A Love for Chihuahuas and Churches

A lover of Chihuahuas, I met Sara and Paul Costello when they desperately needed a new home for their two cute pups. The issue was their son’s allergies, so I stepped in to help. And we ended up co-parenting the dogs for 10 years :-) 

In 2018, Sara and Paul bought an old church at 818-820 Sixth Street and intended to make it a flip. But according to Sarah, “We peeled it back, decade by decade – doing the kind of work you would do if you were going to live in it yourself.” After the renovation, it boasted gorgeous finishes and furnishings, and became a distinctive venue that beckoned all sorts of interesting people and events, from weddings and dinners to performance art. Keeping it for five years, they also used part of it as studio space for themselves (Sara is a designer/decorator and Paul is a photographer).

Selling an Incredibly Distinctive Venue

Sara and Paul adored the property, but when they decided it was time to move on, they called me. They were concerned it would be a tough sell, but I knew it was a killer property -- unique and special in every way. In fact, I knew the process would be fun! And as soon as I got excited about it, they did, too.

They worried about setting the right price and what the market could bear. But I appreciate that Sara thinks I have a “spidey-sense” about pricing, and that I knew exactly what that psychological number should be.

She goes on to say, “Then it was like a lighting round. We were barely even sure we wanted to sell -- and in the blink of an eye, photos were online, and we had an offer on the first day.”

Complications: From Furniture to Closing Dates

That’s not to say that the whole thing was smooth sailing. Sara and Paul had a LOT of furnishings in the venue (Sara says they were ridiculously sentimental about everything), and there was a good bit of negotiation based on what the buyers wanted to include in the sale. There were also complications with closing dates; the buyers wanted to close before the end of the year, but Sara and Paul had clients getting married in the space on Christmas Eve. In the end, we had to move the closing date a few times, but thankfully, it worked out well for everyone.

I’m humbled that Sara and Paul had this to say about working with me:

“Tracey’s a character. We’re not from here - but we came from New York and she lived in New York. So she speaks our language. But she’s also completely New Orleanian – she’s got both sides of that coin, which is helpful for people who aren’t from here.

I also loved that I could ask Tracey anything about the contract that I was unfamiliar with. Sometimes you don’t want to sound dumb, but I had to ask, for like the 4th time, how something worked. She was so patient, even though I asked her over and over again. She’s soooo trustworthy, too. It’s such an honor to work with her.” - Sara

“Tracey is so professional. There were so many complications, but she kept plugging away until it was solved. She never gets rattled! And she has an incredible demeanor for the work she does. She has a great way of handling it all. She kept the deal on track for everybody. Everybody got exactly what they wanted out of it, even though sometimes it was dicey! What it boils down to is, you’re in very, very good hands with Tracey.” - Paul