I have truly enjoyed watching this home go from foreclosure sale to a very nice place to call home. This all started with a couple who wanted to help the economy. Their idea was simple, we have resources, some skills and a vision to help those under employed friends. They started by picking a Realtor who was just getting started on a full time basis due to a recent lay off from Sun Microsystems. From there we looked at several homes and a few bids. We ended up purchasing a home in Coon Rapids on Kumquat street.
The city already had bad feelings about this home due to past half finished, no permit pulled work. It took a long time for them to warm up to the ideas being presented. They also found several flaws that were code back in 1955 when the home was built.
Now they needed a general contractor. A mutual friend had been helpng out in New Orleans as a volunteer construction foreman for the Evangelical Free Church. He and his family serverd for 3 years helping clean up and repair the devastation sreated by Katrina. They were now trying to reestablish themselves here in Anoka County. He had a good set of skills but no license to work in Minnesota. The owners helped him to afford his license and he helped them by working through the project.
The plumber was working his way through school to improve his skills and took on the massive plumbing needs this home had. With only one bathroom and no laundry room the functionality was limited. The home was slab on grade so changing things meant digging up concrete. While they were doing that, it was decided to relocate the kitchen as well to the space originally designed as the garage. Once the trench was dug, plumbing work began.
The fall work consisted of pouring a new concrete driveway that actually went to the 28 x 32 garage built in the back yard, instead of to where there would soon be a kitchen.
Stay tuned for for part 2 coming soon to see how this home turned out.
Comments (0)Subscribe to CommentsComment