ebay: Handyman Special!!! NEW ORLEANS Charmer!

[uppityperson]

I don't know who this is, but wanted to share it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140021961562
Current bid US $6,501.00 (reserve not met)

Own a piece of Katrina History! House for sale in “Broadmoor” area of New Orleans, Louisiana. Up for auction is one moldy-ass house in a formerly beautiful, flooded and mostly abandoned neighborhood in Sweet Home New Orleans. "The City that Care Forgot" is right! "The Big Easy" it ain't. This home is situated a few feet below sea-level right smack-dab in the middle of the city, or as we like to call it, the bottom of the bowl. Only minutes from away from the historic French Quarter, the opulent Garden District, and several prestigious Universities, such as Loyola, Tulane and Xavier, this traditional New Orleans charmer was completely renovated in 2003. One year post Katrina it now boasts floor to ceiling black mold, a bunch of rotten crap, and plenty of "natural light" from the hole in the roof, which also doubles as a "Garden shower" whenever it rains.

This gem can be yours to do with what you please. Ready for your personal touch! A few ideas of what to do with your new 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1400 square foot "Katrina Cottage":

Become a landlord! Renovated rental properties are brining top dollar in New Orleans. Apartments are renting for about 900.00-1500.00 per month. Check local real estate lease listings at www.latter-blum.com.

Build a Katrina Museum, and run tours from the French Quarter! You don't need to go all the way to the Ninth Ward for the Misery Tour, the Broadmoor Neighborhood has all you need to feel miserable. Tell gripping tales to tourists of roof-top rescues and looting at the still-vacant Rite Aid. Check NOLA.com for more tales of Broadmoor misery.

Build a Police Substation. The Broadmoor "Zone B" Neighborhood needs help! Putting police in the neighborhood could do some good. It could stop looting and help to make people feel secure about returning to the area.

Build a Broadmoor Katrina Memorial monument. This lot would be the perfect place for a Pyramid, Obelisk or Orb, with adjacent reflection pool and gardens.

Our story: We are a family of 2 adults and one child, 2 cats, and a one-eyed dog. We lived and worked in New Orleans for 4 years before Katrina, and we loved the city, for better or for worse. Two days before Katrina hit, we loaded our van with 1 tub of important papers, 1 tub of food, a few clothes, our family and headed for a hotel in Mississippi. 1 day before Katrina hit, we knew the city was in a desperate position, and we feared we would not be able to return for what we thought would be a few weeks, so we headed for our hometown of Indianapolis, IN to stay with family. The next 4 days were pure hell watching our beloved city on CNN fall into chaos. We cried for our friends who were unaccounted for, for the elderly and sick that were left to swelter in the humid air without enough food or water, for our neighbors who were not able to evacuate, due to financial or medical reasons.

We have a good life now in Indiana near our family and old friends, and we are healing from the loss that Katrina inflicted upon us. We want to do the right thing with our house, and not let it sit and rot, but we cannot invest our future in this locale. We used most of our insurance money to pay off most of the mortgage, but we had to refinance the balance. We don’t want to be financially ruined by this property, and it does not seem fair that we should be. The levees failed due to poor planning and construction, and we lost everything. We wish the city had a plan that was workable for our situation, but it doesn’t. Please bid on our house so something good can come of it.

The fine print:
Although this listing employs humor and irony to drive home the point that this area of New Orleans is still in bad shape, SERIOUS BIDS ONLY. Cash buyers only. Winner agrees to PayPal 4,000.00 earnest money, which will be applied to final sale, within 24 hours upon end of auction to seller. Winner agrees to contact seller within 24 hours upon end of auction. Winner pays all closing costs. Property sold as is, seller will make no repairs. Property is substantially damaged. Flooded 3 feet in Hurricane Katrina. Needs new roof, new window panes, flooded contents removed, gutting and mold remediation. No utilities are available. Meter has been removed. Foundation was shored and house remodeled in 2003. Email for more pictures or questions. Must be available for closing in person at a mutually agreed upon location.

[KamaAina]

1. That's funkybutt's neighborhood!

That most spirited NOLA DUer is, in fact, active in the Broadmoor Improvement Ass'n, which would probably hate to see something like this get played up on the evening news as one of those humor stories at the very end. Plenty of other Broadmoorians, funk included, are fixing up and moving back in (she was the first on her block to get back in and out of the FEMAnsion!).

Silly guy/gal. There's no way that block is zoned for a "Katrina museum". As for the police substation, I'm sure funkybutt and co. at the BIA have better ideas about that (the address given is on a side street at the very edge of Broadmoor). Sigh. With a warped sense of humor like that, s/he might have made a good New Orleanian someday. :-)

In case you were wondering, yes, it was also once my neighborhood, for the first few weeks I was in the city. The female whose place it was turned out not to be as compatible as I had hoped, so after about six weeks, I headed uptown to Carrollton where I stayed for two more years.

[uppityperson]

2. thanks, I forgot that was fb's area, remember talk about the BIAssn.

pmed fb. Thanks. I kept meaning to visit, took a hurricane to get me there. Someday I want to visit during good times. This seller's writing appealed to my twisted sense of humor. Hope they get something worthwhile.

[uppityperson]

3. 1 kick for home owners

[funkybutt]

4. Thanks for the post!

What a creative way to sell your home! I wonder what the reserve is. Glad they got out safely and have settled in in a new place. You can't knock those who decide not to return. It's a very personal decision. And here in New Orleans, we know you have to have a sense of humor about this, or it'll drive you crazy.

:hi:

[uppityperson]

5. you are welcome

trying to find different ways of showing how some bits are.

[Swamp Rat]

10. Way'at dawlin'!

:hi:

[earth mom]

6. That auction is a wonderful smack down of * & Co!

That the blood, sweat, tears and love these people put into their home has been utterly disregarded by * & Co is absolutely disgusting! I really hope this story gets some media play, though it's doubtful given the corporate media whores! :grr:

I say good for these people! A year is too long to put your life on hold. I really hope they get what they want for their property and can move on.

[uppityperson]

7. I got a nice note back from seller, sent a note via ebay

"Thanks for your understanding. You are exactly right about the humor. "

[earth mom]

8. I sent the link to Michael Moore.

Maybe he'll use it on his site.

Great idea to email the seller-I may do that to send some encouragement and good vibes. :hi:

[uppityperson]

9. That was a good idea, thank you.

we have to hang together, or we hang alone.