A high school teacher bought a 'trashed' home in Detroit for $2,600 and got it into livable condition in less than 2 years. Here's how she did it.
The Detroit Land Bank Authority — the DLBA — is one of several organizations and people working to revitalize Detroit.
Deandra Averhart bought this abandoned three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in June 2018 through the DLBA's Own It Now program. It's located in Detroit, near the University District.
She told Business Insider that originally, she wasn't interested in buying a house. However, after talking to a friend, she decided that investing her money was a better idea than paying rent.
A brief history: Detroit, Michigan, was once home to a booming auto industry. However, in the 1950s, the industry started declining and companies started moving out of the city. By the 1960s, people were leaving in droves.
In 2013, the city filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. Now, more than five years later, more and more programs are seeking to improve the city.
Wealthy entrepreneurs are investing in the city too, like Dan Gilbert, the billionaire founder of Quicken Loans. As Business Insider previously reported, after Gilbert moved his company to downtown Detroit in 2010, he started the real-estate firm Bedrock.
Not only is Quicken Loans one of Detroit's largest employers and taxpayers, but as of 2018, Bedrock had invested or allocated $5.6 billion in roughly 100 properties in downtown Detroit and nearby neighborhoods.
Deandra's birth name is Tia DeShay, but it was legally changed to Deandra Averhart when she was adopted. She writes, has her own podcast, and is a high school English teacher.
Deandra told Business Insider that through the DLBA's program, she ended up paying $2,690.50 for her property.
"Today, Thursday June 21, 2018, at 10:00 am I closed on this house. Total Purchasing Price: $2690.50. I owe no mortgage, just property taxes," she wrote in an Instagram post back in June 2018.
Deandra also told Business Insider that the house was in unlivable condition when she bought it.
"It was completely trashed," she explained. "It had a hole in the back underneath what I call the nook in the kitchen."
Trash was scattered throughout the house.
There was also no running water or electricity.
"There was nothing. There was no furnace, no hot water tank, nothing," she said.
She had her work cut out for her, but she wasn't alone. With the help of her students, a coworker, and an independent contractor, she was able to turn the abandoned house into a home.
Deandra told Business Insider that her students helped with the cleaning and the landscaping. "They were going into their senior year so I knew they needed money for senior activities," she said.
When it came to things like the plumbing, the electrical work, installing new windows, and putting in new doors, Deandra hired an independent contractor.
Despite the home's condition when she bought it, Deandra was able to move in just two months later.
By that point, her bedroom, the bathroom, the living room, and her spiritual room were done.
However, the kitchen wasn't ready.
In fact, the kitchen wasn't completed until a few months later.
She told Business Insider that the kitchen was finished right around Thanksgiving 2018.
She also told Business Insider that while she worked to finish the real kitchen, her dining room served as a makeshift kitchen.
"I had a toaster oven, a microwave, and a refrigerator. That's all I had," she said.
Throughout the renovation process, Deandra kept the DLBA up to date with her progress by sending them photos of the home every month. It took around a year and five months to fix the house to her liking.
When it came to decorating, she got most of the items around the house from thrift stores or on Craigslist. "I am a thrift store queen," she told Business Insider.
Deandra told Business Insider that the hardest part of the project was finding her patience. "Everything is not going to happen overnight," she said. "I had to work around the contractor's schedule, and I had to work around my own schedule."
And, while buying a house wasn't originally part of her plan, she doesn't regret the purchase.
She told Business Insider she spent about $13,000 on renovations.
"Every time I walk through my home, I am amazed that I did this. It brings tears to my eyes," she said.
Do you have a similar home-renovation story you'd like to share? Get in touch with this reporter at lbrandt@businessinsider.com.
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