RESEARCH PACKAGES

Hi there! I'm Marianne Taylor, but my alter ego is The House Detective! I'm an architectural historian, which is basically a fancy way of saying that I research the history of houses.

Every home, from a humble cottage to a grand mansion, has a fascinating story just waiting to be revealed!

I would love to see what secrets I can uncover about YOUR house!!

I'm based in Brisbane, Queensland, but I research houses and buildings from all over Australia.

I offer a number of different research options, depending on the level of detail or type of information you are after and how you would like the results presented. You can view the details of my different packages below. However, I am also more than happy to tailor a package to your requirements or budget.

If you would like to see what types of information I can discover about your house, you can read about some of my previous cases here.

I also offer pre-renovation and restoration advice for old Queensland houses, to help you understand your home, identify what features are important and to get the details right for your era and style of house.

If you would like to learn more about your family or put together a family tree, I also love to do genealogical research. I warn you though, I may find a few skeletons in the closet! ;)

Contact me NOW to get The House Detective on the case!

You can also follow my research and history adventures on Insta, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest!

PLATINUM PACKAGE $6000

This exclusive package provides an incredibly detailed history of your house and the people who lived there. It includes everything in the Gold Package, but with a much more detailed history of the whole lifetime of the house, from when the land was first sold by the Government, right up to, and including, yourselves as the current owners.

You can choose to document your own period of ownership, including family photos, a family tree and the story of how you came to own the house. This package also includes an analysis of the house style and any changes made to it over the years. If you would like to document your own alterations to the house, for example images and plans of before and after your renovations, this is the package for you. It also includes a series of aerial photographs of the house, from 1936 or 1946, to the present, showing the changes over time.

The final report is provided as a beautiful, high quality, professionally printed, hardcover book with colour images. You receive TWO copies of the book (perfect for sharing it with friends and family!), as well as a USB with an electronic copy of the final report and all the images, documents, titles, maps, photographs from the report (perfect to print out and frame to hang on your wall!). The price includes the research, purchase of all relevant documents, preparation of the report and the printing and delivery of the hardcover books and USB.

The history in this package includes:

  • Background history of suburb/street

  • History of subdivision of land

  • Date of construction

  • House name (if it had one)

  • Architect (if applicable)

  • Original owner(s) names

  • Detailed history of all the families that lived there up to yourselves

  • Search for old photos of house, street, suburb and families

  • Search for old maps/plans of the house, street and suburb

  • Search of old newspapers for articles about the house or families

  • A series of aerial photos showing the evolution of the house and street

  • An analysis of the architectural style, original building features, interior decoration

  • Summary of any major alterations to the house

  • Record of any renovation work you have undertaken on the house (great for capturing the "before" and "after" photos!

  • Table of owners of the land, from when it was first sold by the Government, right up to yourselves as the current owners

To search for this information, I visit the house (if in or near Brisbane), a variety of archives, libraries, historical societies and also search extensively online. This package involves approximately 50 to 60 hours work.

You also have the option of purchasing additional copies of the book and/or USB for relatives or future house owners, at an additional cost.

Examples of the beautiful hardcover book included in my Platinum and Gold Packages 

GOLD PACKAGE $4100

This premium package provides a detailed history of your house and the people who lived there. It includes everything in the Silver Package, but with a much more detailed history of the whole lifetime of the house up to the 1980s and an analysis of the house style.

In addition, the final report is provided as a beautiful, high quality, professionally printed, hardcover book with colour images (the Silver Package includes only an electronic version). You also receive a USB with an electronic copy of the final report- perfect for sharing it with friends and family! The price includes the research, purchase of all relevant documents, preparation of the report and the printing and delivery of the hardcover book and USB.

The history in this package includes:

  • Background history of suburb/street

  • History of the subdivision of the land

  • Date of construction

  • House name (if it had one)

  • Architect (if applicable)

  • Original owner(s) names

  • Detailed history of all the families that lived there up to the 1980s

  • Search for old photos of house, street, suburb and families

  • Search for old maps/plans of house, street and suburb

  • Search of old newspapers for articles about the house or families

  • A brief discussion of the architectural style and features and information on the architect (if applicable)

  • A table showing all the owners of the land up until the 1980s

To search for this information, I visit the house (if in or near Brisbane), a variety of archives, libraries, historical societies and also search extensively online. This package involves approximately 30 to 40 hours work.

You also have the option of purchasing additional copies of the book and/or USB for relatives or future house owners, at an additional cost.

Examples of the beautiful hardcover book included in my Platinum and Gold Packages 

SILVER PACKAGE $2600

This package provides a short history of your house and the people who lived there. The final report is emailed to you as a PDF, laid out in high-resolution book format with colour images PRINTED AS A BEAUTIFUL, COLOUR HARD COVER BOOK!! EASTER SPECIAL!! Book before 5pm Easter Monday (1 April 2024)! SAVE $300!!

The price includes the research, purchase of all relevant documents, preparation and printing of the report.

The history in this package includes:

  • Original owner(s) names

  • Date of construction

  • House name (if it had one)

  • Brief history of the main families that lived there up to the 1950s

  • Search for old photos of house

  • Search of old newspapers for articles about the house and families

To search for this information, I primarily search online but visit archives / libraries / historical societies as required and if time permits. This package does not include a visit to the house and involves approximately 15 hours of work.

You also have the option of purchasing the history as a hardcover book at an additional cost INCLUDED FOR A LIMITED TIME! WORTH $300!! You can also purchase a USB with an electronic copy of the final report on it, at an additional cost.

Example pages from a Silver Package PDF

Date of Construction $1700

(including Pre-1911 and Pre-1947 checks)

BRISBANE ONLY

If you'd like to know when your house was built, or need to establish if the house or extensions were built pre-1911 or pre-1947 to determine planning/Character Overlay requirements under Brisbane City Plan, this is the package for you!

It includes four hours research to begin with, but may need to be extended if it is a tricky one. The price also includes the purchase of up to two historical Certificates of Title for the land, or Birth, Death or Marriage certificates, if required. If more time or more documents are required, I will contact you for approval before I proceed. The results of my research are emailed to you as a PDF report.

NOTE: Although for most Brisbane houses I am confident that I can find the year a house was built, I cannot guarantee this for all houses. I also may not be able to find conclusive evidence of a date of construction, but can usually find "circumstantial evidence" to work out the most likely date. In some cases, I may only be able to narrow it down to a range of a few years and in rare instances I may not be able to establish a date at all. Unfortunately, this is just the nature of historical research, as different sources of information survive for different houses and I never know until I've had a look!

If your house is located outside Brisbane, please contact me for a custom quote.

Example pages from a Date of Construction Package PDF

House Name Search /

Hourly House History /

Hourly Family History $240/HR

If you have a specific question you would like answered about your house, e.g if it ever had a name or if there are any old photos of it, then I recommend hourly research. Alternatively, if you have a family history mystery that you would like me to look into, I also do genealogical research.

I charge by the hour and a maximum number of hours can be set for these types of requests. However, I am happy to negotiate to suit your budget for house or genealogy research, or if more research is needed I can extend it, with your approval. If the purchase of historical Certificates of Title for the land, or Birth, Death or Marriage certificates is required, this is an additional cost on top of the hourly research ($40 each), however I will contact you for approval before purchasing them. House name searches take about five hours, plus the price of purchasing Certificates of Title ($40 each). The number of titles required varies from house to house, so an exact price for the complete package cannot be given here. We can agree on a maximum number, or start with a set number and increase as required, with your permission.

The results of my research are emailed to you as a PDF, or provided on a USB at additional cost.

House Name Search Note: If you would like to try doing your own search to find out if your house ever had a name and what it was, you can download my Top 5 Tips for Naming Your House here. In addition to summarising how to search for a previous house name, it also includes a range of other ways to name your house, based on the most popular ways people chose house names in the past. It also includes a list of examples of each type of name, as well as a selection of common house names that can be used on any home.

Example pages from an hourly research results PDF

Pre-Renovation Advice Service $2800

If you are planning to renovate an old Queensland house, it is important to get to know your house a little better first. By better understanding the age, history, design and construction of your home, you can ensure that your renovation is appropriate and sympathetic and will add the maximum value to your property.

This package combines my many years of experience as an architectural historian, as well as my previous employment as a heritage consultant. I will visit your house, work through it room by room with you and discuss your ideas and plans. I will identify the style and era of your house, discuss the original design intent, point out important original features that should be kept if possible and provide advice on the right style of any replacement features (e.g. verandah railings, fences, etc). I'll also answer any questions you may have. I also email you a PDF report containing my findings and advice, so you can refer back to it as required.

*Please note that I am not a qualified builder, town planner or architect, so I cannot advise on technical or legal aspects of your plans.

Example pages from a pre-renovation report

Memory Keeper Package - House History / Family History or custom Books - Contact me for a price

Have you already researched the history of your house or family but it's all sitting on your computer never to see the light of day by anyone else? Or have you had to make the difficult decision to sell the family home?

I offer a service to capture your special memories, by compiling all your information and photographs into a beautiful, high quality, hardcover "coffee table" book with colour images, so that the whole family can enjoy reading about it! You can purchase as many or as few copies as you want and choose from a black or white cover. It makes a great gift for family members and it will become a wonderful memento to be cherished by them forever!

Or do you have commercial premises or a business (e.g. a B&B) you would like to showcase in a book with your own branding? I am happy to put together something custom-designed for you!

As the time required to undertake this work will vary greatly from client to client depending on the amount of information, number of photographs and detail required, I price each one individually. Contact me now for a custom quote!

Examples of a Memory Keeper Book (top and middle) and a custom business design for a boutique B&B (bottom)

REVIEWS

  • Kerry, "Willowbrook"

    Thank you Marianne for completing the House History for our family’s property. I was beyond impressed with the calibre of your research and the effort that went into the final product. The way the house history was presented makes a valuable keepsake for our future generations. We appreciate, not just the property insights but the reflections on life at the time and associated local history that made the whole story come together. Your trips to librarys and museums, and your efforts to get in touch with past owners were all very much appreciated and in true detective style you were able to find some facinating facts, documents and photographs that we would have never found. You’ve created a real treasure of information for us to keep. The books were very special at Christmas.

  • Jo, Morningside

    I was incredibly happy with the results of the research The House Detective undertook on our house. I cried when I read some of the stories that had been collected. It was lovely to know that the same family that built the house lived in it and loved it for over half a century. It was interesting as well to reflect on how few people owned the house for the first 80 or so years, and then how many had owned the house in the last 20 - perhaps an indicator of how we now view houses as investments rather than homes for life. The House Detective is a lovely person and is very knowledgeable. She went above and beyond with the research on our home and we are very happy to recommend her to you!

  • Russ & Anne, Corinda

    Marianne recently researched the history of our Queenslander in Corinda. We are extremely impressed by the depth of the information she uncovered about the area as well as our home which included numerous maps and archival photos. The information was beautifully presented to us in a hardcover book with digital copy. We are very happy to recommend Marianne for her thoroughness and professional expertise.

  • BRENNA, HOLLAND PARK

    Thank you again - we often sit and read snippets to the kids about our beloved home. Very surreal reading about her former life and thinking one day we will be another page in her story. She’s a real gem and we can’t thank you enough.

  • Holly, Newmarket

    Awesome thank you Marianne. I am so delighted with the research. The scandalous couple article is amazing! You have left no stone unturned even tracking down the pressed metal catalogue! Impressive research! Can't wait to see if the mystery Enoggera Historical Society pic is mine. The photos you unearthed in the report are amazing! Well done and thanks again.

  • Tracey, Wellington Point

    Thanks Marianne for the recent research of our house Coogee, it was an exciting journey traveling back in time with you. We had been given some publications with conflicting information and it is lovely to have the story laid out properly and in the beautiful book you presented us with. Thank you again for your wonderful service it was a pleasure working with you and I can highly recommend your services to anyone wishing that their walls could talk!

  • Kaye & Mike, Stafford

    Thank you SO much Marianne that is absolutely fantastic!!!!!! That is brill and definitely additional information to what we had or knew, especially seeing the aerials etc!! Thank you so much, exactly what we were looking for, how fascinating! It's filled in gaps and given us more to go fwd with perhaps down the track with a local historical society etc - I think I need to read and process again your fabulous research !!

  • Jacqi, Salisbury

    Mum was so excited to hear everything that you had found out! Of course I am interested in the history for myself, and the kids will be interested when they are old enough, but it is Mum's passion :-) You did such a lovely job of putting it together, along with the photographs of people who had lived here, which I didn't expect, so it is very special. Thank you so much for all the time and effort you put in to it.

  • Rob, Fortitude Valley

    Everyone loves the work so far, I printed out a copy to make it easier to read and framed the title and photo for Christmas and my partner was very impressed with it all as were the kids, visitors etc. Also lots of people equally impressed in a job called the House Detective – creates many conversations….

WANT TO DO YOUR OWN SLEUTHING?

DIY HOUSE HISTORY RESEARCH GUIDES

If you would like to give the house detecting a go yourself, I have a number of downloadable DIY House History Research Guides available for purchase.

You can view more information and buy them here

I also have a FREE downloadable guide on how to find out if your house ever had a name, or if it didn’t, how to choose a suitable one. You can download it here