Cheap Old Houses

Informationen zum Autor Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein started the Instagram account Cheap Old Houses in 2016 to uncover the hidden gems across America for under $100,000. They've garnered millions of followers and grown their brand into a HGTV show and a newsletter. They've been featured widely in such publications as New York magazine, Architectural Digest , The Financial Times , Forbes , Daily Mail , and Business Insider . Klappentext "From the founders of the Instagram handle and HGTV show Cheap Old Houses comes a lookbook of beautiful, affordable homes and a resource for anyone who's ever dreamed of buying and restoring an historic house. Welcome to the magical world of Cheap Old Houses, where the new American dream comes with zero mortgage and an alternative lifestyle fit for a storybook. Elizabeth and Ethan Finklestein have scoured the country to capture real homes bought for under $150,000--some for as little as $25,000 to $50,000--and the stories of how they were acquired and lovingly restored. Within these beautifully photographed pages, you'll discover monster Victorian mansions, Italianate-style farmhouses, Federal manors, off-the-beaten-path cabins, and even old schools and churches turned into residences. Peppering the home love stories is valuable insight from Elizabeth, who shares her perspective as a historical preservationist on her favorite details to look out for, from pocket doors to plaster walls to mansard roofs"-- Leseprobe The Lost Art of Imperfect Living We believe that you're being sold the wrong American dream. This is a story of a counterculture. And a rallying cry to you, dear reader, to fall with us down the rabbit hole of cheap old houses. There, you'll meet people who have looked past the commodities we are so often told will make us happier: newer, shinier, more expensive things. They've dared to dream differently, and in often unexpected ways, they've discovered astonishing purpose by devoting attention to a home that needs love. The houses featured in this book are from all across our country, were bought (with only a few exceptions) for less than $150,000, and have largely been either restored or kept in their original states. These aren't fancy landmarks, mind you, but more typical homes that truly represent the genuine moments in which previous generations grew up, had families, pursued local careers, and planted deep roots. What do the owners of cheap old houses know that the rest of us don't? Well, for one, these old places allow for an entry point into our country's competitive real estate market, with a financially tenable opportunity toward homeownership. That location, location, location doesn't only apply to a handful of overpriced cities. And that the materials used to build many of these homes are not only beautiful but also have withstood the test of time. With care, these relics of the past can and will outlive us. As a culture, we've quickly been conditioned to desire homes that are perfect and flawless. Homes that are larger than life. Homes that are smart and have amenities to care for all of our needs. Homes that reflect every fleeting design trend. And, for many of us, the trade-off for acquiring these homes is living beyond our means and accepting soul-crushing debt, not to mention contributing to the overabundance of waste that comes from accumulating everything shiny and new. It doesn't have to be this way. As you'll see from the personal narratives that follow, investing in a cheap old house is about so much more than buying real estate. It's about investing in ourselves and the future of our communities by looking to the past. It's about respecting architecture that can continue to outlive us if we allow it, and saving materials through reuse, repair, and salvage. It's about taking a critical look at the bu...

Auteur
Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein started the Instagram account Cheap Old Houses in 2016 to uncover the hidden gems across America for under $100,000. They’ve garnered millions of followers and grown their brand into a HGTV show and a newsletter. They’ve been featured widely in such publications as New York magazine, Architectural Digest, The Financial Times, Forbes, Daily Mail, and Business Insider.

Résumé
From the founders of the HGTV show and Instagram Cheap Old Houses comes a stunning collection of beautiful, affordable homes and inspiration for buying and restoring an historic house.

Welcome to the magical world of Cheap Old Houses, where the new American dream comes with zero mortgage and an affordable lifestyle fit for a storybook. Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein have scoured the country to find homes in desperate need of saving—including a $45,000 Victorian in Mississippi, a $25,000 mansion in Indiana, an $82,000 recreational camp in Maine, and more. Cheap Old Houses features the stories of how these homes were acquired and lovingly restored.

Within these pages, you'll discover sprawling Victorian mansions, Italianate-style farmhouses, off-the-beaten-path cabins, and even old churches turned into residences. You'll meet a couple who camped out on their back porch while they made their 6,000-square foot manor livable, and homeowners who found a free bungalow and moved it seventy miles to their property. Additionally, Elizabeth, a historical preservationist, gives information on the details to preserve in historic houses, from pocket doors that might be hiding in the walls to badly cracked plaster walls that are worth repairing and butler’s pantries that are once again more desirable for storing dishes and small appliances.

With hundreds of beautiful photographs capturing these homes in all their glory, you'll be inspired to find "the one"—a fixer upper to rescue that will rescue you right back.

Échantillon de lecture
The Lost Art of Imperfect Living

“We believe that you’re being sold the wrong American dream.”

This is a story of a counterculture. And a rallying cry to you, dear reader, to fall with us down the rabbit hole of cheap old houses.

There, you’ll meet people who have looked past the commodities we are so often told will make us happier: newer, shinier, more expensive things. They’ve dared to dream differently, and in often unexpected ways, they’ve discovered astonishing purpose by devoting attention to a home that needs love.

The houses featured in this book are from all across our country, were bought (with only a few exceptions) for less than $150,000, and have largely been either restored or kept in their original states. These aren’t fancy landmarks, mind you, but more “typical” homes that truly represent the genuine moments in which previous generations grew up, had families, pursued local careers, and planted deep roots.

What do the owners of cheap old houses know that the rest of us don’t? Well, for one, these old places allow for an entry point into our country’s competitive real estate market, with a financially tenable opportunity toward homeownership. That “location, location, location” doesn’t only apply to a handful of overpriced cities. And that the materials used to build many of these homes are not only beautiful but also have withstood the test of time. With care, these relics of the past can and will outlive us.

As a culture, we’ve quickly been conditioned to desire homes that are perfect and flawless. Homes that are larger than life. Homes that are smart and have amenities to care for all of our needs. Homes that reflect every fleeting design trend. And, for many of us, the trade-off for acquiring these homes is living beyond our means and accepting soul-crushing debt, not to mention contributing to the overabundance of waste that comes from accumulating everything shiny and new.

It doesn’t ha…