Managing a Long-Distance Rental Property Near Bayou St. John

Dillon King with Home Buyer Louisiana recently visited a property near Bayou St. John in New Orleans that had become difficult for the owner to manage from out of town. The seller no longer lived in the area and was dealing with the ongoing stress of maintaining the property and keeping tenants in place from a distance.

Even getting into the house took extra coordination. The owner mailed over several keys, but none of them fully worked, so a locksmith had to be brought in to access the property and complete the walkthrough. Situations like this are more common than many people realize, especially when owners inherit responsibilities they can no longer easily manage.

Inside the house, Dillon found signs of water damage, sloping floors, stained carpet, ceiling issues, and belongings still left behind. While the property clearly needed repairs and cleanup, it was still the kind of property many owners choose to sell house as-is rather than spend more money fixing. This is also a common situation for homeowners looking to sell rental property that has become difficult to manage remotely.

You can watch the video to see the property and hear more about the situation, or read the video transcript below.

Video Transcript
Hey everyone, it’s Dillon King here with Home Buyer Louisiana. I’m out near Bayou St. John at a property I’m visiting for the second time, but this is actually my first time getting inside.

This situation was a little different because the owner does not live in the area and had no plans to travel here. From what we were told, there is not a whole lot wrong with the property. It has mainly become an inconvenience trying to manage it long distance and keep tenants in place.

The owner had sent three keys, and one of them unlocked the deadbolt, but none of them worked for the handle lock. With her permission, we brought out a locksmith so we could get inside and assess the property.

Getting into properties is not always easy, and that’s okay. We’re very used to situations like this.

Now that I’m inside, there’s nothing too crazy going on, but I can definitely see some daylight coming through, so there has clearly been some water damage. We’ve seen everything from completely destroyed roofs to major structural issues, so this is nothing outside of what we normally handle.

I can also see a noticeable slope in the floors toward the back corner of the house. It may not show up well on video, but it’s there. It looks like some floor joists probably need to be redone through the middle section of the home around the kitchen area.

There are still some belongings left inside. If the owner were in town, we would absolutely allow her to come grab whatever she wanted and leave behind anything she didn’t. If not, we handle everything as-is from there.

There’s some old stained carpet throughout the property, more belongings in different rooms, and ceiling damage near one of the vents where someone appears to have patched it with thermal tape. Overall, it mostly just needs some cleanup and repairs.

It’s getting dark in here because the utilities are off, but I’m taking my first walkthrough and gathering everything I need for my report.

This property has become a headache for the owner because she doesn’t live nearby and doesn’t plan on coming back to the area. Between maintenance, repairs, and managing tenants, situations like this can become overwhelming.

If you have a property, or know someone who does, and you’re ready to get it off your hands, go to HomeBuyerLouisiana.com and tell us about it. We’ll get in touch, come assess the property, and make a cash offer as quickly as possible.

Selling a house in New Orleans?

If you own a property near Bayou St. John, Mid-City, Gentilly, Lakeview, or New Orleans East and you are tired of dealing with repairs, tenants, cleanup, or long-distance management, Home Buyer Louisiana can help. We buy houses as-is throughout Orleans Parish and work with sellers facing difficult or stressful property situations.

We also help homeowners across Greater New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, the Northshore, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and surrounding areas who need a simple way to sell a house for cash.