Couple investing in where they live

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Conversations with Doug Frelke and Kim Bowden can take some unusual twists, such as this one:

"Which house are you renovating now: the one where prostitutes lived or the crack house?"

The couple, married for three years, have renovated four homes in their neighborhood and are starting their fifth. That doesn't include their own home, where they laughingly say they renovate a room every time they sell a house.

They do it for the love of the off-the-beaten track neighborhood they've adopted, and despite the violent crime they encountered along the way.

Edmund Street, although located in a trendy inside-the-beltline area, is a multiracial mix of retirees and families. It's mostly an overlooked neighborhood, not a neglected one, but until recently, one duplex at the end of the street housed prostitutes and another drug addicts.

For the record, Frelke and Bowden finished the former prostitution house, now an 1,800-square-foot two-story home that sold for $340,000. In December, they started work on the next-door duplex, the former crack house.

"Our real point, especially with these last two deals, was to improve the neighborhood -- not just improve it physically from the looks, but from a safety standpoint," says Frelke, 40, a U.S. Navy veteran and published writer.

But when crime came to their door, the danger came not from strangers on drugs but from someone they trusted. They had allowed one of the men working on a house to stay there while renovations were under way. The night before their wedding in 2004, he knocked on the door while Bowden was home alone with Frelke's then 2-year-old daughter. He asked to use the phone, which he had done many times in the past.

Instead, he attacked Bowden and tried to strangle her. She fought back. At some point, for reasons she doesn't know, he grabbed her wallet and ran.

Frelke, who teaches college classes at night, rushed home. His daughter was OK; Bowden's most serious injury was a broken bone near her eye, which was swollen shut.

They got married in her mother's living room, Bowden wearing monkey-patterned pajamas and Frelke in the dirty jeans and T-shirt he had worn for almost two days. The church ceremony was held a couple of months later.

After the attack, they moved to the suburbs, to the town of Garner. Eventually, the man turned himself in to police. Frelke was happy to stay in the suburbs and start over. His new bride, he says "was adamant that was not going to happen."

Bowden says she just refused to let crime force her from the house she loves. "I do think it did inspire us ... let's get rid of some of these older, uglier, less safe houses," she said.

Frelke bought their home in 2003 before the couple married, and fixed up a nearby house on his own. He couldn't sell it for a profit, so it's remained a rental. As a couple, they bought a house across the street for $118,000. They spent $57,000 for renovations and sold it for $216,500, minus the 5 percent for the real estate agent.

After that, they were off and running. They bought the house next door and rented it. They bought the former prostitution house, putting in a total of $275,000 -- price and renovations -- and got $340,000. That house was their most involved project because they added a second story. Now they're starting on the other duplex.

Neighbor Erik Sugg, 32, who lives on Edmund Street with his wife, Robin Conklin, says the changes are like "a modern renaissance on your own street."

Sugg and Conklin moved to Edmund Street in April 2002, across the street from the two duplexes.

"We liked it because it had a lot of diversity," he said. "We thought the neighborhood would improve over time. But we didn't expect it in this time frame. We've seen it unfold in front of our eyes. That's where Doug and Kim come in. They've been all about progress."

Bowden, works days making custom-made gun holsters for her father's business, then remodels at night. Frelke is at the houses during the day, then off to school at night. They work together on weekends.

They do some of the work themselves, such as the ripping out and tiling, but they have a crew for the more complicated projects, including plumbing and electrical.

Along the way, they've learned some lessons, some of which are true to shows such as "Flip This House" -- no matter what you budget and plan for, you'll go over and something will surprise you -- and some of which aren't. They renovate every house as if they were going to live there.

Each of their homes includes some costly touches, such as handbuilt cabinets, and less expensive ones, such as tile in showers instead of prefabricated units. The first house they renovated as a couple has a slate front porch -- a project that Bowden recalls less than fondly.

"I was out there grouting that slate in November, with a big bucket of water to dump my hands in, through freezing cold at night with nothing but a work light. So that was lovely," she says sarcastically. "But it turned out really well. So it was worth it."

They have found the good in houses -- such as the time they pulled up carpeting, certain the previous owner's pets had ruined the flooring. Instead, they found a layer of linoleum that had protected the hardwoods that made up the third layer of flooring.

Then there's the bad -- such as the prostitution house, where plywood was used to block leaks. Frelke found a section of flooring that he thought was good, until they got underneath the house and found a carjack providing support.

And then there's the ugly -- the drywall on the outside of one house, and the barnboard on the outside of another. Both came down, but the barnboard was planed and cut into flooring.

Already, the couple is looking at another house, hoping to buy it with an eye toward remodeling it. But they won't do that until the current house is finished in the next few months and sold. While Bowden seems willing to have five mortgages at the same time -- their house, the house being renovated, two rentals and a house in reserve -- Frelke is more cautious.

And for now, they'll concentrate on Edmund Street.

"I love this street," Bowden says. "I love working on this street. It's a great community."