She spent 10 months restoring a 160-year-old house; now Lauren Iraeta is reconnecting families...

When Lauren Iraeta and her husband bought an old waterfront house, they expected to spend their weekends repairing timber and replacing outdated plumbing.Instead, after a 10-month renovation, the 44-year-old real estate agent became a historical investigator. She began researching the people who had lived in the house and reconnecting their descendants with forgotten family items and records.In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine, Iraeta explained how restoring the historic home turned into a long-term effort to record the stories of the people who had lived there over the past 150 years.Restoring a sea captain’s waterfront homeThe couple bought the waterfront property as experienced home renovators looking for their next project. Iraeta was not immediately convinced, but the house’s unusual historic features soon changed her mind.“My husband fell in love with this house instantly and I needed a little bit of convincing,” Iraeta told PEOPLE. “The charm of the house, the front porch and the widow’s walk at the very top is something you could never find in any other house.”The physical renovation took 10 months of continuous work. The couple made structural repairs, opened so...