Quote:
Originally Posted by DizzyEdge
Make sure the floors are straight. I know some people claim that is part of the character, but its always bugged me in my house.
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When we were looking for an older home to reno & update, my dad would bring his marble -the size of a golf ball- to let it roll on the 'level floors'.
More than a few realtors were p!ssed when this simple demonstration showed that the 'good solid constructed house' wasn't.
A few of my rules of buying a century-old house.
- be prepared to walk away for another deal.
- Don't get caught up in a bidding war
- is this a 'flip'? has a cheap & quick fixup been done to hide the flaws & 'modernize' the place?
- expect to replace every wall & floor & roof at some time while living there
- the older the place, the more that needs replacing.
- expect to replace plumbing, wiring, sewers, and heating.
- plan to roto-rooter the sewer line, and don't be surprised if the city water line has to be changed to copper or plastic
- expect asbestos, mould and rot.
- get several inspections (the extra few hundred dollars could save you thousands - even tens of thousands). Whatever is revealed can be used to knock down the price.
- any reno in the past has probably been done by the previous home-owners or an el-cheapo handy-guy. Pull any and all permits that the City has. If renos were done without permits, knock down the price.
- Don't Fall Madly In Love At First Sight.
- be prepared to walk away for another deal.
I saw a century-old house a few months ago that the owners bought 15 years ago and have been living though constant renos ever since. The first Major Reno was to strip the outside walls back to bare studs and re-sheath the entire house, new insulation and all new windows. All the early-century plumbing & wiring and decades of alterations in the outside walls were revealed, so the plumbing was moved to interior walls.
Fortunately they could afford to keep renting for while this first reno was being done.