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Hi friends,
We have seen a house in the oaks we like. It's 30 yrs old . We r a first time buyer. Friends are advising us against buying as it may lead to maintainence issue. There has been no upgrade at all.
But edison is a great place especially north edison. It also has a basement.please suggest.
When you say "no upgrade at all" are you referring to cosmetics & maybe appliances (like a 30 year old dishwasher)?
What do you (and your friends) consider maintenance issues?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nirven
Does house inspection cover most of the things . Someone suggested to get a contractor to inspect too
Yes.
No need for a contractor (or an architect) or a structural engineer at this point.
Last edited by Informed Info; 11-05-2014 at 10:12 PM..
Definitely get a home inspection. At the very least they'll point out big issues, but if they're any good they'll get under the house to the attic and really lay it out for you.
Offhand, 30 year old houses aren't that old and hopefully this was built before quality dropped in the 90's as people tried to get houses up as soon as possible, but a roof typically has a 25 year guarantee. Any HVAC system will need replacement soon if not now. Windows might need to be looked at as well. If the homeowner was diligent and did their own maintenance or never ran the AC you might be in okay shape. But you never know until you get someone who's done this sort of thing before. Don't necessarily agree to all the stuff they want to do (for example, I doubt you'll need a yard scan for an oil tank), but the good ones won't even suggest it in the first place.
It's a few hundred dollars and a few hours of your time. Compared to buying a house that requires $20,000 worth of repairs right off the bat it's a pretty safe investment.
Let the guy have a home inspection - he doesn't know when the water heater/furnace/air conditioner was last replaced or how good the windows are or aren't.
Home inspections don't include scanning for underground oil tanks if there is no record (or sign) of the home being heated by oil.
And we're talking about a 30 year old house in North Edison - built in 1984....an oil tank is most likely not an issue.
Let the guy have a home inspection - he doesn't know when the water heater/furnace/air conditioner was last replaced or how good the windows are or aren't.
Home inspections don't include scanning for underground oil tanks if there is no record (or sign) of the home being heated by oil.
And we're talking about a 30 year old house in North Edison - built in 1984....an oil tank is most likely not an issue.
Does house inspection cover most of the things . Someone suggested to get a contractor to inspect too
Your home inspection should include looking at everything they can without causing damage to the home. They'll start outside and look into every room, look at the basement, the attic, the crawlspaces, the closets, the doors, the furnace, the dishwasher, the plumbing, the windows, the insulation, their job is to literally inspect everything in the home and give you an honest opinion on the state of the house.
Water from the roof leaking behind the gutter and destroying the edge? They should be looking at that.
Windows that won't stay up because sash weights are missing? They should be looking at that.
Does the dishwasher drain correctly into the sewage system? They should be looking at that.
A lot of inspectors used to be contractors or engineers or architects. Some people say that you should just get a contractor to come over and talk about what they would replace, or that you should bring in a series of contractors as specialists (plumber, window guy, energy specialist, general contractor, roofing guy) as no inspector can know everything, but if you have no idea what is in that house it's probably best to start small with one certified inspector and get a general overview in about two-three hours. If you are in love with the place and there are major issues, then bring in a contractor and see if they can price out how much it would cost to fix, it might still be worth saving.
You will get a very detailed list at the end, our inspection was 11 pages long.
These threads crack me up-a 30 year old house is practically new compared to most of the housing stock in NJ. FYI-brand new homes need maintenance too.
i disagree, 30 years is when everything starts to go - roof, sidings etc.. if the owner never did any update then you will inherit all the problems the house will start to have. Like buying a rental car....
if you are a first time buyer i would definitely think twice. Either buy a old house that has already been fully renovated (and pass inspection) or something newer.
i disagree, 30 years is when everything starts to go - roof, sidings etc.. if the owner never did any update then you will inherit all the problems the house will start to have. Like buying a rental car...
Which is why you use common sense when looking at the house yourself and get an inspection. The OP was going to pass on the house entirely because it was 30 years old as if when a house hits 30 years old it just caves in on itself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by newdude05
if you are a first time buyer i would definitely think twice. Either buy a old house that has already been fully renovated (and pass inspection) or something newer.
How many "first time buyers" can afford a fully renovated house? A 30 year old house renovated top to bottom is going to cost just as much as brand new construction! When my wife and I were looking at houses our budget was $250K or less-we never looked at anything that was less than 40 years old because anything newer was simply out of our price range. That said, we ended up buying a home that was built in 1963 that was well maintained over the years, but it's by no means been "fully renovated." We did get the seller to put on a new 30 year roof as a condition of sale though. Not even looking at houses over 30 years old sounds like RPP-"Rich People Problems."
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