Rehabbing a historic residential property in Newport, RI

[Greg Moran]

Howdy everyone! I'm looking for others who have experience with rehabbing historic residential properties. My friend and I are just about to start a rehab of an historic property in the Newport, RI area. It would be great to hear from others who have already been through the rigors of a complicated restoration. I'd love to hear any hints and tips from someone who's been there, done that.

[Jonathan Bombaci]

I haven’t done this myself but have had clients and friends do it. The only advice I’d have is to engage the historic society and building department early and often. If you do something wrong or have misstep in the process, even as an honest mistake, they can make things difficult and expensive. I have a friend with a historic house tear down a crumbling brick wall on the front of his property. They made him rebuild it with period appropriate bricks. It was a learning experience.