OT...Older Homes...

[kellyg403]

DH and I are thinking about buying a home built in 1925. Its been really well maintained and acutally has alot of the orginial features, plaster walls, hardwoods atc. I like the house but am in love with the 3+ landscaped acres that come with it. DH, of course, loves the wired out building! I see that alot of you have homes even older than this and was wondering if you can give me a heads up on certain things we should be looking at. BTW, it has been modernized..seperate units for upstairs/downstairs heating...9 foot ceilings I would suspect it would be difficult to heat, brand new plumbing, updated kitchen and bathrooms. The upstairs two bedrooms are done in tounge and groove knotty pine with the original dormer window seats. I am worried about it though and don't know if there is something we should really consider here that we haven't. The asking price is 176k so a good price as well for a 3000 sq ft older home. Any suggestions from those who have gone the "older" home route vs. the "new.


TIA Kelly

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You might want to ask to see copies of all (electric/gas/water/sewer/heating oil) utility bills for the last 12 to 24 months. If they don't have copies, ask to see the cancelled checks for the utilities. If they don't have these either they may be trying to hide impossible expenses.

 

[pyrxtc]

I'd go with an older home and did. My house was built in 1780 something so I'm living in a 220 year old house. My house has bee remodeled over various decades but was with one family from the moment it was built until we bought it. It has the original wide pine floors and clapboard. it also has the original lead paint and thin walls.

 

[sammielynn]

I love my older home, built in 1890. I would check out the utility bill also. See what restrictions are on the property. We have had some who moved into the neighborhood and wanted to change the outside of the house and then got mad when they found out they could not. Remember that when something breaks in an older home it may cost more to have it repaired.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

Call the utility company and they should be able to tell you what the bills have been based on the address. They do this in Tennessee where I used to live.

 

[horsegirl]

Hidden things that could potentially cost big bucks are powder post beatles and other wood booring pests, mold, lead paint, sill and foundation problems, roofing, windows, wiring, plumbing, chimneys/fireplaces and things like this. We have always lived in old homes dating from 1700s to later 1800s. Have a reputable contractor survey the home before you buy. This will cost several hundred plus dollars, but will help you know what your particular house has going on. Most older homes have some quirks-the doors that don't close, the toilet that leaks. These can be minor nusances or be the tip of the iceberg. Most of our friends live in new homes-sometimes I envy them, but they always comment on how warm and wonderful our home is, and that character that elicits these sentiments is hard to replicate in newer homes. Go for it, but just make sure you really understand what is going on structurally. You can blow insulation in from the outside and place it in the attic to help. Get a professional in! And I agree about the landscaping- that is often the best part of these older places-and you definitely can not reproduce that.!

 

[CheapMom]

That house sounds lovely. I have a civil war era farm house. I love it for many reasons- it is unique and has charming features - like the wide plank pine floors and the giant cooking fireplace in the kitchen. I also love the lot I am on. 2 acres that backs to woods and stream, we have deer and bunnies in the yard most days. The drawbacks are what you and others have mentioned- it is not the most energy efficient house (not the worst either as measures have been taken over the years to improve this), we have plaster walls- and they do crack, it is dustier- harder to keep clean then a newer home would be.
In my case- the good outweighs the bad. I really love the house.

As far as termites or powder post beetles... Get a good inspection and make sure you get a wood boring bug inspection. When we had our inspection evedence of insect damage was present but the owner had proof that it had been treated. We were still worried so we had a structural engineer come in to give his opinion on the integrity of the home's foundation (beams were gnawed on) He said it was fine. He said the beams are about 5 times thicker than the beams would be in a modern home. We pay $70 per year for termite insurance policy from a bug guy.

Good Luck!

 

[blanq]

We live in a 1903 home. I do love our home as it has wonderful character, including incredible molding, some hardwood floors, 9 ft ceilings, plaster walls, and a clawfoot tub. We knew it needed some work when we moved in, but everything turned into an unexpected can of worms. Translated...we have dumped a ton of money into this house! We have replaced the roof, the furnace and central air, all of the windows with double-hungs, and installed hardie siding. I will never forget the day I came home from work and the siding guys had pulled off our old siding and uncovered foundation problems that required we call in a structural engineer. For a week we held our breath, and we were told that at the high end it could be a $50K problem. We breathed a sigh of relief when the damage "only" ended up being $9K. Granted, that was $9K in unexpected costs. 15 years later and we are still doing work on our home, although most of it is cosmetic/decorating now. The point I am trying to make is that older homes require some continued maintenance, and some of it can be costly if you want to maintain the integrity and beauty of your older home. Oh yeah, a downside to some older homes is lack of closet space. We have had California Closets come in to help us make the most of some of those small closets, and still have some more closets to redesign.

I still love our home and have no desire to move. We purchased it for $96K and it is now valued at about $300K. I think that many new homes are lacking character, especially new homes that would be within our purchasing range.

My best advice is to invest in a good home inspection, and make sure you hire someone who has plenty of experience with older homes. Make sure that that inspection will provide you with estimates on how long it will be before you have to replace items such as the roof, the furnace, appliances, etc. Ask the owners for information on how old these bigger ticket items are. Hopefully they have kept good records.

 

[robinb]

I always wanted an older home and our house was built in 1917. In the 13 years we have owned it, we have not had too many expenses. We had the wood floors stripped before we moved in (bird's eye maple on the 2nd floor and oak on the first), had a plumbing emergency when I was 8 1/2 months pregnant (our one and only toilet was out!), we had to repaint to the tune of 6K and we replaced the furnace a couple years ago. The roof needs to be replaced in a year or two and we should really get around to updating the kitchen and our 1940's era Roper gas stove.

Does it get really cold in NC? Here in Wisconsin we made sure that there was insulation blown in the walls and my DH added insulation in the attic and around the steam pipes (we have radiators) in the basement. We also "plastic" the windows over the winter because our windows are beautiful original leaded glass.

The house sounds great . My dream home is a Chicago bungalow. *sigh*

 

[jennifer293]

If it has a chimney AT ALL that is being used for wood, or vented gas ask the homeowner to see all current inspection and cleaning forms. This is something that should be done annually.

With a house this old I can about bet you that the chimneys ARE NOT lined unless there has been restoration work done on it. Back in the day they used to just build chimneys with bricks and mortar and that IS NOT SAFE!! Having a chimney relined is VERY VERY EXPENSIVE and I have seen them go as low as 800.00 to fix and as high as 20,000. Just depending on sizes and such.

http://www.ncsg.org/search/search.cfm this website should help you find all the available certified chimney professionals in the state of North Carolina. Be sure to get several estimates and compare prices like you would with any kind of house repair.

 

[LisaInNc]

I have lived in a 100+ victorian for over 12 years here is my formula for home projects. It will take double the money it will for anyone with a regular house and quadruple the time. You can't imagine how difficult it can be to do a project on a home that was built so solidly that just cutting through the floor to lay new plumbing took my plumber ex DH 4 saw blades. The beams were nailed the regular way and the nailed through the sides also. Who knows why.

Each house is different and they all have their secrets and their history.

I can't stress this enough have a LICENSED HOME INSPECTOR look at the house first. Your realtor should be able to recommend someone. Don't just have a contractor that is a different job. A home inspector that does it well can tell you everything about the house.

I just had a home inspection done on my house. I had someone that wanted to buy it and we both agreed on it. That way there is nothing hidden as a surprise later. (in the end the deal didn't work out and we are now renovating it ourselves)

I was about to buy a 70 year old house and the inspector cost $300 and spent 4 hours in the house. He did everything from climbing up on the room to going under the house to checking each room to see how warm it got with the heat so I immediately know which room would be colder than another. He even noticed that the knobs on one shower were backwards. They find the good the bad and the ugly and sometimes a home owner doesn't even know about the "ugly" that might be there.

Ok so some of the things to know about the older houses, well, here is what I have learned most of the time you can't just got into a store and buy something to fit the house. The windows are bigger, I can't just go and buy curtains they have to be custom made usually and it is costing a lot fo replacement windows (good thing I can sew that helps with the drapes) the rooms are bigger than the standard carpet width so the carpet has to be pieces together and it costs more. Heating is more because I have 12 foot ceilings and the house was build before insulation so it doesn't have a lot of that. Forget changing a door easily, your house has settled over time. I found that out the hard way lol!

Heed the info on the chimney, if it is bricks and mortar that does require attention.

I don't think that the utility bills are going to give you exactly what you need since everyone lives differently and the people that are selling might be part eskimo and keep the heat just warm enough so the pipes don't burst or leave the lights burning in every room.

You also have to consider that not just any contractor can come in and do repairs. Oh sure they all will but you really want someone that has worked on older homes before because they understand some of the tricky things. finding that type of contractor can cost a little more.

Also when the house was updated was the plumbing done correctly? Was the wiring done right for the kitchen? These are not just things that a normal person would notice but can really matter later.

There is a plus side. You have a one of a kind home, you have a piece of history. You also have a home that is better built than anything out there today. I know when my house was built some of the wood that was used for beams, well, there isn't trees that large any more. This house has stood through 100 years of hurricanes and there is something to be said for that. Many of the houses they are building today will not be standing 100 years from now.

So don't fall in love with it until you know all there is to know about it.

I have never regretted my home purchase but sometimes I wish it was a little easier for repairs. Any time I feel like that all I have to do is walk into my main hallway and look at the amazing staircase and my annoyance fades away. My front doors still open with a skeleton key. How amazing is that?

I am in NC and someone asked if it gets cold. Well to give you an example my house doesn't have heat on the second floor. It didn't have it when we bought it and we never really needed it but I am updating the heat and air and I will have it put in up there for resale value in the future.

 

[luvsgrumpy]

Lots of good info, I just want to mention one of our biggest difficulties is the lack of closet space! I don't know how they did it back when the house was built. We went from renting to this house and never even gave it a thought.

Good Luck,

 

[PrincessKitty1]

You should also go around with the inspector if at all possible, to ask questions AND to make sure he/she is thorough. After we moved into our older house, we discovered lots of obvious evidence of termites that the inspector didn't find, leading our attorney to say "The inspector was obviously at the pub when he was supposed to be inspecting your house!" We sued and settled out of court but it took THREE YEARS and a huge amount of hassle.

 

[DisneyElf]

Our house isn't as old - as the ones previous posters have
but was built by the contractor as a model for several other homes in the area in the early 1940's.

BUT - before we bought it - we had the home inspection done - and YES - walk with the inspector - you can learn a lot about the house you want to buy and pick up pointers. We also had minor terminate damage - put into the contract that the owners needed to do a full spray and we have a maintaince contract with the termite place - no additional problems - but don't want it sneaking up on us.

We have owned our house 6 yrs now - and the inspector made sure we knew that the roof was on it's third layer and would need to be replaced in 6 to 8 years. This year we noticed some shingles lifting up .. and had it replaced (incl. the plywood) long BEFORE we saw any water coming in. Preventive maintaince is the best.

One other thing to consider is insurance -- IF the original plaster and wood trim & molding is important to you - don't skimp on getting a policy. Older homes are more expensive to rebuild - and unfortunately - many companies will not pay to restore your home back to it's original condition and will only pay for sheetrock from Home Depot vs. getting them plastered or having the molding restored. Only the high end companies will pay for that - like Chubb, Fireman's Fund & AIG.

One last question - for the board - Every 2 years we have our chimney cleaned (we have gas heat - no fireplaces) - and this year the cleaner let us know we have an abestos sleeve in it. Orig. he gave us an estimate to remove it for $ 2800 + tax etc. - tonight he called and offered to do it for $2100 (needs work). It is not flaking or anything - should we have it removed to be safe ?

 

[FreshTressa]

Well, our first home was a brand new home....while our second home is an older home...here are my comparisons

It was much cheaper to heat our first home, even though the second has been remodeled and has new windows and insulation.

The first home was much easier to clean. I'm not sure why, but it just was.

My second home has more charm and is actually more solid, with older sturdier wood, cedar siding, good paint etc, whereas the brand new home was made with less expensive materials.

Older homes don't usually have walk in closets or as big of storage spaces. I did not realize how little storage was built into my second home compared to my first.


IMHO, the worst to buy are 20-30 year old homes, because things like furnaces, hot water heaters, roofs and rugs are all about to expire and need replacing.

 

[barkley]

i'de be most concerned about renovations that were done throughout the history of the home (and how well they were done) so i would go for a top dollar inspection that will look into every aspect. i would also look closely at what structural changes have been done and were they done with a permit and signed off for meeting the (then) code. find out about any repair/renovation regulations you may be subject to (some items don't meet current code cuz they are grandfathered under the time frame they were installed but a repair or replacement requires meeting current code-my 1st house was about 35 years old and i would have killed to replace the water heater with a more efficient model-but i would have had to bring the plumbing up to date, relocate it and tear up the garage floor to meet current location and distancing requirements...).

check on how that beautiful landscaping is maintained. if it's older it may be that no watering system is set up and you have to hand water everything (had a friend encounter this-he and his wife no way had the time the previous owners put into maintaining it).

you can negotiate a home warranty policy in the sales agreement. the seller pays for it and it covers all plumbing, electrical, appliances for a year from the date you take possession. we got one on our first home and it cost the seller less than $500.00, we renewed it every year for much less-came in real handy when the entire a/c system went out to the tune of several thousand dollars. we even bought one to pickup when our new home's builder warranty ended.

 

[jennifer293]

LISAINNC --- if it is bricks and mortar that does require attention.

Not real sure where you got your information but it is not correct.

Here is why:

http://www.csia.org/homeowners/fireplce.htm

FYI....We own a chimney cleaning and repair service and are certified by the CSIA.

 

[jennifer293]

One last question - for the board - Every 2 years we have our chimney cleaned (we have gas heat - no fireplaces) - and this year the cleaner let us know we have an abestos sleeve in it. Orig. he gave us an estimate to remove it for $ 2800 + tax etc. - tonight he called and offered to do it for $2100 (needs work). It is not flaking or anything - should we have it removed to be safe ?[/QUOTE]



I SENT YOU A PM..with good news!!!

 

[mickeyfan2]

Have they insulated the home (roof and walls). Are the windows new. Have the foundation checked to see if it is solid. If it is a brick house, make sure that is has been repointed.

 

[georgina]

I am curious about this as this is the first time I have ever heard that basic brick and mortar chimneys aren't safe. We have a log burning fireplace we don't use (house built in 1954). Can you point me to some independent information on this? Feel free to PM me rather than make chimneys the focus of this thread.

(By the way, Lisa in NC was agreeing with you.)