Renovation business grew out of family tragedy

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) The home-flipping and restoration group, Murphy Properties, did not come from its owners watching a lot of HGTV.

Susan "Sue" Murphy and her husband Don lost their daughter Jessica in a 1999 car crash. They experienced another void when their son left for college two years later.

"We were left empty-nested before we were supposed to be," Sue said. "Don and I needed something to put our energy into."

Sue was a former Realtor and said several of her family members had experience with both construction and real estate. Sue and her sister-in-law, Lisa married to Don's identical twin, Doug initially had the idea to renovate houses and use them as rentals. They started doing this in 2001.

"We were all kind of a mess, so there's something about swinging a sledge hammer that's very satisfying," Sue said of grieving over her daughter.

Their first house was across from the fairgrounds in Frederick. They then renovated three others in the Frederick area that are now rental properties.

The women look for old houses that other companies wouldn't want to take on, Sue said. These houses may have structural and mold issues.

"We do a total gut," she said.

In 2006, they had the idea to start selling the houses once they're renovated. Since then they have sold six and they are currently working on their seventh.

"You're getting a 150-year-old house that's brand new basically," Sue said.

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Renovation business grew out of family tragedy