Cheap Old Houses Instagram becomes too popular, creates home-buying wars

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/12/15/cheap-old-houses-instagram-bec.html

2 Likes

I have a thing for old homes, they just have a place in my heart.

12 Likes

You know the thing with those houses…
I would have to live where they are. That is a problem. (No offense meant to the locals I just have realized that I am a very urban person and like it that way)

17 Likes

Lol, the instagram acct in question literally says “to my knowledge, no one has yet gotten into a bidding war…”
BoingBoing: Cheap Old Houses Instagram becomes too popular, creates home-buying wars!!!1!

36 Likes

haunted…haunted…SUPER haunted

8 Likes

If I could convince these old bones to cooperate, I would like very much to rehabilitate one of the featured houses, they are all delightful in different ways. I’m afeared, however, that as soon as I started any major home improvement project my back would erupt in curses and NOPENOPENOPE. That’s what happened when I replaced some support pillars at the current Casa MadLibrarian, and again for the renovation of the second floor office at DH’s shop. In a few years I anticipate replacing the current carpet with Pergo, which will likely be several circles of Hell.

7 Likes

Oh gawd. I live in my half-a-million rabbit hutch in the UK. Those are heckin’ awesome. I am going to be retired in a few years, and it won’t matter where I live.

If it only wasn’t in Trump’s America…

4 Likes

I was thinking, “Under 20 grand? Is it built on a Hell Mouth?”

12 Likes

This is a bad headline and you should feel bad.

14 Likes

While the Instagram curator’s intentions seem kind, the post could be construed as illegal collusion and price fixing.

1 Like

Hopefully by the time you retire we’ll have fixed that.

6 Likes

More realistically, aside from out of the way locations, most of these places are probably in need of serious rehab. So if by ‘Hellmouth’ you mean ‘money pit,’ then, sure.

7 Likes

If cheap old houses with cool historic features are a thing people are into, just check any real estate site covering Cleveland, Detroit, or Toledo. Sort the prices low to high and look. Seriously, you’ll have to sort through a bunch of uninteresting houses, but you can usually find something stylistically similar to any of these for under 30,000. I have a few friends who bought their homes for under 10k and they aren’t amazing, but they have a lot more spare cash for their projects than anyone else I know.

5 Likes

“they’re all under $100K.”

…shows a 105k example in first image.

2 Likes

Sacred Aboriginal spiritual grounds.

2 Likes

Just a meth mouth.

2 Likes

Kansas, Hell Mouth, same thing.

9 Likes

I have seen many similar old Victorians. The thing is that when you see siding and roofing missing you can bet there is serious water damage, potentially mold, and neglect everywhere else. In San Francisco it is economically viable to gut the place and basically build a new house inside the old (keeping old features if so inclined). But out in the boonies you will end up spending more than you would to build a new much nicer home. So it is really only viable if you are willing to live in a place that is conventionally understood to be uninhabitable.

2 Likes

But you have still got the land for next to nothing.

FTFY. Money isn’t the only reason to buy an old Victorian that needs TLC. Some people buy vintage homes because they love old buildings and want to live in one.

1 Like