Old homes are distinctly beautiful, not merely aesthetically — some certainly don’t fall into that category — but also for the history they preserve. Countless people on social media belong to groups or follow accounts dedicated to these kinds of houses, some of which were built hundreds of years ago.
And they’re often extremely inexpensive to purchase, their low prices a reflection of the work needed to make them habitable again. One five-bedroom Victorian home in Ohio, complete with a grand staircase and butler’s pantry, was recently listed for $135,000; another old home, a four-bedroom in Michigan, dates back to 1880 and sold for just $29,900.
Both of those houses were featured on an Instagram account that’s become somewhat of a phenomenon. Launched in 2016 by Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein, Cheap Old Houses boasts 2.8 million followers, and its success landed the couple a short-lived HGTV series titled Who’s Afraid of a Cheap Old House?
The Finkelsteins — who bought a 1770s farmhouse in upstate New York for $70,000 — scour the web for historic houses up for sale around the world and highlight the listings on their feed. Their aim isn’t just to save the properties from disrepair or potential demolition, but also to change the way people think about buying homes. They’re not advocates of flipping houses; they want people to fall in love with the places they’ve purchased.
“Investing in a cheap old house is about so much more than buying real estate,” they explain on their website. “It’s about investing in ourselves and the future of our communities by looking to the past. It’s about respecting architecture that can continue to outlive us if we allow it, and saving materials through reuse, repair, and salvage.”
“Before” photos of the exterior and interior of an 1872 New York firehouse the Finkelsteins helped renovate
Another altruistic element of their motivation for starting and maintaining the account is helping people attain homeownership in what can feel like an increasingly exclusive housing market.
“The average home price in America is almost half a million dollars right now,” Elizabeth, who has a master’s degree in historical preservation, told The Guardian last fall. “We felt that this was a solution — sort of a hack to the system — to get people in the door, but also to save beautiful old houses.”
“After” photos of the exterior and interior of an 1872 New York firehouse the Finkelsteins helped renovate
Followers of the account who buy and “save” the listed houses often embark on large-scale restoration projects to breathe new life into their old homes, sometimes chronicling their journeys on their own social media accounts. The process can be painstaking; owners often deal with issues like asbestos, rot, leaks, and other daunting renovation requirements.
“We both felt a bit overwhelmed,” Bea Francis-MacRae said of the 1860s Indiana home she and husband Mike found on the Cheap Old Houses Instagram account. “I think it had got a little bit worse from the pictures we’d seen.” The 3,688-square-foot house, which they purchased for $76,000 in 2020, was damp and dusty, with a lingering odor and a “raccoon problem” they hadn’t expected. Mike recalled wondering, “Have we done the right thing?”
It took them five years — the couple is from England and had to go back and forth to work on restoring the property — but they’re finally planning to move into their new home this summer.
The philosophy the Finkelsteins and their fans subscribe to is shared by real estate-slash-history lovers worldwide. Cheap Houses Japan touts over 400,000 Instagram followers, while Cheap Nordic Houses has 285,000. And, of course, it’s far from a novel way of thinking: The classic PBS home-reno show This Old House, which first aired in 1979, is now in its 46th season.
In a 2024 interview with Realtor.com, Ethan emphasized that while restoring a home can no doubt be a daunting undertaking, the final result is well worth it: “At the end of the day, you’re going to have something that’s different, fun, full of character, and represents you.”
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