it ain't over till it's over - Detroit house from 1890 seemed 'too far gone'

[Detroitdave]

I saw this story and felt it needed to be posted.
This is PURE LOVE for the city of Detroit.
Every before and after picture , truly , made my heart swell.
THIS is what's its all about .
enjoy
http://realestate.mlive.com/realesta...n_detroit.html

[Ray1936]

Great story, Dave; thanks so much for sharing. Little saddened that there weren't more notable artifacts found "between the walls" or "under the floring", but that's a turkey shoot. I used to "urban explore" back in the sixties when the term was as yet unheard, so really love old buildings. P.S.: I never graffiti'd anything and never did any damage. Indeed, I recall times I replaced a door and stuck in the hinge pins properly.

[ABetterDetroit]

People that pull off this kind of restoration should be invited in to look over the entire land bank portfolio and be allowed to pick any property under 5k and have 3 more for 1 cent each.

The last thing you want to do is slow down this kind of progress quibbling over 1300 dollars.

[softailrider]

Looks like they did a miraculous job. It's so difficult to do in the city due to theft of your building materials. Not like you can have $10,000.00 in lumber dropped in the front lawn like in the suburbs. It's almost like you need a house sitter to protect your stuff.

[One Shot]

Nice deal but I imagine that thing being an exterior upkeep nightmare with all the wood.

[detroitsgwenivere]

Myself and members of the Corktown community kept a regular watch over the entire northern neighborhood for several years, and that house was a regular stop. We boarded it up several times, other neighbors boarded it up. It was constantly broken into, someone tried to burn it down. It's a miracle that house is still standing and in the condition its now sitting in. The history behind it is what makes the preservation of it so important.

[Chicago48]

Nice deal but I imagine that thing being an exterior upkeep nightmare with all the wood.

Takes a LOTTTT of money to do that rehab. I wonder if they got a loan from the bank? It also requires a LOTTTT of upkeep. Notice there are no homes around them?

[softailrider]

Takes a LOTTTT of money to do that rehab. I wonder if they got a loan from the bank? It also requires a LOTTTT of upkeep. Notice there are no homes around them?

Don't know how much of the labor was their own. Don't know exactly what they put in - I'm assuming carpet over plywood [[still not cheap) Don't know about the plumbing or electrical fixtures. I cant see how that much work was done for less then 75K, maybe way more, makes perfect sense to me if you want to live there - for a rental not so much. Looks like a fantastic job from those photos.

[canuck]

Great job giving this cutie a new life for a deserving family. I hope this prompts a contractor to add new addresses on the street provided the new stuff is in character.

[GMan]

Kudo's for a fine job! Anyone who puts down their money and effort and inhabits one of these homes deserves a break on their millage rate.