Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We passed on a house we finally won a bid on last year because of an inspection. The floor was wavy under the bathroom and we didn’t think much of it until the inspector checked out the crawl space. Turned out all the supports were rotted away under more than half the house and it was just a matter of time before that section was going to give out. Since this was in a crawl space our contractor told us the only way to access and replace the rot was through the house itself. This was in addition to some other smaller but still off putting things like rats, and mold in the attic.
I would say that mold in the attic isn’t always a deal breaker by itself. We know it can be with fixed enough money but usually these kind of houses have multiple big ticket items (rotting fascia, leaky roof) which when your forced to bid over and cover appraisal gaps for a house it’s hard to have the cash on hand to fix these right away.
We also saw a house once where instead of adding a Lally column the owners put a chair on top of some cinderblocks to act as a support and called it day. That one really made us scratch our heads.
Scary basements with water damage and foundation cracks are also something we are hesitant on. Granted We don’t know a whole lot about what these mean just that when the cracks are bad enough it could be a money pit.
Also saw another house where the deck was starting to detach and you could tell it was taking some of the siding from the house with it.
This winter has really been the time for people to drop junk houses onto the market for top dollar.
Yikes, it sounds like you've come across your fair share of "lemons" in this housing market! As for the scary basements with water damage, I can give you some insight on that. One of the homes I owned had a scary dungeon type basement with stone foundation. They are not perfect and can be somewhat high maintenance. Many of these homes are 1930's and earlier builds but they're still standing ~100+ years later. Not as scary as they seem as long as you know what you're getting into and understand the maintenance required. One thing that's almost always a given with stone foundations is water seepage, to one degree or another. However, as long as you keep up with the repointing and also there are companies that can inject waterproof type polymer in between areas of stone to minimize water entry. One important thing is keeping a dehumidifier going 24/7 which I found was necessary with stone foundation versus poured concrete where that wasn't needed 365 days/yr. Also, mice seem to be able to get in a lot easier in stone versus poured concrete. I quickly learned the area they were getting in was where the stone foundation meets the siding outside. We bought some foam backer rod and steel wool to put underneath the whole perimeter of siding and that solved the issue. Unfortunately, we were so disgusted with the critter issue that we signed on with a pest control company first and all they did was set bait stations outside and some snap traps in the basement. Maybe it helped but don't think it was necessary after all as once we got the backer rod installed we didn't see any more mice in the traps in the basement.
Yikes, it sounds like you've come across your fair share of "lemons" in this housing market! As for the scary basements with water damage, I can give you some insight on that. One of the homes I owned had a scary dungeon type basement with stone foundation. They are not perfect and can be somewhat high maintenance. Many of these homes are 1930's and earlier builds but they're still standing ~100+ years later. Not as scary as they seem as long as you know what you're getting into and understand the maintenance required. One thing that's almost always a given with stone foundations is water seepage, to one degree or another. However, as long as you keep up with the repointing and also there are companies that can inject waterproof type polymer in between areas of stone to minimize water entry. One important thing is keeping a dehumidifier going 24/7 which I found was necessary with stone foundation versus poured concrete where that wasn't needed 365 days/yr. Also, mice seem to be able to get in a lot easier in stone versus poured concrete. I quickly learned the area they were getting in was where the stone foundation meets the siding outside. We bought some foam backer rod and steel wool to put underneath the whole perimeter of siding and that solved the issue. Unfortunately, we were so disgusted with the critter issue that we signed on with a pest control company first and all they did was set bait stations outside and some snap traps in the basement. Maybe it helped but don't think it was necessary after all as once we got the backer rod installed we didn't see any more mice in the traps in the basement.
Thanks for the insight! Are these stone foundation upkeep items typically expensive? The repointing and mouse proofing? We actually both really love the charm of houses from this era but aren’t really sure of what it takes to keep up with them.
Did you have to deal with things like replacing knob and tube wiring? Crumbling plaster walls?
Last edited by Brightey3s; 05-06-2022 at 05:43 AM..
Reason: Spelling
Tyngsboro is literally the next town over. Like every town moving outward, it’s appreciated in large part because of prospective Chelmsford buyers being priced out of town. Schools are decent, it’s on route 3, and has direct access to Nashua for any conveniences.
In general, inventory is still so far down, but I’d be surprised if something doesn’t surface that meets your requirements in one of these towns soon..
Would you be comfortable with a 7/1/6 ARM? Rates are still low-ish on ARMs, and it could allow you to keep your purchasing power whole. May even give you a slight advantage over those with conventional loans looking at <$600k. Keep in mind, many buyers are locked at better rates, but that window is just about closed.
For what it’s worth, I regularly see homes in the Nabnasset area of Westford in the $500s. It’s considered the “wrong side of the tracks” by many in Westford, but the reality is that it’s become the entry neighborhood for young families without grandiose budgets. It has a nice lake with multiple beaches, it’s own pre-k and elementary school, etc. Talk to your realtor, and keep an eye out.
Thanks for the insight! Are these stone foundation upkeep items typically expensive? The repointing and mouse proofing? We actually both really love the charm of houses from this era but aren’t really sure of what it takes to keep up with them.
Did you have to deal with things like replacing knob and tube wiring? Crumbling plaster walls?
The repointing work cost us around $3000 (that was only half the foundation because the other half was fine (no crumbling/loose mortar joints or water seepage)). This was all done by hand (no blasting/power tools) and they used a pastry bag type thing to insert as needed a waterproofing polymer between stones where there is the most water seepage. There are other companies that will try to sell you a plastic sheathing over the stone and then a perimeter drain with sump pump but that made us nervous (how's the stone going to breathe and what about that humidity build up between the stone and plastic?). That route is kind of a band-aid and doesn't address the real issue which is either 1. your foundation needs re-pointing/repairs and/or 2. you need gutters /downspouts or re grading outside around your foundation for water runoff.
It seems to have definitely improved the water situation however, there was still some minor seepage. With stone it's nearly impossible to seal up every entry point and water will find it's way. The main thing is to not go overboard with repairs and do what needs to be done to keep it manageable so you're not having to be down there with a shop vac every major rain or snow then rain event.
The mouse proofing we did ourselves and of course it depends on the size of your foundation perimeter, however, a bag of backer rod costs about $6 and steel wool maybe $3. The backer rod comes in varying widths depending on the gap you need to fill. I think we went thru 2-2.5 bags worth of backer rod and maybe half bag of steel wool. Very inexpensive. The hardest part was going outside and taking the time to find the gaps/openings where the mice were likely climbing up the foundation and under the siding to get in.
No knob and tube, but we did have an odd situation where the washing machine wasn't on a dedicated circuit so every time you ran the washer, many lights throughout the house would have a very slight flicker (not like a complete on and off of power) more like a pulse that was in sync with the pulses of the washer. Very twilight zone! Electrician recommended putting that on dedicated circuit but still couldn't guarantee that would completely fix the issue so we never even went ahead with it.
Tyngsboro is literally the next town over. Like every town moving outward, it’s appreciated in large part because of prospective Chelmsford buyers being priced out of town. Schools are decent, it’s on route 3, and has direct access to Nashua for any conveniences.
In general, inventory is still so far down, but I’d be surprised if something doesn’t surface that meets your requirements in one of these towns soon..
Would you be comfortable with a 7/1/6 ARM? Rates are still low-ish on ARMs, and it could allow you to keep your purchasing power whole. May even give you a slight advantage over those with conventional loans looking at <$600k. Keep in mind, many buyers are locked at better rates, but that window is just about closed.
For what it’s worth, I regularly see homes in the Nabnasset area of Westford in the $500s. It’s considered the “wrong side of the tracks” by many in Westford, but the reality is that it’s become the entry neighborhood for young families without grandiose budgets. It has a nice lake with multiple beaches, it’s own pre-k and elementary school, etc. Talk to your realtor, and keep an eye out.
We will have to brush up on ARM mortgages. Potentially that could be a decent idea while we wait for rates to level out. Seems like a pretty sure thing that rates will increase throughout the year.
The repointing work cost us around $3000 (that was only half the foundation because the other half was fine (no crumbling/loose mortar joints or water seepage)). This was all done by hand (no blasting/power tools) and they used a pastry bag type thing to insert as needed a waterproofing polymer between stones where there is the most water seepage. There are other companies that will try to sell you a plastic sheathing over the stone and then a perimeter drain with sump pump but that made us nervous (how's the stone going to breathe and what about that humidity build up between the stone and plastic?). That route is kind of a band-aid and doesn't address the real issue which is either 1. your foundation needs re-pointing/repairs and/or 2. you need gutters /downspouts or re grading outside around your foundation for water runoff.
It seems to have definitely improved the water situation however, there was still some minor seepage. With stone it's nearly impossible to seal up every entry point and water will find it's way. The main thing is to not go overboard with repairs and do what needs to be done to keep it manageable so you're not having to be down there with a shop vac every major rain or snow then rain event.
The mouse proofing we did ourselves and of course it depends on the size of your foundation perimeter, however, a bag of backer rod costs about $6 and steel wool maybe $3. The backer rod comes in varying widths depending on the gap you need to fill. I think we went thru 2-2.5 bags worth of backer rod and maybe half bag of steel wool. Very inexpensive. The hardest part was going outside and taking the time to find the gaps/openings where the mice were likely climbing up the foundation and under the siding to get in.
No knob and tube, but we did have an odd situation where the washing machine wasn't on a dedicated circuit so every time you ran the washer, many lights throughout the house would have a very slight flicker (not like a complete on and off of power) more like a pulse that was in sync with the pulses of the washer. Very twilight zone! Electrician recommended putting that on dedicated circuit but still couldn't guarantee that would completely fix the issue so we never even went ahead with it.
Thanks for the insight! Are these stone foundation upkeep items typically expensive? The repointing and mouse proofing? We actually both really love the charm of houses from this era but aren’t really sure of what it takes to keep up with them.
Did you have to deal with things like replacing knob and tube wiring? Crumbling plaster walls?
Brightey3s,
We had to get some foundation work done on our fieldstone foundation when we moved in. Well, let me correct that. There was a protrusion in the basement wall that had apparently been there for years and our inspector called it out. He said he didn't think it was anything serious but wouldn't have felt right just letting it go. We got money off the sale of the house at closing and ended up getting quotes from masons that were anywhere from $6k to $20k (we obviously went with the one charging $6k). The masons who worked on it said that once they opened up the wall it turned out we didn't even really need to do anything because it was just a boulder causing the protrusion, but they ended up securing it with poured concrete. Anywho, long story long, foundation work can be pricey depending on what kind of work you need but definitely shop around and get as many quotes as you can because I found they were all over the map. You might even try expanding your search area. I think when it comes to pricier jobs, these guys are willing to travel. Our masons actually came up from the Cape (they were friends of a coworker friend) and stayed at a hotel while they were doing the job.
We will have to brush up on ARM mortgages. Potentially that could be a decent idea while we wait for rates to level out. Seems like a pretty sure thing that rates will increase throughout the year.
They get a bad rep, but if done with intent there's really nothing wrong with an ARM. The reality is, many people do not stay in the same home for 30 years. I haven't stayed in one longer than 5 since I've been an adult - we've moved neighborhoods and even states over the years. If you go that route, would recommend a 7-year ARM vs. a 5-year, feels like that extra 2 years gives you just enough extra wiggle room to have a clean exit if rates are higher at the end of 5 years.
You just need to be prepared to sell if you cant refi to a lower rate. But, it's likely that if the market is down, you're buying into the same down market.
Disclosure: I'm on my 2nd ARM, and refi'd into another ARM despite 30-year rates being at their all-time low back in late fall. The reason: we bought a small'ish condo to get the kids through Kindergarten with full intent to sell once the youngest hit 1st grade. So we were going to sell whether we had a 30-year fixed or a 7-year ARM. Paying an extra $100-200/month just didn't make sense for us. There are real use cases for these, if you understand the risks.
Come to Billerica! we have 3 market baskets, Augusta's fried chicken bites, a commuter rail stop, a $176 million high school, taxes are cheap, and we're much closer to Boston!
Come to Billerica! we have 3 market baskets, Augusta's fried chicken bites, a commuter rail stop, a $176 million high school, taxes are cheap, and we're much closer to Boston!
I agree...Billerica's location is a bit underrated. I'm a regular at the Boston Rd Market Basket & Starbucks (so much so, that I'm in one of the Yelp photos for that location ). Other than a definite "townie" feel to it, I don't see too many negatives.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). Other than a definite "townie" feel to it, I don't see too many negatives.
