Follow along on this University District renovation

We hear a lot of stories about renovating old Detroit houses, but how many people carefully document the process for the whole world to see? A young couple who work in the auto industry and moved to the area in the last few years are blogging their process of renovating a beautiful 1927 home.

The blog is called Between 6&7 and Miranda Steinhauser posts weekly updates on their progress. So far, there are 12 updates covering the discoveries, paperwork, and difficulties in renovating an old Detroit house. Curbed recently visited the home and as they get close to finishing this spring, we plan on posting a few updates ourselves, along with a final reveal.

The couple started their home search in early 2016. After a few months of looking at a lot of houses, they took away a few key findings:

“1. Detroit home flippers don’t know what they’re doing. 2. You can find a home in Detroit for under $20,000, maybe even $1,000… but you don’t want it. 3. Finding a stable, connected neighborhood in Detroit can be hard, but when you find one, don’t let it go.”

They happened upon the 1927 Tudor after meeting up with an old professor. After he asked about their home search and realized they were looking at the University District, he mentioned his mother’s house, which was not on the market, but also hadn’t been lived in for a couple years. Knowing the house would need some work, this is what they saw on their first visit:

Their blog details some of the issues they went through with financing a renovation and discovering pretty big issues that come up during the renovation process. They got the keys in November and are planning an extensive six-month renovation.

We’ll update with more in a couple weeks. For sneak peeks, take a look at the blog. Any questions? We might be able to answer them along the way!