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Moving and Fixing-up a Historical House


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2012 Mar 20, 2:15am   1,056 views  2 comments

by Z   ➕follow (1)   💰tip   ignore  

In another thread about building a house, someone mentioned they recommended moving a historical house instead.

My husband's employer owns a historical house that has been vacant for probably 6 years. The first time I saw this house I wanted to fix it up and move in. Now the house has been available for relocation for a year or 2. The house is about 1800 sf would need kitchen and bath remodel. The rest of the house would mostly be paint and cleaning/ polishing hardwood. I was told the house would need to be cut in 3 parts to move, the large front porch is made of stone. The attic space goes the full length of the house and could be remodeled into additional bedrooms/ living space.

So how much is moving this going to cost me and what else does moving include? Does it include any of the prepping of the foundation? Fixing what was cut in the move?

Anyone want to provide details of their experience?

Thank you.

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1   bob2356   2012 Mar 20, 2:50am  

I've moved a house once before and am in the middle of moving one now. The answer to all your questions is it depends on the house and the house movers. Find all the house movers in a reasonable distance then do the usual better business bureau, asking people who have used them, internet research to see who is probably good and who is not (really bad house movers usually kill themselves anyway). Get the 2 best of the lot to give you a detailed estimate including the work they do and what they don't do. Good house movers know all the ins and outs of planning, permits, builders with experience working on moved houses, etc.. So you have to be really comfortable and trusting with who you choose.

For what it is worth mason/stone work is usually toast unless it is very, very small. A big stone porch would have to be taken apart and rebuilt. House movers are usually very, very good at cutting up houses in places that minimize damage to trim and woodwork, electric, plumbing, and hvac. They do it day in and day out.

The biggest problem is usually how far the new lot is away and the route. If the height of the house or the route requires a lot of wires to be moved the cost becomes prohibitive fast. The movers will know all about this.

The second biggest problem is financing. Banks are very leery about this. You would think you could do a standard construction loan since you are buying a property then putting up a house minus building the house, but banks don't see it that way. Usually the movers will know a bank that can work with you.

The plus side is if you get it together, PLAN/PLAN/PLAN and budget VERY carefully you can actually end up with a very nice house substantially cheaper this way. The devil is in planning down to the very last detail. It's a lot harder than you would think, especially coordinating all the subcontractors. Unlike building, moving is very time sensitive. Once the equipment is on site and the whole crew is standing around waiting to place the house you just can't have a laggard sub not show up for a couple of days. Make sure there are substantial performance penalties in everyone's contract if they foul up the process.

Good luck, it's a very interesting process.

2   Z   2012 Mar 20, 3:29am  

Thank you for your time and help! the move is just a few miles. I have some estimated costs of the move but of course I know there are other issues like getting utilities and making the house live-able after the move. the land info says there is utility to the street.

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