1061 Delaware St in Safety Harbor, Florida has had new life breathed into it by a wonderful young couple, Steven and Erin Judkins. They prove that the historic charm of Safety Harbor homes can be preserved using the 203K Rehab loan program and an eye for authenticity. Florida real estate could greatly benefit using this model and is no doubt thrilled to have the Judkins family living in Safety Harbor.
Their home was built circa 1930 and is in the Seminole Park Subdivision platted in 1916.
I love the charm of historic homes in Safety Harbor. I knocked, unannounced mind you, on the Judkins’ door. They were so warm and gracious to me and invited me into their home. Pinellas county communities are well-known for their pleasant welcoming atmosphere. Safety Harbor’s hallmark is the wonderful small-town feel. How many places can you go, knock on someone’s door who has no idea who you are, and be welcomed inside their home to share in their joy of living in such a lovely home and community? Luckily, many of the North Pinellas communities are this way, and even more luckily I live and work in one of them.
You can click on thumbnails to enlarge
All photo’s by Musashi Yamasaki unless otherwise noted
Yuki just loves the restored front porch!
Steven and Erin purchased the home about two years ago and when I said in the blog post that they took it from rough gem to sparkling jewel,I was not exaggerating. A few years ago that section of Delaware street had a couple of homes that needed some serious TLC. I happen to have driven through there looking at homes with Yuki about the time that the Judkins purchased their home so I remember it well. Their home still contained all the charming bones of a historic bungalow, but the flesh had grown weak. The porch was in bad need of repair and the roof, like many old roofs had some issues. The whole thing needed some serious loving care and pride of home ownership and Steven and Erin provided that in spades!
The home looks great no matter the view.
The restored front porch
The original windows survive and are being restored to full working order
Let’s take a look inside this charming home!
Don’t you want to just move in?
Of hearth and home…
Lovely restored wood staircase.
Looking down the stairs, the kitty seems impressed.
They both love the historic charm their home offered and have been simply marvelous in the decisions they made to renovate using the 203K loan program but to also protect vital parts of the home’s heritage. 203K loans are an excellent loan vehicle to allow you not only fix up things the home may need which might preclude traditional financing, but the ability for homeowner’s to update the home to THEIR preference is super. (Think Property Brothers from HGTV). Yuki has a lot of experience working with customers using 203k loans. We are both big fans of this program. We told Steven Erin that they are our model citizen of how you can leverage that loan option to turn a rough gem into a sparkling jewel.
Steven and Erin were nice enough to provide me their take on what the home means to them:
