Buying a Nice, Old House?
Here's what you do:
1. Look at the roof. Are the tiles, or roofing on the roof, older than 30 years? If so, then you'll have issues. Go inside the attic and see if any water, whatsoever, gets in. If any moisture or staining is there, walk away.
2. If the house has a basement, closely check to see if ANY water or moisture gets in. If the basement is unfinished, walk away. Signs of water leakage is fine sand or particles by the walls, or corners, any mold staining, or any signs of wood swelling from water incursion.
3. Any mold anywhere, cracks in plaster, or stains, walk away.
4. Look at the outside doors, exposed to the weather. Do they open easily? Stuck, or hard to open doors, are a bad indication.
5. Have the main sewage line to the street inspected. Ask when the last time it was completely routed. The main sewage line should be routed every 3 - years. If the owner doesn't know, or won't let you route the main sewage line, walk away. You just saved yourself about 10K, at least.
6. Inspect all exterior drains, and see if they are diverting all rainwater away from any foundation. Calculate where rainwater will go. You could end up spending 3K - 10K re-leveling the yard, fixing runoff problems.
7. Any decks, or any exterior wooden built structures should be in perfect order.
8. Check the trees. Have they been trimmed recently? If no, that will cost you from about 8K - 15k to fix, depending on how many trees you have.
9. If you have a fireplace, does the fireplace have a cap, or spark arrest?
10. Check water pressure in all parts of the house. When you run the taps, hot or cold, do you see rust after a few seconds? If you see rust, or have low water pressure, walk away.
11. If the house does not have centralized AC, walk away. Also, run the heating, especially if it is hot water, and see if it works.
12. Remember, if the house is on a busy street, it will take off about 10K in value of the house.
13. New windows, good, old windows, bad, very bad.
14. How old is the water-heater? 15 years old older, you'll have to replace it.
15. If you have a sump-pump or sewage-ejection pump, how old are they? 15 years or older, you'll have to replace them. Same goes for any hot-tub pumps.
Basically, after buying any older house (mine was built in 1922), figure on having to put about 20 - 30K into it, after the sale. That is if you have a good inspector, and you are lucky.
1. Look at the roof. Are the tiles, or roofing on the roof, older than 30 years? If so, then you'll have issues. Go inside the attic and see if any water, whatsoever, gets in. If any moisture or staining is there, walk away.
2. If the house has a basement, closely check to see if ANY water or moisture gets in. If the basement is unfinished, walk away. Signs of water leakage is fine sand or particles by the walls, or corners, any mold staining, or any signs of wood swelling from water incursion.
3. Any mold anywhere, cracks in plaster, or stains, walk away.
4. Look at the outside doors, exposed to the weather. Do they open easily? Stuck, or hard to open doors, are a bad indication.
5. Have the main sewage line to the street inspected. Ask when the last time it was completely routed. The main sewage line should be routed every 3 - years. If the owner doesn't know, or won't let you route the main sewage line, walk away. You just saved yourself about 10K, at least.
6. Inspect all exterior drains, and see if they are diverting all rainwater away from any foundation. Calculate where rainwater will go. You could end up spending 3K - 10K re-leveling the yard, fixing runoff problems.
7. Any decks, or any exterior wooden built structures should be in perfect order.
8. Check the trees. Have they been trimmed recently? If no, that will cost you from about 8K - 15k to fix, depending on how many trees you have.
9. If you have a fireplace, does the fireplace have a cap, or spark arrest?
10. Check water pressure in all parts of the house. When you run the taps, hot or cold, do you see rust after a few seconds? If you see rust, or have low water pressure, walk away.
11. If the house does not have centralized AC, walk away. Also, run the heating, especially if it is hot water, and see if it works.
12. Remember, if the house is on a busy street, it will take off about 10K in value of the house.
13. New windows, good, old windows, bad, very bad.
14. How old is the water-heater? 15 years old older, you'll have to replace it.
15. If you have a sump-pump or sewage-ejection pump, how old are they? 15 years or older, you'll have to replace them. Same goes for any hot-tub pumps.
Basically, after buying any older house (mine was built in 1922), figure on having to put about 20 - 30K into it, after the sale. That is if you have a good inspector, and you are lucky.
posted by CM at 1:16 PM
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