1920s House Renovation, Volume 1

I have always dreamed of owning a historic home, specifically, a “plantation” style home with high ceilings, wide hallways, and tall base-boards, as well as original windows and hardwood floors. Well, I never purchased a plantation style home, but I did find a historic home, or rather it found me, and I bought it.

I started out looking for a real estate investment as part of my retirement plan. The problem I had was finding a house that I could afford. Fixer-uppers welcome. One night it came to me to look at homes for sale in my home town. It also came to me to see how much I could get for a home equity line of credit. I knew it was meant to be when the amount of credit I was able to get was the same amount as the house I found for sale. It was built around 1920 and was on a good-sized lot set back from the street. Unfortunately, the house was taken off the market, so I was not able to see the inside in person. The story does not end there though.

Remember, this is supposed to be an investment. So, I found another house around the same price that I was able to view, and I fell in love with all the unique original details. It was also built in the 1920s but it was smaller and the lot was not ideal (smaller with a shared driveway). Since this was going to be an investment, I was not too concerned about that. Long story short, I put in an offer that was accepted, but something told me to back out of the deal. Fortunately, the first house I found came back on the market at a reduced price and I bought it. Turns out, it had those characteristics I love in historic homes, sans the wide hallways. More on that later. Now, instead of an investment, this will be my home.

So, what’s next? Demo day! Well, kind of. Stay tuned.

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Watch the pre-renovation house tour on YouTube.