A blighted home is going back on the market after extensive rehab aided by a Rockford loan program

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — This summer a two-story home on Tatum Road was in disrepair. This winter it’s going on the market for roughly $220,000.

The transformation was on display Tuesday during an open house that both showcased the home and celebrated the work of a 2-year-old organization that helps finance the rehabilitation of dilapidated properties to get them back on the market.

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Realtor Staci Brown and contractor Chris Whitmore used a $130,000 short-term loan from the Rockford Community Investment Fund to purchase and renovate the property at 4025 Tatum Road in September. Photos of the home in various states of disrepair were on display Tuesday as they prepared to list it for sale.

Now, it has new floors, siding, windows, paint, lighting, electrical, plumbing, a finished basement and other improvements.

“It was a complete mess. These pictures don’t do it justice of how much work this house really needed,” said Brown, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty. “It needed a lot of work, but it had a lot of potential. It had a lot of character.” 

The open house was held with Mayor Tom McNamara and Tom Sanquist, executive director of the Rockford Community Investment Fund. The organization’s goal is to provide short-term loans that banks won’t traditionally take on so that homes can be restored and neighborhoods can be improved.

The home on Tatum Road exemplifies what the program is designed to do. Brown bought it for $70,000, according to Winnebago County Clerk & Recorder’s Office records, and the remaining $60,000 of the grant was spent transforming the blighted property.

“It’s a remarkable transformation,” Sandquist said. “It takes a house that was kind of an eyesore and kind of blighted among houses in a pretty nice neighborhood and fixes it up, creates a house that is safe and sanitary and secure and also helps preserve the property values in the neighborhood.”

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The initial capital for the loans RCIF provides was put forward by Illinois Bank & Trust, Blackhawk Bank, Stillman Bank, Northwest Bank, Rockford Community Bank, Midland States Bank, Byron Bank, Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, Rockford Local Development Corp. and the city of Rockford.

It also received a $125,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury, and it will apply for future federal funds.

The fund is needed because lenders typically won’t go through the hassle of appraisals, inspections and other work upfront for what is usually a small return, officials said.

Loans provided by RCIF are typically about $100,000 and can go up to $150,000 to finance 100% of acquisition and rehab costs. It gives investors an opportunity to make a profit while also improving neighborhoods. The investors repay the loan and interest in one year, and that money goes back into the loan fund for future projects.

“We view it as helping out, helping make better housing for the city,” Sandquist said.

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RCIF is an extension of a similar program started by the Northern Illinois Community Development Corp. Combined, the two programs have financed 135 building renovations. 

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas