Buying 100+ year old homes in Northern Virginia (Lynchburg, Winchester: real estate market, houses) - (VA) - City-Data Forum

BT Lover · 09-30-2013, 02:52 PM

My husband has fallen in love with some historic homes in the area that just happen to be over 100 years old. The ones he likes most tend to be in good shape, but need some overhauls to make them a bit more modern since our standard for living is much different than it was back then. The biggest draw to these is the extra land, but the houses have character which is a good thing.

I have my reservations about it though. Most have septic tanks which I am not thrilled about, aren't equipped with central A/C and heat and they have actual attics and basements. I am wondering if anyone knows of anyone to contact regarding getting a good overall idea of what costs we may incur should we choose these properties, if there are any people in the area that are known for restoring old homes and experienced with all the issues that may appear, and honestly, I am most curious about the actually history of some of these homes. I have never lived in a historic home or older home and I am hoping that we aren't walking into a haunted house.

If anyone has any recommendations or experience they can pass on, I would really appreciate it. I love the idea of these homes, but don't want to walk into a money pit that is always going to be a work in progress. Our realtor is looking into these things as well, but I would think that in an area like this, there have to be a lot of historic homes and people who specialize or are well known for restoring them?

LynchburgLover · 09-30-2013, 03:15 PM

Are they truly historically designated? If so, you could contact the Virginia government office that designates them www.HistoricalHomes.Virginia.Gov

If these houses are in a city, they usually have their own preservation society that would be more than happy to give advice.
I know Winchester has a very active group that includes the entire historic district.

Those can at least get you started; should be a fun journey.

Post pictures for us when you're finished. Best of luck!

BT Lover · 09-30-2013, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

Are they truly historically designated? If so, you could contact the Virginia government office that designates them www.HistoricalHomes.Virginia.Gov

If these houses are in a city, they usually have their own preservation society that would be more than happy to give advice.
I know Winchester has a very active group that includes the entire historic district.

Those can at least get you started; should be a fun journey.

Post pictures for us when you're finished. Best of luck!

Thank you for the pointers. I am not sure if the homes we are looking at are historically designated, but I would assume not because they would probably cost a lot more if they were. One in particular had an addition, so it is just a guess, but I think because of that it may not actually be able to gain that distinction. I definitely have some reading up to do on that. I will look for local preservations societies, that is a great suggestion that I had not considered. Will definitely share if we end up going through the process.

FCNova · 10-01-2013, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BT Lover

If anyone has any recommendations or experience they can pass on, I would really appreciate it. I love the idea of these homes, but don't want to walk into a money pit that is always going to be a work in progress. Our realtor is looking into these things as well, but I would think that in an area like this, there have to be a lot of historic homes and people who specialize or are well known for restoring them?

You'll most certainly need a good inspection done. Even then there could be hidden issues that may not have manifested themselves yet, which the inspector could not possibly find. Older homes can be a crapshoot. There's a reason why it would cost significantly less than a new comparable home next door. I would budget for a very generous maintenance fund just in case.

Then again newer homes can sometimes be a crapshoot too if the builder stinks.

paulbunyan · 10-04-2013, 11:54 PM

I applaud what you're doing. I am on the tail end of renovating a home built in 1930. As long as you hire a contractor who knows what he's doing you'll be fine. Oh yeah, and make sure you have a contingency to cover any unexpecteds.

marie5v · 10-05-2013, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BT Lover

My husband has fallen in love with some historic homes in the area that just happen to be over 100 years old. The ones he likes most tend to be in good shape, but need some overhauls to make them a bit more modern since our standard for living is much different than it was back then. The biggest draw to these is the extra land, but the houses have character which is a good thing.

I have my reservations about it though. Most have septic tanks which I am not thrilled about, aren't equipped with central A/C and heat and they have actual attics and basements. I am wondering if anyone knows of anyone to contact regarding getting a good overall idea of what costs we may incur should we choose these properties, if there are any people in the area that are known for restoring old homes and experienced with all the issues that may appear, and honestly, I am most curious about the actually history of some of these homes. I have never lived in a historic home or older home and I am hoping that we aren't walking into a haunted house.

If anyone has any recommendations or experience they can pass on, I would really appreciate it. I love the idea of these homes, but don't want to walk into a money pit that is always going to be a work in progress. Our realtor is looking into these things as well, but I would think that in an area like this, there have to be a lot of historic homes and people who specialize or are well known for restoring them?

I love historic homes too, but we've had a bad experience with our "vintage" home that is only about 50 years old. We knew some things needed fixing, but the inspector was useless and we were completely misled by the seller as to the real repair needs. My advice is that before buying, you do more than just get an idea of costs - actually get an estimator out there to do a real estimate for the work. It was only when we actually brought out companies to look and give us estimates (landscaping, remodeling, siding, painting) that we discovered just how expensive it was going to be. For example, we thought we could replace a part of the roof on an outbuilding at a price of about 2K - the seller even gave us an estimate for this work, and the inspector agreed about the replacement - but it turned out the whole building was falling apart and we needed to rebuild the whole thing at a price of 100K (we tore it down instead, at a price of 15K not including landscaping and drainage issues caused by the tear down). Moreover, we realized only later that certain features of our house meant always finding a specialty company, and that the less expensive companies wouldn't even touch our house because of the older materials. Make sure you know what you're getting into.

BT Lover · 10-05-2013, 07:52 AM

Thank you for sharing your experience. Ultimately, we looked at the same things, had a preliminary inspection and got a couple of estimates and immediate expenses (really had to be done before move-in) were going to be upwards of 20K, and the seller wouldn't negotiate on the price - something that seems to be the case regardless in this real estate market) so we decided against it. Moving is stressful enough, but moving into a possible money pit is going to be a lot worse. Especially if we restored it to the level it should be restored at. It was an exciting concept, but a daunting reality for now.