I know you all may have been wondering what has been going on. I know that locally there has been a lot of scuttlebutt (I love that word), and I haven’t been compelled to share what’s going on with the house. While I did start this blog about the Greensfelder House to be open and transparent on our renovation journey, there were just some things I wasn’t ready to discuss.
But inquiring minds want to know, right?
And I finally feel like I can share.
As a reminder my husband and I purchased the Greensfelder House on 1/29/21. It’s condemned by the county due to lead based paint and the house is in very rough shape. It’s 122 years old and has not been taken care of very well in the last 10 years so it makes sense it’s in rough shape. However, it still has many original features and it’s really a diamond in the rough.
In March 2021, my elderly father called me to get him from his house in Tennessee. To make a long story short, he was in hospice care, and his then-wife wasn’t caring for him and he was in a bad situation. Overnight, I became a caregiver to my father, which was my new focus.
My husband and I never anticipated this happening when we bought the house. When we bought it, we had a plan to get it the condemnation status lifted and to complete the work needed to get a certificate of occupancy. Our ultimate goal was to become residents of Logansport when our youngest went to college. But overnight, our focus went to my dad and ensuring he was cared for. I am sure most of you would agree that family is most important. Not a house. Especially a place that has stood the test of time. We knew she would wait for us to be ready to continue her renovations.
After father passed away it took some time to grieve and heal before I was ready to continue this journey. It took longer than expected but we are finally ready to move forward. It’s not like we haven’t been doing anything. Except for the windows, the entire interior has been remediated of lead AND we painted it a pretty neutral color called Navajo white. I loathed the flat, ugly grayish white of the lead encapsulate and I wanted it to look more like a house. It’s just taken a long time. A lot longer than our original timeline. Life happens, right?
We have reached out to city officials to help us get another lead assessment and lift the condemned order. We haven’t asked to fully lift the order, but to modify it by putting us on a plan for the remaining issues, which is how other houses in Logansport with lead are handled according to the health department.
This will allow us to complete the repairs needed to get a certificate of occupancy while simultaneously continuing to remediate the lead. Our youngest goes to college in the fall and we would very much like to be able to live in the house at that time.
Wish us luck!