Published January 2002

‘We’re here one house
at a time’
Paula Denney and Associated Rental Services help restore communities by restoring old homes

By Kimberly Hilden
Herald Business Journal Assistant Editor

Talk of Everett’s rebirth has been in the news a lot lately, what with Everett Station, the Hewitt Avenue beautification project and the proposed special-events center. But for Paula Denney, the city’s renaissance includes not only downtown development but also neighborhood restoration.

And for the past decade, she has had a hand in just that.

As part owner of Snohomish-based Associated Rental Services and a partner in Denney-Fulton LLC, Denney has been buying older houses and apartments, usually neighborhood eyesores; renovating them; and then putting them on the market to bring investment money into the community.

“We’re here one house at a time, working on the neighborhood ... and being a part of the community — being responsible and working with agencies and trying to do the right thing,” said Denney.

Since its creation 10 years ago — when then-apartment manager Denney and general contractor Kevin Moeller “just bumped into each other” — Associated has renovated properties on Rucker, Grand, Lombard, Fulton and Hoyt avenues, among others. The company also does contract remodeling work and new-construction cleaning.

This past year, Denney’s big renovation/resell project was the J.J. Clark Mansion at 2129 Rucker Ave.

Built in the early 1900s, the mansion had been turned into apartments somewhere along the line, and when Associated Rental Services went in, they found foul-smelling carpet, a leaking roof and an edifice greatly in need of repair.

On the market since Nov. 10, the building now sports hardwood floors, carpet runners on the stairs and in the halls, and original moldings to go along with water views and its corner-lot location.

Those water views are a must when Denney scouts for properties.

“We really like corner lots, but we can’t always get them,” she said. “So we have a few parameters that we use.”

Usually, the property is in such bad shape that no lending institution will finance it, Denney said, so Denney-Fulton has the property owner carry a contract on it until Associated fixes it up enough to gain financing.

Then it’s off to Cascade Bank and banker Bob Miller to borrow operating capital for improvements, she said, adding that “they’re rather good to us.”

When the property has been renovated, then it’s time to put it on the market.

Right now, Denney-Fulton has three properties on the market: the J.J. Clark Mansion, a nine-unit property on Rucker and a recently restored single-family house on Federal Avenue, said Greg Thody, an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate’s Lynnwood office who has sold a number of Denney-Fulton properties.

“When it comes to business properties or apartment buildings that I represent for sale, the income relationship to the (asking) price is the determining factor to how quickly they sell,” Thody said.

“Both of these (apartment) buildings do generate enough income to provide the investor with positive cash flow — either the actual income or the projected income will support the asking price,” said Thody, adding that the J.J. Clark Mansion is listed at $689,000.

While the bottom line is important, the downtown housing renovation projects are about more than money to Denney and those she works with, including Associated partner Moeller and Denney-Fulton associate Bill Fulton. They are about restoring old houses to their former glory and offering people a second chance.

Usually, the residential buildings Denney-Fulton purchases are affordable housing units, and some of the residents have been through hard times, Denney said, including battling drug addiction and dealing with mental health problems.

“We take a lot of people out of shelters that have screwed up and need a second chance,” said Denney, who has worked with the Salvation Army and Compass Health. “You sit them down and talk to them — we have to figure out where they’re at.”

And Associated’s staff of 11 builds relationships with residents during renovation.

It’s not difficult, Denney said. “It’s just how we are.”

“Everybody looks out for everybody,” she said, adding that Associated installs an onsite manager for the duration of the remodel and until the building is sold.

“If there’s drugs, we get them out of the building,” Denney said. “We don’t want them in our neighborhood; we don’t want them in our buildings. ... We’re just on it.”

A case in point: 2414 Hoyt Ave., which was “basically a dive with druggers” when Denney-Fulton bought it in the mid-1990s, Fulton said. But with coordinated action from the city and the determination of Associated employees, the drug dealers were driven out. It’s these successes “we’re real proud of,” Fulton said.

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