Brock and Margaret know the hustle, they purchased a duplex in NE several years back, and while they loved their time as owner occupying landlords, life beckoned the soul for a root-down classic home. The up//down Victorian had experienced the boom of NE demand that followed the brewery & commercial growth. Margaret designed their upper unit to satisfy their loving occupancy for many years.

It was clear from the start, that these two deserved a storied classic, having the foundational experience of DIY transforming their Victorian-era duplex. Years later they found us when their space requirements had grown, while the equity position in their duplex provided a spring into ownership as a monthly payment subsidy.

We quickly were able to narrow their search to 1930s architecture, largely populated by the tudor, “the Tesla of classic homes” as Steve once said. This era affords clean lines of union mason plaster work, while structural technology was advanced with robust framing materials, and block foundations, creating a lower maintenance quotient compared to older structures.

We began by touring several Nokomis offerings we were presenting in the fall of 2020, the learning properties established the look and feel for the multi generational owner. The best of the early hunt, largely galvanized the focus on tudor era, a storybook off elliot complete with 360 window awnings, this later became the home of Georgi’s relocating in-laws.

A couple weeks following Elliot, we were acutely aware of the walkability & upside south of Nokomis Beach. Our long time loyalists the Uzendoskis just sold their tudor one block south of Burgau’s beauty. We had formed a sound basis for value and quality of structure by this time, and the home was vastly under listed amongst the summer of shutdown.

The Burgau’s defined what we set out to accomplish with all Rare Form buyers; understanding the value of timeless architecture and the ability to apply improvements to vastly alter its value, they had become true jedis of our ethos. When the 1932 tudor was listed, the buyers that had the best knowledge of its true worth, were Brock and Margaret Burgau.

They defeated 5-6 other parties with our stout offer terms, mission complete, tudor era stewards landed a true keeper of 1932 glory, steps to the lake and inheriting a fabulous amount of outdoor gardens & birdhouses from curb to alley.

Despite the cash poor closing, quick sweat equity moves were made to her interior from the onset:

carpeted upper level was demoed to expose douglas fir wide plank, that was refinished in matte water finish
living room paneling was deleted in a heroic demo by Brock, followed by a main floor repaint

The photos below depict some of there instant action items on the interior, it’s always so rewarding to see clients who waste no time making the improvements that classic homes so desperately need. The Burgau’s are well on their way to having a one of the choicest tudors in east nokomis.

Birdhouse count- a metric we use heavily at Rare Form Holiday, to quantify the caliber of cabin seller, the birdhouse count does equate to value one places on their exterior.

Rare Form Q & A:

What have you learned in your first handful of months living in a house? Are there things you thought you'd get done by now, or things you didn't expect to take priority but have? You tackled the upstairs fir floor restoration first, what's next? Is there a freeing feeling to landing your own home after shared dwellings for so long?

Brock – Getting the upstairs done was priority number one as soon as we found the hardwoods. I started pulling carpet closing day and never looked back. Since then we’ve focused on smaller aesthetic updates and getting to know the space. Margaret’s background in interior design has been a huge bonus! We wanted to be patient and figure out how we’d live in the house before making any more changes. Current to do list is getting ready for baby, and someday down the road we’d like to add a full bath to the upper level and make it a true owner’s suite. I think we’ve gotten more done than I would have expected and I’m not eager for any more painting jobs anytime soon! It was very freeing to have our own space after being in a shared dwelling for our entire relationship. I think we both feel more relaxed and ‘at home’, and the pets love it!

Margaret - Living in the house has been awesome! We had a surprise when we did our first load of laundry. Turns out there was a nice big clog in the drain, but it was a cheap fix. I’m glad there wasn’t and still isn’t anything wrong with our 1970’s washer. Getting the floors done was very exciting. I was quickly inspired to personalize the rest of the house. Every single wall was painted light blue and I was over it. I decided we’d go with white upstairs in our room and for the main level, monochrome pinks. I didn’t have to convince Brock to go with pink tones, but I know he’s over painting at this point! We’re always talking about what kind of layout to achieve the best full bath in our room. Until then, I’ll be searching for the perfect wallpaper for our main level bathroom.

Is there anything generally you'd say about the journey from owner-occupying to buying a single family home? Living in a duplex and making rents that subsidize a future mortgage is a big piece of investing in real estate & something we walk clients through. It would be great to hear how your duplex has either inspired or afforded your single-family buy.

Margaret - Living in the duplex helped us figure out exactly what we wanted in our next home. We knew we’d want a nice yard because of how much we used the yard at the duplex. We also learned that we wanted more than one bathroom. Brock handles the business side of things with the duplex, which is great for me.

Brock – I always viewed the duplex as a temporary living place for myself and a starting point for moving to a single-family home, as well as a long term investment. It took a good 5-7 years before the income from the duplex was enough to subsidize the single-family mortgage, so I did my best to try and be patient. Buying a duplex was an idea pitched to my brother and me by a real estate agent and it was one of the better pieces of advice I’ve gotten. Once the pandemic hit last spring and we were spending more time at home the duplex inspired us by being a bit too small. Once we learned that baby Burgau was on the way, it was clear the time was right to move out and up. Lucky to have years of good renters and experience owning a property before moving to our new home.

Marg really wild with rose and pink samples, eventually nailing the tone for the plastered arched common areas.

Talk about how you landed on East Nokomis- what is the feel over there that sucked you in? Were you familiar with tudor era before arriving to 27th?

Brock – Once we saw the listing, we drove by multiple before the initial showing and I think we both immediately felt that this could be the one. The yard, proximity to the lake and character of the house were in line with everything we were looking for. Also, the house was move-in ready, which became a criterion with baby on the way, but had enough available projects to make it our own. I’ve also liked old homes with a classic feel, but wasn’t overly familiar with the specifics of the Tudor era, I left that up to Margaret!

Margaret - I grew up living in old homes in Texas. It has always been a goal of mine to live in an older home that I could enjoy and make our own. I’ve always loved the idea of being able to enjoy the outdoors as well having lived near a lake in Dallas. Living so close to Lake Nokomis is a dream come true, especially in a tudor home in such incredible condition. We got lucky that the previous owner was so good to the house and the landscaping. We drove by before the showing and the yard and proximity to the lake stole our hearts. Once we saw the inside, that was it. I had a dream that night we lived there and now we do!

What advice would you give to first time homebuyers and/or specifically duplex-owners looking to move into a single family? Either on the investment side or the buy side.

Brock – Be patient and ready to pounce. I am not a patient person so that advice is as much for myself. The market was not nearly as competitive as it is now when I purchased the duplex and the process this time around was a bit more involved, but also rewarding when learning we ‘won’ the house! I did not think we would find something so fast, but it all fell into place and we feel very grateful with the home we ended up with.

If moving from duplex to single family I think the only advice I’d give is make sure everything is as squared away as possible with the rental units because once in the single-family home, it quickly becomes the focus. We had recently renovated both units of our duplex, so it was as ready as ever for renters and I was more than ready for to have my own space, and more of it. Having worked together on the duplex renovation I didn’t find it overwhelming to have more space and more room for projects. Having some practice at the duplex gave me a lot more confidence in tackling some work myself and Margaret does a great job of keeping me on track

Margaret - Brock had the duplex prior to our relationship. I won’t lie that I was very impressed in his investment when we met. Clearly owning the duplex has come in handy as a stepping stone to the next property. I had never owned property prior to our marriage. I think Brock having the duplex is something I wish I had done myself at a young age. I also think he got really lucky with the location and it being the perfect time to buy in Northeast. Brock tends to have good luck when it comes to real estate!

Was the transition from multifamily owner-occupant to living in your own home easy? Was it everything you expected?

Brock – It was easy once we moved in. I carried some stress about having two properties to maintain but so far so good. I thought I’d find more things to dislike about the house but have truly loved living here.

Margaret - The transition was very easy for me. Even easier for the pets! I knew it was worth it the moment winter hit. Being pregnant and comfortable really made me fall in love with the privacy of living in a single family home that much more. Like Brock said, I thought I’d find something to dislike, but I’m still waiting.

Becoming Tudor era Savants & beating the market in Nokomis

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