Thursday, December 9, 2010

The Williams House - 208 W. Walnut – Sided and a rental

The Williams family lived in this home during the Victorian Era. The home was quite possibly built by a local carpenter named Theodore McNeely. McNeely built numerous homes in Ashland including the Locke-Mason House on Pleasant Street and the Brinton House on Center. The woodwork in the home is almost identical to that of the Lock-Mason and Brinton Homes.

Mr. and Mrs. William's daughter, Olivia, married Charles F. Kettering in the Williams House in 1905. Charles Kettering was a famous inventor who created Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) which was eventually taken over by General Motors. Kettering had over 100 patents to his name and headed up General Motors' research division for almost three decades. In 1933 Kettering even made the cover of Time magazine.

In 1997 this home sold for $81,328. In May of 2010, FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORP. took over the property that was then valued at $50,667. On October 5, 2010 David and Amy Brucato purchased the property for a bargain price of $22,000 from the bank. The Brucatos have taken off some of the original molding outside and replaced originally windows with replacements. Unfortunately this takes away some of the historic value of the house, but at least the home has a new lease on life. I would rather have seen wood siding and new storms built. Also unfortunate is that the Brucatos didn’t take advantage of the tax credits to rehab historic properties. The potential was an approximate 10% federal tax credit. Who wouldn’t want to save a few thousand dollars in this day and age. Too bad so many home buyers and realtors don’t know enough about the historic home tax credits.

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