Carol is a great client of mine.  We clicked immediately she eventually became even better friends with my partner, Kim.  Over the years, Carol has decided to get into real estate investing.  She had bought a home that she thought would be a quick and easy buy and sell, that she ended up owning for over a year.  Below is a story that is more than just a buy and a sell.  It's a great story featuring a great couple.  They are humble and I wasn't even aware of this part of their history.  Here's the information as published in the Kane County Chronicle.  Need more people like you Carol and Byron.

Byron Heidorn knows how much group homes can help those with developmental disabilities.  His daughter, Bethany, 8, had cerebral palsy. She was at a group home in Galesburg and died in 1986.  The Association for Individual Development and the Geneva 708 Mental Health Board have collaborated in buying a group home - the first of its kind in Geneva.  On Saturday, it was announced that the new home would be called Bethany House.  "This is kind of going full circle, Heidorn said. " A group home helped us when we needed it."

Heidorn and his wife, Carol, had owned the five-bedroom house at 1980 South St. that will become the group home. They own St. Charles-based Partners In Real Estate, which buys homes and restores them to put them back on the market.

Five disabled individuals are set to move into the home in the fall. But first, AID and the mental-health board need to raise $264,000 to  make the house handicapped accessible.  For example, the doorways in the house needed to be widened, and the bathroom needs to be made accessible.  Donations of furniture, dishes, and pots and pans also are being accepted.  "Hopefully we are on the first step to making the home a reality," AID President Lynn O'Shea said.  This is Geneva's first group home. AID also has group homes in several other communities, including Batavia, St. Charles and Aurora.  The mental-health board raised $375,000 to buy the home. The board has been raising the funds since its inception in 1989.  "I'm thrilled this project is coming to fruition," board chairwoman Vicky Davidson-Bell said. "It does fulfill a need for the community."

More than 300 people currently are on a waiting list for services, O'Shea said. She noted that 853 students in the Geneva School District were in special education.  AID has training programs for those with disabilities to make them more independent.  "Ideally, the five people would run the house with just us checking in on them," O'Shea said.

Want to help?

Mail a gift donation to 309 W New Indian Trail Court, Aurora, IL. 60506. Checks should be made payable to the Association for Individual Development.