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
Dauphine Gardens: A Unique Bywater Condo Community
The Crazy Closing of a Difficult Deal Albert Walsh -- a client, close friend, and real estate developer -- remembers our crazy closing on a Bywater building this way: “The seller was difficult, and it had taken us a year to get to closing. It was Lundi Gras 2011, and we had a 5 pm deadline. Tracey and I had to battle through Mardi Gras traffic, cross the parade route, and then close the deal by the skin of our teeth!” And that was the least of it! It was a complicated deal that required winning over two different neighborhood groups, a zoning change that had to be approved by the City Council, and a $50,000 non-refundable deposit. And if the zoning change didn’t go through, my clients wouldn’t get their deposit back. It was a calculated gamble – mostly because we knew the city desperately needed more affordable housing. A Green Renovation Ahead of Its Time The dilapidated Bywater apartment building had been sitting unoccupied since Hurricane Katrina, and it needed to be completely gutted. Not only were Albert and his business partner George up for the challenge, they were also ahead of the curve – embarking on an ambitious green renovation that tackled everything from stormwater management and energy efficiencies to quality of life improvements. One of their first efforts was creating a unique gutter system that diverts storm water and greatly limits run-off from the property. They also removed as much concrete as possible, maximizing green space and planting native cypress trees and palmettos that suck up water like a sponge. In addition, they added multiple layers of thermal insulation to keep the units cool and acoustic insulation to keep them quiet, both in the floors and the walls. From new wiring and new plumbing to new layouts and upgraded finishes, they created environmentally-friendly, affordable housing that was very much in demand. Says Albert, “I think what we did has real world impact, and I think if more developers and homeowners tried to do things like that, it would make a difference.” A Refresh that Brought Affordable Condos to the Bywater After owning and renting the units for 10 years, Albert and George recently updated the building, turning the apartments into an affordable condo community. Located in a vibrant, eclectic neighborhood, Dauphine Gardens is a unique Bywater community offering 27 fully renovated one bedroom & one bath condominiums, with amenities such as gated privacy, assigned parking, on-site laundry, bicycle storage, extensive green space, and a location that’s steps from notable restaurants, coffee shops, bars, boutiques, and parks. I’m thankful that Albert has this to say about working with me: “Tracey’s the one who found this off-market Bywater property and told me it was promising. When she showed it to me, I was like, yes, I’ve gotta do this! She was a rock star on this deal, and it would not have happened without her. Any other agent, and it would have fallen apart! She’s tenacious! “Since 2005, I’ve probably worked over 25 real estate deals with Tracey and have probably referred over 50 listings to her. I’m an opportunistic shopper, and she has continued to bring me deals over the years that weren’t accessible to anybody else.” “If you don’t grow up in New Orleans, you can be considered an outsider. I kind of got grandfathered-in, so to speak. There was this grace period for those who moved here after Katrina to help rebuild the city. As time moved on, I realized, I’ll never break into the community. But I never felt that way with Tracey. She’s open-minded, welcoming, and happy to work with people outside the city.”
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
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