How do I know how old my house is?
- Find your ownership documents.
- Look at your house's design features.
- Inspect your basement or attic.
- Look inside your toilet tank, if the toilet has not been replaced.
- Contact the area historical society.
How do you determine the age of a house?
While building architectural styles such as "Victorian" continue to be built into the present, the combination of a recognizable architectural style with an inspection of the building materials which have been used provide considerable information about the age of a home as well as its history of changes and additions.
How can you tell if a house has a previous history?
Of course there may also be an “erected date” somewhere on the building, or a previous house name carved into the stone work. If however, like so many homes it has no obvious clue to a former history, take a good look at the architectural style and features on the outside and inside of the house.
How do I know what style my house should be?
Look at the shape of the roof and the placement of the windows. Explore web resources or books such as "A Field Guide to American Houses" by Virginia and Lee McAlester. Compare the way your house looks with these style guides.
How do I find out how much my house is worth?
Details like the year it was … Start with the tax records. Assuming they've been conscientiously maintained, these will list every owner of the land on which your house sits, along with the assessed property value from year to year. Spot a sudden jump in valuation?
How can you find out how old a house is?
Local town, county, or state tax records usually indicate the date or year a building was constructed. Historical real estate listings may include indications of building age. Census records can prove that a house was present at the time the census was taken.
What year was my house made in?
The first step in finding a house's history is looking up the address of the property on a real estate website. The property details listed will include the assessor's parcel number (APN) or tax ID number and the year the house was built under the Public Facts section, among other details.
Is Ownerly com legit?
Ownerly is in fact a legitimate business, not a scam. It was created by the New York-based data company The Lifetime Value Co. However, it is still a relatively new platform. As a result, there aren't many reviews of Ownerly on major platforms such as their Facebook business page, Google, or Yelp.
How do I find out when my house was built NSW?
Use the NSW LRS Online portal to check document and plan status - a free online inquiry. You may want to look here for additional details, such as the plan lodgment date, the owner of the property at date of lodgment, or the Vol/Fol of the title being affected by the plan.
What does it mean when your home has changed hands?
People are apt to make changes to a house as soon as ownership is transferred, so knowing when your home changed hands might indicate when remodeling occurred.
Where is the tax roll for my home?
The tax roll for your home is located at your local city hall, town hall, county courthouse, or municipal building.
How do detectives improve their architectural skills?
Detectives look at everything, every piece, before forming theories about how they fit together. Your architectural sleuthing skills will steadily improve as you practice your observation skills and learn how to pay attention to all the details. Older houses are almost never built all in one piece and all at one time.
Is it hard to pin a house's birthday?
Pinpointing a home's birthday may be difficult. Written records of construction and renovation are often confusing and conflicting—and people's memories are even worse than that. The real estate lady says the house was built in 1972. The man down the street remembers when your house was being built in 1952. But one look at the kitchen, and you know ...
Visit the Tax Assessor
Start with the tax records. Assuming they've been conscientiously maintained, these will list every owner of the land on which your house sits, along with the assessed property value from year to year.
Stop by Your County Clerk's Office
Next, you’re interested in three files at the county clerk's office: the Registrar of Deeds, the tract index, and the grantor-grantee index. These offer a comprehensive listing of all transactions that have involved your lot, including names and dates of previous owners, as well as the salient details of any lawsuits or liens filed over the years.
Find Your Local Building Inspector
Also ask your local building inspector to see any building permit applications associated with your street address. Required for most new construction and remodeling, these documents may reward you with information about any major changes that have been made to the structure.
Check Out Community Libraries
Many libraries devote sections to local history, archiving historical maps, original building plans, and even old photographs. Scour the real estate listings in decades-old newspapers around the time you believe the property was built for stories mentioning your address, and consult the census records for your area.
Investigate the Materials Used
Your home's materials speak volumes about when it was constructed—so long as your home has not been completely renovated. For example, asphalt tile flooring exploded into popularity around 1920, but had been virtually forgotten by 1960.
Inspect Your Home's Style
Finally, know that, like any trend, the popularity of certain architectural style waxes and wanes. Use your knowledge of these to determine when your own home was built. Italianate style was an 1850s favorite; Colonial Revival was all the rage in the 1890s; and by the 1900s, Craftsman-style houses had started cropping up everywhere.
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First: Ask the Previous Owners
Gulp. I work by myself for a reason. People and I just don’t mesh super well. BUT, I can’t deny that the neighbors around my house have lived here much longer than I have. In some cases, they have been here for over 60 years! I just can’t pass up that opportunity to learn what I can.
Second: Figure Out the Architectural Style
HUZZAH. BOOKS. Old houses can kind of be a crapshoot when it comes to figuring out their style because so many of them blended different styles from different regions. However, this book is the absolute gold standard for helping you identify each of the individual pieces in your house.
Third: Trace the Deed
This method is a 100% Nancy Drew sleuth-level adventure. You ready? Ok. First thing you need to do is go to your county records offices. You’re looking for the records of property deed sales. Ask around to find someone who knows what they are. Once you find the right place, look up the most recent deed of sale for your property.
Fourth: Local Records
In addition to tracing the deed, nose around while you’re in the records office and see if they know anything else.
Fifth: Sanborn Fire Maps
Oh how I WISH we had Sanborn maps of our property. They would be so useful!! The Sanborn Fire Maps were typically made of cities throughout the years that showed where houses and buildings were located. You can see a list of maps here.
The Game of How Old Is My House
Even with all these tips and tricks, sometimes we don’t know when our houses were built. Sometimes we won’t every know with any certainty. And that’s ok! We can still love them and care for them as they are.
How to find out how old a house is?
As part of a sale, the seller must complete a ‘Seller’s property information form’ which may contain the property’s age. If you have a mortgage, your survey may say how old the building is.
Does the Land Registry store build dates?
As Land Registry do not store build dates, one can go to local estate agents or even knock on a few doors nearby to get an idea. The valuer or surveyor of your property would have had to an estimated build date as well. If the property is reasonably new you may be able look this up through planning applications.
Is a house plot part of an estate?
Most house plots. e.g. including the house land and garden were originally part of a larger estate or manor. The current edition of the register may reference deeds which relate to when that estate was sold off (in whole or part) into house plots, but often the register is silent on these matters.
How deep was the house in the 18th century?
Until the 18th century most smaller houses were only one room deep. After this period house two rooms deep became popular. Sometimes you can see that the front and rear walls have been raised to give more headroom, often the pitch of the roof is flattened. Sometimes the raising was done at the front only.
How often should I replace a roof?
It has been estimated that a tile or slate roof needs replacing every 100 years whilst thatch has an even shorter life.
What was the Cob House made of?
Cob Houses. Small houses and cottages could be made of this mix of chalk, mud and straw which was used since medieval times particularly in an areas where timber was scarce. As the predominant material was chalk it is more likely found in chalk downland areas.
Why is it so hard to date a timber frame?
Dating a timber frame building can be difficult due to the ease by which it could be altered over the years.
When was brick used to build houses?
Brick Built Houses. Brick have been used to build homes since the Romans introduced them but it was not until the 16th century that it became a popular choice of material. Read more about the use of brick and see examples of the types of brick styles by clicking this link to Bricks.
How long before a property is built can you call the county recorder?
The date of construction can be 1-3 years prior or in some cases, much earlier if records are incomplete.
What are some examples of conditions that confuse dating the age of a home?
Some examples of conditions that confuse dating the age of a home include. The original home may have been substantially modified, renovated, or a large addition may have been built abutting or even overlaying the original structure. The home may have been brought to its present site from another location.
How long does a wood roof last?
But an inspection of interior and exterior roofing details can indicate the probable age of a wood roof (which can last up to 40 years) as well as the roofing history of the building, the number and types of roofing layers, and related house-age-determination details.
When were plank houses built?
1880 - 1920 estimated, with some plank house construction continuing up to possibly 1950. Plank houses were constructed entirely of sawn planks and without the use of larger dimensioned 2x lumber.
