You know how sometimes you’re surfing through the listings of houses for sale and suddenly come across a real diamond in the rough? Someplace that just screams, “Save me! Please! I have so much potential!” And you wish so badly you had the money, time, skills, and resources to buy that house and love it back to life?
That happens to me all the time. So instead of just sitting here, fantasizing about what I would do to this house if it were mine, I thought I’d show it to you and see what you think.
It’s a Victorian that was built in 1870 and has been owned by the same family for three generations. It is now on the market, selling “as is” by the estate for $275,000. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 5 fireplaces (3 of which are original Rookwoods!). The home has three stories and sits on a double lot outside Cincinnati, Ohio.
Take a look around and see if you think this old place is worth saving:
What do you think? Inside it just looks neglected and sad, doesn’t it? Kind of pitiful. Do you think the house is worth saving? What would you do with it if you bought it?
If You’re Hooked on Old Houses:
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Aw. Houses like this tend to be awkward inside, but this one
is actually not bad inside. All it needs is a little buffing, polishing,
and paint. I think that it is wonderful.
If I had the resources – I would go for it. It is a very gracious home-
I’m a sucker for porches !
No doubt about it! Someone needs that house pronto! How chariming – we love it! That porch is enough to sell it. The kitchen – well I would hope that they would keep the stove. I had a stove like that at our old house – best stove I ever had!!
Wow I love this house. I don’t think it looks THAT BAD, but it could obviously use some tlc.
i lived next door to a house like this that got renovated–so amazing inside afterwards. personally I see the issues as:
-kitchen
-bathrooms
-closet space
-rewiring
-new plumbing
-and expand that porch out to be 10′ deep
-oh, and a mud-room. otherwise the rooms are generously sized and the lot is great. if that was around here i’d beg and plead w/my husband till i was blue in the face!
This house is definitely worth saving! And the kitchen and baths really aren’t that bad. They need lots of work, but people who love old houses don’t desire an “up to date” kitchen like the rest of us.
My husband and I really admire old houses, but recently did the opposite. We took a 2 bedroom 1960’s ranch house, and are turning it into a 5 bedroom bungalow that looks like an 80 yr. old home on the East Coast. So we have all new electrical system, central AC, modern bathrooms, big party kitchen. We also have the old-fashioned stuff: front porch; solid, six-panel doors; built-ins; window seats; walk-in pantry; screen porch.
No, we’re not wealthy, in fact, far from it. My husband has a factory job, and I’m at home mothering 6 children. To save money we’re building it ourselves, in our spare time, with any money we can spare. It’s been a ton of work going to auctions and dragging home pick-up loads of doors, windows, trim work, bannisters, and other architectural finds, then finding a way to install it somewhere in the house.
There are many mornings I don’t feel like getting up and working on the house, but it’s better than watching TV or watching other people achieve their dreams.
In short, working on a house is always worth it. You get to show-off a lovely home, and gain self-esteem cos YOU did it!
It’s gorgeous! Take down the sad sheers and remove the tattered carpets and you’ve got a blank slate. Of course the kitchen needs a redo, what an opportunity to get it right!! And that bath with the arched doorway… I swoon! Blessings, Shay
Love this house! A double lot is such a rare find, and that porch is awesome. Kitchen and bathrooms are a bit scary. But the size of the house and the wood trim and floors everywhere make up for it. I’d take it!
Here I thought you guys would think I was crazy for wanting to buy this house. I should’ve known better!
It had me at “front porch.”
Now if I can just find a spare $275,000 lying around…and a little more to fix it up….
Marie–you know I’m dying to see before and afters of your ranch-turned-bungalow now! It sounds amazing. -Julia
This house is beautiful and it doesn’t look like it’s in very bad shape. As someone else said, the things I’d be more worried about are the things you can’t see- electrical and plumbing. At 275,000 it seems like a steal- you can’t get a historic home around her for close to that price. I would totally gut the kitchen though. I would stay within the style of the house but if I had to live there then I’d make it something I would love to live with.
Wow! Double lot, porch, beautiful foyer and stairway, spacious rooms. The bathrooms don’t look too bad, especially not the one with the archway. The kitchen, well, that needs to be redone. I love old houses!
I love this house! I wouldn’t even have trouble living in it through a fairly lengthy spiff-up/renovate period. It’s so wonderful when people leave the bones (woodwork,old touches) of these old houses alone. And it’s such fun to think of what transpired in this house over the past 130+ years. I’d buy it in a heartbeat.
Oh yes defintely worth saving! I’m done saving houses though so I’ll have to pass! LOL..I’m sure someone will snatch it up and restore it to it’s former glory though since it is absolutely charming
)
~Des
I’ll take it! It is so lovely.
Absolutely worth saving! I wish we had those kind of houses with that price tag where I live. I’d scoop it up in a heart beat!
YES – I Love it – it can be saved!!! I love houses with character.
Gorgeous, darling house! I would buy you in a heartbeat. I would give you fresh wiring, plumbing and probably a new roof just to be snug and new. Then we would tear out all the carpet and refinish the floors. Lastly, we’ll take a deep breath and plunge into those dated bathrooms and kitchen. When we’re done wilth all that, we will give you pretty paint, furniture, plants and a family to love that will love you in return. You are a beauty, my dear!
We’re suckers for old houses… new ones just don’t have the character or rich history! It is unfourtunate for those who only see what needs to be done and cannot see what it could become!
Karla & Karrie
Gorgeous house!!! And like others have said, not that bad! I agree with the list that Allison wrote – I’d do the same. This house has such character – many things to love about it!!!
After I wiped up the drool from salivating over the photos…I hopped to the comment section to say yes, yes, YES! Save!!! From the pictures, the porch and roof above it are not sagging one iota. And for a house of this age that’s HUGE. Appears to be very structurely sound. (I’m sure an inspection may quickly put me in my place.
I really like the façade pretty much as-is with some sprucing up and some period-paint colors, and that tub looks to be in great condition. There are screens on the fireplaces which leads me to believe they were somewhat recently used (call the chimneysweep!). Wiring and plumbing would need an overhaul (and that washer and dryer need a little relo plan), and I’m saddened by the cork drop ceilings which will be a bit of a doozy to undo (or not. Sometimes you get lucky with drop ceilings.). That addition on the back disturbs me but maybe W&D can hang out there for the time being.
I could go on and on. This place is just oozing with charm and is 100% my kind of house!
This would be my dream house. It could be so pretty with a little love and paint! Too bad it’s not in CA for that price!
I love this house too. I wish I was younger and I would go all around America fixing up and loving up these gems, live there for about a year and move on, just long enough to get a taste of life in each town. And then I would stop back home to visit my husband and get some more money, because he’d have to stay and pay for all of this. I did say “I wish”.
I would like to join Cindy ( and her husband). All houses this age are worth saving for their charm and grace and a reminder of the skilled craftsmen that once flourished. So sad that no one even knows how to build such homes anymore. Don’t get me up on that soapbox or I may never come down!
Janet
Yes, yes, & Yes! this house is definitely worth saving. If someone could get it for less than that asking price (probably quite a bit less) and could put some $$ into it, it would be a real gem. I see LOTS of poential in that one. It’s really not all that bad & a little cosmetic surgery could go a long way in beautifying it even a little bit.
Love it!
Rhoda
It looks like a diamond in the rough. Just some reno on baths and kitchen but the size and lot look great. The porch and fireplaces are enough for someone to want it. Hope it gets saved.
I hope someone saves it. It’s beautiful on the outside and has potential on the inside. I love old houses.
Brandee
You know I love it. It’s too expensive for me to call it a handyman special, but if I were the type who could do a lot of the work myself (which I’m not), I would do it. I’d want to know what other houses in the neighborhood are going for, though, before I spent that much money on it.
It could be so. very. beautiful.
Buy it, Julia! You know you want to!
Maya, don’t tempt me!
It’s actually in the historic neighborhood we originally wanted to move into when we came to Cincinnati but we couldn’t afford any of the “fixer uppers” there. We looked and looked, hoping there would be some miracle, like a stupid person would list their gorgeous, already-renovated Foursquare for $150,000 by mistake or something, and we could snatch it up. Surprisingly, this never happened!
I can’t even afford this poor old house, which appears to need new everything. I don’t think the owners ever did anything to it but add that ceiling fan to the kitchen.
I still want it anyway.
Thank you all for making me feel like maybe I’m not so crazy for wanting it. -J
Don’t laugh I just forwarded it on to a good friend who works in downtown Milford. He’s going to swing by after work.
Who knows, you may have a future in matchmaking!
Julia….is it obvious that both of the Summer Kitchen girls LOVE this house???? Ha!
Melinda–
You’ll have to tell us what he thinks. I want to drive over there myself when I get a chance. You can always tell more by seeing a house in person.
Karla & Karrie–
This wouldn’t be too far for you guys to commute. I think you should by it and let me hang out in it with you! -J
Ohmygravy!! Would I love to get my hands on that house. New kitchen and baths, some paint, new rugs, closet fixes and some improved landscaping and this house would be FAB!!! It has tons of character and an awesome sized yard. Big rooms too.
Hi Julia
You KNOW you don’t have to ask what I think! LOL Buy it Julia
rue
ummmmmmm – no – have you seen the price of gas…..but it would be fun wouldn’t it????
Absolutely it can be saved. It could be beautiful, parts of it already are.
I love projects like that but I never have the budget to fix it – I’d just have to live with the pink kitchen.
Seriously gorgeous. l love it! I agree with several others…the charm in these old houses is tough to come by. What a gem!
it’s love at first sight for me! just needs a little tlc…but it’s just lovely.
Oh, projects like this call my name. This house has tons of potential, if you had the means to do it right. I’m guessing that the wiring and plumbling are ancient, and that is a huge expense. But there is tons of charm. And those porches are great. If someone buys this and fixes it up you have to keep us posted!
Please, please, PLEASE tell me someone saves this house! It is so beautiful with so much potential!
Oh, love it! Especially that big, spacious sunroom/porch.
It does need a lot of updating, especially in the kitchen. I don’t even want to guess what that is on the walls in there. But it’s definitely fixable.
I love it!
Too funny! My friend’s Jim and Carol lived in the upstairs of this house when they were first married. the rent was $100. The owners spent their winters in the south, so Jim and Carol were in charge of the yard as part of their rent. I remember it as being freezing in the winter and really hot in the summer, no central air, at least when they lived in it. It certainly does have potential! Every time I was over I would re-store it in my head. I hope some one buy’s it and gives it the tlc it deserves.
What a cute house! If that doesn’t have potential, I don’t know what does!
Given enough money, that house would be my dream.
Let me just say that I want to stand in that kitchen and just breath in the (mold) history. Yes, of course, the house is worth saving! Heck, we’re saving one in much worse shape than that…(Julia, it happens next week, I hope!)
Snatch it up, Julia! Bring her back to her original glory! I’m sure you know how to wield a hammer.
Why are you doing this to me??? If this house were sitting here in North Pole, Alaska, I’d sell my house and I’d be at the realtor’s office yesterday. I LOVE old houses. This one says family all over it. The only thing that I wonder about is the insulation. In older homes they didn’t focus on insulation as much as they do now. There really isn’t any reason to not move in it as it is. It is not trashed. Yes it needs updating, but it is livable after a deep cleaning. Here’s my list of to do’s
Doors- Strip to bare wood. They are treasures under all that paint.
Kitchen- KEEP stove! Another treasure. Redo cabinets, walls and floor
Bath- Remove paper from walls. Update everything. Tubs aren’t nice enough to keep.
Have fireplaces checked.
Paint whole house inside and out.
Buy a swing and other porch furniture.
Oh my, I have serious house envy now. Thanks Julia
Not for $275,000. It needs a TOTAL kitchen re-do.
The outside looks great.
Is it just me or are the walls short? Or is that just the way the it looks in the picture? I couldn’t tell.
Beautiful home, Julia and absolutely worth saving! I love the exterior and setting and the interior looks great.
Pat
I love it! I can just imagine it all fluffed up and ready for a party! I’d love a house like that – all pretty and white. Hugs, Patti
I was watching some house flipping show, and the guy made more money by splitting up the huge lot and selling it off than he did on the house remodel. So I’d buy the house, split the lot in two, sell the second lot, and then use the money to remodel the house and live in it. It’s a beautiful house.
My husband bought me a house much like that about six years ago. However it is in southern Georgia. I still walk around in awe and just loving it.(it is still a work in progress, but comfortable.) I still feel like I am dreaming. (We moved from Atlanta) It does not have to be a dream.
Even my husband loves it now. There are others like it down here. The price tag is much lower. There is a beautiful house right next door that has the most beautiful pocket doors and mantles you can imagine!! It is quite livable and the price is $50,000. That is not a typo. I just love this quieter area 60 miles north of Jacksonville, Fla.
Well, guys, I’m packing up and moving to southern Georgia. I can’t resist a $50,000 house with pocket doors and amazing mantels like the one Darrene told us about. I hope my husband and kids will agree to come with me… -J
ohh i love it. i wouldn’t buy it for that much though… looks like the kitchen and bathrooms need a lot of updates. however, it has a ton of charm and beautiful floors.
Hi Julia! I am following in your footsteps…I too have found the house I wish I could save. My husband and I actually went to Pittsburg and contacted a realtor to see this home. Judging by the photos online we knew it was going to need work but, lets just say the pictures did the house way more justice than it deserved. I was so sad after walking through the house. I just couldn’t understand how someone could let this beautiful home get as bad as it was. We’re talking molding plaster walls, which by itself is not too bad for a house this age, but in the basement the foundation walls were severly cracked and questionable. But to this day I fantasize about the wood floors under that carpet, all the history I could find burried and and somehow preserve, and the kitchen…its just a blank slate, I could do anything. Did I mention the entry way? It has a marble floor. I really could go on and on. The asking price for this house is 120,000 less than a house that is for sale two doors down. Great historic neighborhood. I only wish that I could be the one to breath life back into this historic home. I’ll attach the link to the mls.
http://www.jonesrealty.com/109953
Now I ask you, what would you do?
Lisa