Never thought about buying new? Love the warm old quirky character that history brings? I get it. I was just like you... till recently. I've converted. I'm open to both old and new homes now, here's why!
Prefer to Read? I've got you. The following text contains the full interview.
Elisa: Hi, this is Elisa Cool Murphy with French Quarter Realty. And I'm standing here with one of my best clients, Vagner Azevedo, who is also a general contractor and a builder. And the builder of the home that we were standing in today. Thank you so much for doing this, Vagner!
Vagner: You're welcome.
Elisa: The reason that I brought Vagner here to talk to us today in a city that is so famous for its historical homes is to understand and appreciate the value of new construction in New Orleans.
We are at 8609 Hickory Street. We're up in the Leonidas neighborhood, far uptown in New Orleans. And we're standing in a single-family home that will be just beautiful when it's done. I can't wait to see it!
Can you tell me one or two things that you benefit from in a new construction home that you might not with historical homes?
Vagner: It's a better appraisal.
Elisa: It's a better appraisal?
Vagner: In New Orleans, the ground moves a lot. So, a lot of things are not square or level. But with new construction, most of the time, things are 99% level and square.
Elisa: Aha! You mentioned the appraisal. So a lot of times, when we have these older homes, deals fall apart with financing. And that can be because the amount that you and the seller have agreed on is not the amount that the bank feels comfortable financing. So they send an appraiser out to look at things. But, in new construction, that's different, right?
Vagner: Yeah. New construction, they still send the appraiser, but they know the house is new. They know that everything is to the code because construction requires an inspection at every phase of the build. For you to go to the next phase, you need to be approved.
Elisa: Gotcha. An analogy I would use is if you're training for a marathon, from couch to marathon, and if you had a doctor come in and check you out at every interval, that would be way more comfortable than if you just went for it?
Vagner: Yes.
Elisa: Right? And the city is going to inspect, as Vagner said, every step of the process.
Vagner: If you look at the front of the house, you can see all the green stickers on the windows. Each sticker means that you are approved to do the next step.
Elisa: Now, the second thing that you touched on was that New Orleans has a high water table. A lot of the city was former marsh and swamp that we have drained, and over time things have settled. They've gotten a little bit wonky, but you know that everything starts fresh with new construction.
Vagner: Before we start building, we need to have the construction packet. [The packer] comes with the elevation certification. The elevation is going to tell the height you're going to be above flood [waters]. We need to build the house above the mark.
Elisa: Above the mark?
Vagner: Yes.
Elisa: [the approvers] are looking at recent data to build a house, and you need to be above a certain mark? And this house is above that required mark?
Vagner: Yes. There is a pin on the electrical poles. You can see the nails, and the nails, they tell me exactly where my door needs to be started. I can be over.
Elisa: And you are over 10 to 12 inches?
Vagner: Yes. I am over 12 inches.
Elisa: You've literally gone above and beyond.
Vagner: Yes. It's good for insurance too. Whoever is going to buy the house knows it is going to be very good for flood insurance.
Elisa: When I first saw this lot, it was dirt, and you had the pilings in the ground, but even then, you were looking at materials and a strategy for how you build to make sure that it wasn't just what the code quired, but that the house would be really solid for a long time to come.
Vagner: You do the pilings, and after that, we do the chain wall. It is concrete surround because the pilings help the house to not sink.
Elisa: Gotcha.
Vagner: This area was a swamp. So we drive the pilings 40 feet under the ground.
Elisa: 40 feet?!
Vagner: 40 feet.
Elisa: So, when we're driving down by the coastline and see the houses up on stilts, that's what's going on. It's the same here, it's just below the ground?
Vagner: Yes.
Elisa: Okay. The other thing that I noticed that was very important when we started working together on this property is before you brought any of the pilings or the wood, you had a termite contract on this land-
Vagner: Yes, no matter who buys the house, they have a lifetime warranty if they keep the same company.
And then we put wind seals in every piling for this house to protect them from termites.
lisa: Got it. So if you have any concerns about flooding, insurance, insects, you name it, and you buy new construction, you have a huge peace of mind already baked in. As well as you said, all of the inspections with each element that goes into the home.
Vagner: Yes.
Elisa: Thank you so much for helping us to understand all the benefits of a new construction home!
But if someone is shopping - and they don't buy from us - what are some of the things they need to keep an eye out for to know that the home is well-built?
[For example] I've noticed that around here, we have 2x6 on the exterior of the home in the frame-
Vagner: Yes.
Elisa: And you also have these additional brackets. Can you tell me more about that?
Vagner: We did 2x6 on the exterior walls. It's because it's too close to the other house. We have a three-foot setback.
Elisa: Which is not uncommon in these sort of historic neighborhoods. Then, they made new rules, so that new homes have to have more distance, right?
Vagner: Yeah. We have 25 feet lot. New setback requirements say that we have to have five feet on each side.
Elisa: That would be a really skinny house!
Vagner: Yes, and because the lot is skinny, we did three feet [to build a wider house]. But before we began, we needed to build a firewall.
The firewall is the 2x6 and fireproof sheetrock.
Elisa: Fireproof sheetrock, the 2x6, and you also have treated wood?
Vagner: Yes.
Elisa: Gotcha. So it's things [like this] that we want to look for when we're looking at framing and asking questions about the skeleton of a house?
Vagner: Yeah. And then on the frame, you need to look, which is very important to see if you have hurricane strips.
It's metal. They go between each stud between the foundation. Each stud has a pin, and the pin goes to the sills, and they're tied down.
They hold the house like a boat. And if you don't have that tied to the foundation, and it floods, your home is gone.
Elisa: Wow! The water will carry it down?
Vagner: Yeah. If you have it built and tied to the foundation, [the house] is going to stay.
Elisa: So when you're out looking, things you can look for and ask about the framing, how it was done, the materials, and things like that.
Vagner: Yes.
Elisa: So thank you, Vagner, for changing our ideas about how we think about new construction in a city that loves its historic homes.
Turns out, we can love both!
Vagner: We bring pieces of these historic homes to the new homes. [for example] we have a Juliet balcony on the front-
And 8-foot tall doors. These are new but in the old style.
Elisa: That's right—the best of both worlds.
Things like reclaimed wood, wrought iron details, and an exterior gas lamp. Even some elements like beadboard and corbels are things that we're incorporating inside the house that will be really special.
We truly don't have to sacrifice one thing for the other.
Thank you for your time today!
If you guys have any questions about new construction or finding a home in New Orleans, please reach out to me, Elisa Cool Murphy, with French Quarter Realty.
You can reach me at 504-321-3194. I am happy to address your questions or put you in touch with Vagner.
Want to keep watching this beauty come together? Check out my stories and highlights on Instagram @coolmurphynola.
Voted Neighborhood Favorite by Nextdoor, Team Cool Murphy is a top-producing, licensed real estate team based in New Orleans, brokered by Cool Murphy, LLC.
Celebrated for her next-level creative approach to real estate, Elisa Cool Murphy is an award-winning, top-performing agent in New Orleans and the founder and leader of Cool Murphy, LLC.
Contact Her -
email: cool@coolmurphy.com
Facebook: @homeinneworleans
IG: @coolmurphynola
YouTube: @coolmurphynola
phone: 504-321-3194
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