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All New Orleans posts are here: Dispatch From New Orleans

Dispatch from New Orleans: Second-guessing myself

By Ariane Wiltse

Every now and then, a story in the local press forces me to reevaluate my decision to move back to New Orleans and buy a house in the Lower 9th Ward. Sometimes the story that jolts me from my idyllic rebuilding spirit focuses on leaks in levees and the recycled newspaper found to be stuffed inside of them. Other times it’s stories about the condition of the swamps to the south and west of the city, stories that describe how the land out there is literally falling into open water, and in doing so is allowing the Gulf of Mexico to creep closer and closer to our fragile city.

But today, I’m not fretting over the potential environmental disaster lurking behind the next hurricane. Today, it’s the city’s rampant violence that makes me question my decision not only to move back here after the storm but to sprout roots.

One recent morning, around 2 a.m., a man in my neighborhood was found dead in his home. He had been shot in the head. The man lived a few blocks away from the house I’m restoring, the trailer I’m living in and me.

Although the police have released the barest of details, it appears that the man was murdered in either a drug deal gone wrong or for some retaliatory reason. Typical tit-for-tat street justice meets the cheapness of human life.

My neighbor is merely the city’s most recent murder victim. By the time the summer finally draws to an end, dozens of other people will be dead. In a city long known for its incessant and often random violence, summertime is the scariest time of year. It’s the time when murders become so common that the city guarantees itself the morbid distinction of becoming the nation’s murder capital for yet another year. I call this time of year the killing season. The killings are a fact of life down here or, better put, a cycle of death.

After two of my friends were murdered last year in separate incidents, and my car was surrounded by drug dealers on a sunny Saturday afternoon –- three blocks from my house -- I decided to get involved in anti-crime efforts. I started asking questions at my weekly neighborhood association meetings, and the next thing I knew, I was co-chair of the crime committee. Ask questions? Get the responsibility. It was that simple and unpopular of a job.

Since then, the other co-chair and I teamed up with local grassroots organizations and launched a petition to keep the Louisiana National Guard in New Orleans. Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco deployed the guard in June 2006 after five teenagers were found gunned down. During the last two years, however, the economic strain of paying, feeding and housing the nearly 300 soldiers stationed here has become extremely unpopular in the rest of the state, placing political pressure on current Gov. Bobby Jindal to pull the guard out of New Orleans.

But for some of New Orleans’ most vulnerable residents, true pioneers rebuilding in a post-apocalyptic atmosphere littered with block after block of abandoned houses, the guard provides their only protection. Dressed in fatigues and riding in military Humvees, the soldiers patrol the areas of the city that took the most water and therefore have been the slowest to recover -- neighborhoods such as eastern New Orleans, Gentilly, Lakeview and the Lower 9th Ward. These patrols allow the undermanned and overworked police force to focus their patrols in the more populated areas of the city. Without the guard patrols in the sparsely populated areas, either the New Orleans Police Department would be forced to pull officers from administrative and intelligence departments, effectively bringing investigations to a halt, or large tracts of the city would be left to fend for themselves.

Sensing the post-Katrina political tide in Baton Rouge was shifting, and not in New Orleans’ favor, Jeffery and I, along with volunteers from Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, collected nearly 5,000 signatures asking the governor to keep the guard in the city. Mayor Ray Nagin, Supt. of Police Warren Riley and City Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis endorsed our efforts and made personal requests to the governor.

A few weeks ago, Jindal announced that the guard will stay through the end of 2008. It’s a temporary success that helps me and a lot of other people working hard to rebuild our homes and community rest easier, for now.

But it doesn’t quiet the cacophony of second-guessing in my head. That still comes in loud and clear.

(Photos: Kathy Price-Robinson)

Coming Sunday: commodes and cancer

I want to let you know about the Pardon Our Dust feature coming up Sunday in the Real Estate section. It's about two bathrooms that were gutted and redone in 14 days. But I also want to share with you something that did not fit in my article but that touched me personally as I reported and wrote the story.

As you'll read on Sunday, Meg Moreta, a mother of two small daughters, was diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical cancer, and then breast cancer, while still in her 30s. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but after what she had gone through, she really needed a fresh start with her bathrooms, which were reminding her of bad times.

While I sat and talked with Meg at her pretty and peaceful Los Angeles home (her two daughters were on a play date), I was astonished at what she had gone through. And what she continues to go through. Late-stage cancer, chemotherapy and radiation really take a toll on a body.

Talking to Meg reminded me of how important it is that we all stay on top of our healthcare. Meg's advice to readers: Request your medical reports. Read them and ask questions. And keep your records in a binder. In other words, take charge of your own health.

(Photos: Rod Foster)

Ask a Realtor: Should parents create rental units in their home?

Question: My father and mother live together in a six-bedroom, five-bath house in Northridge. In the last three years, all three of the kids have moved out. My dad's business isn't doing that well, so he is trying to think of ways to earn a living. But he's over 60, so starting a new career isn't really a feasible option.

His current idea, which he is serious about, is to invest $25,000 into converting the maid's room and guest room areas (which are connected to the house via a garden room and contain a bathroom, study, and bedroom) into two rentable units that would cover the monthly mortgage.

I think this is an awful idea. First of all, there is no need for he and my mother to continue living in a pricey L.A. suburb, much less in a house so large. Second, what would chopping up a house in such a manner do to its resale value? He wants to keep the house (largely for sentimental reasons), which is entirely impractical. Odds are he will have to end up selling after he has butchered it into pieces.

Please give me any advice you can. He is set on this idea, and from what I know of real estate (not much), this will not be successful and will only hurt our already dwindling economic standing.

What would you recommend doing? In this type of situation would it be better to downsize and invest the profits from the sale in different properties? Or does his idea have any merit?

I truly would appreciate your feedback. Sincerely, Tamar K.

My take: Realtor David Kean makes good points below about whether extra units are even allowed. It's possible that one guest unit is permitted but not two.

I have a personal perspective. My 84-year-old mother-in-law, Jody, converted a 100-year-old Victorian in Santa Barbara into rental units several years ago. (You can see Jody above on her lawn with her great granddaughter.) She loves being a landlady and having young people, and their dogs, around her. Her goal is to remain active, useful and independent. Having her college-student-age renters around her actually makes that goal more realistic. Your parents might enjoy having renters. It might not be all about the money but about creating a little community right on their own property.

A Realtor's perspective: From Prudential agent David Kean: The first thing to check are local zoning restrictions. The house may not be properly zoned for multiple residences, so check with the city.

The second factor to consider is how long it will take to recoup the cost of the renovations. The $25,000 figure seems too low an estimate for adding two kitchens and another bath. It may take one to two years before your parents start to turn a profit. A lot can change in a year or two. Ultimately, is it worth the cost and stress of a remodel?

The renovation could work out well if done properly. It would be wise to speak to an architect. The units should have the feel of separate guest apartments. Make sure the conversion blends into the architecture of the house.

The apartments should not feel completely disjointed. One unit would be preferable to two. One unit would give the feeling of a separate guest house, while two units might seem out of place in a private home.

They could close the access from the main house and replace a window with a French door, creating a new access point for the rental unit. There are interesting modular kitchenettes on the market. They are easy to install and, more importantly, easy to remove if the home is eventually put up for sale.

On the upside, future buyers may like the apartment or apartments for a home office, a workshop, an apartment for an elderly parent or older child, or purely for rental income.