Secrets of the City

man do i miss that accent!

What accent? heh

It’s a shame to see the way scavengers have stripped those places of metal.

That’s really low.

lol @ ranty’s choice of shoes for exploring attics.

So when is the city gonna bulldoze these things so I can buy a lot and build my ultra-energy efficient/hyper-secure modern house???

Maybe soon.

The woodwork in those houses was pretty awesome. Who cares if there is no copper plumbing. You can replace all the copper with PEX for nearly free by yourself. Most of the copper in those old houses is undersized to start with so if you turn on a faucet when someone is showering you lose all the pressure. If I wanted to live in North I would consider a $25K house.

Maybe soon.

whoa…interesting.

Sadly, I’m all talk – I don’t actually have any $$$.

what I like about ranty is that she actually rehabs great old houses. she’s a diamond amongst a shitpile of the awful real estate industry.

also she’s a fellow smoker
take that bob!

And she has a hot hubby…rawr.

Oddly, this really makes me want to buy a house.

Re: Ang’s link…I feel like a house down the street from me is going to be torn down any day now. One disappeared over by Selby and Dale not too long ago…one day it was there, then it was a pile of boards and bricks. Eerie.

They’ve been tearing down a lot of houses in mary-holmes on the dinkytown side of 35W lately. But as soon as they tear one down, there’s a newer, bigger one going up. The houses they pulled down really were in shitty shape, or way undersized for the nieghbourhood. It’s amazing to see new houses going up IN THE CITY, though. Apartment buildings/condos, sure, whatever. And some of the houses that were already chopped up into 2 or 3 apartments are being replaced with buildings designed to be 2 or 3 apartments. But still, weird to see small-scale residential redevelopment in the middle of town like that. Awesome, but weird.

marcy*-holmes

I have a weird soft spot for abandoned houses, especially among all the beautiful near mansions in my neighborhood. Probably why they’re torn down so fast.

The built ins in those houses could justify $25000. The neigborhoods might not though. Sad thing is, with a location that close to downtown in an era of high gas prices, it screams for redevelopment.

They’re not $25K for no reason. Get those romantic notions out of your head.

yes but they’re still a better deal than a mcmansion in 5th-ring bumfuck exurb du jour. even if you pour another 25 or even 50 grand into rehabbing it, even if the neighbourhood isn’t as whitebread as you are, it’s a good deal because people like you, rat, are scared off by that.

$50K wouldn’t get you through the first floor.

Yeah, I’d be scared off by that.

I’m unable to watch the video – where in North Mpls is this house located?

I just took my 13-year old to Washington DC and we saw the FDR memorial by the Tidal Basin. Idle dream: a New Deal/Habitat for Humanity/Americorp type movement wherein young people rehab these houses in return for tuition breaks for college or something. Bring the National Guard home from Iraq and put people to work rebuilding North Minneapolis. Too pie-in-the-sky?

Romantic notions are relative, Rat. The whole my trash is your treasure concept. To some a 25K house is a dream regardless of area and condition.

People like Ranty who have the skillz and energy to rehab a home are much needed in areas like north & south minneapolis. And, I love that she focuses on homes like these.

I imagine you’d get some resistance from people who make a living doing that sort of thing.

Those projects are usually already volunteer based, though. So, providing an incentive like that would mostly likely churn up a few more volunteers.

Speaking specifically of Habitat for Humanity.

If you paid people, it wouldn’t be “volunteer” anymore, would it.

Uff da.

The one thing I like about Ranty is how she smashes her guitar into the amp and flips off the crowd at the end of a set.

What an amazing stage presence.

I imagine you’d get some resistance from people who make a living doing that sort of thing.

There’s such a surplus of housing stock like that, I doubt the people making their living doing that kind of thing wouldn’t even notice. Sort of like, Habitat for Humanity has hardly put homebuilders out of business.

Or, the people in it for a living could focus more on high end/high profit margin jobs.

The video is awesome. Ranty ignores the disaster and focuses on the positive. And that was some great woodwork. And what I would do for some stained glass around here…

If you paid people, it wouldn’t be “volunteer” anymore, would it.

It wouldn’t be “payment”, and most volunteer work provides something in return for the volunteer. Very few people do it for the spirit of helping. Looks great on a resume, as an example. Besides, that wasn’t my point. I was responding to Rat. See below for more clarification.

Sort of like, Habitat for Humanity has hardly put homebuilders out of business.

@ the Rat:

Speaking in terms of RESTORATION (i.e. doing a good job, not a slap/crap job,) the first house could -IMO- definitely be done for 50k. The second one… well… you could get it to functional and not hazardous maybe, but in no way restored.

But hey, that second one sold for $15,900, so I guess the buyers have got some room to move, eh?

It wouldn’t be “payment”, and most volunteer work provides something in return for the volunteer. Very few people do it for the spirit of helping.

man, are you jaded. I disagree obviously.

I lived in esquared neighborhood when I was a kid. Those homes that were once falling down now go for $300-500.

lol Thanks, dude. That provided me with the laugh of the day.

$300-500k, rather.

I’m unable to watch the video – where in North Mpls is this house located?

Hawthorne neighborhood, by Farview Park.

I wish I had more time to pick out our next house and do some demo work. Unfortunately, with another little one on the way, my time with the hammer and saw is limited. My current house is about 10 years old, and we’ve already sunk some upgrades into it, like hardwood floors, new carpet, marble floors in the bathrooms and kitchen, granite countertops, new light and facet fixtures, etc… It’s not really hard to do it yourself, or with some friends, but the big time renovations are out of my current capabilities.

Maybe in another life.

oh…and Connie, you get us all hot talking about Restoration. j/k Congrats on the story.

taulpaul, another one! Damn dude!

I lived in esquared neighborhood when I was a kid. Those homes that were once falling down now go for $300-500.
And it only took 70 years… But seriously they built the houses well, so they can take some amount of neglect and still bounce back with a little tlc.

taulpaul, another one! Damn dude!

Yep, and we all thought DeRusha was the fertile, minivan driving, soccer dad.

Taulpaul, you should try for your own iron man football team.

Yep, and we all thought DeRusha was the fertile, minivan driving, soccer dad.

*raises hand*