Antique dream, help needed (Worcester, Brewster: real estate, appliances, houses)

[Merrymouse]

New to forum, trying to make dream a reality.
We've been looking to purchase an antique home on acreage in a rural town within 40 minutes of Worcester. Max budget $700K including renovations. Recently looked at a home in Princeton, MA and loved the town. So I have a million questions but Ill just start with one in this thread. House was built in late 1700. House has been updated over the years ie: recent roof, chimney work, new electrical, new oil tank, plumbing, new septic etc. (I use the term new in relative terms, in the last 25 years or so)
Unfortunately the windows were replaced sometime in the past 30 years so not original to the house. Also it seems that the house was moved probably in the mid to late 1800's so it does not have the original fireplaces. House has been insulated.

Here's what needs to be done to make it livable for us. New kitchen, remove back porch and add mud room, mostly cosmetic fix in back L family room (new floors, paint, maybe more insulation, windows and sliders)

The kitchen was done in the last 50 years or so and does not do the house justice. I would keep all the architectural elements as far as the hand hewed beam etc in place. But hoping to rework the back pantry, 1/2 bath, laundry area plus totally new kitchen, appliances, floor etc.

Also some of the wide pine floors would need help, some were loose and damaged but not many.
Structually the house seemed solid, post and beam, Georgian style. Obviously we would have a thorough home inspection and have someone well versed in antiques assess the structural integrity before moving forward. With that aside, does a $200K budget seem reasonable?

I realize this is a very vague question but just looking for insight from people who may have had similar experiences.

Thanks all

[NewfieMama]

I am most certainly no expert as I have not done any major renovations on our house, but our house was built in 1775 and we have taken on small projects every year, so I have a tiny bit of experience.

I feel like $200K would cover the renovations you mentioned. The previous owners of our house added a master suite, garage, mud room and updated the kitchen for about $120K, though I have to admit they went cheap on the finishes. And those updates were made in 2000, so it would most certainly be more expensive now.

Just wanted to note a couple of things:
1. Glad having a contractor who is well-versed in antiques is a priority. We have worked with a couple of contractors--one said he had experience in antiques and one specializes in antiques (and lives in an antique a few miles away from our house and really knows the ship-building techniques that are prevalent in our town). The latter is expensive, but he's so good that I think it's worth the premium.
2. EVERYTHING is more expensive when restoring/renovating an antique. Again, we haven't done any major renovations ourselves, but even small repair/carpentry projects are expensive. First, everything needs to be custom because nothing is square and second, to use the right materials is a premium. We often have to have beams of wood specially milled to match the wood that needs replacing. Some of these beams are $3K a piece.
3. Your antique-loving contractor may be able to help you out with your floors. We also have wide pine floors in our house and our contractor basically has a stockpile of original 18th century wide pine floors that he takes from homes that are being remodeled. If you think you can repair the floors, it might be worth considering.

One other quick thing--everything you read claims that you should budget about 1% of the purchase price of your home for annual maintenance of your house. We've owned our house for 5 years and every single year we've spent at least 2% of the purchase price of our home on repairs. This year is actually going to be more because the winter was so brutal. Just food for thought. We love our house, but antiques are no joke. Very expensive to heat in the winter and a money pit when it comes to maintenance and repairs.

[Cape Cod Todd]

I work in the real estate industry down on Cape Cod and we have many antique homes here.
I wouldn't worry about the house being moved back in the day, that was actually common for houses to moved and added together, that is part of the charm.

The trouble with many antiques is that they were hobbled together without much thought. It was yankee ingenuity and using what was on hand to get the job done.
The most important thing is a solid foundation. These are usually made from bricks and or boulders.

You need a home inspector that has expeience with antiques. We were once selling an antique and found that the living room was being supported on a couple of bricks.

There are so many unknowns here but your budget sounds good to me as long as the main structure is solid.

When an antique is brought up to current standards and done right it is a real gem. The last thing you want to do is take out the quirks and charm. Good luck.

[Shrewsburried]

- If you plan to outsource all of the work, be prepared to spend a fortune.
- If you plan to do much of the renovation yourself, be prepared for high material costs and long nights.

I watched my parents spend 25+ years fixing up an old farm house and frankly, it was really not far off from an episode of This Old House (minus the product placement perks and large crews on site). For example, a simple sub-floor replacement became a reframe upon realizing all of the floor joists in the bathroom and bedroom were cut for plumbing during the 1920's/30's... these instances were common and certainly increased the labor/material costs on multiple projects. My parents spent a small fortune on that house despite doing much of the work themselves during the 1980's when material costs were far less compared to their wages.

[Cape Cod Todd]

That often happens Shrewsburried. A wall gets opened up to do one thing and there is a surprise in there that needs to be addressed ASAP before the planned work can take place. How do you budget for those surprises?

Antique homes are not for everyone and they need to be cared for.

[Merrymouse]

NewfieMama

Thank you for your response. We are still in the deciding phase and your insight was extremely helpful. On another note, love your name, do you happen to have Newfoundland dogs? A big part of getting more acreage is because we are huge dog people and we are tired of running outside and corralling our dogs back in the house every time they make a peep of noise. We have English Setters and they love to run.

[Merrymouse]

Shrewsburried,

That is exactly the thing that scares me the most. Finding unforeseen problems that bust the bank. Thanks for your post.

[Merrymouse]

Cape Cod Todd

Funny that your on the cape. I spend at least a day or two every summer driving around just looking at all the gorgeous antique homes on the cape while we are on vacations there. Drives my family bonkers. Interestingly enough my husband wants to retire there some day and I have to agree it would be nice but most of the properties are very small, acreage wise, and I like a little more space between properties. So I don't know if I could commit to the cape.

The foundation is boulders but there was also cinder block in the center near where the chimney was placed. Didn't expect that. I didn't see any evidence of rot or weird foundation issues but that doesn't mean they are not there. The house was maintained well it seems but just not updated to fancy kitchen or anything. That is what I liked about it.

The other issue with the house is there are two very large barns and a silo on the property. We wanted a small quaint barn so this is a problem. They are in good condition but they are kind of ugly and our concern is what if in 20 years or sooner they need a new roof or something. This could cost big money to maintain.

So if we ever decide the cape is for us we will look you up. See, you never know where a lead will come from

[Cape Cod Todd]

Don't dash those Cape Cod dreams just yet. I did a quick search for property in Brewster from $500,000- $700,000 with 2- 4 acres and 3 popped up one of which is stunning. Similar properties can be found all over the Cape.

It is very possible to have land and a nice house within your budget but of course that depends town to town and proximity to the water.

If you buy that property and don't want the barns or silo which would be sad because I can only assume the charm they add to the property but I also understand the cost to keep them standing. You can sell them. There are companies out there that will buy your barn, if it is in good shape that is, take it down and erect it elsewhere. You won't make a lot of money but you will be saving the barn and removing it from your property.

IF you do decide to pursue the property be sure to hire a qualified home inspector. The fee they charge is nothing compared to the money they can save you.

[Beachcomber4]

Merrymouse do you have children? I only ask because we owned an antique home until my kids were in and near middle school ages. I loved our home and it was a labor of love but it was time consuming. We sold and bought a newer home in a beautiful area. It had to be, because no house would have ever lived up to my antique. I miss the graciousness of it but don't miss the upkeep. And it was constant, once you were done with one project, it was on to anotherea- sometimes one that had been done years earlier. They are also hard to keep clean. We had a partial cellar and dirt cellar and crawl spaces in other areas. As my kids get older, I sometimes get the urge to buy another but then I realize I don't have the energy I had in my 20's and early 30's. And I can attest to the fact, saving and renovating to be close to historical accuracy is so much more costly than you will expect but we always felt that was important as stewards of the past. Not to mention, in my old house, some of the past occupants didn't leave and they let it be known when they were unhappy with a project.