All Forum Posts by: Jeremiah O'Neill

The property taxes will definitely go up, if it gets updated, and of course I would prefer they didn't.  My main concern, was that at some point when the assessor realizes it is wrong, they will make a big deal of it, try and back charge me, or make an issue of not having any permits on file, even though it is clear that if there was an addition, it was done a longgggg time ago.

Hi all,

I looked at a property today, it is listed as 1100 square ft and 2 beds, while the assessors website has the property listed as 500 square ft and 3 beds.  

The 1100 square ft is correct, so the assessors is incorrect.  The bedrooms are a little unclear, it is probably a 2 bed as is, but by adding a door to one of the other room it could be considered a 3 bed.

My question is, I am thinking it is best that this get resolved by the current owner before I close on the house.  Should my offer be contingent on this?  The current owner has been there for 55 years, so who knows why this is incorrect, although it is hard to imagine a 3 bedroom, 500 SF home!

Thanks,

Jeremiah

 We have a buyers agent, but we will be viewing the property without him.  The property is vacant and has been for awhile, so should not be an issue.  Thanks for the info.

Thanks Roy, this is a great list of what I might find.  Is it kosher to pull off an outlet cover or switch cover while viewing the house with the sellers agent?  Of course we will dig into these items during the inspection, but Imwould really prefer to know sooner.

Thanks everyone.  I will let you know what I find this weekend!

 I plan to rent this property out, and do not feel comfortable leaving the fused panel in place.  When the tenants blow a fuse, it will likely be a phne call to me to replace the fuse, or worse they attemp to replace themselves and use a 30a fuse on a 15a circuit.  

I have also heard that it is difficult to get insurance to cover homes with fuse panels.

Thanks everyone.  I will give the building department a call today.

Hi all,

I am going to see a property this week that has fuses in lieu of circuit breakers.  I am planning on replacing the fuse box, but I am wondering what other work this may trigger.  The house was built in 1960, so I am hoping that there is not knob and tube wiring however, there may be.  Another possibility is that the house is wired with 2-wire cable without a ground.  I realize that if either of these are true I will likely need to rewire the entire house. 

The real question is, say the wiring in the house is 3-wire with a ground and which would not need replacing.  Will the fact that I am replacing the fuse box trigger the need to upgrade all the wiring to code (I.e. add arc fault breakers, dedicated 20amp circuits to the kitchen, etc.)

I am in Massachusetts, if that matters.

Thanks.