Real Estate Roundup III: Historic Homes for Sale Across Kentucky

What’s the best thing for historic houses? To be a home, to be occupied, to be a place of life and energy. For that to happen, houses that may need a little love and affection must be purchased by someone who loves old houses. Here are some listings for historic houses for under $100,000 that I found on Zillow.

All of the photographs are culled from Zillow or Google streetview. I don’t know anything about these houses personally, nor am I selling them, but I do spend a lot of time trying to find historic houses that retain some of their original fabric. The link to each listing is in the heading, and is also included after the description.

The row of windows on the side immediately makes me think of a former one-room school…

I just wrote about Hanson and its wonderful historic commercial district – and here is a house that needs some TLC! It is perfectly sized to tick all the boxes of the “tiny house” movement, and can you imagine the wonderful light that would flood the interior from all of those windows? According to the listing, it has two bedrooms and one bathroom. The auction starts on August 16 and runs through August 25, 2021.

T-plan House, 219 E Grundy Ave, Springfield, Washington County, Kentucky – $100,000.00

This late-19th century frame T-plan house looks pretty good from the exterior – and would look even better with a period appropriate front door. Interior woodwork has been retained, as well as two coal-burning hearths. The rugs likely cover some original wood floors.

Nineteenth Century Brick Side-Passage House, 435 Tabler Avenue, Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky  – $68,000.00

Oh, this one could be such a beauty. And it has retained its winding original stair in the side hall! The front door opens into the passage way (or side-passage), and originally there were two large rooms on the left side of the house.  The windows have been replaced (sigh) but not resized – and it looks like some historic hardwood floor has survived on the second story.

The listing gives 1855 as the date of construction, but I don’t believe this house is that early. It dates from the 1875-1899 period.

I’ve done a lot of work in Harrodsburg (and have roots there), so I can vouch for it  being a wonderful town in which to live. This house looks like it has some solid bones, and for that price, would be a great project.

Shingled Cottage, 332 9th Avenue, Dayton, Campbell County, Kentucky – $59,900.00

This petite charmer has so much potential! It apparently needs some foundation work, but for this price it would be worth it in a walkable neighborhood in this Northern Kentucky town (close to Cincinnati, as well as Newport and Covington). The windows look original, and the slight pedimented surround on the exterior is a very nice detail. It looks like it has two brick chimneys, a small porch, and an interesting mix of housing stock – turn-of-the-century houses along with many 1930s bungalows.

Camelback Shotgun, 1924 West Madison Street, Louisville, Kentucky – $53,000.00

Do you love #ShotgunSundays? (If you follow Gardens to Gables on Facebook, you’ll know what I mean!) Here’s a chance to restore a brick camelback shotgun in Louisville, Kentucky. And yes, you will need some imagination, because the interior appears to be stripped of any historic fabric, but that also means if you love an open-plan concept (and that’s alright if you do) – then this is the canvas for you! Better still – this house is located within the Russell Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places – making any qualifying restoration work eligible for a historic tax credit!

Craftsman Bungalow, 1912 W. Muhammad Ali Boulevard, Louisville, Kentucky – $86,500.00

On the next street over from the shotgun house above is this great brick bungalow – also eligible for historic tax credits! The three bedroom, two bath house is a little over 2,000 square feet, and of course that doesn’t include the porch, which is really another living room. Lots of intact historic details on this house.

Queen Anne T-Plan, 321 N. 8th Street, Paducah, Kentucky – $50,000.00

This is a steal! This turn-of-the-century frame T-plan house  is breathtaking, and is apparently now two apartments. Located in Paducah’s Lowertown Neighborhood, it is close to everything, and would make a great single family home. It’s almost 3,500 square feet, and is listed as having three bedrooms and three baths, so one apartment must be larger than the other.

In addition to being a lively and energetic neighborhood, this part of Lowertown is in a NRHP-listed district, so – you guessed it – it’s eligible for historic tax credits!

Go forth old house lovers and buy and preserve!