First Time Home Buyer - How Much Maintenance on 30+ Year Old House? (flooring, shingles)
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Like others have stated, it depends on how the house has been previously maintained and upgraded. we bought a house last year that was 25 years old. The previous owner was very good about maintenance and when he did upgrade things, he didn't go cheap. The roof was replaced about 5 years ago with a nice architectural shingle, the furnace is original but has always been on a maintenance contract and cleaned yearly. The leach field was replaced 4 years ago and as the septic inspector stated, the guy went above and beyond.
The windows are single pane, but in very good condition with storm windows. the large french doors have been upgraded to triple pane glass.
I have a buddy who bought a 12 year old house and has had to spend more on maintenance and upgrades then i have on my 25 year old house.
It almost seems like you have a better chance of getting better grade materials on an older "updated" house because the previous owners did not go with "builder" grade materials that are commonly seen on newer houses.
We are house hunting and generally looking at newer houses - the newer houses in the community we're interested in are 10-15 years old. Since we will be stretching a bit to buy our house, we don't want to spend a lot on repairs/maintenance in the first few years. However, there is one house we like that is 33 years old. It has updated kitchen and baths and the roof and HVAC have been replaced. It looks like it has been meticulously maintained, but are there other big-ticket items that will start to fail in a house of this age that we should be prepared for? In general, how much more should we budget for repairs and maintenance on a 15 year old house versus a 33 year old house? Thanks for any advice!
Well, it depends what these big-ticket items are. But already having an updated kitchen, batch is great. Even better having a new HVAC as they are so damn expensive, and a roof too! So it all depends. I bought a home thats over 50 years old and well, I made a big mistake. No updated kitchen, bath. HVAC/Furnace is friggin over 20 years old. But the biggest problem I have with the house is the air quality. If you live in a humid climate, check the humidity levels inside. Mine are awful and unfortunately, I cant tell where it is coming from most. Up from the basement, or through the horrible insulated walls.
I know if I could do it over again, I wouldnt of moved here, or at least wouldnt have unless they brought the price down by a lot. It all depends on how major the problems are to you that exist and how much they will cost to fix.
I bought a home thats over 50 years old and well, I made a big mistake. No updated kitchen, bath.
Does everything in it work?
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HVAC/Furnace is friggin over 20 years old
Does it work? Mine's 38 years old. Works like a champ.
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. But the biggest problem I have with the house is the air quality. If you live in a humid climate, check the humidity levels inside. Mine are awful and unfortunately, I cant tell where it is coming from most. Up from the basement, or through the horrible insulated walls.
Does it work? Mine's 38 years old. Works like a champ.
Get a dehumidifier.
Yeah, it does work. My biggest mistake being a first time home buyer was completely trusting the inspector, who wasnt very good to say the least.
He said the attic insulation was fine. It wasnt. I shouldve checked it out myself. It hand a few inches of old bat insulation, and thats it. Doesnt cut it for New England winters.
Electrical wiring is a bit of a mess and I found recessed lighting wired wrong in the ceiling and one of the canisters was electrically hot. Found that out by touching it.
Basement has some minor water leaks after heavy rain and gets very humid and damp, but surprisingly, no mold. I did end up getting a Santa Fe classic dehumidifier for the basement which seems to work well, but Im going to have to excavate around a portion of the house on the outside and put in a french drain and cover the outside walls with Tuff n Dri or something similar.
Surprisingly, the furnace/ac works but unfortunately, the blower is one speed. So in the summer, when I really need a higher speed, im out of luck. It takes a long time to cool the house, though the biggest problem is humidity.
At times during the summer, the kitchen/bathroom for instance, get way more humid than outside. The rest of the house gets humid too. Unfortunately, its not always hot enough inside to turn on the AC. This humidity ruins papers and is uncomfortable to live in, especially at night. I dont have heavy condensation on the windows and I cant figure out why the humid air gets in so easily. Maybe its just poor wall insulation or maybe the humidity comes up from the basement. I really wish I could figure it out and correct it. I dont even know what professional type person to call and have them work on figuring it out for me.
I would get a dehumidifier for the house but the house is just too small, I wouldnt know where to put it and really wouldnt want to have this thing running making noise all the time.
If I could do it over again, I would check this sort of thing out because an uncomfortable home sucks and sometimes there isnt always an easy answer. I shouldnt of been in such a hurry to buy a house, shouldve just stayed renting and saved my money until I could get something nicer.
I think I read someone said newer houses it will cost more for maintenance/upkeep, why is that? and what do you guys think about having 2 home inspections before buying it? 2nd one might find things that the 1st one didn't find? what do you guys think about home warranty? just fix it when something is broken and it's not necessary? also how can you tell if a house have been nicely maintained/upkept? thanks guys
We looked at 30 year old homes last summer, while doing our home search. You want to know about the roof, and whether the exterior needs painting, and if so, when was it painted last. Check the bathrooms carefully. We saw outdated and downright awful old bathrooms. You say the house has been renovated, so I am assuming the original appliances have been replaced. How old are are they? 5 years, 10 years? You might need to replace the dishwasher at least after 10 years.
If the house has wall to wall carpet, find out what is under the carpet.
If the house has a wood burning fireplace, find out when it was last cleaned and have the chimney inspected.
We lived in our last house for 26 years. We replaced the water heater, the heat pump, the furnace, the roof, the front door, the carpet (twice), the kitchen and laundry room floors, and various window panes. I'd also suggest checking to see if the home has enough electric plugs for your needs, especially in the kitchen and baths.
My notes are in parentheses- mobile devices are crap for doing color...
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Originally Posted by okaythen01
I think I read someone said newer houses it will cost more for maintenance/upkeep, why is that?
(That train of thought comes from the fact that most believe that homes built today are built with inferior products and less skilled labor. When in fact more and more "maintenance-free" products are being used, especially on the exterior.)
and what do you guys think about having 2 home inspections before buying it? 2nd one might find things that the 1st one didn't find?
(I think that is a total waste of money. The discrepencies between the two inspectors will be negligable at best. Years of experience, knowledge of local building requirements, and knowing what the CODE WAS AT THE TIME THE HOUSE WAS BUILT will be more benificial than a preprinted report that fills in blanks.)
what do you guys think about home warranty?
(Junk! Not worth the paper they're written on. But for whatever reason, they certainly seem to sweeten the deal when attached to a contract.)
just fix it when something is broken and it's not necessary?
(Yep, or that's the general consensus- but some will argue that it's good for major appliances such as HVAC components. Yeah, but if the inspector noted that the components are 20+yo it's up to you to negotiate.)
also how can you tell if a house have been nicely maintained/upkept? thanks guys
(There are several ways- but most of them require more than what you can do on a simple inspection. And any decent realtor who is listing a property will give the owner a laundry list of things that should be done to help with the sale. How much, and how well those things are accomplished...
and what do you guys think about having 2 home inspections before buying it? 2nd one might find things that the 1st one didn't find?
The only second inspections I'd do is if there was a comment on a structural issue and a recommendation that a structural engineer examine it. Depending on the severity, I might not do a second inspection, I'd just walk away from the purchase.
Instead of hiring two general inspectors, you might hire one to do electrical especially if you have a concern. We actually hired a general inspector and a furnace company separately to check the furnace and air.
I've had two home inspections in my life, and in neither case did the inspectors cover everything that should have been looked at. But, you can specify what things you especially want looked at. In our case, I was concerned about our kitchen downdraft. DH was concerned about some exterior things. But the inspector missed totally the unsecured porch railing, the rotten fenced boards and the moss on the roof. These were not horribly expensive to fix, however.
I think I read someone said newer houses it will cost more for maintenance/upkeep, why is that? and what do you guys think about having 2 home inspections before buying it? 2nd one might find things that the 1st one didn't find? what do you guys think about home warranty? just fix it when something is broken and it's not necessary? also how can you tell if a house have been nicely maintained/upkept? thanks guys
Question 1:
Depends on how many hours / cycles / days the newer house has on important systems and their quality vs. the older one. Our 1920 craftsman would be expected to have a more reliable HVAC system than a house I bought that was made in 2001 because I replaced it last year, effectively resetting the timer for that item. Likewise for the roof (but also because the roof put on the 2001 house was a horrible POS that started leaking at age 3). On the other hand, it has an older hot water heater that I will probably see only 5 more years from.
2. Nope. You'll see more of a difference of opinion than anything else and your wallet will be a lot lighter.
3rd one. Completely useless - I've never gotten anything out of them before and in the future will probably try and split the savings of not getting one between myself and the seller.
4th one. Experience, and lots of it... someone who's a skilled builder either professionally or a highly experienced DIY type will just see this.
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