Would you buy a 100 year old house?

[Melanie32]

So we are looking at a house in Florida that is over 100 years old. It’s about 25 min from our current home. The interior has been completely remodeled and is gorgeous! It sits on an acre in a beautiful neighborhood that we would love to live in. The electricity is about 50 years old and the plumbing is a mix of old and new. The foundation seems to be good. We haven’t had a formal inspection yet as we haven’t gotten that far along in the process. Living there would be like a dream come true if all worked out but I don’t want to take on a headache and money pit!

 

What says the hive?

[Catwoman]

I would absolutely do it if I hired separate professionals to do the inspections -- like an electrician and a plumber and other contractors, rather than just some guy with a home inspection business.

I would NOT buy the house if it was a flip that someone bought a few months ago and is now trying to resell at a massive profit because I would be worried about what they covered up vs what they actually repaired.

[Bambam]

I wouldn't but my DH has dust and other allergies that means buying a relative new house is important to his comfort. 

We have a friend here in East Texas who had her home built about 35 years ago. Plumbing is shot and needs to be replaced (well water which may have impacted it). It is obvious much of the wood (brick exterior) that you can see needs to be replaced - squirrels have chewed on some (large trees nearby), other parts have molded/mildewed. Electricity is probably dated to - location and number of outlets because she has trouble finding spots to plug what we might consider normal things in (lift chair).  Dirt has subsided, so some flooring probably needs to be replaced as well - and probably would have to be due to complete and total revamp of entire plumbing system.  But that house is beautiful and in a gorgeous location.  But that house would take $$$$ in repairs to get it what I would consider livable. 

I hope your house is in much much better condition! 

And I agree about professional house inspectors who have actual knowledge of what they are inspecting. We've always searched for good ones. One found a NEC violation (brand new home so not really sure how that got passed all the inspectors?). Another found the insulation was not what was advertised. 

Edited June 12 by Bambam

[Carol in Cal.]

I live in a house that was built in 1922.  I love it.

The ceilings are tall, and the trim has character.  The floors are old oak hardwood, the kind that lasts forever.  The furnace is not original, but it was already oldish when we bought the place in 1991, and it’s still working.  The topsoil was not all bulldozed off before building, so it’s very fertile.  Everything is sort of solid and stable.

It does have quirks.  

There is a marked lack of storage.  Electrical outlets are only on the interior walls, and there are relatively few of them.  I can’t add AC without having a chimney rebuilt, and that would involve tearing out the wall between the dining room and the kitchen to get at it.  The windows and doors do not fit completely squarely so we have a trim them just a bit every so often.  The bathrooms are small, and the doorways will never allow wheelchair access.  

But it’s been pretty great.

[MEmama]

We've bought a 1920s Craftsman and a now almost 80 yo house here, so yes. But Hard Agree with @Catwoman on having seperate inspectors and understanding what you might be getting into. Plumbing and electrical are huge.
 

I love older houses--they are more solid and interesting than newer builds--but they can come with unique (and potentially expensive) challenges. This isn't the time for rose colored glasses, but there can be huge rewards, too. 

[Heartstrings]

Double-check all of the electrical. When we lived in an 85-year-old house we didn't think to check the electrical specifically and most of the outlets turned out to be ungrounded and only have 2 prongs.  So many things require 3 prongs to plug in, it was really hard to deal with. The inspector didn't note it for us because grounded 3 prong outlets aren't required by code, 2 prongs can be perfectly fine.  That was a real shock for us when we moved in and went to plug stuff in.  I had never even heard of 2 prong outlets.  

The house always smelled vaguely musty too, because of the stuff in the walls.  

Make sure it has things like AC and heat.  Our house had heat and my husband just assumed that a thermostat meant it had AC, but it did not—another nasty surprise we got after move in.   Try not to assume anything or take anything for granted.  

Edited June 12 by Heartstrings

[happypamama]

We have an almost 200 year old house. It is most definitely my eighth child and requires a lot. It has needed a lot of cosmetic and structural upgrades, and we do often struggle with blending modern needs with honoring the house's history. It's quite a lot. It has a lot of fun things, and I think we have largely done a good job, but it will always have little quirks and will never be just like a modern house. 

 

I will also add: my husband literally fixes old houses like ours for a living and is very specially trained in how to do so, so he's been able to do most work himself. We would not be able to afford to have someone else do most of the stuff for us. It's been a work in progress for well over a decade because we do the work as we have time and money (see the part about seven kids, LOL). We largely knew what we were getting into and did it anyway, and we'd probably do it again, but that doesn't make it right for everyone. 

 

I would look for someone who really knows old houses and restoration who can do a thorough inspection to be sure it really was updated well. I have a friend who was kind of burned that way, in that their old house had not been remodeled and updated as advertised and cost them a lot of headaches. You really, really want to know as much as possible about what you're getting into and what things might need to be done and what they might cost. 

 

ETA: one thing that has been truly fun about an old house that was built before people needed computer desks and bathrooms and laundry rooms is that it's been a little easier to think about the space how we actually need it, rather than what society expects or what will be good for resale. We have a lack of first floor closets, and the original entry space was not great for several reasons. So we shrugged and said, "Let's move it to what's more convenient." What we ended up with was a room that faces the side (which is more convenient for parking than the front), rather than the front, which functions as a large foyer/goodbye room, with room for our large family's stuff, that is central to the entire house and right next to the kitchen. Also, since there was no master bath already there, when we redid the upstairs bath, we felt no need to make a separate master bath and just made a bath with a door to the hallway and a door to our room. We also skipped a formal dining room in favor of a large country kitchen style room. With do much gutting and redoing, we've felt totally fine to make it our own. 

Edited June 12 by happypamama

[Heartstrings]

I sounded pretty negative in my post about my 85-year-old house. I really loved all of the charm and felt like it was the sturdiest house we had ever lived in.  Almost all of the "problems" were because we were naive and had no idea what we were getting in to.  We were also in a hurry to buy and didn't do our due diligence.   

[Catwoman]

7 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

I sounded pretty negative in my post about my 85-year-old house. I really loved all of the charm and felt like it was the sturdiest house we had ever lived in.  Almost all of the "problems" were because we were naive and had no idea what we were getting in to.  We were also in a hurry to buy and didn't do our due diligence.   

I thought you made very good points about things to watch for!

[catz]

Well our happy home of 20 years is 109 years old!  So yes absolutely.  Do the inspection.  You can find individuals that specialize in older homes and the quirks.  They can both inspect and make recommendations.  

You may want to see if you can chat with any neighbors, especially if their houses are of similar age.  

I love both my old house and my old house urban neighborhood a ton.  My only thought is, know that working on stuff while you're living in the home just takes longer than you think it is going to.  Be picky and wait if you find things that aren't going to work.  

[Innisfree]

What everyone else said. 

We bought a 1910 Foursquare house which we love. We went into the deal knowing there would be issues, and there have been. The character and setting of the house make it worthwhile for us, but talk to all the relevant contractors before you buy.

I would be more concerned about buying in Florida than about buying an old house, but really, both factors end up being the same: make sure you know what you’re getting into. Check predicted future flood zones, insurance cost and availability, electrical wiring, plumbing, insulation, chimney stability, foundations, roofing, etc etc etc. Plan to have to spend money that you don’t anticipate spending now. Then if it seems like a good plan, go for it and enjoy your house.

[Katy]

Only if you can afford to replace ALL the electric.

[prairiewindmomma]

Check the utility bills also—insulation helps buildings thermally regulate. Older windows can be very leaky. Find out what summer ac bills look like iykwim.

[Amethyst]

No. Although I understand charm and woodworking details that you can’t find nowadays, the electricity and insulation would be the biggest reasons for me not to do it. Also, I hate rusty old radiators and the dust that accumulates under them. I don’t know the specifics of the house you’re dealing with, so I’m only speaking in general terms. With a house that old, I’d also be afraid of additions to a house that were added on a long time ago. I seem to remember my dh talking about one of his childhood homes that had an add-on to the kitchen, but the floor was slanted or bad foundation or something like that. Lack of outlet, lack of closets, earthen basements, lead paint, dust of ages. Those are some of the turn-offs that prevent us from ever considering a house even half that age. 

[happypamama]

6 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Check the utility bills also—insulation helps buildings thermally regulate. Older windows can be very leaky. Find out what summer ac bills look like iykwim.

Yessssssss. 

 

Also, does it have central air? If not, are you okay with windows units? We have windows units. It's not terrible because we aren't cooling the first floor at night, just to keep the upstairs livable (this was a big issue with our previous house, a 1980s split level -- the lower family room would be icy, and the upper bedrooms barely tolerable), but they do make noise and are expensive. In our case, we also have electric baseboard heat upstairs that we need because we are in PA, so the windows units are similar in cost to that, but in a warmer climate, the units would be a bit of a shock, I think. 

[catz]

I would have your insepctor take a special look at the electric and the circuit box.  Assuming it was rewired in the 70's or so, it may be ok or it may need work.  We did have our home rewired but our wiring was a lot older and earlier vintage than that.  

We did have all the electric and box redone.  We also had insulation blown in our walls which made a huge difference in both sound and heat & cooling & their utility bills.  In terms of home projects, yes they cost some money.  But it was a one time expense and in terms of having your home worked on, neither of these projects were very long term or very disruptive.  And knowing them up front might give you a sense of whether those would be in budget or help you set an offer price.  

 

[Ananda]

My house was built in 1908 so yes . . . . make sure the house meets your priorities.  Electrical was very important to us, our house has super good electrical and tons of outlets.  On the other hand HVAC was not important, ours only works well on the main floor.  It keeps bills low only heating & cooling 800 square feet, and we sleep with electric blankets or fans.  On the balance I am very happy with our old house.  One thing I would say that I assume is true of all old houses.  Nothing is level, a right angle, a straight line etc.  That can be a pain.  

 

[SKL]

It depends.  I would have to have a really reliable inspector.

The house we're rehabbing is over 100 years old.  However, we knew it was going to need to be gutted.  The inspectors signed off on the basic structure and that the roof was salvageable.  We're replacing almost everything else.

My parents' house is over 100 years old.  It's OK, but my dad did have to do a lot of work on the foundation decades ago.  And structurally, it would be hard to modernize (e.g. having more than 1.5 bathrooms) without ruining stuff.  But, the oak woodwork is beautiful and irreplaceable.

[saraha]

1 hour ago, happypamama said:

We have an almost 200 year old house. It is most definitely my eighth child and requires a lot. It has needed a lot of cosmetic and structural upgrades, and we do often struggle with blending modern needs with honoring the house's history. It's quite a lot. It has a lot of fun things, and I think we have largely done a good job, but it will always have little quirks and will never be just like a modern house. 

 

I will also add: my husband literally fixes old houses like ours for a living and is very specially trained in how to do so, so he's been able to do most work himself. We would not be able to afford to have someone else do most of the stuff for us. It's been a work in progress for well over a decade because we do the work as we have time and money (see the part about seven kids, LOL). We largely knew what we were getting into and did it anyway, and we'd probably do it again, but that doesn't make it right for everyone. 

 

I would look for someone who really knows old houses and restoration who can do a thorough inspection to be sure it really was updated well. I have a friend who was kind of burned that way, in that their old house had not been remodeled and updated as advertised and cost them a lot of headaches. You really, really want to know as much as possible about what you're getting into and what things might need to be done and what they might cost. 

 

ETA: one thing that has been truly fun about an old house that was built before people needed computer desks and bathrooms and laundry rooms is that it's been a little easier to think about the space how we actually need it, rather than what society expects or what will be good for resale. We have a lack of first floor closets, and the original entry space was not great for several reasons. So we shrugged and said, "Let's move it to what's more convenient." What we ended up with was a room that faces the side (which is more convenient for parking than the front), rather than the front, which functions as a large foyer/goodbye room, with room for our large family's stuff, that is central to the entire house and right next to the kitchen. Also, since there was no master bath already there, when we redid the upstairs bath, we felt no need to make a separate master bath and just made a bath with a door to the hallway and a door to our room. We also skipped a formal dining room in favor of a large country kitchen style room. With do much gutting and redoing, we've felt totally fine to make it our own. 

Can you share more detail about how your husband was specially trained? I have a kid exploring that kind of work 

Our house was built in 1882. the kitchen was added on later at some point. House was required in the 80’s but doesn’t have hvac. It’s heated with a wood stove and dh put new ceiling fans in every room. It still needs a lot of work, but with dh’s sudden vision problems, I don’t know how I will get it all done. That was something we didn’t foresee happening at all.

Edited June 12 by saraha

[kirstenhill]

I would lean toward "no" because I find repair issues to be annoying with even just a 20 year old house.  But, I wouldn't say "never" if it was the right house at the right time.  We rented a 100ish year old house for nearly a decade before buying our current home.  We served as the "managers" too, meaning we fixed anything that went wrong unless it was a major issue.   Mice infestations were a major problem in that house.  Even with multiple pest control people coming out, it took many years to fix.  It turned out there was a foundation issue no one could see because it was under a small back deck, and no one had wanted to literally remove the semi-enclosed sides of the deck to really check, including the owner and the pest control people (tbh, we didn't think of it either, but we assumed pest control companies had done due diligence).    So if I were ever going to buy an older home again I would want to be extremely careful about foundation issues that could lead to pests (besides all the other issues to consider).

[happypamama]

2 minutes ago, saraha said:

Can you share more detail about how your husband was specially trained? I have a kid exploring that kind of work 

There are a few places that train in historic restoration and preservation, so you might start by looking at North Bennet Street School in Boston, where they have an excellent preservation carpentry program. 

[Pawz4me]

In theory -- yes I would. Especially if I felt comfortable that my pockets were deep enough to cover necessary repairs and/or upgrades. Older houses have so much character and personality.

In reality -- I'm really more of a new construction, everything shiny and clean and all the modern conveniences kinda girl.

It's like I have a split personality when it comes to houses. 😉 

[Arcadia]

34 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

It's like I have a split personality when it comes to houses. 😉 

I don’t mind being a guest in old homes (or hotels/inns) but pragmatically prefers something new. None of us has the skills or interest in home repairs, nor the deep pockets to outsource repairs.  Just thinking of the lead paint is already worrying enough for us to not buy older homes. 

[gardenmom5]

I have some very hard questions I would be asking. 

probably buy it, - with caveats.  the answer to the following questions would seriously affect how much I'd be willing to pay.   (or even make an offer at all.)

how much was rewired in the 70s?  Does that include what is INSIDE the walls and not just the outlets/switches?  how's the panel?   (it's not uncommon for hired electricians to "cut corners" by leaving knob and tube in the walls - even if they're paid to do a full rewire. (k&t are a fire hazard, there is no actual ground wire, and it rarely can keep up with modern electrical demands. a lot of 70s wiring is strained by modern electrical demands).
if the walls are still lathe and plaster, I'd be willing to assume there are knob and tubes in the walls.

Define mix of modern and old plumbing . . . cast iron stacks rust, breaks through, and have to be replaced. expensive and messy. water lines were also metal that would rust.  How's the line from the house to the street?

Have someone who *really* knows their stuff look at the foundation.   Take a BIG level along with you, and put it on floors in different parts of each floor/part of the house to make sure the floor is level.  it's common for there to be some sinkage, repairable - but you it is one way to give you a heads up of potential problems. If one corner of the foundation is sinking, the whole house will be out of plumb.

If the walls are lathe and plaster - I would assume no one ever got into those walls to fully update the electrical or plumbing and it all has to be finished.  If I really wanted it, I would find out how much it would cost - and deduct that, plus more for my trouble, from an offered price.
 

2dd nearly bought what was then only a 10 year old house, gorgeous, etc. etc.  The day of the termite inspection the seller demanded they sign the contract to confirm the sale. The more they resisted - wanting to wait until the inspection was finished in. three. hours., the more the seller insisted - refusing to wait for that particular inspection to be over. . . .  they cancelled the sale and walked away.

Edited June 12 by gardenmom5

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

   The windows and doors do not fit completely squarely s 

Have your foundation inspected - that could be caused by a corner sinking.

[Carol in Cal.]

23 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Have your foundation inspected - that could be caused by a corner sinking.

I know, but it’s not that.  The foundation was replaced after the 1989 earthquake, shortly before we bought the house.  However, the neighborhood is on expansive soil, and it swells and receded a bit depending on moisture content.  Sometimes it doesn’t subside exactly to where it was before.  It’s a known area issue, and our case is not extreme, but the house being so old, there have been more adjustments in total over the years.

[itsheresomewhere]

I would.  I have a house that is almost 100 years old and no regrets. 

[Tap]

Nope! I grew up in one and would never buy a historic house. Don’t want a forever project and don't want lead/ asbestos etc. 

[teachermom2834]

No. Because we are not handy with even small repairs on a new house. So a project really isn’t an option. 
 

We were recently looking to buy and we could afford some fabulous older historic homes in historic downtown areas. It is a dream really for the right person. It was so tempting but I just couldn’t get past all the potential expensive issues. I loved the homes. If they came with some kind of monthly subscription service to someone who would just take care of all the issues that came up, sure. But we are not the right owners for that kind of home. There isn’t enough discretionary money that we would enjoy spending in that way.

But it could be a labor of love and worth it for someone else. But the question was if I would buy a 100 year old house and I have recently considered the question and the answer is definitely no.

Honestly, the 50 year old house I was living in was driving me crazy just with age related issues. 

[Alice]

3 hours ago, Heartstrings said:

Double-check all of the electrical. When we lived in an 85-year-old house we didn't think to check the electrical specifically and most of the outlets turned out to be ungrounded and only have 2 prongs.  So many things require 3 prongs to plug in, it was really hard to deal with. The inspector didn't note it for us because grounded 3 prong outlets aren't required by code, 2 prongs can be perfectly fine.  That was a real shock for us when we moved in and went to plug stuff in.  I had never even heard of 2 prong outlets.  

The house always smelled vaguely musty too, because of the stuff in the walls.  

Make sure it has things like AC and heat.  Our house had heat and my husband just assumed that a thermostat meant it had AC, but it did not—another nasty surprise we got after move in.   Try not to assume anything or take anything for granted.  

We lived in a 100 year old house for about 9 months during the pandemic. Long story..but in summary we had a house fire and needed a short term rental and someone who lived in Germany had bought the house online during the pandemic but then their move was delayed. So it ended up that we got the house. It was a gorgeous house, Victorian, beautifully renovated. I saw the online video that had been posted that the people saw that made them buy it and it looked incredible and in many ways it was an accurate video. 

However, once we lived there we found all sorts of things they hadn't known about. I think they had had it inspected but they just didn't know what to ask.  A leaky basement that needed some foundation repair. The lack of heat (like there was no heat, not that it was just drafty)  in the newly renovated bathroom upstairs and the lack of AC in the downstairs. We had the same thing where the assumption was that the thermostat would mean both....nope. There were also some other smaller things that we found and in the end it helped them somewhat that we were there as they could have those repaired before moving in. I don't think they had buyer's remorse as it was a beautiful house, but I also knew that they had paid a TON for it and I remember thinking if it was me I would have wanted to know exactly what I was getting into. 

 

 

[Bootsie]

Our current home was built in 1928--so getting close to the 100-year mark.  Before we moved here we lived in a house over 100 years old.  We also lived in a rental for 3 years that was over 100 years old.  Each of those homes had less problems/upkeep than the 20-30 year old house we once lived in.  Much depends upon what has been done to the house in the  past 100 years and the quality of the work.  

[Clarita]

I know people who love their 100+ year old homes. Even people who don't have a love of renovation. Some old homes are pretty well kept and some have really priceless home details. 

If it's a historic home you have to be extra careful because there are extra rules with those homes depending on the neighborhood (some are just reasonable rules for maintaining the character and upkeep of the home, others can get intrusive). Like a friend of ours weren't able to install double pane windows to their house because it wouldn't preserve the historicity of the house. More reasonable rules might be you can't plaster over the wall details of your Victorian style home.

[Matryoshka]

Our house was built in 1880, so... yes!

The house I grew up in dates to late 1600s/early 1700s, so this one seemed modern by comparison! 😂

[J-rap]

Absolutely!  We raised our family in a 100+ year-old home.  We did have it thoroughly inspected first, and had some electrical work done, pipes replaced, etc, before we moved in.   It was a fairly simple-styled house and was structurally very, very solid.  We were only the third owners.  We did put quite a bit of money into it at first, much of it cosmetic:  re-painting everything inside and out, changing the kitchen pantry into a bathroom, new kitchen floor, new ceilings downstairs, a new roof, re-sanding hardwood floors and such.  We did all of that within the first year.  Once those were done we never had any major problems, ever.  It was the most charming house!  I miss it.

 

[teachermom2834]

For a bit of contrast, our recent purchase is 11 years old and we have had so many problems.  Best inspector in town, supposedly, and seriously so many issues. 
 

And while I like my house it definitely lacks any of the character or charm of a 100 year old house! 
 

[Laura Corin]

House built in 1797 here. Fwiw, we just discovered an expensive fix that we need to do - it is in an extension that was built ten years ago... The rest of the house works.

[rebcoola]

We did buy 100 yr old house and it was great it was a very solid build we had a thorough inspection. My husband is electrical and plumbing saavy so that kind of eased our minds. We had that house for 7 years and had honestly less issues than our 40 yr old house. 

[klmama]

A relative recently gutted and restored a 100yo home in Florida, with appropriate updates to the electrical, A/C, new roof, new windows, modern kitchen, etc.  It turned out great, but the process took about a year longer than they were told to expect.  

[Melanie32]

This home has been gorgeously renovated on the inside. It needs no updates as far as aesthetics go. The kitchen is top notch. The floors are beautiful. The bathrooms are perfect. I wouldn’t touch a thing.
 

I’ve seen the 4 point inspection from 2022 and it has central ac and central heat that are new. Looks like the original windows. It has a new medal roof. 
 

The electric system is about 50 years old. The plumbing is a combo of copper and pvc. I’ve seen the electric bill for the last several months and they aren’t bad at all. I can see quite a few electrical outlets in the pictures so that shouldn’t be too bad of an issue. 
 

If we decided to move forward, I would have a plumber do an inspection as well as a carpenter and an electrician. I would also need to think about the chimney. 
 

I so appreciate all of your responses and input. It’s really good to hear from others who have experience in this area. One minute I’m like no way, this is a crazy idea! The next I’m like, we can do this. It is honestly so very pretty guys. 
 

Our current home is brick and we have done so many improvements. It is very sturdy and has done very well in the hurricanes that have come through here. I raised my children here. However the neighborhood has gone down a bit. It’s not terrible and I have hopes that it is on the upswing again but who knows? I certainly don’t want to stay here if it gets worse. Because of it’s age, this house is a good deal. We couldn’t afford a newer home in this neighborhood on an acre of land. 
 

ETA

This house has also gone through many hurricanes. There aren’t that many 100 year old homes in my area. I only know of 2 in a 30 mile radius. This house has to be very sturdy to have lasted so long and still be in such good shape. 

Edited June 13 by Melanie32

[cintinative]

I have zero experience with a 100 year old home in FL, but a friend had a 100 year old home in Ohio and one of the issues they had was that because the house had been designed to "breathe" so to speak and because the foundation (see prior posters) was not the best, and because they lived on acreage, they had mice. Lots of mice. So I guess I would ask the inspector to look for that. And, not to scare you, but in FL, they have rats.  

[DawnM]

We had a 1910 Craftsman when we lived in Pasadena and we renovated it.   We loved many aspects of it and hated many aspects of it.  It was a ton of work, we ran into issues when we tried to sell it because some things that were original to the house were no longer legally permitted and they tried to tell us we had to change it.   There were a couple of issues like that.

One was that the house was 1.5 bathrooms, but the .5 wasn't in the original deed and so they said they had to inspect it, well, they inspected it and found out it was lath and plaster and not drywall and said that was no longer allowed to be used so they wanted us to rip it all out, pay for a new permit for a "new half bath" and build it to code.   They kept arguing that it wasn't in the plans, so we must have added it illegally.   Um, NO, we aren't able to create a bathroom that looks 100 years old with 100 year old electrical running through it, and stage it, just to get away with it.  

It was finally resolved, but OY!   It was a hassle.

The craziest part was that we only owned the house 4 years, so when we bought it, they didn't say anything, but when we went to sell it they told us they were "tightening the rules" so all of a sudden, it was an issue.

[DawnM]

BTW: I don't think I would do it again.   Our current house was built in the mid 1980's and is very solidly built and we plan to stay put for a good, long while.

[Faith-manor]

My concern is about aging. If you plan on this being your forever home, and will age it place, then my answer is a hard no. My grandmother's 90 year old house was a nightmare for her to age in, and my parents spent a fortune trying to make it handicap accessible after her stroke only to have it nor be truly handicap accessible. Now my mother is aging in place in it, and so my nightmare of dealing with this continues. If I had my way, it would be bulldozed so we could start from scratch.

[Innisfree]

1 hour ago, Melanie32 said:

The plumbing is a combo of copper and pvc

Find out about the supply and drain lines out in the yard as well as the pipes inside the house, if you haven’t already. Old ones are cast iron, which in my experience are starting to rust through after a hundred years. Consider the cost of digging and replacing them, impact on landscaping (any big trees grown above the pipes over the last hundred years?), and other potential difficulties. Ask about the local cost of replacing the pipes to the street.

[elegantlion]

Yes, I prefer the character and quirks of old houses. I agree with getting inspections and quotes for any electrical or plumbing updates needed. 

[City Mouse]

My house was built sometime in the late 1880’s. The original 4 room are log and had adobe fire places. It has been added onto and remodeled over the years. Between the age and the previous work done to it, it has some quirks but I don’t mind.
The biggest complaint have is that there are only 2 closets in the entire house. 

 

 

[Catwoman]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

My concern is about aging. If you plan on this being your forever home, and will age it place, then my answer is a hard no. My grandmother's 90 year old house was a nightmare for her to age in, and my parents spent a fortune trying to make it handicap accessible after her stroke only to have it nor be truly handicap accessible. Now my mother is aging in place in it, and so my nightmare of dealing with this continues. If I had my way, it would be bulldozed so we could start from scratch.

Wow. Why would you bulldoze a classic old home? I can understand wishing she would move someplace that would be safer for her, but why take your frustrations out on a house that could be perfect for another family? I can absolutely understand your frustration and your worry that she might get hurt, but it isn't the house's fault that it's no longer the best place for your mom.

So many people view them as expendable, but I really appreciate the history and architecture of old homes, and not just the big, fancy ones. It makes me sad when I see them demolished and replaced by generic (and often not as well-built) new houses.

[Catwoman]

1 hour ago, Innisfree said:

Find out about the supply and drain lines out in the yard as well as the pipes inside the house, if you haven’t already. Old ones are cast iron, which in my experience are starting to rust through after a hundred years. Consider the cost of digging and replacing them, impact on landscaping (any big trees grown above the pipes over the last hundred years?), and other potential difficulties. Ask about the local cost of replacing the pipes to the street.

I'm so glad you thought to mention that -- I had been thinking about the plumbing inside the house, but things like underground pipes, wells, and septic systems are equally important (and often way more expensive to replace or repair!)

[Catwoman]

2 hours ago, Melanie32 said:

This home has been gorgeously renovated on the inside. It needs no updates as far as aesthetics go. The kitchen is top notch. The floors are beautiful. The bathrooms are perfect. I wouldn’t touch a thing.
 

I’ve seen the 4 point inspection from 2022 and it has central ac and central heat that are new. Looks like the original windows. It has a new medal roof. 
 

The electric system is about 50 years old. The plumbing is a combo of copper and pvc. I’ve seen the electric bill for the last several months and they aren’t bad at all. I can see quite a few electrical outlets in the pictures so that shouldn’t be too bad of an issue. 
 

If we decided to move forward, I would have a plumber do an inspection as well as a carpenter and an electrician. I would also need to think about the chimney. 
 

I so appreciate all of your responses and input. It’s really good to hear from others who have experience in this area. One minute I’m like no way, this is a crazy idea! The next I’m like, we can do this. It is honestly so very pretty guys. 
 

Our current home is brick and we have done so many improvements. It is very sturdy and has done very well in the hurricanes that have come through here. I raised my children here. However the neighborhood has gone down a bit. It’s not terrible and I have hopes that it is on the upswing again but who knows? I certainly don’t want to stay here if it gets worse. Because of it’s age, this house is a good deal. We couldn’t afford a newer home in this neighborhood on an acre of land. 
 

ETA

This house has also gone through many hurricanes. There aren’t that many 100 year old homes in my area. I only know of 2 in a 30 mile radius. This house has to be very sturdy to have lasted so long and still be in such good shape. 

It sounds amazing, Melanie! 

At this point, my main concern would be to check all of the crime rate statistics in the area, because even the most perfect house won't be perfect if you have to worry about personal safety or property crime. Can you spend some time in the neighborhood at different times of the day, different days of the week, and late at night, to see how it feels to you? I know it's a nuisance to have to do that, but it would be worth it to get your own gut feeling about the area in addition to reading the police blotter and looking at statistics. Also, can you join the local NextDoor for that neighborhood? 

[Innisfree]

31 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

Wow. Why would you bulldoze a classic old home? I can understand wishing she would move someplace that would be safer for her, but why take your frustrations out on a house that could be perfect for another family? I can absolutely understand your frustration and your worry that she might get hurt, but it isn't the house's fault that it's no longer the best place for your mom.

So many people view them as expendable, but I really appreciate the history and architecture of old homes, and not just the big, fancy ones. It makes me sad when I see them demolished and replaced by generic (and often not as well-built) new houses.

I can see both sides here, despite being strongly preservation-minded. I’ve personally put a lot of effort into a very modest old house, so I certainly value the history. Some houses are past being salvaged, though, without extraordinary effort, and not really of any historical or architectural note. It just all depends.