Guest Blogger: How to Find Out the History of your House

Guest Blogger #347, Entry #923, January 27, 2012

Before you undertake any significant work on your home it helps to know something about its history. Loft conversions are very popular and knowing more about the house and the kind of materials it was constructed from can help prevent some serious DIY mistakes.

What’s the history of your home?

Take a good look around the inside and the outside of your home for signs of change. You may be able to see signs of renovation that will give you some idea of how well the house has been looked after by previous owners.

Ask the Neighbors

The date that your house was built should be on the deeds to the property but that won’t tell you much about what may have happened since. Speak to your neighbors and possibly local shop keepers, the person who has lived in the area the longest may be able to tell you something about the building. In homes where loft conversions have already been carried out there may be a certificate attached to the deeds saying when the work was done.

Neighbors who have lived in the area a long time may be able to tell you about previous owners and what may or may not have happened to the building over the years. It’s surprising what you can find out from people who have lived in a particular area for most of their lives as they know most of the local stories and who lived where and for how long.

There should be some documentation regarding any major work that has been undertaken on the house. There may be certificates for replacement windows, rewiring or a new roof. If you have a contact number for the previous owners it’s worth asking them if they know of any major work that has been undertaken on the house before you purchased it.

Find out the history of your house

Try Your Local Library

It’s worth going to the local public library as libraries often keep a history of the local area along with local newspapers going back many years on microfiche. You could also try searching on the computer to see what information you might find there. In some areas the library incorporates a local history section and you may be able to find out more about the local area and how it’s changed over the years.

Ask your neighbors about your home

If Your House is in an Isolated Area

If your house is an area where there are no immediate neighbours probably the best place to start looking for information about the building is with the estate agent. Even if the agent doesn’t know much about the property then he or she should be able to tell you when it was built and be able to put you in touch with the previous owner.

Again, you may be able to get some information from the nearest library or even the website of the local council and you should check the building to see whether any specific work has been done. No matter what type of house you live in, you should be able to get some information as to the history of the building.

This post was written by James Harper on behalf of Boughton Loft Conversions who provide loft conversions in Birmingham as well as Staffordshire loft conversions. James is currently in the process of moving houses and enjoys writing on the subject.

For more home organization ideas on Stagetecture, click here.