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Keeping the Bloom on Older Homes
Buyers and sellers will appreciate Old House Web’s tips on how to restore, remodel or repair their classic home.
BY CHRIS LEPORINI
To many homeowners, older houses possess a sense of character lacking in today’s rows of identical suburban housing. If you prefer a house with history, or work with to clients that do, then you might want to check out Old House Web, a site dedicated to older homes and the people who buy them.
The site’s “Here’s How” section is a handyman’s dream, featuring step-by-step guides to remodeling, restoring, and maintaining older homes. Some articles cover a prohibitively narrow scope. Presumably few readers will have a first-hand need for preserving and repairing a log cabin, for instance. The majority of articles, however, such as pieces on revitalizing scuffed floors and restoring fireplace mantles, should apply to a broad audience of owners preparing to sell and new buyers. Complete with illustrations, these articles walk users through the do-it-yourself project basics. In addition, users can subscribe to the Old House Web’s free weekly newsletter, which provides updates about new content on the site.
The “Features and Gardening” section is anecdote-oriented, centering on stories about how people restore and enjoy their homes rather than outlining the hammer-and-nail details of the restoration process. Among the first-hand accounts gathered in this section are holiday stories, including haunted house tales--just in time for Halloween. The “Features” section contains an interesting and well-illustrated series exploring the history and identifying features of different architectural styles. Green-thumbed users will want to dig through the site’s extensive gardening section. The relatively new section is still taking seed, but contains valuable resources for garden lovers. For example, its gardening encyclopedia contains entries on everything from flowers and vegetables to houseplants and trees.
Along with serving as an informational resource, the Old House Web works to build a community of like-minded older-house enthusiasts. “The Boards” section provides users with the opportunity to ask difficult restoration questions or pass along tips that they’ve found helpful. The section also features several areas where users can buy related materials, such as house plans, furniture, and books on houses. Also, as a partner of the GoAntiques Network, the site provides an opportunity to buy art, antiques, and collectibles online.
Although the Old House Web features some great content, its resources can be difficult to navigate, because of a somewhat counter-intuitive layout. Many subject headings only vaguely describe a section’s content, making it more difficult to browse the site. For instance, an article on home inspection is located under the subject header, “How Houses Work.” Fortunately, the search engine makes it easy to locate a topic in this far-reaching site.” Still, when it comes to depth of information on a specialized subject, the Old House Web, should prove to be a valuable resource for anyone interested in purchasing, restoring, or maintaining an older home.
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Suggest a Site For Review
Every week, REALTOR® Magazine Online's Web review editor surfs the Internet to find sites useful to your business and off-hours lives. Have a favorite real estate Web site that you would like to see reviewed? Send your suggestions to Chris Leporini at mediatech@realtors.org. All decisions on which sites will be reviewed are completely at the discretion of REALTOR® Magazine Online's editorial staff. Please note: this column does not review individual practitioner or brokerage sites.
The column's focus includes free sites, as well as sites that charge for goods and services, but which still offer a free component of practical, sustained value to real estate practitioners, such as a free newsletter or regular news information.
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REALTOR® Magazine Online's "Web Review" summarizes the content of Web sites that may be of interest to members. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online are not responsible for, and nothing in the Web site profile shall constitute NAR's or REALTOR® Magazine Online's endorsement of, the web site, its content, products and services, or its provider. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online believe the information contained in this profile was correct and accurate as of the time it was prepared, but do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information and are not responsible for changes in the Web site. Members should conduct their own independent review of the Web site prior to any use of Web site, its content, products, or services to determine their suitability for the member's intended purpose. | |
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