Two Reasons You Should Buy A Historic Home

2 September 2017
 Categories: Real Estate, Blog

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Search online and you'll find numerous articles detailing the horrors of purchasing and living in a historic home. While historic homes do have a few unique issues you won't run into with regular houses, here are two very good reasons you should consider buying historic homes for sale:

Higher Resale Value

If you're like most people, you want to be sure the home you purchase will retain its value so you'll at least make your money back when it comes time to sell the property. This is where historic homes have an advantage over regular ones as they will typically sell for 5.6 percent more than their contemporary counterparts and they generally hold their value throughout their lifetimes.

There are a couple of reasons for this. Owners of historic homes are required to maintain the property's aesthetic, which includes staying on top of repairs and using high-quality materials to ensure the home looks the same (or as close as possible) to when it was first built. This means the home is more likely to be in better shape than a non-historic house. If the home is located in a historic district that's subject to the same rules, the value of the entire area will typically remain stable.

Second, historic homes are actually in high demand. The inventory of historic homes is low, and those who do manage to get one tend to keep it for long periods of time. Therefore, when you're ready to sell, you will likely get lots of offers for your historic home and demand more money.

Enhanced Tax Benefits

Historic homes also typically come with some impressive tax advantages, which is another reason you should seriously consider buying one. Federal, state, and city governments are motivated to maintain historic homes for a variety of reasons, such as to maintain public easements or to preserve the tourist appeal of an area. As a result, these entities will often give people who own historic homes more incentive to keep and maintain them in the form of tax credits.

For example, the federal government has a program that lets owners write off up to 20 percent of the cost to rehabilitate a historic property. You can typically find similar state and local programs by doing an online search or contacting your local building preservation agency.

Be aware, though, that you or the property must meet specific requirements to qualify for the tax advantage. For instance, to qualify for a 10 percent federal tax credit, you must keep at least 50 percent of the home's external walls when you renovate it. Be sure to read the fine print of any program to before making changes to your home to protect your ability to qualify for the tax benefit.

For more information about historic homes or get help in buying one, contact a real estate agent.