Spring is the season of Home Tours. Today, I want to take a look at six of the most interesting and diverse tours in Columbus.
Home tours allow you to peek into new or remodeled homes. It’s a chance to gather ideas for upgrading your own home, and possibly increasing its market value. Home tours can be fun, educational, and exhausting.
If you have an interest in real estate and home remodeling, or, if you are in the market for a new home, I suggest you pick one of the many Central Ohio home tours to get your start.
When you read this post, you may have already missed the 2012 Showcase of Remodeled Homes. It featured 15 homes, that were recently renovated by some of the best remodeling contractors of Columbus. Most of these homes were in the North-West, in Upper Arlington, Dublin, and Worthington.
You can still see pictures on their website. You will also find links to the remodeling companies.
The BIA Parade of Homes
The most famous home tour is the BIA Parade of Homes. So save this date; June 16 – July 1, 2012 at the Meadows in Lewis Center. This year you will see 12 new homes priced between $400K and $600K.
The Parade of Homes is a special event. Here you will see top-of-the-line, new-built residences in a completely new subdivision. These homes are decorated by interior designers, and showcase the latest in home electronics and kitchen appliances.
Plan to spend at least 3 hours for touring the homes. Here’s a preview of builders participating. And keep in mind that all Parade Homes are for sale.
The Home & Condo Quest
Unlike the Parade of Homes, the Home & Condo Quest features new communities. Most of them are condo developments, some have a master-plan for residential subdivisions.
This event took place in April, but you can still view the homes and condos on their website. It featured 27 different communities, mostly in the Northern half of Central Ohio. At the Home & Condo Quest you tour model homes. You can have any of these homes built in these communities.
Give me a call, if you have interest in new-builds. I can help you negotiate a great deal with the builders!
Historic Home Tours
The tours I find most interesting, however, are historic home tours. I love to see the creative improvements remodelers make that bring old homes to life.
Here are a few …
- The Bexley House and Garden Tour on June 10, 2012 is organized by the Bexley Women’s Club. Ten of Bexley’s most beautiful and gracious mansions are open to the public. If you want to peek behind the curtains, I suggest you book the Preview Tour & Party on Saturday, June 9, 2012.
- Two weeks later you may want to head to the German Village Haus und Garten Tour on June 24, 2012. This is the 53rd edition of this event – put on by the German Village Society. The Haus und Gartern Tour is usually crowded – they expect more than 6,000 visitors this year.
- To round out your summer sight-seeing of unique residences, you should participate in the Olde Towne Tour of Historic Homes on July 15, 2012. It will be the 40th edition of this event. Here is an article of last year’s tour in the Columbus Dispatch.
I hope you will enjoy the many home tours Columbus has to offer!
Make sure to wear comfortable shoes – there’s a lot of walking. Also, don’t forget to dress for the weather and use sun screen. At some of the tours you may have to wait in line before you can get into the homes.