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CLASSIC “PIONEER STOCK” HOMES

OLDER HOMES ARE LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES

As Forest Gump once shared, “Buying an older home is like buying a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get!” Okay, maybe I switched the phrase a bit, but it is absolutely true. When you are buying an older home you have to have a higher threshold of pain and a bigger reserve of cash to take care of upgrades as they are needed. You also need the best inspector you can find to be as detailed as possible to give you a heads up in as many areas as possible so that you can make the most informed purchase decision. You should also expect to pay top dollar for the inspector advice you receive because older homes take a lot more work to inspect, when compared with newer housing.

If your first question for your prospective inspector of the old home is “How much is an inspection...?” then you are probably not the right buyer for the pioneer stock housing. Your priorities for qualifying the inspector should be their old house experience and not whether you can save money by using another inspector. The inspection fee schedule can either be the set older home fee schedule, or the more realistic hourly fee schedule that allows for more time to be invested in evaluating the structure and its components.

I often have to go into hourly mode on older homes when there is a lot of needed restoration work and the repairs that have been done over the years have been sub-par. Hourly mode also comes into play when the home has multiple additions. Each new add-on to the structure brings into play a whole new era of building with tie-ins to the older electrical and plumbing, not to mention foundation, crawlspace, and attic. Whew.... I am getting tired just thinking about the extra work of each addition.

I have flashed back to the older home located in Provo Canyon, Utah. The cabin that was originally constructed in the 1940’s as a getaway cabin. The buyer was referred to me because I was touted by her friend as the most thorough inspector in Utah. She was understanding when she learned that my fee would be by the hour and not the typical square footage and age type of quote. I knew something was up when on the phone she said it was just a 2,200 square feet cabin that was built in the 40’s and a major addition was done in the late 90’s and everything had been updated at that time. The reality was far from what was described over the phone.

Upon arriving to the home I identified the main home and the three major additions. One was from the 50’s, another in the 70’s and the most recent was from the late 1990’s. There were two separate crawlspaces and 3 separate attic spaces. Add to that a full rear deck structure that stretched out near the edge of the creek. The buyer was also planning on full time occupancy in a home where the owner had designed it for getaway occupancy. The structure was equivalent to 3 mountain cabins slapped together and I was being called upon to figure out what was really going on as the systems intertwined. I am sorely tempted to state, “If a purchaser thinks that they are going to get the information they need from a square footage fee schedule that applies to newer tract homes down in the valley, then they need to be gently shaken by the collars with a light slap on the face to bring them back into reality,” but of course I would never state a thought like that.=:-)

The above client did not initially realize how much extra work would be involved in the inspection. After snapping 260 photos while spending 4.5 hours on site and another 5 hours getting them into a 34 page issue filled report, the realities of this home purchase came into view. The supposed ready to go dream getaway cabin that needed little work actually turned out to be a cabin that you could have taken the purchase price and added to it again the same amount in needed improvements. And while the seller felt they were letting go of their “Shangri-la”, my recently widowed client was now facing a long list of expensive needed repairs. The deal fell apart and I was accused of being the “Deal Killer!”

My client was spared from investing in a home that was advertised as “All is well,” yet really needed major work. Being recently widowed she was not looking for a home that needed any major work. She was looking for a home that would be relatively trouble free while she regained her focus on the priorities of life. Clearly this was a poor fit between a buyer and a home and the inspection process was successful because it gave my client the clear perspective she needed. This was not the home that she needed while mourning the loss of her husband. However, the “Shangri-la” cabin will be perfect for somebody else who can handle the urgent repair list.

I am always amazed that I get accused of being the “Deal Killer!” Why is it that the home never gets any of the credit for killing the deal? As a top notch inspector of older homes I simply arrive at the property and document the story that the house tells me. Kind of like a “House Whisperer,” I document everything that I can find, both good and bad. My clients appreciate learning about the termites in the crawlspace and the charred rafters in the attic from the fire that happened decades prior. The are shocked to learn that the sellers claim of the home having new wiring does not mean that the entire electrical system has been upgraded. They appreciate learning where the professionals started and where the handyman took over. The are often surprised to learn that the three prong outlets that were recently installed throughout the house are all miswired with open grounds since the original wiring still in use only had two wires in the first place. But my documenting these issues always tags me with the title of “Deal Killer,” and yet the house rarely gets the blame.

And this leads me back to the reality that the buyer of older homes has to have a higher threshold for pain. They have got to realize that there are tons of items in the home that money can be thrown at to repair and upgrade. Some of these issues are major and others will enhance the lifestyle and provide more modern convenience. In the old days, for example, one outlet was sufficient for a bedroom. Nowadays, by the time you plug in your cell phone, clock radio, bed lamp, TV, DVD, iPod, laptop, and every other modern convenience, you will find older electrical systems very limiting to modern lifestyles. Many of my clients have either never thought of that, or have been told by the seller that the electrical had been upgraded.

Older homes are not for everybody, but for those that have realistic expectations, they can be a dream fulfilled. As an inspector, I love to take the extra time to document the history that the older house shares. My fees are higher for these historical inspections, but the information gleaned is most beneficial to my clients who want to know what is really going on in the home. So when it comes to the fee for the inspection, realize that it will be higher than a newer home of the same dimensions. And consider switching over to the by the hour mode and allow for all the time that is realistically needed. For those of you ready to book your inspection, please click on the following link.

ORDER YOUR INSPECTION TODAY!

For those of you still thinking about your older home decision, then please enjoy the following article from Tom Kraeutler and May Barretta’s The Money Pit.

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THE MONEY PIT - PLEASURES OF OLDER HOMES
http://www.msnbc.com/news/672785.asp

KEEPING THE PLEASURES OF OLDER HOMES

Regular maintenance, proper upgrades are key to enjoyment

Floor squeaks break the cool night air. Gently rolling floors crest blindly, creating a persistent wobble under your favorite table. Lights dim romantically each time the refrigerator comes on. These are just a couple of the "pleasures" of owning an old house.

If you own or have ever thought of buying an older home, you might be wondering if old means weak, or worn out. Older homes are usually very well built.

Those in the real estate business jokingly refer to these old-house personality traits by their technical term "charm." But charm or not, maintaining an older home involves special duties and responsibilities not realized by those used to buildings that have not surpassed adolescence. If you own or have ever thought of buying an older home, you might be wondering if old means weak, or worn out.

Older homes are usually very well built. There are some good reasons for this. Years ago it was easier to get quality lumber. Today's lumber doesn't hold a candle to what you could buy in, say, 1930. The sloping floors and walls associated with older buildings are usually the result of decades of settlement, which is seldom harmful. Older homes may also be better built when it come to the craftsmanship. When many of these homes were built, labor was cheap compared to materials. Builders could afford to take a lot more time to construct buildings and the old-fashioned workmanship that resulted is almost impossible to replace today.

But even though old homes may have been better built, don't make plans for the weekend. The character these buildings display is a result of the tremendous attention to detail paid by the original craftsmen. But details can take a lot of time to maintain. Hand-crafted wood siding will need repairs to the occasional rotted boards, and painting one side of the home a year should be your regular summer project.

Remember the term "maintenance free" was not even in the dictionary when these places were built. But if you like surprises, living in an older home won't disappoint you. Old plumbing, heating and electrical systems deteriorate over time and will usually fail on New Year's Day, just before the family is due in for the big dinner. And there's nothing like waking up and finding that new built-in pool that used to be known as your basement, supplied courtesy of a badly leaking water heater.

PLAN AHEAD FOR UPGRADES

Budgeting for unexpected repairs can be as important as making the mortgage payment. But the best strategy to avoid the emergency repair projects common with these buildings is to recognize the most common old house weaknesses and plan upgrades before they plan themselves. Frequent mechanical repairs or upgrades needed in older homes include:

PLUMBING: Replace steel plumbing pipes. Once these pipes get to be more than 40 years old or so, they'll clog up from internal rusting. Since rust will expand to eight times the thickness of the original steel, the pipes can virtually rust shut or burst if not replaced. To avoid this hassle, replace old steel pipes with copper. If budgets are tight, here's one trick of the trade: replace all the horizontal pipes in the basement or crawlspace first, leaving the pipes that run up between the walls for a future upgrades. The horizontal pipes usually rust the worst and are also the easiest to replace.

HEATING: Heating system efficiency wasn't an issue when the original boiler was installed. Replacement with a modern, efficient boiler will usually reap a rapid return in energy savings. Also, hot water pipes wrapped with asbestos insulation are common in older homes. This material can cause health problems if it becomes deteriorated. Have it removed professionally. Don't do the job yourself. Although it looks easy, you can contaminate the house with asbestos fibers and place yourself at great risk from breathing the stuff. Cooling: Most old houses don't have central cooling systems. However, they are usually large enough to make use of a special ventilation fan known as a whole-house fan. This device, larger than an attic fan, gets installed in the second floor ceiling and can pull a breeze through every room in the house. It is a great alternative to central air conditioning systems and costs a lot less, usually around $500 installed.

ELECTRIC: Knob and Tube wiring is the most common type of old-house wiring. This wiring is easily identified since it is strung between ceramic knobs, which are attached to the beams in the house. The issue is that the wiring may be unsafe. Knob and Tube wiring is not grounded, which means you can get a shock from it. Also, the insulation on the wires is rubber, which dries out and deteriorates after many years. And, the wiring is designed to be air cooled which means you can't even insulate around the wiring, a real issue since the wiring often runs through the attic where thick insulation is a must to keep energy bills down. The solution? Replace the wiring with a modern system. It may be costly but should be considered one of the most important upgrades your old house may need and one that will make sure it stays around for years to come.

Despite the work needed to maintain an older home, the rewards of old home ownership can be well worth it. The comfort, stature and charm of these buildings can never be duplicated. And it's hard to imagine a modern building will ever feel quite the same way.

HIGH TECH HELP FOR OLDER HOMES

High-tech help for old homes Looking for knobs to match your 1940‘s kitchen cabinets? Want to share home-improvement war stories with other old house buffs? Check out these great Web resources:

Old House Journal - The Old House Journal includes great preservation advice and a restoration directory billed as the "complete source of products and services for homes built before 1960 as well as newer homes built in the traditional manner."

The Old House Web - The Old House Web is a fun and friendly community for lovers of old homes. The site, started in January 1999, offers a great collection of how-to stories, features, first-person adventures and pointers to products.

National Trust for Historic Preservation - For more than 50 years, the National Trust has been helping people protect the irreplaceable. A private nonprofit organization with more than a quarter million members, the National Trust is a leader of the vigorous preservation movement that attempts to save the best of the past for future generations. It also helps thousands of people each month answer their preservation questions.

Tom Kraeutler and Mary Barretta host the nationally syndicated radio show "The Money Pit." Send your questions to The Money Pit by calling their radio show hotline anytime toll free at 1-888-MONEYPIT. Their Web site is www.888moneypit.com.

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BREAK TIME - BY WALTER JOWERS
  • BREAK TIME - Everything in your home is going to fall apart—it's just a question of when

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