EVERY HOUSE IS A FIXER UPPER

When I was first looking at houses, I thought I had it all figured out. I came up with a checklist of what I wanted in a place. That checklist looked something like this:

• In one of the Chicago neighborhoods of Bucktown, West Town, or Wicker Park
• An older (pre-World War II) home with character
• Good curb appeal
• Good bones
• Good basics (dry roof, dry basement, good electrical, good plumbing, general maintenance)
• Good natural light
• Multi-family property (2 units or more)
• Parking for at least 1 car
• Close to the train and not too far from the highway
• In my price range
• Laundry on premises

One lesson learned right away: when you’re looking for a place in Chicago – you’re not the only one looking for all that stuff! Far from it. House hunting in any decent neighborhood is competitive, especially in a city with millions of people, many of whom have a lot more money than you. For the things I wanted at the price I wanted them, I couldn’t look in Wicker Park…or Humboldt Park…or Rogers Park. I would have been better off looking in a trailer park! So I started adjusting my expectations quite quickly. I ended up with a place that was:

I was a little scared of a fixer upper. I didn’t (and still don’t) know what I was doing. I’m no Bob Villa, but I also knew that even if money were no object, pretty much any house has its flaws. Something is a little off, a layout doesn’t make sense, you don’t like the previous owners’ tastes – it goes on and on. But I wanted projects, I wanted things I could do, I wanted to teach an old house new tricks. I wanted to bring this place back to life. Thus began the Bucktown Revival.