For us, it's the pure love of an old house. We feel like we're saving it. Ours wasn't well built, necessarily, either. Remuddling over the years included removing a loadbearing wall on the main floor, so the upstairs floor was u-shaped. Jacked up the floor, installed new support beams, etc. And we do everything ourselves.

Now, we took off the crappy large wood shingles that have been on since at least the 40's hoping to find lovely drop siding - nope. It's nice on the 20's addition (6" redwood drop), but the rest of the house is just 1x6 boards. So, we are budgeting to buy new wood siding (vertical grain douglas fir) and make this baby beautiful.

It's our hobby, we are house proud, and honestly every once in a while we find a beautiful detail that has been hidden, an old chimney behind drywall, that keeps us going. I think of this house as a living thing, and I want to take excellent care of her. Oh, DON'T replace your windows, or there goes half the charm. :)
N

I think to determine if its worth it to sink $100k into an old house you have to ask yourself if after that will you have a house you love at a location you love? Also you have to look into electrical problems, plumbing problems, foundation problems and other structural issues and make sure if there are any (and in old houses problems always come up) you account for that in that $100k.

I personally LOVE old houses and even with all the problems they can sometimes have I wouldn't want anything else.

Rent in the area before buying.

We determined by location as the first criteria. Then if the bones could work for us. We are in the middle of our renovation and couldn't be more excited. Yes we are probably putting more in that the eventual value but it is right where we want to be. We feel we are saving a piece of history that deserved to be saved. We have seen many reproductions, beautiful, expensive ones, no one can duplicate the charm of an old place.

I'm with Brickeyee: rent for a while, if possible. That will give you time to get to know the local market, plus refine your own needs and desires for what a home will need to have to make you happy.

What has impressed me since I've been involved with real estate is the incredible variation in what people like, want or (apparently) are willing to put up with in their homes. Even though there is one overall "market" for real estate, if you don't reject out of hand at least 8 out of 10 you see, you probably haven't put enough time into figuring out what you want.

One man's crummey is another man's castle...

This has been a bit of a revelation/learning process for me. I think I used to assume that "old farm houses" were well built wonderful things that would always be worthy of "saving". However I'm coming to find that just as often money went into the farm and often the house was built as cheaply as possible. Sometimes that still means quality construction worth saving - but often it does not. No old gorgeous fireplaces, no old gorgeous woodwork. Its been very disappointing, often these places sit on nice property and that's been frustrating.

Here is a link that might be useful: not worth fixing 1900's

I live in a beautiful, huge 1890 townhouse (32 years). My daily life would have been different if I had had a wellbuilt 1950 cottage. Decide first what you want: rural life, social interaction, house maintenance/house pride.
If it is the house, the order of priorities should be pleasurable spaces before the obvious manageable repairs. As in used cars, there will always be unknown problems--have someone knowledgeable take a look--it MAY help.

I know I want rural life. The house is secondary but comes as part of the package/decision. If the house is a pit and worth fixing, fine I can do that. If the house was built on the cheap in 1900 and pouring money into it is dumb.....

Looking at that listing, I see what you mean, marys1000. Not that there is anything wrong with that place, just that it appears the (various) builders over the years were more interested in economical utility rather than an elegant structure.
As I alluded to in my previous post, many people would be perfectly happy in a place like that, enjoying the large yard while having a place to stay warm and dry. You will never be able to turn it into an elegant home, simply because the basic structure (let alone the finishing and detailing) are not designed for that.

The price seems high, but you are getting alot of land and probably Springfield is pricier that my (rusty) part of Ohio.

If you go for that place, I hope you like mowing...

I agree with Brian. The grounds are very nice but the house looks like its been remuddled. Around here most country houses are farm houses. They can be quite charming but most of the time they are plainer than city houses. Thats cause usually the rich built their houses in the city. If you want fancy woodwork and other old house bling you need to look at a city house.

You need to ask yourself do you want a country house or do you just want a house in the country. If you like everything level and plumb youre not going to be happy in an old house. Are you DIY or will you have to hire everything done. Old houses need constant maintenance.

Marys1000 -- I think that house is lovely. I have lived in a Pennsylvania 1870s tenant/farmhouse for eleven years and know firsthand about the unattractive, economical changes owners make to a home. I have spent a lot of time removing or fixing these things. It has been well worth it, but I know this will never be the house that architectural historians gush over. Granted, the house you are looking at has been enlarged or "remuddled", but I don't think that would limit your ability to make the place homey, cozy, and wonderful. If you are looking for a high-style architectural piece to restore to perfection, then move along. But if you want a genuine, rural home, then I think it fits the bill, especially with all its quirkiness. One caveat, I know nothing about pricing and whether this is high or low for your area. Nor do I know how common this type of home/size property is.

There are high styles of architecture available sometimes on the outskirts of towns, but more often I think properties with accompanying pieces of farmland will have this typical, plain type of farmhouse. It's quite beautiful in its own right, I think. The property is absolutely amazing. Good luck!

Tina

Well 12 hours out, 12 hours back and 300 in gas later.
I drove by this particular place (the general question and replies are still pertinent) and found that someone has built a new house right behind it, plus there was a close neighbor, and the commute seems much longer in reality.
So.....I can quit torturing myself with indecision now:)

Get a good inspector and not one that is recommended by the realtor you are working with.

We love old homes, but with the farm houses, I just could never get past the old crummy dirt basements. The fact that I'd have to deal with flooding and a constant stream of mice, I just couldn't commit. Instead, we opted for a 1920's English Tudor - still a lot of character and this one was a major fixer-upper, but structurally sound.

Good luck with your search.

I've bought, rehabbed, sold and lived in many older homes. The location, lot size, acreage, square footage, style and potential are most important, but I look for a sound foundation, sound structure, dry basement and look for signs of rot, dry-rot, asbestos, lead, mold, water, fire damage etc.

Older homes were built before codes & enforcement existed, or during hard times, so many are hit & miss as far as structural integrity is concerned. Even when I go over the home with a fine tooth comb, I'm still taking an educated guess as to what I'll find when I start gutting an older home.

Sometimes people in the area know the history of homes, the various homeowners, improvements and/or problems with the home which can be helpful.