Butler Appraisals is the first startup business to take root in the new Towncraft Coworking Center, which opened July 1 at 1124 Willis Ave. in downtown Perry.
Erin Butler, owner of Butler Appraisals, has specialized in residential property appraisals since 2009.
“I cover a big area in central Iowa,” Butler said Tuesday in her Towncraft Coworking Center office, “but I also managed to do the appraisals on the two new houses in Perry out on Sunflower Flats.”
Butler, who worked in Des Moines for Central Iowa Appraisers from 2012 to 2017, said most of her work comes from local lenders needing appraisals on properties all around central Iowa.
She said she sometimes also gets calls from private parties who need a house appraised, whether they are selling their house themselves, as part of a divorce proceeding or for other reasons.
Butler also appraises brand new homes and even ones still on the drawing board. She said she is often called on to do a follow up appraisal once a house is built in order to confirm that the final product matches the original blueprints.
Butler is the first tenant of the Towncraft Coworking Center, an arrangement the city of Perry rolled out following the departure of longtime tenant Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. The center is intended as a seedbed for local startup companies and anyone in need of short-term, popup office space.
According to the new Towncraft Coworking Membership Agreement, coworking membership options include:
- Dedicated Office Member – $400/month (up to five available)
- Dedicated Gallery Member – $1000/month (one available)
- Monthly Flex Desk Member – $150/month
- Daily Drop-in Member – $10/Day
- 10 Daily Passes – $75
For more information about the Towncraft Coworking Center, call the Perry City Hall at 515-465-2481.
