The Green House

My husband and I have owned a few rental properties over the years, and each comes with a random nickname, used only by us. Our first rental was 'the blue house' because, obviously, it was blue. We have also had 'the village house', 'Rockne' and 'Leland.'

We bought 'the green house' in 2019, with the intended purpose of providing housing for international students who were visitng Notre Dame for short-ish periods of time. We had previously experienced just how difficult it can be to find housing for periods of about 6 weeks to several months; too long to stay in a hotel, too short to sign a lease on an apartment. Also, they needed everything furnished, including linens, a full kitchen, laundry, and transportation. These students typically did not have the means to stay in an Air B&B for that long, especially in a town where prices are often event driven.

We had our first guest arrive in February 2020. As we all know the world shut down a few weeks later, and our guest had only 2 days to decide if he would return home or remain in South Bend for an unknown period of time. He moved out and the house was empty.

Fast forward a few months, and a friend of a friend was looking for housing, and finding it very difficult to find anything due to Coivd. She moving in to the green house in the early summer, and continued to live there until a few weeks ago.

As I began to dream of opening a school, I knew the green house would make an excellent location. The house needs a little work to make it usable as a school, mostly paint and flooring. I am so excited to begin this process and share the progress here.