Ever since her father put a paint brush in her hand when she was 5, Desiree Schmitt has fancied herself a handy kind of person. So six years ago, she plunked down $7,500 on the dilapidated but historic behemoth at 714 College Avenue. The equally worn house out back came with the package. Her plan: Put a lot of time and money into turning some North Tremont eyesores into a storefront home and a rental. She's still waiting for the payoff.

Copper thieves stripped the front house, she says, "and every tool I've ever owned was stolen and replaced twice. Every time I took a step forward, people would knock me three steps back."

Just last November - some $200,000 later - she finished the front house, complete with a charming little storefront doll shop and a high-ceilinged apartment for herself, surrounded by two smaller already-occupied rental units. She had planned to start on the back lot in the spring - a job estimated to cost another $100,000. But that's not soon enough for the city.