Buying & Selling Historic Homes in Tacoma — What to Know Before You Fall in Love | Falling in Love with Tacoma, Ep. 5

Historic homes are the ones I keep coming back to — the Craftsmans, the Victorians, the Colonials with original woodwork and a century of stories in the walls. It started for me a long time ago, in an old 1900s house with that unmistakable old-house smell, and it's been the thread through everything I do since. But there's a side to buying and selling these homes that doesn't show up in the pretty photos, and that's what this episode is about.

We get into what actually lives inside an old house — knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized plumbing, older sewer lines — and why none of it has to be a dealbreaker if you go in knowing. I talk about how insurance is tightening on these homes, the brokers we've been building relationships with so there are no surprises at pre-approval, and how a buyer consultation helps you sort out what you can live with, what needs attention now, and what can wait. On the selling side, we cover how a historic home holds its value in North Tacoma, why the seller's disclosure and the story of the home both matter, and how to find the one buyer who'll love it the way you did.

And underneath all of it is the honest part: the pull between whimsy and practicality. Both matter. I've lived it in my own Hilltop Craftsman — the one people told me not to buy. If you love old homes the way I do, this one's for you.

Thinking about buying or selling a historic Tacoma home? I'm always here as a resource. Start the conversation anytime with my client questionnaire.


⏱️ Chapter Markers

1. Why historic homes — and where the love started
2. What people don't see until they're already in love
3. Knob-and-tube, galvanized plumbing & what's inside the walls
4. Insurance on historic homes (and why it's getting harder)
5. What to check before you commit to a 1910 Craftsman
6. A Tacoma story: when the old house had a surprise
7. Selling a historic home for what it's actually worth
8. Keeping the character — what she'd never rip out
9. Finding the right buyer ("people buy like homes")
10. Advice for buyers & sellers — whimsy vs. practical

What is Falling in Love With Tacoma?

Tacoma has been home for nearly 40 years. Grew up here, stayed here, and for the last eleven years have been selling the city’s most characterful homes — the old Craftsmans, the Victorians, the neighborhoods most people don’t know exist until someone shows them.

This podcast is an insider look at a city most people underestimate. Every week pulling back the curtain on the neighborhoods, the history, the homes, and the stories that never make it into a listing description.

This isn’t a real estate podcast. It’s a love letter to Tacoma — and an invitation to fall in love with it too.

# Falling in Love with Tacoma — Episode 5
## Buying & Selling Historic Homes in Tacoma
### Cleaned & Proofread Transcript

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**Mellie:** Welcome to Episode 5 of *Falling in Love with Tacoma*. I'm Mellie. I'm a Tacoma native, and I've been a realtor here since 2015. A lot of what I love about this work comes back to the city itself — the people, the neighborhoods, the homes, and all the little details that make this place what it is. And I'm here with Kierstyn today. She's our behind-the-scenes at Wonder Luxe, and she'll be the one asking the questions today.

This one's about historic homes — the Craftsmans, the Victorians, the Colonials. The ones with original woodwork and hundreds of years of stories and character. They're a big part of what I'm drawn to in this work, as you guys have seen. There's a lot that comes with buying and selling one of these that people don't always see up front. A lot of times we're showing you the beauty and all of those things — but without further ado, we're going to learn about some of the things to consider when you buy these homes. So without further ado, here's Kierstyn.

**Kierstyn:** Alright, Mellie — you sell all kinds of homes, but the old ones are different for you. When did that start?

**Mellie:** Oh no, this is one of those ADHD things where I go back to 20 years ago, when I first went into an old home in LA and was like, "Why does it smell like this?" We were visiting a friend's house, and it was this old 1900s home, and it just had this old-house smell that I really love — and people who love old homes know what I'm talking about. I was a little kid at the time, but it was the first time I'd been in something that old, with original flooring. And then the house that I live in now — I met when I was 16, and I remember falling in love with it and being like, "One day I'm going to own it." Slowly, throughout real estate, I realized every time I got to show these Craftsmans, there was just this excitement inside of me. So really — what other thing should I do than the things that I love, right? It's so special when we get to go tour these homes, it's special when I get to help clients buy them. It's my favorite.

**Kierstyn:** What's something people don't see until they're already in love with an old home?

**Mellie:** I would say — even starting out, I can definitely be more about the whimsical than the practical. And then we have to factor in the practical, because we're adults and things cost money. One of the things I learned quickly, and that's important to me to educate buyers and sellers on, is that the costs associated with these historic homes can be more. They take more finesse and care and specialties sometimes. We're going to be looking at knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized plumbing — there's things inside the walls. Everybody's going to have their own comfort zone in this, so to me it's being aware of it, being knowledgeable about it, doing your research, getting bids on it — knowing before we even shop. Maybe we look at a couple, and then we look at budget and long-term goals to see what you're comfortable with. Are you okay if it has a little bit of knob-and-tube? Are you okay if it has a lot? Are you going to want to rewire it? Are you okay taking that risk? How is insurance? And I don't know if I'm going on to other questions right now, but —

**Kierstyn:** No, keep going. Those are all good things people should know.

**Mellie:** With all the natural disasters that are happening, we know insurance is tightening down. It's harder to get insurance on certain things. So if you have a home with knob-and-tube, there are going to be quite a few insurance companies that don't cover it. That's something we've been working on behind the scenes — working with more insurance brokers, finding people who can insure these homes, and what that's going to look like cost-wise — so that when you're getting pre-approved, there are no surprises. We want everyone to make a comfortable, heart-led decision, but also have the practical parts down too.

**Kierstyn:** For someone who doesn't know what knob-and-tube is — what is knob-and-tube?

**Mellie:** Oh, I'm not an electrician, so that's where we'll bring an expert in. Knob-and-tube is a certain type of wiring they used that, nowadays, if it wasn't taken care of properly, can be a fire hazard. I would say Google it, because it's going to be a lot better at explaining it than I am. I am a lot better now at seeing it — I can tell by the switches. I've had some great electricians who've been very kind to teach me and show me in these homes, so I can spot them out a little more — if they're down in the basement, if they're up in the attic. But it's still good to bring in the experts, because I don't want to be the one making that decision.

**Kierstyn:** So let's say someone's about to buy a 1910 Craftsman in Tacoma. What do you tell them to check before they fully commit?

**Mellie:** So we're on our buyer consultation. If they're specifically looking for a historic home to live in, we're going to go over what they're comfortable with, and whether they're aware of what knob-and-tube is, galvanized plumbing — or even, in Tacoma, there's different sewer systems they've used that we want to make sure have been updated. Basically, know all the risks, know the budgets around these things, and decide: is that something you want to live with and do later? Are there some we need to tackle right away once you move in? And some of the houses around here have been updated, so that's a plus on a lot of them too. It all starts with the buyer consultation — finding out what works for your family, what your concerns are, what your budget is — and then we go to work looking for your home within that.

**Kierstyn:** Tell me about a Tacoma deal where the old house had a surprise that nobody saw coming.

**Mellie:** Well, we've been talking about knob-and-tube. One time I had a client who was interested in a home. The house was buttoned up perfectly — they had multiple offers, and she really loved it. It had a lot of interior design work to it. But the house was fully knob-and-tube. This was actually a few years back, when I learned more specifically how insurance handles that, how electricians handle that, and the potential costs that come with it. It wasn't the right budget for her on this home. So that was a surprise back then. It's not a surprise now, because we're talking about it before we go into these homes — but that was the surprise I had at that time.

**Kierstyn:** And it was the financial upkeep cost that got her — that didn't fit into her lifestyle at that moment?

**Mellie:** Yes.

**Kierstyn:** We've been talking about buying. So on the seller side — let's say you're listing a historic home in Tacoma. How do you sell it for what it's actually worth?

**Mellie:** With historic homes, there's definitely emotional value, and then there's the appraised value, and the buyer value, and your neighborhood value — putting all of those into consideration. When we list homes, we have a big strategy meeting on how to showcase your home. We have the seller's disclosure — we want to be able to talk about and know how old everything is that you're aware of, and the systems inside. The more we can do that up front, the better we can get your house ready for the market and find the buyer who's okay with those things. If you do have older wiring, there are buyers who are okay with that — who maybe have goals down the road to do their own remodeling. And we know North Tacoma homes still fly off the shelves and still get max value, even with these old things in place — because those who love the old homes, we want to honor them and keep them. There's a big value investment in there for us.

**Kierstyn:** What do you do for an old home that you wouldn't do for a new build?

**Mellie:** The word "modern" just comes into my head. You don't want to rip out a lot of the character. If you love your historic home and you want to keep the value, keeping the story and as much original character as possible is important. You know me — I love a blend of old and new. But there's still an honor to keeping as much of the character. The wood in the home, whether it's wood flooring or the trim — even leaded windows — those things I would keep as much as you could, and not modernize it to the point where it doesn't feel like a historic home. That's just my own personal, professional opinion.

**Kierstyn:** How do you find the right buyer for an old home? Who should buy an old home, and who shouldn't?

**Mellie:** Recently, from our amazing TikTok that we've been building, Kierstyn, we got someone who was like, "I want an old home in North Tacoma," and they moved from Seattle. That's been so exciting, because we're definitely finding our people who want these homes. It's so exciting to work together — it was very enjoyable to go hunting with her, oohing and aahing over these homes, bonding over that, and getting to know each other through the process. Finding out what's important to them — there's some things they're okay with, some things they wanted to make sure each home had — and we got to go look for the homes that matched what they wanted.

**Kierstyn:** If someone's looking to buy or sell an old home, what's one piece of advice you'd leave them with?

**Mellie:** I would say — let's tell the story of your home. I like to think of myself as the artist of real estate. When we have these historic homes that have been around since the 1900s, really knowing the story of the house and being able to tell it, and finding the buyer we get to hand that off to — to me, we just need to find the one buyer who loves this. That's the way I market. People buy like homes. A lot of times my clients will hear me say that, because it's true — we see so many overlaps and similarities within buyers and sellers. I would say lean into the quirks, the oddities, and the beauty of the home, and it will sell for you.

**Kierstyn:** What about for a buyer? What's a piece of advice you'd leave the buyer with?

**Mellie:** When I bought my Craftsman in Hilltop, a lot of people were like, "Don't do it, don't do it." And I'm stubborn. There's practical, and then there's whimsy, and you've got to know what's important to you and your lifestyle. For me, I have to have whimsy. I would rather have whimsy than practical. Practical is important — I'm not saying it's not, and I honor that, and I'm adaptable to clients who are more practical-minded. However, if you're whimsical like me, or you need to feel inspired in your own home, I would definitely say don't forget that. That's a meaningful piece that brings fulfillment in life, if that's important to you. I'm so glad I bought my house, because it's a place of rest and rejuvenation and inspiration for me, and I don't regret it.

So thank you for joining our podcast today. If you're starting to think about buying or selling a historic home in Tacoma, I just want to say I'm always here as a resource. If you want to start a conversation, the client questionnaire link is in our bio. I'll see you on the next one.

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### Editing notes
- **Name/brand corrections:** Melly → Mellie · Kirsten/Curson → Kierstyn · wonderlux → Wonder Luxe
- **Mishears corrected:** "without further do" → "without further ado" · "storage home" → "historic home" · "heart LED" → "heart-led" · "oohing and awing" → "oohing and aahing" · "lead windows" → "leaded windows"
- Speaker labels added, filler trimmed lightly, punctuation and paragraphing added for readability. Mellie's phrasing and voice left intact.