Meet Joan.
A 1963 Campanelli ranch on Titicut Rd in Raynham. One owner for her whole life, and one promise from me: leave her better than I found her.
Who Joan was
She's named for her one and only owner.
Joan was an educator, a nurse, and an Air Force veteran, spunky and spirited by every account. When I met some of her adult children, they told me, "This is what she would have wanted." I've tried to earn that every day since.
How she found me
A big investor wanted her too.
Joan came to me off market, and I wasn't the only bidder. The other offer came from a big organization that buys and flips houses all the time. The estate's POA had worked with my mom years earlier and knew me a little. They could have gone with the big investor but they went with me instead.
A while back I passed on a great opportunity in my own neighborhood, and I've regretted it ever since. So Joan is my do-over.
In real estate we tell our clients to buy the worst house in the best neighborhood, and that's what Joan was. Every home on Titicut Rd is well cared for, and the neighbors have been lovely and completely invested in her glow up.
It's in my DNA
Three generations of real estate and construction.
My grandfather ran a construction company for more than 45 years. My dad, Peter, is a licensed construction supervisor and a seriously talented carpenter. My mom has been a licensed agent for 20 years, after careers in commercial lending and real estate law, and today she coaches the new agents at my brokerage. I grew up watching This Old House with my dad, visiting his job sites, and watching him work on our house.
That's why I understand how homes work. It's also why poorly executed flips burn me up.
"If I have to pick between doing something the right way and making less money, I'm choosing the right way every time."
Andrea BelangerThe right way, receipt by receipt
What we did vs. what a lot of flips do.
The honest part
It's not as glamorous as it looks.
When I took Joan on in June, I thought she'd be the first of many. Five months in, I've learned a project like this isn't as glamorous as I'd made it out to be. Timelines drag. Markets change. There's a lot of stress and responsibility when you're trying to do everything the right way.
To Joan's next steward
We didn't cut corners.
We really and truly didn't cut corners, and I hope it shows. I hope this whole project honors Joan's legacy. Whoever gets to be her next steward, I hope you love her and make so many incredible memories there.
Day one
Here's where she started.
