Hannah & Robby's rocket launch from tenants to friendlords!
Rare Forms obsession with the classics began in a duplex, as it was all we could afford. While many investors end up with egotistical outlooks on their success, our history left us with a consistent desire to provide the same guidance into ownership that we received.
The story of Robby and Hannah is the latest chapter in our long history of turning tenants into friendlords themselves! @Rentinginrareform was established to provide the support for stewards of our classic apartments to become homeowners themselves.
Robby & Hannah were followers of RFP from afar while residing in the trend chasing market of Florida. Being planners, they spent the better part of a few years working towards their eventual migration north, Hannah being from Wisconsin allowed an easy “in” and not too much convincing of Robby. Their ultimate goal was to transition from renters to homeowners not long after their arrival but a hesitancy was where to begin the process and where they would call home in the meantime.
This was part of the draw of Rare Form. Beyond the lauding of local architecture, the occasional hot take and the first person construction analysis we’re able to offer a seamless transition from “renter” to “owner”. They packed up their uhaul and their dog, Casserole, and drove to the front door of our 1939 tudor sidewinder in Kingfield. We gave them a couple of weeks to get settled before we get them acquainted with Georgi on the purchase side and Paris on financials so they would be set to strike immediately when the iron was hot. And strike they did! Only 3 months into their stay at the green bungalow and they have closed on a duplex of their very own. This is the type of scenario we covet for all our tenants and one we’re committed to offering should that heart 💜 exist inside.
“We honeymooned in Paris and Amsterdam and fell in love with the preservation of the buildings there. It was so powerful to us that a lot of the buildings were older than our country. We knew we wanted to be part of preserving something really special.”
RFP: What influenced your early on following of architectural preservation?
“We have dreamed of owning our own home for a long time, ever since we can remember. Hannah has dreamed of owning a classic home since she was a child. She's always been fascinated with architecture, art, and design.
We honeymooned in Paris and Amsterdam and fell in love with the preservation of the buildings there. It was so powerful to us that a lot of the buildings were older than our country. We knew we wanted to be part of preserving something really special.
Especially coming from a place where homes felt so disposable—just tear it down and build something new—we’re excited about preserving something with intention and character instead of cut from the same cookie cutter as the rest of the block. We love the rich stories of these buildings and feel so honored to be a small part of our home's story.”
-Robby Williams
RFP: What about multi-family ownership clicked with you prior and after meeting Rare Form?
“We have always dreamed of taking on a larger project together. We loved the idea of creating a space for people to rent & live in. Hannah is excited for the ground to thaw in the spring and create a really welcoming backyard oasis for our use and our tenants' use. We love community and the idea of fostering an inviting, historic, and special space to create community in and being part of our neighborhood. We are also excited about the potential for it to help us land a larger single family home more quickly than we otherwise could.” -Robby
RFP: Describe the feeling for you of landing a structure as historic as Randolph?
Wow, we were so ecstatic! When we left the duplex after Georgi showed us it for the first time we got in the car and Hannah said "Wow, whoever gets this duplex is so lucky, it's stunning," assuming it wouldn't be us. It was beyond our wildest dreams to land this property. We're still pinching ourselves. We've lovingly been calling this gem the Cardinal of Macalester. Beyond owning our own classic home we are so excited to be landlord & lady. Our pup, Casserole, is pretty excited to be a groundspup as well. She has been taking her role pretty seriously. We can't thank Georgi & Rare Form enough for helping us land this place in less than a month after our search started in a bidding war and for making it as stress free as possible.
Despite its January listing timing, the 1927 deco up/down capsule had 4 offers at deadline time: The intimacy of our knowledge, specifically on how unique the elements of surviving architecture truly are, provides a deeper understanding for our clients when facing a truly remarkable opportunity like this 1927 example was. Our trade-secrets of buying in rare form went into play to secure the victory over the other hopefuls. Improving our 2022 bidding record to 3-0!
Owned for over a decade by its previous landlords, the sellers focal lens during ownership, like many elder eras was purely structural integrity and keeping the interiors mostly intact: the duplex’s chimney was rebuilt with care & respect to tudor-era craftsmanship - a detail all fiscally focused landlords would opt out of due sheer frugality.
While the lower unit still boasts its original stucco fireplace, some sleuthing at final walkthrough led us to believe there are likely sconce boxes buried under the plaster waiting to be uncovered
As with many of our owner-occupant buyers, the first month or so are reserved for getting a building prepped & primed, sorting its chambers with updated lighting where necessary (save the original fixtures!) and paint for a fresh start.
Hannah and Robby plan to occupy the upper unit, demoing that fireplace sooner rather than later in hopes of finding a salvageable Tudor mantel buried underneath. Hannah is a gifted and passionate landscape designer, the outdoor space is sure to come to life after the frost, with her plans establishing native gardens that will thrive for years after their departure.
Vintage linoleum covered the fir floors on the upper landing!
At the first showing, Robby got in there and pulled out the shovel to investigate the off street parking situation, true landlord style.
Knowledge is power when evaluating the true potential of the classic home, examples like this are so scarce and have limitless ceiling with timeless updates that accentuate the period correctness.
Hats off to our latest tenant departure in the ownership-of-record program, we’re so stoked that this rapid ascension from tenant to friendlord was made possible by your trust and willingness to quickly understand our education regiment as buyers, comprehending the scarcity behind our time capsule examples. You deserve all the arches, fireboxes, cap & wrap, mint plaster & masonry!
