The Commons: West Bank Neighborhood of the Week
In my continuing review of gated communities on the West Bank, this week’s focus is on The Commons in Gretna, LA. Developed by Willow Builders in 1999, The Commons is centrally located on the West Bank of New Orleans off of Manhattan Blvd. with easy access to the Central Business District, NAS JRB New Orleans, the Metairie business district and more.
Is your office in one of the new developments on Manhattan Blvd.? The Commons offers you a commute time of less than 10 minutes! Nearby shopping includes Target, Lowe’s, WalMart, Sam’s Club and more. Dining out is close and convenient with the wide selection of local and national chain restaurants within minutes of your front door.
Things to know about The Commons:
- Low annual homeowner’s due of $480 per household
- Available homes priced from high $200,000 to low $300,000 range
- Recent average sale price of $276,000
- Recent median sale price of $294,000
- Recent average and median days on market of 88 days
Schools and libraries near The Commons:
- Jefferson Parish Public School Information
- Jefferson Parish Parochial School Information
- West Bank Regional Library
Fun Activities near The Commons:
Come be a part of this beautiful West Bank community. For a list of available homes, more information on buying or selling a home in The Commons, or relocating to the West Bank of New Orleans, please contact Lisa Heindel, REALTOR®. I would be happy to help you find your next place to call home!
When buying or selling a home on the West Bank of New Orleans or relocating to the New Orleans West Bank, you deserve local expertise and advice. Lisa Heindel provides full time, professional real estate services to buyer, sellers and military transferees in Algiers, Algiers Point, Belle Chasse, Gretna, Terrytown, Harvey, Marrero, Westwego and more.
- West Bank Homes for Sale – Find a home for sale on the West Bank or other New Orleans metropolitan area.
- Contact Lisa Heindel for help buying or selling your New Orleans area home
- Free online home evaluation of your New Orleans West Bank home
Copyright 2008. Lisa Heindel, All rights reserved.
Friday Fun
I love to take pictures and always have my camera with me. You never know what you’ll see when you are driving around the West Bank.
Creative, don’t you think?
Have a great West Bank weekend!
Do you have any fun West Bank photos? Drop me a line and share them with everyone!
Photo property of Lisa Heindel, all rights reserved.
West Bank Weekend Events: February 22-24, 2008
February 21, 2008 by lisa
Filed under Around Town, Blog, Family Fun
Well here we are, almost to the end of another week of hard work on the West Bank. Let’s have some fun this weekend!
West Bank Theatre
The Jefferson Performing Arts Society presents Flanagan’s Wake at the Teatro Wego! Dinner Theatre, starting Friday, February 22nd. The hilarious, interactive show will run through March 16th, will performances on Fridays and 
Saturdays at 7:30 pm and a matinee show on Sundays at 2:00 pm. A buffet is available before each show. For reservations or more information, visit the Jefferson Performing Arts Society website.
The Great American Trailer Park musical continues its run at the Westwego Performing Arts Theatre through March 9th. Shows will be held every Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday matinees will be performed at 2:00 pm. Buffets are available before each show. For reservations or more information visit the Jefferson Performing Arts Society website.
Gretna Farmer’s Market
The Gretna Farmer’s Market takes place every Saturday under the Gretna Market at Huey P. Long and 3rd Street in Gretna, LA. Choose from a wide variety of locally grown produce, local wines and other goodies. 8:30 am - 12:30 pm, rain or shine.
Friday Fish Fry
The Lenten tradition of the Friday Fish Fry continues on the West Bank.
St. Anthony School 900 Franklin Ave. Gretna, LA. The St. Anthony Dad’s Club is sponsoring dinners of fried or broiled fish, fried shrimp, gumbo and more. Eat in or take available, along with soft drinks and desserts. 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Christ the King School 535 Deerfield Ave. Gretna, LA. The Knights of 
Columbus is hosting this weeks dinner. Fried fish, seafood gumbo, combo plates, drinks, desserts and more. 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm.
St. Andrew the Apostle 3101 Eton Street Algiers, LA. The Knights of Columbus sponsors the dinner, serving fried fish, gumbo, dessert, and more. 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm in the St. Andrew cafeteria.
The Knights of Columbus is also sponsoring a fry at the KC Hall in Algiers Point, 342 Olivier Street, behind Holy Name of Mary Church, 6-8 pm. Fried catfish plus lots of sides like cole slaw, potato salad, hush puppies and more.
The Knights of Columbus Council 6357 of Belle Chasse will hold a fish fry at 9016 Highway 23 (Belle Chasse Hwy) from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm. Plates and poboys are available and all proceeds help support local charities.
St. Cletus Family Bingo
Located at 3600 Claire Avenue in Gretna, LA, St. Cletus is sponsoring a gumbo dinner and family bingo game on Saturday evening at Jerome Hall. The gumbo dinner starts at 6 pm and bingo starts at 7 pm. This sounds like a great way to spend a Saturday night with the kids!
West Bank Recycling
Saturday, 9 am to noon at the Alario Center in Westwego, LA. Volunteers are also needed for this community event - call the Jefferson Parish Department of Environmental Affairs at 731-4612.
With no weekly recycling available in the metro area this is a great opportunity to reduce the demand for landfill space. Open to residents of all parishes, the following recycling drop offs will be accepted:
- Plastic containers ( no glass or plastic bags will be accepted)
- Newspapers, telephone books, magazines and junk mail
- Shredded paper secured in plastic bags (empty out those home shredders!)
- Cardboard and paperboard such as cereal boxes
- Aluminum and steel food and beverage cans
At the same time, the Arc of Greater New Orleans will be accepting your Mardi Gras beads. Why put them in the attic when this deserving local charity can put them to good use?
Grand Opening of West Bank Medicaid Dental Clinic
Specializing in pediatric dentistry, the Kids Dental Zone will hold it’s grand opening on Sunday from 1-4 pm at 4001 Lapalco Blvd. in Harvey, LA. There will be prizes, train rides, a rock wall for climbing, face painting and a chance to meet Bippo the Hippo and New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister. I can personally recommend the work of Dr. Donaldson and kudos to him for helping an underserved segment of our community!
20th Annual Pontchartrain Home Show
Even though this event doesn’t happen on the West Bank, I would be remiss if I didn’t include it in the must do category for home owners this weekend. Drive out to the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, LA to see over 5,000 products and suppliers of home improvement products. Get inspired by the newest design ideas and maybe find that perfect new something for your home.
The Breaux Mart FoodFest, as part of the Home Show, will feature cooking demonstrations, drawings for prizes, activities for the kids and tons of samples and food tastings throughout the weekend.
Friday, noon - 9 pm, Saturday, 10 am-9 pm and Sunday, 10 am-6 pm.
Make it a great West Bank weekend!
What Buyers Are Saying About Your Home
February 21, 2008 by lisa
Filed under Blog, For Sellers, Real Estate Talk
Spring is right around the corner, the beginning of the traditional “hot” time for selling a home. I’ve been out showing homes to several different potential buyers in the last few weeks and have had the chance to get their honest impressions and assessments of the homes we are touring. It’s information that 
home sellers who can’t figure out why their house is sitting on the sidelines like a wallflower at the high school dance need to know.
Your new roof is not an upgrade. Neither is your new hot water heater or the laminate flooring you installed yourself. Buyers are funny - they expect that the home they purchase will have a functional barrier to keep out the rain, hot water for a shower and flooring that is hopefully younger than they are. The fact that these items have been recently replaced does not mean that the asking price for your home should be higher than the other 10 for sale in your subdivision.
Curb appeal matters. When your garden has more weeds than flowers and the shrubbery is so overgrown that we can’t see the house, buyers are saying “Thanks, but we’ll pass” without ever stepping foot through the door. It’s very awkward to call your agent from in front of your house and tell them that we are canceling at the last minute because your house doesn’t say Welcome Home.
Staging matters too. When you leave your home vacant, buyers have a hard time figuring out just what to do with some of those spaces. Is it an office or a bedroom? Where does the table go? Confused buyers don’t buy. A professional home stager can mean the difference between listing and selling your home.
Buyers don’t want an allowance. They outgrew that once they got their first after school job. If you know that the carpet needs to be replaced, the dishwasher is broken and the garage door only rolls up halfway, please fix these items before trying to sell your house. We have appointments to see 7 other homes tomorrow that don’t have any of these problems, all priced in the same range as yours
Your paneling is ugly and your wallpaper is too. Nothing turns off a buyer faster than the thought of spending the first night in their new home stripping that floral wallpaper from the bathroom walls or pulling down the 1974 faux wood paneling in the den. If you think it’s too expensive to remove and repaint, just wait until you get that first low offer from a buyer who thinks your house is a fixer-upper.
I know that you are anxious to sell quickly at the highest price possible. Accomplishing this means that you need an unbiased opinion about the condition of your home and what improvements might be needed to make it more appealing to today’s buyers before you put it on the market. For an an honest assessment of the price and condition of your West Bank home and a recommended list of changes, contact your local, professional agent. Together, we can make those buyers ask you to dance!
Copyright 2008. Lisa Heindel, All rights reserved.
New Orleans, LA: Foreclosures and Bank Owned Properties for Sale on the West Bank
February 18, 2008 by lisa
Filed under Blog, Real Estate Talk
Foreclosures and bank owned properties are now for sale on the West Bank of New Orleans in Algiers, Gretna, Terrytown, Belle Chasse, Harvey, Marrero and Westwego. While these properties often need a little tender loving care to make them sparkle, they can be an excellent opportunity to purchase a home in an area that might otherwise be outside of a buyer’s price range.
Typically, bank owned homes and foreclosed properties are sold in “As Is” 
condition, with no repairs being done by the seller and oftentimes, no utilities being provided for inspections. Fortunately, there are lending programs available to buyers that will allow them to finance not only the purchase of a home, but the cost of necessary repairs as well. A meeting with your mortgage professional to determine your price range and what loan programs you qualify for should be your first step in the home buying process, whether you are interested in buying a new or resale home or a bank owned or foreclosed property.
The following charts show currently available foreclosures and bank owned properties on the West Bank.
Algiers, LA (70114 and 70131)
- 13 available properties in Algiers
- This is a reduction from the 18 that were available in January 2008
Gretna, LA (70053)
- 2 available properties in the City of Gretna
- The same properties were available in January, 2008, but the price on the Creagan St. home has been reduced from an initial asking price of $129,000.
Gretna and Terrytown, LA (70056)
- 8 bank owned/foreclosed properties unincorporated Gretna and Terrytown
- This is a reduction from the 13 available in January, 2008
Belle Chasse, LA (70037)
Only 1 available bank owned/foreclosed property is available in Belle Chasse. This same property has been available since December, 2007 with no change in price.
Harvey, LA (70058)
- 19 available properties
- Increase from the 16 available in January, 2008
Marrero, LA (70072)
- 19 available foreclosed/bank owned properties
- The number of available properties did not change from January to February, 2008
Westwego, Avondale, Waggaman and Bridge City (70094)
- 11 available bank owned/foreclosed properties
- This is an increase from the 8 available in January, 2008
All data was compiled from the Gulf South Real Estate Information Network. Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.
While the purchase one of these properties is not for everyone, buying a foreclosed property offers the opportunity to gain instant equity dependant upon the purchase price and cost of repairs.
For more information on buying a bank owned or foreclosed property on the West Bank of New Orleans, or to schedule a private showing of available properties, please contact Lisa Heindel, REALTOR® by phone at (504) 616-6262 or by email at lisa@lisaheindelsells.com.
Copyright 2008. Lisa Heindel, All rights reserved.
