A Home Away From Home for Houstonians

Julia Jacobson is a native New Orleanian living in Houston with her husband Stephen and three children. But her entire extended family lives in New Orleans. So, you can guess what that means – Julia and family come ‘home’ to visit any chance they get. With lots of siblings and cousins in town, there’s always room for them at someone’s house. But recently, they decided to buy their own home away from home. And since they’re huge Mardi Gras fans, they were looking for something on the parade route.

Julia’s father is a retired New Orleans real estate attorney who was in the business for 30 years, so she wasn’t sure she needed a realtor. But then Julia and I met when she inquired about my listing at St. Elizabeth’s, a great spot for Mardi Gras lovers. 

Persistence and Tenacity

That condo was too small for her family of five, so I took it upon myself to see if any other owners in the building were willing to sell. Another condo soon came on the market, and Julia and Stephen met me there to take a look. Again, it didn’t work for them. Despite that, we hit it off, discussing in detail what they needed. She liked my demeanor and promised, “If we find something, we’ll call you. And if you find something, you call us!”

My persistence and tenacity had won her over.

A Beautiful House with Some Issues

The next day, Julia and Stephen found and fell in love with a single family home on Jefferson Ave. Spacious enough for five, it featured a back house/office space where Stephen could work, and it was close to the parade route for Mardi Gras favorites like Muses, Thoth, and more. We made an offer and went under contract.

While it looked amazing aesthetically, inspections revealed a lot of issues behind the walls that needed fixing. And that meant several rounds of back and forth negotiating for price reductions, while meeting many of my recommended vendors at the house to get accurate quotes. Because Julia and Stephen were in Houston, I was happy to handle the details, so that they’d pay a fair price and the closing would go smoothly. After the closing, they hired a contractor to manage all the work that had to be done -- and now they have the perfect place to land every time they come to town. Especially when it’s carnival time!

I'm honored that Julia had this to say about working with me:

“We met Tracey because she was the listing agent for the St. Elizabeth’s condo, and she was just the nicest person – normal, and not pushy! She didn’t know us at all when she made all those phone calls to try and find us a condo. She just worked so hard – and we felt like whatever we found, she deserved the commission. One day later, we found a house on our own, but only because Tracey was focused on finding us a condo.

“Tracey was excellent at negotiating and didn’t let us get pushed around. She’s so calm and cool-headed -- a well-liked professional, kind, and very knowledgeable about the area from growing up in New Orleans.

“She handled all the details, showing up and getting accurate quotes from her trusted vendors. Tracey really went above and beyond! She is so honest, and I would work with her again!” – Julia Jacobson