How long can a house sit before it's not sellable?

So much depends where the house is and whether it was closed up carefully. All across the country, banks and city governments are finding that, in general, an empty house has a surprisingly short life.

With no one to caulk windows, clean gutters, trim bushes, run the water, flush toilets and turn on the heat, moisture -- death to houses -- seeps in. In just one winter, mold, rot and even foundation cracks appear. Condensation in a cold house turns building materials soggy and weak. Wind rubs tree limbs against siding. The limbs trap moisture and make a gangway for critters that feast on wood, insulation or wiring. When water is shut off without first blowing air through the pipes, freeze-damaged, cracked pipes will leak when the water is turned on again.

New homes, in some ways, can fall apart faster because they use manufactured wood products vulnerable to swelling and mold. A wooden building won't last long if windows and doors are broken by vandals, letting wind, rain, animals and people in. Termites and wood rot take over quickly. Wind blowing through a home can buckle walls and roofs. The Old North Salisbury Association is encouraging the city to act quickly to pressure owners to repair our abandoned houses. To allow an empty house to just sit, uncared for, is demolition by neglect. It takes years for a community to recover derelict properties when the property owner could solve this in a much shorter time span.

Old North Salisbury has beautiful, historic, LIVABLE and AFFORDABLE houses. You will seldom see such an array of well kept, historic homes in the price range you find here. The residents of Old North Salisbury feel very fortunate to be able to own and protect these houses and are committed to the preservation of the homes in the community.

Many areas with lower housing costs experience slower appreciation than higher-cost cities. Typically, the smaller the town, the fewer the opportunities for shopping, dining and indoor recreation, although the outdoor recreation possibilities may be far greater. Not so in Salisbury NC! Salisbury has wonderful dining and shopping areas – culture: a symphony, 2 theater guilds, movie theatres and more . . . AND our beautiful parks for outdoor recreation!

If you know of a property owner who is allowing a home to be demolished by neglect, encourage them to repair or even SELL the home. There are many people who would cherish the opportunity to purchase a “fixer-upper” at the right price. And with the many historic features found in so many of the North Main St. area homes, they will not find such value in many other areas.

North Main Brochure for Realtors

Hi Neighbors & Friends!

We have developed a new tri-fold brochure intended especially for Realtors. As you well know, this neighborhood has some of the most beautiful older homes ~ and well below the national average home price! These homes are not only better built (some are over 100 years old!) but at a better price!

There seems to be something for everyone here - from the historic beauties along Main St. and the side streets to the sleeker brick ranches along the bordering blocks - the terraced yards, the old-growth trees - we indeed have a wonderful variety of homes to choose from. And with so many TV programs like "This Old House" and "Flip That House" - some of our homes are perfect candidates for restoration and revival by the folks who have the talent to do these things!

The new brochure aims to educate both a home buyer looking at homes in this area, as well as to educate the realtor that may not understand the value of an older home.

Our intent is to distribute the brochures to local realtor companies, as well as to Salisbury's Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.

Got a realtor friend who could use a handful? Contact us at the Old North Salisbury Association - oldnorthsalisbury@gmail.com.

Preserving the Neighborhood ~ One House at a Time!

Thank You to Neighbors!

A brief update on a few goings on in the neighborhood:

Thank you to the folks who are taking down the large concrete block "hate wall" at 928 N. Main. This wall was erected years ago by a resident of island decent where the tradition was, when you argued with your neighbor, to erect a large wall that would completely block out the neighbor. The wall used to go the entire length of the property line. It was partially removed some years ago, but the remains of the unsightly and unfriendly wall have plagued us ever since. The Cress House, as the 928 home is known as, is being rejuvenated and we have seen more of the wall coming down. We don't know specifically who to thank but we could not be more grateful to see it being removed!

Our rental neighbors in the home at 915 recently moved out. An enormous pile of household debris was left at the curb - everything from clothing to toys to furniture to general garbage. Salisbury City pickup will not load anything that is not contained and this was a very big mess in front of this house. A couple of the neighbors took it upon themselves to go over and clean up the front - contain what they could in heavy-duty garbage bags, and in general - tidy the place up and allow the debris to be picked up. Thank you so much to these volunteers for lending a hand in keeping our community attractive. We have learned that there remains a good deal of debris behind the same house in the backyard. We will see if we can get after the owners of the home to take care of this in consideration of the neighbors on either side.

So many times we feel that one person can not make a difference. But lots of "one-person"s working with others, a little at a time, can really move things along toward a common goal.

THANK YOU!!

First Meeting of the Year held Jan 13th

Hello Friends & Neighbors!

The Old North Salisbury Board of Directors held their first meeting of '09 a couple of weeks ago. Although we had a small turnout (everyone still holiday weary?), we have a lot of items on the wish list this year!

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One very exciting development - we are forming a "Green Team"!! And right in time for the Spring season! The Green Team will be assisting in tree planting, mulching, and in general - sprucing up the neighborhood. If you are interested in joining the Green Team, let us know! If you are not apt to be found wielding a shovel, we are interested in donations of mulch, good garden soil, plants, seeds, etc. Even a little pot of pansies will go to good use!

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We are working on another, more formal, presentation to City Council. Remember we went before City Council last summer and asked for better enforcement of our ordinances. The City has restructured their Ordinance & Code Department so now may be a good time to remind them of our work here as a community and how we could use their help.

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We are still aiming to hold a neighborhood-wide business meeting, so all of the folks in our community can learn about what we are doing, our goals and our achievements. We would like to invite representatives from the City to talk about the planned improvements to our neighborhood and the status of those plans. The date has not yet been finalized, so we'll keep you posted. Stay tuned!

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We are trying very hard to figure out a Landlord / Tenant Outreach program. . . a way to let landlords know we care about their properties and the quality of the tenants . . . and a way to let renters know that they can be a part of the community. If you have ideas, let us know. So far we are struggling with an answer, and perhaps there are more ways than one to accomplish this.

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We are still talking about the Historic House Plaque Program and the best way to roll that out. Here's the difficulty - the plaques themselves may be expensive to have produced. So . . . do we want each home to purchase one voluntarily if they wish to have one? Do we award them annually? Do we have people apply for their plaque? We still believe that the Plaque Program will enhance the awareness of the value and history of your homes, and the program would tie into the walking programs the City is initiating.

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We will be creating a brochure for Realtors that highlights the homes, the neighborhood, and the benefits of living here. Gotta love an art project!

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AND - we are talking about hosting another neighborhood get-together - more fun than the business meeting. We had such a great day at our Celebrate Old North Salisbury picnic in the park last Fall that we think it might be fun to host another event this Spring. This also needs a bit more planning so we'll let you know as things start to gel. More volunteers always help to make this a success!

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Keep your porch lights on - the neighborhood looks way more friendly and the extra lighting deters crime. And if you haven't gotten rid of your fall leaves yet - the City's last leaf pickup is scheduled for February 25th. Need some help with this? Drop us a line - maybe this will be the first item on our Green Teams initiative!

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***Thanks Everybody! See you in the Neighborhood!***