New Orleans Mortgage Rates & Home Loans

The New Orleans market, honestly

New Orleans is a city of neighborhoods and history, from the Marigny and Bywater to Uptown, Mid-City, and Lakeview, and its housing stock, much of it a century old or more, is a big part of the appeal. But buying here means reckoning with three local realities up front: elevation and flood, an insurance market under real strain, and the condition questions that come with historic homes. A local broker who plans for all three saves you from nasty surprises.

Because we shop many wholesale lenders instead of pushing one bank's product, we can match the loan to the property and the buyer: the buyer of a raised shotgun, the renovation project, the condo in a warrantable or non-warrantable building, or the investor. One bank has one box. We find the lender that fits this city's homes.

Insurance, the first question

Since the recent hurricanes, New Orleans-area homeowners insurance has become expensive and, in some cases, hard to secure, with carriers pulling back and premiums climbing. Because lenders require coverage, insurance affects not just your monthly payment but whether you can close at all. We treat it as the first-order item on every file: getting a real quote in early, understanding the options including the state's insurer of last resort where needed, and making sure the payment survives to closing.

Elevation and flood insurance

Flood is central here. Much of the metro sits in FEMA flood zones where flood insurance is required and separate from homeowners, and a home's elevation certificate, how high it sits relative to base flood elevation, can make a dramatic difference in cost. Two homes on the same block can price very differently. We pull flood status early, weigh NFIP against private flood, and build the real number into your estimate so it does not blow up the deal late.

Historic homes and renovation loans

The city's shotguns, Creole cottages, and doubles are wonderful and often need work, and a renovation loan that finances repairs into the mortgage can turn a rough historic home into the one you want, without a separate construction loan. We help you decide whether a renovation loan or a standard purchase fits a given property and budget, and we know the condition and appraisal realities of old New Orleans housing.

Short-term rentals, with care

New Orleans has strong short-term-rental demand, but the city regulates STRs tightly, and the rules vary by neighborhood and change over time. A DSCR loan can qualify an investment property on its rental income, but confirm exactly what a property can legally do before you count on short-term income, because permitting is the deciding factor here. We will price the investment file and talk you through the reality. See our DSCR / investor loans.

Where we help across the New Orleans area

Orleans Parish: Uptown, the Marigny and Bywater, Mid-City, Lakeview, Gentilly, and the Garden District. Jefferson Parish: Metairie, Kenner, and the West Bank communities. St. Tammany: the North Shore towns of Mandeville, Covington, and Slidell.

Whether it is a raised shotgun Uptown, a renovation in Mid-City, a condo in the Warehouse District, or a North Shore family home, the right loan and lender differ for each, and comparing them is what we do.