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I have always been fascinated by owning a historic home as the attention to detail in these houses is not found in new construction. The other day I saw a listing for a quintessential American four-square 2000 sq ft home built around 1910 near downtown Charlotte, NC. The property is being listed by an organization that encourages historic preservation. The house has restrictive covenants to prevent demolishing and the listing says that the home needs a complete rehabilitation that respects the legacy of the house. So no tearing down of walls allowed to make the floor plan modern.
The listing price is very low and it is located in the peripheral edge of a “Hip Hood” and neighboring houses there that just a few years ago would not be bought are now being gobbled up by people priced out of other areas. My concern is that the restoring project might be too much for most people or it might not be economically viable. Hence it is probably why the property has been on the market for so long. I was wondering how much it would approximately cost to bring this property back to its former glory. I know that every old home has unique issues but there is normally a range of cost when one does a restoring project on an older home. Some people have given me a ballpark figure of anywhere between 40 thousand to 80 thousand dollars. What do you all realtors, contractors and old home connoisseurs think? All comments appreciated.
It's almost impossible to say on a general basis. Once you start making significant changes you will have to bring the building up to code to get a successful building inspection and you won't know this requires until you have a very thorough inspection done on the property. I've known a number of people who have restored homes like this in Charlotte, starting way back in the days when you could pick up a home in Dilworth for $15K, and the biggest surprise that happens often seems to be termite and carpenter ant damage. When you have to start adding in the costs of replacing entire walls, foundation sills, trusses, etc. costs quickly spiral upwards. There is no range of costs that I have seen. I knew a poor fellow who bought a house in Wilmore a few years ago basically to fix up and flip, and the repairs for termite damage was more than he paid for the entire property. Somehow it got missed during the inspection but when they pulled the clapboards to make electrical upgrades, the wall almost collapsed. The other problems that seem to happen alot are water damage and illegal electrical upgrades that have to be completely ripped out.
I have looked at (2) of those houses in Charlotte some time back and was very disappointed. In both cases the house had been moved from their original location and were up on blocks. The Presevation's choice as to where they placed the properties were very unattractive. This was the deal breaker for me before I went any further with the thought of renovations.
costs will vary widely depending on what you need done. Also, MATERIALS selection will play a HUGE part in final cost... granite or laminate? Stainless steel or white? Tile or lineoleum? Stone or porcelain? Steel or plastic? some ball park figures that may give you some guidance:
remodeled kitchen: 25-50K or more
Each bath: 4-12K or more
refinishing floors: 1500-2500
roof: 2-4K or more
paint: 1-6K
electric: 1-5K or more
wall removal: ~1K
wall building: ~2K
We have a property in London which falls into the same historic standards - maintenance manor is what we call it LOL We were so excited at first and then it was constantly having to do things that needed work. When we got an opportunity to move here for a few years we almost ran to the airport and we rented here first before we bought anything. The rental place was all white(ish) and we didn't lift a finger for 2 years - it was heaven.
Some people have given me a ballpark figure of anywhere between 40 thousand to 80 thousand dollars. What do you all realtors, contractors and old home connoisseurs think? All comments appreciated.
If the house looks anything like I'm imagining, throw the $40K number out the window. $40K is nothing in remolding. I'll probably spend that over the next five years on projects for my current home which is currently in perfect condition! You are looking at a minimum of $80K to $100K. Unfortunately, you never know how much a major remodel is going to cost until you start tearing into walls.
On the outside, I assume you are going to have to replace: All siding, roof, roof decking, outside trim, doors windows, insulation, etc. On the inside, you'll have to replace all plumbing, wiring, many fixtures, plaster/drywall, some/all flooring, cabinets, water heater, AC, furnace, etc. You may also want to replace or refinish any stained sinks and bathtubs. Don't forget about replacing toilets with more efficient ones.
This is just the stuff that comes to mind... heaven forbid you discover a structural problem once you start the project.
And one more thing, just pray that someone has already removed all traces of lead paint... those cleanups are getting very costly!
I agree with what others have stated. I, too, have looked at renovating an historic home several years ago, and at that time, a conservative estimate was over $100K. Who knows what structural problems there may be, plus plumbing, electrical wiring, kitchen remodel . . . then there is the roof, HVAC and if you have lead paint to deal with (as AMP mentioned). I will throw in ASBESTOS to the mix, as well . . .and consider landscaping and the cost of driveway . . .
Get an INDEPENDENT home inspector, someone that you hire, not recommended by your realtor. And maybe a good contractor, too. We have an old house -- 1930s, not 1910, but issues are similar -- and love it. It all depends on how well it's been taken care of. I will say that some of the estimates from Native Son are a bit low -- paint can be over $10,000 if a lot of scraping is required, for example, and our roof ran about $7,000 with some wood repair to soffets and addition of soffit & gable vents.
Find someone that you trust who knows a lot about old houses -- any issues are too specific to address in general terms. Could be that everything is in good shape, or could be that whole systems need to be repaired.
But we love our house and wouldn't trade it for anything -- it just has a different feel, even compared to new houses of same size built in an old style.
Isn't it funny that a house from 1910 is considered a historic home here in Charlotte??
The house that I grew up in in Chicago was built in 1912 and is NOT considered historic...and people are still living there! Tried to copy a photo from the cook county tax assessor's office, but, my technical skills are very bad...
Isn't it funny that a house from 1910 is considered a historic home here in Charlotte??
The house that I grew up in in Chicago was built in 1912 and is NOT considered historic...and people are still living there! Tried to copy a photo from the cook county tax assessor's office, but, my technical skills are very bad...
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