Rick and Kim Melhem, from Pen Argyl, fixes up homes and resells them. This is a historic house at 1248 Howertown Road North Catasauqua . (MONICA CABRERA, Allentown Morning Call / September 23, 2007)
Rick Melhem of Pen Argyl buys properties in foreclosure, fixes them up and then resells them.
He prefers whole house restorations to additions or room renovations. There's a greater feeling of accomplishment, says Melhem, who has done all kinds of construction in his career.
Melhem started in the business, working for his father-in-law, who was in the construction trades.
''He did a lot of high-end commercial work,'' Melhem says. The work required a lot of traveling to New Jersey and New York.
Wanting to travel less, Melhem started Realty Investment in 1983. He does about four or five homes a year.
Melhem jokes that he started doing flips before the Home and Garden Television channel made them popular.
The house he recently restored at 1248 Howertown Road in North Catasauqua is a little more elaborate than his typical flip. He usually does everyday properties that are distressed.
He says competition for such properties has heated up recently, possibly thanks to the television programs.
''You used to be competing with four or five people, now it's like 60 to 70,'' he says.
The house Melhem recently restored on Howertown became a family affair. Melhem's wife, Kim, chose all the lighting fixtures, kitchen appliances and bathroom fixtures.
She selected antique looking lights so they would match the decor.
''The electrician gave her a list of places that had antique fixtures and she didn't buy more than two at any one store,'' Melhem says. ''She definitely spread the wealth.''
Sons, Josh and Ryan, college students, helped with the construction over the summer.
Everyone in the family, including daughter, Chalice, fell in love with the house. ''For a brief time,'' he says, ''we considered buying it for ourselves.''
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