Buy The House, Get The Bed
Rise and shine!
Much like everything else in the midwest, you’re at a standstill…until you’re not. Like the mad dash I had to make out into the arctic tundra first thing this morning to take the garbage to the curb! But more to my point, I have inexplicably gone from day dreaming about all of the many projects I could be doing to actually doing them.
This potential project on the horizon is precisely the type I hope to do more of in my immediate community, and one that I believe is the needed piece in equitable historic preservation. A historic home, in one of the many ‘historic burros’ of Peoria that was acquired by our city’s land bank. Originally a single family, the home has had its fair run of being split up and pieced together poorly to cram as many under its roof as possible. Despite its rocky past in getting here, it has managed to retain some of its original features that I am just gaga over! Original Murphy Bed anyone? The fact of the matter, I have had a couple walk throughs with investors and contractors alike and almost everyone ok basically everyone besides me thinks any effort to rehabilitate the property would be useless. In fact, I had one individual bluntly say “maybe [the historic homes] should all be torn down” to which I promptly scurried to my car and cried over.
Original siding and windows, oh my!
The part that keeps my fire fueled is the incredible talented community I have built up throughout the country. The one’s that have said “this is absolutely possible and here is how you do it!”. Our army may be small, but we are mighty and determination to make these homes work, in the traditional real estate sense, in unshakeable. While these ‘case studies of success’ are not immediate neighbors, and I acknowledge the nuances of this particular community, I am confident that the examples I’ve seen could be replicated. Walking into uncharted territory seems to be the norm for me, but a requirement in the pursuit of an outcome different than we’ve seen before.
My hope is to take this home, a dumping ground for a slum lord who only looked at this home as a means to an end, and turn it back into a single family residence. A home who, I hope will add to the inventory of affordable housing to my community. A home whose survival will add value to the fabric of the historic community it sits within.
Proposals are due next week and I hope to share more about what the first BlackHouse Seven initiative will actually include and the perspective that I will be taking towards its success. I feel like a broken record but here we go into the unknown yet again! And who knows, maybe I’ll convince them to grant me the opportunity. Truth be told I’ll probably end up with a whole house to rehabilitate before I complete my own kitchen, but hey, sometimes thats just how it is.
If you’re someone who has restored a property that others thought you were crazy for even attempting I want to hear about it! Accepting all good vibes, well wishes, and case studies I can muster.