Growing up in Iowa, Steven and Ashley Evans knew all about the local fire station in Cedar Rapids because it was right by the high school they both attended.
“We always dreamed we’d live here one day. It went up for sale and we thought we’d come check it out,” Steven, 40, tells CNBC Make It. “When we tell people we live in an old firehouse, everyone around here knows exactly where it is and which one it is.”
The station was first built in 1960 and converted into a home by its previous owners in the 1980s. In 2016, when the Evans first saw it was for sale, listed for $125,000, it had been abandoned for years and was covered in black mold.
“We had no intentions of purchasing it because we didn’t have the finances at the time,” Ashley, 33, says.
In 2016, she was working as a dermatology nurse, and Steven had a job working with adults with special needs and owned six rental properties. They owned a house they paid $65,000 for, Ashley says, but “my parents actually had to cosign on the house because we just couldn’t afford it. … It was $550 a month, and we were just struggling.”
Ashley and Steven Evans bought the fire station in 2016.
Ashley and Steven Evans
Still, they decided to take a look at the firehouse. Even when they had to sign waivers to enter because it was deemed a safety hazard due to the mold, they weren’t deterred.
“The thing that attracted me the most to the fire station would be the fact that it’s all concrete and steel. The bones were solid, the house was level; any other house would have fallen over easily by now,” Steven says.
Without letting Ashley know, Steven put in an offer of $90,000 and it was accepted. He came clean the next day — he says he wanted it to be a surprise to Ashley that he bought the fire station they used to always see by their high school.
Getting the fire station up to code
The property was listed as a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house with 3,100 square feet of space, but it turned out to be almost double that size since the listing only included the finished square footage, not the unfinished square footage, Steven says.
In order to finance the purchase, Steven applied for a construction loan of $170,000 under his rental property business, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. The couple says they did it that way because their original plan was to renovate the fire station and resell it.
Steven says that because of all the work the property needed, they didn’t think they would ever be able to live in it. When the couple closed on the property in June 2016, it lacked walls, electricity or even a working toilet.
Before the couple bought the fire station it had been abandoned for years.
Ashley and Steven Evans
With an estimated budget of $80,000, the Evans started on the renovation, with Steven doing most of the work himself to save money. They rented out the house their parents cosigned with them and moved into the fire station while they renovated. Ashley’s parents even moved in with them to help pay the renovation-related bills.
Here are some of the biggest expenses the couple encountered while renovating. All amounts are rounded.
- Paint: $1,100
- Drywall: $4,000
- Flooring: $5,000
- Kitchen addition: $10,000
- Roof: $22,000
“Whatever we could find on clearance, whatever people wanted to give us, that is how we would remodel it. Just trying to make it look the best we can on the cheapest budget,” Ashley says.
“If it didn’t match, we’d spray paint it to match,” Steven adds.
Steven says he loved the fire station because the foundation was solid.
Fred Ebong for CNBC Make It
Although the couple had to essentially remodel everything, they kept some original details from the fire station, including the old hose tower, the garage doors and a historic plaque outside. They kept the massive skylight the previous owners had installed to cover a courtyard that was originally part of the fire station as well.
To pay homage to the station’s history, the couple also bought an old fire truck to put in their backyard for their kids to play with.
The couple decided to convert part of the fire station into an indoor soccer field.
Fred Ebong for CNBC Make It
The couple made the space their own by adding a theater room and a playroom for their kids that looks like a soccer field with fake turf.
“We had friends who had an indoor soccer field [growing up]. I always thought it was the coolest thing ever. I remembered it even as an adult, so I decided to create one down here,” Steven says.
Spreading roots around the fire station
In 2019, Steven and Ashley refinanced their original loan into a mortgage to officially purchase the home in their names. They secured a 5.5-year balloon mortgage for $225,000 at a 4.89% interest rate, with an estimated monthly payment of $1,455, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. When the term ended in 2024, the couple refinanced into a new mortgage; now their monthly payment is around $3,190 and their interest rate is 7.59%.
The couple also remodeled their kitchen recently, which they financed with a home equity line of credit.
Here the monthly expenses related to the house:
- Electricity: $17.49
- Internet: $186.85
- HELOC for kitchen renovation: $423.65
- Utilities: $475.99
- Gas: $426.93
- Solar panels: $553.98
- Mortgage: $3,190.05
Since the couple started sharing what life is like in the fire station on social media years ago, viewers always ask if they will ever leave or sell the property, they say. But the couple says even if they ever move, they will never sell the fire station.
Instead, in 2020, Steven and Ashley bought the house next door for $180,000, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Ashley’s parents have taken ownership of the property, she says.
The couple converted a room into a home theater.
Fred Ebong for CNBC Make It
Last year, Ashley and Steven also bought another house near the fire station for $175,000. They call it their “cozy cottage” and have it listed on Airbnb for $160 to $189 a night. It is fully booked through March.
“We talk about what it would be like to live in a house that was already finished all the time … But also, I can’t imagine living in a house that was completely new and that we didn’t put any blood, sweat and tears into,” Ashley says.
“It’s a dream home for our kids to grow up in. And just for us to be so proud that we can provide for our kids to grow up in this home, it means a lot,” she adds.
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