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For The Older homes have their fans. Thousands of them. Those oldies The other day, as I was playing on Yahoo, I came across a

story that illustrates the point. Somewhat. They were talking
have style, character. They have a soul. They have the originality
about a guy who fell in love with an original Pilgrim’s Saltbox
of authenticity. They are back in fashion, and very much sought
after since their number is shrinking. The buyers are collectors
house, from the late 17th century if I recall. I don’t know if
Love of of sort, interested in bringing these ancient houses back to their you can picture a Saltbox but I guarantee it’s boxy alright,
past glory.
salt or no-salt. Aside from its typical steep-pitched roof, it is
as plain as plain can be with only tiny windows to decorate

the wood siding.
Of course, if it’s OK for an older house to proudly show its
Oldies age from the outside, the respect of historic integrity does not The fact that these homes are simple and modest looking
extend to the interior. We are now in 2014 and a few things have
is actually their biggest charm. Whether painted white or
changed inside a home, over the last 2 or 3 centuries, with the
discovery of electricity and inside plumbing. Style is one thing but
red, they look most interesting in a typical New England
comfort should not be compromised at the high-end. Too bad for
buyer poured tons of money in renovating it while preserving
the purists. landscape. But there is a price limit for everything. The
its integrity. Before he knew it, he was in for something like
This infatuation with older homes is spreading all over the map $2.5M.
at accelerated speed. It almost looks as if more and more of us
needed to plunge into the past to recapture an identity and honor Then he tried to sell it. He is still trying. The price is around
our common roots. Whatever the reason, Americans are now $1.5 now, if memory serves me right. Tough lesson to learn.
passionate about old stones and wood. Hundreds of thousand dollars later, the house is still as plain
today as it was before, and at that new price, nostalgia is
“The fact that these homes are simple In a recent article, too expensive.
the Wall Street

and modest looking is actually their Journal sees in I too am sentimental I guess. Back many-many moons ago,
I fell for an oldie. It was a beautiful turn-of-the-century
this “hobby” a
biggest charm.” reaction against California farm house perched on a green knoll, on the San
over-sized and Francisco Peninsula. The contractor we hired to make it
over-designed McMansions. Perhaps, but I am a bit skeptical functional “enjoyed” the place a lot more than we did, as he
about that view since fixing up an antique house does not worked there every day for more than a year! When it finally
necessarily means that the living quarters will be small. Indeed, was all done and looking gorgeous, we sold it for much less
a lot of buyers, when opportunity affords, are fast to convert than we put into it.
adjoining old barns, stables or whatever, into guest rooms, pool
houses, etc… Listen to your heart when you buy an older home, but,
unless your wallet is expandable, listen to your brains too!
One thing to remember when you are hunting for an older home
is that what you like is not necessarily what others will find
attractive enough to pay top dollars for. Potential resale value
is critical if you don’t intend to live in the place very long. Most
oldies’ buyers succumb to the charm, fix-up the house at great
expense, and hope to not only recover their investment but hit the
jackpot.

Not all of the oldies are worth burning a lot of money renovating. By Alain Pinel
Some are so run down or so basic that they are like the cute General Manager of Intero Prestigio
funny-looking puppy that only a mother would love. international
Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.