I've built an empire buying abandoned homes in a city blighted by crime and turning them into Instagram dreams

Daily Mail​

4 hours ago

A Louisiana woman is breathing new life into the heart of a small Southern community that has been blighted by crime by buying up abandoned properties and renovating them.
Sara McDaniel, a 47-year-old former teacher turned real estate investor and content creator, returned to her roots in 2016, eager to start a new chapter following a devastating divorce.
Guided by her deep faith and fueling passion for something greater, she left Texas behind and found a new beginning in Minden, a tight-knit community of nearly 12,000 residents that has a rate of crime that is much higher than that of the average US city.
The crime rate in Minden is 50.84 per 1,000 residents in the typical year, according to Crime Grade. The chance of being a victim of crime in Minden varies by neighborhood – ranging from 1 in 13 in the south neighborhoods to 1 in 28 in the north.
McDaniel now owns what she describes as a total of '27 doors' - including 11 short-term rentals with the rest consisting of either long-term rentals, buys and holds or vacant land investments.
But she says her investments have done more than just fulfill a personal vision - they've sparked the transformation of a neighborhood - with many of the properties being on the same street - that was once plagued by crime and drugs.
Her most successful project to date earned her $220,000 last year, after she bought the property for just $50,000, but McDaniel says her mission has always been about more than profit or recognition.
'It's just a whole street centered around a theme of redemption - redemption of both properties and lives,' she told DailyMail.com. 'For me, it's about leaving a legacy long after I'm gone.'
'It's a metaphor, taking these blighted and historic properties on this street. You know, it's a metaphor for the things that can happen in our lives,' she added.
Originally from Springhill, Louisiana, McDaniel spent her early career in education, working as a third and fourth grade teacher, an assistant principal and an educational sales representative.
However when she found herself in the midst of a gut-wrenching divorce in 2009, she discovered the Financial Independence Early Retirement movement (FIRE) - a strategy focused on aggressively saving, often up to 50 percent of one's income, to build long-term financial freedom.
She decided to commit to the FIRE movement, prompting her to leave her teaching job and, as she put it, 'put all my eggs in real estate '.
'I also did it to prove to myself that I could,' she said, detailing the sacrifice of living on slashed income. 'It almost became like a game. Like, can I do this and could I take a pay cut and live comfortably?'
When she moved to Minden in 2016 she had already dipped her toes in real estate with four properties under her belt. She felt an immediate connection to the town upon arrival, seeing its potential for transformation and decided to pursue her lifelong dream of restoring an old home.
After nearly a year of searching, she stumbled upon a broken-down cottage located just on the edge of the Historic Residential District.
'I knew that this house was supposed to be mine,' she said, despite the vacant-look to the property, covered head to toe in Red Tip Photinia's, oak trees, azaleas, daffodils and other southern vegetation.
She launched her website, documenting each wall torn down and every fixture lovingly restored.
The finished product, 'Sara's Cottage', was what 'set the course' for the work she would take on in the years that followed.
After Sara's Cottage, McDaniel purchased a second cottage just a few blocks away, planning to flip it. It was during this project that she gave herself the freedom to experiment, resulting in an explosion of vibrant colors and designs.
The property became known as Cottage on Fort, and is now a sought-after Airbnb rental.
When another property then became available - an aging set of Spanish-style apartments well past their prime - McDaniel seized the opportunity, marking the start of her journey to restore them.
After that, she bought a three-story, 6,000-square-foot Queen Anne-style property called the Fuller-White House. Built in 1905, it now serves as a community gathering venue.
The property's upstairs space - the Fuller House Upper Room - was then transformed into a stylish, loft-style apartment.
More recently, just across the street from the stunning Fuller-White House, McDaniel purchased another home, which is set to become her first nonprofit venture in honor of her late father.
McDaniel's biggest project to date is the renovation at 'The Villas at Spanish Court', which she purchased in 2021 and officially opened as a stunning, short-term rental business in 2023.
The property in question was a block of eight villa-style apartments that had sat abandoned for the last 40 years.
Inside, the property's condition was nothing short of disastrous - torn-up floors, caved-in ceilings and even bullet holes through the windows - but McDaniel still saw its potential.
Those who learned of McDaniel's interest cautioned her against the purchase, suggesting that the only solution to save it would be to bulldoze the entire structure.
Despite the warnings, McDaniel fell in love with the property and, in 2021, purchased The Villas at Spanish Court apartments for $51,306 - funded entirely by the savings she had diligently built throughout her journey.
'I just have this uncanny ability when I look at something that is blighted and nobody else wants to touch, like bullet holes in windows,' she said. 'I can just see what the after looks like in my head.'
'Honestly, I just wanted to bring it back, because everybody said it couldn't be done right. Everybody said I needed to bulldoze and start over,' McDaniel explained.
Her ultimate goal for the property was to preserve as many of the original details as possible during the renovation.
However, McDaniel realized she made a rookie mistake after closing the deal - she forgot to secure an environmental hazard assessment on the structure.
The assessment tests for the presence of both asbestos and lead paint - hazards McDaniel soon discovered were prevalent throughout the property.
'I just got caught up in the moment and the excitement,' McDaniel explained. 'Definitely the biggest oh no moment of the project.'
'I mean real talk, I was on medication for awhile because I had so much anxiety about it, especially being $80,000 over budget thinking, is anybody going to stay after I do all of this? Is it going to be worth it?' she added. 'It was really bad, but it was real life.'
Amid a time of overwhelming doubt, McDaniel received an unexpected email from a distant cousin who had lived in the property back in the 70s.
In it, she referred to McDaniel as a 'kinsman redeemer', bringing the once-forgotten property back to life and, in doing so, redeeming her own story.
'When I got that email, it just washed me with a peace,' McDaniel said. 'So I just plugged forward.'
She was able to secure a $46,731 loan with a 0 percent interest rate with the Brownfield Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, solving the asbestos and lead paint problem.
In another attempt at getting the villas up and running, McDaniel sold her Texas home for $175,354 and contributed an additional $8,000 from her various income streams to help cover renovation costs.
She also secured an interim construction loan of $202,725 from a local bank, followed by a permanent mortgage of $290,710, which she used to pay off the interim loan and complete the renovation.
Finally, in February 2023, The Villas at Spanish Court officially 'reopened' for business.
Each villa showcases its own unique charm, featuring vibrant colors, vintage archways and other subtle yet stunning architectural details that harken back to their 1930s origins.
As an extra loving touch - and a nod to the original design - McDaniel added patio chairs, string lights and solo stoves outside each villa, inviting guests to enjoy the outdoors and connect with the community during their stay.
'No two villas are the same,' McDaniel explained. 'They're all designed differently and, for the most part, seven of them are feminine and one is masculine. But that has not deterred any business for many men.'
In 2024 the villas brought in $224,133 revenue from Airbnb bookings.
With McDaniel's impressive collection of properties, one might assume she's reached the end of her journey - but she isn't slowing down anytime soon.
'I actually bought a building downtown, and this will be my first commercial property outside housing, if you will,' McDaniel told DailyMail.com.
To follow McDaniel's real estate journey, visit her personal blog at simplysoutherncottage.com or find her on social media under @simplysoutherncottage across all platforms.