Buying an old house...pre 1950

[wadc45]

• New plumbing and electric - all up to code
• New HVAC
• New fixtures throughout
• New appliances
• All sheetrock removed and replaced.
• Bathroom and Kitchen cabinets replaced.
• Hardwood floors throughout the house have been refinished.
• New insulation has been installed in the attic and basement.

I'd say you are in pretty good shape as far as a starting point.

If we decide to move forward on this place, I will, of course, have an inspector with a professional engineer designation do the inspection. I did notice a couple of things that concerned me. Not all of the windows have been replaced. That would be first on my list of upgrades.

Smart move from a return on investment standpoint...

Also, the basement is not finished which isn't a big deal. However, yesterday we received some pretty substantial rainfall. There was flooding throughout Knoxville. I decided to drive up to the house and looked in the basement. I noticed a small amount of water on the basement floor. I will mention this to the inspector and make sure he spends extra time ensuring that the structural integrity of the foundation is intact. I will also request that the basement be properly waterproofed prior to closing.

Another smart move...with the big rain storm we had here in Columbus on Monday I was pretty stoked to see that our sump pump properly kicked on in the basement/crawl space and there was minimal standing water, especially if you knew the design of the space...it's a water trap. Good move by going over and checking things out and seeing if they will waterproof what they can.

Finally, it appears that the doors have been repainted, but are old and therefore are likely not very energy efficient. Two of the doors still have skeleton key locks (new deadbolts though). I don't know if I can bring myself to replace those. There is just something cool about having skeleton keys/locks.

Door replacement can be very inexpensive or a major headache on old houses. One of the best features on our house was the fact they had installed a keypad lock on the front door. This is the model that was installed:

http://consumer.schlage.com/Products/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?ModelNumber=BE365 PLY 619

If you do go with a new door, I highly recommend one of these things.

 

[Taosman]

Ok, at this point, it's pretty easy...

Get a reputable home inspector and ask HIM all the questions on here.

This is your first line of defense from getting stuck with a money pit! A lot of times even if the house has good bones an inspection will point you in the right direction to homes improvements.

Make all the house "holes" smaller! New doors and windows will make a huge improvement in comfort and energy costs. Even just a new front door will pay for itself quicky.

 

[AKAK]

That would be first on my list of upgrades. Also, the basement is not finished which isn't a big deal. However, yesterday we received some pretty substantial rainfall. There was flooding throughout Knoxville. I decided to drive up to the house and looked in the basement. I noticed a small amount of water on the basement floor.

No the end of the world, but, it could be roof/gutter/downspout or grading away from the house. I have a tricky little issue from a patio that was put in and have toyed with tileing away from the foundation for a while.

It's probabnly not a deal breaker, but, even without being sealed the basement should be dry, so, it's probably something that can be fixed otherwise. The key is identifying the cause, and if it's not raining, that can be a pain in the ass.

Also, considering the age of the house, you have a basement. Not a ready to finish living space, and if you're considering finishing it, given what you just saw, you're probalby looking at haveing a sump system put in first, not so cheap, you don't want to finish the basement and have it flooded over leaves in the gutters.

 

[matt_thatsme]

Again -- great responses. Thanks. The inspection is on Monday. My fingers are crossed. I will take some pics and try to post a few. I made my first investment today.......$16 for a 1 1/2 year subscription to "This Old House" magazine. :tongue2:

 

[Taosman]

A Radon test of the basement enviro would be a wise decision also.

 

[matt_thatsme]

House inspection today....some stuff I expected and some stuff I didn't. There were some issues with the way the plumbing and electric work was completed. Looks like the owner took some shortcuts which concerns me. There is an underground oil tank which doesn't surprise me too much considering the age of the hosue. It would have to be tested and either filled with concrete or removed......neither option is cheap. I am not exactly happy about the accuracy of the listing or the information given to me by the seller's rep. The "new" heating and air systems were new.......in 2002. The hot water heater is reaching the end of its useful life. The fireplace is basically ornamental. Needs about $2k in improvements and modifications to be functional.

All in all, there is about $10k in needed improvements, most of which deal with shortcuts taken by the builder or non-disclosed/misleading listing information. Looks like I am going to have to walk on this one. Damn....

 

[Gatorubet]

House inspection today....some stuff I expected and some stuff I didn't. There were some issues with the way the plumbing and electric work was completed. Looks like the owner took some shortcuts which concerns me. There is an underground oil tank which doesn't surprise me too much considering the age of the hosue. It would have to be tested and either filled with concrete or removed......neither option is cheap. I am not exactly happy about the accuracy of the listing or the information given to me by the seller's rep. The "new" heating and air systems were new.......in 2002. The hot water heater is reaching the end of its useful life. The fireplace is basically ornamental. Needs about $2k in improvements and modifications to be functional.

All in all, there is about $10k in needed improvements, most of which deal with shortcuts taken by the builder or non-disclosed/misleading listing information. Looks like I am going to have to walk on this one. Damn....

Or take a price reduction. No old house is going to be "perfect"... at a price you want to pay anyway. Buyer's market is in your favor.

 

[matt_thatsme]

Or take a price reduction. No old house is going to be "perfect"... at a price you want to pay anyway. Buyer's market is in your favor.

I agree and I certainly wasn't looking for perfect. My concerns lie mostly in the misleading/shortcuts. Even the best inspectors can't find everything. I fear that the owner might have done a bunch of cosmetic work for the purpose of hiding more significant problems.

 

[Gatorubet]

Gotcha. Are the buyers the ones who paid for/did the upgrades?

Ask them for a copy of the inspection report that they obtained at their purchase as a condition of making a bid/sale.

 

[Wells4Heisman]

Watch out for the ghosts!