(July 6, 2017) After investing nearly a decade of sweat equity rehabbing an old home in Snow Hill, John Linton and Preston Reed are ready to tackle a comparable project in Pocomoke City.
Earlier this year, Linton jumped at the chance to purchase the old Winter Quarter, alternately known as the “Cowley” or “Hearne House,” when it went on the auction block.
The Federal Period structure was built in 1830 by General Ebenezer Hearne on a 300-acre estate he purchased after becoming successful in the tanning business, which involves treating animal hides to produce leather. In addition to being appointed as colonel in a voluntary militia in Newtown (later Pocomoke City) in 1825, Hearne was elected 13 times to the State legislature of Maryland.
“We’ve kind of had our eye on that house for a long time,” Linton said. “It was listed at 3,100 square feet, but it’s actually four buildings and was put together in four stages.”
Linton said a minor bidding war ensued at auction.
“There was one other guy that was bidding and I got it for $22,000,” he said. “If I turn around and sell this house for $225,000, then I’m sitting pretty.”
Of more importance than any financial end goal, Linton and Reed both recognize the value of preserving old, historic homes.
“[Preston] knows about every old house on the Eastern Shore,” Linton said. “I got the one down there for a couple different reasons. “I didn’t want to see the house get torn down and they were practically giving it away.”
While the old Winter Quarter project is just getting underway, Linton said he feels encouraged the turn around time will be dramatically shortened, based on lessons learned during the couple’s problematic Snow Hill endeavor.
The couple purchased a home on West Market Street in 2008.
“We started working on [that] house and I was originally told it was going to be five years and $80,000,” Linton said. “All kinds of things happen when you start opening up walls in old houses.
“The first major catastrophe was right after we won this house at auction, but before we got the financing, every radiator in the house froze and burst,” Linton continued. “Then we couldn’t get financing because we didn’t have a heating system,” he said.
After managing to work out the mortgage issue, Linton said the problems continued.
“The next catastrophe was the beams under the house supporting the first floor were all really bad,” he said. “The contractor came in took one look at it and said, ‘nobody goes upstairs in this house until I fix this.’”
Other problems arose when trying to restore a kitchen and lounge area in the basement.
“We wanted to dig down to get more ceiling height and the town cautioned the house might fall down,” Linton said.
After retaining the services of an engineer and hydrologist, along with a ton of toil, Reed said that issue was eventually surmounted.
“We actually dug it ourselves about four inches,” he said. “We also removed every speck of paint off of every piece of woodwork in this house.”
Other insights were gained after removing the original windows and discovering it would cost roughly $8,000 to get modern replacements because of the odd and custom sizes.
“We pulled all those out of the garage and stripped them and that’s where we started to learn how to do windows,” Linton said. “Windows of that quality you can’t get them anymore.
“I knew that there were structural issues, but I didn’t think they were that bad, and I ended up being right,” he added. “It is a gamble. There might be something wrong with the house and I don’t know it yet.”
Although it took a bit longer, and cost more than originally envisioned, last year the pair were finally able to inhabit the approximately 4,000-square-foot, circa 1805 McKimmey Porter House in Snow Hill.
“We started sleeping here in July of 2016,” Reed said.
For those considering purchasing an old home, Reed has a few words of advice: start small.
“I would definitely recommend if you’re going to fix up a house, get a small one,” he said.
Linton also underscored the importance of understanding your own limitations and hiring professional contractors when appropriate.
“The old rule of thumb is whatever you estimate it’s going to cost to repair it multiply it by three,” he said. “If you really love old houses and you’re willing to do a lot of the dirty work it’s definitely worth it.”
Earlier this year, Linton jumped at the chance to purchase the old Winter Quarter, alternately known as the “Cowley” or “Hearne House,” when it went on the auction block.
The Federal Period structure was built in 1830 by General Ebenezer Hearne on a 300-acre estate he purchased after becoming successful in the tanning business, which involves treating animal hides to produce leather. In addition to being appointed as colonel in a voluntary militia in Newtown (later Pocomoke City) in 1825, Hearne was elected 13 times to the State legislature of Maryland.
“We’ve kind of had our eye on that house for a long time,” Linton said. “It was listed at 3,100 square feet, but it’s actually four buildings and was put together in four stages.”
Linton said a minor bidding war ensued at auction.
“There was one other guy that was bidding and I got it for $22,000,” he said. “If I turn around and sell this house for $225,000, then I’m sitting pretty.”
Of more importance than any financial end goal, Linton and Reed both recognize the value of preserving old, historic homes.
“[Preston] knows about every old house on the Eastern Shore,” Linton said. “I got the one down there for a couple different reasons. “I didn’t want to see the house get torn down and they were practically giving it away.”
While the old Winter Quarter project is just getting underway, Linton said he feels encouraged the turn around time will be dramatically shortened, based on lessons learned during the couple’s problematic Snow Hill endeavor.
The couple purchased a home on West Market Street in 2008.
“We started working on [that] house and I was originally told it was going to be five years and $80,000,” Linton said. “All kinds of things happen when you start opening up walls in old houses.
“The first major catastrophe was right after we won this house at auction, but before we got the financing, every radiator in the house froze and burst,” Linton continued. “Then we couldn’t get financing because we didn’t have a heating system,” he said.
After managing to work out the mortgage issue, Linton said the problems continued.
“The next catastrophe was the beams under the house supporting the first floor were all really bad,” he said. “The contractor came in took one look at it and said, ‘nobody goes upstairs in this house until I fix this.’”
Other problems arose when trying to restore a kitchen and lounge area in the basement.
“We wanted to dig down to get more ceiling height and the town cautioned the house might fall down,” Linton said.
After retaining the services of an engineer and hydrologist, along with a ton of toil, Reed said that issue was eventually surmounted.
“We actually dug it ourselves about four inches,” he said. “We also removed every speck of paint off of every piece of woodwork in this house.”
Other insights were gained after removing the original windows and discovering it would cost roughly $8,000 to get modern replacements because of the odd and custom sizes.
“We pulled all those out of the garage and stripped them and that’s where we started to learn how to do windows,” Linton said. “Windows of that quality you can’t get them anymore.
“I knew that there were structural issues, but I didn’t think they were that bad, and I ended up being right,” he added. “It is a gamble. There might be something wrong with the house and I don’t know it yet.”
Although it took a bit longer, and cost more than originally envisioned, last year the pair were finally able to inhabit the approximately 4,000-square-foot, circa 1805 McKimmey Porter House in Snow Hill.
“We started sleeping here in July of 2016,” Reed said.
For those considering purchasing an old home, Reed has a few words of advice: start small.
“I would definitely recommend if you’re going to fix up a house, get a small one,” he said.
Linton also underscored the importance of understanding your own limitations and hiring professional contractors when appropriate.
“The old rule of thumb is whatever you estimate it’s going to cost to repair it multiply it by three,” he said. “If you really love old houses and you’re willing to do a lot of the dirty work it’s definitely worth it.”