Susan, if I were renovating, I wouldn’t landscape until I was ready to move in and until I was assured all the foundation and drainage work was completed. Too risky to keep any plants alive unless you are living there to take care of them or have irrigation.

I too remembered seeing the first shot sometime in the past. I'm glad to see the update. A clean slate, house and yard, as it were. Nice!

I missed any previous posts about the house, but I sure like it!!! I really hope the new owners are appreciative and will bring it to it's worthy glory.

I remember you posting about it and how badly overgrown it was. I wonder why it sat for so many years unoccupied? It is a grand house and a very well built house. Which is why it held up so well. I guess the over growth protected it too. I wonder what he paid for it. He at least has the right attitude by wanting to beautify it and replace the needed parts. I would love to see before and after pictures. It would be a good choice for one of the TV shows!

Good luck with your new neighbors. He should get you to plan out his garden. You have such a beautiful yard.

That can be a beautiful house. I admire the man's courage, having rehabbed a couple of old houses ourselves. I don't envy him the expense and the enormous amount of work. I hope he will be a good neighbor, and from what you've written, I think he will be.

I love looking at old houses. I grew up in a home built in 1992.

I think it looks awkward. The large dormer breaks the roof-line unattractively and has siding that doesn't match the rest of the house. Is there a dormer on the other side too? I also don't think the enclosed front porch with the balcony on top adds to the street appeal. Taking it down and replacing it with a simpler, unenclosed cover would improve the appearance, in my view.

Hopefully for you, lgmd, the empty house will soon be occupied with a new neighbor.

Love the house. Why would you hide such a lovely home with all that vegetation? My old house is loaded with many trees and bushes but the house is visible in full on all four sides.

I think the house has a lot of potential. I'm happy your neighbor is saving it.

My favorite part is the enclosed porch.

This house looks like it has a store front entrance . I wonder if it was some business back in the day?

Nice to know that house is going to find some love. Amazing potential.

Could be. I remember many homes back in the day that doubled as beauty parlors and doctors offices.

I love the entrance. To me it looks like a sunroom. This house would cost a fortune to fix it up the way I imagine, but it sure has potential.

Anyone who gardens first is bound to be a good neighbor. All that overgrowth had to go. I think it is a lovely house. I envy you a good neighbor. I have a slob across from me and it is painful to look at every day. They are definitely not good neighbors.

I am left wondering where the "front" door is? What side are we looking at? It looks like the street for that house is on the other side???

Great potential - great house. But I hate it when the "scorched earth" method of landscaping is used. Shrubs CAN be right up against a house if properly pruned. It will take decades for new to grow.

That's a great old house. It looks huge! That sun porch has a lot of potential with the right treatment. I'd love to see the inside of the house.

I'm torn on the landscaping. On one hand, I can see that it was overgrown but it might have been better to prune some of the shrubs back rather than removing them entirely. On the other hand, I love that stone foundation and think that at least some of it should be the star of the show and not hidden by too much landscaping. Hopefully, the new owner has a vision that will work.

I'll try to answer some of your questions. The people who lived in the house were taken out of there "kicking and screaming" 12 years ago. They were a brother and sister, both in their mid to late 90's. They were born in that house and never lived anywhere else. Neither ever married or had children. He had cancer and was bedfast, she was legally blind and couldn't take care of him, nor live there alone.

The house was empty all that time because it was tied up with legal battles between the bank, a mortgage company and the distant heirs.

That green growth against the house all happened in that 12 years...no shrubs, just fast growing trees that appeared there in the last 12 years.

That is the front of the house and that is a closed in porch.

Here are more pics. The back side. A small back porch and a balcony on the second floor. The door to it is from the only bathroom.

This is the other side of it.

Any idea what it sold for?

Hopefully he doesn't have too much rot from roof leaks. Appears to have good bones, fairly high ceilings and nice woodwork.

It warms my heart that someone is going to bring it back to life. At least the former owners did not have enough money to ruin the original features.

It has a lot of character! It will be splendid once it's restored, or remodeled.

The house has some really interesting details inside. The built-in shelving/cabinets are nice and I especially like that opening/scroll work near the stairs. The ceiling with the sections would look stunning with stamped tin reproductions installed in the sections.

Rather an odd feature to have a balcony opening off of the bathroom, but that could be turned into a really pretty feature with restoration of the balcony along with the addition of potted plants and whatnot. I'm guessing the new owners will be adding additional bathrooms to the house. It's much too large to have only one bathroom.

How interesting that the sun porch opens directly into the living room and it doesn't appear that there are any doors there to close it off from the rest of the house. I could see putting a set of french doors in that spot.

Hoping the new owner has the time and money to put into the house to restore it to it's original or better beauty. I've been looking at restored Victorians lately along with other styles of older homes. They are just beautiful, and so unique when done right. Much more interesting than today's cookie cutter homes that all look the same.

The basement floor seems to show signs of prior flooding. Maybe the yard vegetation was cleared away because the perimeter of the foundation needs to be excavated, to seal the foundation's exterior walls and put in a french drain?

This looks like one of those projects where the remedial work to make it habitable and safe (plumbing, wiring, removal of lead-containing paint, plus the addition of modern equipment like HVAC) could cost many, many multiples of the purchase price. Would that then produce a value for this place that could be realized when sold? If not, it won't be done.

Fascinating, I love old houses. I hope the character of this one is able to be kept. I bet that little corner sink was well used. And what fun wallpaper in the stairwell -- what era would that have been from?

I love that wallpaper and little corner sink too. It would be sweet with a couple of tiny shelves to store some handtowels.

The asking price was $62,900. I don't know what it sold for.

About the bathroom, I have an idea that that may have once been a bedroom. In 1910 when it was built, perhaps the bathroom was at the end of a path.

There are 5 bedrooms on the second floor. The third floor (with the dormers) was used as the brothers music and art room. He was a very gifted artist. He restored fine paintings for museums and was a classical pianist.

There was no door between the sun porch and the living room. There is a library with book shelves lining 2 walls. And there is a large dining room, and a very tiny kitchen on the main floor. The original kitchen was in the basement, as the family had servants. They were well off.

Elmer you are right, the basement did take in water often. Never saw it more than a few inches deep, but mildew is a major issue down there.

I cannot imagine how much it will cost to restore the house the way it should be done. Major issues could come up that one would not be prepared for.

The brother was also a collector of fine antiques. He had a massive collection that he kept in another old house that had no heat/air conditioning. He rented the place. Much of that collection was sent to a well known auction house in New York. It brought in well over a million dollars. The man spent every penny he could get his hands on, on antiques. Some Chinese sculptures and vases were from the 14th century. He was a nasty man with a major ego. Sister was as sweet as she could be. I adored her.

Oh I hope they're able to restore it to it's former beauty! Or even better than the former!

What a great house and great story!

It appears a somewhat whimsical house to me (?). And the kind of house where wonderful art and music would be right at home! I hope you will keep us informed as to the buyer progress.

If I were renovating, I wouldn’t landscape until I was ready to move in and until I was assured all the foundation and drainage work was completed. Too risky to keep any plants alive unless you are living there to take care of them or have irrigation.

Daffodils are inexpensive, and maybe he just wanted some spring cheer! As far as removing the trees, if they were too close, they'd not help the exterior of the house "breathe" properly. Mildew and rot.

lgmd: Looks like the new owner has his work cut out for him! The house exterior - great bones. I hope he can save some of those old interior features.

Glad someone has taken the home on. One bathroom? I would assume he'll rectify that, house is too big for just one bathroom.

Looks like a hotbed of contaminants to me.

Donate the typewriter to a museum, bulldoze the structure and build something aesthetically pleasing.

It may need a sump pump or a new one. There's lots of issues with drainage I see here, with the flat lot. It could be restored only to flood again. I enjoyed seeing it! I thank you for posting ALL the cool pics Gaz! I see they put in a car port? or is it a covered walkway? Weather/rain is an issue.

(Didn't finish writing, had to run off for an appointment...)

That tin ceiling may be past salvaging, but perhaps sections could be saved for spot appeal. I could see a segment or more, say, on a dining room wall. (But if the new owner could save the ceiling as a ceiling, more power to him!)

I LOVE the scrollwork on the landing at the top of the stairs, a definite keeper.

This is not a task I'd ever consider taking on, but I'm glad he's not bulldozing the place.

Thanks, lgmd, for telling us more about the people who lived and enjoyed living there.

Car port. It was put in a couple years before he died. He always drove the biggest/fanciest Cadillacs. The sister was tiny, inches less than 5 feet tall and at most 80 lbs, drove his hand-me-downs.

I am sure that a sump would be a necessity. We have one here, just naturally added one when in construction. A lot of clay in the soil, just doesn't drain well. We bought this lot from them. It was the last of their estate other than the 3/4 acre the house is on. The estate was originally in the 15 to 20 acre size. Our lot was where their tennis court was. The estate was sold off a little at a time. We were told by a family member that "uncle sold property when he needed more money to spend on antiques".

I looked at an old Victorian last Thursday. Lath & plaster...a septic tank that was shot. I was on board to do the restoration work until I got a quote of $100k for the city to run a line to it, from up the street. Link & It has a half acre lot

Oh that house is fab! I grew up in an old house so I'm partial. I hope the new owner has the time and money to bring her back. And I hope they let you peek and take pics......for us!!! haha

nicole,

Why not just put in a new septic? That farm house is not quite what I'd call a victorian.

annztoo.....city won't allow it. Since it's in the city they have the right to say. 1899 farmhouse.......

Nicole,

Ah, ok. Wow, that's a lot of $$, and it's going to make selling that little farmhouse difficult. I assume buyers would ask for an adjustment on asking price.

gaz...your messaging is turned off.....I wasn't trying to start a new topic. Sorry!

The same thing has happened to us. We live in a small rural area and the house next door had been empty a good 10 years. Finally it was put on the market and a really nice couple bought it. There is 5 acreas there also. I went over and introduced myself one day. I gave them information like trash pickup, electric company and so on. We have become great friends. They are moving from the city. We have a field between us that is for our garden. We have already told them we will share the space with them. It will be so nice to once again have nice neighbors.

Nicole, I don't understand the "your messaging is turned off" Looks ok to me. No foul, no harm done. All is ok with me. I appreciate all your in put here...you 'have been there done that' experience to share.

Ditto regarding the scroll work and the tin ceiling. One of the apartments in my building had a tin ceiling in the kitchen. The new landlord took it out when he rehabbed. A shame.

Gaz....I can't message you. The "message" link isn't displayed. There was another time I wanted to "chat" with you...when you had so much yellow in your garden....or to ask about lady bugs. :0) Note: My Dh says he's going to let me buy one of these old homes and "show me" how much work they really are. Game on!!!!!! I'd love to get my hands on one! After a total face lift....and such....ha ha....that little farmhouse I posted, would sell for $350K easy! Just up the street, 3 blocks , the bigger ones are a million+......I'm just doing little projects now.....I need to buy something or die of boredom. lol

Nicole, well, Dah! I get it now. But how do I turn it on? Have tried every option on my home page and can't see what I need to do.

"Your Houzz". Edit Profile. Advanced Settings. Scroll down almost to the bottom and check allow anyone to message me. This is where you can turn off all the email notifications also.

Thanks, sherry...actually I just found it on my own. I just didn't think of social media. This forum is as "social" as I get on line. lol

It would be nice if they didn't make it so hard to find.

ETA: You are by no means the first on I don't know how many posts that I have posted directions on how to find. I found it the same way you did, clicking around!

Love the house. I have been lurking and reading. Maybe the person that bought it will get on here and post updates.