Owning an (old, old, old) house

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

Anyone here on this board own a house built before 1900?

About a mile from where I grew up is a house that was built circa 1690 (yes, you read that right). It's the oldest one in town and, although it's been vacant for a couple of years, the current owner lives a half-mile away and is there every day, taking good care of it. At any rate, I've been talking with the owner about it because a) it's time for me to buy instead of rent, and b) it's old, with a barn and a field...exactly what I'm looking for. He, and two others, got it as an inheritance when the previous owner died and in the next week will find out if they want to sell.

Soooo....I've never owned a house. I really have a cursory knowledge about the whole homeowning process. Is there like a "Owning Your Home for Dummies" place on the Web? In my state (don't know if it's like this elsewhere) but there are programs offered that make it "easy" for first-time homeowners to buy.

And for you old house owners, what are things I should look for? I'm hoping to get a tour of it because I haven't been in this house since I was a little kid, when my mom would visit the old woman who lived there. Back then, 25 years ago, the floors were slanted. I'm sure they're the same way.

PM me if you'd like, but I really appreciate any advice you may have.

 

[In Exile]

There are many good books that can serve as guides to buying your first home - get several. Then make sure you get a home inspection done by a qualified third party - i.e. not recommended by the seller - and check both the references and make sure the inspector is certified and regularly works with older properties. You'll want to make sure the house is structurally sound - no dry rot in old beams - and if other major systems (electric, plumbing, sewage, roof, heating) are up to snuff and have been updated. If not, each of these can be real money pits, but you can use the inspection to bargain the price down for repairs/upgrades. Also, many, many old homes are under insulated. With the price of oil, that can be a killer. Make sure you have double pane windows or windows with storms. If it has fireplaces, make sure they are operational. A friend who bought a big old Victorian a few years ago is absolutely getting killed now because of heat costs - he may well spend $10,000 on oil this year - and the house is basically unsellable.

Do you like home repair and maintenance? Old houses can be a never ending project, which is fine if you enjoy it, a complete burden if not. A good friend bought an old house about 8 years ago and said at the time "I've got enough projects now to last the rest of my life." So far, he's been right. Just getting an old house painted can cost thousands, unless you want to spend summer doing it yourself.

 

[FileNotFound]

Some local governments offer tax breaks or low-interest loans for updating older houses for energy efficiency. We had a house built in 1912, and we got a very cheap loan to update its heating, air conditioning and electrical system. Might be something you'd want to look into before you get your first $700 heating bill (lesson learned for us.)

 

[trifectarich]

InExile makes many very good points. With a house that old, I think my first priority would be anything that's structural. If the place hasn't been lived in for a couple of years, that also warrants additional concern for heating and air conditioning purposes, as well as plumbing and sewage. These things are not to be taken lightly.

Make sure you're OK with having a to-do list that never seems to get any shorter. Some people are; some hate it.

 

[Dickens Cider]

Outing alert! Corky Ramirez is:

 

[slappy4428]

Corky,
There's old and there's 320 years old....
Elaborate more on the heating, plumbing, wiring, phone, cable... how recent are all the modern amenities? What are the utility costs...(and taxes) Is it wood, brick or stone? What kind of insulation does it have and when was it put in? How about the roof?
Owning a 320 year old house sounds cool, but look at the cost effectiveness first.

 

[JR]

Even considering purchasing a 320 year old house without at least $100 grand in the bank for upgrades and renovations/restorations would scare the crap out of me.

 

[ink-stained wretch]

Oh, child, be careful. See above.

My family is fortunate to live in a neighborhood of turn of the century homes (the last century). There is an active neighborhood association, whose principle purpose is to exchange tools, knowledge and labor.

New door neighbor has scaffolds. Guy across the street has the air compressor and air driven tools. I have the plumbing tools, on the corner has the electrical supplies.

We all have a standing account at the hardware store three blocks away.

The neighborhood rule: You can work only three weekends a month. Nust drink on the fourth.

I'd be very hesitant to go it alone with an old house. Better have a good support system or a ridiculously large bank account.

 

[playthrough]

Corky,
There's old and there's 320 years old....
Elaborate more on the heating, plumbing, wiring, phone, cable... how recent are all the modern amenities? What are the utility costs...(and taxes) Is it wood, brick or stone? What kind of insulation does it have and when was it put in? How about the roof?
Owning a 320 year old house sounds cool, but look at the cost effectiveness first.

The cable is so old in that house, MTV still shows music videos :)

I'm on my third 80-plus-year-old house and the goofy sh*t that turns up every now and then is unreal. I can't imagine something FOUR times that old.

I lean toward what JR said -- don't take on a house like that without some serious rainy-day coin put away -- but then again, if that current owner really is babying the house, it could be a steal. My wife would love this kind of adventure. Me, not so much.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Can't say enough about wiring, plumbing and sewage ... especially wiring. If the house has old wiring (by old I mean like the 1930's rope wiring) and a 100-amp breaker box, it may not be worth it.

Also you might have to contend with the hateful old biddies society- aka the local historical preservation society, who will swoop in and tell you what changes you can and CAN NOT makes to the house to maintain its historical integrity.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Corky, like you, I'd love to own an old house with a barn and some land and I'm pretty handy when it comes to remodeling and repair. That said, I'd pause before taking on that project and do a lot of homework.

Talk to neighbors in comparable houses. Bring in multiple home inspectors to check it out. Hire a contractor to do a walkthrough.

 

[JR]

Oh, and I hope you're handy, Corky. Really, really, handy.

Like Mike Holmes of Holmes on Homes handy.

 

[westcoastvol]

It might be a beautiful home with some childhood memories attached to it, but just signing your life over for the first time to get a mortgage comes with a steep 90-degree anxiety-inducing learning curve in and of itself.

And no matter how many episodes you might've seen of "This Old House" or any of its offspring have inspired that romanticize the restoration business, even the most experienced homeowner can never, ever be prepared for the craziness that might, I mean, will ensue.

A house that old is bound to have a myriad of issues that need addressing, and I'd guess many of them aren't visible to the naked eye. That is, foundation issues, electrical, plumbing. Those can be incredibly costly repairs, ones that you can't see as readily as new windows, a new front door, landscaping, paint, et cetera. Ones that, while necessary, don't have instant curb appeal.

The adage that remodeling/restoration takes twice the time and twice the money is absolutely true. And if it winds up being a project that takes an extended amount of time, please, consider the toll it might take on you and your family. It's a financial burden, an emotional burden, a convenience burden...I swear, you have no idea.

With all that said, I just finished remodeling my second house-I'm about to put it on the market. I personally love the results and can't wait to buy another house to remodel, but I also lost a long-term girlfriend in the process.

In the end, us breaking up was way, way, way for the best, though.

If you really want to buy something, buy a place that needs some TLC, but doesn't have "select-all, delete, reboot" written all over it. That'll get you in the zone to see how you like doing it with having so many emotional and financial variables at stake.

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

There are many good books that can serve as guides to buying your first home - get several. Then make sure you get a home inspection done by a qualified third party - i.e. not recommended by the seller - and check both the references and make sure the inspector is certified and regularly works with older properties. You'll want to make sure the house is structurally sound - no dry rot in old beams - and if other major systems (electric, plumbing, sewage, roof, heating) are up to snuff and have been updated. If not, each of these can be real money pits, but you can use the inspection to bargain the price down for repairs/upgrades. Also, many, many old homes are under insulated. With the price of oil, that can be a killer. Make sure you have double pane windows or windows with storms. If it has fireplaces, make sure they are operational. A friend who bought a big old Victorian a few years ago is absolutely getting killed now because of heat costs - he may well spend $10,000 on oil this year - and the house is basically unsellable.

Do you like home repair and maintenance? Old houses can be a never ending project, which is fine if you enjoy it, a complete burden if not. A good friend bought an old house about 8 years ago and said at the time "I've got enough projects now to last the rest of my life." So far, he's been right. Just getting an old house painted can cost thousands, unless you want to spend summer doing it yourself.

First, thanks for all your responses. It's a great start for me to look into.

(I say this now), but I do enjoy being the handyman here. I take pride in starting a project and seeing it from start to finish and knowing that you were the reason for the way it looks. I restored a '67 Land Rover a couple of years ago and that was a labor of love, let me tell you.

I'm hoping to take a walk through the house in the next week or so. I haven't been inside since I was 5 or 6 - I'm 32 now - and I remember it being very old-looking inside back then.

 

[Buck]

With all that said, I just finished remodeling my second house-I'm about to put it on the market. I personally love the results and can't wait to buy another house to remodel, but I also lost a long-term girlfriend in the process.

In the end, us breaking up was way, way, way for the best, though.

There's a lesson here: Romantic entanglements are costly, difficult and usually not worth the trouble.

 

[zebracoy]

Make sure when you take a walk-through to look for any loose planks on the floor, odd-shaped doors in the closet, etc. You might find a body or two.

 

[Buck]

See if there's a little door, a portal, like in 'Being John Malkovich.'

 

[Sheri]

I'd sure love to see some pictures, if you wouldn't mind posting them after your walk-through.

 

[dixiehack]

Elaborate more on the heating, plumbing, wiring, phone, cable... how recent are all the modern amenities? What are the utility costs...(and taxes) Is it wood, brick or stone? What kind of insulation does it have and when was it put in? How about the roof?

Ask spnited. He had it custom built.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Whatever you do, get a home inspector. Obviously, a 300+ year old house will have its problems, but an inspector will be able to point out some flaws that may not be apparent at first.