Wide, wooden doorways drew Melissa Price to her historic Perham home, but she soon realized other aspects needed modernizing.

She and husband Nick planned to replace the old lathe-and-plaster walls with insulation and sheetrock, but ran into barriers with building code issues. More extensive work was needed, andMelissa Price to her historic Perham home they approached their community bank for a loan. They were referred to MMCDC, which provided a $27,800 home renovation loan at attractive and affordable terms.

“I’m totally impressed there’s a loan company out there doing this,” Melissa said. “There’s a lot of old homes out there that need work but they can be beautiful again.”

Nick, a carpenter, gutted the home to the studs and found it structurally sound. A bathroom was added upstairs, and the stairway and landing were updated. Original wood was salvaged whenever possible, and leftover lumber was repurposed as a dining room table. Finishing design touches further modernized and personalized the home, and best of all, there was no more frost appearing on the inside of the home.

The Prices made discoveries along the way. One was a letter in the walls dating back to 1882, in which the author promises to send money. The other was the importance of working and communicating together as a family to overcome a challenge. Not only did Nick and Melissa participate, but daughters Keyana, 11, and Destiny, 5, also lent a hand.

“We thought about it a long time,” she said. “We prayed about it… I think God blessed that whole thing.”