Home Hunter, May 5, 2013

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Sunday, May 5, 2013s

173 Kasper Lane

Home of the Week...

This 3 bedroom, 2 bath split plan home has an open floor plan with 2531

square feet. The kitchen, bathrooms, and the laundry room have tile

flooring. Enjoy the fireplace in the Great Room. The Master Bathroom has a

fireplace, skylight, and a walk in closet. The Master bathroom features a jetted

garden tub, separate shower, and his and her vanities. For the car enthusiast,

this home boasts an attached two car garage, a detached three-car garage with

lift, plus a parking pad for four vehicles.

MLS #79505 $259,000

Call Karen Bures, 803-644-1736Meybohm Realtors

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CYAN-AOOO MAGENTA-OAOO YELLOW-OOAO BLACK 012908

How to get approvedfor a mortgage

Real estate professionals say themarket is rebounding, and manywould-be home buyers are eager-ly awaiting their opportunities topurchase their own homes. Freshdata indicates that the inventoryof properties is quickly drying upand soon the market is poised topoint in the sellers favor.

According to Allen & Associ-ates, a real estate appraisal, con-sultant and research rm based inColorado, properties in the arealisted for sale are below the six-

month supply of inventory. Nowcould be the time to get a gooddeal on a home, provided buyersare able to secure mortgages.No matter how many afford-

able homes are available, if abuyer cannot get approved for amortgage, then his or her chancesof owning a home are slim. In thewake of a tumultuous economy,many lenders tightened restric-tions on mortgage lending. Andeven though the economy hasrebounded, many lenders havecontinued to follow strict guide-lines before lending money. Inorder to secure a mortgage witha good interest rate, buyers musttake control of their nancialsituations and x problems that

could lead to loan rejection.Many things can impact a

mortgage application. Here arethe ways to overcome liabilitiesand improve your standing withprospective lenders.

Know your credit rating.Your credit rating is a score

that lenders rely on when decid-ing whether or not to approveyour mortgage application. Thehigher the credit rating, the moreattractive you look to prospectivelenders. But the lower your scoreis, the more difculty you willhave getting a loan. Should youget a loan with a low score, youmay have to pay a higher interestrate than someone with better

credit. Prior to making any bignancial decisions, such as ap-plying for a mortgage, it is vitalto nd out your credit score. Youcan request a free copy of yourcredit report, which includes yourcredit score, once a year fromthe three major credit reportingagencies in the United States andCanada: TransUnion, Experian

and Equifax. You also can pay foryour credit report.

Address any issues onyour report.

Once you know your score,you can take steps to addressany issues on the report. Paydown revolving consumer debts,such as credit card balances andauto loans. Report any errors onyour credit report so they can beadjusted. Pay bills on time andaddress any notices of collections

before they make it onto yourpermanent record. If you will beapplying for a loan soon, avoidopening any other credit ac-counts for the time being.

Maintain steadyemployment.

Having a job is often vital togetting a mortgage. Lenders tendto look for long-term nancialstability, which is best illustratedby maintaining steady employ-ment. Jumping from job to jobmay be a red ag to lenders, soits better to make a switch afteryou have been approved for aloan.

Save, save, save.

Having more money in thebank lowers your loan-to-valueratio, or LTV. This will makeyou appear less risky to lenders.Individuals who have saved for aconsiderable down payment ona home are also seen in a betterlight.

Make sure you have acredit history.

Some people are too cautiouswith their credit and think clos-ing accounts or avoiding creditentirely will make them moreattractive to lenders. But this canbackre. Lenders will want tosee a strong credit history thatindicates your ability to pay yourdebts on time.

Get a cosigner.If you are uncertain about your

ability to secure a loan on yourown, then consider a cosignerto make you more attractive toprospective lenders. The cosignerhelps guarantee the lender thatyour mortgage payments will bemade.

How homeowners can reducetheir monthly expenses

Saving money is a prior-ity for many people. Butreducing monthly expensesis typically a bigger concernfor homeowners, especiallynew homeowners adjust-ing to life with a mortgage,higher energy bills than theylikely had while renting andother costs associated with

owning their own homes.Home ownership is adream for many people, butthe realization of just howexpensive owning a homecan be is often eye-openingonce you get the keys andmove in. Once the initialsticker shock has worn off,homeowners should knowthat the cost of home owner-ship need not be so steep. Infact, there are several wayshomeowners can cut costswithout drastically changingtheir lifestyle.

Combine yourinsurance coverages.

Many lenders mandate

that borrowers carry home-owners insurance for theirhomes. The cost of cover-age varies from companyto company, and one ofthe ways homeowners canreduce the cost of theirhomeowners insurance isto bundle their homeown-ers coverage with their autoinsurance. Some companiesprovide discounted premi-ums as high as 15 percentfor policy holders whocombine their homeownersand auto insurance cover-age. Speak with your cur-rent provider to determineif combining your coveragecould save you money. If the

savings are not signicant,shop around for an insurancecompany that can offer youthe lower price you desire.Just be sure the company isaccessible and reputable.

Refinance yourmortgage.

Renancing your mort-

gage is another great wayhomeowners can save a sub-

stantial amount of money.Even if you only recentlypurchased your home, yourlender might be willing torenance your mortgagewith a lower interest rate.Depending on the amount oftime and money left on yourloan, reducing your interestrate by 2 percent can saveyou a substantial amountof money on your monthlymortgage payment, whichcan add up to considerablesavings on the total interestyou will pay over the life ofthe loan. If you think yourinterest rate is a tad toohigh, consult your lenderand discuss renancing at alower rate.

Bundle your services.More and more consumers

have decided to bundle theirInternet, phone and televi-sion packages. ConsumerReports found that bundlingjust two of those serv icesinstead of buying them from

separate providers can saveconsumers between 40 to 60

percent depending on wherethey live. Rates for bundlingpackages oft en come withan expiration date, but aConsumer Reports surveyfound that even those pack-ages come with some wiggleroom. In their 2011 AnnualTelecom Survey, ConsumerReports found that one-thirdof survey participants at-tempted to negotiate a lowerrate for their bundled servic-es, and 90 percent of thoseefforts were successful.When negotiating, discusslower prices for bundlingas well as extending thepackage beyond the currentexpiration date.It never hurtsto ask, and one study has al-ready shown that it actuallyhelps to ask.

Go green.

Going green benets theenvironment, and its almostcertain to benet homeown-ers wallets. According to

the U.S. Environmental Pro-

tection Agency, toilets ac-count for more water usagein the home than any otherappliance or xture. But theEPA also notes that a familyof four can save thousandsof dollars by switching to ahigh-efciency toilet overthat toilets lifetime. Andinstalling eco-friendly ap-pliances or xtures aroundyour home might even makeyou eligible for certain taxbreaks wh ile also updatingyour home, something thatwill make the home moreattractive to prospectivebuyers when you sell downthe road. There are manyways to make a home more

environmentally friendly,and nearly all of them cansave you money over thelong run.

Refnancing an existing mortgage is one way homeowners can reduce their monthly expenses.

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How to give a room a new look without breaking the bankRedecorating a room or an en-

tire house can change the entirefeel of the space dramatically.But an unpredictable economyhas made many consumers alittle more particular when itcomes to spending on home

decor.Changing elements in a room

does not have to be expensive. Afew updated pieces or accesso-ries can give a room an entirelynew look without breaking thebank.

SlipcoversSlipcovers are no longer the

amorphous sacks they oncewere. Slipcovers now come in alldifferent price points. Spendinga little more can mean getting astyle that is elasticized or form-tting, which will conform tothe contours of a sofa or loveseat. This is a simple way tocover up an outdated style ofsofa fabric or a chair that has

seen better days. Slipcovers alsoare a good way to protect newcouches from damage whenthere are children or pets in thehome.

To get the right slipcover,measure the piece of furnitureyou intend to cover. Without thecorrect t, even a well-craftedslipcover can look awkwardand cheap. Pay attention to thematerial of the slipcover, so you

know it will be durable and thickenough to cover an existing sofafabric pattern.

Knobs and PullsBreathe new life into older

furniture by changing the knobs,draw pulls and handles. Manytimes furniture comes withstandard brass knobs that canlook dated over time. Usingsleeker, more streamlined knobscan make traditional furniturelook more modern. Changingpulls from metal to wood canmake a room look more earthyor country. Home improvementstores and accessory retailersstock a wide variety of handlesand knobs that can transform

just about any piece of furniture.And what cannot be found ina store can most likely be pur-chased online.

Paint or StainPainting a rooms walls a

different color can provide im-mediate results. But furniturealso can be painted and stained.Many times older furniture ismade from quality wood, not the

type of composite or pressboardwood of some less expensivefurniture options. That meansthat nishes can be stripped andreplaced with new stains. Turna dated dresser into somethingthat looks brand new with a newstain color or a coat of paint.Think about painting or stainingusing foam sponges to reducethe appearance of brush lines.

AccessorizeSwapping out curtains, throw

pillows and even wall art caneasily and often inexpensivelytransform the look of a room.Homeowners can purchase ac-cessories with bright colors thatadd a pop of brightness through-

out the room and can provide apick-me-up for neutral designtones.

Older lamps can be given anew look just by replacing lamp

shades. There are many afford-able options at discount storesand major retailers.

Area rugs can also transforma room with little effort. Bringin a new color scheme with adifferent patterned rug and carry

the pattern to stairways withrunners.

Bare MinimumSometimes less is more, and

this can also pertain to homedecorating. Revamping a roomcan be done by subtraction aswell as addition. Homeownerscan explore the option of takingout a piece of furniture that maybe cumbersome and blockingfoot trafc. Removing knick-knacks from shelves and thin-ning out the use of collectiblescan make a room more airy andinviting. Before money is spenton changing furniture or acces-sories, people can look into whatthey can remove from the room

to freshen it up.Giving a room a new look and

feel can be done without break-ing the bank. Changing a lamp shade can breathe new life into an older lamp.

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How to create a paver walkway or patioCreating a walkway or patio

out of paving stones can add aes-thetic appeal to a property. Paversare less permanent than concreteand decking. As a result, it iseasier to change the design lateron if you want to give the space a

new lookHomeowners who install their

own pavers can save a consider-able amount of money. Becauseinstalling paving stones can belabor-intensive, landscape con-tractors may charge a premiumfor installation. However, this is aproject that can be tackled by thedo-it-yourselfer.

1. Measure and plot out the areathat will become the path or pa-tio. The area of the space can befgured out by multiplying lengthtimes width. This will help youdetermine just how much mate-rial you will need.

2. Visit the home improve-ment store or a supplier of stoneand other masonry supplies to

determine the style and color ofthe paving stones you will use inthe project. Some homeownersprefer to have the materials de-livered to their home to save the

hassle of extra heavy lifting andmoving.

3. Using a shovel or a tiller, digdown and remove the grass to adepth of four to six inches fromthe area that will become the pathor patio.

4. Fill in the area you dug outwith a paver base material, us-ing a tamper (either manual orpower-driven) to tamp down thepaver base until it is level andsmooth.

5. Apply about one inch of

paving sand to further level outthe path or patio. This will be thematerial on which the pavingstones are laid.

6. Begin laying the paving

stones. Leave the appropriate dis-tance between stones desired byyour pattern. If the paving stoneswill not have any gap and serveas a continuous patio, leave onlythe smallest gap between them.

7. Spread more paving sandon top of the paving stones and,using a broom, sweep it over thestones and into the crevices be-tween them to set the stones.

8. Create the rest of the gar-den design around the patio orpathway using gravel, plants and

even edging material to fnish thelook. Over time you may need tosweep more paving sand over thestones to keep them secure.


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Couple buys, restores 100-year-old homeonce owned by his great-grandparentsBy PatriciaMonteMurri

Detroit Free Press/(MCT)

DETROIT - They only knewabout this once-stately Detroitresidence - brick with bay win-dows and the spacious side yard- from family folklore. They didnot know Detroit in its heyday.

But now Christopher Lee andAmy Feigley-Lee nd them-selves at home and heart-boundto a Detroit house once ownedby Lees great-grandfather in theRoaring 20s, but was lost at theonset of the Great Depression.

And it all began with a photo.Shot in 1926, the family heir-

loom depicts Lees great-grand-

parents, Daniel and Patrice Fol-ey, hosting a family gatheringin honor of the Catholic priestlyordination of the Rev. DominicIgnatius Aloysius Foley in 1926.The photo also depicts Leesgreat-great grandparents, Wil-liam and Johanna Foley. Theclan is assembled in a spaciousfoyer in front of a distinctivestairway.

That was the only photo wehad of the inside of the house,says Lee. When I came in andlooked at the staircase, I knewthis was the house.

What was lost is now foundand reborn as the coupleshome, where Feigley-Lee andLee, both art instructors andartists, will welcome their rstchild in the coming weeks, adaughter with a name yet-to-beannounced.

Lee, 32, bought the house for$8,100 in a county tax foreclo-sure sale in 2007. The househad been empty for at least veyears. He tracked the house foryears while he was in graduateschool at Cranbrook Academyof Art, after getting the addressfrom his great uncle. His greatuncle Bill Foley, now 83, jokesthat he was conceived in thehomes master bedroom circa1928.

Lee learned that his great-grandfather Daniel Foley was

a 1920s-era wheeler dealer, astock market and real estateinvestor, and a horse track regu-lar. Daniel and Patrice Foleywere raising 10 out of their 11children at the house, includingChriss maternal grandmother,Eileen, when Daniels invest-ments evaporated with the onsetof the Great Depression.

They lost the house and Pa-trice, an accomplished pianist,went to work in an ofce job byday and played the piano for payat night.

The house is in a neighbor-hood just off Woodward,between the historic Boston-Edison district and HighlandPark. Chris says it has been

bypassed in civic-sponsoredrenewal plans.Lee and Feigley-Lee are

among the stream of artists andentrepreneurs owing into De-troit in recent years, motivatedby eye-popping cheap propertyprices and eager to participatein Detroits renewal and cre-ative class. Theyre not all justsettling down in Midtown anddowntown; but in other pocketsthroughout the city.

Feigley-Lee, 33, a sculptor andinstructor at Oakland Univer-sity, grew up in Milford, Mich.,and only visited the city forsome major events. She enrolledin a graduate school program atCranbrook Academy of Art, and

lived in Ferndale until she metLee. He also was a Cranbrookstudent and now is a photog-rapher and OU instructor. Hegrew up in Detroits RosedalePark, Huntington Woods, andin China, where his father wasraised.

When Lee moved into the De-troit house in 2008, so did she.

I wouldnt have done it onmy own, Feigley-Lee says. ButLees enthusiasm and con-dence helped sell her. I was upfor the challenge.

It was pretty normal to feelIm over my head. I have hadthis feeling throughout thewhole process, says Feigley-Lee. But I love it. I really do.

What greeted her were col-lapsing ceilings, a leaking roof,buckling oors with three layersof linoleum, and a vandalizedinterior.

There was dust ying every-where, the roof was leaking andfalling. There wasnt hot water,says Feigley-Lee. The housewas a wreck. It wasnt livable.

But they lived in it anyway, af-ter xing basics like electricity,heat and plumbing. They wereaided by a $50,000 MichiganState Housing DevelopmentAuthority loan.

The 3,500-square-foot housewas built in 1903, with two lay-ers of brick framing it. WilliamWorden, the City of Detroitretired director of historic desig-nation, says many houses in the

city are worthy of preservationand perhaps historic designa-tion.

For neighborhoods to sur-vive, people have to come intake care of the buildings,Worden says. You hope whenpeople do that - theyre startinga trend and others will follow.

They have good friends on theblock, which includes vacantlots, well-kept mini-mansesand rundown but still occupiedhomes. The Lees consider theneighborhood stable.

I always prayed for goodneighbors, says attorney Der-rick Phillips, 58, who lives inthe house next door. The housebelonged to Phillips father since

1955 and Phillips has lived theresince 1994. Philips says hes ex-perienced no problems since theLees moved there in 2008, andhe counts on their dogs, Suzyand Yin, to be lookouts.

To stave off further blight,Phillips would mow the lawnof vacant houses just to keepup appearances and says thathelped the Lees decide andtake a chance on it.

Their families were supportiveand pitched in regularly.

I was very happy to hearabout it. I was a bit apprehen-sive, though. But fools rush in,jokes Lees stepfather, Bob Her-man, a self-professed handymanwho is business manager at

Gesu Catholic Parish in Detroit.Lee turned to Herman, who ismarried to Lees mother CathyLee, for some reconstructionhelp.

The progress theyve made isamazing. The upstairs bedroomshows what the potential for the

rest of the house is, says Her-man. But it will take some timeto reclaim its former glory.

While theyve relished thehands-on process of renova-tion, the Lees know why othersmight be deterred.

The homes are so big andthey tend to require a lot ofwork, says Lee. It costs nearly$600 a month for heat and elec-tricity during the winter months,which the couple has spread outacross the year.

Its taken us ve years to getthis far, says Feigley-Lee. Plusan additional $50,000 out-of-pocket beyond the loan theyreceived.

They pulled out 1970s-eracabinetry in the kitchen andreplaced it with 1920s-eracupboards that Lee was invitedto salvage from a vacant apart-ment building. They kept theoriginal kitchen sink. The mainupstairs bathroom is down tothe studs, awaiting renovationand the original claw-foot tubnow stored in what will be thebabys room.

Theyve decorated with somehand-me-downs, some modernpieces and vintage Chinese

furniture from Lees father,Winston Lee, a native of Chinawho was in business informa-tion technology developmentand now lives in China.

Lees Cranbrook mastersthesis included a display ofphotographs he shot at the houseduring its renovation. They in-cluded photos of the 5-year-oldcontents of the refrigerator andthe geometric beauty of the oldfuse box, as well as document-ing the homes decay.

His project, he wrote, was acritique of the tendency to usedecay as an overly romanticizedform of decoration, a trend thatignores the socio-economicissues underlying the subject

matter.While the house now showsthe couples artistic eye for color,proportion and design, Lee saysits been less of trying to t intoartistic visions, and more justtrying to make it a house.

Lofty ideas become lessimportant when you wantedwindows not to leak, and a roofthat didnt leak, he says.

Theyve gotten this far inhome renovations, in part, byhosting a work party wherefriends and family pitch in withpainting the rst oor, for ex-ample, for Feigley-Lees home-cooking and the camaraderie.

Surprisingly, people enjoycoming to work, says Feigley-

Lee. We get a lot done.The oral history passed down

has inuenced how they use thehouse. One of the rst oor frontrooms was known as the pianoroom where great-grandmotherPatrice Foley practiced herpiano. When the couple moved

in, they put Feigley-Lees great-grandmothers piano there.Next to that is a not-yet-fully

xed living room where Leewas eating breakfast once whenhe felt like someone was stand-ing over me with a salt shaker.It wasnt salt. It was the ceiling.As I looked up, I saw the ceil-ing give way, he recalls.

The famously photographedfoyer space now looks like afamily room with a modernistdecorating edge, and a wood-burning stove that replaces abusted-down brick replace.In the 1920s, Lees great-greatgrandfather, William Foley,

was laid out in the space afterhe died.Theyve hosted some fam-

ily dinners, but nothing of thesize that heralded great-greatUncle Dominics ordination tothe Catholic priesthood. Leesays family oral history relatesthat back in the 1920s, the fam-ily bought the house, in part,anticipating the ordination cel-ebration.

The couple hopes to hostanother grand family gatheringin the years to come, perhaps abig Christmas dinner or sum-mer reunion. Either way, theresa more imminent celebrationin the ofng for the baby, dueMay 19.

The couple also plans to hangup a photo of great-great UncleDominics ordination celebra-tion.

My thought is the staircase,Lee says. It makes sense there.

Chris Lee, let, and his wie Amy Feigley-Lee, both artists andinstructors in their early 30s, pictured April 19, 2013, in Detroit,are living in the house Chris great-grandather lived in duringthe Roaring 20s. Grandpa, who was a wheeler/dealer, lost o

the house when the Great Depression started in 1929. Chriskept track o the house and bought it fve years ago or $8,100.He and Amy have rehabbed it to a showstopper. (Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press/MCT)

A wood burning stove that replaced the area where a freplaceonce was is seen in the parlor area o Chris Lee and his wieAmy Feigley-Lees Detroit home is seen while giving a tour,April 19, 2013, o the house Chris great-grandather lived induring the Roaring 20s. (Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press/MCT)

The bedroom o Chris Lee and his wie Amy Feigley-Lees De-troit home is seen while giving a tour, April 19, 2013, o thehouse Chris great-grandather lived in during the Roaring 20s.

(Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press/MCT)

Chris Lee, let, o Detroit, holds up an old photo o his amily while posing April 19, 2013, withhis wie Amy Feigley-Lee, April 19, 2013, in ront o the same stairway o his great-grandathershome in Detroit that he lost when the Great Depression started in 1929. Lee kept track o thehouse and bought it fve years ago or $8,100. He and his wie continue to rehab the housethey now live in as they are starting their own amily. (Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press/MCT)

An older sink and cabinetsrom another building are inthe kitchen o Chris Lee andhis wie Amy Feigley-Lees De-troit home, seen while givinga tour, April 19, 2013, o thehouse Chris great-granda-ther lived in during the Roar-ing 20s. (Ryan Garza/Detroit

Free Press/MCT)


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Home Hunter, May 5, 2013