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Around here, the default date for houses built before 1940 is 1900; however, 1950 is also very popular. The MLS listed my house as built in 1950 when I bought it, but county records show it was built in 1927. I mean, I know when the land was purchased; when the builder/owner took out the loan ($1,000) to build, and when it was finished. How much more accurate can it get? Yet I still cannot convince my homeowners insurance company that the build date was 1927, because it wasn't "listed" as such.
It's either a problem with their MLS system not supporting older years (seems very weird to me, as even back when I was in real estate the year built field was just a number you entered by hand, so could be any four numbers--which led to the occasional amusing typo, like 2001 becoming 2100), or the town you're looking in didn't keep good property records in the 1800s so the agent just has to guess the year built if the owners don't know. I noticed when I was looking for a house that my town only updated the property records every 10 years until the 1920s, so every house older than that has a even decade as its year built on the tax records (1850, 1860, 1870, etc). My house says it was built in 1870, but that really just means it was built between 1861 and 1870. So it's probably some situation like that. Highly unlikely THAT many houses would actually have been built in the same year.
Interesting thread, I had no idea about that MLS limitation. I wonder if that applies in places like the Boston area with some houses dating back centuries, maybe they've figured out the programming there!
It's a common thing I've seen on MLS listings, city/county tax records, etc. and usually the abundance of "built 1900" listings is due to record keeping systems, where older properties often have an approximate date built, usually plus or minus ten or even twenty years.
For instance, my house was built in 1892 as per city records, street listing book, etc. but the tax records (and MLS) say 1900. It's an approximation used for older properties from before modern building permits were kept on file with the city (where I live).
On the other hand, my mothers condo in Charleston was built in 1984, and the MLS and county tax records say built in 1984. The year is taken from the earliest closing date for that particular property.
Sometimes where a property has undergone significant alterations or additions, the build year on record will reflect that later date. For example, friend of mine, his parents have an old house that was added in to quite a few times, and MLS says built in 1929, which is basically true for the front part of the house. The rear, main section was built circa 1850 and a smaller wing dates to around 1880. But in 1929 a large addition was added, the rest of the house renovated. Town property records by 1929 were being filed for building permits, etc. where in the 19th century, that was not the case.
The reasons are going to be different place to place as to why some older properties will use a general build year, but often it has to do with readily available information taken from city or county tax records and how those were kept, what info they contained can change over time.
In general it seems properties built /modified before around the 1929s or 1930s are more prone to having a more general build year assigned, and ones after WWII will typically have a more precise year.
I never knew that incorrect years would be knowingly attributed to homes in listings as regular practice. The year a home was built is important for many reasons including it being a strong indication of construction methods and materials used. Some people will also care about authenticity within an architectural era. I would argue that specifically indicating a significantly incorrect year can (and should) be seen as misrepresentation. Even if the correct information comes out later in the process, misleading the buyer early in the process even as part of a decision to view a property is wrong and may be illegal depending on location.
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