PETER W. PATOUT

Check your air conditioning unit every summer for efficiency to beat the heat.  There are State and Federal financial incentives such as renewable energy tax credits, special loans, and net metering if your system needs updating. Here are some helpful programs:

- Tax Credit for Solar and Wind
- Home Energy Loan Program “HELP”
- Louisiana Net Metering

Hiring a historic window specialist to glaze windows and secure their surround will help to sustain their longevity and efficiency. 

- Don’t remove original windows, just repair existing ones!

Your house will expand or swell in the summer, just like everything else in the South.  Harsh weather conditions will take effect, so make sure you plan according to make repairs to the masonry, brick, wood, or any other façade material after the peak of summer. 

- Do any repair work toward the fall months after the severity of expansion has subsided. 
- Spend summer months researching historic building specialists in anticipation of repairs.  This is a great time to shop reviews and get quotes. 

La Maison Hospitalière was founded in 1879 by Madame Coralie Correjolles, along with a Mrs. Ernestine Bouny and Mrs. Stephen Chalaron. These women organized “La Société Hospitalière des Dames Louisianaises,” which provided food and medicine to the needy of New Orleans, especially to the elderly women who lost their husbands during the Civil War and were destitute and living in squalor.
 
 By 1893, the Société was able to purchase their first building, located at 822 Barracks Street. The Société added a floor to the pre-existing one-story building dating back to the 1830s. Some time after 1919 they also added a gallery to the façade and arched door openings, which still exist today.
 
 Over 20 women lived in the home at first, and a Ms. Berthe Forcelle recalls in a memoir written in the 1930s that Mrs. Bouny and her servant Celestin would make tarts and pâtes feuillettes (puff pastries) and sell them throughout the French Quarter as a way to raise money for the Maison Hospitalière. As another form of raising money, Ms. Forcelle also mentions that “Miss Correjolles and Mrs. Bouny, with the aid of all the prominent ladies of the Carré, gave once a year, some form of entertainment; of which the most popular were fancy dances and tombola’s, given at the French Opera House […] The proceeds of these performances were always beyond expectations, for everybody was interested in that most worthy cause.”[1]


[1] Berthe Forcelle, “La Maison Hospitalière,” typed by A.W. Phillips, ca.1930. State Library of Louisiana (www.state.lib.la.us)

Over time the Société purchased over 13 buildings including neighboring buildings on Barracks and Dauphine Streets, and evolved into a skilled nursing facility with over 100 residents, both men and women. For 113 years La Maison Hospitalière provided full-service care in the French Quarter, until Hurricane Katrina dispersed both residents and staff across the county. La Maison Hospitalière was closed in November of 2006, and the site today is now being renovated as a condominium complex known as Maison du Parc.

There are two condominiums in the French Quarter that I am excited to prepare for an DOUBLE Open House.  On Saturday, May 13 from 11am to 2pm, I will be welcoming ​all interested parties in the French Quarter to view Condos #5 and #6 in hopes to sell for a price that is exciting for the buyer and seller.  Each condominum is terribly charming: overlookng a well-kept courtyard with a fountain that keeps water and air moving throughtout the center social area.  It is a quiet, peaceful and serene place amongst the noisy, exciting French Quarter bustle.  Yet, having a charming house is simply not enough to guarantee a well-prepared and well-attended Open House.  There are many other details that need attention!  Prepare for an Open House using these five tips:

1. MARKET EVERYWHERE
From Facebook to Zillow, a well-attended Open House will be seen on as many of the online marketing networks as you can manage.  Take advantage of the free marketing tools that social media sites offer: Free Facebook posts can gain your largest number of views.  Create an Event page and post pictures, answer questions, invite friends.  A step further are paid ads: $20 and your post views can grow from 100 to 4,000!   Include Instagram, Craigslist, Zillow, MLS, your website and all other sites you manage are tools to say that you are hosting an Open House.

2.  GIVE FULL INFORMATION
As you tell your circle of influence that your property is having an Open House, make sure that all the information they need to get there is right in front of them.  List the day of the week, time, exact address.  For example, a well informed one-sentence, "Include me in your Saturday, May 13 plans: Join me at 836 St. Peter Street on Saturday, May 13 for an EXCITING DOUBLE OPEN HOUSE of condos #5 and #6! "  

3. GIVE SOMETHING AT THE DOOR
It is a matter of great professionalism and hospitality when you offer guests of your Open House something at the door.  Your guest will be at ease if you offer them a beverage or lite bite.  It shows how prepared you are when you instantly offer a floor-plan or brief history of the house when your guest arrives.  Hand out cards to every guest after shaking their hands and asking who they are.  No matter what special offer you and your team want to give the guest, make it a worthwhile trip for them.  You are showing you appreciate that they came to your event, and it makes them comfortable to ask you questions.  

4. PREPARE YOUR MATERIALS
Your event should showcase how professional and serious you are about making a sale.  Arrive at your house with your preferred marketing materials: print, digital, tablets, pamphlets, drones, photography, stereo, pens, business cards.  Gather these items night before and collect it in a box to make sure you did not forget anything.

5. CLEAN AND ARRANGE 
The guests of your Open House must be able to see themselves in this house, and having your particular style (while surely enjoyable to you) will not be the best environment for an Open House.  Prepare your house by clearing the clutter, arranging furniture in a way that allows flow, dust and clean all surfaces, bathrooms and kitchens must be seem clean of daily usage, curtain and blinds drawn to allow as much natural light as possible, animals off-site, music playing, clean smells or no smells at all.  Prepare your house a day or two before the Open House and get an opinion from a trusted friend or neighbor.  

​All houses are unique and offer exactly what someone is wanting.  Make sure your guests have all the advantages of a visit and enjoy coming and talking to you about the house.  If you are interested in seeing how I host an Open House, then please join me in the historic French Quarter on Saturday, May 13 from 11am to 2pm at  836 St. Peter Street for a RARE DOUBLE OPEN HOUSE of condos #5 and #6.  

​Dear Fellow Architecture Lovers,

It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we extend this invitation to join in the rare glimpse of Greek Revival buildings in East Feliciana Parish: "Greece Arrives in East Feliciana Parish" on SUNDAY, APRIL 23. This event is organized by the newly formed Louisiana Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art.  Since becoming co-chair, this premier event is one that I hope will help gain regional and national attention, for all those interested in classical architecture and art in the south.

Three private homes on the tour will be opened to our exclusive event, as well as two distinguished institutional and commercial buildings. From what we have learned so far, these buildings give our modern world a distinct perspective into how the Greek Revival architectural style developed in the South.  Since reaching out to the citizens of East Feliciana Parish, we have learned  this classical emphasis is the first of its kind.  Our attention and appreciation of their architectural stock has made its homeowners and historians both proud and enthusiastic to welcome us and help us learn about their buildings and culture.

I hope you accept our invitation and join me and fellow ICAA members to this premiere foray to East Feliciana Parish's extraordinary classical buildings. ICAA membership is required to attend this event.  Follow this link to become a member today! 

STEP 1:
Purchase tickets at Eventbrite page $40 for ICAA members/$20 for students
STEP 2:
Let Facebook know that you're going by clicking "Going" on the Facebook event page
STEP 3: 
​Download the packet by clicking "Download File" below.

This charming courtyard condo could be yours!  Come join us at the OPEN HOUSE this Saturday! 
 
Peter W. Patout, Listing Agent
Talbot Historic Properties