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My interview with Joe Everhart took place in his nineteenth century Italianate house. I insisted on meeting him at his home because I am naturally curious about others' living habits. This is a kinder gentler way of saying that I am nosey. For me it was vital that I find out how one of the most successful real estate agents in Indianapolis lives.

When I arrived at the appropriately hued, yellow house that he and his partner completely renovated, I found Joe outside talking to a neighbor. After embarrassing myself by parking in a business lot that boasted a tow sign, I decided to further embarrass myself by displaying an ineptitude at working my tape recorder. I nervously played with it as I made idle conversation with a man who seemingly works twenty-five hours a day; eight days a week. I figured I was wasting his time, but he was a congenial, humble host who proved that being remarkably successful and well traveled is not always synonymous with pompous, pretentious behavior.

We chatted in the boldly colored dining room among the rich display of religious art. He was in his element; in the type of historical home he and his partner treasure. Though Joe and I met two years ago when he represented the sellers of my home, I had not had the opportunity to talk with him extensively until now. Two years ago I was able to tell you that he exhibited integrity and a concise way of doing business. He seemed to be concerned about the relationship even if it meant a relationship that would not prove monetarily lucrative until many years later - if at all.

The purchase of my home was an extraordinarily complicated and nearly hostile situation where both the sellers (the folks Joe represented) and the buyers (that was my then partner and me), were very close to killing one another. Throughout the stressful ordeal there was a comfort in knowing that Joe sympathized with our side of the table as the buyers. My experience two years ago and the fact that Joe is revered in the community as THE person to call when purchasing or selling a historical property led me to profiling him for an article. And after only a few moments with Joe, I realized that my perception of him a couple of years ago was now magnified by his of humor, integrity and humility.

The religious art has been collected over the years throughout his travels in the United States and Europe - specifically Italy. His Italian Catholic background is not only evident by his art collection, but by other religious artifacts tastefully on display throughout his home. The house, devoid of clutter, could easily represent a featured layout in a home design magazine.

Everhart, originally from Clinton, Indiana, grew up with parents who commonly purchased and renovated houses. Though this practice was a part of his childhood, it was not until he took a class in architecture at Indiana State that his interest piqued on the subject. "It's really hard not to get hooked," he said. [You learn to] appreciate architecture and see it in a whole new light."

Shortly after leaving Indiana State, Everhart attended culinary school in Charleston, South Carolina. Upon his return the first major renovation project that he worked on was to revamp a historical building and open an Italian restaurant within. On the side he refurbished houses while maintaining the business. "After awhile," Joe admits, "it became sadly apparent that we made more money renovating houses than on the restaurant." He then sold the business when an offer came his way, but throughout the selling process he found that the real estate agents who represented him in the sale of the restaurant and building did not know much about historical properties and the value of the historical renovation movement. This led him to an epiphany about his own career involving historical real estate. "I thought it was a real obvious niche; I thought it would be a great thing to do, and I just enjoy seeing how other people live quite frankly," he said.

Not only was Joe interested in architecture and historical properties, he could not fathom sitting behind a desk on a daily basis. "I didn't want to go to the office everyday," he said. " I just wasn't using the creative side that I really wanted to nurture."

Joe, 39, has been in real estate for thirteen years. In that time he has managed to become an Indianapolis mainstay and historical property icon - though he acknowledges the difficulties in starting out in the business. "I'm really lucky," he said. "It took awhile, you know, in the first four years or so you might as well have gone to work at Burger King, but after you've been doing it as long as I have it is a great gig." After a brief moment of contemplation he added, "I want to treat people fairly and honestly [and be] knowledgeable, I think that's the biggest thing. Most people do not understand how really in-depth these transactions are; it's the biggest investment that anyone makes."

Joe reminded me how I, as a real estate consumer, saw firsthand the importance in finding that special someone to lead you down that road of purchasing a home. "Especially [with] a specialized thing like a buying an old house," he said, "historic neighborhoods and working with the Indianapolis Historic Preservation - it is just so specialized that you really need to know what you are getting into when you make this investment."

Boasting thirty to forty active listings at any given time, he credits living in and loving downtown Indianapolis as a contributing factor to his success. In addition to word-of-mouth referrals, he advertises and has a web site that draws traffic (www.jeverhart.com). And while some of the advertising is purchased in local publications that cater to the GLBT community, his clientele is only approximately fifteen percent gay/lesbian - citing more gay real estate agents (or those who openly advertise as gay real estate agents) who saturate the market now. Previously his business had been thirty to forty percent gay/lesbian. "It used to be proportionately maybe a little bit more, but I personally have a lot more gay friends who are realtors. There's a lot more of them now than there used to be".

Though Joe is well known for his knowledge of downtown historical properties, he realizes that the tides in Indianapolis have been changing. "I do a lot of new construction just by nature of what downtown is turning into and how it's, again, real important that you understand what [the buyers] are going to be up against with new construction; with design and review boards and IHPC. But really that is what sells the quickest and the highest now is the construction; we just can't get enough downtown."

He also sees a change in the types of people who are purchasing homes downtown now. "The buyers have changed so much. When I first started out they were single people; young couples; gay couples and they wanted to buy a house with sweat equity. Now nobody wants to do anything. It's two working people who want to buy a house and want to start earning the tax credit on their income taxes; they want to do very little work on the house."

His partner of eighteen years, Ken, 42, a former CFO and a master gardener has spent the past year renovating houses and keeping up on their numerous rental properties. They met when Ken, a restaurant manager at the time, hired Joe as a waiter while he was attending Indiana State. Their exquisite garden, reminiscent of Europe, is tended with the passion that has fueled the relationship and their careers for many years. The inspiration for both men to nurture their lives with such grace and extraordinary dedication has come from close-knit families and friends who polarize their lives between Europe and Indiana.

So early in their lives, Joe and his partner have worked hard enough to take a well-deserved break. Retirement? It is tossed around. "We own ground where I grew up, and Ken is really close to my family too. So I don't know. I want to take time off and live in Europe for a year."

Regardless of their love of the Old Country, Joe and Ken are grounded in Indiana, and revere downtown Indianapolis. "[Indianapolis] has come so far. I hate to say I don't want to reach further, but it's come so far, and I appreciate it so much more. People need to know what's here."

After our chat I left Joe's house with the assurance that he is the real deal. How many of us bump into people such as Joe who are more about integrity than turning a quick buck? As he said, "people need to know what's here". He is right. People need to know that what is here is a highly respected man who loves Indianapolis. What is here is a man who continues to make an indelible impression on people - especially those of us in the GLBT community who look at Joe and his life and realize that it is people such as him who lift us up and bring us pride.

Pepper Partin is a freelance writer who lives in Historical Irvington with her partner and a multitude of pets.