By: Lorraine Arnold

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”      
                                                            –Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You’ll Go

Beginning to research a house’s history is like going on an adventure. It reminds me of the Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.” The story basically inspires the reader to go wherever life leads. Researching your house is very much the same. There are so many directions you can go in. So, is it best to simply go in any direction you choose? Or is there a method to the madness of finding all the information needed to develop a comprehensive story of your house? The short answer is, both.

THE NUMBER ONE DOCUMENT
There is one set of documents you should gather first; that is the chain of deeds. Most often these can be found in the county clerk’s office. In New York City they can be found in the Buildings Department at 66 John Street on the 13th floor. Following the chain of owners from the present back to as far as the records will take you will provide you with a starting point from which to continue a search in any direction. Deeds list the names of buyers and sellers, details about the sale (including purchase price in some cases) and other details - such as whether or not it was an estate sale - all of which will add flavor to your story.

ORGANIZING
Making copies of each deed is suggested since you may need to refer back to any one of them for clarification of details when searching for further information. You can place these in a folder or binder, but I recommend you scan them into your computer and begin a folder on your hard drive or in the Cloud. By scanning the documents to be viewed on your computer you will find it is easier to zoom in on older documents which may contain writing which is difficult to decipher because of small, abbreviated, or old-style writing.

USING THE DOCUMENTS TO CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE
The next step would be to begin to abstract the information into a chart. List the date of the conveyance, the grantor (seller) and the grantee (buyer), price, and note any information which may be unique to the deed. You can develop this chart on paper to add to a loose-leaf notebook, but again, I recommend using your computer. Programs such as Microsoft Excel, Access, OneNote, or Evernote are useful for this.

THE PLACES YOU’LL GO
In order to develop the story of your building, the next step would be to begin researching the individuals listed on the deeds. From here you can “steer yourself any direction you choose” as Dr. Seuss says, including building records, tax records, designation reports, land maps, newspapers, city directories, and censuses. Details of what direction you may choose and the types of documents that exist will be explored further in upcoming blogs.

By: Lorraine Arnold

In Why a House History Part I we explored some of the reasons to consider conducting a house history - simply curiosity, knowing your investment and for restoration or renovation projects. Here are a few more reasons to consider:

REAL ESTATE RESALE

Now more than ever, real estate agents or owners who are selling a property are looking for ways to find something unique to market properties. While reading its history will not be the main selling factor of most properties, it truly draws the attention of a buyer who has been looking at similar properties over and over with rote descriptions. Read some of the stories on www.buildingchronicles.com to consider how the nuances might enhance your listing, brochure or other marketing piece. Also consider conducting a complete house history to produce a historical prospectus for the building including its complete economic, ownership and construction accountings. Having a complete historical prospectus provides an understanding of one’s investment when it comes to negotiations and the confidence in fully knowing one’s property.

HISTORIC DESIGNATION

Historic property owners sometimes have mixed feelings about having their property officially designated due to potential restrictions. But if your property is worthy of being designated and you would like to do so, a complete history is required to officially obtain that status. The potential to obtain funding to restore the property, in addition to the fact that at times tax credits are available are a couple of the positives to historic designation. For some however, just knowing that preservation has been assisted through designation is reason enough to do so.

BUILDING A LEGACY

The final reason to conduct a house history that we would like to point out is to consider documenting your family’s legacy. If your family moves from house to house or has multiple properties or vacation homes, this is an avenue to record the history of the buildings as well as how your family contributed to their history. This can be performed for family businesses as well. It is a great way to have something tangible to show to future generations which details the story of their ancestors.

In the next few weeks we will expand these topics to consider how to conduct each house history and explore more about the benefits of each.

NEXT: How to begin researching a house history.

A businessman once asked me to define a “house history.” In an attempt to answer his own query, he told me that a house history begins with the construction date of the house and details the upgrades throughout time. It sounded rather mundane and I suppose if it really were nothing more than that, it would end the discussion there. But that isn’t the case.  Believe me, a house history is much more interesting than the definition provided by that man and over the next several months this blog will be exploring house history research beginning with the “whys” of conducting one.

There are many types of buildings to explore such as: townhouses, detached houses, commercial buildings, stables, hotels, apartment buildings, etc., and the reasons for conducting the history are just as varied. The research can actually be a fun adventure of mystery and discovery. Here are some of those reasons for “why a house history” for both residential and commercial properties:

CURIOSITY

I don’t have to say much about curiosity. Anyone who has entered an older building whether it is a residence or business has probably been subject to the wandering thoughts, wondering who walked the halls, what life was like in the past. Questions pervade like, what contribution did the owners or workers make to the building or the business it housed? The swarming questions often beg to be answered and seeking documents for those answers is the beginning of conducting a house or building history.

KNOWING YOUR INVESTMENT

Beyond curiosity, another more important reason to conduct a house history is to become better acquainted with your property. What do we really know about one of the largest investments we are making? It is amazing that generally we purchase a house or building knowing very little of its past. Developing a historical prospectus via a house history can provide complete documentation of the property and building over the years including the economics, construction and renovations, owners, building uses, etc. There is nothing like knowing your property inside and out. It provides a solid handle on its worth.

RESTORATION/RENOVATION

Have you ever come across a building with a rather disjointed eclectic style which seemed to detract not only from its beauty, but from its value? I recall that very feeling when purchasing my home in the 1980s. After researching the history and engaging an engineer familiar with older homes it was discovered that the main part of the house was built pre-1810, an addition was built in the late 1890s and the final, somewhat bastardized extensions were added in 1970. I have no doubt that the reduction in price and length of time on the market had something to do with the lack of understanding of how to connect the old with the new. After purchasing the property and conducting a house history we gained insight into its past which assisted in our renovation and restoration efforts resulting in a more cohesive look.

These are just a few reasons why conducting a house history might be advantageous and fun. More to explore...

NEXT WEEK: Part II – Real Estate, Historic Designation and Building a Legacy