Costellos: Re-Scripting the American Dream, via their 1922 Up-Down
Pat & Maija Costello have always had a tendency to question the norm. Whether bailing on an engineering degree to open a crossfit gym, or taking a job in Grand Junction Colorado & riding west solo into a one horse town! It was that entrepreneurial spirit that paved a path to the duplex manifesto for the Costellos; a match that ignited after a quick assessment of their relationship with housing, lifestyle and financial goals.
We’re looking back on their unique path of growth from a standard starter home to securing two blue chip duplexes in just 18 months!
The path traveled by the Costellos is non-traditional in the homeownership landscape: starting gate was a starter ranch on Aldrich - once the spoils of private ownership happens, rarely do buyers transition into shared-use dwellings. If anything, most go from starter single family and expand in size and scale to accommodate life’s explorations and need for growth. Instead, we consulted with these beauties in the spring to exit the starter and begin their quest with the uncharted in the sea of investment property.
As their duplex hunt began, from the beginning Pat enlisted his engineering mindset to develop a researched approach to investing. His preparation was terrific; he began to run investor industry concepts past our lender, Paris, and I (like the BRRR buy, remodel, rent, refinance - a podcast inciting fiscal model for acquiring an investment portfolio) This raw data modeling approach to evaluating real estate investments effectively pulls us from our emotional // architectural-led criteria for acquiring and restoring classic apartments.
Planning and strategy is often over-emphasized in the beginning: we feel it’s best to experience the tasks of operating a building firsthand before you place too much stock into navigating your 5-10 year investment plan.
The Duplex Manifesto - “why two doors are better than 1” - was an inner reflection of how Rare Form became so passionate about multi-unit housing over single dwellings in the late 2000s. The springboard of the multi-unit equates to a real measurable leap in the lives of active, hands-on investors. These concepts were adopted early-on by the Costellos, creating a fiscal goal and pursuit that didn’t previously exist in their marriage; the emphasis on saving now had purpose.
It was clear as Pat and I combed the duplex marketplace (Maija full-time in LA for work) that his preparation set the tone for the severity of the first kill. We needed to land a trophy out of the gate, I wanted to make sure that this vinegared enthusiasm was met with a stoic and scarce building to begin the portfolio of keepers.
““What is the American dream? I always imagined striving to meet my successful peers at the avenue of expanded square footage and a more sprawling yard adorning cute home. I began our duplex ownership distracted in LA, thinking conceptually about this longer-term play but not truly adopting what it would mean to bring the concept to life. As I spoke about our plans to list Aldie and find a duplex, I found myself feeling awkward and embarrassed. In the world of management consulting, where golden handcuffs are often king, was I signaling I was taking a step back? After all, who would move from a four bed, two bath home to a two bed, 1 bath duplex unless they were “broke”? I’d word vomit “we’re doing this for a year to homestead” to quickly address my own insecurities. Even the day we found we won our dream duplex in Linden Hills, I sobbed on a bench in Laguna Beach while my girlfriends were off getting pedicures. Leaving Aldie was very heavy for me, and where we were headed felt unknown. Fast forward to closing on Zen (Zenith Ave), where I was able to take a step back, breathe, and realize Pat and Steve made my dreams of combining scale, location and era of the craftsman up/down come true. And that self-imposed year deadline to move back into a single family easily came and went.””
Upper unit kitchen possess survivor original shakers from 1922, giving it that RFP look and feel with the modern 50/50 surrounding sink & range wall, Mary went off on the lower unit Kitchen with all modernized cabinetry & bitchy appliances (F&P,Bosch, Vent-a-hood) both are exceptional examples of duplex kitchens.
This is the rewriting of the American dream: why dividing two doors are better than one really expensive private one, as long as your present life conditions allow for shared housing, we press all our Purveyors to consider the side hustle of the multi unit landscape. Rare Form enabled the Costellos concept into reality and the addiction of building ownership has set-in with a renewed focus on saving. Taking it one year at a time, they are building a footprint for future life balance and progressing towards a passive income stream that will remove the pressure of career climbing later in life.
Prairie built-ins in both units are south facing, with slight differences in the tonality of the birch top in the upper unit on the right.
Their Zenith craftsman up/down (Zen) was meticulously maintained and upgraded by Mary, & her duration of care occupying both units. She was a particular woman, that valued quality finishes and spent time consciously considering design, the result was a blended early 20’s Unicorn of polished kitchens while protecting the integrity of the classic scaled craftsman’s original prairie millwork. Mary had recently wrapped a full main floor kitchen renovation when she made the unusual move to pass her deed. The fading desire to be a landlord and increased interest in simplifying her last quarter of life was the perfect match for Costellos. The level of finishes in the cooks kitchen, and the scale of the living and dining, was in actuality an architectural upgrade from their starter home, even in only 1/2 of Zeniths interior.
Pat & Maija had the determination, and allowed RFP to guide them to victory on Mary's craftsman. Shortly after closing they completed their first solo tenant turnover, quickly had central A/C installed for their new urban empty nesters who spent much of their time at a rural cabin. So far other updates have included continuing the central A/C install in the lower unit, kitchen backsplash, fresh paint and lighting throughout.
We’re thankful for the trust of these two who are truly following our model for adding quality units and holding their assets long-term. We just this week closed on building number two, a block and a half from Zen, which had Maija square in the captain’s seat bringing the duplex manifesto dream full circle.
Congrats to you both and thanks again for the time in your wonderful classic from the Stickley era, we look forward to revisiting the climb of these focused investors.
Without over disclosing personal finances- an arrangement similar to this allows the owner occupier to reside in a neighborhood at drastically supplemented housing cost, for the Costellos this net is below 1000 per month, meanwhile the opportunity cost looms while they stack savings. Once they do depart Zenith, the rent roll will cover 250k of mortgage money on their next investment, we will see if that facade has one door or two, will this american dream continue?
Rare Form is deeply rooted in duplex ownership, it’s how we became so architecture obsessed since 2006, one revival at a time, we have over 100 clients that have acquired and continue to hold investment classics across south minneapolis.
Reach out soon if you want to begin planning to navigate the duplex landscape, we have amazing resources from finance to property management, and the DIY spirit to inspire further proper stewards across Minneapolis.