Field Guide to Researching a Home's History
(Updated June 2007)
Ever wonder who lived in your home before you? Do you know how to find out? If your home is a landmark (Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Henry Sullivan, etc.) or if it housed a famous (or infamous) resident, the search will be fairly simple. For the rest some effort will be required. This Field Guide will get you started and also provide information on architectural styles of homes in the United States. (D. Foligno, Information Specialist)
Contents:
How to Research Your Home | Architectural Styles | Buying & Selling Older Homes | Related Websites | Books, eBooks & Other Resources
Home Research Checklist
Title & Deed research
Tax assessment records
Building permits
Architects' records
Photographs
Fire Insurance Maps
Physical examination
Oral histories/Interviews
Census records
Source: House History Checklist, (Kansas State Historical Society).
How to Research Your Home 
How to research the history of your house, (WikiHow.com).
Building histories tutorial, (Denver Public Library).
If houses could talk, (HGTV, 2007).
Your House Has a History, (Chicago Dept. of Planning & Development) - Step-by-Step guide to tracing a home's history.
Finding the history in your home, (Old House Web.com).
Researching a historic property, (National Register of Historic Places, 1998) - Sources and techniques.
How to research your house, (Save Our Heritage Organisation).
Architectural Styles
Residential Styles, (REALTOR® Magazine Online).
Classic houses of Seattle, (Seattle Times, Mar. 26, 2006).
Architectural styles of America, (Northern Arizona University, June 2006).
The bungalows of Sears Roebuck, (Arts Crafts. com, 2005) - Catalog homes for less than $1000.
The house that romance built, (REALTOR® Magazine Online. May 1, 2005).
Victorian architecture, (Victoria Station).
Classic home collection, (Architecture Week).
Architecture quiz, (REALTOR® Magazine Online).
Painted ladies, (Wikipedia.org).
Buying & Selling Older Homes
House hunting? Think small, old, (Boston Globe, Apr. 14, 2007).
Tips for marketing an older home, (Columbus Board of REALTORS®, Mar. 2007).
Haunted real estate: a primer for real estate agents, (Real Town.com, Mar 9, 2007).
How to buy historic homes, (How to Do Things.com, Aug. 7, 2006).
Marketing older homes, (Realty Times, Aug. 11, 2005).
Buying a home in an historic district, (Bob Vila.com).
A new approach to selling older homes, (REALTOR® Magazine, Apr. 1, 2005).
Know the style, sell the house, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, Jan. 1, 2004).
Related Websites
State-by-State Registry of Historic Places, (National Register of Historic Places) - Find out if you live in a historic home.
National Register Publications, (National Park Service Register of Historic Places) - Free, downloadable research guides.
Historic Preservation Organizations, (Old Houses.com) - National and State resources.
National Trust for Historic Preservation, (National Trust.org).
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, (Ancestry.com) - Maps charting the growth of American cities. Links to collections for several cities.
Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties, (U.S. Secretary of the Interior).
How to preserve your historic home, (National Trust for Historic Preservation).
Restoring historic homes: a Primer, (Kiplinger.com, May 12, 2006).
Preservation Directory, (Preservation Directory.com) - Historic preservation online resource.
That's my old house, (Thats My Old House.com) - Every house has a story.
Victorian Variety, (HGTV.com) - Painting a 'Painted Lady' Victorian.
eBooks & Other Resources
eBooks.realtor.org
The following ebooks and digital audiobooks are available to NAR members:
Dictionary of architecture (Mobipocket)
Books, Videos, Research Reports & More
The resources below are available for loan through Information Central. Up to three books, tapes, CDs and/or DVDs can be borrowed for 30 days from the Library for a nominal fee of $10. Call Information Central at 800.874.6500 for assistance.
New Life for Old Houses, (Chicago, IL: Preservation Press, 1989).
Field Guides & More
These Field Guides and other resources in the Virtual Library may also be of interest:
Field Guide to Historic Properties
InfoCentral Blog
>> Have an idea for a new Field Guide? Click here to send us your suggestions!
The inclusion of links on this Field Guide does not imply endorsement by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR makes no representations about whether the content of any external sites which may be linked to this Field Guide complies with state or federal laws or regulations or with applicable NAR policies. These links are provided for your convenience only and you rely on them at your own risk.
