Researching the history of your home can be a lot of fun. Who has lived there? Were they were famous or infamous? Finding out who has lived there is one of two types of searches. The other type of search is on the building itself. When was it built, who was the Architect, builder and so on. For property maintenance it certainly helps when you’re aware of your property’s building history and thankfully doing the research is quite straightforward as there are plenty of resources available, to help you in your research. For example, if you live in an old house and you are wondering about its early inhabitants, you can check in libraries and archives, look up the deeds etc. In this article, we share various ways to research the history of your home.
Examine the Construction of Your House
Learning about how your property was constructed may be less interesting then learning about it’s previous inhabitants but it’s probably the most worthwhile especially if what you find can save you time and money when you need to maintain or renovate it.
Residential property varies depending on the era it’s built, the budget and of course trends at the time. Some designs worked, others not so well, and the same goes for the materials used too and then there’s the actual build itself. There are good and not so good craftsmen, so it pays to research the construction of your home – it’s likely to provide clues on what may fail first. The period your home was built can be determined by the product and materials used at the time and some even have date stamps. For instance, here’s a rather quirky but true revelation; most toilet water tank leads, usually have manufacture date stamps. Consider checking yours to see when it was made it will reveal about your home than you realise. Secondly, it is worth checking architectural annuals, magazines and books for designs of the time. This will reveal when properties in your street were built. Of course there’s an even easier way to find out when it was built – check the offical records.
Pulling Official Records
Your lawyer can do the research for you including getting a copy of your property’s abstract or you can get it from the county courthouse. Or for a more left-field approach to your investigation, try learning about your property from courthouse recorders and if you’re in Dallas you could try this Dallas property management company whom are said to be good reliable record keepers or you could also try DCAD.
Talk To People and Explore the Neighborhood
Finally take your research outdoors – talk to your neighbors. If you’re in a well established street they may reveal more about your property and it’s early occupants than you’ll find in offical records. Also extend your search to the local businesses. They too can be a good source of information and just walk around the neighborhood. Check out the buildings in the area.
Learning about the history of your home can save you time and money and also be fascinating. With just a few tips such as the above, you are able to give in to your curiosity and form a few new neigborly friendships along the way.