Would you STILL buy a house that uses OIL for heat & water? (Charlton: buying a house, neighborhood)
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I'm trying to steer my friend away from a potential money pit. He is looking at houses, one of which is a single fam, 2 story 1,600 sqFt. The oil burner was JUST replaced (which he thinks is a selling point) so even if he converts (and i'm not sure if he even has that option) he could not get any tax breaks since the burner is less than 20 yrs old!
The stove is electric. So the oil heat would be for 2 floors and all hot water. There is no way too heat individual rooms (like just upstairs, just downstairs, whatever.) Moreover, the house was built in 1929! Can we say "drafty?"
He's married w 2 teens. So i'm estimating after all showers are taken, about $500-$600 per month for oil average.
And this is NO WHERE NEAR the cheapest house on his list!! But he gives it points for having a lot of (DRAFTY!) windows and a brick wall.
I know some will say/feel its none of my business. But this is a good friend of mine who i don't want to get in over his head. I feel like he's not factoring in the cost of oil AT ALL and that he might be on the verge of a very poor decision.
The simple question i'm asking in general is, all things being equal, would you want an OLD home heated by oil or a very similar (and perhaps NEWER) home heated by gas? Would you try harder to negotiate a lower price considering you and the sellers know you'll be paying more in the long run?
I'd rather buy an older house that burns oil in a good location than a newer house that burns gas in a poor location. Oil vs. gas has a huge influence on your monthly expenses but it's not the very first thing I think about provided total monthly expenses are within my budget.
Gas is preferred, but I'm with Mike. Gas lines can and are added. Houses are almost never moved. I have oil in my current house, but can walk to the commuter rail. That saves $5/day on parking for two cars, or about $2000/yr. I'd venture that's more than the extra I'd spend on oil vs. gas.
So, all things being equal, I'd go with gas, but when are things ever equal? Also, $500-600 is a winter bill, not an all year bill.
Out here there isn't really any other option. There are no houses in Charlton with gas that I'm aware of. It's either oil or propane. So, yeah I'd buy a house that has oil heat.
Location trumps oil. You can change your heat to gas down the road but might not have opportunity to afford to buy in the great neighborhood with desirable location. Especially if schools are great as well.
Since kids are older chances of them being home all the time and needing the high heat 24-7 are probably low. Water bills can be managed. Windows will need to be replaced anyway at some point etc...
I am with the rest of the posters. 1929 home is probably still worth something.
New is not always better. New homes can age fast.
Thanks guys for all the feedback! Major take-away from feedback seems to be "location location location!"
But all potential houses are in the same town- not near any rails- so location isn't a factor.
Well then factor in either the cost to convert (about $8000 if there's a gas line, considerably more if there isn't) or the added cost of oil over the lifetime of the house, discounted to NPV and go from there. I estimate the NPV of gas is about $30k. That's a significant amount, but by no means an overwhelming factor. Beyond that it's not his problem, not yours.
Not all houses can be converted. While house-hunting we saw a ton of houses that were on oil or propane because there were no gas lines in the neighborhood (admittedly, we didn't choose to buy any of these).
I've rented in a number of oil homes and while gas was cheaper and more convenient it was fine, it wasn't like I had to live on gruel to pay my heating bills (and I'm not rich).
Oil is not optimal but I wouldn't call it a deal-breaker like living in a flood zone or with a bad foundation / structural problems. If it's a beautiful house in good condition in a good location, I don't see why not to buy it.
Oil is not optimal but I wouldn't call it a deal-breaker like living in a flood zone or with a bad foundation / structural problems. If it's a beautiful house in good condition in a good location, I don't see why not to buy it.
Exactly! The point I was trying to make with my post is that there are a lot of other factors at play when making the decision about what house to buy. All other things being equal, I would buy the gas house before I would buy the oil house but all other things are rarely equal. So, long as your friend is aware that it's likely going to cost him hundreds more to heat the house in the coldest months of the winter than if he bought a house with gas then it's his decision to make. There's also absolutely nothing wrong with buying an older house given that it's been properly maintained. Some older houses are built better and with better quality materials than todays houses in some ways. Of course, some older houses have things like asbestos and lead paint to deal with but that just goes back to my point that buying a house involves considering a lot of factors.
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