With the rising cost of homes in today’s market, home buyers in St. Louis are looking for any option to save money on their dream home. Options include buying a house sight unseen, forgoing inspections to save money upfront, or looking into purchasing in a more historic neighborhood like older Kirkwood or Webster Groves. The last of these options is enticing not just for affordability, but also for the chance to qualify for the Missouri historic tax credit homeowners are clamoring for. It is also clearly safer than going into a home purchase blind or forgoing inspections, but buying a historic home in St. Louis is not always for the faint of heart.
When homes stand for over 100 years, there are very clear signs of a good build that allowed them to maintain their integrity for so long. However, those signs can spell dollar signs for home renovations in St. Louis, as many “old-school” methods of home building can be a pain for new homeowners. This includes load-bearing masonry, in which the walls of the house are its structure; this makes adding new doors or windows an engineering decision, not a sledgehammer decision. Other problems include galvanized or lead plumbing, no return-air paths for modern HVAC systems in St. Louis homes, and lead paint in homes built before 1978 or asbestos hiding in older building materials. All in all, this can easily eat into a budget that you would like to spend elsewhere, like on the design of your new home in St. Louis.
There are a number of other issues that could pop up, too; if the home is on the National Register or has a local historic designation, review authorities could take a closer look at the work you are doing. The City of St. Louis has a Cultural Resources Office that reviews exterior work in its local historic districts, and smaller municipalities like Kirkwood and Webster Groves have their own review boards. If you need home improvement in St. Louis, it’s not always as easy as applying for the permit and dusting off your hands.
With all this mentioned, historic home renovation in St. Louis can be a hassle. Historic work rewards a careful hire, so it pays to vet any contractor thoroughly and to know whether your project calls for a general contractor or a full design-build team before you start. That’s why Anzac Developments helps you oversee the entire process so everything gets done affordably, quickly, and correctly. With decades of experience and a team that can get things done, Anzac is on your side 100% of the way. Contact Anzac Developments today to get a quote on your new home in Missouri.