Bunnell land and property blog
Older homes near downtown Bunnell, from far away
The streets around downtown Bunnell hold some of the oldest houses in Flagler County: wood frame cottages with deep porches, block houses from the middle of the last century, and a few grand old homes under oaks that were already tall when they were built. Many now belong to children and grandchildren who live elsewhere. This guide covers what an older house near downtown Bunnell needs an owner far away to see, and how photos of the property show it.
A county seat with old streets
Bunnell grew up in the early twentieth century as a railroad and farming town, and became the seat of the new Flagler County when it was formed in 1917. Its center still has the feel of that era: a small grid of streets near the railroad and US 1, a downtown along the old main roads, and county government buildings on Moody Boulevard.
The houses on those streets were built over many decades, often by families who lived in them for generations. Many still have their original porches, wood siding and tall windows, and many sit under live oaks planted long ago.
The main site's Bunnell photo guide describes the older streets and the newer subdivisions beyond them.
Porches, wood siding and tall windows
An older Bunnell house often has features that newer houses lack: a wide front porch with wooden columns and a railing, wood clapboard or board and batten siding, tall single pane windows, and a raised floor set on piers with a crawlspace beneath.
Those features weather in their own ways. Porch floors and steps take rain and sun; paint on wood siding peels and fades faster than stucco; screens on porches tear; lattice around the crawlspace gets knocked loose by mowers and animals. An owner far away may not see any of it for months.
Photos from the street show the front porch, the siding and the windows on the front of the house in detail. Photos from the open grounds reach the sides and back. Each photo records what is visible on the date and never judges its condition. The main site's guide to the street photo set describes the front frames.
Under the old oaks
Many of the older streets near downtown Bunnell are shaded by live oaks and laurel oaks, some more than a century old. They give the neighborhood its character, and they drop a steady supply of leaves, acorns, Spanish moss and small branches onto roofs, porches and yards.
Older trees also lose larger limbs in storms, and a laurel oak in particular can drop a heavy branch with little warning. A limb over the roof or the porch is worth seeing in every set of photos.
From the street, photos show the canopy over the front of the house and what has fallen onto the front roof and yard. An aerial video shows the whole roof and every tree over it. The main site's guide to a Flagler summer away describes the seasons when trees drop the most.
Alleys and back yards
Some of the older blocks near downtown Bunnell have alleys behind them, and many houses have detached garages, sheds or old outbuildings at the back of the lot. From the front street, none of that is visible.
The back of an older lot is often where change hides: a shed door blown open, a garage roof gone green with moss, a fence along the alley leaning or overgrown, items left by the alley for collection or by someone else. Neighbors may notice from their own yards, but an owner far away rarely does.
A Full Property visit photographs the outside of the house and its outbuildings from the open grounds of the lot, front, sides and back, without entering any building. The main site's questions and answers explain what that visit includes.
Family houses and the next generation
Many older houses near downtown Bunnell have come down to children or grandchildren who grew up elsewhere, or moved away years ago. Some keep the house as a family place; some rent it out; some are deciding whether to sell. In every case, the decisions are being made from a distance.
Photos help siblings and cousins in different states look at the same thing at the same time. A set from the street and the open grounds gives everyone a dated picture of the house as it stands, which makes it easier to agree on what to repair, what to keep and what to do next.
The main site's guide to managing an inherited Flagler County home from out of state covers the first year after receiving one in more detail.
Renting out an older house
Older houses near downtown Bunnell are often rented, close as they are to the county offices, schools and US 1. Renting brings income and keeps the house occupied, but an owner far away still wants to see the outside now and then, especially between leases.
During a lease, street photos keep the yard and the front in view and never intrude on the household. They are always of the property, never the people living in it. Between leases, a fuller set from the street and the open grounds shows the outside as the house empties and again before the next lease begins.
The main site's guide to a monthly routine for absentee landlords describes how owners keep up with a rental from afar.
City rules and an older lot
Bunnell has rules about overgrown yards, junk and debris, and the upkeep of structures, as every Florida city does. Older lots near downtown, with big trees and outbuildings, can fall behind quickly when nobody lives there, and the first sign an owner far away sees may be a letter from the city.
A recent set of dated photos makes such a letter easier to answer. It shows what the yard and the front of the house looked like, and later sets show what was done about it.
Regular photos also make letters less likely, since overgrowth and debris show up in the pictures before they draw notice. The main site's guide to code notices and HOA letters from afar explains how owners use dated photos when a notice arrives.
Storms and an older house
An older house near downtown Bunnell has usually seen many storms, and most came through them well. But older roofs, wood siding and porches, and the old trees around them, are the parts that a strong wind reaches first.
When a storm is forecast to cross the county, a set of photos in the calm days before it records the house and its trees as the storm will find them. After it passes and the roads are clear, a matching set shows what changed: limbs down, porch screens torn, shingles or metal panels lifted, a shed door open.
Held side by side, the two sets give an owner far away a clear picture without a long drive. The main site's hurricane season guide describes the weeks around a storm.
The space under a raised floor
Many older houses near downtown Bunnell stand on brick or block piers, with the floor raised a couple of feet off the ground and a crawlspace underneath. Around the base, lattice or skirting closes off the gap, and vents let air through to keep the space dry.
That base takes knocks over the years. Mowers and string trimmers chip at the lattice, animals push through gaps, and heavy rain splashes sand and mud against the lower boards. On a house nobody lives in, a missing panel can go unnoticed for a long time, letting leaves and wildlife in.
Nobody on a photo visit goes under a house or opens anything; the photos show the outside of the base as it stands, from the street for the front and from the open grounds for the sides and back. The main site's guide to reading delivered photos shows how to follow one stretch of wall from visit to visit.
Shingles, metal and moss on an old roof
Older Bunnell houses wear many kinds of roof: asphalt shingles replaced every couple of decades, metal roofs that can last much longer, and the occasional older roof on a porch or outbuilding that has seen many storms. Under the oaks, all of them collect leaves, acorns and moss, and shaded slopes can grow dark streaks of algae over time.
From the street, the front slopes of most older houses show clearly, along with the porch roof and any branches resting on them. The back slopes and the valleys hidden behind the ridge need a view from the air.
An aerial video once a year gives an owner far away the whole roof at once, and two videos a year apart show any change. Photos and video show the surface as it looks on the date and never assess it; the roofer does that. The main site's guide to photos after a storm covers the roof frames in detail.
A plan for an older house near downtown
For an older house near downtown Bunnell, a practical plan starts with a full set from the street and the open grounds, as a baseline that includes the porch, the siding, the outbuildings and the back fence. After that, photos from the street every month or two show the front, the porch and the trees over them. A set from the open grounds a few times a year shows the back of the lot.
Once a year, a flight takes in every slope of the old roof and the oaks above it; around each storm, two sets taken before and after show what the wind changed. Over time, the photos build a picture of how the old house is holding up, frame by frame.
To start photos of an older house in Bunnell, visit FlaglerPropertyWatch.com.