By JAMIE BUSEN

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Growing up down the road from a dairy farm he helped out on, Alan Obert didn't envision that one day he'd own that home.

But yet he does, having bought the bungalow and seven acres of land where he used to do chores as a child. He's spent quite a bit of time "bringing back the character" of the home in the year and a half he's owned it.

His work has earned him a place as a finalist in the 19th annual Lookin' Good Contest, sponsored by The Quincy Herald-Whig and First Bankers Trust. Obert will receive a $100 savings bond and a chance to win the grand prize of a $1,000 savings bond.

"I never would have guessed or dreamt I would own the place," he said. "It was not part of a master plan."

His plan had been to eventually one day have a house and land in the country. When he learned the 100-acre farm was being divided up and auctioned off, he decided to take a look and ended up walking away with the home.

It needed a new roof and new gutters and a lot of inside work, including redoing the bathroom and kitchen completely. He built a closet in the bedroom. He took four of the 11 out-lot buildings down and put in new landscaping. The work he is perhaps most proud of, though, is the front porch.

The home originally had a front porch but it was closed in about 20 years ago. Obert had the walls removed to restore the porch again.

"I knew immediately that I wanted it back, I wanted to open it back up," he said. "I like the idea of restoring homes back to their original character."

He hopes to one day turn the unfinished attic of the 900-square-foot home into a master bedroom suite or perhaps a large rec room.

The work he's done thus far has been with the help of family and friends.

"It's really been fun," he said. "I have gotten lots of comments on how nice the home looks."

Obert, who is the coordinator of Behavioral Health at Transitions, said at first his family felt it wasn't a good idea to buy and try to restore the house.

"They've come around," he said with a laugh.

In his letter to the Whig, he wrote that the home has a lot more curb appeal with the porch and it is the "perfect place to spend time unwinding after work in the garden or after mowing the yard."

He knows that the previous owners, Matt and Rosemary Frericks, "cared deeply" about the place and raised three children there. Obert said they probably lived there about 60 years.

"It was a house that needed to be brought back to life," he said.

-- jbusen@whig.com/221-3385