When ill health forced George Talbot to move from the brick house on the near East Side that he'd occupied since 1973 -- and which was filled top-to-bottom with his collections -- there were two looming questions: What to do with all the stuff, and what to do with a house that had sagging floors and buckling walls?

Tom Haver and partner Gina Newell, of Haver Construction, decided to take on the challenge. It was their first attempt to "flip" (renovate with the intent to sell) a house. "The house was crying out for attention," Haver said.

"My passion is nice houses in need of help," He also had experience with restoring historic houses, and had no illusions that the process would be easy. "The load-bearing brick walls were in good shape, and the basic structure was good. But this wasn't a job for amateur do-it-yourselfers."

Because of its condition, they paid just $204,000 for the Italianate house, which was built in 1888 and is one of the oldest houses in the Third Lake Ridge historic district. They closed on the property in February and three days later began unloading the house, which still contained thousands of Talbot's possessions (see related story).

Books, metal and paper were recycled. In four days 12 Dumpsters were filled and there were so many deliveries to St. Vincent de Paul that the manager finally, "No more! I can't handle any more!" Because of the 100 inches or so of snow, they'd have to wait for spring to see what surprises would emerge in the back yard.

They decided to gut the interior, which made it possible to brace the walls, re-configure the floor plan and replace steps that were too steep to meet current building code standards.

"It's a new house inside," Newell said. That exterior was spiffed up by power washing the brick, adding a new front door and entrance, removing a ramshackle lean-to attached from the back of the house, adding a deck, clearing brush and landscaping that includes a rain garden.

By May 15, the work was finished and it's now on the market for $530,000. "The (renovation) process was streamlined for us since we weren't working for anyone and we could make all the decisions ourselves," Haver said.

"Doing this was risky, especially in the current real estate market. But this is such a unique property in walking distance of Downtown, and there are going to be people who appreciate a house that functions like a new house in the shell of an old house."