Aaron Stefflin house

The Aaron Stefflin house, located at 516 N. Michigan Ave. in Big Rapids, MI, is a major location in both the 2009 Classic Gerosha miniseries Blood Over Water and its Cataclysmic Gerosha comic remake / adaptation. While the homeplace depending on continuity for one of several iterations of the Aaron Stefflin character; it was once lived in by Classic Gerosha Aaron's actor: former Ferris student Zach Foster. It has since been listed as a business base location for a company called Park Hill Properties, LLC.

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This house was where actor Zach Foster was staying when Blood Over Water was shot, and it was the rental home for Aaron Stefflin in-series. At the time, it was zoned for student rentals. It has been renovated many times since 2009. In 2019, it was purchased for about $80,000. Most records available seem to indicate it as being relevant to a Park Hill Properties LLC, with the direct contact being a Mark Speas with a 231 area code landline phone number. No other contact information seems to be readily available online for either Park Hill or Mark Speas.

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The opening shots of Blood Over Water, from the first episode, feature shots of the main bedroom on the first floor, full of doctored photos to Zach and his Photoshopped double portraying Mark and Aaron Stefflin as very close twin brothers. The very next scene shows Aaron waking up in the main bedroom, and checking his phone. Mark never called to wake him up, which makes him extremely curious. The first episode primarily happens at this address. While some scenes cut away to Apartment 201H, and another scene shows Officer Yorming of DPS refusing to help Aaron inside the Ferris DPS building, almost every other shot consists of "Aaron" either sorting through paperwork, making random phone calls, or going to bed. The first episode ends with him waking up after having a dream of Mark rummaging through paperwork - with Vance hot on his tail.

The house itself rarely features in the miniseries after the first episode, having only snippets of relevance in the second episode before being removed from plot relevance afterward. Most of the second episode focuses on 201H, the car chase, Chris becoming suspicious that Aaron knows too much, and finally, Aaron contacting George. By the third episode, the house ceases to be a major relevant location. The home's fate after part 5 remains open to audience interpretation.

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While Aaron and his rental home remain major locations for the Sims 4 comic version of Blood Over Water, the house is of slightly less importance overall in this version than in the previous incarnation. Monica's home actually proves to be more plot-relevant this time around, whereas her home in the previous incarnation was never specified at all. Details from the video footage of the miniseries were studied as close as possible, to create a Sims 4 build of the house for the comic remake that would replicate the house's 2009 look and feel as closely as was possible in-game.

After graduating, Aaron only returns to this house so that he can move out of it - and then move to Nashville to marry Meredith. He demonstrates no desire to remain in Big Rapids, given that living that close to Sleet Mountain nearly gets him killed. The house's fate remains open to interpretation; though it's possible that it was bulldozed by Affadidah's troops.

Specs

 * Lot size: 0.28 acres
 * House area: 1,481 sq ft
 * Estimated market value: $117,300
 * Value at time of last known sale: $80,000
 * Bedrooms: 4
 * Bathrooms: 1
 * Year built: 1910
 * Heating type: Forced air, natural gas

Nearby early education

 * Riverview Elementary School
 * Mecosta-Osceola Education Center School
 * St. Peter Lutheran Private School
 * St. Mary Catholic Private School
 * Big Rapids Middle School
 * Crossroads Charter Academy

Nearby later education

 * Crossroads Charter Academy
 * Big Rapids Middle School
 * Big Rapids High School
 * Mecosta-Osceola Education Center School
 * Ferris State University

Nearby grocers

 * Meijer
 * Wal-Mart
 * Aldi
 * Johnny's Markets
 * Dollar Tree
 * Big Rapids EZ Mart
 * Kilwins of Big Rapids
 * Old Pioneer Store and Emporium
 * Family Dollar
 * Red Fox Market
 * Eastside Market
 * The Market at Ferris State

Nearby fast food

 * Culver's
 * Jimmy John's
 * Arby's
 * Qdoba
 * KFC
 * Long John Silver's
 * Domino's
 * Burger King
 * Little Caesar's
 * Taco Bell
 * Wendy's
 * McDonald's
 * Fatty C's Doghouse
 * A&W
 * Subway
 * State Street Scoops
 * Pizza Hut
 * Nawals's Mediterranean Grille

Nearby insurance firms

 * Farm Bureau Insurance
 * Farmers Insurance
 * Bleeker Insurance Services
 * Bush Insurance Agency
 * Red Insurance
 * Schuberg Insurance
 * Bridge Title Agency
 * Daum-Meemic
 * Big Rapids Insurance
 * AAA
 * Wenger Insurance

Nearby gas stations

 * Meijer
 * Wesco
 * Marathon
 * Admiral
 * BP
 * Sunoco

Nearby pharmacies

 * Meijer
 * Wal-Mart
 * Walgreens
 * Rite Aid
 * HomeTown Pharmacy
 * Family Dollar

Area crime rate
Note: All data listed here is from 2019, given 2020-released FBI statistics. These are only the incidents actually submitted to the FBI after screening by local police reports, and not indicative of all possible incidents that went unreported.


 * Murder: 0
 * Rape: 6 (57.8 per capita)
 * Robbery: 0
 * Assault: 20 (192.5 per capita)
 * Burglary: 18 (173.3 per capita)
 * Standard theft: 114 (1,097.3 per capita)
 * Vehicular theft: 3 (28.9 per capita)

The most dangerous region of town in our Earth number appears to be Locust St., near the Spectrum Health Hospital.

Cost of living
As a rental property, the rent for this location for students per school year is estimated at present to be about $1,350 a month. Adjusting backwards for area inflation, that means the rent would possibly have been about $900 a month back in 2009. Aaron would have sought out many grants and scholarships in order to earn the money he needed to live in this place.

It's also possible that he had roommates to split the costs; though they are never mentioned in either version of Blood Over Water. At the rate of living in this house in the present day, given the area's economy, most students would shy away from living in this building. It is designated for student rental, but would require significant grant and loan money to be lived in - as well as at least a 20-hour work week at a basic retail job in the area, to be livable. Students too poor for that would be restricted to living in the lowest-cost dorms on campus, such as McNerney Hall. And the rates available based on Zillow estimates, Aaron would have had the hardest time earning the money to stay in this house if he lived in it alone. His cost of living would have been greater than that of Chris without grants and loans. And Chris Kennal's apartment would easily cost enough to make Chris want to commit crimes to afford to live there.

Aaron's house in Oughties Big Rapids Living Stuff
Given the home's relevance to both versions of Blood Over Water, it seemed only fitting to include the house in its 2009 form as an item for The Sims 4. Some license was taken with the build released for The Sims 4: Oughties Big Rapids Living Stuff, especially regarding the Michigan-style half-basement that is supposed to be present in the real home. Most emphasis was placed on the living room. A custom object of a TMNT 2007 movie poster on the wall was of key importance, along with the blue walls in the first floor main bedroom. Even so, the kitchen is as close a match to 2009 reality as was manageable in 2020. It is unclear who all lives / lived upstairs, and Blood Over Water doesn't bother much to make any of Aaron's roommates a plot point.

This build features one more bedroom than what exists on the property in real life. However, the upstairs seldom proves to be plot-relevant. The house plays as a traditional residential home, since making it a Brichester or Foxbury Housing unit would require the stove to be removed.