Key Buying Tips for Historical Homes

State Historical Designations

• Ensure you're actually buying a historic home. Just because a house is old doesn't make it a historical building. Typically, a historic home must be designated by the state as "historic" based on certain criteria. The tricky part is that every state preservation office has its own rules, and they can differ greatly. According to the Historical Home website, a young state like Nevada might allow a 100-year-old house to be listed as a historical building, while a 150-year-old house may not qualify in an older colonial state like Massachusetts. This official recognition as a historical home can make the value higher.

Contingent Upon Inspection

• Historic homes are older properties by their very name, and over time a house can begin to deteriorate. Ensure your offer to purchase a historic home is contingent upon an inspection. Typically, there is a built-in contingency in many offers written up by real estate agents that makes the offer contingent upon securing the necessary funds for the purchase. However, it may not include a contingency based upon a successful inspection of the building. You don't want to be surprised after the purchase by finding out the house needs major structural repair.

Specialized Renovation

• The aged property you want to buy may need renovations to make it livable. This is usually to be expected with older homes, but with a historic property, be careful about choosing a contractor to take care of the work. There are contractors who specialize in renovating historical homes, and it's a good idea to check with one of those companies about doing your work and preserving the house in its original form.

Be Aware of Restrictions

• Realize that many historical homes come with local restrictions on the type of renovations you can perform. Particularly if a home is in a historic neighborhood, the local codes may be very strict about what you can and cannot do to the property. Be knowledgeable about these restrictions before purchasing, down to the last detail. Also, if you plan to do major renovations to a historic house for updating purposes, then you're better off purchasing a new house.

Money

• Think long and hard about your budget if there are extensive repairs or renovations needed for the historic house. It can be expensive to get a historic property back to its original appearance and maintain the house's historic integrity. If you can't afford to do it correctly, you may wish to look for something more manageable.