N.O. real estate companies enact hurricane plans

New Orleans CityBusiness, Aug 27, 2008 by Deon Roberts

The two largest real estate companies in the New Orleans area have enacted their hurricane plans, as Tropical Storm Gustav is forecast to possibly make landfall in Louisiana next week.

Executives with New Orleans-based Latter & Blum Inc. Realtors and Metairie-based Prudential Gardner Realtors say they have already begun meeting with key staff to discuss emergency plans.

Rick Haase, general manager of Prudential, said his company enacted its six-day plan Tuesday.

"It's a scary track, but we don't know if it's going to enter the Gulf (of Mexico). We're not going crazy yet, but we're watching very carefully," Haase said. "This is enacting the lessons learned in (Hurricane) Katrina."

Latter & Blum also has a plan for as early as six days before a hurricane strikes.

Arthur Sterbcow, president of Latter & Blum, said the company was scheduled to discuss its "72-hour-out" preparations at a 10 a.m. management-team meeting today in New Orleans.

"We're just making sure ... all our key employees, agents have their plans in place," Sterbcow said. "When a storm hits they have to be in communications with their customers, clients ... Just making sure that they've got ways to communicate into and outside of the firm."

Both executives said their companies are better prepared for a disaster since Katrina struck in August 2005.

"We got about an 8,500-page manual of who does what, which is everything from making sure we got toilet paper in the bathrooms to being able to connect with our vendors," Sterbcow said.