Historic House Listings

Haunted House for Sale! Villa Fortuna, Circa 1887 in North Carolina. $200,000

June 28, 2022

The owner of Villa Fortuna has smelled cigar smoke at night and heard old leather shoes moving across the floor at 2:00 A.M. I am acquainted with the owner and when she first listed this house a couple of years ago I reached out to her. We had a nice phone conversation about the things that go bump in the night. She has listed it again and I reached out to see if I could do a video tour of it. Villa Fortuna was built in 1887 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home is located on .32 acres in Reidsville, North Carolina. The home features a covered porch, balcony, hardwood floors, baseboards, built-ins and beautiful brickwork. The original owners were manufacturers of brick and often advertised their brickwork in the newspaper. You are seeing a urinal in one of the bedrooms. If I remember the story correctly, one of the previous owners liked to imbibe a bit and didn’t want to leave the bedroom to go to the restroom. I am wondering if the square footage is off a bit. Two bedrooms, one bathroom and 1,332 square feet. $200,000

Contact the property owner: 336-394-5513

From the Zillow listing:

 

Due to the world wide health emergency, you must be pre-qualified to view the house. Once you have proof of funds you may set a time for a viewing. You must wear a mask the whole time you’re here.   Ready to live a more sustainable life? Villa Fortuna was built in 1887. She is listed on the national registry of historic places for the architecture. This home is the perfect blend of unpretentious elegance and a rustic urban farm. Reidsville is a charming town. This part of North Carolina is as close to my home state Connecticut, as I have ever seen. Here we have a lot less snow, shorter winter and yet we still have lilacs in the spring! Most everything in town is within 2 to 5 miles of the driveway. Greensboro and Danville are 30 minutes in either direction. Sitting in the back yard you have no idea you live in town. There is an innate serenity to the property and the house. And yes we do enjoy the occasional visit from some of the former residents… moving about the house and property…. old leather shoes moving across the tile floor at 2 a.m. or the smell of a freshly lit cigar in the bathroom which was once the back porch off the dining room. The 30’x32, steel frame greenhouse has a block base.  There are apple, Mulberry, peach, and plum trees. The woodshed is 3′ deep x 13′ long. One of the five fireplaces has working gas logs. All the fireplaces were built to burn coal, not wood. They’re located in the three bedrooms, the library and the living room. The red, purple, yellow rooms and the library are 16′ x 15′ the ceilings are 9 1/2 feet. Downstairs bedroom is 11′ x 12′. There is an addition not included in the square footage. It includes a sunroom, a pantry, and mud room off the driveway. I heated them with a wood stove. The air conditioning part of the unit needs to be repaired (old hippie don’t use it). The heat part was replaced 3 years ago. The water heater, gas log fireplace unit in the library and toilet have been replaced since I’ve been here. There was a huge hole in the kitchen floor when I bought the house. The floor has been replaced from the footing up, and a real sink and counter have been installed. YES, there is a urinal on the wall in the purple bedroom. The last owner put it there, it is no longer hooked up.  There are only about 6 of this style antique Italianate brick homes left in NC. This house is for someone with vision, passion and some skills would be handy. I live here so please do not let me find you wandering around my yard. Many of the photos are from before I moved in. If you have proof of funds I can send you additional photos. Yes, there are some repairs needed but she is still a grand old lady. It is a beautiful historic home looking for a new steward who will love her as I have. For sale as is where is.    Due to the increase in housing prices, I have raised the price. I do need to buy something  to live in when I sell this beauty. I do not ‘need’ to sell, I’m wanting to be farther in the country. No, I can not do owner financing. Agents and investors do not contact me to tell me you think the price is wrong. What would be wrong, is if I sold it for less and then couldn’t afford to buy my next home.

 

 

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