Buying Older Single Family Homes

[Johan Yang]

Hello,

I am trying to educate myself on sfh. I read & heard some stories about buying older homes could cause headache. I have a few questions that maybe other BP can shed some light.

1. What is consider older homes (before 1925, 1950, 1979, or 1990?)

2. Do we look it from when the homes were built or when the last total renovation? For example if a home was built in 1950 and was recently renovated (the listing said recently updated electricity, HVAC, roof, and plumbing - I doubt it would be all plumbings in the house), would this home still be considered old or new?

3. What else are the big expenses to watch out for sfh beside roof and hvac?

4. What kind of home exterior maintenance needed and how often do I have to do it? Do I need to wait to repair it until I see a visible damage instead of doing it periodically (like for roof we need to replaced it after 20 yrs-ish)?

5. When you buy sfh investment, what addition on top of the standard home inspection you recommend I should do (such as lead paint, mold, septic inspection, etc)?

Anything else I need to watch out when buying sfh built pre-1970?

Thank you very much in advance.

[Lynnette E.]

I like older homes.  Major things that are expensive to look out for"

1.  Foundation issues, most expensive thing!

2.  Roof, some do not have sheeting but 1x3 boards that the shingles are nailed to.  Some trusses do not support the weight of new lifetime shingles.  I buy 1900 to 1930 homes:)

3.  Knob and tube electrical, and lots of other older wiring.  And some rooms may not even be wired. 

3.  Plumbing, including waste lines to the sewer, septic systems, water supply lines, old wells, plus all the normal lines.

4.  HVAC

5.  Termites, mold, dry rot, insect damage

6.  Water intrusion from improper grading

7.  Settling, walls slipping, especially if the house has had room additions over time.

8.  Past claims--ask your insurance person to check past claims on the house.  This can cause wicked problems if it was not properly corrected and expensive insurance if there were a lot of claims.  e.g.  an old fire claim.