Victorian Time Capsule
House, 1,000-1,200 Square feet
Added by Adam
In 2015 we walked into this Land Bank house on a whim, and fell in love, then took a huge leap of faith. It is a c.1870s Victorian middle class home (not a mansion!), and by some miracle it still has all of the original woodwork and wallpaper still intact and unmolested, which is unheard of. The water damage was underway and the house was on the verge of total destruction, so we decided to save it. All plumbing/electric/hvac systems need total replacement, new roof, chimney rebuild, brick foundation work, some major structural framing work in a few isolated areas due to insect damage, and a lot of paint & plaster repair. Since we are doing a historic renovation and not just a rehab, we estimate total cost to come to around $70k (we are doing most of the work ourselves). I'm interested to hear stories or advice from other Land Bank buyers.
Projects
We are doing everything...it has been two years and we project it will be another few years before we are done. We can't even move in yet, since we still work full time while taking this on, as well as dealing with the houses we currently live in, not to mention the endless delays and hassles with the city, contractors, etc.