No Matter How You Dress It, It's Still Old!
I was out with friends the other night and we couldn't help but notice these three women walking towards us. They were "older" but yet they were dressing, walking and acting like teenagers. As we all chuckled at their behavior and attire, I couldn't help but pull out my real estate glasses and compare them to houses. You can take an old house make the repairs, paint it up, put a little glamor on it, but it's still an OLD house!
You can make an old house look good but it still feels old. It's missing the vaulted ceilings, the 8 foot doors, the newer neighborhoods. etc.
Which leads me to the reason I am writing this. If you are looking at buying an old house you need to look past the things that are visual into what problems my be lurking there! Here are a few items to consider when looking at an older home.
1. Electrical - Many homes in the Sacramento area built in the 60's and 70's and even the 80's have aluminum wiring. Aluminum is not a good conductor and therefore can get overheated and cause fires. I recommend that you have an electrician come out and inspect the panel and the wiring to make sure you don't have problems. I have also seen homes that have overloaded or outdated panels which can also be dangerous.
2. Plumbing - Older homes may have pipes that are starting to corrode or are faulty. Since buyers don't normally go under houses to take a look, a good inspection of the homes pipes may be a good idea.
3. Fireplaces & Chimney's - Many of the home inspections I have been to surface problems in the fireplace. Many have cracked bricks, dirty flues and broken dampers. A home inspector should be able to do a basic inspection and can recommend further inspection if they see an area of concern.
4. Additions - A big problem today is with square footage and financing. Some older homes were added onto without permits. In many cases this is a problem for buyers with financing. Carefully measure the actual square footage, and note the numbers of bedroom and bathrooms and then compare it to the county tax records. If their is a discrepancy you may have a problem.
5. Lead Based Paint - Homes built prior to 1978 may have lead based paint. If the paint in an older home is cracking or peeling it may need to be tested to see if lead based paint is present.
6. Asbestos - Although asbestos was found to be cancer causing in the 70's it was still allowed to be used in homes as late as 1986! Other common areas you may not expect to see asbestos in are duct-work, vinyl flooring, shingles and siding.
I am not knocking, nor am I against buying an older home, I live in an older home by choice! I have a large lot, no house on top of mine, no 2-story home looking in my backyard, and no HOA's or mello-roos. I am just saying, "No matter what I do to it, it's still old!"
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Photo courtesy of Taberah Spiers Photography
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