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How Old Is Your Toilet?

Errr... I mean how old is your house?

Here is the question I was asked today by one of my readers, "How can I tell the age of the house I am buying?"

I suggested he peek underneath the tank lid. If it is the original toilet, it is going be date stamped around the time the house was built.

I also added checking with a real estate agent, appraiser, property inspector, preliminary title report or maybe even a property profile.

Does anyone else have a favorite way they check for a home's age beside asking the neighbor?

OK, I'm off to check my own toilet... Kate

Posted by Kate Ford Mortgage Translator on 01/31/2009 04:03 PM

Comments (14)

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14 Comments on How Old Is Your Toilet?

JAN

Kate,

Haha, made me laugh a little bit. That's also a good idea! I usually just go by the MLS but the toilet may make an appearance in my future, lol!

-Lisa

Kate, I love your idea to check under the lid..... LOL! I guess, beyond the public records for "year built" as there are more and more renovations, pop tops, additions, etc.

good idea

Hey Lisa, it IS a pretty funny way to check. And I just lifted up mine and sure enough, there was the date! The MLS is a good tip too. kate

Hi Vickie, Nice to laugh together. kate

I've always relied on the property appraiser here. We've got a lot of new toilets!

The tax records here on Maui will tell us when it was built.

Dear Kate,

I haven't use the toilet trick in a long time! Clients love it!

Thanks for the reminder.

The toilet is reliable for maybe 20 years. The best way is county tax records. I find that government is not lax when it comes to collecting money.

It can be fun when your client asks how old is this Chicago bungalow. You can see that this is not a new toilet; so you lift the tank lid and announce 1896. They may be impressed , or wonder why you are playing with the toilet. When remodeling Chicago homes you also will find somewhere behind the plaster a date that some builder wrote there in charcoal.

Kate, good idea. It does not work for my personal home. I change my Toilet's every time we move. On average about every 4 years. 4 houses in the last 16 years. All toilets have been changed.

Oh I am really laughing. Maybe we submit this tip to Congress and get them to smile. Personally I believe a good laugh can be a great way to refocus. OK now...

Gabe, Florida has ALL new toilets? Wow. That is a lot of new construction or else an old toilet phobia?

Georgina, Nice to hear from Maui.

Barbara, I think the trick might date us LOL

David, I am still laughing - yes I can imagine a client thinking twice about their Realtor with the sudden impluse to play with the toilet. btw, I do not endorse pulling down sheetrock or plaster to find the charcoal record.

Frank, Sometimes changing the toilet seat MIGHT be enough. Think of it this way, you are erasing history. kate

FEB

I have done that and also look at the A/C unit. Roof age, I will see if it has ridge vents and not turbines.

Hmmmm... assuming that means a trek to the roof. Now we're REALLY laughin' as my good friend from Canada says. Seriously, good tip. Thanks. kate

We are fortunate in our area, we have a Court House Retrieval System that fairly accurately dates the structure on the property, so, we can cheat. Our MLS pulls the data in once you enter the tax id.

But a home inspector taught me a trick about the age of the hot water, HVAC and other utility systems. It is coded in the serial number on the unit. you will see the month and year it was manufactured and that will give you the earliest that the unit could have been installed.

Mike

Wow, what great tips. I never thought of looking on those. I tend to trust alternative methods more than county data. I've seen more than one mix up in gov. records before. Thanks Mike.

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