For Sale By Owner

More About This House

HUGE GARAGE SPACE FOR UP TO 15 CARS. 90 MINUTES FROM DOWNTOWN DALLAS. 60 MINUTES FROM MCKINNEY. This house is a huge opportunity and lifestyle for the right people. Built in 1895, this George Barber design was in a friendly contest in the late 1890's to see who could build one the finest houses in the town. Of the three in the bet, this one won.

The listing shows 9 "bedrooms", but this room list also includes the Parlor, the dining room, the library, and the sitting room. The foyer with the grand staricase is about 300 square feet alone (though that will have to be verified). I consider the half wraparound porch to be an outside "room of its own". Lots of covered space out there, so much that two or three people cold be sitting there with plenty of spcae, and not even see each other.

Stunningly preserved in most areas of the house, I decided to leave the various patinas, with a 70s era kitchen reno, and upstairs renovation in the 1950s, and even elements from the 1890s. The wood is all original downstairs. There is an original (out of use) cast iron stove in the kitchen. There are 6 fireplaces, with one totally out of commission due to a storm in May 2022 (this chimney was capped, and can't be used).

I have lived in this house for the last four years, and have made many improvements to bring the house up to date: dishwasher, water heater, electrical outlets installed, 7 ceiling fans installed, foundation repair, new roof in Oct 2022, 90% repainted with high quality Sherwin Williams primer base to seal the wood (which is in astoundly good condition, nothing like old growth timber).

There is no central heat/air, but this house stays cool in summer with many new window units, and warm in the winter with new natural gas heaters throughout the house. There is original stained glass as well. Some wall paper needs to be re-papered in places. Plenty of projects to work on for those looking to do some work.

Great property for a family that needs some room, and also a large workspace area in the garage. By today's pricing, we estimate the metal GARAGE building alone would realistically cost at least $175,000 to replicate today (land, concrete foundation, and steel construction). Great for a home mechanic or car collector, artist, or someone who needs whse space for a home business. Again, on top of this, there is an additional 1500 sq ft garage that built around the 1970s.

Water well still on the lot. I used it to water the garden one summer. It is 17 feet deep, and last July it was almost full. So the house technically has its own water source.

Lots of repairs and improvements made over the last 6 years.

Other old history - we were researching the home site through 1800's era Lloyds of London insurance map, and discovered that was an old schoolhouse on the proporty that dated likely to the 1860s-1870s. Two of the B'ois D'arc foundation posts from the schoolhouse are *still there*. We had wondered for years about these interesting posts, and they mapped exactly to the spot of the LoL map. The house has been featured in a few books, and gets lots of love on the socials from passerby who post photos to groups of people who love old houses.

There are some issues, as there are with any house of this nature. There is a small leak in the dome that needs to be fixed, and there is a leak in the kitchen that can be addressed by replacing an upstairs window.

Lots more to discuss about this house - a lot of history here. This house has its patina well preserved, in a way that is still beautiful, but livable. In terms of original features preverved, it is an absolute gem. It is even featured in the town postcard mural on the side of the public library. Many people have said they believe it is one of the finest original homes in the town, which is saying a lot, due to all the other great houses there.

Please send an email or text if you have any questions. More images will not be available until May, so please don't repeatedly ask about this, though I will be happy to answer your questions. Placing up for sale as a preview for those planning to buy in the summer. Rare opportunity to own an amazing dreamhouse, at a price below most basic 3/2 newer builds in the suburbs. No doubt this is one of the lower priced per sq ft houses in all or Fannin County, and maybe all of Northeast Texas. I don't want to sell it, but moving to support multiple family members hours away, and I will not be able to maintain two houses.