LMI housing doesn’t have to mean ‘low-end’

WASHINGTON — With 1,200 square feet, two bedrooms and a single floor, a newly built house on South Marion Avenue appears modest, from the outside.

But it’s got its fair share of classy amenities. The cabinets were hand-constructed by a cabinetmaker, not bought at a store, and the closets use space-saving pocket doors. The master bathroom sink has a copper basin, the kitchen a butcher-block counter top. The home has a single-car garage with plenty of room to spare, and a decent share of storage space.

“I think of myself as a practical person … You can have a fairly practical house that has some features, or style. You can kind of thread the needle,” said Nathan Brown, owner of NAB Investment, which built the home. “This house, it’s really all you need, and it’s got some nice features.”

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Brown designed the house himself, buying the lot in a city auction after the property was condemned and bulldozed.

“I tell people that look at it, it’s my baby,” he said. “I don’t want you to move in here, and then stuff falls apart … I truthfully would move in here myself.”

He said he hoped the project appealed to a variety of potential clients. The modest size and affordable price attract younger, first-time homebuyers. The navigable flow of the interior, and its lack of stairs appeal to older community members interested in downsizing.

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Versatile, open rooms and a location just a few blocks south of downtown are attractive across the market. The property is currently for sale by owner, listed at $235,000.

Brown said the house took about eight months to build. Most of the work was done by NAB’s staff themselves, save for specialists like electricians, and insulation installers.

“I didn’t do it like a lot of guys would do it, where you’d hire crews,” Brown said. “That’s how you do it faster, but this one, I didn’t have very much other work going on, so I figured we might as well.”

It was a different experience from most projects, to be sure. Brown said he didn’t relish the drywall or roofing, both of which left his body sore for at least a few days, but he said it made the final product much more satisfying.

“Sometimes I look at it like, when you do something just to say you can still do it,” he said. “But yes, the way I did this work, and the way a lot of guys build, it’s very different. I wouldn’t say either’s right or wrong, it’s just different.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com