All Forum Posts by: Alex Zhu

@Alex Zhu   What city is the house in?

I have sold several historic homes...over 100 years old....and working on likely another one or two this month.... my thought is be prepared to spend money and time.   While in some ways they were probably built more of quality, typically they are very different standards than you get today...for example insulation....some of these used shredded newspaper in the walls and when for example you do infrared scan, you can see that that has settled to the bottom 2-3 feet of the wall and the next 8 ft to the ceiling might not have any insulation...things like that.   Of course look at things like electric and plumbing and sewer.....probably you will have wanted all that updated recently or you will need to budget for that, especially if using for a rental.  Look at the windows....often I see these painted shut if they are the original wood sash windows....that might be a liability if a rental....and then you get in that dilemma...do you spend a ton of money to restore them...strip all 5 coats of paint and 100 years of muck or do you take them out and replace them with something more efficient.   Sometimes I think these are more labors of love vs good investments.   What kind of roof does it have....I saw probably 100 year old house today in Greenville that was beautiful...looked at the roof and it was slate.....what do those cost to replace?  Who will do it?  Probably not 90% of the roofing companies.   So you may spend a lot more time looking for materials and spend more money on materials than many.

As far as STR rentals are concerned....make sure you know the market and the sentiment of the neighbors...I would go knock on doors...talk to them....are they going to be supportive or make your life miserable. Different places have different ideas...some think it improves....for example I'm guessing places like Fredricksburg.....but there are some people that are probably very much against it....maybe places like Fairmount in Ft. Worth...although I don't know that to be the case, just seems like mostly owner/occupied housing there. I would also be very very aware of what the restrictions of the area are. Read that document and go to the sessions of the commission that covers that if there is one. You are right, sometimes there are paint restrictions, windows, doors, material requirements. You want to make sure you are comfortable with those.

Good luck..have fun....watch some sessions of this old house.....for inspiration.

 @Alex Zhu  is the property in a conservation or historical district?  I ask because you mention about red tape about changes to the house.  If there is any restrictions you need to understand those. I won several houses in historic area of Dallas, and you need to know what you are walking into including if you are going to have push back from the neighborhood on renting the property short term.   Even if it is legal, if the neighbors hate it they will make it a nightmare for you.  and historic/conservation districts often have overlay's from the rest of the city.  

If it's for a rental, historic is great for short term. typically the historic homes are in the best and most walkable locations, and guests like the "character" of the home/hood and walkability. For LTR with minimal cashflow I'd avoid them like the plague. 

If it's a personal residence then buy what works for you. As for appreciation, probably more dependent on the zip code itself as opposed to the age of the home, assuming it's in livable condition. 

 I have remodeled a few historical homes in my day. They were not mine though. They are also not fit the faint of heart. 

One job was skirting. It was clear Cypress with a custom profile. I had to go to the millwork shop. Pay for the knives for the moulder then pay for the siding. I paid 2000 dollars before I ever got the first piece of siding. 

if you're still interested in this, I know a historical contractor out of the Beaumont area. He goes all over 4 states, including this one. Just pm me if you need it.