Home willed to Humane Society is ready for sale; Open house today

After months of working to gather materials and financial donations, the Humane Society is finally ready to sell the home willed to them by a former soldier.

ABC-7 has been tracking the story since last September, when Humane Society staff took their first looks inside the home.

The home, located at 3337 Evalyn Ave., was willed to the Humane Society by Joseph Jancek. He also left his vehicle, a Kia SUV, to the organization.

The house is nearly 2000 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. While the donation was large, the home had a lot of cosmetic issues, to the dismay of Humane Society Executive Director Betty Hoover.

In order to bring the home to it’s full potential, Hoover gathered a team of Humane Society volunteers and staff to begin gathering donations.

Soldiers also came to the home and tore down old walls, pulled out stained carpet, and broke down beaten up tiling. They also removed a large amount of garbage left in the house, and in the backyard.

They then landscaped the overgrown backyard.

While it appeared they were making progress, the project came to a standstill quickly after.

Without enough donations to fully repair the house, the Humane Society spoke with ABC-7 about possibly selling the home “as-is”.

At the time, the home lacked flooring, was out-dated, and was only partially painted.

ABC-7 stepped in and asked viewers to step up, and donate more to the cause.

“Right after your last update on the story this woman who’s a very strong supporter of the Humane Society called and said, ‘Betty, I’ll take care of the house for you,'” Hoover said.

The viewer donated manpower to paint, install flooring, and even replace toilets and faucets with new ones she bought.

The mystery woman also hired a housekeeper to make the home sparkle ahead of the selling process.

So who is the house’s angel?

“She wanted to remain anonymous, but we want to publicly thank her,” Hoover said.

Hoover said there are a lot of others who deserve thanks as well.

Those people include the following:
Lowe’s Eastside– They gave flooring, paint, and lighting fixtures.
Oscar Lara– He donated electric work and upgrades.
Bonnie and Dusty Henson from El Paso Saddleblanket– They donated a stove and fridge.
Deanna Carlton– She provided new bathroom tile.
Soldiers from the 3-43 ADA and 5-53 ADA– They cleaned the entire home.
Jose Nunez– He installed carpeting.
Adrian Hernandez and Tony Moreno– They acted as handymen, who were sent by the anonymous donor.

Now complete, the home has wood flooring, new tile, and new carpet. In addition, a fresh paint of coat covers the walls and baseboards are accented with a deep brown. New appliances have been added to the kitchen, and an old beaten-up bar was turned into a nook.

“After the cleaning had been done and all the repairs were done I almost cried I was so excited,” Hoover said.

The home is now on the market.

Open houses are being held Saturday from 2 p.m. To 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The house is listed for $125,000.

All money will be kept within the El Paso Humane Society general fund, and put towards the animals they house.

“On average it costs us about 20 dollars a day per animal for all the overhead,” Hoover said.

Hoover added that she hopes the new owner is an animal lover, who possibly has a small dog or cat. There are doggie doors built into the home’s doors.

Overall, Hoover said she’s just happy the project has come full circle and will soon have a second chance– just like the animals at their shelter.

“It’s going to be a huge gift to the Humane Society,” Hoover said.