MARTI FRUMHOFF: A Rehabber's Rehabber

In May of 2007, Marti Frumhoff passed away unexpectedly.  While I didn't personally know her, she epitomized all of the positive aspects of a rehabber in St Louis.  Her reputation for being one of the pioneers in the revitalizing of St. Louis neighborhoods well live beyond the short time that she spent among us.  She was instrumental in the creation of the St. Louis Rehabber's Club which has been very influential in helping the rebirth of the tools needed to restore the many beautiful homes in the City.  She was also a very well known and respected real estate agent.

When I first moved down to Lafayette Square 30 years ago, there were very few artisans who knew what it would take to restore the many homes that were 100 and more years old.  Without question the residents had a very strong desire to bring their homes back to their original glory.  But going from desire to fulfilment left a lot of frustration in its path.  Over the years the trades have gained the expertise to achieve quality restoration.  That's not to say that some of the efforts have not been as professional as they should have been.  Some of the investors-rehabbers have seen dollar opportunities and did not have the skill or desire to produce a home that the owner would live in with pride.  But, for the most part, much of the work that has been done by either professional craftsmen or by the home owner has been at a level of quality that has been very acceptable. 

Fortunately, the investors and rehabbers have been willing to invest the dollars and their efforts to create quality homes.  Fortunately, the home buyers have been willing to invest their dollars by purchasing residences that 15 years ago would not have brought the level of pricing that we see now. Obviously, quality pays.  This is one of the reasons that the City of St. Louis has seen growth in its population the last few years. 

Recently, I saw a web site that I thought would be very helpful to owners or potential owners of historic homes.  Buying an historic home can be a very daunting task if you are (hopefully) interested in retaining the historic concept and character of the home.  Not all of us have the historic knoweledge or tastle level need in restoration.  When I saw these web sites I know that it would offer considerable knowledge to interested in taking on this type of project.