really see it gentrifying any time soon. 

LOL @Braden Smith you already know, it's James.

I know one local wholesaler that is pumping out lots so fast he can hardly keep up. Just like @Mike Wood said, you have to concentrate on the parts of the city that will support new construction. For instance, I have been combing through the MLS this morning trying to nail down some comps for a possible acquisition in the upper 9th ward and I am amazed at the huge number of new builds we have going on around here.

You need to be EXTREMELY careful hiring a GC from out of state. My rehabs are in my own neighborhood and I still go through hell. Do you have someone local to keep an eye on the work?

You are going to need a Registered Agent in Louisiana.  You can use any address you want to BUT the Registered Agent's purpose is to be available (findable) for service of process.

Give Cally Doyle a call, she is 100% when it comes to investing and does plenty of fix & flips herself. I can't post her number here so I will message it to you.

Not sure how much you know about New Orleans but here is the short version... New Orleans is different from just about anywhere else, it looks like a city but it is actually more like one big neighborhood. When you come here you have to be prepared to step back in time. This is a place where families still live close together, when you meet someone for the first time you will be asked where you went to school (and I am not talking University), and outsiders are not exactly trusted. People here are extremely friendly and visitors are treated well, but if you plan on sticking around you best acclimate quickly and whatever you do, do NOT try to change anything. Anyone that attempts to run str's from afar is straight from the devil, even locals that attempt to run more than one are hated. I had one across the street from my own house and I was lucky enough to have awesome neighbors that didn't mind at all, however, I didn't mention to many people that I ran str's because I didn't want to hear all of the terrible things I was doing to rip this city apart. There are huge numbers of people that have fought tooth and nail to stop str's here and they are winning. Mine made VERY good money and I managed to ride the first wave of regulations but the haters didn't stop and the moratorium on licensing left me with two choices, to hold as long-term rentals or sell. I decided to pass on the blessing and I sold to owner occ buyers that were able to carry the license to run as str's.

All that said, there is one way to do it here even as an out of state owner. You have to stick to property that is zoned commercial. The prices are higher but the higher rents can make up the difference. You really have to want to do it though, because you are still going to have the stigma of being an outsider. Neighbors may be touchy and complain to the city about any little thing that guests do and too many complaints can get you shut down, possibly with fines to pay. One thing to keep in mind even with commercial, the number of guests has caps. You are only allowed 2 people per bedroom. Doesn't matter if you have 2 queen size beds in one bedroom, still only allowed 2 people. The max is 5 bedrooms and 10 people. If you try to "look the other way" and quietly allow more than the max number and neighbors complain to the city you can be fined, dragged into court, and the city can even shut your power off.

In a nutshell, unless you have family or some other strong connection to this city, I would strongly suggest anywhere but here.

@Philip Olivier I am about 99% sure you will not be able to renew the license when your 12 month period is up. The only 2 ways around will be to owner occupy with the homestead exemption, or own property that is zoned commercial. You should also keep in the back of your mind that the license you currently have is technically only good for 90 days within the 12 month period. The city isn't currently strong on policing BUT you could get into trouble if one of the neighbors is an str hater and documents the guests/nights. People around here think str's are the work of satan and they love reporting to the city. If you do get slapped they can fine you and as Mike mentioned they can also shut off the power.

I wouldn't suggest making any moves right now. The City keeps changing the rules and none of us know where it is all going to end up. The one thing we do know is they are hellbent on finding a way to keep investors out of the game, ESPECIALLY out of town investors. As it is right now, the only way you can legally run str's is if you live in the property. The ONLY way around that is to buy commercially zoned properties BUT I wouldn't even do that right now because they are likely going to find a way to cap those as well. Lastly, the French Quarter has the most serious ban on str's. There are only a few blocks of Bourbon Street that they are allowed. Just google New Orleans short term rentals and you will see how crazy it all is.