"It's our first venture at this," Hutchison said.

A few months ago, with personal funds, Hutchison and Drago bought an old home for $418,000 at the intersection of Charles Street and Iowa Avenue near downtown Sunnyvale. Their original intention was to do some work in the house and change things around a little bit. However, their plans changed into something else entirely.

"We decided to remodel the home completely and offer it for sale to city employees across the board," Drago said.

Most city employees do not qualify for the city's housing program, which offers rental assistance, down payment assistance and real estate education to those who meet the basic requirements. The maximum loan amount is $50,000, and borrowers must be able to contribute a 5 percent down payment or 3 percent closing costs.

Even with the program, city employees cannot always afford to buy a home in Sunnyvale, and the officers' project would give those workers an opportunity to live in the town in which they work, Drago said.

Besides their full-time jobs with Public Safety, both Drago and Hutchison put in at least 20 hours a week on the home. With determination, hard work and a lot of help, they were able to give the 1,367-square-foot home a complete makeover.

But the change did not happen overnight. Before even beginning the project, the old house had to be completely fumigated—more than 20 hours of treatment—to get rid of the subterranean termites.

After an initial evaluation, they got all the necessary permits and then methodically started the overhaul. While they took care of much of the preliminary tear-down and cleanup themselves, professional crews helped them out with the construction and plumbing jobs. They had to rip out much of the work done by the previous owner and almost start from the ground up, Drago said.

"We have put in some very nice features," Drago said.

The old flooring and carpeting have been ripped out and will be replaced by wall-to-wall carpeting. New central heating and cabinets will be installed, and the home will have brand-new doors and windows. Tiles will be installed in the bathroom, and the kitchen will soon have maple cabinets and granite countertops.

It's not just the inside of the house they're improving, however—the front yard will get new sod and landscaping.

The renovation, which costs more than $50,000, will be completely finished within the next month, according to the officers.

The price of the newly remodeled home will probably be more than $500,000, Hutchison said. However, the plan right now is to offer the home to city employees at a $25,000 discount.

"We have so many new recr uits coming into the department," Drago said. "Hopefully somebody will be able to afford it."

Besides the Charles Street home, Drago and Hutchison are building two new homes on Dunnock Drive, which will be ready to go on the market in a few weeks.

"Both of those are free-standing 3,600-square-foot homes that will go for more than $1 million each," Hutchison said.

Planning for the future was what prompted both officers to venture into real estate. Both Hutchison and Drago are 21-year veterans of the public safety department.

"I don't have too much time left in the department," said Hutchison, a fire cause investigator. "I am thinking of my future."

Drago, a patrol officer, said he bought his home in Sunnyvale several years ago for $165,000.

"I overextended myself then," Drago said.

Both Drago and Hutchison feel that their experience with the Charles Street home is just the first step toward their future in real estate.