Transformation Complete

 

Exactly a year and a half ago, a couple residing in Northeast Portland’s Alameda neighborhood agreed to pay $500,000 for an eyesore residence that had been the lifetime home of two elderly brothers who simply couldn’t seem to part with anything.

 The yard of their unusual trapezoidal lot was littered with seven junker cars.  Inside, the decades-long accumulation of “stuff” restricted access throughout the two-story house and basement to narrow pathways.

 The buyers, Michael and Jaylen Schmitt, wanted to save the house built in 1926 and preserve the ambiance of their neighborhood filled with well-kept homes dating to the 1920s era.  They feared that a developer might swoop in and replace the derelict house with a McMansion or some larger structure incompatible with the neighborhood.

 

Cleaning up the property took several months.  The Schmitts worked with architects and an interior designer to completely renovate the house with historic touches reflecting its past while fully upgrading its kitchen, bathrooms and utility systems to 21^st Century standards.  You can see numerous pictures here:  

4072 NE 24th Ave, Portland, OR 97212 | For Sale ($1,575,000) | MLS# 263171720 | Redfin

The Schmitts entered the project with no ambition or expectations about earning big bucks.  On the other hand, they hoped not to fall into the red, if possible.  Based on the extensive renovations, the asking price may well be close to the breakeven point.

The asking price appears to be a little higher than the values of many other older homes on nearby streets.  But it also is only a block away from the huge Autzen mansion originally built for the lumber entrepreneur whose name now graces the football stadium at the University of Oregon.

 Whatever the financial outcome proves to be, it is a remarkable story of residents willing to take a major risk to preserve the ambiance of a neighborhood they deeply appreciate.

------Fred Leeson

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