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Absolutely, I snoop. And I do it several times a year with all of the houses that I have owned. I look at the changes inside and out, as well as the price changes.
Yes, I have been surprised, big time, by some of the things I saw. Especially the "How could they do that?" moments.
Agree. I bought a house in 1993 for $93k and now it's worth over $300k.
I get a sense of nostalgia when I look at the very first house I bought in 1987. It was not in the best of neighborhood in the suburb of LA but it was all I could afford at the time. It was a fixer upper too. I recalled spending after-work hours and on weekends to rehab the house. Since I sold it, it has appreciated 400% to-date. Not a great appreciation in SoCal standard but considering the neighborhood it was in, it did fairly well.
I really hadn't until you mentioned it. Man, does it look good, though. My parents weren't much for upkeep. They sold it in 1988 for about $100K. Now valued at about $2.4MM.
I really hadn't until you mentioned it. Man, does it look good, though. My parents weren't much for upkeep. They sold it in 1988 for about $100K. Now valued at about $2.4MM.
cd :O)
California is a whole other animal when/if you've owned a couple of houses from back a few decades and look at their value today right?
I love to do this, even as I've only owned one house I like to look at the houses I grew up in around the state including a couple of quality "Wonder Years" style ranches in Silicon and San Joaquin Valleys, the Gold Country Foothills and Hollywood.
The Silicon Valley house just sold a few months ago for a little over $2M ($17k in mid-sixties) with an extensive remodel and addition erasing all semblance of its 1952 vintage but it looks good. The similar size and era house in SJ Valley hasn't changed hands in a while so can't see the inside of that one. The 1903 Gold Country house has been a B&B for years and thus is always easy to view by its website but also just happens to be pending now for a little over $1M (a bargain!) which we purchased, fully furnished with antiques for $27k in 1970. It has been expanded (into the above grade lower level) to 8BR, 8BA and 6200sf! It was a large but more manageable 4BR, 2.5BA and 4000sf when we lived there. Super fun Victorian Farmhouse to grow up in with that 2000sf+ open lower level which featured a working car turntable built for Model T's to negotiate the precarious driveway without having to backup- BatCave style!
The Hollywood house also hasn't changed hands in while but that house which my Dad bought and sold for an investment with my muscle to help I remember was amazed when he bought that for about $160k and sold for around $240k in the early '80s and is now the champion value at over $3M. Great '20s Spanish/Moroccan style on a double lot with a "nude" swimming pool at the base of the hills. I would love to see the inside of that one since I remember my Dad's aesthetic was very much of the (awful) late '70s era with the finish choices and I'm sure it has been remodeled again by now.
I think it’s fun to look at old apartments I rented when I was younger decades ago, as they still come up in rental listings. As for houses, it seems that all the houses in my family are either purchased and then lived in for decades so they have never come back on the market, or purchased for the land value only and knocked down to make way for new construction (Boston suburbs…) I would LOVE to be able to see the houses which sold decades ago. In one case the house had been in our family for almost 70 years so at this point it’s about 100 years old and has only had two owners, and I would love to see how they updated it.
The current values drive me crazy not only because prices in general were lower 15-30 years ago, but because in some cases elderly family members sold just because caring for the house was a hassle, and to them even prices that were low relative to fair market value seemed really high. I mean, if you build a house for $2000 and sell for $200K, you think you’ve hit the jackpot, even if a better realtor who put in more effort could have gotten you more, or not jumping at the first offer could have gotten you more.
I did happen to google the current owner of our previous house and they had a website with all sorts of candid family shots with interior and exterior photos. It was fun to see what they kept the same (all paint, for instance) and what they changed (totally neglected all the landscaping we planted and carefully tended to.)
I was happy to see that they seemed to be having a happy life in our house, though. (We were the first owners of that house so it was especially weird to imagine anyone else there.)
Last edited by cowbell76; 10-20-2021 at 02:50 PM..
I get a sense of nostalgia when I look at the very first house I bought in 1987. It was not in the best of neighborhood in the suburb of LA but it was all I could afford at the time. It was a fixer upper too. I recalled spending after-work hours and on weekends to rehab the house. Since I sold it, it has appreciated 400% to-date. Not a great appreciation in SoCal standard but considering the neighborhood it was in, it did fairly well.
I guess you'll always remember your first.
My parents sold their first house in Flint, Michigan in 1977 for I believe $16,500.. (could have been $18,500?).. Dad doesn’t remember the exact number for sure..I do remember it selling in one day..
Zillow says it’s worth $17,000 today.. it’s not bombed or burnt or anything, but I haven’t driven past in 20+ years because you kinda need to carry a glock in that neighborhood- so Zillow is the safe way to keep tabs..
The rhubarb mom planted next to the porch seems to be doing well though.. She took cuttings from that house & started them at the next house, and the one after that, and a long-lost relative of that plant is growing in my yard today..
Ok, so call me Norty (LOL), I'll gander every so often at the houses I've either owned in the past, or grew up in. Just for giggles. It's especially fun when the house has been sold, so I get to see what changes have been made since I lived there.
What say you?
Have you ever snooped?
Ever been surprised by what owners have done to your old place?
I don't have old pictures of any houses I have sold (there has only been one LOL) and even if I did, I would remove the pictures once I had a contract.
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