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1. Research. Get as much knowledge as possible on the farmhouse. This includes the history of the respective house as well as the general information about the architectural, history, etc. of farmhouses. From this, you'll learn alot about how your house is constructed and "norms" in older homes and not panic if it's not "perfect" (for example, plaster walls vs drywall).
I think this is really fun. No need really to do all the historical research before you buy it, it is fun to learn afterwards and it keeps you motivated because it makes the house ever cooler as you learn about the lives of prior owners. Also do not worry about wavy floors. Get the foundation at, but it is probably just differential settlement. If level floors are important to you, get a new house and hope there are no soils issues.
2. Find a realtor who specializes in historic homes. Also, this realtor should be able to recommend a home inspector who also specializes in older homes.
Be careful though. Some realtors thing the ideal historic home has updated things like granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, a new open floor plan and new engineered wood floors, new vinyl windows and moldings - that is the last house you want, IMO. Test your realtor, have them show you a house you know is like that and see what they say. Be fair though, tell them up front what you want.
3. Hire specialists for additional inspections -- i.e., structural engineers for foundation problems, roofers, specialists in asbestos/lead, etc. You're going to need this and it's worth the extra few hundred dollars for peace of mind.
BE careful again. You do not want to end up with the "rip it out and replace it" guys. New is not better, especially when restoring a historic home. Asbestos is not an issue at all IMO, but it is a tool you can use in negotiating. You should be aware of it. Lead paint is an issue, especially if you will have children in the house. However is it not a major problem to deal with. Lead paint on the outside is more of a problem because you can get into regulatory issues if you need to scrape it off.
4. Be patient. Don't be afraid to walk away from something that's too tough to tackle. First-time home buyers typically want move-in ready homes and alot of older homes are definitely not move-in-ready by their standard (or, in fact, they really are, but just need a little work).
I would add "be flexible" The definition of "move in ready varies. Even my wife and I have very different definitions. We usually end up with a room or two out of commission from time to time. However you do not really need all those rooms. It is worth it when someone walks into your front parlor at Christmas times and gasps "Oh Wow!" or when you do. At that moment, you really do not care that the bathroom upstairs is not useable for the next month. Also do nto get panicky over what appear to be big problems. Do some research first. Things that scare people away may not be that big a deal and can help you get a much lower price. Our prior house had a foundation problem in one location. that scared everyone away. I spent a few hundred $ and got some advice and quotes and found out it could be repaired for $4500. The house was already $25,000 below comparable homes on a S.f. basis. We got them down another $50,000 because of the foundation, asbestos and a few other issues that appeared to be big problems but really were not. We also got them to patch the roof, do some electrical , re-plumb the house and throw in a bunch of nice antique furniture and decorations. What appear to be big problems can actually be your best friends.
Also do not worry about wavy floors. Get the foundation at, but it is probably just differential settlement. If level floors are important to you, get a new house and hope there are no soils issues.
Ah, good ol' slanted floors. Put the marble on the floor and see how fast it rolls and in which direction . . .
We have solid wood floors throughout the entire house.No major slants but one room has some bowing. They creak in some parts even when the cat walks on them. Gorgeous and we love 'em.
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Test your realtor, have them show you a house you know is like that and see what they say. Be fair though, tell them up front what you want.
The realtor we worked with owned a historic home himself (1800s Victorian) and had some restoration and addition work done on his house too. He knew what we wanted. And he would fill us in on the "gossip" (i.e., which houses were getting eyed by developers, etc.)
Yeah, I'd say electrical, plumbing and structural upgrades are way more important than bathroom and kitchen upgrades. It's okay to have upgraded kitchens, but not with the other things lacking. If all that's left is just cosmetic---like painting and removing wallpaper and exterior aesthetics, that's great. Of course, not having the plumbing and electricity already done isn't a big deal if you're willing to do it. We did everything to our house through the years. Any "upgrade" here was done by us. Literally done by us. I can't think of one thing that required a professional aside from the electrician and plumber to come make our plumbing and electrical work official, but we did the work. We installed the insulation, installed and finished the drywall, etc. etc. etc. Oh, we did have the HVAC company install the boiler. That's about it the only contractor who has stepped into our house.
Have it checked out by a reliable professional. We bought an older home that couldn't be dated, our city incorporated in 1856 and they had no records of it being built because it was from waaay before the city started keeping records. Undaunted we jumped in. Mr. Blanding is right. We actually found a barn door in the side of the living room wall covered up. Old homes can need a lot of repair.
Aside from decorating with paint and wallpaper we had to:
Put in a new chimney
Fix the ventilation in the attic
Put in a new roof
Ceilings fell off, had to replace
Redo all electric
Redo all plumbing
Tear out both bathrooms and redo
Insulate
Redash the stucco
Strip and refinish the built in buffet
Never got to replacing windows or floors which were sorely needed.
Ah, good ol' slanted floors. Put the marble on the floor and see how fast it rolls and in which direction . . .
We have solid wood floors throughout the entire house.No major slants but one room has some bowing. They creak in some parts even when the cat walks on them. Gorgeous and we love 'em.
The realtor we worked with owned a historic home himself (1800s Victorian) and had some restoration and addition work done on his house too. He knew what we wanted. And he would fill us in on the "gossip" (i.e., which houses were getting eyed by developers, etc.)
Creaks are important if you have children. Also they give you time to get your gun out if you have a break in.
If someone wants to look at or walk on perfectly level and smooth floors, they need to go to a flooring showroom.
As far as the discussion about "updating" that is your worst enemy in most cases. The next historic home I buy my number one criteria will be minimal or no updating. I would rather pa a little less and do whatever needs to be done myself. I do not want to pay for and then try to fix someone else's mistakes. It is almost never done in a historically accurate manner, instead they adopt whatever the newest trend in interiors is and make the house look like every other house built in that time. Frequently, they completely butcher the interior. In a few years, it is neither historical, charming, nor updated. It is just out of date. After a few gos I have learned that undoing and correcting "updating" is much more costly than restoring something that has decayed somewhat, but is still original. Not to mention that you pay for the bungled updating to begin with. An "updated" (or butchered) house costs more than one in need of restoring. I will always take the latter, pay less- get more. But I had to learn this the hard way. I once thought an "updated" home was better. Now I am wiser.
Older homes usually have a charm that will last a familys lifetime.So it has been with ours.Our home was built in the 20's with a addition in the 60's.We have a mature 20ft,Holly Tree,Dogwood and Black Walnut in the front yard.A huge Pecan in the back along with two mature Magnoilas.Lots of other trees for shade.Trees are beautiful!!!Kids love trees...Our old home is solid and we have raised our 2 sons here.There was a warm happy feeling in our home when we first moved in,that was some of the best times of our lives,working and planning for the improvements for our old house.The family we bought it from had actually built it and they were a great family.Our neighborhood is another story!!But yes old homes can be great,I think alot has to do with If the owners fall in love with them or not...We did!!We built our sons a huge tree house between those two magnoila's and it was the talk of the neighborhood for a long while..well never forget this place...I always told the boys and all of our family's kids when they come to visit that this old house has old bones holding it together with love and they all love to come visit,sometimes I think they cant wait to see the house more than us.lol..
Back to the OP question........
Unless you have the skills to do repairs (and the tools) and maintenance, you might be better off with a newer house for your first one.
While older homes do have charm, they are also more work than newer homes. Sometimes a LOT more work. If you have the skills and tools, then go for it. Like KB said, there is a huge difference between "willing to get your hands dirty" and actually doing some of the required work.
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