Following the Miller, the second project happened during my Junior and Senior summers of High school. This story is actually best told through the eyes of my sister, for a school assignment shortly following the project. Word for word, enjoy:

Double Summer Job

About 3 years ago (1995) my parents approached Jordan and I to talk about a summer job.

They brought us to a house and showed us around. We were both trying to figure out what the job actually was.

They finally explained to us what we would be doing. I could see for myself that the house needed a lot of work. I could hardly breathe just standing there, due to the smell of the old place.

Jordan and I decided to buy the house after figuring out what most of the expenses and other financial situations would be. It was a lot more complicated than just this, but that would take a lot of explaining.

***Yup that’s my mom there, arms crossed, surely thinking “Am I really going to do this again?”

We finally started to gut the entire house. Mostly to get rid of the smell which was in the old ladies couches, carpet, and clothing.

This was way too much work for just the two of us. My parents helped us out and we hired several friends and classmates.

Adam and Jenny Kramer, Jordan, and I had to take down all of the old rotten wallpaper. There were about 15 layers on every wall and ceiling. Some of it had been on there since 1887 when the house was built.

The four of us also had to strip the varnish off of all of the doors so that way they could be redone. All of the doors were huge with carvings and design, so it took along time to strip all of them.

The whole house had carved woodwork as the trim. It all had to be sanded and filled over and over for the paint.

It took us about one whole summer to get the whole place gutted, resided, plumbed, and heated. We thought that it would only take one summer to finish the whole thing from start to finish. I guess that when you leave your work for vacation and basketball camps, projects take much longer than planned.

The next summer we got back at it again. I was still tired of working from the summer before. Luckily the second summer was easier. This was the rebuilding portion of the project.

We started out by rewiring the whole house. I learned a lot about electricity. When all of the wiring was done we sheet rocked almost the entire house and then mudded all of the cracks and corners.

We definitely built our muscles up when we had to sand down every wall after the mud dried.

It was getting close to start the wallpapering. We started this by figuring out all of the colors. It takes a lot of time to figure out what kind of wallpaper is going to go into every room, in order to match the carpets, and then figuring out how much to buy. Jordan and I let my mom figure this out.

Every wall in the whole house had to be wallpapered. I did one-half of the hanging and my mom did the other one-half. Jordan did all of the cutting, pasting, and running around for supplies. She was our gopher and we really enjoyed it.

Wallpapering is very simple. I was very glad that I learned to do this, because when I buy a house, when I get older, it will be very easy for me to redesign it.

The carpet installers moved in after we were done with the wallpaper. It took about two weeks for them to carpet the whole house. Every floor had to be covered.

It came to a point where we were finally done. We put the house on the market in October. It isn’t sold yet, but hopefully it will be soon. This is something that I will never do again. That is probably the most important thing that I learned throughout the two-summer project. I learned many building skills, designing, financial, dealing with business people, city fathers, and numerous items that I will appreciate when I am an adult.

I’m asked often how I learned my home improvement skills. I can chalk my style and taste up as hereditary I think??? I didn’t really take any design classes, so I’ll thank DNA for my ability to visualize. I do however owe my ability to wire a light, change a faucet and drywall to 2 influential projects during my teen years.

The first being what my family called The Miller. My parents purchased the building in 1992, yes way back so don’t judge the pictures. The original 1908 plans of The Miller included fifty-six hotel rooms plus private offices. Also it had a bar, kitchen, lobby, ladies lounge, salesman lounge, and laundry and furnace room. It was fireproof and totally modern for its time.

Here’s what the exterior looked like:

The building was always a little erry, I remember as a child running past it quickly, fearing who might be lurking inside. The condition did not deter my parents; my mother had grand plans for this building. My mothers love for math and my fathers mechanical inclinations definitely helped as they undertook this project of designing and changing the hotel into apartment living.

Gutting began, with sledge hammer in hands I remember tearing through the lathing and multiple layers of wallpaper. Walls where moved and rebuilt as 56 rooms became 17 apartments. The project took almost 3 years, to make something neglected into a beautiful apartment building. There was a lot of work if statistics thrill you, 350 knobs for cupboard doors, all installed by us children. Count the doors, 100 oak doors, 81 closet doors with handles. What I didn’t mention before is The Miller is located in a small town, so the closet Menard’s at the time was a good 50 minutes away. I recall going to movies on the weekend as a family but making sure we left early enough to head into Menard’s to fill the truck with goodies for the hotel.

It was a family job, and the efforts were soon realized. This had been a longtime dream of my mother, to refurbish and old home which turned out to be a home with 15 apartments. Gee, I wonder where I get it from?

Later my parents were honored for their work in renovating the Miller Hotel at the Main Street Awards at the State Historical Building in Des Moines. They received the first place award for “Best Adaptive Re-Use Of A Building” from the Governor at the time.

Jumping to present time, the family managed the property until just last year allowing us children to learn the ropes of property management.

Staging outside is just as important as staging inside your house.  Step back, way back, across the street if necessary and look at it with a blind eye.  If it helps take a picture and then review your first impression.  Several of the aspects that help the first impression can be done with a little elbow grease.  Today’s DIY is one them.

I feel like I just purchased these Andorak Chairs, but when I think about it they have been sitting in the sun for two full summers.  They look pretty worn out and dull.  I also happen to have plenty of stain left from my chaise project so this little touch was virtually pennies.

Here’s what my chairs look like before I got started.

Staining is a pretty easy project and takes just a few supplies.

A vintage velvet chaise seemed like the perfect first attempt at upholstery.   The previous owner had the same intentions but never got around to completing it.  Therefore this wonderful project became my opportunity when the powers that be (Craigslist) landed it on my desktop early Sunday morning several months ago.  With a little bartering with my husband we were off across town in his truck to pick up my new project.

On first inspection it was perfect for my first upholstery project and thought I could get it done over the weekend.  I got right to it, when on my hands and during ripping down I realized that it might be more than I had bargained for.  You see I choose Industrial Arts over Home Ec.   As soon as I ripped old fabric off realized I was dealing with old springs… another skill to add to my list and was trying to figure out how I would recover this huge thing.  It was nothing like the seat covers I can recover in a few minutes.

The bottom of the frame is pretty shaky and needed some new support and the springs needed some serious attention.  I used one of my favorite paint and varnish removers Citrisstrip from Home Depot, to remove the old varnish.  Followed it up with some delegate sanding before I got to putting my project back together.

The final finishing piece took months, 13 to be exact, I moved this thing around the garage and finally done to my office in hopes it would help me get it done faster.  Winder went by and I finally decided this weekend to get it done.

I’m not usually very indecisive but choosing the new fabric for my chaise called for several trips to the fabric store.  I was determined this weekend however to pick one out, put it on and be done with it.  I can now say the chaise is now fully upholstered and is looking great. I love it – but must let it go – any takers?

FOR RELEASE: IMMEDIATE

For More Information Please Contact:

Jordan Nelson

651.260.3213

Jordan@ListWithJordan.com

www.ListWithJordan.com

Jordan Nelson Earns Prestigious Designation to Help Homeowners

in Danger of Foreclosure

Woodbury, MN – May 10, 2010 –Jordan Nelson of Keller Williams in Woodbury has earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert^® (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance, with a particular emphasis on short sales. At a time when millions of homeowners are struggling with the possibility of foreclosure, the skills and education accumulated by Nelson will help benefit St. Paul area residents and communities.

Short sales allow the distressed homeowner to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even if it is lower than what is owed on the property. With plummeting property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

Today, more than 13 percent of homeowners are delinquent on their mortgage or in the foreclosure process. This is occurring across all price ranges, and the fastest-growing category of homes in foreclosure is the luxury home market.

“The CDPE designation has been invaluable as I work with homeowners and lenders on complicated short sales,” said Nelson “It is so rewarding to be able to help families save their homes from foreclosure.”

Alex Charfen, co-founder and CEO of the Distressed Property Institute in Austin, Texas, said that agents such as Nelson with the CDPE Designation have valuable perspective on the market, and training in short sales that can offer homeowners real alternatives to foreclosure, which can be devastating to credit ratings.

“These experts better understand market conditions than the average agent, and can help sellers through the complications of foreclosure avoidance,” he said.

The Distressed Property Institute provides live and online courses to train real estate professionals how to help homeowners in distress, with a particular emphasis on handling short sales.

“Our goal is to help as many homeowners as possible, by educating as many real estate professionals as possible,” Charfen said. “Nelson has demonstrated a commitment to the struggling homeowners, and will provide much-needed assistance in stabilizing the community.”

For more information about CDPE Designation, visit www.cdpe.com.

It’s a standing joke amongst my husband and I that his Town House was his wedding gift to me.  He gave me the keys and the landlord responsibilities the minute he found the opportunity.  We’ve been renting this 2 bedroom, 1 bath end unit with a double garage for a few years now and recently come to terms with it’s value and we are ready to rip the band-aid off and move on.

It was a quick decision and with spring apon us and the tax credit nearing it’s end I wanted to get it on the market before the following weekend with a budget of $2000.  It’s amazing how much you can do with $2000 when getting your home ready for the market.

It’s always difficult as a home owner to know if they will see that investment back, it’s important to consider why you would make the changes.  In my case this unit will sit empty on the market until I find a buyer so I want my unit to be the most attractive unit.  I want it to be the next unit sold in the complex, not the 8th.

The unit was built in the nineties and my husband, bachelor at the time had zero interest in making updates?!?!  Since this wasn’t my first rodeo I new exactly where to spend my dollars to get the most bang.

Budget and Before and Afters as follows:

$200:  8 gallons of paint (entire unit)

$340:  New light fixtures out with the gold in with the silver

$1300 New Carpet through out.

$120 Misc. Home Depot/Supplies

I wanted my budget to have room to do something “special” or something that would make our unit stand out from the others.  With $300 I was able to install a beautiful modern back splash in the kitchen tying everything together.

These changes have made our unit much more appealing to the market and turn key for the first time home buyer.

Total Cost:  $1970

Nothing like a client selling our services for us!  We just love loyal customers that keep spreading the good word about the way we handle St. Paul Real Estate.  Looking back at difficult transactions and the obstacles we have to go through to get things accomplished is all worth while when you get an email like this:

I’ve copied real estate agent Jordan Nelson who was a tremendous help with my home. She’s effective and unlike most Realtors who will tell you anything just to get the listing, she is realistic and straightforward. I know the Twin Cities market is still down, but if you are open to her ideas and pricing, then she will make every effort to get it sold.

THAT’s what I’m talking about!!  We tell you time and time again that we don’t sugar-coat information, we don’t paint pretty pictures of current real estate conditions and we tell it like it is.  It’s the number one reason our clients recommend us and come back again and again.

We are dedicated to your success, whether buying or selling Twin Cites homes or condos and will go above and beyond so you keep coming back for more.

Thanks Nick for the awesome referral, totally made our day!

Contact us with Confidence, Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back!