Going to look at a new home tomorrow. What should I be looking for?

[speedmom4]

Hello Hive,

 

I'm hoping some of you experienced home buyers and sellers can give me some advice. The home we are going to look at was built in 1939. It is in a very nice area. We currently live only a couple of miles from the new house. It is a full brick home on a 1/2 acre lot on a dead end street.

 

The price is great for the area and from what I can see on the website the reason for the price is that the home is very outdated cosmetically. The pictures make me believe the home has been owned by the same person/family for a long time. Zillow has no record of when the home was last sold.

 

The information on the house states that there are hardwoods throughout the home but there is a lot of carpet upstairs. I'm hoping there are hardwoods underneath. There is A LOT of wallpaper everywhere. My concern is that there is plaster underneath and not sheetrock. I'm not sure if taking wallpaper down from plaster is more difficult or not.

 

Apparently there is also a basement but there are no photos of it. The roof is newer and the electric has been updated. I want to know how old the HVAC is. What else should I be asking?

 

Thanks!

 

Elise in NC

 

Update on #13

[kewb]

My home was built in 1938 so there is a good chance those walls are plaster. Our home did not have any wallpaper so I can't help with that question. Most likely the floors are hardwood under the carpet. You will want to check around the foundation to look for water damage and/or evidence of wood eating insects. When you are upstairs jump up and down in different locations to see if the floorboards are squeak. Even though the electric has been updated look in the attic to see if there still any knob and wire electric. We found out we still have some when we installed central air. It powers my living room. I try not to think about it. When was the electric updated? There was a time in the 70's when aluminum wiring was very popular. What is it heated with? Oil-buried or above ground tank?

[jen3kids]

My parents took all the wallpaper off plaster and while it wasn't easy, it wasn't impossible. Also, they discovered work that needed to be done to repair the plaster. In some rooms they simply put sheetrock over top, other places they were able to repair it.

 

Good luck

[zookeeperof3]

You can look up the house on gis for your county (google it), it will give you the tax information, square footage, when it last sold etc. I'm also in NC. After what we've been through with our old house I'd make sure to check for leaks in the basement, how old the hvac is, if the basement/foundation is secure/not cracked ( our basement has brick columns we leaned on one and it fell over). Based on the age of the house most likely there is hardwood floors under the carpet, but they might need refinishing. You can paint over wallpaper if it's tight to the walls. I'd also check the windows, are they replacements, do they have storm windows etc. Check the windowsills for rot and mold. Look for bubbling wallpaper on the exterior walls ( signs of water leakage).

 

Good luck! Old house are great but they have their problems too. If you make an offer, make sure you have a good home inspection done.

Kim

[speedmom4]

My home was built in 1938 so there is a good chance those walls are plaster. Our home did not have any wallpaper so I can't help with that question. Most likely the floors are hardwood under the carpet. You will want to check around the foundation to look for water damage and/or evidence of wood eating insects. When you are upstairs jump up and down in different locations to see if the floorboards are squeak. Even though the electric has been updated look in the attic to see if there still any knob and wire electric. We found out we still have some when we installed central air. It powers my living room. I try not to think about it. When was the electric updated? There was a time in the 70's when aluminum wiring was very popular. What is it heated with? Oil-buried or above ground tank?

 

Thank you! I am going to write down your questions. Supposedly the electric was updated in 2007. I would be very interested to see how the home is heated.

 

Elise in NC

[speedmom4]

My parents took all the wallpaper off plaster and while it wasn't easy, it wasn't impossible. Also, they discovered work that needed to be done to repair the plaster. In some rooms they simply put sheetrock over top, other places they were able to repair it.

 

Good luck

 

Thanks! I hadn't thought about how plaster may need repairs. Going to jot that down as well!

 

Elise in NC

[speedmom4]

You can look up the house on gis for your county (google it), it will give you the tax information, square footage, when it last sold etc. I'm also in NC. After what we've been through with our old house I'd make sure to check for leaks in the basement, how old the hvac is, if the basement/foundation is secure/not cracked ( our basement has brick columns we leaned on one and it fell over). Based on the age of the house most likely there is hardwood floors under the carpet, but they might need refinishing. You can paint over wallpaper if it's tight to the walls. I'd also check the windows, are they replacements, do they have storm windows etc. Check the windowsills for rot and mold. Look for bubbling wallpaper on the exterior walls ( signs of water leakage).

 

Good luck! Old house are great but they have their problems too. If you make an offer, make sure you have a good home inspection done.

Kim

 

Great! I am going to look up that website as soon as I am finished typing this. I am going to write down your suggestions as well. Had not thought about age of windows.

 

Thanks!

Elise in NC

[speedmom4]

 

 

Great! I am going to look up that website as soon as I am finished typing this. I am going to write down your suggestions as well. Had not thought about age of windows.

 

Thanks!

Elise in NC

 

I just looked at the county records on the property and the weird thing is there is no record of the sale. I'm wondering if that means the owners are original?

 

Elise in NC

[Jeannie in NJ]

when we bought our house 20 years ago that was built in 1973, it had shag carpet everywhere and flocked wallpaper. When we took up the carpet, every room (except kitchen and bathrooms) had original 3/4 inch oak floors in perfect condition. Also the flocked wallpper just peeled right off after we wet it down.

[Ali in OR]

I guess I would look at the house to see if you are interested in it enough to hire a home inspector to look at it thoroughly. He/she will know what to look for and give you a much better idea about what condition it is in and what repairs will be necessary. I think it was $200-$300 when we did that 10 years ago, so first see how much you like the house to see if it's worth pursuing. But I wouldn't buy it without knowing exactly what I might encounter.

[speedmom4]

I guess I would look at the house to see if you are interested in it enough to hire a home inspector to look at it thoroughly. He/she will know what to look for and give you a much better idea about what condition it is in and what repairs will be necessary. I think it was $200-$300 when we did that 10 years ago, so first see how much you like the house to see if it's worth pursuing. But I wouldn't buy it without knowing exactly what I might encounter.

 

This is exactly my plan. I would never buy a home without a proper home inspection. I am going tomorrow to see if this house is even worth looking into more. I'm hoping to get enough questions answered so we can decide which direction to go.

 

Thanks!

Elise in NC

[zookeeperof3]

I just looked at the county records on the property and the weird thing is there is no record of the sale. I'm wondering if that means the owners are original?

 

Elise in NC

I would think that means they are the original owners. When I looked up the house we bought, it showed the last sale, but not the original sale. We found out that the house was built by the original owner. We're the 3rd owner.

 

On the county gis site, you can look at the tax bill, it would list any major improvements to the home, additions etc.

 

Let us know how it goes tomorrow!

Kim

[speedmom4]

Well I saw the house yesterday and I brought my mother-in-law along. She is very good at looking at details and recognizing good workmanship.

 

There were many things I loved about the house. The rooms were a very nice size. The home had been well built. The yard was nice. There were a lot of closets and storage surprisingly. I felt like we inspected every nook and cranny from the attic on down to the basement.

 

I was disappointed in the kitchen. It was fairly small, which I expected from the age of the house. But there would be no way to have an eat-in area. So the only place to eat would be the formal dining room. We always gather around in the kitchen and some of our best conversations happen while I'm cooking and kids are at the table. The kitchen also felt very cut off from everything else. I prefer not having an open floor plan but this felt extremely cut off. I don't think I can live with that.

 

The other potential issue was a massive steam boiler in the basement. It is quite old maybe even original to the house (1939). It also uses oil. I am very unfamiliar with that type of heating. I did find out that oil is quite a bit more expensive than the natural gas we have for heat. It also seems like it could be dangerous.

 

I think we are going to pass even though it makes me a little sad. When someone comes in and does some cosmetic updating the home will be a showplace again.

 

Does anyone have experience with steam boilers BTW?

 

Elise in NC

[Ottakee]

Depending on the price you could see what it would cost to replace the heating system (is natural gas available there) and possibly make the kitchen open to the dining area. Much will depend on the what walls are load bearing, etc. and how much the house is priced compared to what is needed to update it.

 

I would also check the electric and plumbing for any needed updates---septic system and well if it has those.

[KatieJ]

Well I saw the house yesterday and I brought my mother-in-law along. She is very good at looking at details and recognizing good workmanship.

 

The other potential issue was a massive steam boiler in the basement. It is quite old maybe even original to the house (1939). It also uses oil. I am very unfamiliar with that type of heating. I did find out that oil is quite a bit more expensive than the natural gas we have for heat. It also seems like it could be dangerous.

 

I think we are going to pass even though it makes me a little sad. When someone comes in and does some cosmetic updating the home will be a showplace again.

 

Does anyone have experience with steam boilers BTW?

 

Elise in NC

 

Our 2nd home had a steam boiler as heat. The house is older than the one you are looking at, and therefore the heating system had been updated before we bought it. My husband has a boiler operator's license and did all the maintenance when we lived in it.

We loved the old radiators in the house. The only downside was that there was no central A/C and having it installed would have been extremely costly. We put in some window units and called it good.

BTW..we still own the home as a rental property. We have had little to no maintenance on the heating system in the 25 plus years we have owned. Every year or two we have someone check it and do a tune up kind of thing.