{"id":279,"date":"2021-02-05T12:30:53","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T17:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/?p=279"},"modified":"2020-12-14T12:51:35","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T17:51:35","slug":"selling-historic-homes-pros-cons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/selling-historic-homes-pros-cons\/","title":{"rendered":"Selling Historic Homes: Pros & Cons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes the hottest homes<\/span>\u00a0on the market are those with a little bit of history. If you take cities like Boston, Manhattan, Chicago or San Francisco, you\u2019ll find historic homes all over. There\u2019s something special about historic homes, and we aren\u2019t\u00a0<\/span>just talking about the original hardwood floors or the architectural details that come with them. As Christine Bartsch from\u00a0<\/span>Homelight<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/a>says, \u201c<\/span>Its age only adds to the appeal\u2014if walls could talk, they\u2019d have decades of interesting stories to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

So,\u00a0<\/span>if you\u2019re a real estate agent selling a historic home, what is the selling process like? How do you help your sellers sell it to the right buyers? Those who appreciate the hi<\/span>storic qualities of the historic property and who will buy it for\u00a0<\/span>a price worthy of its historic value.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From its quirky features to its unique charm, there\u2019s plenty of<\/span>\u00a0pro selling points to a historic home, and there\u2019s also plenty of cons as well. But at the end of the day, your chances of getting a historic home as one of your listings is very possible, so it\u2019s best to be prepared for the ups and downs of<\/span>\u00a0selling it to<\/span>\u00a0potential buyers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PROS<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Younger Home Buyers Love Old Homes\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

When young buyers are looking for homes, they are most likely always looking for an older, historic home.\u00a0<\/span>Meggen<\/span>\u00a0Taylor, at\u00a0<\/em><\/span>Inman\u00a0<\/a><\/em>s<\/em>ays,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cthe majority of people we know in their early 30\u2019s through late 40\u2019s (i.e., consumers in prime early revenue generating and house buying years) in Philadelphia live in historic homes that are 90 years old\u2014 and in some cases far older. The same goes for everyone we know in Washington, D.C. and Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Real estate is\u00a0<\/span>still\u00a0<\/span><\/i>all about location, and most of the time these historic homes are located in a prime downtown spot six blocks from your work or five blocks from your favorite restaurant. Younger home buyers don\u2019t need 4,000 square feet in the suburbs, they want smaller ho<\/span>mes with character that are\u00a0<\/span>close to everything. This is why historic homes are so attractive to younger home buyers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They Don\u2019t Make Them Like This Anymore<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Another pro to selling historic homes is that they just aren\u2019t built anymore. As a real estate agent<\/span>\u00a0you can market your historic home listing and make sure your buyers know, \u201c<\/span>Authentic architectural design features are reflective of an original commitment to artistry and quality that has stood the test of time,\u201d as\u00a0<\/span>Meggen<\/span>\u00a0Taylor at\u00a0<\/span>Inman\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many think \u201cnewer is better\u201d, but sometimes\u00a0<\/span>we beg to differ. You can still have a historic home with that bright modern kitchen you\u2019re looking for in a new bu<\/span>ild. The bottom line is, builders aren\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0building\u00a0<\/span>homes with the same\u00a0<\/span>character anymore, so as a real estate agent you can market your listing as something really special that people may not be able to find in a few years.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Old Meets New<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

While some think his<\/span>toric homes are filled with character and history, others just see them as the stereotype they sound like – small kitchens, squeaky floors, old windows and rusted plumbing. And while this may have been true once before, we\u2019re here to tell you that \u201cOld Mee<\/span>ts New\u201d is exactly what many people are looking for these days. What do we mean by this?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We mean that you can purchase a historic home, and turn it into that modern, new feel that you want, all while keeping the history and character alive. Taylor at\u00a0<\/span>Inman\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/a>says,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhat we now know is that virtually every historic home has had at least one owner (if not more) who was willing to bang down the walls, open up a master suite, rock an aquarium shower, build a wine cellar in the basement, chef out the kitchen and put an in-ground pool in the backyard. Voila! Historic architecture meets modern luxury.\u201d<\/p>\n

CONS<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Historic Homes May Require A lot of Work<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

According to Michelle Lerner at the\u00a0<\/span>Washington Post<\/span><\/i><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHistoric houses sometimes take longer to sell than more modern ones because old houses require more maintenance and can have preservation restrictions.\u201d Given that most historic homes are at least 50 years old, they\u2019re going to require a lot of work. From\u00a0<\/span>water damage and electrical issues to structural problems and termite damage, historic homes that haven\u2019t been properly preserved will most certainly fall into disrepair. If your client decides to take on this type of home, just make sure they have the fin<\/span>ancial stability to take on this kind of project.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Insurance May Be Expensive<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

As we mentioned, historic homes are at least 50 years old and sometimes they can come with structural problems, electrical or plumbing issues. For this reason, insurance may be\u00a0<\/span>a little higher on a historic home, so it\u2019s important to make sure your buyers know that. They might even have to go with historic property insurance, which can be more expensive since some personal insurance companies won\u2019t even offer insurance for histor<\/span>ical homes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Buyers May Not Like the Historic Neighborhood\u2019s \u201cRules\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Oftentimes, historic homes are located in a Historic Neighborhood. And while these neighborhoods may be close to your favorite restaurant or bar, they also come with a lot of rules that\u00a0<\/span>buyers may not just want to deal with. As a real estate agent, it\u2019s important to research and have those rules ready on hand when buyers ask because that can either make or break the sale.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As said from an article on Redfin, \u201cSelling a vintage home is abo<\/span>ut restoration, preservation, and education. Your home\u2019s unique history and original fixtures and finishes may be the primary selling points that earn you the selling price you\u2019re hoping for.\u201d It\u2019s important as a real estate agent to take the qualities abo<\/span>ut a historic home and utilize them as you\u2019<\/span>re<\/span>\u00a0marketing it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes the hottest homes\u00a0on the market are those with a little bit of history. If you take cities like Boston, Manhattan, Chicago or San Francisco, you\u2019ll find historic homes all over. There\u2019s something special about historic homes, and we aren\u2019t\u00a0just talking about the original hardwood floors or the architectural details that come with them. As\u2026 Read Selling Historic Homes: Pros & Cons→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[249,272],"tags":[471,475,133],"yst_prominent_words":[162,185,202,164,110,146],"class_list":["post-279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-buying-and-selling","category-housing-market","tag-housing-market","tag-insurance","tag-real-estate-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artesiantitle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}