Sam Marquit has done a fantastic job offering his experience and perspective for how to add value to your historic home. Below is a piece Sam wrote and has allowed me to repost here. Check out some other stores by Sam at his blog here. Thanks to Meagan Baco at HISTPRES for making the introductions between Sam and myself.
"Purchasing a home or even just making improvements can be difficult, but investing in property can be a very rewarding experience. The chance that I have had to purchase various properties in Long Island has led me to acquire a vast amount of knowledge in this area and why real estate is such a lucrative venture. Anyone with a home currently can take part in renovating it to make it even more valuable, and this is even more advantageous if the house can be classified as historic.
People have several opportunities for purchasing a historic home in Buffalo. It doesn't matter what type of house people buy, the potential for profit is there. If it is a historic house, the potential for profit is even greater. To make this a reality, people need to work hard and proceed with patience. The current economic climate continues to become weaker and weaker. Because of this, it becomes more challenging to sell regular homes for a significant profit.
Because I have been in the real estate investing industry for so long, I am well aware that homes that are not historic are much harder to sell for a profit than historic homes. The reason is that regular homes do not have any distinguishing features that are impressing people at the moment. In addition, some families do not wish to take the time to improve a historic home, so they are seeking new houses.
It's not as easy to find a historic home to purchase, and there are several reasons why this is the case. Buffalo Historic homes have the distinctive features that are needed to encourage people to purchase them. Therefore, attaining larger profits is very plausible. It became clear that regular houses with historic homes nearby actually had a higher purchase price.
Purchasing a historic home will give people many monetary benefits. A house that is listed in the National Register of Historic Districts (NRHD) is a property that can receive certain tax credits and some grants. This makes investing in a historic home a great option for young investors. As they make periodic renovations and improvements, they will only cause their properties' values to continue to rise. The younger the investor is who purchases a historic home, the longer time they have to take advantage of how it aids their finances for the future. With all my experience in the real estate industry buying and selling homes, I have found this to be the case. These historic homes are much easier to sell for higher profits, so the profit margins are much higher.
Investors must not take for granted that it will be easy to increase their historic homes' values, but they certainly can succeed at this endeavor. When people decide to remodel, the point will be to add new additions that blend in well with the old-fashioned look of the home. This means that a historic home's owner will need to incorporate the original features into anything new that they decide to add. The historic home is going to need to maintain its antique look as well as exhibit modern amenities.
One of the most popular rooms to begin with is the bathroom. New interior design is currently adding older style decorations to the bathrooms, such as the tiles and the colors these designers are choosing for the walls. A good tactic for a bathroom that has the original, antique appliances is to add new wallpaper that is reminiscent of the past. It can be a formidable prospect remodeling a historic home in Buffalo, but investors will find that it will pay off when it comes time to sell the property.
The main point to remember is that a historic home in Buffalo needs to keep its unique look to remain historic, and homeowners do this by keeping as much of the original artifacts intact as possible. The best way to increase a historic home's value is to do the renovations in the most inexpensive way possible that makes it hard for anyone to distinguish between the older parts of the home and what has been recently added.
This is applicable anywhere; I've done my share of restorations with Long Island Real Estate. Again, there's tremendous reward in the return - Homes that folks once didn't like were now so appealing that the reselling process no longer becomes a chore."
Entry Image: Historic home on Humboldt Parkway in the Hamlin Park Historic District
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