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If those components are more than, say, a decade old, buyers should factor the cost of replacement into their decision to purchase that home. A newer home might be neglected or full of cheap fixtures just as an older home might be in good condition and packed with upgrades. Yet more often, the newer home will be more contemporary and less in need of immediate repairs while the older home will be out of style and have at least some deferred maintenance. The cost of repairs, maintenance, replacements and upgrades tends to make older homes less desirable, and thus more affordable than newer residences, even though the savings at the time of purchase is often offset over time.
Some improvements recapture only about half the outlay. The U. However, insuring an ancient home can be even pricier. It masks sense — old homes come with more risks, and insurance companies are not willing to foot the bill for those unseen circumstances. Old wiring can be a dangerous fire hazard, old plumbing can pose major water issues, and crumbling concrete foundations can cause flooding and pricey structural problems.
While you are calling all the other experts builders, home inspectors, etc.. Roof and windows. These are the two updates that must be done first and should be made a priority. Any roof that is older than years will need replacement sooner than later. Older roofs begin to leak and crumble, thereby losing their insulation properties and causing more costly repairs.
Older windows are usually single pane with very low insulating properties. Ancient windows equal a drafty home in winter and sweltering home in summer. Before buying your beloved antique home, put these two repairs at the top of your to-do list. Maybe you will get lucky and find an older home whose owners recently replaced the windows and roofing.
That would be like buying an antique oil painting whose previous owner already paid the expense of having it professionally cleaned. The value of the antique is increased and the work is already done for you! Why not mix the old with the new? Rules were meant to be broken when it comes to decorating.
Just because you have an antique home does not mean it needs to be only filled with antiques. The eclectic mix of old and new has a very appealing and unique aesthetic. As mentioned above, the mix of old and new can be wonderful. Maybe you can take that idea even one step farther by taking an old home and attaching a new, modern home onto it.
Why not? Throw all the rules out the window and make an amalgamation of both your dream homes —ultra modern and ultra old. Of course, this type of design would definitely require highly skilled architects and builders who can take your modern dreams and amalgamate them properly with ancient architecture. If you fall in love with an older home, then consider adding a modern addition that meets all your worldly needs. Before signing on the dotted line of your ancient dream home, you may want to find out if there are any historical societies or neighborhood restrictions on remodeling.
Some older homes and neighborhoods have restrictions in terms of the type and style of remodeling that can be done.
Historical societies have the sole purpose of keeping the history of homes intact, so allowing the owner to remodel the home into a modern mecca is probably off-limits. These types of restrictions may severely inhibit your freedom to remodel the home as you please. It is best to ask your Realtor to look into any of these matters and find out if there will be certain remodels that are not permitted.
It would be awful to discover after you have already purchased the home that you are restricted and forced to keep the home back in the old days. This is one that everyone seems to forget until the movers attempt to squeeze your fridge through the front door. Older homes were built when household items were smaller than they are today. Long ago, homes were not built to contain commercial-grade double ovens or mammoth stainless steel fridges. Therefore, the doorways were built much more narrow and shorter than they are today.
Two years ago, I updated another amp service entrance to on a SFH , with circuit breakers replacing fuses. Plumbing is even more problematic. The 3 family house built in , where I updated the electric started to have plumbing problems. The major one was the part of the water main running into the house sprain a leak, that ran for some weeks, and caused erosion of the under-soil. Had it replaced, but part of the furnace room floor seemed to have dropped half an inch. My plumber had already advised me to replace all the plumbing, which he tells me is needed if a house reaches 60 years, and still has the original plumbing.
If I did that, I might as well update all the bathrooms at the same time. Also, I previously updated the kitchens, meaning that would have to be partly redone. At the time, the market was at it's peak, so I priced it about 50K below market, an investor bought it to flip, so I sold it as is, and came out ahead without doing all the rehab needed.
But I still made K selling below market, after holding it for 25 years. He laughed and said "isn't the answer obvious". Frank Chin Colleen F.
Thank you for the insights. I guess it comes down to the individual house and factor in big items like replacing old plumbing and electric. However, as others have said older homes that haven't been updated do have challenges with LBP, asbestos, plumbing, electric, etc. Some of those things like knob and tube wiring can be challenging when it comes to things like insuring the home. That said, you could walk a neglected home from the 70's with a contractor and his estimate to rehab it could be more than the property is worth.
My personal theory is that a lot of this has to do with density. If it's a densely populated are and people want to live there, they will keep revitalizing or gentrifying older homes. It doesn't matter if it's from the 70's or I own a 3 unit from , solid as a rock. But, the last guy updated everything and it bankrupted him So, yeah.
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