Rock Island Realty at 4014 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio.

My partner and I were new to Cincinnati. So, we were nervous about buying a house in the right neighborhood. And the process didn't go smoothly until we fell in love with an American Four Square house in Northside. The founder of Rock Island Realty took care to answer all our concerns and walked us through the house buying process — and continued to help us fix any issues that arose after we moved in.

Our new home was renovated by Rock Island Realty, including replacing the knob and tube wiring and cast iron plumbing with modern upgrades. The coal fireplaces and original tile have been preserved, along with the original hardware and hardwood. (Thankfully the beautiful red oak was never painted.) Plus the kitchen and bathrooms were upgraded to modern standards. By eliminating a hallway to the basement, not only did we get an extra guest bathroom, we got a big, functional kitchen with a gas stove and big sink — perfect for the foodie cook. My partner loves the new third-floor bathroom. It's like a spa! And, we love the landscape which was intentionally planted with lots of flowers and trees to help our pollinators.

But best of all about Rock Island Realty, that continues to impress us to this day, is that they are not only renovating houses — they are renovating communities. We have watched our neighborhood continual improve. We feel like bought a whole neighborhood!