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Seriously considering buying a really old but historic farmhouse that has some issues. In my late 50s and this house sits in a bucolic and peaceful setting. Wanting out of the city life. Am I nuts? I'll have the inspections done etc etc. Anyone else happy with or regret buying an much older home in their later years? I'm on the fence. Anyway just looking for thoughts. Thank you kind people.
Have you thought about how practical it will be to be located out there, at a distance from medical and other services, when you're in your 80's? Can you afford the "yard maintenance" on acreage, not to mention the structure's maintenance? Have you researched potential floodplain issues, fire risk, and all those kinds of things that people now have to research about a place, with the effects of climate change in mind?
Extreme due diligence is the new normal in RE purchases these days.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 02-02-2023 at 09:51 AM..
No matter what is found during the inspection, know there will be 'surprises' which may be expensive with an old house. Be sure to keep a good amount set aside for this.
It really depends on what you want to do w/ it. About 2 years ago be bought an old house (1920s, so not as old as what you're looking at). Its had some work, but needed a lot more. If you're renovating, have your contractor inspect in advance so you know roughly what you're getting into. Have him walk through with the inspector. In respect to the home inspector - get one that knows about old homes. Happy to elaborate if you have specific questions.
You're buying two houses. The one see today that you paid for. Then there's the one you're dreaming about and will pay for again, along with lots of time.
It can be a labor of love or destroy relationships.
I've built 2 new homes (that most would consider "high end" construction). I only say that because these were not mass produced tract homes (nothing wrong with that, but important for context).
Both new homes had way more issues in the first 5 years of ownership than this old house. Small stuff like tile cracks from settling, nail pops, systems issues, etc. Nothing that necessarily costed money since there were contractor warranties on the homes, but annoying nevertheless.
With older homes, especially revivals, you're chasing down issues stemming from age, which are different sets of problems (i.e finding crystal doorknobs that match).
Seriously considering buying a really old but historic farmhouse that has some issues. In my late 50s and this house sits in a bucolic and peaceful setting. Wanting out of the city life. Am I nuts? I'll have the inspections done etc etc. Anyone else happy with or regret buying an much older home in their later years? I'm on the fence. Anyway just looking for thoughts. Thank you kind people.
Location.
Will you have acceptable ease of access to daily needs and services?
Food, medical and dental services, etc?
Site.
Dry? Sunshine? Pleasant access to the house?
Condition.
Water is the greatest enemy of all construction. Assuming a well-constructed house, has the exterior, roof, siding windows, been maintained for those decades to minimize water intrusion and damage?
Is the foundation stable, with fairly level floors, posts and columns that have not sunk to a disagreeable extent?
Foibles.
Forget modern codes in a house that old.
You may need to live with odd staircases, tiny or non-existent closets, unusable fireplaces, weird "renovations" and fixes from former owners, drafty windows, ancient wiring and plumbing, etc, etc.
And, you likely will have niceties like lead paint, asbestos, unique materials that you strain to duplicate when doing repairs or revisions.
And, an old house can be enchanting. It is all about what YOU want, need, expect, and can handle.
So I buy old historic homes and restore them. My office is an 1895 Victorian on the National Register. Old homes are for people that comfortable with doing some work themselves or have a lot of money to hire other people. I enjoy it, but if you are not a flexible person who likes to solve problems, it might not be a good fit.
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