Stop Making These 5 Home Improvement Mistakes

📉🏡In this episode of the Listed Podcast, Abra Palermo and Vanessa Torres slice through noisy national real estate panic to deliver the hyper-local reality of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. While big-city outlets talk about a market cool-down, our regional properties are seeing massive multi-offer scenarios that fly off the shelf in under 21 days.  Abra unpacks a brutal underwriting horror story detailing how a major out-of-state bank nearly killed a solid rural transaction because they couldn't grasp our unique, non-cookie-cutter inventory. Plus, we run through a vital baseline review of the top home improvements that fail to add any appraisal value—from stone-look laminate counters to high-end bathroom faucets.  Later, we're joined by Amy Kaur and Bella Green of the Freeport Area Church Cooperative (FACC). They share the deeply moving mechanics behind their 24/7/365 shelter framework, explaining how 27 collaborative congregations deliver decentralized street medicine, complete apartment furnishings, and real mental health support straight to the community’s backyard.  

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Zillow estimates are doing for home values what horoscopes do for your life decisions. Technically not illegal, occasionally accurate, but people still check them every single morning. Too accurate, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Welcome to the Listed Podcast. I'm Vanessa Torres, a real estate agent in Illinois with Remax Unite's Golden Girls team.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

I'm Abra Palermo, your local Illinois and Wisconsin real estate broker with over 25 years of experience and managing broker of the Remax Unites Golden Girls team. Listed is all about real agents talking real estate in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois and beyond. If you're interested in real estate in our region or in general, you've come to the right place. Hey Abra, how was your week? Well, I don't know. We were talking earlier about home inspectors, and boy, I'm telling you, these different home inspectors from different regions and different areas, it's kind of we talk all the time about local versus local, right? Or local, local, local, location, location, location. I can't even talk today. You know, the home inspectors that come from out of the area just scare me because just like building codes and um electrical codes and just everything is so different. So, you know, I worry when people call a home inspector that we don't know or that we've never worked with before, or that we've never even seen a home inspection report from. Right, yeah. Really interesting because you've seen like your home inspection report comes back with how many pages to it?

SPEAKER_02 1:31

30 plus. Sometimes I think 80. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Um, but yeah, and sometimes they can be really scary. And like you said, like from the suburb area, they have different codes. So they're gonna point out different stuff and they're gonna scare the buyer even more, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

Right, right. Because you know, so many things are also very dependent on the age of the house, too. You know, of course, a house built before a certain era is not gonna have GFI, GFCI, right? And that's the most common one that's every report. Yep, you see that on every inspection. Oh my gosh, you got to get the GFCI. How long, how old is that house? And you know, how long has it not had a GFCI, right? Right. And sometimes too, the seller will go in and oh, let me just swap out that outlet, but it's not a grounded outlet. So it's really, you know, what what good are you doing? It just looks pretty. Right. It looks pretty, it looks right, but doesn't actually do what it's supposed to do. Right. So yeah, I don't know. It's just very been very interesting seeing a lot of different home inspectors coming from a lot of different areas and um the reports that we're getting. It's gonna be interesting.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

Yeah, definitely. I always give a recommendation, like the same thing I do with lenders, I always give three recommendations of you know, home inspectors that we trust, um, you know, and they can just make their decision. But hopefully they pick someone that is local that understands our codes.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Right, absolutely. Someone that's local and used to our housing inventory too, because we do have a lot of older homes that some areas don't. And so, you know, when you're dealing working with a home that's 150 years old, you know, versus a new build, it's gonna be way different. Yeah, definitely. So yeah, I definitely, you know, local, local, local. We talk location all the time, but I think local, local, local also, you know, when you're looking at your home inspectors, when you're looking at your contractors in general.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

So and just anyone.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

Like I could say the same thing for lenders for the most part.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Right, right. No, absolutely. We'd like them to be in the area and know, you know, that they're working with an older home. I had this situation the other day with a rural property and the lender, it's a it's a bigger bank. And so um, the lender was like, Well, I'm not okay with this appraisal. It came in at value, not a problem with the value. But the lender said the appraiser um used um properties that were not close enough in similarity. Well, this property is on acreage, has a large creek running through it, but it's a smaller home, but then it also has a building. Well, there's not anything else like that.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

It's hard to compare.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Yeah, so so the appraiser used as close as he could and then made adjustments. And the underwriter said, nope, these properties aren't similar enough. And um, and the appraiser even talked to them and said, look, there are just not other similar homes. Well, then we're not gonna accept this appraisal. Oh my goodness. But it came in at value. The appraiser is comfortable with it, but the underwriter is not.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

So did they do a reappraisal?

SPEAKER_00 4:18

We sent them in some other comparables. We're waiting for that, but I'm pretty sure the buyer's gonna have to change lenders. Wow. To a more local lender who understands rural property, who understands, you know, that you don't find properties that are all exactly similar. I mean, even properties in town, a 150-year-old house, we maybe don't have another 150-year-old house. It's the same size with the same rooms. It's just not just not gonna be the same. Right. Yeah. We don't have every house cookie cutter house around here. No. At all. It's one of the things I love about our area. Yes. It doesn't work well for an underwriter who says, nope, they've all got to be the same. Just it's not all the same. It's a new one. I've never heard that. 28 years you still find new things. Every single day. Every single day. It's one of the things I love about real estate, but it's also one of the very interesting things makes our lives very interesting. Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:11

Let's get started and take a look at this month's national real estate news. Iran war upends spring housing markets. Spring housing momentum is running into serious headwinds as economic uncertainty, driven largely by geopolitical tensions and rising mortgage rates, cool as buyers' demands. Rates have climbed back toward the mid 6% range, and concerns about jobs, inflation, and the broader economy are now outweighing even home prices for many buyers. As a result, more deals are falling through, homes are sitting on the market longer, and some sellers are hitting pause altogether. While inventory and pricing trends vary by market, overall confidence has dipped, with fewer agents expecting strong improvements this season compared to earlier in the year. So, first, I would like to say like headlines like this, articles like this can scare people that are only listening to the national news, but it does not reflect our local market.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Right. I wanted to just like no, no, no, during that whole thing. Buyer beware. Right. Let's put a disclaimer on there. That is the national news. That is not our local news, right?

SPEAKER_02 6:19

I have buyers right now that are waiting for homes, the right home to come up on the market.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Right. And some of them have been waiting for a year or two. Yeah. I mean, it's just like trying to find the homes. And we'll talk about these stats later, right? But it's just trying to find the right home. We are in such a seller's market with such low inventory. That is not our market. That is national news, not locally. Right.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

And I've even come in, and you probably as well came across homes that have multiple offers. Right. So, and people are going to move for various different reasons. Their job, location, um, they're tired of renting, um, they want to downsize bigger families. So things are always gonna change. People are always gonna need to move.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Right, right. And we see people moving in from out of the area also because we're so affordable. So not only do you have those local people who are having life changes, you know, having kids, you know, ready to downsize, all that stuff, but then you have people moving here because it's so affordable. Where else can you find a home for 150,000, 250,000 hardly anywhere in the country anymore? Right. So yeah, I, you know, I don't, I I do buy into the concept. I understand there are some people who are seeing this and doing this because they are worried and they are, you know, have some scares or the interest rates have scared them and things like that. But that is not here where it's so affordable and where, like you said, people just need to live every day.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Right. And didn't we have a buyer or investor that was out of state, wanted an invest in Freeport because it was so affordable?

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Right, right. Exactly. Because again, where else can they find properties, you know, for whatever 100,000, 200,000, whatever price range they're looking in, and then, you know, be able to rent it out, be able to, you know, hold on to it, whatever they're gonna do. Um, so I do think some of the investor models have changed. It's not a flip market, they're not gonna buy it and flip it, but there's still a lot of demand for rentals. There's still a lot of demand to just hold on to properties too. So yeah, I I know I'm like the whole time you were saying that, I was like, no, not here, not here.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

No, definitely not in Freeport or Samarita areas. Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

No, I mean Winnebago County is even crazier. Stevenson County um is still, you know, a really hot market. Southern Wisconsin don't even get me going. Like it's just so many offers, it's just crazy.

SPEAKER_02 8:34

So you're at the top painting ideas to boost your home's value. As homeowners across the country seek impactful ways to boost their property's market value. Many painting companies note that targeted painting upgrades can significantly enhance curb appeal and resale potential. Industry research shows that professional paint projects are among the most effective home improvements for sellers and value-focused owners alike.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

You know, that first impression.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

Yes. You know, I mean, even with like social media nowadays, a lot of reels are the first three, five seconds, and if it's not interesting, they'll continue to swipe in. So it's the same with homes. Um, I've noticed a lot people like stalk it on Zillow Realtor.com. But as soon as they walk in the door, if it doesn't look like the pictures, they're like, okay, let's move on. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:21

Right. I had one yesterday, and literally the client texted me as they got there just a couple minutes before I did and said, Text me and said, Don't bother. And I was like, What? And I, you know, is only a couple minutes away. Yep, they only viewed the exterior, and then they pulled up in front of it and went, This is not what the pictures look like. It needs way more work than I thought. And so we didn't even go inside. So that first impression is so important, which like it's talking about, like paint. Like that's like you were saying, like that just is so important. And paint is cheaper. I mean, I'm not gonna say paint is cheap anymore because it's not, nothing's cheap anymore. But that's one of the most affordable things you can do is outside, inside, you know, that first impression, like you said, you have three seconds, five seconds maybe. Right. You just don't have long. And and same, like you said, when they're scrolling online, you know, you're scrolling on your phone just like you do on social media. They're scrolling through realtor homes or our website or whatever it is. What's gonna stop them scrolling? Does your house look pretty? Does it look nice? Does it look clean? Does it you know, look well cared for?

SPEAKER_02 10:24

Exactly. So they're gonna judge off of that. And even by the pictures themselves, they're gonna decide if they want to view it or not.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Yep. Have you had clients say to you, Well, I looked at that house, but they mean they looked at it online? Yes, all the time. Because they'll throw me, they'll be like, Oh, I went and I looked at this house. Wait, you you're working with another agent? That's what I was thinking. Yeah, right. What's going on here? And they're like, No, no, I looked at it online. I looked at all the pictures. Okay, well, the pictures don't always look the same, right? Yeah. Some really good. Some nothing not so good. Yeah. So yeah, and they'll say that, and like, no, let's let's go look at it, or let me go look at it at least if I haven't seen it, you know, because those pictures just are not always accurate. Right. And, you know, and painting also can just help clean up and brighten up things.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Yes, definitely brighten, make it look a little bit open concept.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

Right. I have a couple of very neutral colors that we'll share with you guys that, you know, are just very simple, easy. You know, if you want to go a little more to the gray tones, if you want a little more of that grayish kind of, you know, creamy, yeah, you know, color people talk about, you know, that'll just kind of blend with anything. And, you know, if you just want to get things neutral, you don't want it to be stark hospital white.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

But you don't also want, you know, great, right? Purple and burgundy, maybe. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

I've seen a green bathroom.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Everything was green. Even the toilet was green. Oh my gosh. Was it built in the 1970s? Yep. Imagine that. Right. Green toilets, avocado green, and what was the orange color? I forget what the orange color was. I don't think I've seen orange. I've seen the green carpet, the blue. Yep. Yep. Orange. Yeah, yeah. Though there was definitely an burnt orange kind of color that was very 1970s, showing my age here, guys. Yeah, it's just, you know, again, you don't want it to be hospital white, but we need it to be clean and fresh. And that drive-by first impression, too, because I tell sellers all the time they're going to look online, then they're going to come drive by, and then they're going to decide if they want to come inside. Like all those things are so important.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

Right. And even with the paint, I mean, this is probably a little different subject, but FHA, there's any chip paint, that's going to scare them away. And they're like, well, maybe the buyer won't want to do this fixing for us, even though it might be a little slab of paint, and that's it.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Right. Well, you and I have had that before. We had a house that your buyer was looking at and said, Oh my gosh, let's not even go look at it. Because, excuse me, because it needs paint all over the railings, all over the window ledges, everything. And they were like, Nope, my FHA is not even going to pass it. And what happened? It passed. Yeah. They didn't care about it. Right. So, so you just never know. So, and I've had buyers' agents and buyers who've called and said, Oh, nope, I can't even look at that house. And that's not the case anymore. You just don't know, you know, what's going to get called out. And so, again, if you haven't just, you know, freshened that up and taken care of those things. Some buyers might skip your house because they're worried. Exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:23

And there's a lot of FHA buyers out there.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

There are, because the interest rates are lower on FHA. Right. So why wouldn't you do that? If the interest rates are lower, you would go take advantage of that too, right?

SPEAKER_04 13:32

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Especially as the interest rates are creeping up, like we talked about. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. It the just that first impression makes such a huge difference.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

10 home improvement projects that do not add value. Not all renovations are created equal. If you're planning to sell soon, it's vital to distinguish between a passion project and a profitable investment. Still a research into home features that help homes sell for more or less than expected shows that buyer preferences change over time. Here at the top five we felt most helpful. One, do not erase all personality. Buyers are looking for a home that reflect a lifestyle, not just a floor plan. Two, turning your kitchen into a white hospital feel. Opt for gray or graphite scale, which feels more modern and high-end. Three, DIY done badly. We love our DIY projects, but please know your limits and remember that a home inspector is going to be looking at everything. Four, laminate countertops. They might seem affordable, however, they will make your home feel more dated than it is. Even when they look like a stone, buyers then get inside and are disappointed. Five, buying high-end faucets, shower heads, fixtures, you will not get a return. They look pretty, however, buyers will not pay more. Bonus number six, roofing. Are you thinking about going with metal? That is great if you are going to stay in your home for another 30, 40, 50 years. The buyer does not see the value and might even be worried about it being noisy.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

So many great tips in there.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

So many great tips.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

A lot that I've been seeing is the fixtures, right? The high-end um faucets, the ceiling fans, the lights, but that's it.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Right. They haven't fixed a roof. They haven't painted the floor. Right. The furnaces 40 years old. Yeah. Water heater is going to be out. Right, right. It's not just about the pretty surface things. Right. You know, and so I mean, I know we were talking about the paint is very important, but it is more than just, you know, like, I mean, even like the laminate counters. Yeah. You know, how many people have you seen have like gone with that stone look, laminate stuff? And then people, like I said, people get in there, like you were saying, and they're like, wait, I thought that was actually a stone.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

We only had that like two weeks ago. Yeah. Yeah. And they were like, oh, it looked nice, but you can like it, just disappointed them. Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

Yeah, very disappointed because you think, oh, they've updated the kitchen. And then you get in and like, I could have did that. Not really. Yeah. Not really. So you said, you know, don't take all the personality. And you know, that's so accurate because people are like, oh, take down all the pictures, take down all the information. You know, like don't, don't take all your personality of the house. I get if you want to take your, you know, all your family, you know, pictures and stuff, because people are going to look around and go, Oh, do I know them? But don't take, you know, we were talking about paint colors. Don't make everything solid white, you know, like you said with the kitchen. Don't make it all just, you know, white and blah and you know, neutral. But there is a fine line. And that's why also, like, how many times have we gone through and talked to sellers? Six months, a year, two years, you know, before they're ready to sell and start giving advice on here's what I'd work on, you know, paint the deck. Don't worry about, you know, redoing the kitchen or, you know, I mean, whatever. It's just all those, you know, debates. What are you gonna get your best return on? Right? Right. Yeah. Because how many times, you know, our sellers like, oh, let's let's do this. Well, wait, you know, maybe let's do this instead. You know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

Um and back to the personality. They have to imagine if it's a family, you know, for the most part, they want to imagine their family in that home. And it's harder when it's empty. They can't really see, oh, is this bed gonna fit in here? Or what's gonna, where's the TV gonna go?

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Just small little things like that. Right, right. Yeah. So so downsize your stuff so they're not looking at all your stuff, but don't empty out everything. Yeah, kind of declutter. Yes, yeah, absolutely declutter. I tell people all the time, like, start boxing. You're you're moving, start boxing right now. Make it look like you're moving. Yes, yes, yep. And that's I had one client who was like, Well, my house doesn't look like anybody lives here. Great. Yeah, right. That is absolutely the point. Make it look like it's stage. Thin down. Yes, absolutely. It should be stage, it should be pretty. And and that was really for the pictures, too, right? I mean, you're not gonna live like that every day. We get that, but for the pictures, it's very important. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because like you said, people cannot see, oh, a twin bedal fit here. No, a queen-sized bed'll fit here, no, a king-sized medal. They just they can't visualize that. So we need we need some furniture, but we don't want too much furniture either.

SPEAKER_02 17:56

We don't want empty.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

So it's right, right.

SPEAKER_02 17:57

In between, very front line, right?

SPEAKER_00 17:59

No, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 18:00

All right, let's jump into the regional market update. Winnebago County, areas like Winnebago, Pekatonica, Duran, and of course Rockford, 257 homes sold, only 21 days on the market. 99% from list price to sale price, average sales price, $217,000. Currently, 218 homes available for sale. Yes, less than what sold last month. This is a continuing trend. Average price of what is available is $306,000. That is why they have not sold. The higher market has slowed. Regional update for Ogle County, areas like Rochelle, Byron, Polo, Forreston, and of course Oregon, 51 homes sold, averaging 39 days on the market, 96% from listing price to sales price, averaging sale price $250,000. Currently 60 homes available for sale, slightly better than Winnebago County, with smaller stats where averaging asking price is $310,000. And those are the homes that are sitting longer. Regional update for Stevenson County, Lena, Davis, Dakota, Orangeville, and of course Freeport. 31 homes sold, averaging 46 days on the market, 93% from listing price to sales price, average sales price, $154,000. Currently, 79 homes are available for sale. Better than the other counties we discussed today. However, still not enough homes for sale. Similar to the other counties, the averaging asking price is $241,000 for those that have not sold.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

Wow, is all I have to say. Like, can you? I mean, we've had buyers in Rockford and in that surrounding area up in Durand and you know, in that area. You see, like it goes very quickly. It goes very quickly. And talk about multiple offers, like usually five or 10 offers, right? I mean, it just, you know, so needing your buyer to be competitive and be ready is so important. Um, and knowing that, look, we're probably gonna need to go in over-asking, we're gonna need to use an escalation rider, we're gonna need to have your pre-approval in hand, you know, uh, and I was talking to a buyer the other day and said, you know, we can't look to the top of your pre-approval.

SPEAKER_04 20:09

Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Because you're gonna have to go over your pre-approval or over, excuse me, over the asking price. So if you look at, you know, 300,000 and your pre-approval is 300,000, we need to stop. Yeah, because you're gonna get beat. Right. You're gonna get beat out. You know, we're gonna maybe need to go to 330 or 350, or you know, I I don't know. It depends on the house and the area and all the things, but you know, just that talking about 99% from listing price to sale price. Like, look, and those are the ones that have sat, those are the ones that are going in a day, like that's everything.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

Yeah, it's nice to know these stats and let the buyers know up front to kind of what to expect as well, because they probably don't realize how quick or even the list of sale price. I've been having to tell a lot of buyers about that because this is where the market's at.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Right, right. And that's I think that's probably the main reason. That's a really good point. That's probably the main reason we talk about these every month. Guys, like we know there's a lot of numbers, we know you're like blah, blah, blah. We don't care, right? You know, but we really need you to care and understand because you go from that local headline earlier that says the market's coming down and interest rates are going up and you know, things are dying, and you know, and then you go to this. Our market is still a seller's market. We are still very short on inventory, prices are still going up. Like, you know, we've got to talk about this is what's happening locally. We want you to understand what's happening locally. So you're prepared when you're making that offer, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:33

Exactly. I know everyone wants to, you know, save a save a few bucks here and there, but just now, if you really love the house, it's not the time. Right. Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

We want to get you the best deal. Absolutely. But we want to get you in the house you want. Exactly. You know, I mean, if you love that house and you want that house, then okay, we need to write the offer and structure it so that you get the house, right? You know, we don't want you to lose the house you love. Right. But we want you to be prepared that this might be what you need to do. Yeah, absolutely. So we do share those numbers with our clients, not just with you guys every month. We do need you to understand these numbers and why we're asking you to make an offer at this price. So, you know, we're not we're not just making this stuff up. We're really not, you know, we want you to know this is what's this is what's happening. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 22:18

We're gonna take a quick break before we are joined by our community guests of the month. All right, today we're joined by two ladies doing really important work right here in our community. Amy Korr is the executive director, and Bella Green is the case coordinator of the Freeport Area Church Cooperative, an organization that brings local churches together to provide food, shelter, clothing, and emergency services to those most in need in the Freeport area. The mission goes beyond just meeting immediate needs, though. It's about empowering people to build a higher quality of life for themselves. Amy Bella, really glad to have you both on here today. Thank you for having us. Of course. So for anyone who hasn't heard of the Freeport Area Church Cooperative, what is it and how did it come to be?

SPEAKER_06 23:04

Um, well, um, it actually was founded in 1969. It was a group of churches that came together. It started out as pads, is what it used to be called. And they just would have um a shelter for the homeless in the evening. They would come in at night, sleep, and then leave uh in the morning. I I think it was actually maybe even at nine o'clock at night they would come in. Oh yeah. So um, and then they would leave uh first thing in the morning. I don't even know if they fed them at uh at that time. This was years ago when they started it. And then over the years, um I I think maybe they did start um maybe feeding dinner um first, and then um they would uh stay all night. And then um I I think it was maybe in um 1986 uh they became incorporated and uh then um the I think more churches uh became involved and um they became the delegate assembly and um they did have the uh FACC at the 514 South Chicago building was donated uh to them, and um that's when um over time it became the only location because I think at one point, and I I don't even know um what year, and I should know this, but um what year they actually um landed on just one location. But um I think at one time they were actually going to multiple different churches and taking turns, and then they landed on just one location. And um then um over time um they started um doing the um the stays for just um at the 514 South Chicago location, and then um then when I started um it was only for about um I think they were only doing about nine to ten months out of the year, and in the summers they were um closed.

SPEAKER_02 25:18

Really? Wow. When did you start?

SPEAKER_06 25:21

So I've been there for about five and a half years now, which I can't believe it's been that long already. And um they were only open um until well, they didn't get to come in until six o'clock in the evening, and then they would leave around 7 45 in the morning, and they would do that um through May and open again in October. So then when I started five and a half years ago, I did open that to be 24-7, 365 days a year. And that's wonderful, and it's been that way ever since. Yep. So we stay very busy, yeah. No time constraints.

SPEAKER_03 26:06

Come and go all the time. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 26:09

But because of that, we're able to do case management um, you know, through in the days with the case managers. We've added case managers, and it does help us get them um into permanent housing much faster.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

Do you know by chance how many people work in the shelter on the Chicago location?

SPEAKER_06 26:28

Well, there's myself, executive director, and then uh Kayla Breed is our director of shelter services. And uh Bella Green here, she's our case coordinator, she's full-time. Then we have uh Chantra Line Margaret, she's uh case manager for um rapid rehousing and for our um just our uh actual ETH program, which is our homeless shelter, and uh Curtis Mitchell, he's a full-time case manager, and then Scott Krell does part-time case manager, and then um we have just uh part-time Nancy Ross does our part-time um she does in our office, answers phones and stuff. Um otherwise we have part-time um four right now, nighttime supervisors. Okay. So everyone else is volunteer.

SPEAKER_02 27:27

What I find interesting is that this is built around a cooperative of churches rather than a single organization. How does that model actually work and what does it make possible that would it happen otherwise?

SPEAKER_06 27:39

I think with so many churches involved, um, everyone comes together. Um the churches, especially our food pantry. Um, I mean, every month, each church um they uh gather from all of their members um food items, and then they deliver them to our food pantry. It keeps our food pantry going all year. Of course, our community is amazing in donations too. So together we're I mean able to keep that going to be open every week. And um then with our other donations, um, I mean, whatever we need we put out to all the churches. So with all the members, of course, from the community and um 27 churches, um, we're able to provide so much more um to our clients. And then of course, we're talking several different religions. So, you know, if they want to um, you know, become a member of any of the churches, they certainly can. And we have resources there for them when they come into the shelter to reach out to different pastors and um to come in and talk to them. So um, I mean, honestly, it's just more resources for us and um the more the better. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it takes everyone to make to make it taste. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

Yeah, even one little small donation. Yeah, absolutely. I think people sometimes underestimate what's happening in their own backyard. What does the need actually look like in Freeport right now?

SPEAKER_06 29:26

Well, it's not just free. I mean, we're not just Freeport, really. Um we're the the community that we serve is um well Stevenson County. And we also um serve Joe Davies County, Carroll County, Ogle County. I did not know that. Yeah, we're the only homeless shelter. Um, so there's voices, there's uh domestic violence. And um we I mean Winnebago County, um, they have Rockford Rescue Mission. They are full um also a lot. So they end up clients come here or they may get kicked out of there, so they come here. And um, but other than that, there's no other homeless shelters for quite a few miles. Uh, Sterling has one. Um they're full. Yeah. So I mean, we're it, you know.

SPEAKER_02 30:22

Are you guys full at the moment?

SPEAKER_06 30:24

We're pretty much always. I think so. Yeah. So it's yeah, we have a waiting list and then it's on average.

SPEAKER_03 30:29

We have like 25 to 30 people and probably like 10 to 20 people on a waiting list.

unknown 30:34

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 30:35

How long does that like how long are they on the waiting list? Do you know? Like average.

SPEAKER_03 30:39

It just depends on the progress of the other people living there. Sometimes they'll just get up and leave and don't tell us, and sometimes it takes a year.

SPEAKER_06 30:47

Yeah, it just depends on their circumstances. And um, you know, as soon as one's out, we have one waiting to come in. So um we just call the next one that's on the list. And um, sometimes it's not that long that they're even on it. Some may call and we say, hey, there's a bed available tomorrow. This person's moving out. So we've actually been moving quite a few people out.

SPEAKER_02 31:13

You know, it's it's and you help them find housing and furnish.

SPEAKER_06 31:18

Oh yeah, we fully furnish their apartments.

SPEAKER_02 31:21

Is that recent?

SPEAKER_06 31:23

Well, it started um probably I'm gonna say two years ago. It got really going two years ago when we moved into the um to the 890 location, but we actually started it probably four years ago and started really building, it started really building up here two years ago. Um, because we were we actually got a pod prior to that to store mattresses and bed frames in our third floor, and it was getting really tiring going up and down the third to the third floor. So um when we got the 890 uh location, uh it that's where we store most of that furniture now. And um the community really started learning about it and donating the furniture, and we've been able to pretty much always furnish every single client that moves out with bedroom furniture, uh, dresser, beds, mattresses to go on those beds, couches, coffee tables, nightstands.

SPEAKER_03 32:27

I probably get a call every week for somebody wanting to donate furniture. Wow, that's a blessing.

SPEAKER_06 32:31

I remember dishes. Um yeah. I think I gave you a couple of things. Did I give you a tour down there?

SPEAKER_02 32:36

I remember when you first gave me the tour, I was kind of shocked how much was down there. Is there like a list that you guys have of what you guys can accept?

SPEAKER_03 32:45

I usually do like a list when I'm packing people, but you know, sometimes you just throw a bunch of stuff in your hand.

SPEAKER_06 32:51

And we some stuff, you know, we've had to say, you know, okay, we don't, I mean, we don't need some of the stuff that's donated because um like hospital beds. Yeah, I mean, we really um we do have people that will donate the hospital beds, and it there's probably a better place for those um because they are heavy to move, and um the clients don't so much want those and king-size beds. A lot of people don't have room for those in the um apartments that they move into, but um, so it's more necessities that we like to do. Um, you know, we don't need a whole bunch of the extra shelvings units, and I mean they're nice for people to have, but um they're hefty to move. They're heavy to move, and um the decorations and all of that.

SPEAKER_03 33:43

Um I mean it's nice, but it's not necessary.

SPEAKER_06 33:46

Yeah, it's we don't have a lot of storage, so yeah, you know, we're full and we run out of room for storing and when we move people, it's all volunteers or people at our shelter that help move them. Yeah, it's actually our clients and a few other volunteers. Um, but our clients actually help move other clients. So yeah, yep. So actually they enjoy it, it gives them purpose.

SPEAKER_02 34:10

They receive the per the blessing and they pass it on. Yeah, so it makes their turn motivated.

SPEAKER_06 34:16

Yeah, yeah, because then they see the apartments that you know this client's moving into, and they're like, I can't wait till it's my turn. Am I gonna get this? And yep, you're gonna get that. And you know, so yeah, it's exciting um for them. It gives them that um that drive. That drive to want to. Yeah, get a job and to, you know, this is what I'm gonna get when in the end, you know. So yeah. So it's been wonderful to be able to do that. And then there's other people in the community that's it's our our actual mission is if you're homeless, we help you get on your feet. So if there's people in the um community that's homeless moving in to an apartment, we help them as well with furniture. So we definitely try our best to anyway.

unknown 35:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:09

You're not just providing food and shelter, it's the mission that is really about empowerment. What does that look like in practice for each of you?

SPEAKER_03 35:16

I think uh it requires just support from everyone, not just one person. So having all of us involved is really important to help them stay motivated and keep looking at because everybody came from something that was very traumatic, or the amount of stories we've heard. So just making sure that they know that we're with them the whole way is super important.

SPEAKER_06 35:37

Yeah, a lot of them the coming into our shelter is the first time they've ever ever really had anyone tell them, like, this is what you need to do, this is how you do it, you this is how you do it, and you can do it. Yeah, you know, it's the first time they've actually had anybody care.

SPEAKER_03 35:54

People call her mom and me big sister. It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_06 35:59

Yeah, yeah. I have older, older people than me. Yeah, my mom. You know, so yeah, but I mean, that's I mean, that's what it's about, you know. And that thing feels good for you. Just that feeling of that they have somebody that they can go to, even when they move out, um, when they have accomplishments, they can't wait to call us and tell us what's happened. And this could even be a year later, two years later. They can't wait to they they know that if they come to us and they tell us what good things have happened that we care, you know, and we're excited.

SPEAKER_03 36:33

Because I mean a lot of people and bad and they become homeless again. And yeah, it's building that trust so they can come back to us and be like, we need your help again because second, third, fourth chances.

SPEAKER_02 36:44

What's a moment or story that really stuck with you where you saw the mission work in exactly the way it's supposed to be?

SPEAKER_06 36:50

I have quite a few actually. I mean, we have um a male and a female employees that used to be clients, um, that they both stayed with us and um for quite a while. And they were there for a long period of time, both of them. And we asked them if we could talk about this. Yeah, we did get permission. We got permission from them, and they know it. Then they um had ups and downs, and um, I'm so proud of them. I'm so proud of both of them. They have been through a lot, and um, but they were proof, they're living proof that um someone can come out of um homelessness and be successful, you know. So going from being kicked out of our shelter and not even being able to stay in our shelter to being hired by me. Um, you know, that's amazing. That's yeah, and so they're both um wonderful people now. I mean, they were wonderful people then, but I'm saying they were just on the wrong track, they were good people, and and we kept giving them chances because we just knew that you know, and everybody deserves chances, and sometimes it takes definitely more than one chance, yeah. And so we don't we're very forgiving, um, you know, and a lot of people may ask, other clients ask, why are you letting them in again? Because because they just made wrong choices and they just need that um warning. Someone to give them a chance again. Yeah, and so um, yeah, that's what we do. But anyway, so they definitely um they're doing so good. So we're so happy they went into our rapid rehousing program. So they kind of were went from shelter and then into another program that we do, rapid rehousing, and now they're both employed by us. So yeah, and so proud of them both. So, and then we have someone else that's been there almost, she's been there. Um one of my very first clients um soon after I started. She's one of the reasons I started the family program. Um, but she's still with or she's been in and out of our program and um lots of ups and downs.

SPEAKER_03 39:10

And she's been sober for a year.

SPEAKER_06 39:13

Yes, she's been through um, yes, it's been drugs and mental health, and she's just doing amazing. I brag about her a lot.

SPEAKER_03 39:26

Yep, and today Section A is coming to look at the house to see if she can move in.

SPEAKER_06 39:30

So she's yeah, yeah, she's utilized some programs that are offered. She's goes to her um Bible study that we offer on Wednesdays, um, that Faith Center comes and does every Wednesday, and um she um other programs that are offered, and she's what exactly like other programs are there?

SPEAKER_03 39:53

So, well, we have um uh uh New Horizons does our um therapy. They come on Wednesdays, so once a week for four hours and give therapy to any client in the shelter or anyone facing homelessness that needs it and free. Um it's nice because it's right there, you know. A lot of people don't like going or they can cancel, and but it's like nope, you gotta right there. No, let's face it.

SPEAKER_06 40:19

Yeah, that's a grant that CFNIL did for um so New Horizons got that grant through CFNIL and each year, so it's on its third year right now, so and that's for um uh free counseling services for our homeless shelter. So yeah, it is absolutely amazing. Um, so we have that, and we have a street medic program recently added. Yeah, street street medicine. Um, and that's actually not just for our homeless shelter, but it's for the community. So uh free medical care for is that the new one? I think I've actually seen that yet. Yeah, so it's like two Tuesdays a month. It is working out where it's every other Tuesday, um, but it's not guaranteed that it's gonna, it's in that order, but it has been in that order. Um, but yeah, you walk in. We have um anywhere from like two to six doctors there, and um it's through the University of Rockford, um, University of Illinois, Rockford Medicine. And um that's a five-year grant. Wow. So yeah, yeah, it's amazing, honestly.

SPEAKER_02 41:35

And you can walk in and do they have like any guidelines or anything or just for the community?

SPEAKER_06 41:43

You just give them our dining room. Yeah, so it's in our yeah, it's in our dining room, but we completely redo the dining room and we have partitions that we um soundproof partitions that we put up, and um we have diffusers for sound, and um it actually looks like a doctor's office, you know, like kind of like in a ER, I would say. And um it's pretty amazing. We've had some pretty good success stories for people that have not been able to get any medical attention and they've been able to walk in there and especially people with like mental illness that can't get an appointment with their doctor and need refills on their medication, and it's like commercial for them to have it.

SPEAKER_03 42:27

That's super important for them because they can prescribe the meds for them.

SPEAKER_02 42:30

Right then and there? Yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_06 42:32

Yeah, they call it in and then we just go pick it up for them if they don't have a car. Yeah, they've had ear infections and high blood pressure, yeah. Detected high blood pressure, and yeah. So like a person literally can walk in off the streets, be homeless, they can be seen for mental health, have a um uh an appointment with New Horizons for a counselor, and um be seen by a doctor and all that all within 24 hours in their shelter. It's a huge deal. I mean, that was a dream. And so the next on my list is to try to get dental care for them. That would be that would be that would be the ultimate. I'd look so um, yeah, that's what's left to do yet. So it's on my it's on my list. But um, yeah, so then there's um you know the prayer group or Bible study on um Wednesdays and furnish program, pantry and master rebuilding. Well, we uh refer people to that through Face Center. Um Rapid Rehousing. And then we have the Rapid Rehousing program right now that we're doing that we have a handful of clients that were able to do their rent um for up to 12 months. Okay and case management. With them weekly. Yeah. And uh and then yeah, the food pantry, we have that. That's a separate program, but we do that at the 890 um location, 890 Wiscalina Avenue location. So and then we do client assistance. Um, we do help with certain things for client assistance. Um we do rent and deposits for homelessness. So if you're going from homelessness into an apartment, even if you're not in our program, we do help with that.

SPEAKER_02 44:36

What's the hardest part of running an organization like this, whether that's funding, awareness, or something people wouldn't expect?

SPEAKER_06 44:43

There's just so much more to it than people even know. It isn't just um getting them a meal, giving them a blanket, and a change of clothes. It's so much more than that. Because we provide the case management part of it. And what goes with the case management is just a lot. Um and the ups and downs throughout that entire case management, you know. And you're dealing with people that are um at rock bottom, you know, they come in, and like she said, you know, they're usually always dealing with something pretty traumatic when they get there, and it's mental illness or addictions, um or family, domestic Yeah, domestic, a lot of domestic it's always something.

SPEAKER_03 45:37

So you take 30 random people off the street and put them in one building. Well, that's just it.

SPEAKER_06 45:44

You know, we don't have separate bedrooms. You're you got men in one room, women in another. We have two family dorms, and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:52

And how many people in a room?

SPEAKER_06 45:54

Uh uh Men 14, women, eight. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:57

Oh, yeah. Oh, I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_06 46:00

Yeah, so you got a lot of personalities, and you know, and you're dealing with mental illness as well, you know, there's fights, you know.

SPEAKER_03 46:12

So, yes, emotionally, it's probably the hardest part.

SPEAKER_06 46:16

Yeah, yeah, it is. Because you try not to take it home and that you can't not, you know.

SPEAKER_02 46:23

For anyone listening who wants to help, whether that's volunteering, donating, or just spreading the word, where do they start?

SPEAKER_03 46:30

Well, um our website, Facebook page, we have an Instagram too. You just search Freeport Area Church Cooperative, should come up. Our websites, uh FACC-freeport.org. And then we have ways you can uh apply to volunteer, general like submissions, contact questions, our uh donation wish list is on there, stuff about our street medic program, our furniture program, and you can apply to shelter too through our website.

SPEAKER_06 46:58

And we have some volunteer um opportunities. Um the food pantry, there's volunteering opportunities there, and then for our shelter, um, we do. I mean, for given rides and stuff, we did have some um volunteers that were willing to give rides to jobs or to interviews and stuff for our clients. Um, that's always an opportunity if someone's willing to do that. Um sorting, coming in and sorting.

SPEAKER_03 47:29

We have a lot of donations. Donations. That's our break room is not break room, yeah. Donation room.

SPEAKER_06 47:35

Um something like that is a possibility. Um and um odds and ends, I mean, we have miscellaneous things that can be done. Yeah, helping move people in.

SPEAKER_02 47:47

Yeah, that would be so when they go volunteer, can they pick what they're volunteering for? Is it just broad?

SPEAKER_06 47:54

Um, it's kind of they can I think the biggest thing is to say this is what I enjoy doing the most, and then we tell you what's available for that. Because we also allow um Stevenson County um probation department to do volunteer hours. So sometimes they take up hours doing their thing. Um the summer in uh July, the Stevenson County Fair people can help us uh raise a lot of money picking a booth um or doing um gates there. Um you can sign up there, okay. And um, it's ten dollars an hour for every hour you work a gate. So you can go on to their website and um I should have written that down, the actual website, but you can go on to the Stevenson County Fair website and look for volunteer hours.

SPEAKER_02 48:48

Ladies, thank you so much for coming to the show today and for the work that you both do. Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_06 48:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:56

So my tip of this month is we just had a home buyer seminar and it was really on financial education. We talked obviously about home buying, but really it was mostly about financial preparedness. And I just want to encourage families, whether it's adults, kids, grown kids, whatever, we all need to talk about and learn about financial education. I know people sometimes talk about how to budget. You know, we used to talk about balancing a checkbook. I know get nobody does that anymore. But how about balancing your finances? Expenses versus income, you know, not equal to, not more expenses than what your income is, but also credit building, because a lot of people don't discuss how do you build credit? Because let I'm gonna tell you now no credit is worse than bad credit. So just I just want to encourage people to talk about it. Just please, please, you know, have the conversation, whether it's your grown kids, whether it's your young kids, you got teenagers starting out, please talk about financial and credit. Thank you.