Instead, both of us spent a fortune repairing a fence that will require constant service
A few years ago, our partner and I purchased an apartment located in the historic district. At the time, both of us didn’t realize what an aggravation this would be. The people I was with and I just enjoyed the proximity of the apartment to a major river where both of us can launch our kayaks. The people I was with and I were thrilled by the hardwood floors, immense windows, wide front porch and detailed moldings. The house was built sometime in the 1700s and had been allowed to get terribly rundown. There was a hole in the roof that caused a great deal of water damage. The windows allowed drafts and most of them were painted shut. The wooden front door was rotting and the front steps were crumbling. The fence surrounding the property was all but falling down and a safety hazard, then because the house is considered part of the historic district, every improvement both of us make needs to be approved by the historical society. The people I was with and I have to wait for them to have a meeting and then submit a written request along with a detailed idea and bid from a licensed business, but nothing can be modernized, but every apartment improvement needs to retain the same appearance and materials as the original home. Because of this, everything is way more upscale and labor-intensive… Most businesses refuse to work on historical homes because of the strict protocols, but finding a fencing company to restore the ancient, rotted wooden fence was difficult. My partner and I wanted to unlink the fence entirely, but that wasn’t allowed. Instead, both of us spent a fortune repairing a fence that will require constant service. I’ll disclose that the finished fence looks genuinely wonderful, but I’m not ecstatic about the expense or effort.