First Time Home Buyer - How Much Maintenance on 30+ Year Old House? (subfloor, engineered)
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.
What Chickpea and Hopes are saying is correct,we because of age and family have bought a 1955 home from estate in tax happy CT.
We do not relish the thought but necessary.CT is all taxes and no exemptions,that said,the home except for siding has been updated 100 percent and purchase price was very nominal.The walls have blown in rockwool insulation,along with attic,12 inches.New 100 amp service from pole with 60 amp sub panel,copper plumbing from street and gas heat,new thermal pane windows,I had to only replace 20 year old water heater.We have finished basement and attached garage.Home is 1200 sq ft,one owner.This would beat a newer home.
Check with the local insurance. They have an idea when the roof and the electrical system should be replaced and may actually require that be done prior to the insurance purchase. All other things electrical may be replaced every 15 years. If you are lucky. Exterior paint check Behr,etc for recommendations.
where do you guys go to find a good house inspector? and what qualification should I check on him like engineering degree, architecture degree?
Seller agent would have house inspector, loan company etc etc, do you guys just use them or it's best to keep everything separated ?
My inspector did a 28 page report and an 8 page summary.He had done 3 others for me.With inspections I prefer one who is independent from listing agent.
He is licensed by the state and has been in business for many years.His cost was $285.
Funny, where I live, 30 years old is a pretty new house! If the previous owner was not the only or second owner, there may have been other updates along the way of which you're not aware. The major thing I would be concerned about in a house that age (but only where this is relevant, of course) is the septic system. That is one of the biggest ticket items, which typically has a life span of around 30 years, though it can last longer or fail much more quickly. Replacement can range from, say, $6,000 for just a new drain field, to $25,000 or more.
Roof... no hard and fast rule... My 11 year old house has, I think, 30-year architectural shingles. We live in an area with harsh weather and it looks as good as new (and just passed a home inspection with no concerns.) I don't think any buyer should worry about roof replacement any time soon. Other things, though... flimsy, flimsy. I would go with an older house in most cases because most newer houses, even expensive ones, are somewhat disposable when compared to older houses.
Inspections... find someone who ONLY does inspections, and is independent from the listing agent. Inspectors who also do repairs/installations give rise to a conflict of interest situation... particularly those who (as I experienced in a nightmare scenario) write estimates into the inspection report, despite not having done an invasive enough inspection to give a proper estimate. You want an opinion from an expert, but not an expert who stands to gain from a failed report.
We found that there was a huge difference in quality when looking at older homes compared with new ones. The new ones not only sit on tiny lots crammed in close together, but they're built ... crappy! If it's not chinese drywall it's the cheapest flooring materials possible, which will wear out in a couple of years. Squeaks because they cheap out on the screws to hold things down. Softwood beams where they used to use hardwood. They use designer paint colors to make it look nice, but under that nice veneer (and it's always literally a veneer)? A pile of crap, in a lot of cases.
Our house was built in 1959. The house inspector told us that it was built in the last era of "handcrafted" homes when quality was something builders took pride in. Today, homes are built out of pressboard and softwood, not the plywood and hardwood of homes in the past. They also try to cram as many homes as they can into new subdivisions, forcing the use of much smaller lot sizes, and construct homes to the absolute minimum code requirement in an effort to maximize as much profit as possible.
Our bungalow may be a bit smaller than a typical "modern" house in the same price range but we have a much larger and private yard to enjoy. We also weren't concerned with silly trends like granite countertops, stainless steel appliances or a god-awful open concept living space.
I think I read someone said newer houses it will cost more for maintenance/upkeep, why is that?
Because new homes are built out of the cheapest materials possible while meeting the absolute minimum code requirements. This typically means new homes are constructed of pressboard and new-growth softwood, while older homes are built mostly out of hardwood.
The downside to older homes can be that they may not be well insulated. Back when our home was built, energy was dirt cheap so it was easier to simply turn the heat up than re-insulate the attic. Luckily for us, the previous owner had the entire basement spray-foam insulated prior to selling, which cuts down on our heating/cooling costs considerably. I know some people who have bought century homes here in Canada and found the only insulation in the walls was a few old newspapers!
Definitely agree with you. New houses--even at the million-dollar level--tend to have really cheap/crappy componentry such as hollow-core pressboard doors, OSB floor joists, OSB everything else, fake window grilles, plastic everything that they can get away with, etc etc etc. They put fake 'brick-front' facades on these houses and then the sides and back look like crap. On top of all this, the design is often not very well thought out and livability suffers too. I like a house that's been here for 50 or 100+ years, especially if it's been carefully updated where needed. You know it's not going anywhere in the next storm.
I like to look at random houses in random cities in zillow/trulia, sometimes one of those older houses will pop up and they fit my specs but just old. I like newer houses cause they look nicer and things are newer. But according you guys I guess each got their pros and cons. any recommendations for me when I am looking at an older house or a newer house? for older houses prolly just make sure inspector does a thorough job?
is there a certain periods of newer houses that I should stay away from? maybe 2008, 2009 or something since economy was so bad maybe they cut all kinds of corners ?
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.
