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amyable
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| Posted: Jan 02 2008 at 1:57pm | IP Logged
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Dh and I have been busily perusing realtor.com, and we have come across what I think is a gorgeous old farm house. It is circa 1865! Much has been updated inside but we are still nervous about even considering an old house, as we have no experience in that area (nor does anyone we know!)
98% of the homes around here have no "charm" - and we really want charm. Anything affordable with charm is old.
Anyone live in a seriously old house? Anything we should look out for? Books/resources on older homes? I fear the house just falling apart around us, even more than our 40yo house.  Dh is only semi-handy, but the biggest issue is time (as in, little to spend every weekend on a house falling down). Can old houses be in good condition and not need constant work? See I know nothing!  Dh is worried about resale value too - in our area it seems that most people want new and improved. 
Any and all thoughts about old homes welcome!
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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Paula in MN
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I used to live in a 100 year old home. We did a lot of work to it -- removing carpets, replacing wood floors, sanding, staining, removing layers of paint from door and window trim and oak bannisters, adding a bathroom, you name it. I truly think it depends on what you buy and what you are willing to put into it - both time and money. My dh's grandmothers house just sold on Monday. It was built in 1901 and is in pristine condition, but was listed at 1.1 million. The new owners don't need to do anything to it at all. You can and will find houses on both ends of the spectrum. If you really like the house, have an inspection done so you know what you are facing!
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 Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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KellyJ
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Amy, we've not lived in a house that old, but ours is old "enough" as far as I'm concerned at more than 50 yrs. old. We've made a lot of updates and still more are needed. My husband is handy, but time is valuable, and we elected to hire out a number of jobs in weighing the balance between time, money, energy, etc.
If you end up being serious about this house, I'd have a structural engineer take a look at it (I think they can usually also do the house inspection).
I'd also call the Gas & Electric Co. to find out what the bills average at--this will help you know what usage is like *and* how efficient it might be (not necessarily reliable if the current owners are away during the day and use a programmable thermostat to control temps while they're gone).
I'd also find out how old the roof, windows, exterior, heating/cooling systems, etc. are. If possible, I'd find out whether & how much the house is insulated (exterior walls and roof).
If you bite the bullet and buy the house, and if the appliances are not brand new, I would buy a home owner's warranty (if it's not already offered by the seller). You can buy this through your realtor, and it could really save your wallet.
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KellyJ
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MaryatHome
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| Posted: Jan 02 2008 at 6:23pm | IP Logged
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My house dates from 1929, and it is WELL built. The home across the street from me was built in 1889, and it is getting its second roof (we both have slate!).
That said, I would look very carefully at a home that old which is "affordable," unless it is in an urban historic district or something similar. (That is the situation with my neighborhood).
All too often, rural "stand alone" homes dating from that era which are affordable will have major problems, beyond the vagaries of regular older home problems. A structural engineer would be the first of my recommendations, along with a systems evaluation. You might also contact the state historical society to see if they have any information.
Mary
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Maddie
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| Posted: Jan 02 2008 at 6:39pm | IP Logged
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Take into consideration the lead paint issue.
Our 1905 Victorian farmhouse was remodeled before we moved in but when we pulled up the icky carpets to use the beautiful hardwood floors, we found one room had been painted with lead. My father sealed the floor in plastic and laid a new floor over it. Just something to consider. Lead testing kits are fairly inexpensive to buy.
Old chimneys is another issue to consider. Does it need to be capped? I have heard of chimneys crumbling and bursting through your interior walls. 
Bats - ick- coming in through the old chimney into your basement, then making their way upstairs.
Vents that open through the floor, fire hazard but can be fixed.
Just some ideas that spring to mind, gotta run and put dinner on the table, but I LOVE my old house. It has charm, nooks & crannies, a great bannister for sliding down, a closet under the stairs to hide in, so much character! I always said I'd live in Mary Baily's Old Grandville House (It's A Wonderful Life)and I've come pretty close.  Except we named our home Toad Hall. 
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doris
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It's in the eye of the beholder... Our first house was built in 1865. Our builder thought it was wonderful, built to last and sensibly too -- so you could do things to it without having to start from scratch. Our next house was 1895. With both houses we ended up having to put on a new roof, replace the boiler and paint the outside. All jobs you'd do every so often with houses of any age.
We now live in a house built in 1961 and so miss the wonderful Victorian proportions!
The thing about old houses is, they've been there a long time so are unlikely to fall down... but I would definitely get a full structural survey done to check for anything really major like dry rot or subsidence. The other point I suppose is that if there is little demand for older properties over there, you might have trouble reselling. It's quite the opposite here.
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Home educating in London, UK with dd (2000) ds (2002), dd (2004), ds (2008) and dd (2011).
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missionfamily
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Our house is built from two houses combined, both of which were built in the late 1800's. They were combined in the 1930s. Charm and character were what attracted us to the idea of an old home too. Just know that there will be a bit more maintenance in an older home. One of the best things we have done is maintain a home warranty program so that little plumbing and a/c problems etc...don't end up costing us a fortune. Know too that crystal door knobs and kids don't mix. Ours all fell off the first year we lived in the house, much to my disappointment. I'm currently crafting them into a peg shelf. But it is in fact wonderful and we really have loved living in our old home.
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dh Greg
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MarilynW
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Amy - I love the idea of a nice old house. My fear would be all the possible allergy problems - dust, mold, lead, mercury etc. I cannot live in a house that is being redone - my allergies would kill me. I know you have allergies in your family too. If you could love elsewhere during refurbishing it may be ok. The other thing is heating - we looked at some lovely old farmhouses with no heating or just a woodstove - I would freeze to death. Check out the plumbing too.
I guess depends on what your budget and timing are for improvements - I would kind of like to buy a home with character and then have it modernized without having to live in it.
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marihalojen
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We have an extremely old home +100yrs. We thought it was right at the turn of the century but a little research turned up an additional 30-50 years on one portion of it. It has/had cool aspects, I like the door knob to the coal room, the huge flat backyard that used to be a croquet court for the town, and the mitered wood floors that the Germans who lived there right before us put in. But those Germans also redid the plumbing so everything is backwards to normal American plumbing (hot and cold switched etc...) The amazing cabinents in the kitchen, floor to 15ft ceiling with tip out potato bins and a copper covered counter are awesome.
But it has lots of downers too, the walnut beams are still too tough after 150 whatever years to drive a nail in, the French drains stink (literally and figuratively) the 1930's sprinkler system is heaving out of the ground, the hand dug basement has huge earthen shelf thingys that have been cemented over but are also heaving and cracking, blah, blah, blah...needs new roof and new siding...
On the otherhand, it is paid for, and we've had it for years and years...but my dh is super handy and can step up to whatever needs done at that particular moment and there is always something, I can promise you that. I've lived in lots of old houses (this is the oldest though) and I haven't even seen it in three years. The last time was a special trip to install a new pump in the basement which entailed wading through thigh high freezing water. We always say if nothing else we can bulldoze it into the basement (which is probably flooded again) and float our boat right there.
Colleen, crystal knobs are awesome, aren't they? I had dainty little ones in the kitchen that some wonderful person painted over so when we went to remove these ugly gray knobs with a wrench that sucker shattered into a thousand pieces right at eye level. I actually got the whole kitchen repainted (cabinents and ceilings too!) by trading those knobs for the job, someone really wanted them and they even took them off themselves.
Sometimes I miss the place - oh, my loom room! - but so far not enough to go back to lots of remodeling and cold weather. One day maybe...
I don't know how helpful this is, Amy, obviously I'm conflicted about this subject. I own an old house but refuse to live in it. I like bits about it and hate others, in reality if it was in a different location I might overlook a lot more of the negatives but the town itself stinks too, there is only a Morton Building masquerading as a Catholic Church, a miserable library, useless grocery stores since Wal-mart moved in 30 miles away. Tough choices, Amy! Keep us updated.
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The Mari Hal-O-Jen
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8kids4me
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Our house was built in 1919. The two big surprises we had(and shouldn't since we had a structural engineer check it before we bought) was having the chimney cleaned 6 weeks after we moved in and the top six feet of the chimney were loose, and having state of the art 1919 electricity. Both were dealt with quickly, and everything else has just been scraping wallpaper, painting, etc. I am going to miss my well built house when we move in the next three years.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Old homes?
