The Southington Citizen – SHS grads form real estate company, help those in need

By Jeff  Spiegel,  special to The Citizen

With the national foreclosure rate soaring to more than thirty percent over last year, many homeowners are walking away from their homes and leaving their properties in distress. These abandoned properties, over time, become dilapidated and in some cases turn into real eyesores on the communities in which they stand. With this dilemma, comes a new wave of real estate service companies whose services are becoming extremely relevant and much needed, especially in light of the on-going foreclosure and mortgage crisis.

One local company is dedicated to improving neighborhoods, communities and individual lives through their real estate expertise and unique services. Opening Doors, LLC, based in New Haven, was founded by Adam Kosiorek and Christopher Musial, both 30-year-old professionals and graduates of Southington High School, Class of 1997. “We’ve been best of friends since kindergarten,” Musial said. “We reconnected at a Connecticut Real Estate Association meeting where CT Homes was conducting a seminar on property rehabilitation.” Kosiorek and Musial are co-owners of the company, with Kosiorek’s focus being on marketing and finance, and Musial’s on project management. Both are very active in the day-to-day operations of the company.

As expressed on their Website, Opening Doors’ prime mission is to assist home-owners with a variety of real estate dilemmas such as pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, bankruptcy and selling a home in despair. In addition to these services, the company offers free consultation to those buyers that are “credit challenged” looking to purchase a home, and provide their clients access to a network of licensed mortgage brokers and real estate agents. “We are very driven to make this company work and give back to the communities we service,” Kosiorek said. “A lot of people don’t have the money and means to buy real estate right now, but we’re able to help some of them realize the dream of homeownership through our efforts.”

A majority of the public is not aware of the services a company like Opening Doors, LLC provides. Many home-owners unfortunately believe they have no options when they are faced with the devastating reality of a foreclosure and usually end up ruining their credit and losing their homes. The company is determined to help the citizens of Connecticut, who find themselves in real estate and financial distress, realize they do have options.

The company has completed four rehabilitation projects since its inception in 2007. Their most recent project, a dilapidated and abandoned single-family home located in Meriden, was completed in about six weeks and cost roughly $40,000 to renovate. The home is currently listed for sale. Before Kosiorek and Musial took possession of the property, vandalism had already occurred to the interior of the home and it was becoming an eyesore to a beautiful neighborhood. “By rehabbing properties such as this one, our company will increase the value of the neighborhood, improve the town, help banks regain their lending power, and give a family a chance to live the American dream of owning a home,” Kosiorek said.

The bulk of the renovation work for this home was contracted with Freitas Home Improvement, based in Wethersfield. Junior Freitas, owner and contractor, started his business in 2001 and began working on foreclosed properties about two years ago, as the housing market crisis began to emerge. Thus far, he’s been involved in several foreclosure rehabilitation projects like the recent one in Meriden. “About two-years ago, investors began buying foreclosed properties and my business focus has primarily shifted to working on these types of properties,” Freitas said. “It’s a shame this is happening, but it has created a great opportunity for first-time home buyers.”

In working with Opening Doors on the Meriden project, Freitas was in charge of approximately 90 percent of the construction work, which included an extensive interior remodeling in every area of the house. According to Freitas, “The interior was extremely outdated, but not in bad overall condition. The style was very much from the 70s and really needed to be updated.” Both the kitchen and bathroom were completely gutted and new walls, floors and fixtures were installed to bring them up-to-date. The outside of the home was also in poor condition and needed a lot of attention.

Working with a professional painter, new shingles were added to replace old, stained and deteriorating ones in need of replacement. “Even though a lot of work was required to turn this house into a home, it’s the small things that make the difference. It really feels like a home now,” Freitas said. “The home is now in move-in condition and at the price it’s being sold for, I’d be lucky to own it! It really is a great home and I’m proud to have been involved in this project.”

As for working with Opening Doors, “Both Adam and Christopher are really good people to work with,” Freitas said. “In my line of work, investors usually put a lot of pressure on you and often change their minds about how the work should be done. They let me do my job and were very trusting and respectful of my work. I would definitely work with them again and hope to in the near future.” Opening Doors recently acquired another single-family property in Cheshire and expects the rehabilitation to take about two months to complete.

For more information about the company, visit the Web site at http://www.openingdoorsllc.com.