Condo

This is the evolution of my St. Louis duplex from 2001 to 2008. I inherited it from my grandma, who brought it a long way and maintained it beautifully. Nevertheless, it was a pretty basic rental property, with one monster window A/C (first floor only) and sclerotic radiators fired by a 75-year-old coal boiler that had been converted successively to oil and natural gas. The second floor unit hadn't been inhabited since 1978, when the previous owners moved out.

The neighborhood, which had been a mix of working-class folks and students, was gentrifying. Apartments were increasingly being condoed, with increasingly-polished rehabs. My course was obvious: fix 'er up. I did part of the job while living there, with a big pause while I lived in California.

When you're a consultant, you're not around to do a lot of renovations. But, with a major push over the last few months, my duplex is finally a pair of condos. Without false modesty, I can say that they're really sharp. They're now on the market. And that market, where I live, hasn't lost any ground during the U.S. real estate mess.