Thoughts on buying an older home in the Dallas area (rental, mortgage)

[unteagle]

I was just wandering on what people thought about buying a home built in the late 60's to early 70's. We found a beautiful home that was built in the 70's. I can do some handywork but I'm definately no carpenter. Is it more of a hassle with an old home always fixing or paying to fix than its worth for someone with little handyman skills?

We are looking at some new homes as well, but haven't liked them quite as much.

[TurtleCreek80]

An older home that has been well-maintained shouldn't cause much stress. An older home whose repairs have been neglected and routine maintansce has been deferred will potential be a money-sucking nightmare. A good inspection is necessary.

As far as cosmetic updates or renovations/ updating, the cost varies widely due to factors like whether you can DIY or need to hire someone, and if the projects are taking down wallpaper or paneling and putting on a fresh coat of paint or if you're moving walls and demo/ing a kitchen or bathroom.

[unteagle]

Our house we our in now was built I believe in the 60's and 70's and we haven't had many problems but my dad told me he wouldn't buy one if he was me. So just figured I would get some feedback.

[Ablebodied]

After I bought new a year ago I was surprised at how low my electric bill was compared to my old house. There have been so many improvements made over the past few decades I would buy new. My new home is 800 sf larger than my old house but the electric bill is much lower in our new home. Both are all electric, and now I understand why the electric company stopped giving a discount rate on all electric homes, because if they continued the people in these new high efficiency homes would hardly have an electricty bill at all. But that really jacked up the bills in the older homes. Much of the money we save now on electricity helps offset some of our new house mortgage payment.
Also, it will be a long time before I have to deal with new roofs, air units and such. Listen to your dad.

[BigDGeek]

My house is over 50 years old; this summer will make it 3 years since I bought it. I have not had any problems with it that were related to the house's age. I had issues that any house can have.

[Souleiado]

Frankly I'm glad I' m done for quite some time with the weekly trip to Lowe's or Home Depot , we calculated that in average we were spending about $200 per month for very small things just to keep up with the house. A lot of our weekends for over 10 years were filled with major repair , renovation, kitchen, bathroom etc......and our house was actually in good shape . It has also become very difficult to find a very good craftsman or repair man , after many disappointments with different companies that came highly recommended , we have often just gave up and did the work ourself.
I'm glad we moved to a newer house , with better insulation and much lower electric bill and that we are finally enjoying our weekends.

[TurtleCreek80]

You can put a radiant barrier roof liner in an older home for about $2K. Will make the home more energy efficient and keep your electric bills around $50-100/mo; same as a new home.

Again, it all goes back to how well the home has been maintained and updated over the years.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

An older home that has been well-maintained shouldn't cause much stress. An older home whose repairs have been neglected and routine maintansce has been deferred will potential be a money-sucking nightmare. A good inspection is necessary.

As far as cosmetic updates or renovations/ updating, the cost varies widely due to factors like whether you can DIY or need to hire someone, and if the projects are taking down wallpaper or paneling and putting on a fresh coat of paint or if you're moving walls and demo/ing a kitchen or bathroom.

OMG! I about spit my coffee out reading that one!

OP TurtleCreek80 summed it up very well! I love older homes and would not think twice about buying one that was well maintained. As for newer homes I've constantly heard the "maintenance free" or "nearly maintenance free" phrase more times than I would like to. There's no such animal!

Older homes have so much more character than the newer ones. There is a large city here that will remain unnamed but does bear a distinction. When you drive on a major road through this mostly residential city you can look down in the valleys and see what my Wife termed "Stepford Communities". They all look the same! If you go into an older neighborhood you can literally see many where no two homes come close to looking the same. It's just so much nicer looking.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Alberta Harrison

I am agree with you that good inspection is very much necessary while buying old home.

It's necessary when buying ANY home, and actually inspectors will tell you that they find the most issues with construction between 1997 and 2008. I read that in the Angie's List magazine.

So much for new = better!

[TX75007]

Ugh.

I own two older homes. One was a rental and I lived in the other one for a long time and now it is a rental. There is a reason why I have all the skills to be a GC. The latter passed two inspections before I bought it, too.

First, rent the movie, "The Money Pit"

The Money Pit (1986) - IMDb

You may laugh now.

Texas soil tears homes apart. That is the number one issue. Make sure the foundation is stable. A lot of people will do a really good job of fixing cosmetic issues inside..

Next, have your inspector check everything. Replace the windows that he flags. One bad window in the house is a red flag that the others will soon go bad.

Next, have an electrician check the wiring in the home and a plumber check the plumbing. Check the brick.

Next, the AC system should be SEER14 or better and less than 5 years old. All components.

Even then expect to spend some money when you move in.