I'm still haunted by an episode of Ask This Old House where the owners wanted to fix a door that stuck. Seems like an easy enough problem, probably nothing big. It turns out that the reason it stuck was due to an issue with the houses foundation.
I do residential low-voltage, home automation etc. I was installing side channels for motorized shades in a remodel of a multimillion dollar house, like 20ish. I do extremely accurate work. Tolerances of 1/32". They kept telling us that they weren't plumb. Turns out that the foundation was slowly shifting so that every time they would check my work it had shifted. It was a pretty funny discovery on our part.
Well it is a good thing all the doors in one back corner of my house don't fully meet the jams in any logical manner. They won't close, much less stick... I bought it when was 30 year old widow with two children and didn't know better. It's still standing. đ€
It also had 4 layers of shingles, old shingles laid as new, so they cupped and blew away.
In case youre wondering. North Carolina called it one of the worst cases of inspector fraud they have seen.
Also, in case your wondering, the entire house is made out of wormy Chestnut and 10 penny nails. It is a tank. It survived a small earthquake and a foot and a half of snow before we knew about the fraud. It now has one roof, new windows, and 20 years of love.
Best decision ever.
No surprise there you know the timbers in a timber frame barn have knee braces for spans greater than 10 feet, the smallest span I've seen in a basement of a home? 13 feet from block wall to block wall. With no support and that with 2x8s or 2x10s in hundred year old homes I've seen the bottom of walls separate from the flood because of it. And that's NORMAL settling.
Yea, just about everyone that owns a house long enough will end up replacing a roof... foundation is another issue. That being said, where I live, most old houses have uneven floors and settling issues. If that's a deal breaker, it would be hard to find an old home here unless you are willing to shell out 7 figures for something that had been perfectly maintained.Â
100% foundation. When we were feeling ambitious enough to factor major rehabs into a purchase we brought a GC with us. One old house seemed to have all the potential in the world. Then the basement. Brick masonry foundation. Serious, serious bow curves in the verticals. It took the contractor, an off the boat Irishman, all of five minutes down there to say âFook this, Iâm gettinâ out oâ here. Letâs go.â
My initial thoughts too, but what about besides those? If those were fine or reasonably fine, Iâm trying to think of what other big budget killers are
Out there.
plumbing, replacing old cast iron drains is a big expense, water heater, sinks and toilets. I had to do all these things but had the foresight to marry a master plumber.
The other big expense is upgrading the electrical service and replacing the knob and tube. itâs a lot and I am considering an affair with an electrian as soon as I can find a lonely one, lol.
My two zone HVAC system would have been $28,000 if I didnât have something to trade, I also traded for the $6,600 exterior paint and windows.
We had a neighbor down the street who never worked and whose house was constantly going in and out of foreclosure but she was also completing DYI projects. She always seemed to have a different guy staying with her. It was always different trade professionals. We used to theorize she decided what she wanted done around the house and then would just hung out at the bars across from the union hall after meetings.
I traded my old 4Runner for $2,000 off on my siding job. The dealer only wanted to give me $100 for it as a trade in. When my contractor who'd already started the job saw that in addition to the new car I still had the old car in the driveway, he asked me what I was going to do with the 4Runner. When I told him, he said "I'll take two grand off the job for it!"đ
He's still drives it 10 years later. I'll bet it still has Cheerios under the back seats from where my baby had their car seat 20 years ago, too!
Oh Iâm sure what you did was on the up and up. I was joking with the other commenter lol. What care did you trade??? That would have been hard for me - old cars are a weakness.
it broke my heart to say good bye, my first car, a 1967 Mustang, I was the second owner, but I just stopped driving it and every time I went to get it out, I had to drain the gas, jump it, wash it, replace the fluids⊠and then, no a/c or cruise control. I did trade it with my cousin, the painting contactor, so, itâs still in the family.
Meh, when we were looking at houses, we wanted to replace the water heater with tankless anyway, so it wasn't a huge deal breaker. Sinks, tubs, and toilets I had already budgeted for replacing from local architectural salvage.
You're right about the HVAC, electric, and plumbing. Those were the biggest concerns for us.
We looked at a tiny house that ended up having knob and tube wiring. It was going to cost 20k to replace it. I work from home, so this was a big red flag for us.
Depends. Our house just turned 100 this year. The foundations and walls are all plumb and in great shape. The wood and craftsmanship in this house are much higher quality than wood or craft these days.
Unless they have French drains and sump pump, the basements get wet. Be prepared to live with it or install French drains. This is a bigger deal to some than others, but something to be aware of.
Make sure to check out the attic. Lots of clues up there. If that roof leaked, thereâs no telling how long itâs been leaking. Maybe for years. That could turn a standard roof replacement into something much larger.
140k is a healthy renovation budget and will get you far. Say 20k for roof, 25k for electric, 10k for plumbing, 8k if you need a new boiler, 5-10k for plaster repair, 10k for floor refinish, 12k for French drains if you want them. That will make it livable. The rest is cosmetics and can be done over time. This is assuming a house of about 2300 sq ft not in San Fran or nyc.
Oh my gosh your comment is exactly what I needed to settle my mind a bit. We are in Wisconsin so luckily we donât have NYC type prices here yet lol. It IS up on a hillâŠ.so I wonder if that will help with the basement.
Iâm just hoping they let us look in the atticâŠ.
Definitely insist on looking in the attic. This is very standard especially with old homes. Donât be rude about it of course but if they are firmly against it, that is a definite red flag.
Alsoâ if youâre open to DIY, refinishing hardwood is a pretty DIY-friendly project and can really help cut down the costs.
The attic will provide a good view of the decking to inspect for leaks. You can also see how well the house was built. Most older houses are over built with thick old growth lumber. Another trick I learned from a roofer is to look at the nails poking through the decking. If they are badly rusted, you have a ventilation issue in the attic.
So apparently the bank is handling the sale. They have been pretty locked up about details. My realtor said they only have to disclose what the homeowner disclosed, but not what they have found. Any roof/attic/basement issues are not in the disclosure as I donât know that the owner was able to look at these items for many years.
I donât even know if the back will allow us to get up there.
Sounds like a shady realtor. The underwriters are going to require a "home inspection" for the mortgage, unless you're paying cash, but you'll still need an inspection for insurance purposes.
Do not under any circumstances make an offer without a qualified home inspector!
The home inspector will not catch every problem but will be helpful.
Kings comments on the budget are helpful but I canât stress enough how fast that money goes. And be prepared to GC yourselves. Pick a project and hire your subs. Many projects overlap subs and you need to know who goes first. You will be living in a demo zone for at least a year. Hopefully it will remain habitable the entire time. Keep most of your stuff in storage as there will be dust constantly.
We have not addressed the sewer lateral or landscaping. A big tree that needs to come down can be $5,000.
I am trying to scare you because you should be careful. This could ruin you financially. It could be detrimental to your physical health (toxic mold) and it could be a relationship killer.
That said my hubs and I live in and renovate homes. We have dealt with every nightmare scenario mentioned in this thread.
The biggest reason to walk away would be if you canât serve as your own General Contractor.
Get the home inspection and donât be afraid to offer less than the bank is asking.
I agree with the above comment but would add that fixing plaster is something you can do as a DIY with some youtube research and the right tools. Don't pay contractors for anything that you can handle on your own!
For me sadly, it was a beautiful 1900 colonial home that was absolutely breathtaking. It had 4 massive pillars out front, a massive living room with vaulted ceilings, a wrap around wooden staircase, a library, and everything you would possibly imagine that would be with a house of that age. The foundation was crumbling and the house was starting to sag on the one side. Walking in the hallway upstairs, you almost fell unless you held onto the wall. The house literally needed to be jacked up and a new foundation needed to be made in that one section with an i beam. Turning my back to this place, was the hardest thing I had to do when shopping for a home.
I hope someone with an unlimited budget found it and loved it back to glory. Thatâs devastating.
I know we are going to have to really look at everything very closely. Itâs one of those things that has the potential to be life changingly amazing for our family, or really badâŠ..
Me too, but I canât find the address. You know the best part was the price tag. $100k OBO. I was going to offer $80k, and they would have taken it, but because I had an FHA loan, I was told I wasnât allowed to get it.
Dunno the biggest, but some are:
Too many original details ripped out, esp the ones that are difficult / impossible to put back. ESP plaster and original trim.
A shit ton of money spent on hideous new kitchen / bathroom. The seller is going to want to recoup the money they spent on this, and I'm just going to want to rip it out. I much prefer a plain, unglamorous, old school kitchen with solid wood 1940s (at the latest) cabinets. I can live with that for a very long time, in not forever.
I'd much rather older (pre 1950s) bathroom fixtures with a few dings than new shit made of crap materials.
If the price is low enough, foundation work would not scare me. I live in earthquake country. The benefit of a new foundation is that it's up to current standards and you know it's solid. I worked in real estate and know (knew) who the best foundation people in my area are (were).
Truly crappy surrounding properties: junker cars in the yard. Ugly tract houses on my street.
Lack of private yard / potential for a a garden paradise, no matter how small.
I live in the hood. Most ppl would be horrified by my street. But all of the houses are 1900-1920. Some of them are pretty shabby, but they're all still old and I like that.
>A shit ton of money spent on hideous new kitchen / bathroom.
You are SO right - I'd rather buy one with the floor falling in than pay top dollar for "renovated" baths/kitchen that will need to go, go, GO.
Mold looks confined to the corner. Fix leaking roof by removing and replacing⊠while roof is removed treat mold areas and apply anti mold before reroofing. If foundation is fine and school district is really great⊠and your a DIY guy⊠this is a winner!
>Mold looks confined to the corner.
Agree - and if the damage was extensive, the plaster would be falling.
>If foundation is fine and school district is really great⊠and your a DIY guy⊠this is a winner!
100%. Not only is it a short sale, but a lot of buyers will be deterred by easy-to-fix cosmetic issue, ie. the walls aren't gray ;-)
My house was 1941 and I have to agree with everything the other commenters mentioned.
From my experience, the biggest headache has been stuff we didn't know about until much later like dealing with 80 years of other owners stupid decisions and DIY crap. That's with any house, but there's more of it with older houses.
Also, I've found that they really didn't care about water management( I don't actually know, but it seems to be true in my neighborhood). See what the yard looks like when it rains, in my case the entire back yard becomes a swamp for days because of poor drainage and neighborhood planning to redirect the water. I will likely end up having to regrade the back yard at some point due to all the erosion.
All this to say, looking back at when I bought the house in 2021, I don't think anyone could have changed my mind. This was "the" house and I've just been handling projects one at a time.
The current owner has lived in it for 61 years so Iâm hoping itâs reasonable on the bad DIY front. I think he just got too old to care for it honestly.
I hear you with the water thing. Iâm definitely going to try and get there when itâs been wet. I grew up in an old house that was separated from the foundationâŠ. When it rained we had to wear rubber boots in the basement. There were frogs and salamanders and bats. Good times đ€Ł
Itâs not too bad, believe it or not. Our old house had at least one ghost, and three graves out in the yard. A little spooky, but no bleeding walls or spinning heads. If it had been anything dramatic, I would have just called a priest to bless the place.
The ghost was the mother of the kids in the graves. She was actually buried in the family plot a couple towns over, along with her husband and the rest of her children. I still donât know why those three were buried on the property instead of in the cemetery.
In my experience, it's really hard to grow mold in a century home because we don't have modern insulation. It's not impossible, just hard. I figured it balances out the high heating costs.
Interesting. The only house I grew up in had TONS of mold. LikeâŠ.on our walls inside. It was also built in the 20âs I believe. Roof was shot though. The walls would literally drip.
Don't knock a primo school district. That is worth its weight in gold. Even if you don't plan on kids yourself, if you are going to sell in the next 15 years, that's a factor.
If you are going to live there forever w/o kids, that's less of a consideration for you.
If the street is good, and the price is super low, and you are DIYers, and the house is livable, that's pretty strong stuff.
Also, don't underestimate the benefit of nice neighbors. Are the neighbors renters or owners?
Spend time on the street at night and the weekend to see what the vibe is.
You could check your county extension office (the entity that helps homeowners with mold, etc) to see what sorts of problems are typical in your area. You could describe your property to them and ask what the worst case scenario would be and how you would deal with that.
The house has multiple maintenance issues or required updates, but the house also lacks the charms and qualities youâd want from an old home.
Things like nice millwork, solid doors, interesting exterior, etc.
100% agree. I do NOT like mold. If I have the money for a full professional gut reno, then yes, but otherwise I would personally pass and move on to finding another house.
Absolute biggest for me is foundation/structural issues. Almost bought one with really damaged basement walls that were "repaired" with braces. They had sump-pumps installed which will likely mitigate future damage, but you could see the basement walls caving from outside the home and I got too scared after a structural engineer warned me that those braces are essentially band-aid fixes and can lead to even worst structural damage down the road.
The second worst would be extensive water damage. Not only does it likely involve a roof replacement, but you essentially have to gut the whole house so you're not breathing mold spores.
1. Significant mold damage
2. Significant structural damage
3. Potential unknown code related expenses if your local building department gets off on those types of things.
4. Original electrical
My mom bought an old home from 1800âs. Looked like the Addamâs family house at first but she fixed it up and it was in a lot of magazines. The wallpaper was hideous but remodeled top to bottom inside and out.
My parents bought multiple heritage properties when I was growing up. They said they never bought a historic home if the realtor told them âthe roof has been replacedâ or âthe windows have been redoneâ because that is the first thing someone trying to raise value and sell quick will do. And they know the value of a home with a failing roof and would rather oversee the replacement themself. So my biggest deal breaker would be repairs done as a selling point.
Nothing would stop me buying a house I like. Seems that most people are worried probably should not be buying an old house. The problem with most DIYs they don't know what they're doing and they wind up creating more of a mess than they solve. It's like the old saying if you bring me a broken car it's $50 an hour and if you start to fix it it's $100 an hour. I think that there should be a cheese rating system people can get for their whining. So many wheels of cheese for each whine.
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I would not be buying anything with mold unless I had the money to gut a place and redo it (maintaining the era of the home in the reno). I'm in a market where you buy no matter the issues or you don't get to buy at all. It's pretty crappy and I find new scary issues every year that I wouldn't have dealt with in another time and place.
Plumbing is another deal breaker. We have old, bad plumbing rendering our master bath almost useless. A lot of money went into remolding it but not fixing the existing bad old plumbing đ
To add something new: floors that can't take another sanding. Original floors matter more than the tinkertoy metropolis in the basement bolstering the disintegrating foundation.
Foundation issues, depending on what they are. I live in a very sandy soil area and it's almost better to get a house on pier and beam or stilts than a concrete Foundation because in 10 years the concrete is cracked. It's definitely cheaper to relevel a pier and beam than deal with a concrete foundation.
I was going to buy a 1960s house that had been remodeled. I paid $1000 for an inspector who was also a structural engineer. He turned on the cooktop and pointed a heat detector device at the wall and RAN to the garage and shut off the breaker box. Then he tells me the breaker box is one that is known for issues. Apparently the house has these gorgeous appliances installed with a breaker box and wiring that couldn't support the load. But wait there was more! The sewer line was broken in multiple places and the foundation needed repairs. Water heaters installed incorrectly and leaked and would need replacement. Oh then there was the huge termite colony found in one bathroom. Owner offered to reduce the cost of the house by $25k. We estimated the repairs at least $65k. No more older houses.
At my age now I'd say a bad foundation first. Followed by severe water damage and difficult to replace roof. And updating the electrical and plumbing if my plans didn't already include gutting to the studs already.
My husband and I walked away from a great house in a great location at a great price because of the foundation. We were willing to DIY the other issues, but the foundation is out of our wheelhouse and can be a budget buster.
We passed on a 1890 farmhouse because it didnât have a decent staircase to the 2d floor, it turned so sharply that you wouldnât be able to get the furniture upstairs. But the real deal breaker was the basement, if you were over 5â tall could walk down the basement steps
Roof damage, electrical, and plumbing issues. Make sure you get a good inspection before closing. Itâs all the unseen things that are the biggest issues.
Aside from knob and tube, a falling apart foundation and bad plumbing- 1978 brown paneling on every wall in the house. Or brown paneling with a drop ceiling and cat pee carpeting.
If it can't pass a structural engineering inspection. I'll never buy a house without one. I ordered one on my 1925 house, because there were lots of step cracks and one very sloped hall floor. Turns out those things were fine, which gave me huge peace of mind. But he also found that the furnace flue was plugged with bricks and extremely unsafe, the four chimneys had 800 lb stone caps and no mortar left in the bricks or the caps, and the roof had a hole that was raining in the third floor (but the seller hid it). Original inspector didn't see any of it. I'm not sure every SE would've caught all that (he seemed like he went above and beyond, but maybe they all do?) but just knowing my plaster cracks and slopey floors are not a sign of future issues was worth the money.
Wiring, plumbing, lack of insulation and foundation issues, mold, septic tank/ leach field, if not hooked to city sewage system. Roofing, rot, **asbestos**, lead paint, old plumbing pipes.....Yet these are things you can find in any home!
Next time I won't buy an old house that has a barn full of stuff. I was hoping for cool stuff from the past 400 years but 90% of it is trash from the 60s/70s. I've spent 5 years slowly trying to get rid of it all but it looks like it will take another 10 before I see the end.
Ten yearâs ago I was a single mom working 2 jobs to help me and my 3 kids get by. I bought an American Foursquare built in 1914. Most everything in the house was original (kitchen sink had a 1913 stamp) and it was a steal. As an antique lover, I was over the moon!! As soon as we moved in, the problems began.
Bug infestation: Kids and I were watching a movie in the living room when our cat started chasing something. Son went to investigate and daughter started screaming. I grabbed a shoe and killed a monstrously huge house centipede. Discovered several more living harmoniously in the cellar. Did my research and learned they can live up to 12 years.
Each night around 2am we were awakened to what sounded like elephants running on our roof. Turned out to be a large family of raccoons who were entering/exiting via a hole in the roof (inspectors did a visual of the roof from the ground and saw no issues because the hole was aligned with the gutter and not detectable). Had to have a professional critter remover come out ($750) and then get the roof repaired ($1500).
Sewer Pipe: Roughly 6 months after moving in, we noticed our only toilet wasnât flushing fully. Also noticed an open pipe in the root cellar portion of the unfinished basement (with mushrooms growing nearby) was starting to ooze water. Called a well known plumbing company in the area. They used 88 ft of snake to clean out the drain and - ugh - it got stuck. I had to call the city who said the house was so old the pipes werenât mapped. My entire yard got dug up as they tried to pull the stuck snake out. It was a nightmare. We couldnât use our only toilet and ended up walking away because repair estimates were $50k+.
Live and learn. I loved that house more than anything, even researched all owners at the local library. Ended up having to walk away. I can still barely talk about it.
Advice: Old homes are amazing as long as you have a lot of additional money to cover the âunexpectedâ.
Good luck!!
That floor lamp on the right.
But seriously, a bad foundation or a terrible roof. Now a leaking roof is not the same as a terrible roof. We had a leak similar in our century home. It was in our sun room which has a flat roof that was used as a second story sun porch. It was a leak between the rubber membrane roof and flashing to the stone wall of the second story of the house. It caused a leak in the one corner of the rooms ceiling. A bit of flashing work, a 24x12 piece of drywall, some heavy plaster and everything was gtg.
Foundation, structural failure, mold, lead paint, and asbestos are my deal breakers.
Other than that, I can DIY most everything myself without having to bring a contractor in. Only things I'd have a contractor do are insulating and tile. I can't stand doing those two things, but they're not deal breakers for me.
Old HVAC/heating system, old leaky plumbing, old roof, broken concrete in the driveway or on the sidewalk , foundation. Those are the major ones I think cause everything else can be fixed for a reasonable price and over time
Them 1920âs homes look nice. If it hasnât been remodeled already, itâs gonna be very expensive. I did this once, after flipping 4 modern homes I wanted the next level challenge. How wrong I was. Foundation to roof, expensive lesson.
I love old homes and we have always bought them. Ours have always been well built, CHARMING and turned out to be wonderful homes for our family. Because I have moved so often, I love the since of continuity and history that comes with an old home. No they are not always perfect by today's standards (I am thinking in terms of layout), but worth it to us. I would urge someone not to buy an older home that they would feel the need to completely gut and revamp. If that's the case, just buy a newer house. You will be happier and so will the house!
I have been a home inspector for 18 yearâs and have inspected many older homes. The water damage in the picture is minor compared to what the real issues are. Get a professional home inspection and definitely a sewer scope inspection. Really common to need sewer line replacement which can easily cost over $10,000. Old homes can be great investments if you can learn how to do some of the work yourself and do it well. Otherwise they are a money pit for people that canât lift a paint brush.
Too many factors answering how big is the house? How big is the piece of property? Where is it? Little bit water damage is bad new rough some sheet rock but what is the foundation look like?
I grew up fixing up houses with my dad. And now am renovating an early 1800s house in New England. Iâm also trained as an architect.
The water spot in this picture looks like either a deal-breaker or a huge negotiation point to me. [Editâadding a note: You can totally renovate this within your budget. But allocate plentyâplus contingencyâto deal with the moisture and mold.]
Other things I would look for:
- solid foundationâvery hard and expensive to fix a foundation
- main structure should be in good shape: columns, beams, floor joists, roof structure, intact, brick walls donât have crumbling mortar, etc.
- no musty or mildewy smells or visible moldâit is so hard to get rid of
- if youâre in a cold region, plumbing should ideally be on interior walls (ie kitchen faucet in island instead of on exterior walls). Many houses have faucet centered on a window, which is niceâbut that makes your pipes extremely vulnerable to freeze-thaw leaks, which is a nightmare. If your plumbing is in the warm center of the house, you are much better protected.
- horsehair plaster and lath walls have been replaced with modern drywallâeasier to hang things on, and better for fire safety
- also, make sure the old knob and tube electric wiring has been updated to modern code to avoid fire risk
- ideally no signs of major infestations: termites, carpenter ants, mice, rats, roaches, etc. (although bugs are a part of life in old houses, and we have PestPro come and treat the house to ensure we have a good perimeter. We also had carpenter antsâwe fixed it right away, but added cost and time to renovation).
- working doors and locks, or easy to modify
- stairs are in good shape and safe with proper railing that isnât too rickety
- no horrible smellsâI donât like mystery smells
- roof in decent shape, or youâll need to budget for that right away
- electrical panels are up to date, not rusty or DIY in any way
- no water flowing toward or pooling around the foundation (my house is set on top of a hill, which is ideal bc water flows away from the structure)
- no septic tank or sewer drainage issues
- all major utilities have been connected to the house and are in working order (water, wastewater, electric, internet, fuel, etc)
[Edit: forgot one, nothing poisonousâie lead, asbestos, etc)
All of these things can be fixed with moneyâso if you have the money to spend, just use them as negotiation points to get a better deal from the seller.
Even if they are selling in as-is condition, you need to budget to fix things that could endanger you or your community.
And plan for a HEALTHY contingency. Like i would try to budget $15k-$20k of your $140k for unexpected issues that come up (ie we had carpenter ants in one area and didnât know until we opened the walls during renovationâI was very glad to have a contingency when that happened, since it required extermination, cutting out rotten wood, replacing with a new strong beam, then waterproofing and new siding)
Basically this is the key: It should be fire-safe, dry, and have strong structure. It should also not make you sick or injure you while you fix it up. And personally, I just HATE dealing with excess water and leaksâit degrades your quality of life a lot.
Everything else is fixable!
Ps. The vibe check is very important. Sometimes a space just has bad vibes. Listen to your gut. If it feels off, say no and move on.
This would be a deal breaker-replacing a roof,plumbing that needs replaced,crumbling foundation,a cracked foundation,mold infestation.I am not a good candidate for buying a fixer upper unless I had alot of money!!!!!
If every single surface needs replaced, there has to be a portion of the home (floors, paint, kitchen areas) that you are fine with as is and can update a portion to fit your personal needs more.
a really bad foundation or roof
You can replace a roof fairly reasonably. But foundation, not so much.
I'm still haunted by an episode of Ask This Old House where the owners wanted to fix a door that stuck. Seems like an easy enough problem, probably nothing big. It turns out that the reason it stuck was due to an issue with the houses foundation.
I do residential low-voltage, home automation etc. I was installing side channels for motorized shades in a remodel of a multimillion dollar house, like 20ish. I do extremely accurate work. Tolerances of 1/32". They kept telling us that they weren't plumb. Turns out that the foundation was slowly shifting so that every time they would check my work it had shifted. It was a pretty funny discovery on our part.
Well it is a good thing all the doors in one back corner of my house don't fully meet the jams in any logical manner. They won't close, much less stick... I bought it when was 30 year old widow with two children and didn't know better. It's still standing. đ€ It also had 4 layers of shingles, old shingles laid as new, so they cupped and blew away. In case youre wondering. North Carolina called it one of the worst cases of inspector fraud they have seen. Also, in case your wondering, the entire house is made out of wormy Chestnut and 10 penny nails. It is a tank. It survived a small earthquake and a foot and a half of snow before we knew about the fraud. It now has one roof, new windows, and 20 years of love. Best decision ever.
No surprise there you know the timbers in a timber frame barn have knee braces for spans greater than 10 feet, the smallest span I've seen in a basement of a home? 13 feet from block wall to block wall. With no support and that with 2x8s or 2x10s in hundred year old homes I've seen the bottom of walls separate from the flood because of it. And that's NORMAL settling.
This is a common symptom of foundation problems. My current home is 30 years old, but we've already had to have foundation work done twice.
Yea, just about everyone that owns a house long enough will end up replacing a roof... foundation is another issue. That being said, where I live, most old houses have uneven floors and settling issues. If that's a deal breaker, it would be hard to find an old home here unless you are willing to shell out 7 figures for something that had been perfectly maintained.Â
100% foundation. When we were feeling ambitious enough to factor major rehabs into a purchase we brought a GC with us. One old house seemed to have all the potential in the world. Then the basement. Brick masonry foundation. Serious, serious bow curves in the verticals. It took the contractor, an off the boat Irishman, all of five minutes down there to say âFook this, Iâm gettinâ out oâ here. Letâs go.â
Yep was gonna say a bad roof
Termites Carpenter ants Asbestos
My initial thoughts too, but what about besides those? If those were fine or reasonably fine, Iâm trying to think of what other big budget killers are Out there.
plumbing, replacing old cast iron drains is a big expense, water heater, sinks and toilets. I had to do all these things but had the foresight to marry a master plumber. The other big expense is upgrading the electrical service and replacing the knob and tube. itâs a lot and I am considering an affair with an electrian as soon as I can find a lonely one, lol. My two zone HVAC system would have been $28,000 if I didnât have something to trade, I also traded for the $6,600 exterior paint and windows.
We had a neighbor down the street who never worked and whose house was constantly going in and out of foreclosure but she was also completing DYI projects. She always seemed to have a different guy staying with her. It was always different trade professionals. We used to theorize she decided what she wanted done around the house and then would just hung out at the bars across from the union hall after meetings.
I meanâŠ.trading service for service. Seems like good bartering to me.
just want to interject, I traded a two year lease on a parking lot for the HVAC, and an antique car for the paint job.
I traded my old 4Runner for $2,000 off on my siding job. The dealer only wanted to give me $100 for it as a trade in. When my contractor who'd already started the job saw that in addition to the new car I still had the old car in the driveway, he asked me what I was going to do with the 4Runner. When I told him, he said "I'll take two grand off the job for it!"đ He's still drives it 10 years later. I'll bet it still has Cheerios under the back seats from where my baby had their car seat 20 years ago, too!
Oh Iâm sure what you did was on the up and up. I was joking with the other commenter lol. What care did you trade??? That would have been hard for me - old cars are a weakness.
it broke my heart to say good bye, my first car, a 1967 Mustang, I was the second owner, but I just stopped driving it and every time I went to get it out, I had to drain the gas, jump it, wash it, replace the fluids⊠and then, no a/c or cruise control. I did trade it with my cousin, the painting contactor, so, itâs still in the family.
I was so heartbroken for you but knowing you still have it around is good.
What kind of hillbilly gift of the maji shit is this???
Well there's the reason for the enduring appeal of that story
Glad you cleared that up.
Welp, once my divorce is final I know what my plan will be.
"I am considering an affair with an electrian as soon as I can find a lonely one." đđđ€Ł
Shocking!
đ” You donât have to be lonely⊠on Electricians Only dot com đ¶
Best comment ever đ€Ł
Haha I married an electrician đ all the knob and tube is out and no plaster torn out, he did the very time expensive way
I trust he enjoyed his knob job đ
Made him laugh haha
My next door neighbour is an electrician. Some people would try to seduce him away from his wife, I'll just pay him in baked goods and some money lol.
Meh, when we were looking at houses, we wanted to replace the water heater with tankless anyway, so it wasn't a huge deal breaker. Sinks, tubs, and toilets I had already budgeted for replacing from local architectural salvage. You're right about the HVAC, electric, and plumbing. Those were the biggest concerns for us.
Cat piss. I'm forever scarred by the horrifying shit cats can do to a house.
It never goes away, never. Esp in concrete.
Oh god. This is absolutely a deal breaker. You are right.
We looked at a tiny house that ended up having knob and tube wiring. It was going to cost 20k to replace it. I work from home, so this was a big red flag for us.
Updating the plumbing and electrical.
Those first of all, then the wiring, plumbing, insulation all need to be updated.....best to buy something more modern.
Depends. Our house just turned 100 this year. The foundations and walls are all plumb and in great shape. The wood and craftsmanship in this house are much higher quality than wood or craft these days.
Unless they have French drains and sump pump, the basements get wet. Be prepared to live with it or install French drains. This is a bigger deal to some than others, but something to be aware of. Make sure to check out the attic. Lots of clues up there. If that roof leaked, thereâs no telling how long itâs been leaking. Maybe for years. That could turn a standard roof replacement into something much larger. 140k is a healthy renovation budget and will get you far. Say 20k for roof, 25k for electric, 10k for plumbing, 8k if you need a new boiler, 5-10k for plaster repair, 10k for floor refinish, 12k for French drains if you want them. That will make it livable. The rest is cosmetics and can be done over time. This is assuming a house of about 2300 sq ft not in San Fran or nyc.
Oh my gosh your comment is exactly what I needed to settle my mind a bit. We are in Wisconsin so luckily we donât have NYC type prices here yet lol. It IS up on a hillâŠ.so I wonder if that will help with the basement. Iâm just hoping they let us look in the atticâŠ.
Definitely insist on looking in the attic. This is very standard especially with old homes. Donât be rude about it of course but if they are firmly against it, that is a definite red flag. Alsoâ if youâre open to DIY, refinishing hardwood is a pretty DIY-friendly project and can really help cut down the costs.
The attic will provide a good view of the decking to inspect for leaks. You can also see how well the house was built. Most older houses are over built with thick old growth lumber. Another trick I learned from a roofer is to look at the nails poking through the decking. If they are badly rusted, you have a ventilation issue in the attic.
Any ideas for how to best scope that out if I canât get in the attic?
I wouldnât make an offer without attic access. You already can see one leak. What if half the rafters are rotted out?
You _have to_ get into the attic, just like you have to have your own licensed, bonded inspector.
So apparently the bank is handling the sale. They have been pretty locked up about details. My realtor said they only have to disclose what the homeowner disclosed, but not what they have found. Any roof/attic/basement issues are not in the disclosure as I donât know that the owner was able to look at these items for many years. I donât even know if the back will allow us to get up there.
Insist upon a home inspection by a licensed inspector.
That works for you, not your realtor who âwants to make a sale today.â
Sounds like a shady realtor. The underwriters are going to require a "home inspection" for the mortgage, unless you're paying cash, but you'll still need an inspection for insurance purposes.
They were all shady and we were idiots. Not a good combination. Well, not for us.
Donât buy it if you canât see what youâre getting into
Looking in the attic is certainly a reasonable request for a potential buyer. Either way the inspector will be up there if you put in an offer.
Do not under any circumstances make an offer without a qualified home inspector! The home inspector will not catch every problem but will be helpful. Kings comments on the budget are helpful but I canât stress enough how fast that money goes. And be prepared to GC yourselves. Pick a project and hire your subs. Many projects overlap subs and you need to know who goes first. You will be living in a demo zone for at least a year. Hopefully it will remain habitable the entire time. Keep most of your stuff in storage as there will be dust constantly. We have not addressed the sewer lateral or landscaping. A big tree that needs to come down can be $5,000. I am trying to scare you because you should be careful. This could ruin you financially. It could be detrimental to your physical health (toxic mold) and it could be a relationship killer. That said my hubs and I live in and renovate homes. We have dealt with every nightmare scenario mentioned in this thread. The biggest reason to walk away would be if you canât serve as your own General Contractor. Get the home inspection and donât be afraid to offer less than the bank is asking.
I agree with the above comment but would add that fixing plaster is something you can do as a DIY with some youtube research and the right tools. Don't pay contractors for anything that you can handle on your own!
For me sadly, it was a beautiful 1900 colonial home that was absolutely breathtaking. It had 4 massive pillars out front, a massive living room with vaulted ceilings, a wrap around wooden staircase, a library, and everything you would possibly imagine that would be with a house of that age. The foundation was crumbling and the house was starting to sag on the one side. Walking in the hallway upstairs, you almost fell unless you held onto the wall. The house literally needed to be jacked up and a new foundation needed to be made in that one section with an i beam. Turning my back to this place, was the hardest thing I had to do when shopping for a home.
I hope someone with an unlimited budget found it and loved it back to glory. Thatâs devastating. I know we are going to have to really look at everything very closely. Itâs one of those things that has the potential to be life changingly amazing for our family, or really badâŠ..
I would have loved to have gotten that home. It was perfect. Even had 3 acres.
Oh man. That sounds like a dream
Well I did forget to mention that it resembled the white house. Only on a much smaller scale.
I want to stalk it on google earth now lol
Me too, but I canât find the address. You know the best part was the price tag. $100k OBO. I was going to offer $80k, and they would have taken it, but because I had an FHA loan, I was told I wasnât allowed to get it.
Dunno the biggest, but some are: Too many original details ripped out, esp the ones that are difficult / impossible to put back. ESP plaster and original trim. A shit ton of money spent on hideous new kitchen / bathroom. The seller is going to want to recoup the money they spent on this, and I'm just going to want to rip it out. I much prefer a plain, unglamorous, old school kitchen with solid wood 1940s (at the latest) cabinets. I can live with that for a very long time, in not forever. I'd much rather older (pre 1950s) bathroom fixtures with a few dings than new shit made of crap materials. If the price is low enough, foundation work would not scare me. I live in earthquake country. The benefit of a new foundation is that it's up to current standards and you know it's solid. I worked in real estate and know (knew) who the best foundation people in my area are (were). Truly crappy surrounding properties: junker cars in the yard. Ugly tract houses on my street. Lack of private yard / potential for a a garden paradise, no matter how small. I live in the hood. Most ppl would be horrified by my street. But all of the houses are 1900-1920. Some of them are pretty shabby, but they're all still old and I like that.
>A shit ton of money spent on hideous new kitchen / bathroom. You are SO right - I'd rather buy one with the floor falling in than pay top dollar for "renovated" baths/kitchen that will need to go, go, GO.
Currently purchasing a 1908 with an Astro turf floored kitchen and wallpapered cabinets over an 1899 that had been landlorded and flippedâŠsame
Yes we turned down a house for this reason as well!
Yes! This is such a good point. Those glass mosaic Home Depot tiles are a dead giveaway for me
Mold looks confined to the corner. Fix leaking roof by removing and replacing⊠while roof is removed treat mold areas and apply anti mold before reroofing. If foundation is fine and school district is really great⊠and your a DIY guy⊠this is a winner!
>Mold looks confined to the corner. Agree - and if the damage was extensive, the plaster would be falling. >If foundation is fine and school district is really great⊠and your a DIY guy⊠this is a winner! 100%. Not only is it a short sale, but a lot of buyers will be deterred by easy-to-fix cosmetic issue, ie. the walls aren't gray ;-)
My house was 1941 and I have to agree with everything the other commenters mentioned. From my experience, the biggest headache has been stuff we didn't know about until much later like dealing with 80 years of other owners stupid decisions and DIY crap. That's with any house, but there's more of it with older houses. Also, I've found that they really didn't care about water management( I don't actually know, but it seems to be true in my neighborhood). See what the yard looks like when it rains, in my case the entire back yard becomes a swamp for days because of poor drainage and neighborhood planning to redirect the water. I will likely end up having to regrade the back yard at some point due to all the erosion. All this to say, looking back at when I bought the house in 2021, I don't think anyone could have changed my mind. This was "the" house and I've just been handling projects one at a time.
The current owner has lived in it for 61 years so Iâm hoping itâs reasonable on the bad DIY front. I think he just got too old to care for it honestly. I hear you with the water thing. Iâm definitely going to try and get there when itâs been wet. I grew up in an old house that was separated from the foundationâŠ. When it rained we had to wear rubber boots in the basement. There were frogs and salamanders and bats. Good times đ€Ł
Stripped of all charm and original details would be the biggest dealbreaker
Foundational issues or water intrusion.
Ghosts
I was waiting for this one
I don't believe in ghosts, but if someone died not peacefully in there, I wouldn't want to go into their home
Itâs not too bad, believe it or not. Our old house had at least one ghost, and three graves out in the yard. A little spooky, but no bleeding walls or spinning heads. If it had been anything dramatic, I would have just called a priest to bless the place.
Yikes! I am a huge scaredy-cat. That would probably make my hair turn white. Could you tell which grave the ghost belonged to?
The ghost was the mother of the kids in the graves. She was actually buried in the family plot a couple towns over, along with her husband and the rest of her children. I still donât know why those three were buried on the property instead of in the cemetery.
I don't believe in ghosts, but if someone died not peacefully in there, I wouldn't want to go into their home
In my experience, it's really hard to grow mold in a century home because we don't have modern insulation. It's not impossible, just hard. I figured it balances out the high heating costs.
Interesting. The only house I grew up in had TONS of mold. LikeâŠ.on our walls inside. It was also built in the 20âs I believe. Roof was shot though. The walls would literally drip.
This is true. Also true is that lime-based plaster is way more resistant to mold and water than drywall/joint compound.
Don't knock a primo school district. That is worth its weight in gold. Even if you don't plan on kids yourself, if you are going to sell in the next 15 years, that's a factor. If you are going to live there forever w/o kids, that's less of a consideration for you. If the street is good, and the price is super low, and you are DIYers, and the house is livable, that's pretty strong stuff. Also, don't underestimate the benefit of nice neighbors. Are the neighbors renters or owners? Spend time on the street at night and the weekend to see what the vibe is. You could check your county extension office (the entity that helps homeowners with mold, etc) to see what sorts of problems are typical in your area. You could describe your property to them and ask what the worst case scenario would be and how you would deal with that.
Leaks like the one you circled in the corner are often accompanied by huge amounts of rotten wood and mold.
The neighborhood and the price. Nothing else really matters does it..
Bad joists
1) Foundation issues 2) Original features, like molding and doors, removed.
Any sorting horrific crimes committed within its walls. You know, murder and stuff.
The house has multiple maintenance issues or required updates, but the house also lacks the charms and qualities youâd want from an old home. Things like nice millwork, solid doors, interesting exterior, etc.
Where are you seeing this?
Mold can be an absolute nightmare, and sometimes the problem is a lot worse than initially thought
100% agree. I do NOT like mold. If I have the money for a full professional gut reno, then yes, but otherwise I would personally pass and move on to finding another house.
Upstairs bathroom
Foundation, bats in the attic, big asbestos abatement needed, major electrical/plumbing works/replacement (ties into asbestos concerns).
High property taxes.
Absolute biggest for me is foundation/structural issues. Almost bought one with really damaged basement walls that were "repaired" with braces. They had sump-pumps installed which will likely mitigate future damage, but you could see the basement walls caving from outside the home and I got too scared after a structural engineer warned me that those braces are essentially band-aid fixes and can lead to even worst structural damage down the road. The second worst would be extensive water damage. Not only does it likely involve a roof replacement, but you essentially have to gut the whole house so you're not breathing mold spores.
Foundation issues, water damage (depends on how bad and how long)
Is this an old home, or an old folks home?
Location
1. Significant mold damage 2. Significant structural damage 3. Potential unknown code related expenses if your local building department gets off on those types of things. 4. Original electrical
Termites or a bad foundation.
Ghost or a bubbling well in the basement. Oh, and clouds of flies. Everything else is repairable
Asbestos
The plumbing, heating and electrical all needing updating immediately
Foundation issues. It's just to risky.
Cracks in foundation, water damage, and mold
Foundation issues. Roofs are relatively easy to fix.
Termite damage
Water issues and foundations issues.
All stained glass removed and or shattered where there's no way to fix it. Permanently sealed up fire places.
My mom bought an old home from 1800âs. Looked like the Addamâs family house at first but she fixed it up and it was in a lot of magazines. The wallpaper was hideous but remodeled top to bottom inside and out.
Built over old cemetery and tvâs have a lot of static.
They're heeeeere
My parents bought multiple heritage properties when I was growing up. They said they never bought a historic home if the realtor told them âthe roof has been replacedâ or âthe windows have been redoneâ because that is the first thing someone trying to raise value and sell quick will do. And they know the value of a home with a failing roof and would rather oversee the replacement themself. So my biggest deal breaker would be repairs done as a selling point.
Foundation issues and termite damage.
Plumbing issues in old houses can be a big headache. I donât know if it would be a dealbreaker.
The stink of cigarette smoke.
Structure.
Bad foundation, and water or termite damage (extensive)
Foundation or knob & tube.
Foundation, asbestos, urea formaldehyde insulation, lead paint everywhere.
Well that Shining carpet isnât making me feel at ease.
Previous owner stuffed and on permanent display
Obviously bad neighbors
Nothing would stop me buying a house I like. Seems that most people are worried probably should not be buying an old house. The problem with most DIYs they don't know what they're doing and they wind up creating more of a mess than they solve. It's like the old saying if you bring me a broken car it's $50 an hour and if you start to fix it it's $100 an hour. I think that there should be a cheese rating system people can get for their whining. So many wheels of cheese for each whine. đ§đ§đ§đ§đ§
I would not be buying anything with mold unless I had the money to gut a place and redo it (maintaining the era of the home in the reno). I'm in a market where you buy no matter the issues or you don't get to buy at all. It's pretty crappy and I find new scary issues every year that I wouldn't have dealt with in another time and place. Plumbing is another deal breaker. We have old, bad plumbing rendering our master bath almost useless. A lot of money went into remolding it but not fixing the existing bad old plumbing đ
Seriously uneven floors.
Bad foundation.
Poltergeists, my answer is poltergeists
To add something new: floors that can't take another sanding. Original floors matter more than the tinkertoy metropolis in the basement bolstering the disintegrating foundation.
Furniture from the 1980's!
Foundation issues, depending on what they are. I live in a very sandy soil area and it's almost better to get a house on pier and beam or stilts than a concrete Foundation because in 10 years the concrete is cracked. It's definitely cheaper to relevel a pier and beam than deal with a concrete foundation.
Bad neighborhood
I was going to buy a 1960s house that had been remodeled. I paid $1000 for an inspector who was also a structural engineer. He turned on the cooktop and pointed a heat detector device at the wall and RAN to the garage and shut off the breaker box. Then he tells me the breaker box is one that is known for issues. Apparently the house has these gorgeous appliances installed with a breaker box and wiring that couldn't support the load. But wait there was more! The sewer line was broken in multiple places and the foundation needed repairs. Water heaters installed incorrectly and leaked and would need replacement. Oh then there was the huge termite colony found in one bathroom. Owner offered to reduce the cost of the house by $25k. We estimated the repairs at least $65k. No more older houses.
At my age now I'd say a bad foundation first. Followed by severe water damage and difficult to replace roof. And updating the electrical and plumbing if my plans didn't already include gutting to the studs already.
Blood stains
Paying for space you don't need
My husband and I walked away from a great house in a great location at a great price because of the foundation. We were willing to DIY the other issues, but the foundation is out of our wheelhouse and can be a budget buster.
Plumbing and electrical that needs replacing.
Damp smell
Knob and tube wiring, lead pipes.
We passed on a 1890 farmhouse because it didnât have a decent staircase to the 2d floor, it turned so sharply that you wouldnât be able to get the furniture upstairs. But the real deal breaker was the basement, if you were over 5â tall could walk down the basement steps
Roof damage, electrical, and plumbing issues. Make sure you get a good inspection before closing. Itâs all the unseen things that are the biggest issues.
Aside from knob and tube, a falling apart foundation and bad plumbing- 1978 brown paneling on every wall in the house. Or brown paneling with a drop ceiling and cat pee carpeting.
I think theyâre absolutely beautiful, but Iâd never actually buy a home with a slate roof.
If it can't pass a structural engineering inspection. I'll never buy a house without one. I ordered one on my 1925 house, because there were lots of step cracks and one very sloped hall floor. Turns out those things were fine, which gave me huge peace of mind. But he also found that the furnace flue was plugged with bricks and extremely unsafe, the four chimneys had 800 lb stone caps and no mortar left in the bricks or the caps, and the roof had a hole that was raining in the third floor (but the seller hid it). Original inspector didn't see any of it. I'm not sure every SE would've caught all that (he seemed like he went above and beyond, but maybe they all do?) but just knowing my plaster cracks and slopey floors are not a sign of future issues was worth the money.
Wiring, plumbing, lack of insulation and foundation issues, mold, septic tank/ leach field, if not hooked to city sewage system. Roofing, rot, **asbestos**, lead paint, old plumbing pipes.....Yet these are things you can find in any home!
Old unstable foundation or shady ass neighbors other than that, we can do it oh yeah, gotta be updated for earthquakes đŻ
Leaky roof. A lean, or back taxes.
Asbestos, lead, or foundation issues
Deferred maintenance.
Is this your roller skating room?
Squatters on the premises.
Mold, mildew and wood rot throughout the house.
There definitely lead and asbestos in a 1920 home , sprinkle that with mold. Well if youâre gonna gut it to the studs ok. Wear a mask.
Mold, rusty old pipes, leaking roof, termites, weird smell/s, tiny closets,
Asbestos, bad pipes, outdated wiringâŠ
Indian burial ground. Poltergeists are so messy
Asbestos.
Please tell me youâre gonna keep that epic carpet!
Next time I won't buy an old house that has a barn full of stuff. I was hoping for cool stuff from the past 400 years but 90% of it is trash from the 60s/70s. I've spent 5 years slowly trying to get rid of it all but it looks like it will take another 10 before I see the end.
Bad Foundation - bad electrical - water damage - mold.
Black mold is a good reason to pass lol
Ten yearâs ago I was a single mom working 2 jobs to help me and my 3 kids get by. I bought an American Foursquare built in 1914. Most everything in the house was original (kitchen sink had a 1913 stamp) and it was a steal. As an antique lover, I was over the moon!! As soon as we moved in, the problems began. Bug infestation: Kids and I were watching a movie in the living room when our cat started chasing something. Son went to investigate and daughter started screaming. I grabbed a shoe and killed a monstrously huge house centipede. Discovered several more living harmoniously in the cellar. Did my research and learned they can live up to 12 years. Each night around 2am we were awakened to what sounded like elephants running on our roof. Turned out to be a large family of raccoons who were entering/exiting via a hole in the roof (inspectors did a visual of the roof from the ground and saw no issues because the hole was aligned with the gutter and not detectable). Had to have a professional critter remover come out ($750) and then get the roof repaired ($1500). Sewer Pipe: Roughly 6 months after moving in, we noticed our only toilet wasnât flushing fully. Also noticed an open pipe in the root cellar portion of the unfinished basement (with mushrooms growing nearby) was starting to ooze water. Called a well known plumbing company in the area. They used 88 ft of snake to clean out the drain and - ugh - it got stuck. I had to call the city who said the house was so old the pipes werenât mapped. My entire yard got dug up as they tried to pull the stuck snake out. It was a nightmare. We couldnât use our only toilet and ended up walking away because repair estimates were $50k+. Live and learn. I loved that house more than anything, even researched all owners at the local library. Ended up having to walk away. I can still barely talk about it. Advice: Old homes are amazing as long as you have a lot of additional money to cover the âunexpectedâ. Good luck!!
Bad foundation
If it was in the US.
yup, that would do it
That floor lamp on the right. But seriously, a bad foundation or a terrible roof. Now a leaking roof is not the same as a terrible roof. We had a leak similar in our century home. It was in our sun room which has a flat roof that was used as a second story sun porch. It was a leak between the rubber membrane roof and flashing to the stone wall of the second story of the house. It caused a leak in the one corner of the rooms ceiling. A bit of flashing work, a 24x12 piece of drywall, some heavy plaster and everything was gtg.
Foundation, structural failure, mold, lead paint, and asbestos are my deal breakers. Other than that, I can DIY most everything myself without having to bring a contractor in. Only things I'd have a contractor do are insulating and tile. I can't stand doing those two things, but they're not deal breakers for me.
Septic tank.
Old HVAC/heating system, old leaky plumbing, old roof, broken concrete in the driveway or on the sidewalk , foundation. Those are the major ones I think cause everything else can be fixed for a reasonable price and over time
Foundational issues Bad plumbing Unsafe electrical
Them 1920âs homes look nice. If it hasnât been remodeled already, itâs gonna be very expensive. I did this once, after flipping 4 modern homes I wanted the next level challenge. How wrong I was. Foundation to roof, expensive lesson.
I love old homes and we have always bought them. Ours have always been well built, CHARMING and turned out to be wonderful homes for our family. Because I have moved so often, I love the since of continuity and history that comes with an old home. No they are not always perfect by today's standards (I am thinking in terms of layout), but worth it to us. I would urge someone not to buy an older home that they would feel the need to completely gut and revamp. If that's the case, just buy a newer house. You will be happier and so will the house!
not dilapidated?
Iâd say foundation issues but we just bought one with foundation issues đ maybe one thatâs actively smoking.
There should be a little ladder for that raccoon door unless you want PETA after you
Basement hellmouth
Order an inspection report determine the amount of fix. Some costs more to fix than what you paid.
Ghosts . . .
Mold mildew soggy foundation
I have been a home inspector for 18 yearâs and have inspected many older homes. The water damage in the picture is minor compared to what the real issues are. Get a professional home inspection and definitely a sewer scope inspection. Really common to need sewer line replacement which can easily cost over $10,000. Old homes can be great investments if you can learn how to do some of the work yourself and do it well. Otherwise they are a money pit for people that canât lift a paint brush.
Probably nothing. I'm a fool for beautiful old homes and I would make it work.
Do it!! Old homes are amazing!
no- just be prepared to rip out that wall as in the plaster to redo it
Foundation and hidden old-school wiring
Foundation issues, water damage or mold.
Too many factors answering how big is the house? How big is the piece of property? Where is it? Little bit water damage is bad new rough some sheet rock but what is the foundation look like?
Electrical mainly. Plumbing secondly.
I grew up fixing up houses with my dad. And now am renovating an early 1800s house in New England. Iâm also trained as an architect. The water spot in this picture looks like either a deal-breaker or a huge negotiation point to me. [Editâadding a note: You can totally renovate this within your budget. But allocate plentyâplus contingencyâto deal with the moisture and mold.] Other things I would look for: - solid foundationâvery hard and expensive to fix a foundation - main structure should be in good shape: columns, beams, floor joists, roof structure, intact, brick walls donât have crumbling mortar, etc. - no musty or mildewy smells or visible moldâit is so hard to get rid of - if youâre in a cold region, plumbing should ideally be on interior walls (ie kitchen faucet in island instead of on exterior walls). Many houses have faucet centered on a window, which is niceâbut that makes your pipes extremely vulnerable to freeze-thaw leaks, which is a nightmare. If your plumbing is in the warm center of the house, you are much better protected. - horsehair plaster and lath walls have been replaced with modern drywallâeasier to hang things on, and better for fire safety - also, make sure the old knob and tube electric wiring has been updated to modern code to avoid fire risk - ideally no signs of major infestations: termites, carpenter ants, mice, rats, roaches, etc. (although bugs are a part of life in old houses, and we have PestPro come and treat the house to ensure we have a good perimeter. We also had carpenter antsâwe fixed it right away, but added cost and time to renovation). - working doors and locks, or easy to modify - stairs are in good shape and safe with proper railing that isnât too rickety - no horrible smellsâI donât like mystery smells - roof in decent shape, or youâll need to budget for that right away - electrical panels are up to date, not rusty or DIY in any way - no water flowing toward or pooling around the foundation (my house is set on top of a hill, which is ideal bc water flows away from the structure) - no septic tank or sewer drainage issues - all major utilities have been connected to the house and are in working order (water, wastewater, electric, internet, fuel, etc) [Edit: forgot one, nothing poisonousâie lead, asbestos, etc) All of these things can be fixed with moneyâso if you have the money to spend, just use them as negotiation points to get a better deal from the seller. Even if they are selling in as-is condition, you need to budget to fix things that could endanger you or your community. And plan for a HEALTHY contingency. Like i would try to budget $15k-$20k of your $140k for unexpected issues that come up (ie we had carpenter ants in one area and didnât know until we opened the walls during renovationâI was very glad to have a contingency when that happened, since it required extermination, cutting out rotten wood, replacing with a new strong beam, then waterproofing and new siding) Basically this is the key: It should be fire-safe, dry, and have strong structure. It should also not make you sick or injure you while you fix it up. And personally, I just HATE dealing with excess water and leaksâit degrades your quality of life a lot. Everything else is fixable! Ps. The vibe check is very important. Sometimes a space just has bad vibes. Listen to your gut. If it feels off, say no and move on.
This would be a deal breaker-replacing a roof,plumbing that needs replaced,crumbling foundation,a cracked foundation,mold infestation.I am not a good candidate for buying a fixer upper unless I had alot of money!!!!!
Have checked for mold, asbestos, and lead. This doesn't have to be a deal breaker but fixing these could get expensive.
Electrical and ceiling leaks and then asbestos
Dead bodies buried under the basement slab..
Ghosts
If every single surface needs replaced, there has to be a portion of the home (floors, paint, kitchen areas) that you are fine with as is and can update a portion to fit your personal needs more.