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My house was built in the early 50s and has ungrounded wiring (still to code, grandfathered in). I replaced some of the two-prong outlets with three prong (definitely not code!) just so I could plug in my grounded appliances. Now I'm thinking about putting the house on the market within a year. Is it worth the $2000 my contractor will charge to run ground wires before I list the house or should I just put back the two-wire outlets and let the buyers' home inspector point them out?
I should say that whatever I do, I will lose a lot of money on the house (bought in 2004). I need to get the most bang for any of my bucks I put into the place before selling. Will $2000 in cosmetic fixes and landscaping give a better return than upgrading to grounded electric?
NO. It's on the buyer to rewire or modify a few outlets to accommodate grounded appliances.
Most will suffer along with it and manage just fine just the way you have.
Some will wait until they're doing other electrical work.
Some will do it themselves.
A few (rather few) will pay a small fortune and have it done immediately
You have NO WAY to know which your buyer might be.
Quote:
I replaced some of the two-prong outlets with three prong (definitely not code!)
Fix that. Find some 2 prong outlets and put them back in.
Quote:
I need to get the most bang for any of my bucks I put into the place before selling.
Then don't spend ANY money at all. Ok, detergent, bleach and paint. Nothing else.
Limit your yardwork to what you can do with the mower, rake and weedwacker you already have.
Limit your inside to the time and sweat work.
1) fix what's not right 2) clean EVERYTHING and 3) neutralize
Out here we typically just recommend that a GFCI be installed at the panel. If a buyer wants to do the full rewiring they can, but the GFCI at the panel seems to make buyers comfortable, out here.
Out here we typically just recommend that a GFCI be installed at the panel. If a buyer wants to do the full rewiring they can, but the GFCI at the panel seems to make buyers comfortable, out here.
Oh wow, thanks. I did not know this was an option. The fix I have seen on line is to have each outlet replaced with a GFI. I will look into this.
NO. It's on the buyer to rewire or modify a few outlets to accommodate grounded appliances.
Most will suffer along with it and manage just fine just the way you have.
Some will wait until they're doing other electrical work.
Some will do it themselves.
A few (rather few) will pay a small fortune and have it done immediately
You have NO WAY to know which your buyer might be.
Fix that. Find some 2 prong outlets and put them back in.
Then don't spend ANY money at all. Ok, detergent, bleach and paint. Nothing else.
Limit your yardwork to what you can do with the mower, rake and weedwacker you already have.
Limit your inside to the time and sweat work.
1) fix what's not right 2) clean EVERYTHING and 3) neutralize
Definitely my inclination! After all, *I* didn't realize what a pain in the rear the outlets were until after I moved in, so I'm guessing others will not see it as much of a selling point.
Definitely my inclination! After all, *I* didn't realize what a pain in the rear the outlets were
until after I moved in, so I'm guessing others will not see it as much of a selling point.
The agents will (should) know and will (should) tell you when asked.
With some though it's like pulling teeth to get pertinent information.
And I should have mentioned the the GFI receptacle get by.
Was going too fast.
How many receptacles have you changed?
How many different areas (beyond Kitch & Baths)?
See how many circuits are involved.
Often it'll only be one that feeds a LOT of rooms.
If so, then adding a gfi to the FIRST receptacle on the loop does it.
Fix that. Find some 2 prong outlets and put them back in.
I agree. Put it back to original 2 sockets or...... rewire the house. Don't do it halfway. If you do it halfway, the inspector will tear you apart, and the buyer will ask you for money to rewire.
The house DH & I bought last year is 1950s also and had all of the two prong outlets. We paid for rewiring ourselves and got grounded (up to code) outlets in the kitchen and bathrooms.
Just leave it up to the buyer, but expect the buyer to possibly factor in the cost of the upgrade to the electric when making an offer.
Good luck!
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After all, *I* didn't realize what a pain in the rear the outlets were until after I moved in, so I'm guessing others will not see it as much of a selling point.
