DETROIT, MI -- From the outside, the 126-year-old house on the corner of Trumbull Avenue and Temptations Drive looks only a few weeks away from becoming another of Detroit's vacant and crumbling historic homes.

But the people who live there, part of a unique group that's occupied the space for decades, are hoping to save it.

A contractor has estimated the house needs about $70,000 in repairs, said Joshua Allen, 34.

He lives in a nicer house next door with five others. The corner house, 4204 Trumbull Ave., houses four people.

Both structures are part of "Trumbullplex," defined by its residents as "Detroit's sexiest anarchist housing collective" since 1993, and a nonprofit officially dubbed the Wayne Association for Collective Housing.

On a cold Saturday morning in February, Allen stood outside the corner house and gave an overview of all the repairs needed on the house.

The group hopes to raise money for scaffolding, dumpsters, stucco removal, masonry work, trim, siding, downspouts and a number of other things needed to start repairing the outside of the building.

The nine people who live at Trumbullplex started an online campaign to raise $35,000, primarily for exterior repairs. So far, they've raised $4,458 since the campaign launched in November.

"It's just been put off for a long time," Allen said.

The houses have been home to "artists, activists, radicals and freaks" since the 1970s.

Living at Trumbullplex requires an application and interview process, Allen said.

Housemates typically have an "anarchist" mindset, he said.

Members look for political activism, and people who don't subscribe to traditional forms of government.

"But they don't do anything bad," Allen said, laughing.

It costs $230 for a room in either of the houses. One, the corner house, is where those looking for a little privacy usually settle. The second has a little more interaction between tenants.

There's a performance space and art gallery tacked onto the back, where punk and metal shows are often held, in addition to exercise and art classes.

Members of Trumbullplex are also required to serve on outreach, maintenance or finance committees.

It's a unique community, hardly isolated from the development taking place in Midtown and the Cass Corridor.

Allen's been living at Trumbullplex for a year and a half. He lived in the corner house for a bit before moving next door to The Big House.

While the bones of the corner house remain solid, the historic home needs repairs almost everywhere else.

It's a daunting project, but it needs to be done, Allen said.

"(The corner house is) what people see the most."

Visible from the small front yard are holes in the walls, cracks, and large swaths where the red stucco has either crumbled or been torn away. In various spots, exposed wood sits without protection from the elements.

Inside, an entire section on the back of the house is open to water and wind.

Allen said if the repairs go well, it will open rooms in the attic that aren't currently used.

He said tenants will do some of the work themselves, and contract out the more complex things.

They said they don't have the fund the work themselves.

"We're just a bunch of broke anarchists," he said with a laugh.

The fundraiser ends in 60 days. The group plans to begin work on the house in June.

Ian Thibodeau is the business and development reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. He can be reached at ithibode@mlive.com, or follow him on Twitter.