New Orleans Hurricane Preparation for Rental Property Owners

New Orleans hurricane preparation is not something you start when a storm enters the Gulf. By then it is too late to do it well. Hurricane season runs June through November, and who comes through it without a disaster are the ones who did the work in the quiet weeks before, not the frantic hours after a name shows up on the forecast.

What New Orleans Hurricane Preparation Looks Like Before the Season

The real preparation happens in the calm. Get up on the roof and check it before a storm tests it for you. Clear the gutters and confirm the drainage actually carries water away from the building. Trim the tree limbs that could come through a window or down onto the roof. Secure or plan to remove loose exterior fixtures. Confirm your shutters or window coverings are on hand and functional, not something you will scramble for when the shelves are already empty. And photograph the property’s condition now, in good weather, so that if you do file a claim later, you can prove what the storm actually changed.

What Your Tenants Need to Know

Half of good hurricane preparation is communication. Every tenant should know, before a storm is ever named, how to secure outdoor items, where the water and gas shutoffs are, how to reach us, and whether they intend to stay or evacuate. The owners who get caught off guard are almost always the ones whose tenants were never told what to do. We handle that conversation up front, which is part of what rigorous tenant placement and communication is really for.

The Compressor and the Power Surge

Here is a specific piece of hurricane preparation that saves owners real money and that almost nobody thinks about. When the power comes back on after a storm, it often comes back with a surge that can destroy an air-conditioning compressor and fry electronics. Before a tenant evacuates, the breakers to the major systems should be shut off, then restored carefully once power is stable. That one habit has saved more compressors than I can count.

Hurricane preparation is not what you do when a storm is named. It is what you already did in the quiet weeks before.

The Insurance Review You Do Now, Not After

Do not wait for a storm to find out what your policy actually covers. In New Orleans that usually means several separate policies — flood, windstorm and hail, and general liability — and the gaps between them are where owners get hurt. Review the coverage before the season, understand your deductibles, and keep dated photos of the property’s condition on file. As I have written about the true cost of owning a New Orleans rental, the insurance stack is a big part of the math — and it only protects you if the coverage is right before the storm, not after.

After the Storm

Once the weather passes, preparation hands off to response. That means a fast, in-person assessment of the property, thorough documentation for insurance, and emergency repairs coordinated through vetted local contractors — not the out-of-state operators who flood the city looking for deposits. This is exactly what our storm response is built to do, and it is why I stay in the city through the season instead of leaving my owners to wonder.

For live tracking and official preparedness information, the National Hurricane Center and Ready.gov are the sources to trust. If you own a rental in New Orleans and want to know your property is genuinely ready for the season, call David directly at 504-232-1672.

David Coxe is a licensed Louisiana real estate broker and the owner of Coxe Property Management and Leasing. He has managed residential property in New Orleans and Metairie for over 40 years. Call him directly at 504-232-1672.