I'm the current owner of the house and I rent out portions of my home as vacation rentals for two simple reasons.
First, I've traveled some, 47 countries to date and I've stayed in 5 star resorts and one room grass huts without water or electricity. I've learned that where ever I've gone in the world the two most important things for a successful trip are having a good shower and a great nights sleep. Consequently, the soap, towels and sheets in my home are better quality than any hotel or resort where I've stayed.
Second, I've invested a piece of my life into saving this big old house and unlike some previous owners I have no interest in flipping it for a quick buck. The best return on that investment is sharing it with others and see how quickly they kick off their shoes, pour a glass of wine and enjoy being with friends or family.
In 2004 I decided to find a second home outside of Manhattan, friends thought Savannah might be a nice place, so I headed south. I rented a tiny little house and moved in with "my boys" 2 Great Danes, Charlie & Moose to I try it out. I didn't know anyone or anything about the city, I didn't realize that locals were still fighting the "War of Northern Aggression" and would see me as a "damn Yankee", their euphemism for a northerner who stays longer than a week.
After a few months of looking I found this big, sad and terribly neglected old house that I thought would be a good challenge to fix up. Cheap gray commercial carpet had been glued to the floors, 60's wood paneling was covering the walls and even a few windows & doors, a suspended acoustical tile ceiling that hid electrical wires stapled to the remnants of the plaster ceilings. What was inside the walls, under the floors and above the ceilings was a complete mystery.
Of the few people I'd met they all told me not to buy the place, except of course my real estate agent and mortgage broker. After all I was a big city New Yorker, I drove a station wagon, not a pick-up and didn't have a single friend named Bubba.
I just saw a great house that was quickly slipping away and although I had no idea how, I decided this old house was going to live for another 100 years.
The following 21 months were certainly difficult times
but I survived and hopefully she'll be around for another century!
Keith K. Galloway
Questions, it's best to call my cell phone 912-704-6296 and I usually answer the phone between 8am and 9pm EST.
You can always email me at Keith@TheGallowayHouse.com
P.S. That's not the most recent picture of me but it's the best of Charlie & Moose.
