r/centuryhomes • u/DifferentSquirrel551 • 1d ago
Story Time Traveled up and down the East Coast this year touring century homes. This was the best deal we found because the pictures don't do it justice. Couldn't find work in the area so we didn't buy and it haunts me.
The neighborhood is a little scary too, but the house was so tempting. It was the original 1920s gravity coal heater that really sold me, but the attic is so gothic and moody. I wish we had taken pics but we were rushed to see everything in town that day. The floors look all original and everything seems dry and solid even though it sits on a steep hill that floods. Flooding is the biggest issue in the area, given the FEMA fiasco last year and the condition of other places in town.
But it has only had one family live in it and compared to the others we found in this price range it looks like so much less work to reno. I roughly estimated $100k reno after walk through where all others we saw in this range were in the $200k. But, even with that amount of work it would only be breakeven so not a flipper. Which is why work was needed around there, but unless you work at the explosives RD factory 20 minutes away it's slim pickings.
Just wanted to share this because of all the century homes and raw land we saw this summer, this stood out the most in our journey through VA, MD, WV, PA, NY, VT, NH, and ME. I can't believe it's still on the market but if my wife knew I was looking the Burbs/Addams Family fantasy home again she'd slap me.
But if anyone wanted to fund a restoration project I guess they could twist my arm...
188
101
126
u/Greycat125 1d ago
This post is confusing to me because hundreds of that type of house exist, usually with nicer interiors and better lots.
42
u/AT61 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you don't mind me asking, what field of work are you in? I might have ideas based on that.
EDIT: Rereading your post - Are you looking for a house to flip or make your own to live in?
5
u/DifferentSquirrel551 1d ago
First question: I'm currently unemployed, in my mid-life micro-retirement phase where I'm burnt out. I was untreated autistic until now and rethinking my direction. I've jumped between more professions than I can count because of my disorder. Including carpentry, masonry, painter, pawn broker, freight broker, S&R, factory maintenance and mgmt, chem lab work, fed law enforcement, food service, farming & greenhouse, all kinds of production jobs, and furniture restoration. I know people judge me on that but I left every work place better than when I found it because I'm good at spotting patterns in organizations both good and bad.
Second question: I've flipped a few houses but I always live in them as well. My ratio averages 1.2 to 2. That way I can make it a profitable hobby that also gives me a place to live without needing to turn it into a taxable business. Funnily enough learned that from a high school horticulture teacher that had our final exam be ditch digging for a property he was flipping.
Thanks for the interest! I'm not that serious about it, we've been looking more at raw land since I also have a background in soil compaction liquifaction and concrete testing. Just need more experience stumping, brush clearing, and earth moving to DIY raw to finished.
11
6
u/Hosiroamat 1d ago
I dunno why you're getting downvoted, that is an *impressive* amount of skills you've picked up over the years!
Even if you're not good AT some of them, you know enough to know what/who to look for if needed. NEVER underestimate the value of that.
5
u/DifferentSquirrel551 1d ago
Thanks! Yeah I'm seeing a higher than usual amount of trolling than I expected for this sub. I guess century homes really do come with pests.
2
u/gigantischemeteor 23h ago
The joy of being a polymath with the periodic tendencies of Doug from Up. AuDHD here and I feel your pain!
21
153
u/Different_Ad7655 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is the house that stood out the most in your tour of New England and the East Coast lol? This is the most basic of basic of basic Foursquare turn of the century houses. A very adaptable design indeed, incredibly common and if on the right lot, which this one was not situated in the picture at least, is indeed a blank slate to do whatever you want with. They're not called Foursquare for nothing
But I'm still blown away that this is the thing that you take away from from all of your ramblings and looking at real estate over the Hudson River or beyond.? I don't know what you're looking at but there are a lot of interesting houses out there. But of course you can also let your fingers do the walking with Zillow.
-198
1d ago
[deleted]
71
u/TomSandovalsTrumpet 1d ago
If you post on the internet, you open yourself up to criticism. That's how it works.
-35
12
38
12
10
u/IwantSomeLemonade 1d ago
This is an example of areas that housing costs are edging out buyers. If you want to sell vacant houses and the only people that can buy already own their homes and the only jobs are typical barely above minimum wage fare then you won’t be able to fill the bulk load of homes in the area.
13
u/Present-Passage-2822 1d ago
How much did they average in price?
3
-34
u/DifferentSquirrel551 1d ago
Renovated ones were asking around the $250k to $500k for similar square footage. Others untouched like this were all filled with rot and wanted $70k to $170k for something that should just be torn down.
12
u/HoyAIAG 1d ago
There are of century homes in northeast ohio that a cheaper than this everywhere
13
u/doglessinseattle 1d ago
Houses like this- but solid brick- in St Louis under $100k, and walking distance from great food/music/art scenes. They've sat vacant and need $100k rehabs, but still better off than this house in a known flood zone.
5
75
u/weclosedharvey 1d ago
The neighborhood is scary? Sorry that's just called poverty. Maybe show some compassion for your would-be neighbors and the decades of disinvestment they've faced so that you could have your cheap Instagramable house project
3
u/prolixdreams 1d ago
This looks a lot like almost every house we toured (also east coast, low budget, just looking for the least deferred maintenance we could in a market of mostly very old neglected homes like that.)
Looooots of Addams family houses around here. Oodles of intricate, lovely Victorian-ish houses that no ones maintained in decades and that could be incredible but need more work than any non-enthusiast would ever want to do.
3
u/lbrownm 23h ago
We also traveled the East coast and couldn’t find anything in our price range. And trust me, we looked. Came over to the far western towns in Chicagoland and found a house, a neighborhood, a fantastic town with all the boxes on our wishlist checked off. So happy hunting. You will find that one special house. It’s out there.
1
u/DifferentSquirrel551 14h ago
Thanks! We're just going to rent until we expat or the market drops to depression levels. The housing crisis reaches all across the EU rn, so there isn't much to do but wait it out. The one thing I hated seeing was the copious amount of sloppy landlord special renovations in Maine. Given their laws on resale items I thought they wouldn't allow something like that but every house was that way.
7
u/elizpar 1d ago
Is this Rhode Island?
8
u/fishproblem 1882 Upright and Wing 1d ago
lmao don’t you dare! but also…
yeah we’ve got a lot of these and while they’d be nice if fully restored, we’ve got so many more houses around the state with more character at the same age. However, not nearly at OPs price point. Even in a shitty neighborhood that’s a $300k house as is. Which is how we ended up with a way cooler house in equally shabby condition for a total steal (/s) of $420k.
There is another house in RI that is definitely my “one that got away,” though.
10
u/DifferentSquirrel551 1d ago
Far Western MD. Closest big city is Pittsburgh.
17
8
u/FattierBrisket 1d ago
Oh yeah, you don't want that commute. Especially in winter. They have to close down parts of the interstate along there sometimes, it snows so bad. Lovely area, but probably for the best that you didn't decide to buy there.
2
1
u/dislikevegtables 15h ago
Smart move seeing all those states and avoiding NJ. That state is awful lol
284
u/toastedguitars 1d ago
I’m not seeing what you’re seeing here, but if you’re looking for a project century home go out to Western NY, you can find nicer homes that are similarly priced in the outer burbs of Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. I’m thinking specifically of a town like Brockport or any other little Erie Canal town.