Rust Belt rebirth: a $17,500 Cincinnati old home renewal

It’s become difficult to afford urban living in places like San Francisco, New York, or even Portland, but there is an alternative. In Rust Belt cities like Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Cincinnati, you can buy or rent for about 1/10th of the price.
“They’re all much better than people in California imagine,” blog Johnny Sanphillippo who has spent significant time interviewing people in this part of the country. “I’m a huge fan of the city of Cincinnati. I love the magnificent architecture, the cool people, and the gorgeous natural beauty that surrounds the city. And I’m incredibly excited that many of the best historic neighborhoods are beginning to come back to life after a fifty-year slumber brought on by middle-class exodus to the suburbs, deindustrialization, and general neglect. There’s a serious pent up market demand for vibrant, mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods all across the country with shockingly little supply. We just haven’t built places like this since World War II and there’s a hunger for it in the real estate market.”
In this video, Sanphillippo visits Mike Uhlenhake who bought his historic row house in the now-trendy Over-The-Rhine neighborhood for $17,500 (it was a burnt-out shell on the “condemned list”). He fixed it up himself for a grand total of $90,000. Today he lives upstairs with a roommate and rents out the bottom floor for extra income.
Filmed by Johnny Sanphillippo of granolashotgun.com

[@Uhlenhake]

Hey everybody. This is Mike - the guy from the video. I just now found this on KZbin. Thanks for all the super-nice & supportive compliments. I hope I've inspired a couple of folks to renovate an old building of their own. Come check out my neighborhood of Over the Rhine, Cincinnati and if you do - find my place on airbnb - you can actually stay here. If you need an architect, then hit me up.

[@EneviaBaidooKeene]

I love the hard work, inspiration and love that you put into making your home. Getting the chance to renovate an aging property, especially if it holds history... is great.

[@extremereptiles3937]

Cincinnati Ohio?

[@spystyle]

+michael a uhlenhake WKRP :)

[@JourdannChrisstian]

+michael a uhlenhake Forget da house, did someone tell you how hot you are? Damn. . LOL

[@garypederson2767]

+Jordan Chrisstian - I was thinking the EXACT sane thing!

[@yoyoland8461]

He sounds like me when people’s come to my place! “I got this from the trash, this is an antique it only cost $3, this is also from the tras...”

[@akikolehmainen88]

At 6:20 when he says "certain standard", you can see several half attached screws sticking out from the staircase.

[@bakeraus]

hahaah good pickup

[@ricoludovici2825]

Yes, I want to know how he got a main staircase past building inspection: no handrail and the railing on that 'Juliet balcony' has pipes more than 4" from centers to center. Also, that drain vent through the metal roof is only about 2" high. Should be 12" or 16" high in a snow area.

[@madman3891]

@@ricoludovici2825 The city is probably just happy that its not a crack house.

[@JamesWang007]

@@ricoludovici2825 Bless the building inspector for seeing the overall picture. Hope he passed on those tips.

[@ricoludovici2825]

@@JamesWang007 Yeah, he probably blessed the building inspector with two c-notes. I'm thinking.

[@mwdca7810]

As a big fan of 19th century American cities (Buffalo, NY in particular) I love what he has done. Its about energy, which is 100% here.

[@carstellamoore8425]

Go Buffalo NY great city me and my husband just moved here from Bay Area and we just love this slow paced lifestyle

[@JanaTheRudeGirl]

I really like the use of the small sink over the toilet in the powder room. I was just researching those a couple of days ago. I am surprised that I am not seeing this used more in tiny homes. Definitely a space saver and the water conservation should be a factor.

[@CassandraRidenhour]

I love this! I live in SC, but I'm from Cincinnati and have always loved driving up through Eden Park and seeing the unique houses up there. Was sad to see so much of the downtown area go to pot, but this video is encouraging. Great job of taking a burned out building and making it into a beautiful home in an up and coming neighborhood (thanks to projects like this)!

[@RamblinAround]

Nicely done place. His voice reminds me a bit of John Malkovich.

[@divox9pqr]

RamblinAround He looks like him also. He could be his brother.

[@nevillelongbottom106]

Malkovich malkovich malkovich??

[@Uhlenhake]

Ha! I hear that all the time.

[@casfranco438]

@@Uhlenhake you're so hot and I can't explain.... Wish you were gay! Love your house though

[@thomashazard525]

Yes, thanks for saying that. When I was listening to him, I thought his voice sounded familiar. You are right, he does sound like Malkovich. In fact, Mr. Uhlenhake commented below that he is told that all the time.

[@kathythompson9931]

I love your house! I love your family furniture but I especially love all your FOUND furniture! And I’m with you on hiring professionals! This is so cool the renewal of your downtown! I love your beautiful and bright front door too! Well done!

[@Furtivo95]

I bought an amazing 2 story 2 bed 1 bath 1920’s home in Dayton Ohio for $15,000. I fixed it up with about $6000. It’s now rented for $650 a month

[@ManagingVideo]

That's cheap bro, just cost $15k .

[@Furtivo95]

Fiqriansyah i got that house 25% below market price. That property makes 22% ROI annually. I have a system for finding cashflow homes.

[@nyleve101]

@@Furtivo95 what's the system?

[@smathers3104]

15k is nuts. It would be like jumping in a time machine back to the 1970s where I come from. There's a big disconnect in rent vs buy price in ohio

[@Furtivo95]

nyleve101 1. I keep a formula with all expenses to determine cashflow on spreadsheets before I ever see the property. 2. Use a site like Zillow to estimate rents before making an offer 3. As a multi-state investor, I make sure I know the rental laws before looking in a region 4. I have professional inspectors ready to see a hot property with a phone call. 5. Make as many offers as you can at the price or terms you want. 6. Pay a property manager to verify rent potential on an offer,sometimes they will do it for free to earn your business. 7. If the cashflow makes less then 12% ROI, walk away. My deals make about 22% ROI or higher, but I’m do heavy strategy with my agent to properly structure a deal.

[@aiai-j7i]

I was smiling throughout--what a delightful man, just nice energy! And Cincinatti is beautiful!

[@judya.shroads8245]

You did a fine job of buying a shell of a house. To make a living space for yourself and having rental income coming in to help pay the mortgage is very smart. Very nice.

[@obus7800]

Great vibe...on the street and in the house...the fact he was able to bring back a burnt out building shows just how well they were built in the first place. These buildings have so much character...great reno and video!

[@Biker65]

So true

[@PageantExpert]

There’s truth in the saying, ‘Another man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ Great renovation project!

[@rainbowpotatoe6208]

I live in buffalo and things like this are starting to happen. Downtown revitalization waterfront development but it happens at such a slow pace and costs so much but in time and careful planning rustbelt cities will rise again

[@jamesr1703]

I love it when people describe their furnishing followed by: found in a dumpster, on the street, in the garbage. Wonderful!

[@NicksDynasty]

My city! I really like all the unique elements in the house. That sink toilet was really cool. I could see myself living there

[@AGM-ts5bb]

Another brillant person! Such a personal, amazing space. That water saving sink/toilet is revolutionary.

[@mezznj]

What a brilliant toilet/sink combi - perfect for us who have little space

[@noworriesimfijian]

This is probably one of the most refined projects of the series. Amazing job that Mike did, well done, kudos to him and thanks to Kirsten Dirksen for these inspirational videos.

[@tiffsaver]

I wish more people like you would buy these distressed properties and restore them to their former beauty. Our country needs more individuals with vision like you:)

[@vincentconti3633]

The country is full of people like him!

[@amybello]

I just discovered your channel yesterday, estoy fascinada pero no me quiero acabar los videos! Gracias por tan buen contenido. Saludos.

[@46619TAB]

As a residential designer, I can only say how AWESOME is this!

[@BethGrantDeRoos]

Gotta love people who see possibilities where other people just see junk. By the way that place would cost a good million in San Francisco.

[@orangemoonglows2692]

Beth Grant-DeRoos of course it would be more expensive. sf is developed with lots of jobs, arts, etc. there's really no point in comparing. cincinnati is not in the same league as sf, and probably never will be. compare it to chicago, which it will probably never be like either. so moronic to compare like that.

[@BethGrantDeRoos]

orange moonglows Excuse me? I was giving a compliment!!!!!!

[@TommyboyGTP]

Beth Grant-DeRoos What Orange failed to mention is S.F. is also overrated hype, which drives up the price.

[@orangemoonglows2692]

Tommy TwoGun while i don't agree with the outrageous rents, etc. sf is not all that much more worse than nyc, paris, london or any other desirable urban area that people want to live in. most places can't compete with it in terms of arts, proximity to nature, food/restaurants, diversity, work, etc. it is supply and demand. if people wanted to live in cincinnati, rents/cost of housing wouldn't be cheap. sf, ny, and other places are pricey because people want to be there. it's the opposite for ohio. people don't want to be there. these statements are silly because, at the end of the day, the market is determining this.

[@TommyboyGTP]

orange moonglows One thing you've failed to notice about these cities you've mentioned, and cities like Cincy, is that these cities that are in the "rust belt" were once industrial powerhouses. Due to changes in economics and outsourcing to foreign countries, these cities took a huge economical hit. This drove down housing prices, but they are slowly being transformed and being reborn. As these once economically battered cities become reborn, housing prices will increase as other business move in and revitalize the neighborhoods, as shown in this particular video.

[@stevemiller7949]

Kristin, I have seen a couple of these urban pioneer stories you have done---- Love them! I hope there are more on file or in the pipeline. THANK YOU!!🙂🙂❤️💯

[@jeanninehinman3653]

What a beautiful achievement, that's also good for the area. Bravo!

[@ahikernamedgq]

"You can lower the light fixture..." [light fixture flickers] 😬

[@ablinil]

Can you please share your source for the kitchen island light fixture

[@JamesWang007]

He should consider switching to led or 12 volt.

[@alancheng829]

That seems to already be an LED fixture with the power source up in the ceiling. The power source transforms the AC current to low voltage DC and feeds through the retractable aircraft cables. The retractable part of it probably caused the flickering, which is not a huge deal while it’s being pulled down. May cause reliability issues in the far future, but no safety issues.

[@princessleahofikea6373]

Beautifully restored and reimagined. Everything makes sense in this home, I love it.

[@steveb7429]

very cool video. I never realized cincy was so urban, old-school style. like a tiny, tiny version of new York. cool.

[@lizpinky3658]

I am totally impressed with what has been accomplished here! I would be proud to live in an apartment/house like this one. Beautifully restored.

[@stuvs830]

It's just beautiful. So well thought out and i love the family furniture and the inlaid tables! Also, the cutback roof- and that lamp is perfect. Congratulations!

[@hollyhocks7360]

Great interesting building. Lovely to have things from your grandma and grand father.

[@lalineaa]

Love the colours, the burnt orange with grey. Gorgeous!

[@harbin88]

Very nice! Thanks for taking care of Cincinnati.

[@karenmatthews1751]

thank you for saving an old home

[@0cean.Sun.]

Work, Restaurants, Shopping, Spacious Living, All within walking distance. Nice. Very impressive. ( A Dream Life!!! ).

[@FabiWe91]

Looking at those streets I felt like walking through a village in the Netherlands.

[@yomommastupid]

I never been to Cincinnati but definitely would like to visit. Being from Europe I am amazed how European downtown looks and I've been to 75% of the USA.

[@acajudi100]

Super beautiful.🇺🇸💯❤️📚💐😊 I love how you used family furniture and found on the street furniture for your home.

[@Raspberry4600]

Thank you for being a part of bringing the beauty back to the city! Bravo!

[@evitasdad]

I really enjoyed this,and love his style. Thankyou for sharing this, from New Zealand.

[@wslandry]

Congrats on all the hard work and patience you have had over the years! My best friend fell in love with his partner because of his perseverance and his un yielding way not to give up! A very sexy trait which most people don’t have or the drive! Again congrats on a job well done!

[@MrBKuv]

Creative, productive guy improving his lot and the community. Great thing.

[@1badcad69]

Awesome digs! Thanks for saving her. She is a beauty!

[@jackwalsh1468]

Kirsten, a welcome sight from my University days in Cincinnati. Strangely I, know the "Over the Rhine" area very well. Having use to lived in the "Clifton" area of Cincinnati. In part of the video the "WKRC" TV tower was in the background. A lot of great memories came flooding back. Again, thank you. Cheers, Mate,

[@meridianfx6263]

I just love this channel ;o) Thank you for capturing all these interesting places for us.

[@ccgsales]

Why are you showing street views of DeSalles Corner in Walnut hills at the beginning and end of the video? Walnut Hills is much different than Over the Rhine. It's way outside downtown and has a much different feel/housing mix than OTR. The house is obviously near downtown, but the clips @:013 and @9:10 are outside downtown and a couple miles away from OTR.

[@omar1s1]

+ccgsales I said the same. I recognized it right away because I went to school there.

[@lydiarowe491]

What an eclectic neighborhood..creatives bringing derelict buildings back from demolition..and the house has been restored with love and a sense of bringing in what is free and beautiful..well done for this one..a nice place to live a true tribe.⭐

[@rositawilliams3678]

WOW .... What a fantastic job that you have done over the years.... I really enjoy this video when people have a thought or idea to make it come to pass...💓

[@Bobrogers99]

In some municipalities you wouldn't get an occupancy permit because part of your stairs lacks a railing. ;-). It's good to rescue an old building that still has character.

[@SueLall1008]

I love old properties..they have so much character

[@montys8th]

What a remarkable renovation

[@flange3]

What a beautiful renewal, thank you for posting it!

[@conniemiller5082]

I LOVE THESE KIND OF REMODEL STORIES A BEAUTIFUL AREA. THANKS 4 SHARING.

[@Mr813Fla]

Bravo!!! Awesome vid by a brilliant individual.

[@SeaTurtle515]

Nice,y done. Loved the toilet sink and the Juliette balcony.

[@ivydog100]

You are one heck of a visonary. Well done on all your hard work . Think its just fab.

[@vondahe]

ivydog100 He was actually more than just visionary - he also took a chance. I’ve seen so many exciting opportunities over the years but have never realised a single one of them.

[@adhc8560]

Imagination and hard work pays off. This is lovely.

[@ladyshyyebryant2333]

love this place and the views are BEAUTIFUL!😘😃😉☺

[@terrimabrey93]

Your are pretty awesome! Great job on you lovely home. Love the Hx too.

[@DarrenBoss1984]

I love this place! Very well done. What I liked most was the outside brickwork. So characterful!

[@noillucs3392]

Wonderful home. The hand sink on the toilet cistern is a great idea, I'v never seen this before. Looked for it but haven't found it in England.

[@minimalistinlife]

Good renovation. Great attention to detail and nice thought behind everything. You feel like you're really taking care of the house and it's soul while living there.

[@blackkittens.]

Fabulous and well done. Thx for sharing.

[@ynot0714]

First off, I enjoy your videos.....but when you first start speaking and say OTR, that's actually Woodburn-East Walnut Hills area with St Francis De Sales Church in the background. That area sure is looking much nicer these days! You do a great job bringing these old homes back to life! Cheers.

[@rodrigofaria4884]

love tour vids. thanks.

[@michaelcollins7738]

Very nice to watch, shabby chic, the colour scheme is super, thank you!

[@bdjm8595]

Very well done on the renovation!!!

[@dougfromsoanierana]

In the 1980s and 1990s Over-the-Rhine was a rough neighborhood. I’d love to hear some of his stories from when he first moved in.

[@barbaramollmann5990]

Just saw this and thought I'd comment. My parents were German immigrants who were members of Old Saint Mary's parish from 1958 until their deaths. We lived in South Fairmount. In the 60's and 70's we kids went there with them it was really rough. One Sunday some of the German parishioners at the 11:00am Sunday mass decided to give a few bums outside church money. The next Sunday there were 50+ bums asking for money and walking in during mass begging. Fr. Piepenbryer ripped the parishioners a new one from his pulpit and told the bums to get out.. Another time Fr. Piepenbryer had pissed off some of the locals and a knife was stuck in the pulpit. He didn't see it until he climbed up the stairs, then promptly went on a rant. I went down old Vine close to the church in the late 70's as a young adult, that was when revitalization had started. There were new bars, one with Mr. Spoons playing, along with the usual pimps and hookers. At that time I worked at 2020 Juvenile Detention Center and every once in a while see a young hooker I knew from the center. It was a popping time as it was a sketchy place to be. Nice to see it's change. My sister would like to take me down sometime. Maybe check out our old haunts.

[@housewifehoneybee2784]

One time after leaving a bar on Vine St (The Warehouse) my friends and i were in our car at a red light. It was summer so we had the windows down. We were heading to get some food and my friend was counting her money when all of a sudden a hand reached in the car and grabbed all her cash right out of her hand! It was a young guy on a bike. The streets were full of cars and the sidewalks were full of people from the bars closing. The theif just disappeared into the crowd. That kind of stuff happened ALL THE TIME down there. She learned real quick not to pull your cash out in OTR!! 😁

[@vcoonrod]

Very well done. Excellent work! Congrats on your beautiful home.

[@RVBadlands2015]

He did a great job so beautiful bring back the old building.

[@kathleengarvey4318]

Love the way you have brought your family history into your own vision. This is very individual and happy. I'd love to eat there!!!

[@sylviamckee3221]

Put a lid on your half bath toilet to keep germs at bay. Flushing spews microscopic droplets everywhere. Lovely home, well done.

[@cindybrewer9488]

Beautiful home. Be Happy!

[@heyjude4842]

Please keep us updated on future renovation. Springfield, Ohio here. Luv Cincy😎

[@Biker65]

Some really ingenious uses of space. Very cool.

[@PassaFloraElle]

wonderful space! It's lovely to see the beautiful furniture from family and the pieces that've been recycled.

[@russellhogben6628]

Good on you mate. Nice to see a run down, historic neighbourhood being redeveloped.

[@jakeybarber1056]

Yeah, this is also known as gentrification.

[@rasha4625]

hi,u have beautiful imagination... to visualise an old burnt house and take a loan to make it what it is now....hats off to u...grt architectural capacity!

[@cincinnatiking8008]

I wish you could have seen this neighborhood 10 years ago. You probably would not have walked down the street at night. Especially a little more towards West Liberty St.

[@neilschipper3741]

OMG... Over-the-rhine?... during the 1950's 1960's and 1970's... That definitely was not the place to be! Our family came over from Germany and settled in the area as a matter of fact you will find our family name on some of the windows at Saint Mary's Church. My great-great great grandfather move from that area and was a founding father of Aurora Indiana. He was a Stone Merchant and the Catholic Church in Aurora has a lot of the windows with his name on them. Been away from the area since the seventies I cannot believe the change! Thanks for sharing.

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

The house is beautiful. Indeed, Cinncinatti also looks wonderful, really lovely.

[@EneviaBaidooKeene]

I'm glad to see that he was able to purchase and renovate this old brick building. I'm adding his ideals of city living to my bucket list.

[@toddhupp]

Turned out great!

[@hortenciatalabera2448]

Beautiful home and great use of space👏👏👏👏👏

[@margorowe9052]

Enjoyed this..love the bookcase railing..💚

[@garypeterson1342]

“Let’s go upstairs.” I thought we had gone up 4 flights already. 😂

[@gilbertvehicleservices]

All of the homes in this area of Cincinnati are at least 3 stories tall. Many have basements AND sub-basements. You get used to climbing a lot of stairs!

[@ms.mojo_risin]

I admire you taking the time to renovate and keeping a beautiful place alive for other people to enjoy as well. awesome

[@stateofdisorder1]

It's nice to see people who still care about Cinci and trying to bring it back up. It got pretty damn rough for a while there. This is awesome.

[@emanuelgtzv]

i love your videos, they're so relaxing jeje, great job and what a beautiful house

[@mezznj]

Omg - the bookcase/stairwell - love it

[@MiMi-ci3mz]

Everything is such great but the toilet where you can wash your hands before the water runs into the toilte- tank is revolutionary!!!

[@TheBowersj]

I love this, thank you so much

[@joeboylson1296]

Cincinnati local here. Thanks for covering Cinci!

[@HubbCityy]

In the spring of 1974, I studied the Over-The-Rhine neighborhood (in general and housing rehabilitation in particular) as a key part of my urban studies program from nearby Wittenburg University. I'm very glad to have come across this video. What they are doing in the OTR is very heartwarming. Now, if I could just find the paper I wrote about property rehab in OTR.

[@MD-hx3wf]

Really awesome! What a show of patience, great jobs mate!

[@relaxshacksDOTcom]

Inspiring story- and another great video Kirsten!

[@thomascreeley867]

So cool! You have created a wonderful living space.

[@truthiseverything9511]

Twenty years. I don't love the interior, but the entire project is thoroughly impressive. Gratitude to those leading this direction.

[@misst.e.a.187]

The neighbourhood reminds me of area of bohemian London. I love the buildings.

[@nicolasjimenezq369]

I love the concept.

[@jameswilson1360]

Great Video......Fabulous House and Neighborhood......