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For some people - yes, but not for the reasons yu are concerned with. If you want a modern house, then it is not a good idea. You will spend more to modernize it than it would cost to just buy a new house to begin with. Usually you will lose moeny because in modernizing it, you destroy the historic charm that makes historic houses desirable and more valuable and you will likely fail to modernize it to the tastes of a later buyer (or you will have lived in it for a few years and your "modernizing" will have become "dated")
Historic homes are more valuable to those who want historic charm because they are a limited commodity. However for those who want "modern" they are a disaster. You often pay a premium for historic up front and then pay more to "modernize." In any even restoring or modernizing a historic home costs more than the value that gets added. Thus, if you "modernize" by the time you recapture the cost, it is not longer modern. If you restore, you might recapture the cost, but only for certain buyers who are willing to pay more for a meticulously restored historic home.
As far as lead or asbestos - they are pretty easy to deal with, and not very common in older homes (because they have been dealt with already). You are also somewhat likely to find toxic substances in more modern homes (Chinese drywall scare for example). From my experience, you are also more likely to have significant structural problems that have not yet been corrected in a newer home. However my viewpoint may be jaded since I was often involved in construction defect cases and saw the bad side of newer homes repeatedly. People do not sue over defects in older homes because the statute of limitations is long expired (unless there is a real estate disclosure/fraud issue - which is very rare).
For some people - yes, but not for the reasons yu are concerned with. If you want a modern house, then it is not a good idea. You will spend more to modernize it than it would cost to just buy a new house to begin with. Usually you will lose moeny because in modernizing it, you destroy the historic charm that makes historic houses desirable and more valuable and you will likely fail to modernize it to the tastes of a later buyer (or you will have lived in it for a few years and your "modernizing" will have become "dated")
Historic homes are more valuable to those who want historic charm because they are a limited commodity. However for those who want "modern" they are a disaster. You often pay a premium for historic up front and then pay more to "modernize." In any even restoring or modernizing a historic home costs more than the value that gets added. Thus, if you "modernize" by the time you recapture the cost, it is not longer modern. If you restore, you might recapture the cost, but only for certain buyers who are willing to pay more for a meticulously restored historic home.
As far as lead or asbestos - they are pretty easy to deal with, and not very common in older homes (because they have been dealt with already). You are also somewhat likely to find toxic substances in more modern homes (Chinese drywall scare for example). From my experience, you are also more likely to have significant structural problems that have not yet been corrected in a newer home. However my viewpoint may be jaded since I was often involved in construction defect cases and saw the bad side of newer homes repeatedly. People do not sue over defects in older homes because the statute of limitations is long expired (unless there is a real estate disclosure/fraud issue - which is very rare).
Babies that are teething are like puppies, they will chew on anything they can get in their mouths. Window sills are just the right amount of hardness/softness to make a good chew toy. (dogs and birds tend to chew them up too).
Not sure why a kid would lick a radiator, but I never thought I would have to order someone to stop kissing the goat's butt either. Kids do all kinds of wacky things, and even parents who think they watch their kids every waking moment - really don't. Especially when you are outnumbered.
Lead paint in old houses is a legitimate concern if the paint is not in good shape. Windows have many coats of paint, some of it containing lead, and it can chip and leave dust when windows are opened and closed. Toddlers will pull themselves up by the windowsill and stand there looking out the window, being exposed to the dust. And they're crawling around on the floor, where more paint dust gathers.
Lots of people were permanently damaged as kids by lead toxicity from living in rundown housing before we knew the dangers of lead paint. And it's serious, irreversible damage - not something to take lightly. In fact, there's good reason to believe that the large reduction in crime since the 1980's is due to the reduction of lead in the environment.
If I had little kids, I would think twice about buying an old (lead paint era) house with compromised paint, or I would get it remediated before moving in. On the other hand, my house was built in 1857 and I'm sure it's full of lead paint, but the paint is in good shape and I don't give it a second thought.
Generally, you remediate lead paint by painting over it. It is mostly found now on old heat radiators. Most places that have AC no longer have heat radiators. (Except for wealthy homes). There are still some window sills around with lead paint somewhere in the layers and layers of paint, and could present a danger if chewed on (lead tastes sweet, so kids will try to eat it if they get a taste), or if the paint is removed. Recently I learned the vapors form paint stripping with a heat gun might cause lead contamination in children if they breathe it in. I am not sure whether this is proven or just theory. I do know I learned this years ago after stripping a mile or more of painted moldings with a heat gun and yes, some layers tested for lead. In an panic, I rushed my kids to the doctor for blood testing. Zero. None. Me either, despite the fact I was the one doing the stripping. Not sure whether the danger is real with heat stripping, it is definitely real with sanding. That is why they often say to paint over lead paint instead of trying to remove it, unless the paint is peeling. In my experience lead paint is rarely peeling, in fact it is difficult to get it off.
Lead paint has been banned in the USA since 1978 (although they still use it on roads). It was already recognized as a danger and banned in some cities in the 1950s. The use peaked in 1922.
Thus, if you have paint that was put in in the 1910s through the 1930s. There is a good chance it has lead. Likelihood is lower and lower through the 1950s, then drops dramatically. Yes it is possible there is still paint on things from more than 40 or 60 years ago, but it is not terribly likely. It is even more unlikely (but possible) that lead paint has been on something since 1922 and then suddenly decides to start becoming dust or peeling off in 2017. It is possible, just not very likely.
It does not really matter lead or not, pain can contain other things that are not good to have in your lungs. So if you have any paint flaking off or worse, turnign to dust, yes, you ought to strip it and repaint (or refinish if you have nice wood underneath).
Last edited by Coldjensens; 01-30-2017 at 12:50 PM..
what are the parents doing letting their children do that???? I have kids and they have NEVER done that!
It's more that little ones put everything into their mouths, and in rentals that aren't maintained, the paint on sills is often chipping off, and that's what the little ones ingest...
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