Is a historic home the right fit for you?

Is a historic home the right fit for you?

It’s no secret that I’m a lover of historic neighborhoods and properties — selling them, living in them, and helping you find yours. A couple years ago, I shared my top real estate tips for marketing historic homes on the blog. On the latest episode of Melissa Unscripted, Dave and I are revisiting the topic from a new perspective: the buyer’s. Luckily for us, Greensboro has an outstanding selection of historic homes, each unique in their character and legacy.

Buyers and sellers of historic homes are united by their love for the artfully-crafted, history-rich properties — and by the challenges that may accompany the process of handling such an asset. In your hunt for your next home, you might be asking yourself: is a historic home the right fit for me?

An appreciation for the imperfect
A buyer who has lived only in newly-constructed homes may not enjoy the lived-in feel of a historic home. Historic homes, after all, come not only with a catalog of past residents, but with potential imperfections and sometimes even issues. And while these can be fixed, if you’re wanting to live in a historic home you must be willing to embrace these quirks and be able to go with the flow when deciding how to deal with them. That being said, you don’t have to be handy — you just have to be open to calling a professional if a problem arises.

A desire for proximity
Oftentimes, historic homes in cities are situated in the heart of the area. Such is the case in Greensboro, where many of the historic homes are only minutes away from the restaurants, bars, and vibrant social scene of downtown. A good match would be someone invigorated by the idea of quick access to the area — even if that means a little more traffic. So when you’re planning your move, ask yourself: are you looking for proximity or privacy? Access to downtown or a more suburban location? This will help you determine if Greensboro’s historic neighborhoods are where you should be looking.

The pros and cons of historic home ownership
Like any property, owning a historic home has its pros and cons. The pros are obvious to any history-lover: beautiful design, sturdy build, and a rich backstory that you get to experience daily — not to mention their promised protection if they’re formally registered on the National Register of Historic Places. On the other hand, it can be more expensive and more difficult to renovate such homes, sometimes requiring that you utilize only materials that were available in the period in which the home was built. And while there can be tax benefits, generally it’s a pricey endeavor to build to a historic standard — but with such a long history behind each of these properties, who knows what captivating stories or gorgeous details you’ll unearth in the process?

Overall, whether or not you decide that a historic home is just what you’re looking for, we can all appreciate the rich history and beauty they bring to our communities all around North Carolina — and especially Greensboro.

For more on this topic, I invite you to listen to the episode “What It’s Really Like to Buy a Historic Home?” from my podcast Melissa Unscripted. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio and more. What other questions do you have about historic home ownership? Let me know in the comments!

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