This Hornell home was featured by HGTV's Cheap Old Houses: What it sold for

Exposure is the name of the game for Denise Smith, a Howard Hanna real estate agent who markets homes in Hornell and the surrounding area.

So when an email from the social media team at HGTV’s Cheap Old Houses popped into her inbox, seemingly out of the blue, Smith knew her listing at 85 Hill St. was about to get some serious attention.

Cheap Old Houses asked to feature photos of the home on its Instagram page, which boasts 2.2 million followers across the globe. The post went live in January, and Smith was soon inundated with interest in the house on a quiet residential street in Hornell.

“I had 25 showings in two weeks. That is unbelievable,” Smith recalled. “You can possibly get 25 showings in a month on a really sought-after house no matter the price point, but this was in two weeks. It was because it was on Instagram. The majority of the people found me that way.”

What is Cheap Old Houses?

The Cheap Old Houses Instagram account was started by Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein in 2016. The couple developed a passion for highlighting historic homes in need of some TLC to restore them to glory. The homes featured on the page range from city dwellings to rural farmhouses, with most listed for under $100,000.

“These affordable houses are popular among millennials because of surging rents in larger cities and the possibility of remote work,” reads the show description.

The Instagram account grew to the point that the Finkelsteins launched a television series of the same name in 2021, available on HGTV and discovery+. The couple explores low-priced properties in each episode, before selecting one to feature on Instagram. Episodes also highlight renovations of homes featured previously on the account.

“Their hopes are to save these houses,” said Smith, who occasionally watched the show before it landed in her inbox. “They’re not going to buy them or restore them, they’re just going around highlighting them in the show. They point out all the great qualities.”

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Why did Cheap Old Houses highlight 85 Hill St. in Hornell?

A scout for Cheap Old Houses came across 85 Hill St. after it was listed for sale. Smith said Cheap Old Houses was attracted to the home’s historical finishes. It was built in 1900 and still boasts much of the original work, such as carved wood, leaded glass, beveled glass windows and sliding pocket doors.

“It has a very Victorian feeling,” said Smith. “It has a lot of features that are poignant to the period.”

The home also matched the show’s name — it was listed at just $36,000. The two-story duplex spans nearly 2,800 square feet but suffered damage from a leaky roof that requires mold abatement.

The Instagram post generated so much interest that Smith recorded a video tour to show to prospective buyers, rather than doing constant in-person showings that could pose a health risk.

“After about the first five showings within a couple days, I realized all these people are coming out of the woodwork to see this and I can’t keep going to this house because it could be a health hazard,” she said. “Everybody was pretty satisfied with the videos. That was the best I could do without being in there full time.”

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How did Cheap Old Houses impact the sale?

The mold didn’t scare away buyers. The house generated dozens of inquiries; Smith estimated just a third of them were local. The house ultimately sold for $25,000 in March, purchased by buyers from outside New York who discovered the property via the Instagram post.

Smith said the new owners intend to restore the house and maintain it as a duplex, possibly living in one half and renting out the other via Airbnb. The buyers were scheduled to visit the house in person for the first time this week.

Now that she has a contact at Cheap Old Houses, Smith hopes the account someday highlights another local home that meets its criteria.

“The exposure was incredible,” she said. “We still have a major deficit in inventory (in Hornell). We don’t have enough houses for sale. I think that’s the norm across the U.S. Although listings are still popping up, they’re just not coming in the quantity we need.”

This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Cheap Old Houses Instagram features $36,000 Hornell Hill Street home