Buying an Older Home in Old Southwest

What Old Southwest is

Old Southwest is the city's Victorian neighborhood, just south of downtown. The Southwest Historic District, which takes in Old Southwest, Mountain View and Hurt Park, went on the National Register in 1985. It has nearly 1,700 buildings, most built between 1882 and 1930: Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, bungalow and foursquare houses, nearly all freestanding.

Two lines: the Register and the overlay

National Register listing is recognition. By itself it doesn't stop a private owner from changing a house, but it does make contributing buildings eligible for rehabilitation tax credits.

The city's H-2 Historic Neighborhood overlay is the one with review. It covers most of Old Southwest and parts of Gainsboro, Hurt Park and Mountain View. Inside it, exterior changes, new construction and demolition need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Architectural Review Board before work starts.

What review means in practice

The board looks at what the street sees, and materials matter. In July 2026 it turned down, as submitted, an application to replace nine windows with vinyl and metal trim, and invited a revised one. If you plan to change windows, a porch or siding, or to add on, ask the city what's allowed and what's been approved nearby before you make an offer that depends on it.

The tax credit, plainly

Virginia's historic rehabilitation tax credit is 25 percent of eligible rehabilitation expenses. For a house you live in, the work has to cost at least 25 percent of the home's assessed value, the house has to be a certified historic structure (a contributing building in a listed district counts), and you apply to the Department of Historic Resources before you start. Unused credit can carry forward for up to 20 years.

The 20 percent federal credit is only for income-producing buildings, such as a house you rent out.

What to inspect in a century-old house

The bones are usually good; the systems are where the money goes. Have an inspector who knows old houses look hard at the wiring, the plumbing and main sewer line, heating and cooling, the roof and gutters, the foundation and drainage, and the chimneys. Houses this age can have lead paint and asbestos, so plan for testing if you'll renovate.

Ask your agent this

Is this house inside the H-2 overlay, and is it a contributing building?

What has the review board approved or denied on this block in the last few years?

Which contractors here actually restore old windows and plaster?

If I want to use the tax credit, what has to happen before work begins?