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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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If you don't find the answer to your question here, please contact us.

General FAQ

Do you list ALL old houses for sale?

No, but we are working on it. Until then, consult a variety of sources, including this one, when you are searching for an old house to buy.

I want more information about a listing on your site.

If the listing is for sale, contact the seller directly. You will find contact information below the pictures. There is usually an email address and/or phone number, or else a Contact Seller link.

If there is no contact information, and no Contact Seller link, the listing is not for sale. It is from our Archives (look at the top of the page to be sure).

Generally, what we know about an archived listing is already visible on the listing page. But if it is an operating Bed and Breakfast, or if it is open to the public, look for a phone number, email address, or web site link to get more information.

Can you provide me with information on available properties in my area?

What homes we know about are on our Web site. Use our Advanced Search page to locate listings in or near a specific location.

Also check our Old House Agents section to locate agents in your desired area. If you don't see the house on our site, they may know of others.

We do not provide printed catalogs or brochures. Sign up for our mailing list to receive a weekly email with new additions to our site.

I need advice or information about my own house.

For general how-to information, or information about old house styles and architecture, consult our Resources section.

Otherwise, if you have a specific question about the style of your house, feel free to contact us with questions, or even send us a pic. We'll tell you what we think.

How many hits/visits does OldHouses.com get?

We get roughly 3200 visitors per day, and about 20,000 page views.

Are you aware of anyone looking to purchase old appliances, reclaimed wood and hardware, etc.?

We do not currently have a classified section; but we encourage you to contact suppliers in our Resources section who may be interested in purchasing these items.

In addition, we suggest searching online for architectural salvage companies in your area.

You can of course post these items on ebay, craigslist.org, or other type of auction/classified site. If your house is located where there is a local preservation society or neighborhood association, be sure to contact them for ideas.

Email FAQ

What email do you send, and how often?

Each Friday morning we send out an email with all new listings added in the previous week.

Each Monday morning we will send you a Listing Digest, if you have an account with at least one listing.

For each listing you publish, we will send one reminder to renew it and one expiration notice.

We very occasionally send out messages about new features on our website.

If we detect a lot of suspicious inquiries about our listings, we may notify our users with active listings.

This web site has never sent out promotional email or email about products and services. (And we don't share your email with anyone who does.) We may do so one day, but you can opt out of these in advance if you want to.

How do I get on/off your mailing list?

To get on our mailing list, look for the email box on our home page, or on the right side of most other pages.

To get off the mailing list, do exactly the same thing, only this time check the box that says 'Remove Me From Your Mailing List.'

Another way to get off the list is to reply to an email we send you with 'Remove' in the subject line.

Finally, you can click the Unsubscribe link that appears at the bottom of email messages we send you. This method allows you to fine-tune the emails you get instead of stopping them altogether.

With a regular account, you can set these email options anytime by clicking on the Email Options link on your Account Home Page.

I signed up for your mailing list but I am not getting any email, or it has stopped coming.

First, Check your spam and junk mail folders; sometimes legitimate email gets caught in them. You may need to whitelist our address. How you do this depends on your email setup.

Second, if you have a regular account, log in and check the Email Options page to be sure your address is up to date and working. We will disable an email address if it keeps bouncing back as undeliverable. If this was caused by a problem that has been fixed, you can tell us to start sending it again.

If you don't have a regular account, just get back on the list, and look for the confirmation message we send you.


Account FAQ

Do I need an account to use this site?

No. You can view our listings, resources and agent lists without logging in or signing up. You can also get on our mailing list without an account, if you want to receive our Weekly New Listings email.

But you do need an account if you want to publish a listing. Even if you don't, accounts give you more control over the email you receive, and allow you to save listings and searches that you like.

Do accounts cost anything?

No, accounts are free. We only charge for listing services.

How do I get an account?

Look for a Sign Up link at the top right of every page. All you need to create an account is a name, username, password, and email address

If you do something on the site that requires an account, like starting a listing or creating a listing scrapbook, we will automatically create a guest account for you. This lets you try things out anonymously. You can register the guest account to make it permanent and save your work; otherwise the account will eventually expire.

How do I recover my lost username and/or password?

Our Account Password Recovery page allows you to recover your username and/or password. There is a link to this on the Login page.

If you continue to have problems accessing your account, contact us.

Listing Help FAQ

Can I put a video on my listing?

Absolutely. If the video is already hosted on another site like youTube or a virtual tour site, the hosting service will provide you with code to embed the video on another site. Email this code to listings@oldhouses.com, and we will place it on your listing. If you want us to host the video, email it to us if it is less than 20 megabytes or so, or upload it to a service like dropbox, where we can go to fetch it.

How do I list a house for sale or rent?

Easy! Look for the Add a Listing button on the right side of our home page, or most any other page for that matter. (if you already have an account, log in first.)

After a short form or two to get some basic information, we will create a preview listing for you, which will have a bunch of buttons you can use to put in things like, price, location, pictures, text, and so on.

Once the listing looks the way you want it, look for the Publish button, which will take you through the steps of paying for the listing and making it live on the website.

If you need any help along the way you can contact us via phone or email. We will respond as quickly as we can, usually on the same business day or the next one.

Once your listing is published, it will be visible immediately. We will send you a receipt via email. If you don't receive this email, contact us.

How much does it cost to list a house?

The Basic Listing Service costs $50 for 90 days. This includes unlimited pictures and as much descriptive information as you want, including links to other sites that are promoting your house.

There are some add-on services you can purchase, like featured status (which makes the listing stand out more), or exlusive placement on the home page, but these are optional.

For complete pricing information, look for the Pricing and Services link on our home page.

Are there any listing discounts or specials?

Yes. Every 5th listing or renewal is free.

Who can list houses on OldHouses.com?

Anyone can list a house on OldHouses.com. FSBO and agent-listed old houses are all welcome.

How do I pay for my listing?

Payments can be made through OldHouses.com when you publish your listing. We accept all major credit cards including Visa, Master Card, and American Express. Our web site is secured by Verisign to provide you the highest level of security and comfort when submitting your credit card information.

If you prefer to pay by check or money order, please make it payable to Copley Internet Systems and send to 713 E. Main St., Union, SC 29379. Once your check or money order has been successfully processed your listing will be published.

How do I edit my listing?

You can edit your listing by going to Your Account then clicking the Edit Listing link for your listing.

I don't want the hassle of adding my property to yet another web site. Can you help?

You betcha. We are happy to build the listing entirely for you. All we really need is the address.

When you start a listing, look for the checkbox under the field where you put the property address. Check it and click Submit, and we'll get to work on the listing, and when we're done we'll send you an email so you can look it over.

If you don't check the box, but decide you want us to help later, look for the We-Build-It Service button on the listing Edit page.

Please note: If you haven't registered an account when you check the box, be sure to do so soon after, otherwise we won't know how to contact you. There is a Register Account button on the listing Edit page.

Also, if the listing is not already online somewhere, there isn't a whole lot we can do without your help. But we'll certainly try.

How long will it take to reflect changes I make to my listing?

Once you submit changes to an active listing they are reflected immediately on the website.

If your listing is featured on our home page, there may a delay of a few minutes until it catches up to your changes.

How many images can I put on my listing?

As many as you like. Well, actually we'll stop you at 100, but listings get pretty clumsy with way less images than that. These days two or three dozen is plenty for most listings.

How do I upload images to my listing?

We have a special page to answer this one. Go to the image guidelines for more info.

Why aren't my images showing on my listing?

If you upload an image that won't display, or shows a broken image symbol in your browser, it may be corrupt, or it may have failed to upload properly. Try editing the image from the listing edit page, and re-uploading the image.

If that does not work, and if you believe the image file is OK, you can send it to us at the email address that appears on the image edit page, and we will try to figure out what the problem is.

Another reason that an image isn't showing is because you have hidden it. To check this, go to your listing edit page and click the Manage Images button.

How do I view the number of hits for my listing?

As of late 2020, we've added an analytics page that will show you listing views by day for each of your listings. It also includes milestones like social media posts and emails, so you can see how they are impacting the traffic to your listing. You can easily mail this information to yourself or your clients.

Look for the View Analytics button in the Your Listings section of your Account Home page. Each listing published after the fall of 2020 will have one of these buttons.

For older listings, there won't be a View Analytics button, but the view count will still be updated, and will display on Your Account page for each listing.

How do I feature my listing?

When you publish your listing, you are given all available services and features for your listing. Select any/all feature service(s) then proceed to the next step of the publish process. If you have already published your listing, go to Your Account and click the Add Services link for the listing you want to feature.

How do I renew my listing?

Go to Your Account and click the Renew Listing link for the listing you want to renew. Also, we'll send an email or two just before the listing expires, which will include a Renew Listing link.

Will my listing be automatically renewed?

Nope. We may add auto-renewal support in the future but for now we'll just send you email reminders about your listing status.

Will I be notified to renew my listing?

Yes. We send out weekly notifications by email letting you know the status of your listing(s). If your account notification settings are turned off you will only receive a renewal notice after your listing expires.

My listing has sold, what do I do now?

If your listing is still active, you can change the listing status to Sold by going to Your Account and editing your listing. If your listing has sold and has expired we invite you to share your house in our Old House Archive. Just click the Archive Listing link on Your Account page.

How do I remove my listing?

If your listing term is active you can hide your listing by going to Your Account and clicking the Hide Listing link for your listing. If it has expired you can Discard it from Your Account page.

I just published my listing but I don't see it, Why?

You should receive an email confirmation when your listing is published. If you did not receive an email, it may be that you stopped on the Final Confirmation page, so the listing is still pending.

To check this, go to your Account Home page. If your listing still shows as Pending, you can use the Publish Listing link to complete the process.

If the listing shows as visible, click the View Listing link to verify that it is working. If it isn't showing up in searches, double-check the price and style of the listing.

And as always, contact us if you need assistance.

Why haven't I received any responses about my listing?

First, check the contact information on your listing page and verify that it is correct.

Occasionally, emails get hung up for one reason or another. If you have doubts about whether emails are reaching you, send a test message, or ask a friend to do so, and make sure you receive it.

Keep in mind that is not uncommon for listings to receive thousands of page views, but a relative handful of leads. We target our site directly at old house lovers, but there is no guarantee that the right buyer will be among the ones that see your listing.

I'm listed with a real estate agent. Can I still list my house on OldHouses.com?

Yes. Be sure to check with your agent, and use their contact information on the listing page.

Don't hesitate to suggest that your agent should handle the listing. Remind them that they can create an agent profile on the site, which will help them as well as you.

I purchased the Home Page Feature Service, why isn't my listing showing on the OldHouses.com home page?

Space on the home page is limited and scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. If your feature doesn't run on the dates specified in your email receipt, it is backlogged. Contact us to find out when it is scheduled or to request a time to run the feature.

Do you accept listings for old buildings?

Yep. We want to celebrate the glory of old houses and the old buildings that tell the stories of our history. All old houses and buildings are welcome.

Archive Listing FAQ

What are archive listings?

The Old House Archives are a permanent collection of old house listings. Many of these listings were once for sale on our site, but the archives also include operating B & B's, museums, and rentable venues, as well as lost buildings and renovated old houses uploaded by homeowners who want to share them with the world.

Houses listed in the Archives are not on the market, so if you are interesting in renting or buying, focus on the Active listings. But the archives are a terrific resource for research, inspiration, or great old places to visit, rent, or stay in.

How do I add an archive listing?

Look for the Add an Archive Listing button on the home page. The process is exactly the same for adding archived and for-sale listings, except for the kind of information you enter. And instead of publishing, you submit archived listings for approval.

How much does it cost to list an archive listing?

Archived listings are free of charge, so we invite you to share your old house and its stories with the rest of the world.

Real Estate Agent FAQ

Are You Real Estate Agents?

We are not real estate agents, nor are we affiliated with The National Association of Realtors, although we think they are a perfectly fine bunch of people.

Is This a For-Sale-By-Owner Site?

Although we have plenty of FSBO listings, the majority of our listings are represented by real estate agents.

Is This Site an Alternative to Listing With a Real Estate Agent?

No. Although it is quite possible to sell your old house just by listing it on this site, we can't even begin to offer the range of services that come with listing with a real estate agent.

Should I Hire a Real Estate Agent to Sell My House?

The answer greatly depends on your house, its location, your own skills and experience, and your current situation. So, we can't offer specific advice. But here are some things to keep in mind:

  • selling a house is an enormous hassle, and agents can take most of it off your hands
  • agents have been getting paid the way they have for a long time, which indicates that their fees are commensurate with the value they provide
  • it is very useful to work with a professional who is not emotionally invested in your property

The question is not whether agents provide value for the money they charge. History shows they do, and so does our own experience with oldhouses.com. The question is whether you require the services they offer. By and large, most home sellers do.

Advertising FAQ

I would like to know how I go about advertising on your website and what is the cost to do so?

In addition to listings, we offer advertising space for real estate agents and old house resources suppliers. Contact us for rates and to determine the best type of advertising for your business.

Do you have any marketing materials I could customize with my information?

At this time we do not provide any customizable marketing materials or affiliate programs.

Featured Agent
Christina Branham

Christina Branham

Coldwell Banker Jim Henry

Kingston, TN

#CBSELLSIT

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