Eric and Tara Corson never planned on becoming landlords, but when their backyard neighbor had problems selling her home after her husband passed away, they saw an opportunity to help her. They bought her house in 2008 with the intention of renovating and selling it. However, the housing market was down so they decided to rent it out temporarily until they could sell. They quickly realized that there was a demand for nice rental homes in the area, and that they could help fill that need.
The Corsons continued to buy homes that needed renovations in Preston and the surrounding towns to give them new life before renting them out. “Some of the rentals end up being nicer than our house,” Tara laughed. They usually advertise their new rental homes on Facebook and Craigslist, but the demand has been so high for them that the last few were rented almost immediately with no advertising other than word-of-mouth.
Eric and Tara didn’t pay much attention to the big house right next to theirs that had been foreclosed on and was sitting empty until another neighbor of theirs mentioned that it still had the original fixtures, stained glass, hardwood floors, and more. “I’ve always been a history buff,” Eric said. “I saw the historical value of the house, and I wanted to preserve it.” The couple purchased it before Tara even had a chance to see the inside. But once the papers had been signed and she stepped through the front door, she was sold.
With all of the other homes the Corsons have purchased, they’ve done so with the intention of gutting and renovating them, but this one was different. They knew they had to preserve it and work towards restoring it to its original beauty.
Because the house had been sitting empty for a while, Eric and Tara expected that the pipes would have frozen and burst, but upon inspection, only one section of pipe above the boiler in the basement had burst. Because of its location, all of the water in the pipes throughout the house drained out through it and preserved the rest of the plumbing. They did end up replacing the boiler, but were relieved that more repairs weren’t needed on the pipes.
The house did need a lot of repairs though. Carpets had to be removed and hardwood floors sanded down. Layers of wallpaper needed to be scraped off the walls, and the yard needed significant landscaping work. The first project they tackled was the preservation of a beautiful stained glass window in the dining room. They built a covering to go over it outside to protect it from the elements as direct sunlight was breaking down the lead portions between the glass.
During the renovations, Eric and Tara were still undecided about what to do with the house. It wasn’t until they took a trip to Atlanta, Ga., and stayed in some historic vacation homes that they realized what they wanted. When they returned from their vacation, they filed to have the property rezoned so they could turn it into a vacation rental home.
“The restoration and renovations are ongoing,” Eric remarked. “We roll the profit back into the house.” The kitchen and bathroom had been updated by previous owners. “They’re nice, but they don’t match the history of the house. We’re actually working on taking out the new and making them look old again,” he said, smiling.
“This has been such a blessing for us,” Tara said. “We got to restore and preserve a piece of history and we get to meet new people.” The Corsons are working on putting together a history of the house and would love to find pictures so they could be sure they’re restoring it back to the way it was. They were told it was originally built by a Norwegian bachelor and was later turned into a convalescent home, but are interested in finding out more details. One of the owners in recent years, the Every family, has rented the home for family gatherings several times and enjoy being able to return.
The first guests stayed at the Historic Pleasant Street Inn on June 23, 2015 and business has been good ever since.
“The vacation home is a great thing for Preston, too,” Eric said, adding that 95% of the guests are from out of town. They’ve even had guests from Brazil stay. The Corsons encourage people to use local resources such as the grocery store while they’re visiting. People like that the house is just a few blocks from the bike trail, river, and downtown Preston and allows them to enjoy the area while avoiding the crowds of Lanesboro.
“We help make memories,” Tara said about the Inn. A couple that stayed at the home with their college-aged son stands out in Tara’s mind because they were able to relax and enjoy their time together as a family and even played a game of hide-and-seek while they were there. “They were amazed at how clean every corner of the house was,” Tara laughed.
The Historic Pleasant Street Inn, located at 516 Pleasant St. in Preston, can sleep up to 10 guests in beds and more on couches and air mattresses if necessary. Guests are charged a flat fee of $295 a night during the busy months and $250 a night during the off season, which makes it a cost effective way for extended or larger families to get away together. The Inn boasts amenities such as wifi, tvs in every bedroom with cable, a kitchen fully stocked with dishes and utensils, new appliances, a washer and dryer, a gas grill and firepit outside, and air conditioner units in most of the rooms. Tara’s mom, Pam Rasmussen even offers painting classes at the Inn for guests. Special deals are offered for stays longer than three nights. The Inn can be booked at homeaway.com.