The House Wasn’t for Sale… and We Bought It

Don’t let little things like reality stand in the way of your dreams.

After three years, the relationship was getting to that point: were we taking it to the next step or not?

We were in love, and we weren’t spring chickens. It was getting more ridiculous and exhausting to drive 13 miles almost every night after work to his photography studio to spend time together and to help him with his business.

Working together was and is a big part of our relationship, and photography is his passion and vocation. But paying rent for a large commercial studio and two living spaces seemed wasteful.

The best solution would be to find a place to live co-located with a studio space.

The reality was that such a place was not easy to find.

The Search

We cast the net pretty far — over 25 miles of Detroit suburbs across three counties. Our needs were fairly specific: we needed to be on a main road and easy for clients to find. I wanted a ranch with four bedrooms, if at all possible. We needed a large separate structure for a studio, with some fairly rigorous requirements, plus room for an office.

We thought creatively: how about an old church? It would have high ceilings, and many have a parsonage next door. Ideal! We investigated one that was for sale close by, but the listing agent wouldn’t even show it to us. The owners would only sell to another congregation.

We worked with our own real estate agent to look at properties that held promise, with either an existing structure or enough land to build on. Our sainted agent, Melanie, and I visited a half dozen properties, climbing into garage attics to check the condition of beams and pacing off measurements of phantom buildings.

Everything we found was either too pricey or required too much work and potential business shutdown while a structure was being built.

As I researched municipalities’ zoning laws, I discovered that only a handful of communities would even allow a business in a residential area. And many of those had strict regulations about the size of any new structures.

Our options were dwindling. A less bull-headed person would have given up.

Making Our Own Luck

So, out of desperation, I became predatory. Wherever I went, I watched for properties with the characteristics we sought. One morning, driving to work, I noticed a house that I’d passed hundreds of times before. A brick ranch on a main road with a large secondary structure in a municipality that was friendly to home-based businesses. Hmmm.

Only one problem: it wasn’t for sale.

I drove by several more days, trying to determine the dimensions of the potential studio space. Then, on an impulse, I jotted down the address and brazenly wrote the homeowners a letter.

“Dear homeowners, I am not a real estate agent or a creep…” was my lead. I briefly explained our situation and asked them to let us know if they ever decided to sell. I added my email address and phone number and popped the letter in the mail. I assumed I’d never hear another word.

About a week later, a response came: “Thank you for your letter. We once bought a house this very same way! But we’re not ready to move. The grandkids still love the pool, and we like living here.”

Oh, well. That was the end of that. We tried.

We continued to look at properties, but nothing suited our needs, and the process became discouraging. Maybe we were too picky.

Seven months later, my phone rang. I picked it up and heard a cheerful voice: “Hello, Tina? This is Julie. We’re ready to sell!”

It took me a full minute to realize who “Julie” was and what she was talking about. She was very excited. They’d decided to sell the house and buy a condo. They’d listed the house, but written us in as exclusions (if we bought the house, the agent would get no commission). Did we want to come see it?

Careful What You Wish For

With trepidation, we arrived on a warm early autumn evening. We toured the house on our own. A 1955 four-bedroom ranch — that was a plus, as I’m a sucker for midcentury ranches. In need of a fair amount of updating — that was a negative. With a huge in-ground pool — we didn’t (and still don’t) know if that was good or bad.

Then the homeowners unlocked the door to the potential studio structure — an unfinished space — and we started measuring, pacing off, and envisioning. Would it be big enough? How much would we have to spend to convert it from an enormous garage to a commercial studio? Were we crazy?

Over the next three days, we researched costs, talked to our mortgage broker, and speculated endlessly about whether this was the right house for us.

At last, we decided that, indeed, it was.

A Series of Miracles

It would not be possible to list the many marvels that occurred from that point on. Would you believe that they accepted our low-ball offer immediately because it just so happened to be the exact amount of their condo purchase price? (They saw it as a sign.) Would you buy that every contractor who initially told us they couldn’t do the studio conversion work wound up with a cancellation at exactly the right time? That good friends with valuable trade skills had time to help us?

Or how about my house selling — without a listing agent — in less than three weeks for just $1,000 below asking price? Or that the buyer’s agent helped us move and became a good friend who still frequently helps us with projects?

The miracles and kindness of friends overwhelmed us.

We picked up the keys to the new house in mid-November. We opened the new studio February 1 — with new heat, air conditioning, drywall, electrical, insulation, and epoxy floors completed in record time and two rounds of moving trucks to bring all the gear to the studio.

Think Big

This experience has given me a great opportunity to learn and grow. We dreamed big. Our needs were specific and unusual. We encountered many slammed doors.

But we persisted. And every single need was met.

My takeaway from this experience is this:

• Don’t sell your dreams short. Let your dreams be extravagant. Aim as high as you like.
• Be specific about what you want. Lay out exactly what an ideal solution would be and look for creative approaches.
• Make your own luck. Don’t wait for opportunities to arise…go out and find them. Knock on doors.
• Work hard and ask for help when you need it. Be grateful for the good people in your life who bless you with their help.
• Don’t expect perfection…and keep dreaming new dreams.

Our move and transition were not without problems. A pipe in the concrete slab foundation burst the day we moved in, and we were without water for more than a day. A sudden January warm spell melted two feet of snow and caused the garage to flood — soaking unpacked boxes stored there. Three years later, we still have updating projects to do.

But focusing on the miracles and overall dreams that have come true keeps us grateful and centered.

What are you dreaming of? Be bold. Expect much. Then, in the words of Star Trek’s Captain Picard, “Make it so!”

© Tina L. Smith, 2021

Proceeds from this story will be donated to Open Door Ministry in Detroit, a charitable organization supporting homeless Detroiters. (Thanks to Michelle Loucadoux, MBA for the inspiration to donate.)

About the author: Tina L. Smith works by day as an administrator of an academic medical research program and by night as a writer and a partner in her boyfriend’s commercial photography business.

You can read more about her and her work here: