House For Sale in New Orleans Needs $200,000 Repair

August 27, 2016 by Douglas A. McIntyre

There is a house for sale in New Orleans priced at $515,000 that is only viable as a single-family residence if the new owner will invest another $200,000.

The listing agent says the house is in an “incredibly popular part of town.” That may be true, but the homes nearby look like small piles of junk.

1035 Arabella Street in New Orleans has six bedrooms and two baths in a tiny 2,087 square feet.

The listing agent, Jon Smith, comments: “Everyone agrees this home is a unique opportunity.”

Realtor.com, which says the house is the most visited at its site this week, pointed out:

… the opportunity comes with a cost. The agent isn’t shy about admitting the work the home will need to bring it up to date and reconfigure the layout. He estimated roughly $150,000 to $200,000 is needed for the job. He’s had many interested buyers traipse through, and most of them come back with contractors and architects in tow for another look at this unique structure.

Realtor.com added:

Imagine having to walk through your living room and two bedrooms just to get to your kitchen. Now you feel the vibe of a shotgun house—so named because a bullet fired through the front door would fly cleanly out the back door without hitting a wall.

This week’s most popular home on realtor.com is a shotgun home in need of love in New Orleans. However, this shotgun’s different because it’s a double. It’s a single structure split down the middle, and both units are laid out in a similar fashion, creating a sort of mirror effect.

Untouched since the ’70s, it needs work. But thanks to its location in the Audubon neighborhood, there’s been an overwhelming amount of interest. The listing agent told us a buyer would likely blast away the shotgun style and reconfigure the doubled-up structure into a large single-family home.

It was built in 1916, and it actually looks like no one has touched it since then.

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