Pierre Lisk’s stay in Iola was almost over before it started.
A mechanical engineer by trade, Lisk through the years had begun looking at real estate investments — apartment complexes, in particular.
With nothing readily available near his home in Ottawa, Lisk expanded his search last year, which led to a few intriguing prospects in Iola, including the old Head Start building.
So he came to town to check it out.
“I thought maybe we’d need to move a couple of walls, slap some paint on it and get it ready,” he recalled.
But upon arrival, he found a building in need of much more than paint.
“This was going to need a complete overhaul,” Lisk said. “It needed everything, from reworking the layout, running new electric service, water, gas.”
He called local Realtor Jennifer Chester with bad news.
“I don’t think I have the bandwidth to take on a project like that,” he said. “This was like new construction.”
Chester encouraged him to take a closer look.
“Let’s meet up and talk numbers,” she suggested.
Out of equal parts caution and curiosity, Lisk agreed.
And it changed his entire outlook.
“I’m a numbers guy,” he said. “You can’t go wrong with numbers.”
As Chester and Lisk pored over the renovation costs vs. potential revenue from six units, suddenly that project didn’t seem so daunting.
“I ran through the numbers again and again,” he laughed. “I called my insurance guy to make sure this cost was correct. I was almost trying to talk myself out of it, but every time I ran the numbers, it checked out.
“There have been times I’ve missed out on opportunities because I took so long, but if the numbers add up — and they added up here — you make the deal.”
It was one of three major purchases Lisk completed in Iola.
