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I'll do you one better, I wouldn't buy a home built pre 1947, quality of construction was drastically improved immediately after the conclusion of WW2.
I bought a house that had 2 cat door exits. When I looked into replacing the doors I found out you couldn’t just buy a door , you needed to replace the whole incasement. High cost! I solved the problem by just getting a cat.
I live in a suburban/rural town with a sudden housing subdivision boom and I see the junky houses being thrown together Extreme Home Makeover style and shake my head. The architecture is trash in my opinion (some weird futuristic farmhouse is all I can call it lol) and the 'custom' features are dating the home before the 2020's are done. I mean, what is with all this gray on top of gray on top of gray? That screams 2023/2024 with no timelessness in sight.
Yup. They are also safer. I love in an old all brick home and we had a pretty massive fire 4 years ago. In a new home, the fire would have killed my family. Our old girl not only kept the fire at bay but also survived.
Bought a house over 100 years old. After updating certain things to bring it up to code, a quote for $20,000 to replace the pipes and replacing some old windows, I still do not regret it. The quality of the materials used are unmatched.
You don't mention new construction homes, I've seen many recently constructed homes with bad foundations and structural issues. New homes are mostly garbage stick structures that in 5 years the problems will start to show.
I agree. I have friends who bought a lovely new townhome with a nice water view. Come the winter , they couldn't keep the home warm. My friend went up in the attic space and discovered that was no insulation. Also there were no firewalls between houses. They had to take the builder to court at get the needed work done.
Try less than a month... happened to my SIL when she and her family moved into their "new construction" home back in about 2006. The first thought that came to my head the moment my husband and I pulled up was the words of my aunt who's a realtor "... cheap materials used on rushed new construction of the millennium." It just looked like a human size doll house to me, meaning the siding just looked like cheap hard plastic. When we went inside, the worker men were still doing some work (?). Turned out they were repairing an issue that happened that week. Their entire ceiling caved under, filling up with water when my SIL wanted to take a bath and as her tub was filling up, so was the ceiling beneath the tub and needless to say, it caused a major leak. They were in their house for only about 3 1/2 weeks total. Fast forward about say a year or 1 1/2 years ago, my husband went over to his sister's house and when he came home, he reported that their kitchen caught on fire due to some electrical issues... and really who knows what other problems they've endured over the years of being in their house. Today, prior to or with the exception of her renovated kitchen, her house looks as old as mine, which was built in 1997 and had only one owner before us and theirs was built 9 1/2 years later than ours and they were the only owner.
@@lkofie6670 …. I was at a New Housewarming.. They had just moved the furniture in.. During the party, the front window of the living room, fell out of the wall and onto the front yard..
I remember in 2014 when I was working in real estate seeing people buy homes new from builders with the intention of selling before close of escrow to a new buyer for profit. The crash was so brutal and fast that I remember seeing a lot of these units foreclosed on with the builder plastic still on the carpet.
I get where you're coming from with the real estate crash, but I really think stock investment is a better option right now. With the guidance of a financial adviser, you can navigate the stock market effectively and find opportunities for growth that real estate just can’t match at the moment. Stocks offer higher liquidity, flexibility, and the potential for better returns, especially if you’re strategic about it. It’s all about making informed decisions and adapting to the current market conditions!
I agree. Based on my personal experience working with an investment advisor, I currently have $385k in a well-diversified portfolio that has seen exponential growth. It's not just about having money to invest in stocks; you also need to be knowledgeable, persistent, and have the strength to hold on during market fluctuations
My CFA, Judith Lynn Staufer, is a renowned figure in her field. I recommend researching her name online; you’ll find all her credentials and everything you need to work with a reliable professional. With many years of experience, she is a valuable resource for anyone looking to navigate the financial market.
If you have ltd $, you have few options. Condos can be yer only option. Just avoid condo boards (Napoleonic clique mentality). Look for cap on % rentals allowed, too.
Agree with the HOA we bought a condo and try to contact the association the first time was impossible for a few months ( we don’t live in the condo) to set up our payments because the hoa is remote then finally we did but we missed certain payments .. we try to pay and sent check and was bounced back later on we found out the put a lien on our home and if you don’t pay the debts they can foreclose you home. Mind you we have been paying monthly the other months ..
My brother was a realtor in 3 states and while he lost some commissions because he was honest about the homes he listed he slept very well at night. Glad I found your channel.
Sounds like my Dad. He'd expose every negative about a house he was showing. His broker would have a fit. Dad would just smile and say, "I have to sleep at night." We kids learned from him.
I’m a home inspector and you are spot on with everything. The only thing that is also worth mentioning is never ever, ever buy a house without a home inspection. What I have seen, especially on new construction is simply mind blowing. What people try and hide is unbelievable.
I've had a couple of great home inspectors. At first it seems expensive for what they do, but now that I've worked with a few I think they provide lots of value. Make sure they don't rush anything and can do all the home testing with good equipment such as gas leak sniffers etc. There should be lots of picutres documenting everything (digital pics are basically free these days).
Some other things to be aware of: if it’s an estate sale, heirs aren’t required to disclose anything. Also the previous elderly owner may have had a property tax exemption. If you don’t qualify, your taxes will be much higher than what’s listed.
We bought our home without a home inspection because we were in a bidding war and there was no time for one. We've been here 18 years now and haven't had any issues. We also know we were extremely fortunate in that regard.
20 years ago I bought a 1930s home. Yeah, I've put some money into it. Doing most of the work myself, I was able to put in a new kitchen and two new baths (with all new plumbing throughout the entire house and new electrical for these remodeled rooms) and I'm extremely happy. If you're handy, don't be scared. The "bones" of older homes are so super solid and will literally last forever. They just need some TLC.
@@jimbeckert7946 100% agree. Buy what you love and first feeling,when you'll get in will tell you clearly it is yours or not. You dont need to buy a house thinking about selling it,if you are not a property developer. Old brick or stone houses has a huge width and very secure walls with a perfect noise isolation. Dont be afraid to do some work or invest some money,but after that you'll get the best thing,nothing to compare to todays properties. And who told you that you'll must to sell it at all?
@@67nextday Spot on. My first priority was getting a home I could afford in a neighborhood I wanted to live in so I could raise a family. It helps that I'm very handy. But, in all honesty, I didn't do anything anyone else couldn't do with a little reading or watching youtube videos and some elbow grease.
My home is about 500 years old! I bought in a medieval town in Spain. It needed almost no work. Everything works fine even though it's very old. I've been here 4 years now.
@@marrlena947 my mom visited Spain and loved it. I would like to travel there and explore rentals and or purchasing property. I absolutely love the architecture and food etc. i’ve been to Indonesia, Mexico and France but so far not Spain 🌸
I live in a century old home. I agree about the potential problems. However, my roof is slate, my floors are quarter sawn oak and my trees are 90 plus feet tall. Like everything else in life, it's a trade off.
If the slate on your house is as old as the house the slate is at the end of its useful life. Wait and see how much a new slate roof costs! Yep, I used to do slate roofs in Vermont, where that is a common roofing material After 100 years half of the slate is cracked or broken.
For those who want an old house, be aware of the work that needs to be done. I simply adore my 100 year old house. We purchased our it knowing it needed certain updates. It's not a for everyone. My sister built a new house with a reputable builder and her brand new house has more issues than my oldie.
I have heard horror stories from owners who had DR Horton and other companies build their houses. AFAIK, this company usually buys huge tracts of land and builds neighborhoods where corn fields or old houses once were. Mold, cardboard lining siding, plumbing not hooked up or finished at closing, buyers being threatened, shoddy workmanship, young teenagers being hired to "build" the homes instead of union workers, etc. There are videos on RUclips about these builders. My husband and I have owned 2 100 year old and older homes in our almost 40 years of home ownership. We are sadly leaving our 100 year old bungalow only because our neighborhood is turning into light industrial one lot at a time and we want a quiet place to live in retirement. We have had our water tested, etc, and never had issues with lead pipes, old wiring, etc. (My husband is also handy, so when small problems pop up we can deal with them immediately. We know when to call a professional when necessary.) We are buying a custom build house that has been inspected by a good inspector service and we are really confident that this 25 yr old house we will be moving into soon is in good shape. I agree with Jackie that quick flips are a horrible idea. I'd *never* buy a quick flip house. And, always get a quality inspection done! I wouldn't buy property without one. We paid over $1,000 for the inspection for the house we just bought. It was worth every penny.
As long as it is not on a slab or built over a crawl space. Top feeders are pain in the tukas to repair. Basements well not good in areas with high water tables. Swimming pools. Have you even ever seen one float out of the ground when someone thought is a great idea to drain it for the winter? Pipes in the basement easy. In the walls not so much. 2nd floor not good. 3rd flour even more worse. Same with electrical. Hmm well asbsetos? Well maybe the octopus in the basement is still there? Those are what are known as gravity heating. And open window cooling Oh and my local Electric and Gas companies told me I use too much heat and electricity. 96% efficient furnace. Solar heating only works in the daytime. In winter only 7 1/2 hours of day light. No incandescent lighting. Oh and when I switched. The out door lamps corroded. To stop it I just leave them on. I can run a 7 watt bulb for how long vs paying for a new out door lamp? Ran the in window A/C once off the grid last year. When the grid drops below 109 it shuts off. If it is in the upper 90ds with upper 90% humidity. I run it off the gasoline powered 12K watt generator. Because the grid is is in brown out.. Sorry Forney I don't live there any more. Your state sucks on my finances too much. Asbestos? Probably in a old UMC house from the early 20th to late 19th century. They also made asbestos shingles and siding. As for underground heating oil? Why do it? Gravity always works. But if it is yugly. Well then just burn wood or coal in the fireplace. The chopping , cutting and toting will keep you healthy and warm twice. She just made proof that people have been using their head mainly for a hat rest for lots of generations. Still in the gene pool.
I live in a 106 year old home which has been in my family for 100 years. It has been updated twice. Knob and tube wires are still there but not used. I do have some asbestos covered pipes. Please, we had a laundry shoot, we were not stupid enough try to go down in it. My father removed the oil tanks in our yard. I had the oil burner my father had converted from a coal burning boiler removed and installed a gas boiler and on demand hot water heater. My sister's "newer" 20 year old home has had problems with every appliance even though high end ones were installed, the central air condition has been replaced, she has bad water pressure. Her cellar stairs were so steep she had to install a riding chair to get to the cellar. Her gutters were not properly installed so the fascia is rotting...
Old home owner here. Your issue list is accurate but easily discovered and remediated through inspection. My house is 102 years old and *had* knob and tube wiring but it was disconnected as part of a 200 amp upgrade and new wiring was run to all fixtures and outlets. Plumbing was also upgraded by previous owners. Finally, asbestos was actually not common in 100+ year old houses - it was mostly used from 1940's-1970s, and the beauty of these older homes is unless they were unoccupied for long periods of time, all the plaster walls will almost certainly be original. Not impossible that it's there, but it is rare. The biggest issue (with my house, anyway) is it is a brick/stone masonry building. Insurance is high because the replacement cost is super high, and it makes additions and alterations difficult if not impossible and even repairs can run high because you need artisans in some cases. Also, hanging anything on plaster walls is a pain. But unless we get hit by an earthquake, this house will be standing long after I'm gone which isn't something I can say for sure about houses that have been built in the past 20-30 years
@@ThePhDSpanish I also bought an old home and I actually love it. Its all stone outside which is beautifully done. Built in 1906. A lot of the plaster has cracked so when I first bought it I did a lot of removing the cracked and crumbling plaster and replacing it with drywall. Everything else was updated by previous owners and it cost half of what a new home
A well maintained and upgraded older home probably is fine, but there's a lot that needs improving in osme areas....electrical, water, windows and insulation, AC/heat. So it needs a expert inspection.
I had to sell my mother’s house. It was in bad shape, and it had a reverse mortgage. I just had to get out from under it, so I sold it to a house flipper. First, they changed the den to a 4th bedroom. They painted over all the wood paneling, the cabinets and doors. They also painted over all the mold. They tore up some of the driveway and sidewalk that had bad cracks, but the back porch had a huge crack that they didn’t fix, and the porch fills with water. The plumbing is also totally messed up since my parents bought it in the 70’s. They purchased for 140,000 and sold it for 215,000. All they did was “put lipstick on a pig”. Paint and some new fixtures covered up soooo much! Be careful of house flippers!
The house next to my parents house looked like it needed to be torn down and started over. It hadn’t been lived in for 20+ years and the inside and outside had extensive water damage. When you walked up to it you could smell mold. A flipper bought it and put on some siding and cheap materials inside and sold it in less than a couple of months. I was shocked because it needed to be gutted.
I am glad to hear someone say that we shouldn’t be developing these flood zones! Ever since the studies showed human health implications if you live within 200 feet of a highway, I have noticed a lot of low income housing projects ADDED along highways. Maybe listen to scientists and consider the true cost of ignoring or abusing the warnings.
I live in my 124 year old home i bought years ago. Id rather buy an old home than a new home that you have to replace everything within 10 years of owning it.
Corrrect. My house was built in 1886. Full renovation, and all the wood is high density. 2x4 are not 1.75 x 3.75 and are much heavier, same with 2x6, etc.
Yes I'm in real estate you are totally correct.. there is a well pump company that went out of business some years ago bc all of their well pumps NEVER GIVE OUT.. the quality just doesn't match. I see people with 50 year old fridges all the time but ones that are from the last twenty years last 5-10 years unless maybe on the very very high end range but even then...
I bought a 1922 house with knob & tube wiring. 12k to replace it 7 years ago. Over the last 7 years I have replaced the water pipes, water heater, painted the outside and a lot of other renovations. Now I am having a new heating and AC system put in next week. Last thing I am waiting on is the roof to be replaced. But hey roof have to don't last 100 years anyway. I sometime wonder if I should sell and get something newer but I would give up my windows, hardwood floors and 10 foot ceiling and my 2 1/2 percent mortgage. But I do know more things will go wrong as time goes on.
@@jrtr2642 Keep and renovate it. With my 1886, it was 60amp fuse box; then new 200amp panel with complete wiring. New 4-ton HVAC. Re-roof and new decking. Its well worth the investment and satisfaction of a job well done. BTW- I am a licensed appraiser and seen all these new housing projets scattered in various counties; this alone, motivated me to stay. Good luck !
Plumber here. I bought an old home built in 1878. My best friend is an electrician. He bought a home built in 1890. We’re doing a labor swap, and all the asbestos was removed in the 90s from my camp👍🏼
@Guacamoc yup! The house I grew up in was built in the 1870s and renovated by my parents and grandparents who all had extensive history in handiwork. Such a fun house. My parents bought it shortly after getting married for pennies and sold it for A LOT more than what they paid for it 35 years later.
That's a good deal. And they are awesome. I'd still hesitate on older homes because of insulation. Some older houses don't have any insulation. They have ways to do it now easier with foam, but it is expensive. There is a path for the right house, but with old homes, it's never easy.
@@Guacamoc two awesome professions. My daughter is 8 years older than her twin brothers and she told them do not waste money on college being electrician or a plumber. You'll have a lot of money and you'll control your own life lol My husband was an auto mechanic. He said that was the worst of the trades to go into. He's a great guy. He fixes everything but the money just isn't the same as plumbing and electrical work
The housing market is inflated and oversaturated with homes being on the market with astronomical price tags just stagnant for months. It is very clear that our generation will be likely one of the most devastating bubble pops in modern history. Seeking best possible ways to grow 250k into $1m+ and get a good house for retirement, I'm 54.
I don't think here is the place for personalized investment guidance. However, I suggest consulting with a reliable advisor like Azul to ensure appropriate retirement planning.
I’m closing in on retirement, and I have benefitted much from using a financial advisor. I didn’t really start early, so I knew the compound interest of index fund investing would not work for me. Funny how I pulled in over 80% profit than some of my peers who have been investing for many years. Maybe you should consider this too
There are a handful of experts in the field. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with “Sonya Lee Mitchell” for about five years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive. She’s quite known in her field, look-her up.
That's really the way to go if you can manage it. The only main drawback is regarding the typical lack of insulation (or insufficient insulation). If you're gutting outside walls, that's great, but otherwise you'll be stuck with a higher fuel bill than newer construction.
@@fleatactical7390 But you can do blown-in insulation from the interior quite easily in older homes with not very much "repair" to the interior walls. Costly? Yes, but in the long run less than many years of higher heating/cooling bills.
@@uscitizen898 Good point, that is true. It can have mixed results depending on the existing materials in the walls, but yes, it will usually help and no doubt pay for itself over time.
1857 brick house in Maryland with an 1890 addition. 1920s hot water radiator system. Super solid. Was condemned due to galvanized pipes, failed well pump system, wiring issues, failing boiler, and cracked cast iron sewer mains. With open basement, balloon construction and central utility chases, these are straightforward repairs. I was able to take a significant repair loan out with the the mortgage to make the house livable. I would say the most important thing is to know good contractors. Also got significant tax credits for insulating the attic and a Historic tax credit of 20% off the cost of installing an accurate synthetic slate roof with copper flashing and gutters. What I am left with is 3 foot thick brick walls, heavy plaster interior walls that sound like concrete when you slap them, hand cut hardwood roof beams equal to 3 modern ones, and original flooring and trim that would cost a fortune to reproduce. The front door is original and probably weighs 700lbs with original heavy brass hardware. This house will be here 150 years from now.
Me and my husband nearly bought a cute little house in a flood zone when we first got married. It was a foreclosure and was about 1/3 the price of similar houses in the area. We passed bc I was SO AFRAID of it being in a 100 year flood plain. The next year that entire area for MILES all around was under 2-5 feet of water. We DODGED a bullet.
Texas in 70’S, river AND 25 year flood plane, cheap homes, lower ins rates(flood plain triple). Man made evening news-neighbor with a serious funny bone, bottom of homes along the river built KNOWING floods regularly. Rain for days river flooded ‘humorous’ neighbor had a dock including telephone sized posts-he tied a ship sized rope from piling on his home to the dock!!! Inferences of my home isn’t going downriver because it’s tied up🧐😝🙏🏻
I'm an agent. I live in a 160 year farmhouse. This is my suggestion to everyone. Do what we did: send two inspectors through before you close. We knew exactly what we would be spending over the next ten years. --- Flood zones. 100% agree. Personally, I really wish flood zones were off-limit to development. Even the 500 year zones. --- Advice I always give. Always ALWAYS, during your house search, get into that crawlspace, attic, and basement with a really good flashlight. Always. BEFORE you go under contract. Eliminate the obviously problematic houses before you commit money.
The basements are now "finished". So, a lot of the issues are concealed by drywall and plywood. In fact, I am more inclined to purchase a house with an unfinished basement, which would allow me to see all the issues firsthand.
@@elim7228 I'm down south. We don't have many basements. Sometimes they are finished, sometimes not. Lots of things can be hidden, but often there are signs.
@@KrystalLioness I've owned two houses and have had to redo both crawlspaces. I'm talking $60k and $80k, roughly (we were prepared for the second one, but the first was a total surprise). Crawlspaces are easily shrugged off by a client because they are simply too put off at diving in there. The inspector will often save the day, but in a world of due diligence money going directly to the pocket of the seller like we have in North Carolina, a bit of scrutiny by a prospective buyer can save them zillions.
I’m hoping everyone takes all this advice, plus, never buy from a flipper! There used to be a lot of honest and professional flippers, but now they are too hard to discern from the others they compete with. I’ve talked to them, and mostly they do things they would never do to a home that wasn’t going to a stranger.
Haha as the owner of a home built in 1801 (which I bought almost 10 years ago) ... YOU ARE SO RIGHT! We found some knob & tube wiring still in use that we had the seller replace before we bought it. Though there weren't lead pipes, we've replaced a TON of old copper pipes that were very old and corroded and sprung leaks. Repairing & repainting wood clapboard siding has also been a "treat" ... you really have to LOVE it and be mentally & financially prepared...
We bought a short sale and were tied up with paper work for 8 months! On the day of signing they informed us the house was in a flood zone! We were so exhausted and had already invested so much time and energy into getting this house that we caved and signed. Not only do we have ridiculous insurance, but every remodel, construction project, even fences are subject to flood regulations. It makes everything so much harder and more expensive. This lady is right! Don't buy it!
So sorry that happened to you! I am renting an older home (100 years) in New York state and learned about those “500-year” floods- last summer our unfinished basement that “had NEVER in its history had water in it” was flooded (13-17 inches) by heavy rains-and it could have been worse since house next door had 3 FEET of water. I would never have expected this and lucky we didn’t buy this, just rented. We lost some possessions that were kept in basement , but lesson learned so that now we won’t buy anything in a flood-able area, second we will never store anything in a basement within approx 15 inches of the floor. Not just rain, but in case of burst pipes new rules: Nothing in cardboard, nothing wood kept down there, Nothing kept on bottom shelf of wire rack shelving units-not even in plastic bins since we discovered they get lifted, then float no matter how heavy! And then tip over allowing just a little water inside to ruin your stuff!! Lucky our washer & dryer were fixable (thanks to RUclips appliance guy DIY advice to run dehumidifier after taking apart & drying out the machines, wait a week to turn ANYTHING on to keep circuits from shorting out… Hey, just saying be proactive before the 500 year flood bites you like it did us.
@@robinmeyer5016 lessons are always learned best the hard way! I wouldn't have understood unless I lived through it. But I will definitely learn from yours!
You might want to investigate a letter of map amendment or letter of map revision to see if your location in a flood zone has changed or can be changed. Check with FEMA.
As a contractor for 30 years, I would definitely agree with staying clear of a flipper. I’ve been called to do work they flippers don’t know how to fix and they want the “cheapest “ job. I will refuse unless I can do the work correctly. Most do nothing but cosmetic improvements and hide the problems.
That's exactly what I suspected with flippers, basically do the cosmetic work, get some idiot couple to think it looks "cute". Got one down the road that just did that. Bought it for 215K less than year ago. Granted, looks like they did bunch of work, roof, new a/c/heat unit, flooring. Asking 270K for it. Only a 1200 sq ft house, hardly any land on it, and the backyard is a hill sloped towards the house. And, it's been vacant since I moved in back in 2013, and actually had vines and trees overgrown all over the house, no one ever cut the grass either. The market is hot in our area, but that house is still vacant 2 weeks later. Probably no help the neighbor has gazillions of cars parked in their yard and occasionally has a huge RV parked on the road. Maybe 150K max for it, simply because the market is insane, but anything more is just ridiculous.
I can only agree with you. As a contractor, I tried to flip houses but lost a lot of money, because I eliminated ALL of the existing problems. I couldn't find a buyer who is willing to pay the price required to cover the cost. Now, I concentrate on high end remodeling, where the home owners are willing to go the whole nine yards.
I love my house, but it was a flip. And I did notice the paint was sloppy in some areas which made me wonder. I had a complete inspection and there is a lot still wrong with it, but i've corrected much of it. Probably should have waited to invest in a new home. One of the problems was with the sewage system out to the street. It cost me over sixteen thousand the first two weeks I was in. It also has very old electrical that has never been updated. And i'm working on that right now. If I went back and look at the list of everything that should be done I will probably get sick so I am just doing the big danger things. Cosmetically, besides the paint facet is off in the bathroom in the bathtub. Not sure if it was always like that, but it doesn't align proper, really. Other than that, the house looks so beautiful. I get a lot of compliments, but I do worry!
Friends bought a house in the country off a fairly busy main road . They noticed a little sandwich shop/tavern and a few other small businesses on that main road nearby but they all seemed innocent enough … by day! At night the tavern turned into a loud saloon with cars and bikes whipping out of the parking lot , whizzing by their driveway way past midnight…. They warned us to check a potential neighborhood at night and see if it still lives up to your expectations
Even something as simple as the traffic dynamic can be a nightmare. Things seem nice on a Sunday during the open house, but what’s it turn into at commute time? Do the streets backup? Do you get people taking shortcuts? Definitely worth visiting a potential new home at different times.
Definitely. I always check out morning, daytime and night, weekdays and weekends. It's worth taking the time to just go sit around the neighborhood listening for traffic, barking dog, trains, etc.
I always check out a potential neighborhood and surrounding neighbors at different times of day and night during the week and weekend. Some of the prettiest and quite neighborhoods and neighbors by day can turn to real shit after working or dinner hours and over the weekend. We've walked away from some great properties because of it.
Living close to a school seems nice when you have young children, but what's the traffic like at drop off and pick up. Is the house locked in 2 hours a day morning and after school? Parent traffic, and parking can be horrendous. I even had people parking in my driveway or across the entrance to my driveway.
Just bought a lovely home built in 1999, 2 story brick, solid and it passed the home inspection with flying colors. It is not as big as newer ones but it has a lovely yard and a well maintained pool. It was neglected but had good bones. We changed all light fixtures, painted and and I'm in love 6months later. No regrets AND it was 100k under approved mortgage. It's an average looking 2 story brick cottage but it's a cozy house we look forward to live at forever.
Not buyinga house in hoa is seriously not possible today unless you want to live out of the city.... or if you are willing to drive long distance away from major city amenities. Most new housing development is sold with HOA conditions.
HOA's and gated communities seem to be a regional thing. Big on the coasts and down south. Not so much in the vast interior (aka "flyover country") or the northern tier. @@jong9379
HOAs can be a good thing. The devil's in the details. It pays to read the HOA covenant and bylaws before buying a house. Also, if there is community property in the neighborhood, you pretty much have to have an HOA to pay for and manage the upkeep. More upscale neighborhoods will typically have such property, such as a pond, clubhouse, swimming pool, park or tennis courts.
My house was built in 1919…. I rather deal with older home problems, than new house problems.. I have seen the catastrophes of a new house…. My brother made a wonderful career fixing new house problems.. I have new electrical, new plumbing …. All houses need constant maintenance…. As my late husband said…. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance….
@@JackieBaker Yes it is. It's also important in newer houses. Even a custom built, brand new home will require maintenance. It's like..... death and taxes. You can't get away from any. 😉
That’s what sold our house for us. We lived in it for 24 years and it was minimally updated but we had maintenance records for everything. Sold the house in 3 days.
Mines 1921, owned it since 2009. New roof, windows, siding, water heater, central air, furnace, HVAC, and plumbing have been installed. Electrical is next 😉 wouldn’t trade the craftsmanship of the structure for anything!
A flipper bought my architect father's 1959 built Mid Century Modern home. Took out all of the mahogany walls. I cried for two weeks. He just gutted this great work of art. Grrrrrrrr
A lot of flippers do not have the same love or respect for the richness of real wood. Mahogany has always been a favorite of mine. I don't care if it's a table, walls, shelves, flooring, etc. Trust and believe, the flipper will regret it when they mature in their flipping journey.
Indeed. If there are asbestos tiles one can take those up provided one doesn't break them, just be patient. And if there is asbestos around duct work that is best left to the professionals, but in my house that ran $2,000 which wasn't too bad in the scheme, it was ductwork from an abandoned furnace that ran in the crawl space.
I’m sorry, but the new houses are made so cheaply they don’t even withstand bad weather. I find old homes were constructed, much better than the homes you see going up so quickly now. Nowadays builders are cutting the cost of everything when building homes and using the cheapest products, material’s and even labor. I live in NYC and the older homes were built by well known architects. My house was built in 1925 and God willing next year we will celebrate its 100th birthday. We moved in in 1993 and have no complaints. It’s a beautiful colonial house with bedrooms and bathroom upstairs, finished attic, large living room, large dinning room, kitchen, finish basement and nice size yard. We raised our 3 children here and have no intentions on going anywhere. The family who sold us this house. Moved to a brand new house and they regret selling our home. They wish they would have kept it. I think your advice may depend on where people live. If you buy an old home that’s never been upgraded yes than you are going to spend a lot of money. Spending money is also true with new homes when the builder used cheap materials that didn’t hold up. I will take what you said with a grain of salt. I would recommend that buyers hire a good experienced engineer to look over an older home for you before you buy it.
Agree a price with most builders , then he’ll find ways to source the cheapest materials to increase his profit.. then he will over order those materials and the valuable materials he hasn’t used will be taken away in his van to be used on his next job..that he will charge again for.. and we think oh he’s tidied up the waste.. what a nice man..yes folks you’ve been cowboy buildered again..and you thought you could trust him to be decent , didn’t you..? But he’s been into your nugget gulch.,again..there are two things certain in this world ..taxes and this..
New track houses are literally built with paper , cardboard and plastic The only wood is the framing. Doors and moldings and trim are all made from pressed cardboard and sawdust . Slapped together by the lowest bidder
New construction homes in my area end up having roof problems as early as three years - new construction is what’s keeping roofing companies busy ! I’d buy an older home with electrical and plumbing updated
I grew up in an Edwardian Queen Anne house with 26 rooms. It was full of drafts, but it was a child’s dream and my parents upgraded the house over many years without destroying the original features. An old house with parquet floors, 14 foot ceilings, brass door knobs etc., makes a great home!
That's great for you, but her advice is good about old homes. If you're lucky, the previous homeowners fixed all the problems she mentioned. I was set to buy a 90 year old house and it still had knob and tube throughout the house. Some old homes are money pits.
Worst house I ever bought was new construction. Best house I ever bought was built in 1908, and I still live in it. That’s because the 1908 house was built with good materials and was maintained well for over 100 years. The new construction house was built with JUNK and its roof leaked. Maintenance is the key factor here, not age.
Usa victorian home owner here: bought a fixer upper 130 year old home, updated many parts of the home. It cost some money but we were able to do most of the work ourselves over several years. 100% worth it.
Love it! I bought a depression era 1930's cape cod. I have done most the renovation myself with my husband and the place is awesome. People who freak out of the cost of house renovations also don't understand that if you do it in a smart way then you get a huge return on investment.
Same here, 140 year old Victorian and I've loved every minute of the restoration. It's been worth it. If you love historical homes and you want to buy one, go in with your eyes open but don't bail just because its old. Do you throw out your gold and silver just because it's tarnished?
Not always. We sold a home and our prospective buyers hired an inspector that knew so little I had to show him the issues he found were totally unfounded. Example: What he thought was an exhaust pipe from the bathroom going directly into the attic was nothing but an old metal rod that originally went out the roof to attach a TV antenna to. I knew what it was but because the inspector was so young, he didn't know what it was....at least up to that point. 😉
In our experience (learned the hard way, twice) home inspectors aren't NEARLY as thorough as they need to be. They're inspectors for a reason - you want a legit contractor to look at everything. Inspectors know code, contractors know construction.
@@uscitizen898 One inspector completely missed a room in the basement of the older house my ex and I bought. He missed the room because their was a wall-hanging hanging over its door from the old owners. We didn't know about that room either. It cost his company dearly unfortunately because he missed a giant nest of carpenter ants! So thankfully to have gotten an inspection. I would NEVER buy a house without one.
My house is 1908 Edwardian era, and looks like a Victorian villa. Absolutely love the proportions and room sizes. Yes there is maintenance but in all honesty I prefer a house with space to some of the tiny rabbit hutch size homes we get in the UK. 😊
I came here ready to learn why I should never buy a split-level home, since that's what's in the thumbnail. Now I'm sad cause it wasn't talked about, lol.
All the split level homes that I've seen don't have a bathroom or powder room on the main level. So you always have to run down or up a flight of stairs to get to the bathroom. That's a big problem if you end up having problems doing stairs.
I never liked them as the ‘entrance’ into the home usually only accommodated one guest person at a time without a hall closet and you have to climb stairs in either direction to move into the houses- ugh. After one visit, never looked at another one.
You did not mention that flippers typically use the cheapest materials out there, it only needs to look good for 30 minutes while you tour the house, then notice how cheap everything is when you actually live there. Better to buy a house that costs less that needs remodeling, then do it yourself to your taste and using quality materials.
Excellent point! We are GenXers who both have some remodeling and building experience from helping our families work on our childhood homes while growing up. We bought a 1977-built fixer-upper 16 years ago, got a good deal on it, and have done the majority of work on it ourselves. We are now debt-free (the house is paid off too), and its value has more than doubled. We both learned growing up that it's really the foundation of the house and the inner structure that matters, and that it can actually be advantageous to buy a cheaper fixer-upper, because, if you buy a newer place that doesn't need anything major, or if you buy an older place that's remodeled/upgraded AND if the work is either done poorly or you simply don't like the choices made, then you are stuck either dealing with that, or spending more money to redo those things.
Yeah, and guess who started flipping houses all the realtors when the economy got bad. So instead of selling homes, he started buying up all the affordable homes that were fixer uppers and reselling them themselves. I want to become a realtor. I got my license I was never able to pursue it because the economy collapsed just as I got my license. I can’t even watch your whole building. It totally text me off that she can’t see the value in these older homes. Probably she wants everybody to stop buying them so she can snap them all up and resell them.
Yeah, except remodeling is prohibitively expensive for alot of people, is very time consuming and most people will need to hire professionals for atleast 50% of the work which is a chore in itself.
This is true! Back during the pandemic my dad who works for the local parks went to go pick up field paint for sports - And watched a guy with an LLC truck steal the paint off the pallet set aside for my dad and drive off. Pretty sure some poor buyer got a house where the paint washed off first time it rained…
It can, especially when you have astronomical materials costs today. But even that aside, a gut or remodel will always be cheaper. And usually easier to manage and control in terms of the trades doing the work.
My home is 220 years old 🤣 but luckily before I bought it, it was a daycare for several years so it had to pass CRAZY inspections and had a lot of regulations. We still have an exit sign downstairs, and a water fountain!
When me and husband were looking for houses years ago, one of the ones we were looking at buying had a slide that went down to a secret room. They modified the front closet and sectioned off part of the basement, it was a fun thing to find.
For folks who don't know...LLC is Limited Liability Corporation. If a LLC business does something to put them at financial risk and is sued for damages, they can opt to declare bankruptcy and the plaintiff gets nothing. Then, the owner(s) can choose to create a new LLC and continue doing what they were doing, free and clear of the settlement debt.
There's more to it then that. Technically an LLC only risks the amount of money or assets put into the company and can protect your personal assets outside of the business, assuming you follow the rules closely. You are still required to be bonded and insured based the requirements of the industry you are in. If you do not have insurance your personal assets can be seized upon a judgement. Also, if are deemed personally negligent or fraudulent, it will not protect your personal assets.
You really do a great service by warning on these points! By Gods grace I now say, I dodged a lot of RE-buying disaster bullets! That's because as it was, I was ignorant; but every very old, 1960s - 1940s house I bought while with wife & children living in them, I ended up making the money back-plus profits...which amazes me now. But yes, you really have some $aving advise list there; that I can vouch for!!! This one about oil tanks in the ground hit home with reviving my memory of when we moved into an 100 yr-plus crooked 2 story in rural KY, and then noticed a black steel pipe barely sticking out of the dirt, horrified to find the old rusting tank with fluid still in it, where we had only a shallow well for water! So, we really enjoyed a mini farm life at first, but we're benefitted by a Sudden go-ahead to a mega-prison being built 1/8 mile from us! The govt. forced-bought a slice of the 3 acres, including the outhouse we had on it! Then we had to sell and sold the whole place with about a 30% gain on what we paid...Great help at the time. THANKS, so far you really gave me reason to subscribe! Subed 👍 (Bronx-born, Bergen County raised ☺️)
Grew up in a 1792 home. Much better built than the crappy 1998 I currently own. My friend built her home. Within two years she had black mold from a leaking pipe and shoddy workmanship. I’d buy an old house in a heartbeat.
We found the perfect home we were looking for. It had absolutely everything we wanted. The reason we passed....it was located right beside high tension power lines.
My friend does repairs on the new tract houses just before closing. Basically he fixes whatever is on the punchlist. He shakes his head at what is going on with these new builds. They are a mess; he says he wouldn’t buy anything built in this decade.
Is it getting too expensive to build basements? I live in Iowa, not a flood zone, or ground that would prevent a basement being built but all the new construction for new homes around me have no basement. There is a safe room built into the home in case of a tornado instead. Can someone answer that question for me? It’s even the nicer, more expensive homes being built with no basement.
@@kimberlychodur3508 Iowa is known to flood on occasion just fyi. The entire state used to be swamp and marshes and it’s now the most terraformed state in the country due to monocropping agriculture.
Just because the house is less than 100 years old, doesn’t guarantee there are no problems. We bought a 10 year old house and the pvc pipes burst less than a month after moving in because they cut corners during construction. We had to replace pvc pipes with copper to make sure it won’t happen again.
Exactly. years ago we bought a SIX year old house in Maine. I figured 6 years old, what can go wrong it's like buying a 2 year old car. Everything went wrong within 2 months of moving in. new roof, whole new septic system, plumbing, electrical. Oh and btw, the guy that owned the house was a builder! I'll take an older home any day of the week. I can go on about new houses my sister bought WOW!
I watched the build of a subdivision by me as walked through them daily as part of my nightly walk. What I saw that got covered up by Sheetrock and concrete told me never unless custom build that I oversee. Buyer beware!
It's incredible that PVC is even allowed for pressurized pipes. For sewer, it's fine, though. Copper is still best although PEX has proven to be reliable. There is really no good reason to good PVC or CPVC for pressurized pipes.
This is the most truthful video I’ve ever seen from a real estate professional. I’m a 40+ year mechanical contractor. I’ve worked in countless homes. Renovations cost about 2X more than people think. The DIY people are the worse and cause expensive issues for themselves. Don’t get emotional over a purchase and always believe your home inspector.
I love my mobile home. Taxes are cheap, they mow the lawn, I get free trash service, including bulk. We have a lot of community events. Got a community swimming pool, a gym, dog park and a clubhouse. I purchased it in cash so there's no mortgage. Life is good at my beautifully kept mobile park. I LOVE it!❤
So smart, my house is 1100 square ft- 2 car garage, corner lot so huge wrap around yard in 🌴😎 northern California. Same family for lawn\shrub work 25 years! House paid for- taxes low re: proposition 13..rip Senator Howard Jarvis!!....have a reliable handyman which is important...plumbing, electric, painting, etc.😅Construction skills..he replaced framing that had termites!😮Happy I bought house when son was a teenager..married in another state.
I loved my 1919 bungalow. She was solid, gorgeous, so much character. I LOVED my laundry shoot, too. So convenient. Old homes, when taken care of, are far and away better than the new construction. My first home was new. I loved her because she was my first but nothing compared to my second old home.
I agree. My first home was a one owner craftsman style bungalow. It had weird quirks like the only toilet in the house faced right into the kitchen and was as far from the bedroom as it could be and still be in the same house, but I was young and lived alone and didn’t care. That house had character and was built solid.
It is not about the age of a home but the quality of construction. I owned a 100 year old Arts and Crafts home. The electrical work exceeded today's quality and codes, and the plumbing did as well with copper piping. The foundation was perfect and the framing was oak you could not drive a nail in. All the finish work was done in heart of pine without a single knot. From my 60 years of home ownership and buying, building and selling homes, the worst homes in the US are split foyers and tri-level homes. There are too many steps, and they are too hard to heat and cool. They are very difficult to sell, and they sell at lower prices per square foot.
I love split levels, and they're common in my area but this is a very temperate climate so you can get by with open windows to help cool and fireplaces to help heat. I wanted one so bad but couldn't find one that was just right for us. We ended up with a brick ranch with a finished basement. Now I can't imagine living anywhere else!
When looking for a home, we avoided a split foyer home because of dealing with moving furniture. We did purchase a newer construction home 1991 in 1999, fortunately, the owner and designer was the builder. HE and his wife were very particular with their build. Sold due to children grown and wanted single story. Love the house. The Changes we've nade were according to our needs. Mainly updating style. Go with quality work.
In California old homes have to be retrofitted to meet the standards of earthquake insurance companies. I know this because I got a letter in the mail a few weeks ago. Fortunately my home was built in 2014, so I don't have to worry about that.
@@tallflguy There is a reason US homes are generally known as being built out of cardboard compared to other countries where they are expected to last - at least - for a century or longer. My grandparents home was built in the 1300, I've rented a house built in the 1820s (relatively new in comparison) and another built in the 1920s and ALL were far better than those built much more recently (after the 1980s for example).
You didn't mention my golden rule- Never buy a house with a problem that can't be fixed. Apartment looking into your back yard, To many stairs or any if you plan to stay into old age.
I,totally agree! Our 1999 home sits up from,the road - no chance of flooding at,all - but the driveway is also sloped so……. When we were looking at homes in this area I noticed thst many sat lower than street level! I never understood why! Pretty dumb if you ask me!
I sure wish someone had explained that to my mother before she bought out current house. There is a slight hill from our neighbors house and every time it rains heavily (which has been pretty frequent in the 20 plus years we've lived in the house) the water comes in. We've managed to stem the problem to some extent but it stills gets damp in her bedroom along one wall and it got so bad in another room we had to pull the carpet out and get the floor tiled. I know the house is probably full of black mold and/or mildew due to repeated flooding over the years but financially hardships prevent taking real care of the problem. Our neighbors have the same problem as our property slopes down to theirs but they're lucky it's just their garage that gets flooded (well, they have a lot junk in the garage so maybe not so lucky).
My husband and I bought a fixer upper. Great land, great location. He was handy. He injured himself and later passed away. Left me with a lot of unfinished projects. Make sure whatever you buy, it's manageable. Long driveway, more to shovel, land, more to mow etc.. etc.
Regarding flood zones: I recommend not even buying *near* a flood zone, or just outside it. My husband and I purchased a home in ‘96 and in 2008, the flood zone map was changed, enveloping our property.
Never never, never, and again, never buy in a flood plain. Although our home never flooded (even 20 yrs ago it was flooding all around our metro area) we were in the flood plain and you cannot shop around for flood insurance as you can car insurance. The cost of our flood insurance went up every single year by at least $50. we were fortunate in the zoning eventually changed and we sold the house. We paid hundreds of dollars monthly for flood insurance. If we were still in that home, the flood insurance would be almost as much as the mortgage payment.
I thought of that before buying. Most of my house has a 40 inch foundation except where the garage is. We had a torrential downpour a few years back and the water never came close to it. We're on a slight downgrade so the water flows away from the house.
I think its subjective, my house is in a 500 year flood zone and I can guarantee it'll never flood. 😂 The rivers would have to be 83 feet over just to get my yard wet, which would actually flood something like 600sq miles first.
@@MidwestRider559 - It’s very much the same in my situation. However, if a newly drawn flood zone envelopes even one foot onto the edge of your property line, your entire property is considered to be within the flood zone - even if your house sits on the edge of a cliff or atop a steep hill.
@@MidwestRider559just make sure there aren’t surprises. We learned with a previous house that our creek (which would never appear to ever come close to our house no matter how much rain came down) actually had a 25year dam farther up. 25year dam is exactly as it sounds. It was built to be sound for 25 years. Oh and guess what? It was now 25 years old. Most people in our neighborhood had no idea. In fact, we only found out because we got a letter informing us hours before a hurricane hit. I guess they were trying to cover their butts by informing us. The dam survived the hurricane, but I’m glad we left that house.
Something I realized as soon as my parents handed over their home to me, homeownership is truly liberating (don’t have to worry about being evicted) but expensive at the same time with all the upkeep. It seems like every year the home needs something done. 😑
You're fortunate to have a mortgate-free home! But yeah, it really does seem like every year the home needs something done and it's hard finding trustworthy and seasoned handymen/contractors who will do the job properly.
@@00inwiththenew00 as a person who also inheirited their parents home, theres lots of maintainence. ive just come to make my peace with a project each year. some are opt-in like cosmetics to keep the home youthful. others are a pain in the butt like electrical (was minor), plumbing (also minor), and structural (windows were dry rotted), roof was dirty and wanted to get the max life out of it. I will say this. learn how to do your own contruction work will save thousands if not tens of thousands on the many many many ankle biter projects. get your own shovel and up keep your own flowerbed, do your own lawn cutting, learn to paint, pressure wash you own driveway, and so on. the more you KNOW and DO, the less you pay someone else to do it. save your money for more major projects. idk maybe I'll raise my kids to be construction workers and contractors just so they can refurb homes and flip them. again im a TFK and my folks home doubled in value. but the only thing im paying is taxes and upkeep. which is still a pain but its pales in comparison if i had to buy the home for its current value. its a double edged sword. property values are nice to sell when they rise but its a pain to buy these inflated values. all in all, since i grew up in the home, i know every problem and which are minor, major, and the ones i need to get ahead of before they become a major pain.
I have an old home. Built solid. You are right about the cost of bringing them up and caring for them, but they kick butt over new boring looking and cheaply made home.
My home is 139 years old. Most of the home is amazing. There is some issues from a remodel from previous owners. When they expanded the kitchen they needed more insulation. The upstairs need a rewire coming up and about half need a replumb. Still the biggest and most reliable house on our block and has the biggest lot. 6 bedroom and 3.5 bath for the price of a three bedroom because other people were scared of a old home. My favorite is the giant L shaped front porch. I am aware there will be costs, but we love our home.
Bought a redone house from thr 1950s. Home inspection found two major issues. Seller initially said take it or leave it. We said leave it. He came back and offered to partially pay for it. We said no. Held firm and he completely fixed the two issues. Too many people aren't willing to either walk away or be firm regarding issues. You can buy older homes or flipped homes, but you have to be willing to play hardball
My 1968 haza AFCI, copper pipes, etc. It was remodeled by a contractor who was building homes on nearby lots, he put in shitty fans for the bathrooms I replaced.
Re the Seller's Disclosure, I sold a house thinking it was going to a first-time homebuyer, so I typed up seven single-spaced pages of info about the house for them, believe it or not, so they would understand absolutely everything, including in a major rain storm where the water in the alley flows and how to prevent drainage problems on the site. Turns out, the buyer was actually a flipper. He worked on it for three YEARS (while working on other properties) before putting it up for sale, so potential buyers thought he just updated his house. Posing as a potential buyer, I asked for a Seller's Disclosure from the real estate office, and was very surprised at how much important info he didn't disclose, including where (and what type) the French Drain pipes were located, info about having upgraded all the outlets, including the GFCIs, etc. Had he been honest, he would have simply handed the buyer the info I typed up and told them what he did since purchasing the property. So, in closing, a Seller's Disclosure doesn't always tell you everything you need to know, but most often is the best info you can get.
As a renovator I began photographing everything after digital cameras and colour printers became available. I mean like photographing opened wall and joist cavities while pipes and wires are exposed. Documentation which could save a lot of time and trouble to a future electrician or whoever. Always affixed a large envelope beside the breaker panel, containing such "x-rays" of the house including floor sketches of the circuits keyed to a responsibly marked panel. Should be law this info must stay with the house, but my city hall has yet to even archive such voluntary documentation, and it took them twenty years to figure out an emailed photo can often save the cost of an inspector visit.
Buyer beware. I always have an acceptable home inspection as a contingency . Ie only looking for huge problems so i can get out of the contract if something expensive is found that i don't want to deal with. Unless the seller wants to pay for the repair .
My house had bad leaking in the basement shortly after I moved in. Not in the seller's disclosure, yet they just happened to have placed a rug right in the middle of the basement in a low spot and under that rug you could see damage to the paint job. When we ended up ripping out this ridiculous man-house in the basement (seriously, it has windows...inside the basement) we found the damage and could tell it had been going on for quite some time. No way they couldn't have known. But they were idiots who ruined their water fixtures by never repairing a broken water softener (thankfully that was super evident so I knew what I was getting into) so it's just par for the course.
Flippers are parasites. We went into serious debt thanks to one of their disgraceful ilk and their mold infested lipstick on a pig disaster. The inspector sucked, btw, and caught none of the very obvious things our later contractor pointed out in under fifteen minutes.
I just bought my first house 2 months ago. Immediately when I started looking at homes I ruled out flips for these exact reasons. The cosmetic work was horrible and I didn't trust what was in the walls. My favorite flip red flag I saw, they walled off a portion of the living room to make a 3rd very small bedroom with a closet. The house had a double front door into the living room. They walled off 1 side of that double front door, so it was in the closet of the new bedroom. Left about 3-4 inches of the now useless left side of the door with the doorknob exposed. I was like first of all I don't trust this to be water tight and will probably leak into the wall that was just created. And more importantly, if someone does this and thinks it is ok, I don't trust anything else they did. I ended up targetting homes that were being sold by a newer widow where the spouse that died was in their 60s/70s. (I did research through property records and obituaries) Why? Because the homes were well taken care of with plans for the couple to live there long-term then typically one would get sick (cancer everytime actually) and die so the survivor was selling to downsize. I bought a great house with all new mechanics, quality everything, for below asking price within 48 hours of it listing.
Thank you for giving great ideas of how to do it well. I'm pretty clear on what to avoid. It's so scary when we have to find a place to live in a hurry. Sometimes we dont have loads of time to wait, & with these higher int rates, there isn't nearly as much on the market. Renting doesn't work out if you have petS.
@@HumanOptimization Exactly what I was thinking. I don't think contaminated homes are as common as we may worry, though. The bigger concern is cancer being on the rise period.
I agree with everything that was suggested. But... If you buy an old house, don't depend on the inspector sent out for home purchases because they just do not tell you everything. It happened to me. The old house I bought was passed but we were not told of issues that we wish we had known. If you can, hire your own inspector. Believe me, it will be worth it.
Our house is 70 years old. Inspector missed tons of stuff, including asbestos and thousands and thousands of dollars of plumbing issues. My advice is to get a plumbing and electrical inspection.
A relative of mine purchased a condo - first home and yes, it came with an hoa. Two things. The person who inspected the property was so clueless that he didn't find that most of the windows collapsed and were in dyer need of replacement, the dishwasher didn't work nor did the washing machine that was included in the sale. He did threaten a lawsuit against the inspector and was reimbursed for the inspection but had to eat the rest. Furthermore, the building was sold after about a year of him being there and the new owners and staff were miserable. Needless to say, NO to condos and HOAs.
Yeah, my realtor told me the inspectors in our area are not worth anything and you are much better off finding a friend or relative who knows construction to come with you when looking for homes. They at least have your safety in mind.
Ruth here, make sure you lay up money, DO NOT LIVE PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK, you will always have repairs, whatever, l would not buy a split level, when older, ya don't wanna be going all those steps
Semi detached homes or row homes are a problem if you dont insulate against neighbor noise. My attached neighbors constantly kept us up at night due to their schedule. There wasn't any privacy when it came to conversations near a wall. Their answering machine was near the air duct, so their messages got broadcasted though our vents. When they took the carpet off their stairs, we heard running up and down at all hours. We moved do to the stress.
When we bought our house it had a buried oil tank, still in use. We asked the seller to remove it. What a nightmare! Our own agent acted like we were overreacting. They tried to guilt us into letting them decommission it. They did a wick test and said there was no water in the tank so it didn't have any leaks and it was perfectly okay to leave it there. No! We insisted we wanted it out, they made us feel crappy about the whole thing - but finally the seller agreed to remove it. When they pulled it out of the ground there were so many holes in it and there was oil in the ground soil 14' down. We were right and glad we stuck to our guns, but at the time, I did tell our agent, "If this sale falls through, we are done." Our agent later told me that they had 3 more buried tanks after ours and that they had learned a lot from our experience.
I DESPISE agents that act like they aren't working with you! Mine tried to have my house re-appraised because the seller was going to cough up a pretty penny. She tried to have it re-appraised to where I'd have to ask my lender for 10k more to pay back. Trust completely broken and I'm happy my Lender immediately emailed and called me before going ahead
@@iamhischosen3866 no, it's super late in the process. Now I have to treat her like a child that a parent can't 100% trust. I'm double checking all her words, micro-managing the progress and expecting updates in a timely manner. I speak with my lender who I can trust more, but I'm definitely never recommending this agent again
The house flipped by LLCs - spot on. My cousin bought a house from a wall street investor company - it caught fire (total loss) and it was due to crap insulation material around the fireplace. The reno was trash. New sub, I enjoy your content!
Word of advice, talk to the neighbors. They know if a homeowner didn’t take care of their property, especially the outside areas. If they don’t take care of the outside property, they probably didn’t maintain the inside of the house.
Talk to the neighbors to find out what the neighbors are like, but your suggestion makes little sense, compared to looking at it yourself. "Maintain" is a nonsense word anyway. You're going to get it inspected, right?
@@stinkycheese804inspection isn't the end and be all, they are very high level. I agree about the exterior being a giveaway as to the overall condition. Have never seen a house that looked like trash on the outside but great inside.
This is an excellent point. I have lived in my house for 38 years, and the house next door has had about 5 owners since then. I know all kinds of things about that house, what work they have done and not done. No one ever asked me anything until it was too late.
Ask the mail carrier how long they’ve delivered that area and what they’ve seen. I delivered same area over 20 yrs, I saw a lot! Who lived where, how they took care of outside, sometimes saw inside too, and when flippers came in and bought the vacant houses, I could tell you how long they worked on it, what upgrades they did/didn’t do and if I got chummy with the workers they let me inside to check progress. I could always tell the ones that were jacked up somehow cuz they were on the market more than 2 wks. Houses in my area were close if not 100 yrs old, flippers were putting in half baths off kitchen or under stairs, high end counters, walk in showers…but not replacing wiring or plumbing in walls or not replacing drainage pipes in yard and 6 months after these newbies move in they got plumbers out there tearing up yard putting in new drainage. One I would have loved to see disclosure on…owner had been sick for years, let mail pile up for wks so if it went longer I’d ask his neighbor to check on him. Most times he was ok…last time neighbors had been away, new neighbors other side did not know him so went a couple months before someone cared. He had been deceased long enough he decomposed into the wood floor and then into the ceiling of the floor below. 😑 eventually his ex sold house to flipper, they worked couple months gutting the place and sold it for 3x what houses in area went for (10 yrs ago, houses in area went for $100k or less…this house went for $350k). I still wonder if new owners know someone died in there. I’ve been watching the house across the street getting worked on…was a rental/absolute train wreck on inside when it sold, I’ve talked to the owners/flippers once when it got broken into and would love to see what they’ve done to inside, may have to take a tour when it’s done! I kinda figure they owe me that since I didn’t complain when their workers kept using my driveway to park while working in it lol
I ONLY buy houses over 100 years old. I don't even look at houses built after ww2. Re-doing wiring and plumbing is a big pain but not a deal breaker for me.
@@shanedavison7473 That's great if you want to throw money and your time into a house you just purchased, otherwise, not great but a potential money pit. The price one pays should reflect that. The question is "what is your time worth?"
Yep, bought a flip. And you don’t see the issues until after you move in. I already have to get the windows redone and the “bathroom Reno”is already falling apart. They painted or glazed the tub and it’s already peeling. The seller side, your realtor and inspector are all in on the racket so they’ll never point out the problems.
But you’re also asked to not buy an extravagant remodel where corners were not cut. The likelihood of a flip is more than an extravagant remodel. My feeling is buy if the price is right.
One other type of house I would *never* consider buying is a tri-level. "Tri-level" is code for "always having to go up and down stairs anywhere you go in the bouse."
Absolutely! My cousin lives in a duplex house with SIX split levels. My paternal grandparents were the original owners about 1970 or so, and I think that sort of architecture was the in thing at the time. From bottom to top: 1. Game room that used to be a garage 2. Dining room and kitchen 3. Living room with front door as main entrance to the house 4. Bedroom 5. Two more bedrooms and both bathrooms 6. Bedroom
Kathleen, what do you do to heat your home? That’s one of my concerns buying an older home. Since they were not as well insulated, most have high ceilings……even when I was a little girl my grandmother paid quite a bit to heat her house. Other than that, I think nothing is built like an older home. My grandmother’s house had pocket doors, and stained glass, and carved railings….. I look at it this way, every house will end up needing some type of work…,it comes with the territory!
We moved into a neighborhood with mostly ranchers and a few modest sized colonial houses. Recently, many of these homes are being completely leveled or expanded to the extent that the size of the home overtakes one's view, blocks the sun, and the new expansion is closer than desired. When I called the zoning board they said they really never expected anyone would build to the limits, but neighbors are doing exactly that. The continuity of the neighborhood has been destroyed. The only way to gain back some privacy is to dump your pockets out to do a lot of landscaping.
I have owned two old houses, both over 100 years old. They have been less problematic than the newer homes we have owned! But, they had been restored prior to my purchase. The quality and beauty of the old homes far surpasses anything new.
IMO it’s difficult to set down specific predictions for the housing market is because it’s not yet clear how quickly or how much the Federal Reserve can bring down inflation and borrowing costs without tanking buyer demand for everything from homes to cars.
Trading systems allow you to limit the factor of emotional influence on decision-making, as well as to give the trade a certain degree of systemic character.
I agree because there are opportunities in the market doesn’t mean you should go in blindly. To understand the potential factors that contribute to your financial growth, I'll advise you to seek the help of a professional.
You're right! I diversified my $400K portfolio across various markets with the help of my financial advisor, and I've been able to generate over $1.2 million in net profit from high dividend yield stocks, ETFs, and bonds during this downturn.
I bought a home in New Jersey next door to a home with an underground oil tank that was leaking for years. Even those owners did not know about the tank, but there was always an odor of diesel fuel in both our houses and yards. The EPA came out, evicted us, raised up our houses, dug out the soil underneath, rebuilt the basements and lowered our houses back onto the new foundations. It took 3 years total. Out of the 4 years I owned the house, I was only able to live in it for 1. What a mess! Luckily, I paid nothing, got a new basement, and immediately sold for a profit.
Jackie is 110% right on all of these videos. I’m a home builder and real estate investor . I always tell people I’m not a real estate agent t because I would only tell them why they Should NOT buy the house . I hope Jackie writes a book. Great content .
It's not just money you may have to spend on repairing the house but also sheer stress of either figuring out how to do it yourself, or the stress of dealing with workers in your home all day long!
@@betmo Ugh. Yes. It's why I'm trying to make as many connections as I can while we're looking for land. Ideally, we'd like an old farmhouse and it'll almost certainly need work.
Back in the day, when I purchased my first home to live-in; that was Miami in the early 1990s, first mortgages with rates of 8 to 9% and 9% to 10% were typical. People will have to accept the possibility that we won't ever return to 3%. If sellers must sell, home prices will have to decline, and lower evaluations will follow. Pretty sure I'm not alone in my chain of thoughts.
If anything, it'll get worse. Very soon, affordable housing will no longer be affordable. So anything anyone want to do, I will advise they do it now because the prices today will look like dips tomorrow. Until the Fed clamps down even further, I think we're going to see hysteria due to rampant inflation. You can't halfway rip the band-aid off.
consider moving your money from the housing market to financial markets or gold due to high mortgage rates and tough guidelines. Home prices may need to drop significantly before things stabilize. Seeking advice from a financial advisor who understands the market could be helpful in making the right decisions.
I just googled her and I'm really impressed with her credentials; I reached out to her since l need all the assistance l can get. I just scheduled a caII.
I currently have a 2.5 percent, I purchased my home in 2013 and refi.d 2 years later to get this rate. 10 years later, I would like to move, but not at today's rates. I am hoping we can get back to 3 percent or between 4 to 6percent.
My grandfather-in-law was an engineer and city planner and he always said to go to planning departments or archives to get aerial photos of what the land looked like before development if possible. If you see water, even a small, seasonal drainage stream, run. He insisted you would have nothing but foundation issues forever. My ex-sister-in-law worked for a home builder and she also said you really need to get geology reports and land-use history reports. She knew of entire developments built on little more than sand. Those homes were barely five years old at the time and already a mess. People also need to know that buying rural doesn't mean you own everything and can do whatever you want either. There are often pipelines under the land. In Alberta Canada, if they need to put in a highway, frack, install an oil well, or build a utility corridor, you learn pretty quickly how little control you have over your own land. There are also often strict land-use regulations that have to be followed and sometimes you have to pay for expensive environmental or historical impact assessments before you can make any changes. Bottom line: no matter what type of property you are looking to buy, investigate every possibility for what you are getting into and don't assume anything.
I've lived rural all my life. You're just supposed to call before you dig to see where any pipes or anything might be. Federal land isn't sold. You just have to deal with state and city. If a pipe runs through the middle of a property, you're not allowed to build on it for example. My neighbor's have an extra lot attached with theirs because it can't be built on due to a sewer line running the length of it. Just more reasons I'm glad I don't live in Canada.
I agree and appreciate with all of this advice, but as a first time home buyer, we have no power. Saying no to all of these is saying not to buying a house. Every time we’ve gone back to the seller to negotiate, they terminate the sale.
I remember a story about well-known HGTV flippers and how some buyers who bought their flips complained about how shoddy their work was and had to spend money to get it fixed by a professional contractor.
Great advice, esp the recently sold/remodeled. We often see the "graywash syndrome," with grey plastic fake wood floors, cheap kitchen and bathroom remodels, white spray-painted everything. We look for 1960's brick ranches that have been owned by original owners and never remodeled. Just bought one this year and we love it.
Our house isn't even that old. It's a mid century modern custom built in the 90s. The young couple that owned it before us "remodeled" it. It's awful. He put down cheap bamboo lament that's already fading, new cabinets he bragged about that the finish is coming off of, he put a mud finish on the walls but didn't even bother removing the fixtures before spraying, and they covered all the garden beds in plastic and killed everything in them. The master bath was still gutted when we bought it. The only thing good is the kitchen counter top but it's got an uneven lip where it's joined but I can live with that slight imperfection. Fortunately we noticed it all when bought it and my husband is a carpenter.
We purchased a home 2 years ago. We wanted a large home with a big yard. We opted to buy an older home (20+ years). The newer subdivisions had no yard and many had large HOA fees. They also felt like an apartment with the generic amenities. Just research what you want and keep looking. Houses were selling by the time I requested to walk thru so we had to act fast when we found our perfect home. Hired an inspector who I trust. The house wasn't perfect, but had good bones. No regrets. Just do your homework and hire a trusted inspector.
In 1984, we bought a house that was just above the 500 year flood plain. We sold the house in 1992. Water came within 15 feet of the building, but the house itself never flooded when we owned it. The rains were so bad this year (2024) that the house was flooded. It happens. Topography shifts. One of the things you don't mention is homes that are in a slight depression. If the slope runs downward toward the house, it will eventually flood in heavy rain. The water has no where else to go. We were lucky. We owned another property on a hill, where all of the water drained away from the house. Our neighbors were not so lucky and many of them spent a small fortune for construction fixes. Be sure that the property has methods to drain the water away from the house. This is particularly true of garages.
Very good advice. I'm in my 70s and I would add to all those retirees that they might avoid houses with too many stairs. It's harder to use stairs when you get older.
@@samantha-eu3cc My sister, who lived alone, fell coming down the stairs. Your parents may be unusually limber, but not everyone has that kind of balance.
My friend has multiple sclerosis, she showed me her new dream home; a split level. I was quite surprised by her choice, so many stairs. She relapsed and lost her mobility quite often. I havent seen her in many years, dont know if she still lives there.
@@samantha-eu3cc yes. I'm partially paralysed. I have various ways of pulling myself upstairs and it's the toughest exercise available to me. We're thinking of moving. My husband suggested a bungalow. Absolutely not!
31 female here 👋 my advice is never by slab house. If there is no under the house crawl space just dont. My dad a plumber of his own business and the amount of people who bought slab house with leaking pipes. And thats just begging. U have to tear the whole house up to replace flooring and all
@@elishadavis6598 I don’t think you can find a house in Florida that isn’t built on a slab with no crawl space. I have never seen a basement here. Don’t buy a house in Florida is the moral of this story. I wish I hadn’t!
I’m living in an old home and the worst thing for us is the lack of outlets!!! It’s maddening. Our bedroom does have 2 outlets but one doesn’t work. It’s nuts. There are entire walls that have no outlets either.
My house is 124 years old. I absolutely love it. As the saying goes, it has good bones. I had it very strongly inspected before I bought it. The plumbing was fine and the electrical was fine and that was my two main concerns. Don’t be scared of these old houses. The inspector told me that my house will still be standing in another 100 years. And the brand new builds that he is inspecting, he figures will literally not be standing in 50 years. give those old houses a chance. My house is small, but solid. I updated over the last three years and had no major issues. I’d rather invest in an old solidly built house than the crap that they are building nowadays. I have had less trouble with this house than my friend who bought a brand new build house has had.
@randomletter-5i4same thing can be said of new builds in regard to inspection/inspectors. I know people who have bought new and have had plumbing, electrical, mold, because no inspection can catch it all.
@@jmbisme yep! Some friends bought a brand new house & it had many leaks & other problems. I've always bought old houses & didn't have any more problems & paid way less.
The inspector told me the same thing. They all have the same rhetoric because it’s all a racket and they’re part of the working parts of the cog to get the house sold.
Lol, my house was built in 1895-ish. What she said is true! Fortunately, my plumbing and electrical had already been replaced. I tested for asbestos before removing the flooring and green-light there. Thankfully, the oil tank had been an above ground one and decommissioned. But the electrical panel is in a freaking stairwell. The upstairs ceilings are so low at 5‘,3“ I can touch them and the stairs replaced the gym, they are so steep. None of the windows match. But good bones 😂, and I love it dearly after my efforts. You MUST love hard work to buy a geriatric home. You’re never “done” fixing it.
I own a 170-yr-old brownstone in Brooklyn and a large 100-yr-old house in Nashville. Between the two, they're worth about $5M and I earn 6 figures in rental income from the brownstone. EVERY building comes with challenges, regardless of build date. "No old homes" is not serious advice.
Yea but I understand what she's saying. I'm originally from Boston. Almost everyone I know who bought homes built in 1890, 1905, etc. had endless issues. Not literally everyone, but I get what she's saying. Looks amazing on the outside and in, but get in those walls and ground and depending where you live, so many issues can arise.
I’m a housekeeper for a 94 yr old mansion. 12,000 square feet! You need a whole army of engineers and electricians to keep that place up and running. The up keep is insane. These homes are best owned by mega wealthy people who won’t be burdened by the extravagant expenses. This particular home was abandoned for years before a luxury hotel chain bought it.
I remember when I was working in real estate seeing people buy homes new from builders with the intention of selling before close of escrow to a new buyer for profit. The crash was so brutal and fast that I remember seeing a lot of these units foreclosed on with the builder plastic still on the carpet.
Most people find it difficult to handle a fall since they are used to bull markets, but if you know where to look and how to maneuver, you can make a size-able profit. Depending on how you intend to enter and exit, yes.
The enduring US stock market bull run evokes a mix of fear and excitement, presenting opportunities with insight, resulting in $780k gains in the past ten months, utilizing a portfolio advisor for a well-defined strategy.
Above all never buy any house in an HOA. We thought they were ruthless years ago but it keeps getting worse such as fining an old lady for having a wheelchair access ramp at her front door and telling her to get rid of it (later blocked by a court)
@muffs55mercury61 I ĥave relatives that love their HOA. But they are the type of people who are picky about everything. They don't like that the people across the street haven't had a stump removed. I love them but I never could be their neighbor. No hoa for me!
I see both sides. The minimal hoa we have protects our value without being too intrusive, plus we get good snow plowing and a park. I just need to power wash every few years but don’t mind.
Absolutely! The only bad thing is that most, if not all, new developments are "Deed restricted" with an HOA - I think by collusion with local planning departments. HOAs are invariably run by a bunch of Karens that have nothing better to do than poke their nose into other people's business.
I've lived ten years in an HOA with no trouble with the board or neighbors. The neighborhood across the way has no HOA and total chaos and neighbors fighting constantly. I'll take my neighborhood any day
As a house flipper and licensed HVAC tech, having seen thousands of homes, this Realtor is spot on. Better listen to her. Foundations are another aspect of home inspections. Don't skip hiring your own home inspector with no connection to Realtor or buyers.
You're familiar with pyrrhotite? A naturally occurring mineral that can take decades to crumble concrete, but that's guaranteed. Owners in parts of Mass and Conn are paying absurd costs for their homes to be lifted and a new foundation poured, or they're just walking away. Insurance companies won't help. 😢
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If you need an agent referral in your area or if you would like me to help you with your real estate needs in Northern NJ click here➡www.jackiebakersellsnj.com/
@@benjamindover5355 very true!
I'll do you one better, I wouldn't buy a home built pre 1947, quality of construction was drastically improved immediately after the conclusion of WW2.
Good tips.
Who the hell waives an inspection?
I agree with everything you said, I live in Central NJ and will contact you when I’m ready to buy
I bought a house that had 2 cat door exits. When I looked into replacing the doors I found out you couldn’t just buy a door , you needed to replace the whole incasement. High cost! I solved the problem by just getting a cat.
But…..two cat door exits would mean two cats, wouldn’t it? 🤪
😄 Great solution.
John...what a nice guy you are! 🐈
Best solution ever.
My cat got 6 field mice that crawled in the walls
Replumbing and rewiring an old home is nothing compared to the headaches from buying a poorly built new home, workmanship has gone down the drain
Exactly
I live in a suburban/rural town with a sudden housing subdivision boom and I see the junky houses being thrown together Extreme Home Makeover style and shake my head. The architecture is trash in my opinion (some weird futuristic farmhouse is all I can call it lol) and the 'custom' features are dating the home before the 2020's are done. I mean, what is with all this gray on top of gray on top of gray? That screams 2023/2024 with no timelessness in sight.
Yup. They are also safer. I love in an old all brick home and we had a pretty massive fire 4 years ago. In a new home, the fire would have killed my family. Our old girl not only kept the fire at bay but also survived.
Bought a house over 100 years old. After updating certain things to bring it up to code, a quote for $20,000 to replace the pipes and replacing some old windows, I still do not regret it. The quality of the materials used are unmatched.
Agreed. My house (built in 1945) was rewired (still could use a new breaker box though) by the previous owner before I bought it.
You don't mention new construction homes, I've seen many recently constructed homes with bad foundations and structural issues. New homes are mostly garbage stick structures that in 5 years the problems will start to show.
I'll be doing another video about new construction in the near future.
I agree. I have friends who bought a lovely new townhome with a nice water view. Come the winter , they couldn't keep the home warm. My friend went up in the attic space and discovered that was no insulation. Also there were no firewalls between houses. They had to take the builder to court at get the needed work done.
Try less than a month... happened to my SIL when she and her family moved into their "new construction" home back in about 2006. The first thought that came to my head the moment my husband and I pulled up was the words of my aunt who's a realtor "... cheap materials used on rushed new construction of the millennium." It just looked like a human size doll house to me, meaning the siding just looked like cheap hard plastic. When we went inside, the worker men were still doing some work (?). Turned out they were repairing an issue that happened that week. Their entire ceiling caved under, filling up with water when my SIL wanted to take a bath and as her tub was filling up, so was the ceiling beneath the tub and needless to say, it caused a major leak. They were in their house for only about 3 1/2 weeks total. Fast forward about say a year or 1 1/2 years ago, my husband went over to his sister's house and when he came home, he reported that their kitchen caught on fire due to some electrical issues... and really who knows what other problems they've endured over the years of being in their house. Today, prior to or with the exception of her renovated kitchen, her house looks as old as mine, which was built in 1997 and had only one owner before us and theirs was built 9 1/2 years later than ours and they were the only owner.
@@lkofie6670 …. I was at a New Housewarming.. They had just moved the furniture in.. During the party, the front window of the living room, fell out of the wall and onto the front yard..
I honestly thought she was going to say this first. It was certainly the first thing that popped into my mind
I remember in 2014 when I was working in real estate seeing people buy homes new from builders with the intention of selling before close of escrow to a new buyer for profit. The crash was so brutal and fast that I remember seeing a lot of these units foreclosed on with the builder plastic still on the carpet.
I get where you're coming from with the real estate crash, but I really think stock investment is a better option right now. With the guidance of a financial adviser, you can navigate the stock market effectively and find opportunities for growth that real estate just can’t match at the moment. Stocks offer higher liquidity, flexibility, and the potential for better returns, especially if you’re strategic about it. It’s all about making informed decisions and adapting to the current market conditions!
I agree. Based on my personal experience working with an investment advisor, I currently have $385k in a well-diversified portfolio that has seen exponential growth. It's not just about having money to invest in stocks; you also need to be knowledgeable, persistent, and have the strength to hold on during market fluctuations
Could you kindly elaborate on the advisor's background and qualifications?
My CFA, Judith Lynn Staufer, is a renowned figure in her field. I recommend researching her name online; you’ll find all her credentials and everything you need to work with a reliable professional. With many years of experience, she is a valuable resource for anyone looking to navigate the financial market.
Thanks for the info, i found her website and sent a message hopefully she replies soon.
Never buy an HOA controlled home - never buy a condo. Don’t buy a manufactured home to be installed in a rental park - only install on your own land.
If you have ltd $, you have few options. Condos can be yer only option. Just avoid condo boards (Napoleonic clique mentality). Look for cap on % rentals allowed, too.
My husband and I bought our first home and hate it. We will be moving to a condo in a few years. Hopefully, by the beach.
@@nette9836 Hi, Im curious about your experience! Do you mind telling about why you dont like the home and the advantages to having a condo?
Agree with the HOA we bought a condo and try to contact the association the first time was impossible for a few months ( we don’t live in the condo) to set up our payments because the hoa is remote then finally we did but we missed certain payments .. we try to pay and sent check and was bounced back later on we found out the put a lien on our home and if you don’t pay the debts they can foreclose you home. Mind you we have been paying monthly the other months ..
@@nette9836 Hope you have a lot of money when you get assessed!!
My brother was a realtor in 3 states and while he lost some commissions because he was honest about the homes he listed he slept very well at night. Glad I found your channel.
Glad he was a great guy. Appreciate him for being honest
I want to become a realtor but I don't want to be a shady one.. I wanna sleep well at night!
I want an agent like that. I would do the same. Plus an honest agent will always get my referral.
Sounds like my Dad. He'd expose every negative about a house he was showing. His broker would have a fit. Dad would just smile and say, "I have to sleep at night." We kids learned from him.
OMG this lady is so negative ots hard to view her channel.
I’m a home inspector and you are spot on with everything. The only thing that is also worth mentioning is never ever, ever buy a house without a home inspection. What I have seen, especially on new construction is simply mind blowing. What people try and hide is unbelievable.
I've had a couple of great home inspectors. At first it seems expensive for what they do, but now that I've worked with a few I think they provide lots of value. Make sure they don't rush anything and can do all the home testing with good equipment such as gas leak sniffers etc. There should be lots of picutres documenting everything (digital pics are basically free these days).
Another reason to buy old. People had integrity back in the day!
Some other things to be aware of: if it’s an estate sale, heirs aren’t required to disclose anything. Also the previous elderly owner may have had a property tax exemption. If you don’t qualify, your taxes will be much higher than what’s listed.
Scam
We bought our home without a home inspection because we were in a bidding war and there was no time for one. We've been here 18 years now and haven't had any issues. We also know we were extremely fortunate in that regard.
20 years ago I bought a 1930s home. Yeah, I've put some money into it. Doing most of the work myself, I was able to put in a new kitchen and two new baths (with all new plumbing throughout the entire house and new electrical for these remodeled rooms) and I'm extremely happy. If you're handy, don't be scared. The "bones" of older homes are so super solid and will literally last forever. They just need some TLC.
@@jimbeckert7946 100% agree. Buy what you love and first feeling,when you'll get in will tell you clearly it is yours or not. You dont need to buy a house thinking about selling it,if you are not a property developer. Old brick or stone houses has a huge width and very secure walls with a perfect noise isolation. Dont be afraid to do some work or invest some money,but after that you'll get the best thing,nothing to compare to todays properties. And who told you that you'll must to sell it at all?
@@67nextday Spot on. My first priority was getting a home I could afford in a neighborhood I wanted to live in so I could raise a family. It helps that I'm very handy. But, in all honesty, I didn't do anything anyone else couldn't do with a little reading or watching youtube videos and some elbow grease.
My home is about 500 years old! I bought in a medieval town in Spain. It needed almost no work. Everything works fine even though it's very old. I've been here 4 years now.
Wow! I love Spain! I vacationed there 30 years ago!
This is where I’d like to be !
@@birdlover7776 It's the only place I want to live and I have lived in many countries.
@@marrlena947 my mom visited Spain and loved it. I would like to travel there and explore rentals and or purchasing property. I absolutely love the architecture and food etc. i’ve been to Indonesia, Mexico and France but so far not Spain 🌸
How cool! Was it expensive?
I live in a century old home. I agree about the potential problems. However, my roof is slate, my floors are quarter sawn oak and my trees are 90 plus feet tall. Like everything else in life, it's a trade off.
Yup.
Have you seen the cockroaches and termites?
If the slate on your house is as old as the house the slate is at the end of its useful life. Wait and see how much a new slate roof costs! Yep, I used to do slate roofs in Vermont, where that is a common roofing material After 100 years half of the slate is cracked or broken.
@@robertscheinost179 It was 75k when we replaced it. Worth it, IMHO.
@@sandblast5636 Termite inspection every spring.
For those who want an old house, be aware of the work that needs to be done. I simply adore my 100 year old house. We purchased our it knowing it needed certain updates. It's not a for everyone. My sister built a new house with a reputable builder and her brand new house has more issues than my oldie.
I'm not surprised. New builds are not like old houses at all!
I totally agree. Just know that it will need work. Eyes wide open. I prefer older homes to the homes that are being built now.
I have heard horror stories from owners who had DR Horton and other companies build their houses. AFAIK, this company usually buys huge tracts of land and builds neighborhoods where corn fields or old houses once were.
Mold, cardboard lining siding, plumbing not hooked up or finished at closing, buyers being threatened, shoddy workmanship, young teenagers being hired to "build" the homes instead of union workers, etc.
There are videos on RUclips about these builders.
My husband and I have owned 2 100 year old and older homes in our almost 40 years of home ownership. We are sadly leaving our 100 year old bungalow only because our neighborhood is turning into light industrial one lot at a time and we want a quiet place to live in retirement. We have had our water tested, etc, and never had issues with lead pipes, old wiring, etc. (My husband is also handy, so when small problems pop up we can deal with them immediately. We know when to call a professional when necessary.) We are buying a custom build house that has been inspected by a good inspector service and we are really confident that this 25 yr old house we will be moving into soon is in good shape.
I agree with Jackie that quick flips are a horrible idea. I'd *never* buy a quick flip house.
And, always get a quality inspection done! I wouldn't buy property without one. We paid over $1,000 for the inspection for the house we just bought. It was worth every penny.
As long as it is not on a slab or built over a crawl space. Top feeders are pain in the tukas to repair. Basements well not good in areas with high water tables.
Swimming pools. Have you even ever seen one float out of the ground when someone thought is a great idea to drain it for the winter?
Pipes in the basement easy. In the walls not so much. 2nd floor not good. 3rd flour even more worse. Same with electrical.
Hmm well asbsetos? Well maybe the octopus in the basement is still there? Those are what are known as gravity heating. And open window cooling
Oh and my local Electric and Gas companies told me I use too much heat and electricity. 96% efficient furnace.
Solar heating only works in the daytime. In winter only 7 1/2 hours of day light.
No incandescent lighting. Oh and when I switched. The out door lamps corroded. To stop it I just leave them on. I can run a 7 watt bulb for how long vs paying for a new out door lamp?
Ran the in window A/C once off the grid last year. When the grid drops below 109 it shuts off.
If it is in the upper 90ds with upper 90% humidity. I run it off the gasoline powered 12K watt generator. Because the grid is is in brown out..
Sorry Forney I don't live there any more. Your state sucks on my finances too much.
Asbestos? Probably in a old UMC house from the early 20th to late 19th century. They also made asbestos shingles and siding.
As for underground heating oil? Why do it? Gravity always works.
But if it is yugly. Well then just burn wood or coal in the fireplace. The chopping , cutting and toting will keep you healthy and warm twice.
She just made proof that people have been using their head mainly for a hat rest for lots of generations. Still in the gene pool.
I live in a 106 year old home which has been in my family for 100 years. It has been updated twice. Knob and tube wires are still there but not used. I do have some asbestos covered pipes. Please, we had a laundry shoot, we were not stupid enough try to go down in it. My father removed the oil tanks in our yard. I had the oil burner my father had converted from a coal burning boiler removed and installed a gas boiler and on demand hot water heater. My sister's "newer" 20 year old home has had problems with every appliance even though high end ones were installed, the central air condition has been replaced, she has bad water pressure. Her cellar stairs were so steep she had to install a riding chair to get to the cellar. Her gutters were not properly installed so the fascia is rotting...
Old home owner here. Your issue list is accurate but easily discovered and remediated through inspection. My house is 102 years old and *had* knob and tube wiring but it was disconnected as part of a 200 amp upgrade and new wiring was run to all fixtures and outlets. Plumbing was also upgraded by previous owners. Finally, asbestos was actually not common in 100+ year old houses - it was mostly used from 1940's-1970s, and the beauty of these older homes is unless they were unoccupied for long periods of time, all the plaster walls will almost certainly be original. Not impossible that it's there, but it is rare. The biggest issue (with my house, anyway) is it is a brick/stone masonry building. Insurance is high because the replacement cost is super high, and it makes additions and alterations difficult if not impossible and even repairs can run high because you need artisans in some cases. Also, hanging anything on plaster walls is a pain. But unless we get hit by an earthquake, this house will be standing long after I'm gone which isn't something I can say for sure about houses that have been built in the past 20-30 years
@@ThePhDSpanish I also bought an old home and I actually love it. Its all stone outside which is beautifully done. Built in 1906. A lot of the plaster has cracked so when I first bought it I did a lot of removing the cracked and crumbling plaster and replacing it with drywall. Everything else was updated by previous owners and it cost half of what a new home
A well maintained and upgraded older home probably is fine, but there's a lot that needs improving in osme areas....electrical, water, windows and insulation, AC/heat. So it needs a expert inspection.
I had to sell my mother’s house. It was in bad shape, and it had a reverse mortgage. I just had to get out from under it, so I sold it to a house flipper. First, they changed the den to a 4th bedroom. They painted over all the wood paneling, the cabinets and doors. They also painted over all the mold. They tore up some of the driveway and sidewalk that had bad cracks, but the back porch had a huge crack that they didn’t fix, and the porch fills with water. The plumbing is also totally messed up since my parents bought it in the 70’s. They purchased for 140,000 and sold it for 215,000. All they did was “put lipstick on a pig”. Paint and some new fixtures covered up soooo much! Be careful of house flippers!
The house next to my parents house looked like it needed to be torn down and started over. It hadn’t been lived in for 20+ years and the inside and outside had extensive water damage. When you walked up to it you could smell mold. A flipper bought it and put on some siding and cheap materials inside and sold it in less than a couple of months. I was shocked because it needed to be gutted.
and they still didnt make a profit with the cost it took to fix it
Exactly. A layer of paint can hide a multitude of sins, like mold and mildew.
I am glad to hear someone say that we shouldn’t be developing these flood zones!
Ever since the studies showed human health implications if you live within 200 feet of a highway, I have noticed a lot of low income housing projects ADDED along highways. Maybe listen to scientists and consider the true cost of ignoring or abusing the warnings.
@rinnylakin81 what are the health implications living next to a highway?
I live in my 124 year old home i bought years ago. Id rather buy an old home than a new home that you have to replace everything within 10 years of owning it.
Corrrect. My house was built in 1886. Full renovation, and all the wood is high density. 2x4 are not 1.75 x 3.75 and are much heavier, same with 2x6, etc.
Yes I'm in real estate you are totally correct.. there is a well pump company that went out of business some years ago bc all of their well pumps NEVER GIVE OUT.. the quality just doesn't match. I see people with 50 year old fridges all the time but ones that are from the last twenty years last 5-10 years unless maybe on the very very high end range but even then...
100% agree! Newer homes are horrible craftsmanship. They use the cheapest materials
I bought a 1922 house with knob & tube wiring. 12k to replace it 7 years ago. Over the last 7 years I have replaced the water pipes, water heater, painted the outside and a lot of other renovations. Now I am having a new heating and AC system put in next week. Last thing I am waiting on is the roof to be replaced. But hey roof have to don't last 100 years anyway. I sometime wonder if I should sell and get something newer but I would give up my windows, hardwood floors and 10 foot ceiling and my 2 1/2 percent mortgage. But I do know more things will go wrong as time goes on.
@@jrtr2642 Keep and renovate it. With my 1886, it was 60amp fuse box; then new 200amp panel with complete wiring. New 4-ton HVAC. Re-roof and new decking. Its well worth the investment and satisfaction of a job well done. BTW- I am a licensed appraiser and seen all these new housing projets scattered in various counties; this alone, motivated me to stay. Good luck !
Plumber here. I bought an old home built in 1878. My best friend is an electrician. He bought a home built in 1890. We’re doing a labor swap, and all the asbestos was removed in the 90s from my camp👍🏼
@Guacamoc yup! The house I grew up in was built in the 1870s and renovated by my parents and grandparents who all had extensive history in handiwork. Such a fun house. My parents bought it shortly after getting married for pennies and sold it for A LOT more than what they paid for it 35 years later.
Hell yeah. Im a electrical contractor and i am remodeled my whole 1950s house with contractor buddy trading.
That's a good deal. And they are awesome. I'd still hesitate on older homes because of insulation. Some older houses don't have any insulation. They have ways to do it now easier with foam, but it is expensive.
There is a path for the right house, but with old homes, it's never easy.
@@Guacamoc “from my camp” What’s that mean?
@@Guacamoc two awesome professions. My daughter is 8 years older than her twin brothers and she told them do not waste money on college being electrician or a plumber. You'll have a lot of money and you'll control your own life lol
My husband was an auto mechanic. He said that was the worst of the trades to go into. He's a great guy. He fixes everything but the money just isn't the same as plumbing and electrical work
The housing market is inflated and oversaturated with homes being on the market with astronomical price tags just stagnant for months. It is very clear that our generation will be likely one of the most devastating bubble pops in modern history. Seeking best possible ways to grow 250k into $1m+ and get a good house for retirement, I'm 54.
I don't think here is the place for personalized investment guidance. However, I suggest consulting with a reliable advisor like Azul to ensure appropriate retirement planning.
I’m closing in on retirement, and I have benefitted much from using a financial advisor. I didn’t really start early, so I knew the compound interest of index fund investing would not work for me. Funny how I pulled in over 80% profit than some of my peers who have been investing for many years. Maybe you should consider this too
I've been considering getting one, but haven't been proactive about it. Can you recommend your advisor? I could really use some assistance.
There are a handful of experts in the field. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with “Sonya Lee Mitchell” for about five years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive. She’s quite known in her field, look-her up.
I just checked her out on google and I have sent her an email. I hope she gets back to me soon.
Our home was built in the 1870s. We have replaced everything. It's a fantastic home. Built better than anything new today.
That's really the way to go if you can manage it. The only main drawback is regarding the typical lack of insulation (or insufficient insulation). If you're gutting outside walls, that's great, but otherwise you'll be stuck with a higher fuel bill than newer construction.
@@fleatactical7390 But you can do blown-in insulation from the interior quite easily in older homes with not very much "repair" to the interior walls. Costly? Yes, but in the long run less than many years of higher heating/cooling bills.
@@uscitizen898 Good point, that is true. It can have mixed results depending on the existing materials in the walls, but yes, it will usually help and no doubt pay for itself over time.
@@fleatactical7390 My parents had an old house. Bedrooms without closets, no kitchen space.
1857 brick house in Maryland with an 1890 addition. 1920s hot water radiator system. Super solid. Was condemned due to galvanized pipes, failed well pump system, wiring issues, failing boiler, and cracked cast iron sewer mains. With open basement, balloon construction and central utility chases, these are straightforward repairs. I was able to take a significant repair loan out with the the mortgage to make the house livable. I would say the most important thing is to know good contractors.
Also got significant tax credits for insulating the attic and a Historic tax credit of 20% off the cost of installing an accurate synthetic slate roof with copper flashing and gutters. What I am left with is 3 foot thick brick walls, heavy plaster interior walls that sound like concrete when you slap them, hand cut hardwood roof beams equal to 3 modern ones, and original flooring and trim that would cost a fortune to reproduce. The front door is original and probably weighs 700lbs with original heavy brass hardware. This house will be here 150 years from now.
Me and my husband nearly bought a cute little house in a flood zone when we first got married. It was a foreclosure and was about 1/3 the price of similar houses in the area. We passed bc I was SO AFRAID of it being in a 100 year flood plain. The next year that entire area for MILES all around was under 2-5 feet of water.
We DODGED a bullet.
@@emmamcphersonofficial 😬 wow!
Texas in 70’S, river AND 25 year flood plane, cheap homes, lower ins rates(flood plain triple). Man made evening news-neighbor with a serious funny bone, bottom of homes along the river built KNOWING floods regularly. Rain for days river flooded ‘humorous’ neighbor had a dock including telephone sized posts-he tied a ship sized rope from piling on his home to the dock!!! Inferences of my home isn’t going downriver because it’s tied up🧐😝🙏🏻
It’s better to be lucky than smart!
@@RetiredLover it wasn't smart for me to avoid buying a house in a flood plain??? lol
@@emmamcphersonofficial “Me and my husband” wasn’t smart. But declining to buy that house was.
I'm an agent.
I live in a 160 year farmhouse. This is my suggestion to everyone. Do what we did: send two inspectors through before you close. We knew exactly what we would be spending over the next ten years.
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Flood zones. 100% agree. Personally, I really wish flood zones were off-limit to development. Even the 500 year zones.
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Advice I always give. Always ALWAYS, during your house search, get into that crawlspace, attic, and basement with a really good flashlight. Always. BEFORE you go under contract. Eliminate the obviously problematic houses before you commit money.
The basements are now "finished". So, a lot of the issues are concealed by drywall and plywood. In fact, I am more inclined to purchase a house with an unfinished basement, which would allow me to see all the issues firsthand.
I had to crawl through the crawlspace under my house. One of the creepiest things I've ever done, and found out what zombie-spider fungus was.
@@elim7228 I'm down south. We don't have many basements. Sometimes they are finished, sometimes not. Lots of things can be hidden, but often there are signs.
@@KrystalLioness I've owned two houses and have had to redo both crawlspaces. I'm talking $60k and $80k, roughly (we were prepared for the second one, but the first was a total surprise). Crawlspaces are easily shrugged off by a client because they are simply too put off at diving in there. The inspector will often save the day, but in a world of due diligence money going directly to the pocket of the seller like we have in North Carolina, a bit of scrutiny by a prospective buyer can save them zillions.
I’m hoping everyone takes all this advice, plus, never buy from a flipper! There used to be a lot of honest and professional flippers, but now they are too hard to discern from the others they compete with. I’ve talked to them, and mostly they do things they would never do to a home that wasn’t going to a stranger.
Haha as the owner of a home built in 1801 (which I bought almost 10 years ago) ... YOU ARE SO RIGHT! We found some knob & tube wiring still in use that we had the seller replace before we bought it. Though there weren't lead pipes, we've replaced a TON of old copper pipes that were very old and corroded and sprung leaks. Repairing & repainting wood clapboard siding has also been a "treat" ... you really have to LOVE it and be mentally & financially prepared...
NEVER EVER BUY A “ FLIPPED” house.. not ever , even or especially if it’s below market price. Don’t walk away from a flip , RUN !!!
We bought a short sale and were tied up with paper work for 8 months! On the day of signing they informed us the house was in a flood zone! We were so exhausted and had already invested so much time and energy into getting this house that we caved and signed. Not only do we have ridiculous insurance, but every remodel, construction project, even fences are subject to flood regulations. It makes everything so much harder and more expensive. This lady is right! Don't buy it!
So sorry that happened to you! I am renting an older home (100 years) in New York state and learned about those “500-year” floods- last summer our unfinished basement that “had NEVER in its history had water in it” was flooded (13-17 inches) by heavy rains-and it could have been worse since house next door had 3 FEET of water.
I would never have expected this and lucky we didn’t buy this, just rented. We lost some possessions that were kept in basement , but lesson learned so that now we won’t buy anything in a flood-able area, second we will never store anything in a basement within approx 15 inches of the floor.
Not just rain, but in case of burst pipes new rules: Nothing in cardboard, nothing wood kept down there, Nothing kept on bottom shelf of wire rack shelving units-not even in plastic bins since we discovered they get lifted, then float no matter how heavy! And then tip over allowing just a little water inside to ruin your stuff!!
Lucky our washer & dryer were fixable (thanks to RUclips appliance guy DIY advice to run dehumidifier after taking apart & drying out the machines, wait a week to turn ANYTHING on to keep circuits from shorting out…
Hey, just saying be proactive before the 500 year flood bites you like it did us.
@@robinmeyer5016we have a sump pump in our basement, otherwise it would flood during our rainy season. I would ask your landlord about a sump pump.
@@robinmeyer5016 lessons are always learned best the hard way! I wouldn't have understood unless I lived through it. But I will definitely learn from yours!
You might want to investigate a letter of map amendment or letter of map revision to see if your location in a flood zone has changed or can be changed. Check with FEMA.
@@rcwesselFEMA are the nincompoops who put a whole block in the flood zone that didn't even get a single wet basement during Sandy!
As a contractor for 30 years, I would definitely agree with staying clear of a flipper. I’ve been called to do work they flippers don’t know how to fix and they want the “cheapest “ job. I will refuse unless I can do the work correctly. Most do nothing but cosmetic improvements and hide the problems.
That's exactly what I suspected with flippers, basically do the cosmetic work, get some idiot couple to think it looks "cute". Got one down the road that just did that. Bought it for 215K less than year ago. Granted, looks like they did bunch of work, roof, new a/c/heat unit, flooring. Asking 270K for it. Only a 1200 sq ft house, hardly any land on it, and the backyard is a hill sloped towards the house. And, it's been vacant since I moved in back in 2013, and actually had vines and trees overgrown all over the house, no one ever cut the grass either. The market is hot in our area, but that house is still vacant 2 weeks later. Probably no help the neighbor has gazillions of cars parked in their yard and occasionally has a huge RV parked on the road. Maybe 150K max for it, simply because the market is insane, but anything more is just ridiculous.
so true, saw owners do this to make quick sale, got burned on my first house in TX this way
I can only agree with you. As a contractor, I tried to flip houses but lost a lot of money, because I eliminated ALL of the existing problems. I couldn't find a buyer who is willing to pay the price required to cover the cost. Now, I concentrate on high end remodeling, where the home owners are willing to go the whole nine yards.
🎯
I love my house, but it was a flip. And I did notice the paint was sloppy in some areas which made me wonder. I had a complete inspection and there is a lot still wrong with it, but i've corrected much of it. Probably should have waited to invest in a new home. One of the problems was with the sewage system out to the street. It cost me over sixteen thousand the first two weeks I was in. It also has very old electrical that has never been updated. And i'm working on that right now. If I went back and look at the list of everything that should be done I will probably get sick so I am just doing the big danger things. Cosmetically, besides the paint facet is off in the bathroom in the bathtub. Not sure if it was always like that, but it doesn't align proper, really. Other than that, the house looks so beautiful. I get a lot of compliments, but I do worry!
Friends bought a house in the country off a fairly busy main road . They noticed a little sandwich shop/tavern and a few other small businesses on that main road nearby but they all seemed innocent enough … by day! At night the tavern turned into a loud saloon with cars and bikes whipping out of the parking lot , whizzing by their driveway way past midnight…. They warned us to check a potential neighborhood at night and see if it still lives up to your expectations
Good point!
Even something as simple as the traffic dynamic can be a nightmare. Things seem nice on a Sunday during the open house, but what’s it turn into at commute time? Do the streets backup? Do you get people taking shortcuts? Definitely worth visiting a potential new home at different times.
Definitely. I always check out morning, daytime and night, weekdays and weekends. It's worth taking the time to just go sit around the neighborhood listening for traffic, barking dog, trains, etc.
I always check out a potential neighborhood and surrounding neighbors at different times of day and night during the week and weekend. Some of the prettiest and quite neighborhoods and neighbors by day can turn to real shit after working or dinner hours and over the weekend. We've walked away from some great properties because of it.
Living close to a school seems nice when you have young children, but what's the traffic like at drop off and pick up. Is the house locked in 2 hours a day morning and after school? Parent traffic, and parking can be horrendous. I even had people parking in my driveway or across the entrance to my driveway.
Just bought a lovely home built in 1999, 2 story brick, solid and it passed the home inspection with flying colors. It is not as big as newer ones but it has a lovely yard and a well maintained pool. It was neglected but had good bones. We changed all light fixtures, painted and and I'm in love 6months later. No regrets AND it was 100k under approved mortgage. It's an average looking 2 story brick cottage but it's a cozy house we look forward to live at forever.
Don’t buy a house on a severely steep hill or severely uneven land. Don’t buy a house right next to an airport. Don’t buy in an HOA.
Not buyinga house in hoa is seriously not possible today unless you want to live out of the city.... or if you are willing to drive long distance away from major city amenities.
Most new housing development is sold with HOA conditions.
@@jong9379 Depending. I live in the city and i don't have an HOA. Most older communities don't have one.
@@jong9379 In NJ? It's very possible
HOA's and gated communities seem to be a regional thing. Big on the coasts and down south. Not so much in the vast interior (aka "flyover country") or the northern tier. @@jong9379
HOAs can be a good thing. The devil's in the details. It pays to read the HOA covenant and bylaws before buying a house. Also, if there is community property in the neighborhood, you pretty much have to have an HOA to pay for and manage the upkeep. More upscale neighborhoods will typically have such property, such as a pond, clubhouse, swimming pool, park or tennis courts.
My house was built in 1919…. I rather deal with older home problems, than new house problems.. I have seen the catastrophes of a new house…. My brother made a wonderful career fixing new house problems.. I have new electrical, new plumbing …. All houses need constant maintenance…. As my late husband said…. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance….
Yes maintenance is key when owning an old home! Thanks for watching!
@@JackieBaker Yes it is. It's also important in newer houses. Even a custom built, brand new home will require maintenance. It's like..... death and taxes. You can't get away from any. 😉
That’s what sold our house for us. We lived in it for 24 years and it was minimally updated but we had maintenance records for everything. Sold the house in 3 days.
@annassiter4087
Yep, mine's 1918 👍🏼
Mines 1921, owned it since 2009. New roof, windows, siding, water heater, central air, furnace, HVAC, and plumbing have been installed. Electrical is next 😉 wouldn’t trade the craftsmanship of the structure for anything!
A flipper bought my architect father's 1959 built Mid Century Modern home. Took out all of the mahogany walls. I cried for two weeks. He just gutted this great work of art. Grrrrrrrr
That is a crime, or should be.
I love the mohagony cabi ets.
This comment managed to alter my mood. That flipper is an idiot.
so sad
A lot of flippers do not have the same love or respect for the richness of real wood. Mahogany has always been a favorite of mine. I don't care if it's a table, walls, shelves, flooring, etc. Trust and believe, the flipper will regret it when they mature in their flipping journey.
Oh my goodness- I would have been committed to a hospital! Seriously? Mahogany is my everything! I’m so sorry to hear this. My condolences!❤
I would take an older home over these new POSs any day of the week. Solid craftsmanship.
Indeed. If there are asbestos tiles one can take those up provided one doesn't break them, just be patient. And if there is asbestos around duct work that is best left to the professionals, but in my house that ran $2,000 which wasn't too bad in the scheme, it was ductwork from an abandoned furnace that ran in the crawl space.
@TheDani172 agreed. Especially the quality of lumber too. Older homes have old growth timber 2x4s that was used. Denser, stronger, way higher quality
I’m sorry, but the new houses are made so cheaply they don’t even withstand bad weather. I find old homes were constructed, much better than the homes you see going up so quickly now. Nowadays builders are cutting the cost of everything when building homes and using the cheapest products, material’s and even labor. I live in NYC and the older homes were built by well known architects. My house was built in 1925 and God willing next year we will celebrate its 100th birthday. We moved in in 1993 and have no complaints. It’s a beautiful colonial house with bedrooms and bathroom upstairs, finished attic, large living room, large dinning room, kitchen, finish basement and nice size yard. We raised our 3 children here and have no intentions on going anywhere. The family who sold us this house. Moved to a brand new house and they regret selling our home. They wish they would have kept it. I think your advice may depend on where people live. If you buy an old home that’s never been upgraded yes than you are going to spend a lot of money. Spending money is also true with new homes when the builder used cheap materials that didn’t hold up. I will take what you said with a grain of salt. I would recommend that buyers hire a good experienced engineer to look over an older home for you before you buy it.
Thanks for sharing your feedback! Yes a good engineer looking over the home is key!
Agree a price with most builders , then he’ll find ways to source the cheapest materials to increase his profit.. then he will over order those materials and the valuable materials he hasn’t used will be taken away in his van to be used on his next job..that he will charge again for.. and we think oh he’s tidied up the waste.. what a nice man..yes folks you’ve been cowboy buildered again..and you thought you could trust him to be decent , didn’t you..? But he’s been into your nugget gulch.,again..there are two things certain in this world ..taxes and this..
New track houses are literally built with paper , cardboard and plastic
The only wood is the framing. Doors and moldings and trim are all made from pressed cardboard and sawdust . Slapped together by the lowest bidder
@@mhughes1160 Even the framing is compromised - when have you seen a 2x4 that actually measured to that size?
New construction homes in my area end up having roof problems as early as three years - new construction is what’s keeping roofing companies busy !
I’d buy an older home with electrical and plumbing updated
I grew up in an Edwardian Queen Anne house with 26 rooms. It was full of drafts, but it was a child’s dream and my parents upgraded the house over many years without destroying the original features. An old house with parquet floors, 14 foot ceilings, brass door knobs etc., makes a great home!
😍😍😍
26 rooms?????
Must have been expensive AF to heat!!
I had that same dream when I was young too. Amazing.
Sounds absolutely wonderful. I love big old houses.
My 120 year old home stacks up very well against newer ones, thank you......
All solid wood in my home...no ply wood or fiber board. Cherry wood stairwell, parkay floors...all my pipes were replaced in the 1970's!
I agree! Newer homes are junk
That's great for you, but her advice is good about old homes. If you're lucky, the previous homeowners fixed all the problems she mentioned.
I was set to buy a 90 year old house and it still had knob and tube throughout the house. Some old homes are money pits.
@@Steph-yz4tn you are so right about knob and tube wiring!
Mine too
Here in the UK ... my last home was over 800 years old ... they are in demand 😁 Current one is 250 years old
Maaan! Imagine the ghosts in your house(s).
Even your specters are spooked! 😂 👻
Worst house I ever bought was new construction. Best house I ever bought was built in 1908, and I still live in it. That’s because the 1908 house was built with good materials and was maintained well for over 100 years. The new construction house was built with JUNK and its roof leaked. Maintenance is the key factor here, not age.
@@corywalker4078 100%. No one these days understand the importance of MAINTENANCE!!!
Usa victorian home owner here: bought a fixer upper 130 year old home, updated many parts of the home. It cost some money but we were able to do most of the work ourselves over several years. 100% worth it.
Love it! I bought a depression era 1930's cape cod. I have done most the renovation myself with my husband and the place is awesome. People who freak out of the cost of house renovations also don't understand that if you do it in a smart way then you get a huge return on investment.
Same here, 140 year old Victorian and I've loved every minute of the restoration. It's been worth it. If you love historical homes and you want to buy one, go in with your eyes open but don't bail just because its old. Do you throw out your gold and silver just because it's tarnished?
We did the same
Those style home are creepy, usually haunted homes are victorian style.
@@OGtruthserum all I can say is, my house isn't haunted.
Never buy a home without paying for a good home inspection. That's all you need to know.
Not always. We sold a home and our prospective buyers hired an inspector that knew so little I had to show him the issues he found were totally unfounded. Example: What he thought was an exhaust pipe from the bathroom going directly into the attic was nothing but an old metal rod that originally went out the roof to attach a TV antenna to. I knew what it was but because the inspector was so young, he didn't know what it was....at least up to that point. 😉
In our experience (learned the hard way, twice) home inspectors aren't NEARLY as thorough as they need to be. They're inspectors for a reason - you want a legit contractor to look at everything.
Inspectors know code, contractors know construction.
@@uscitizen898
One inspector completely missed a room in the basement of the older house my ex and I bought. He missed the room because their was a wall-hanging hanging over its door from the old owners.
We didn't know about that room either.
It cost his company dearly unfortunately because he missed a giant nest of carpenter ants!
So thankfully to have gotten an inspection.
I would NEVER buy a house without one.
My house is 1908 Edwardian era, and looks like a Victorian villa. Absolutely love the proportions and room sizes. Yes there is maintenance but in all honesty I prefer a house with space to some of the tiny rabbit hutch size homes we get in the UK. 😊
NEVER USE THE BANK'S INSPECTOR -THOSE BASTARDS WILL SAY EVERYTHING IS FINE!!!!!
I came here ready to learn why I should never buy a split-level home, since that's what's in the thumbnail. Now I'm sad cause it wasn't talked about, lol.
@@TheGeekMonster Thanks! You saved me from watching half the video.
All the split level homes that I've seen don't have a bathroom or powder room on the main level. So you always have to run down or up a flight of stairs to get to the bathroom. That's a big problem if you end up having problems doing stairs.
One thing hard to heat lot of lost heat
I never liked them as the ‘entrance’ into the home usually only accommodated one guest person at a time without a hall closet and you have to climb stairs in either direction to move into the houses- ugh. After one visit, never looked at another one.
@@user-pd7il3xz5j It is not an entire flight of stairs! Generally a short half-flight.
You did not mention that flippers typically use the cheapest materials out there, it only needs to look good for 30 minutes while you tour the house, then notice how cheap everything is when you actually live there. Better to buy a house that costs less that needs remodeling, then do it yourself to your taste and using quality materials.
Excellent point! We are GenXers who both have some remodeling and building experience from helping our families work on our childhood homes while growing up. We bought a 1977-built fixer-upper 16 years ago, got a good deal on it, and have done the majority of work on it ourselves. We are now debt-free (the house is paid off too), and its value has more than doubled. We both learned growing up that it's really the foundation of the house and the inner structure that matters, and that it can actually be advantageous to buy a cheaper fixer-upper, because, if you buy a newer place that doesn't need anything major, or if you buy an older place that's remodeled/upgraded AND if the work is either done poorly or you simply don't like the choices made, then you are stuck either dealing with that, or spending more money to redo those things.
Yeah, and guess who started flipping houses all the realtors when the economy got bad. So instead of selling homes, he started buying up all the affordable homes that were fixer uppers and reselling them themselves. I want to become a realtor. I got my license I was never able to pursue it because the economy collapsed just as I got my license. I can’t even watch your whole building. It totally text me off that she can’t see the value in these older homes. Probably she wants everybody to stop buying them so she can snap them all up and resell them.
Yeah, except remodeling is prohibitively expensive for alot of people, is very time consuming and most people will need to hire professionals for atleast 50% of the work which is a chore in itself.
This is true! Back during the pandemic my dad who works for the local parks went to go pick up field paint for sports - And watched a guy with an LLC truck steal the paint off the pallet set aside for my dad and drive off. Pretty sure some poor buyer got a house where the paint washed off first time it rained…
Renovating an old home far outweighs building a brand new one. To each thier own.
It can, especially when you have astronomical materials costs today. But even that aside, a gut or remodel will always be cheaper. And usually easier to manage and control in terms of the trades doing the work.
Especially since many newer homes in subdivisions are built so poorly
@@alexcanning5383Exactly
Not necessarily. Often, old homes have severe problems, like with rot and termites.
@@joevarga5982 Failing foundations, mostly caused by years & years of improper drainage. I've seen many..
LMAO my aunt in France lives in a 350+ house. It's bloody awesome.
And in many places in Europe a house that age is often considered "new" 🥰🥰
She must live next to my grandmother. She lives in a shoe and has alot of kids.
@@uscitizen898
Let's not exaggerated...
I'm French btw.
And also Canadian, but not French Canadian...😅
Yes but probably made of stone with clay tiles on the roof.
@@abelis644lol that’s funny, canadian french?
My home is 220 years old 🤣 but luckily before I bought it, it was a daycare for several years so it had to pass CRAZY inspections and had a lot of regulations. We still have an exit sign downstairs, and a water fountain!
Nobody will ever tire of a secret room.
What secret room? 😉
When me and husband were looking for houses years ago, one of the ones we were looking at buying had a slide that went down to a secret room. They modified the front closet and sectioned off part of the basement, it was a fun thing to find.
I was about to say the same thing.
@@JLajosThe secret room right behi-ooOOOOO! Wink-wink!
_"Did you just SAY 'wink-wink'?!"_
😂
For folks who don't know...LLC is Limited Liability Corporation.
If a LLC business does something to put them at financial risk and is sued for damages, they can opt to declare bankruptcy and the plaintiff gets nothing. Then, the owner(s) can choose to create a new LLC and continue doing what they were doing, free and clear of the settlement debt.
Wow thanks for that input. So many of these things should be illegal.
Not true. An LLC doesn't fully protect you and it also depends on the state.
There's more to it then that. Technically an LLC only risks the amount of money or assets put into the company and can protect your personal assets outside of the business, assuming you follow the rules closely. You are still required to be bonded and insured based the requirements of the industry you are in. If you do not have insurance your personal assets can be seized upon a judgement. Also, if are deemed personally negligent or fraudulent, it will not protect your personal assets.
You really do a great service by warning on these points! By Gods grace I now say, I dodged a lot of RE-buying disaster bullets! That's because as it was, I was ignorant; but every very old, 1960s - 1940s house I bought while with wife & children living in them, I ended up making the money back-plus profits...which amazes me now. But yes, you really have some $aving advise list there; that I can vouch for!!! This one about oil tanks in the ground hit home with reviving my memory of when we moved into an 100 yr-plus crooked 2 story in rural KY, and then noticed a black steel pipe barely sticking out of the dirt, horrified to find the old rusting tank with fluid still in it, where we had only a shallow well for water! So, we really enjoyed a mini farm life at first, but we're benefitted by a Sudden go-ahead to a mega-prison being built 1/8 mile from us! The govt. forced-bought a slice of the 3 acres, including the outhouse we had on it! Then we had to sell and sold the whole place with about a 30% gain on what we paid...Great help at the time.
THANKS, so far you really gave me reason to subscribe! Subed 👍
(Bronx-born, Bergen County raised ☺️)
It’s actually Limited Liability Company. An LLC is not a corporation.
Grew up in a 1792 home. Much better built than the crappy 1998 I currently own. My friend built her home. Within two years she had black mold from a leaking pipe and shoddy workmanship.
I’d buy an old house in a heartbeat.
I built my own house, myself that is and it’s in perfect condition at 12 y/o.
We found the perfect home we were looking for. It had absolutely everything we wanted. The reason we passed....it was located right beside high tension power lines.
What's the matter? You don't want super powers?! 😮
My friend does repairs on the new tract houses just before closing. Basically he fixes whatever is on the punchlist. He shakes his head at what is going on with these new builds. They are a mess; he says he wouldn’t buy anything built in this decade.
Yep older homes are built better. The new construction is crap! IMO
@@Mithras444
Yep, I wouldn’t buy anything built after about 1960 - prewar houses are even better.
Is it getting too expensive to build basements? I live in Iowa, not a flood zone, or ground that would prevent a basement being built but all the new construction for new homes around me have no basement. There is a safe room built into the home in case of a tornado instead. Can someone answer that question for me? It’s even the nicer, more expensive homes being built with no basement.
@@kimberlychodur3508 Iowa is known to flood on occasion just fyi. The entire state used to be swamp and marshes and it’s now the most terraformed state in the country due to monocropping agriculture.
Anything after around 1970.
Just because the house is less than 100 years old, doesn’t guarantee there are no problems. We bought a 10 year old house and the pvc pipes burst less than a month after moving in because they cut corners during construction. We had to replace pvc pipes with copper to make sure it won’t happen again.
Exactly. years ago we bought a SIX year old house in Maine. I figured 6 years old, what can go wrong it's like buying a 2 year old car. Everything went wrong within 2 months of moving in. new roof, whole new septic system, plumbing, electrical. Oh and btw, the guy that owned the house was a builder! I'll take an older home any day of the week. I can go on about new houses my sister bought WOW!
I watched the build of a subdivision by me as walked through them daily as part of my nightly walk. What I saw that got covered up by Sheetrock and concrete told me never unless custom build that I oversee. Buyer beware!
I’ve seen ads for two year old homes being “move in ready”….yeah it should be.
Stop using cardboardy tubeing for pipes
It's incredible that PVC is even allowed for pressurized pipes. For sewer, it's fine, though.
Copper is still best although PEX has proven to be reliable. There is really no good reason to good PVC or CPVC for pressurized pipes.
This is the most truthful video I’ve ever seen from a real estate professional. I’m a 40+ year mechanical contractor. I’ve worked in countless homes. Renovations cost about 2X more than people think. The DIY people are the worse and cause expensive issues for themselves. Don’t get emotional over a purchase and always believe your home inspector.
The “homeowners special” = the gift that keeps giving
I love my mobile home. Taxes are cheap, they mow the lawn, I get free trash service, including bulk. We have a lot of community events. Got a community swimming pool, a gym, dog park and a clubhouse. I purchased it in cash so there's no mortgage.
Life is good at my beautifully kept mobile park. I LOVE it!❤
So smart, my house is 1100 square ft- 2 car garage, corner lot so huge wrap around yard in 🌴😎 northern California. Same family for lawn\shrub work 25 years! House paid for- taxes low re: proposition 13..rip Senator Howard Jarvis!!....have a reliable handyman which is important...plumbing, electric, painting, etc.😅Construction skills..he replaced framing that had termites!😮Happy I bought house when son was a teenager..married in another state.
Trash is not free for anyone. It is in your park fees or condo fees if you live in a condo.
I loved my 1919 bungalow. She was solid, gorgeous, so much character. I LOVED my laundry shoot, too. So convenient. Old homes, when taken care of, are far and away better than the new construction. My first home was new. I loved her because she was my first but nothing compared to my second old home.
Agreed 100%.
❤
I agree. My first home was a one owner craftsman style bungalow. It had weird quirks like the only toilet in the house faced right into the kitchen and was as far from the bedroom as it could be and still be in the same house, but I was young and lived alone and didn’t care. That house had character and was built solid.
in case youre the type thats interested, just letting you know its "chute" not "shoot" :]
It is not about the age of a home but the quality of construction. I owned a 100 year old
Arts and Crafts home. The electrical work exceeded today's quality and codes, and the plumbing
did as well with copper piping. The foundation was perfect and the framing was oak you
could not drive a nail in. All the finish work was done in heart of pine without a single knot.
From my 60 years of home ownership and buying, building and selling homes, the worst
homes in the US are split foyers and tri-level homes. There are too many steps, and they
are too hard to heat and cool. They are very difficult to sell, and they sell at lower prices
per square foot.
Agree , love my craftsman home.
....and they're ugly inside and out.
I love split levels, and they're common in my area but this is a very temperate climate so you can get by with open windows to help cool and fireplaces to help heat. I wanted one so bad but couldn't find one that was just right for us. We ended up with a brick ranch with a finished basement. Now I can't imagine living anywhere else!
You mean Craftsman?
When looking for a home, we avoided a split foyer home because of dealing with moving furniture. We did purchase a newer construction home 1991 in 1999, fortunately, the owner and designer was the builder. HE and his wife were very particular with their build. Sold due to children grown and wanted single story. Love the house. The Changes we've nade were according to our needs. Mainly updating style. Go with quality work.
So many new homes are junk.
Pure junk. So geeedy capitalists can make a fat profit
That’s not true
Yup! Many of them are put together with tape and glue
In California old homes have to be retrofitted to meet the standards of earthquake insurance companies. I know this because I got a letter in the mail a few weeks ago. Fortunately my home was built in 2014, so I don't have to worry about that.
@@tallflguy There is a reason US homes are generally known as being built out of cardboard compared to other countries where they are expected to last - at least - for a century or longer. My grandparents home was built in the 1300, I've rented a house built in the 1820s (relatively new in comparison) and another built in the 1920s and ALL were far better than those built much more recently (after the 1980s for example).
You didn't mention my golden rule- Never buy a house with a problem that can't be fixed. Apartment looking into your back yard, To many stairs or any if you plan to stay into old age.
I've owned three new houses, now we're in a 1893 charmer. First time I've had a dry basement!
@maryb6065 my house was built in 1893 too! It's on a hill and our root cellar and basement do get water. :(
Also, if the property slopes down toward the house.
Heavy rainfall brings water toward the home.
Costly to mitigate.
I,totally agree! Our 1999 home sits up from,the road - no chance of flooding at,all - but the driveway is also sloped so……. When we were looking at homes in this area I noticed thst many sat lower than street level! I never understood why! Pretty dumb if you ask me!
French drain but yeah, a no off the bat.
So true. Friend twenty years ago had a higher field slip down to and thru his house in torrential rain. Buy on a hill not under it.
This causes massive foundation problems
I sure wish someone had explained that to my mother before she bought out current house. There is a slight hill from our neighbors house and every time it rains heavily (which has been pretty frequent in the 20 plus years we've lived in the house) the water comes in. We've managed to stem the problem to some extent but it stills gets damp in her bedroom along one wall and it got so bad in another room we had to pull the carpet out and get the floor tiled. I know the house is probably full of black mold and/or mildew due to repeated flooding over the years but financially hardships prevent taking real care of the problem. Our neighbors have the same problem as our property slopes down to theirs but they're lucky it's just their garage that gets flooded (well, they have a lot junk in the garage so maybe not so lucky).
My husband and I bought a fixer upper. Great land, great location. He was handy. He injured himself and later passed away. Left me with a lot of unfinished projects. Make sure whatever you buy, it's manageable. Long driveway, more to shovel, land, more to mow etc.. etc.
Left you with unfinished projects?.that's your major concern? Must've been some spouse
@@Mrmajellan123are you married?
@@Mrmajellan123 You shouldn't judge her. You don't know what went on in her relationship.
@@Mrmajellan123 What part of “he passed away” did you miss?
I’m so sorry for your loss!!!
Everything here is spot on. It’s too easy to be razzle dazzled with the cosmetics of a home until you see the disclosures
Regarding flood zones: I recommend not even buying *near* a flood zone, or just outside it. My husband and I purchased a home in ‘96 and in 2008, the flood zone map was changed, enveloping our property.
Never never, never, and again, never buy in a flood plain. Although our home never flooded (even 20 yrs ago it was flooding all around our metro area) we were in the flood plain and you cannot shop around for flood insurance as you can car insurance. The cost of our flood insurance went up every single year by at least $50. we were fortunate in the zoning eventually changed and we sold the house. We paid hundreds of dollars monthly for flood insurance. If we were still in that home, the flood insurance would be almost as much as the mortgage payment.
I thought of that before buying. Most of my house has a 40 inch foundation except where the garage is. We had a torrential downpour a few years back and the water never came close to it. We're on a slight downgrade so the water flows away from the house.
I think its subjective, my house is in a 500 year flood zone and I can guarantee it'll never flood. 😂 The rivers would have to be 83 feet over just to get my yard wet, which would actually flood something like 600sq miles first.
@@MidwestRider559 - It’s very much the same in my situation. However, if a newly drawn flood zone envelopes even one foot onto the edge of your property line, your entire property is considered to be within the flood zone - even if your house sits on the edge of a cliff or atop a steep hill.
@@MidwestRider559just make sure there aren’t surprises. We learned with a previous house that our creek (which would never appear to ever come close to our house no matter how much rain came down) actually had a 25year dam farther up. 25year dam is exactly as it sounds. It was built to be sound for 25 years. Oh and guess what? It was now 25 years old. Most people in our neighborhood had no idea. In fact, we only found out because we got a letter informing us hours before a hurricane hit. I guess they were trying to cover their butts by informing us. The dam survived the hurricane, but I’m glad we left that house.
Something I realized as soon as my parents handed over their home to me, homeownership is truly liberating (don’t have to worry about being evicted) but expensive at the same time with all the upkeep. It seems like every year the home needs something done. 😑
You're fortunate to have a mortgate-free home! But yeah, it really does seem like every year the home needs something done and it's hard finding trustworthy and seasoned handymen/contractors who will do the job properly.
It's a never ending litany of repairs. Liberating? I don't know.
@@zuzanazuscinova5209 Better than being homeless, I guess. Condo Living is pretty carefree
@@00inwiththenew00
as a person who also inheirited their parents home,
theres lots of maintainence. ive just come to make my peace with a project each year.
some are opt-in like cosmetics to keep the home youthful. others are a pain in the butt like electrical (was minor), plumbing (also minor), and structural (windows were dry rotted), roof was dirty and wanted to get the max life out of it.
I will say this. learn how to do your own contruction work will save thousands if not tens of thousands on the many many many ankle biter projects.
get your own shovel and up keep your own flowerbed, do your own lawn cutting, learn to paint, pressure wash you own driveway, and so on.
the more you KNOW and DO, the less you pay someone else to do it.
save your money for more major projects. idk maybe I'll raise my kids to be construction workers and contractors just so they can refurb homes and flip them.
again im a TFK and my folks home doubled in value. but the only thing im paying is taxes and upkeep. which is still a pain but its pales in comparison if i had to buy the home for its current value. its a double edged sword. property values are nice to sell when they rise but its a pain to buy these inflated values.
all in all, since i grew up in the home, i know every problem and which are minor, major, and the ones i need to get ahead of before they become a major pain.
No eviction as long as you pay your property taxes. Government owns it, you rent it with tax money
I have an old home. Built solid.
You are right about the cost of bringing them up and caring for them, but they kick butt over new boring looking and cheaply made home.
My home is 139 years old. Most of the home is amazing. There is some issues from a remodel from previous owners. When they expanded the kitchen they needed more insulation. The upstairs need a rewire coming up and about half need a replumb. Still the biggest and most reliable house on our block and has the biggest lot. 6 bedroom and 3.5 bath for the price of a three bedroom because other people were scared of a old home. My favorite is the giant L shaped front porch. I am aware there will be costs, but we love our home.
Bought a redone house from thr 1950s. Home inspection found two major issues. Seller initially said take it or leave it. We said leave it. He came back and offered to partially pay for it. We said no. Held firm and he completely fixed the two issues. Too many people aren't willing to either walk away or be firm regarding issues. You can buy older homes or flipped homes, but you have to be willing to play hardball
Awesome! You are right..no HOA. We are selling and never again!
I'm a retired home inspector. Your video is spot on. Buy a newer home with post 1968 wiring, post galvanized plumbing and modern insulation systems.
WhT year and up do u suggest?
@@angelasmith257 Homes built after 1968 have a three wire electrical system. About that time PVC/CPVC plumbing was introduced. Both game changers.
@@aubreytycer8708 in ur opinion which year had the best built homes ?
My 1968 haza AFCI, copper pipes, etc. It was remodeled by a contractor who was building homes on nearby lots, he put in shitty fans for the bathrooms I replaced.
Re the Seller's Disclosure, I sold a house thinking it was going to a first-time homebuyer, so I typed up seven single-spaced pages of info about the house for them, believe it or not, so they would understand absolutely everything, including in a major rain storm where the water in the alley flows and how to prevent drainage problems on the site. Turns out, the buyer was actually a flipper. He worked on it for three YEARS (while working on other properties) before putting it up for sale, so potential buyers thought he just updated his house. Posing as a potential buyer, I asked for a Seller's Disclosure from the real estate office, and was very surprised at how much important info he didn't disclose, including where (and what type) the French Drain pipes were located, info about having upgraded all the outlets, including the GFCIs, etc. Had he been honest, he would have simply handed the buyer the info I typed up and told them what he did since purchasing the property. So, in closing, a Seller's Disclosure doesn't always tell you everything you need to know, but most often is the best info you can get.
As a renovator I began photographing everything after digital cameras and colour printers became available. I mean like photographing opened wall and joist cavities while pipes and wires are exposed. Documentation which could save a lot of time and trouble to a future electrician or whoever. Always affixed a large envelope beside the breaker panel, containing such "x-rays" of the house including floor sketches of the circuits keyed to a responsibly marked panel. Should be law this info must stay with the house, but my city hall has yet to even archive such voluntary documentation, and it took them twenty years to figure out an emailed photo can often save the cost of an inspector visit.
Buyer beware. I always have an acceptable home inspection as a contingency . Ie only looking for huge problems so i can get out of the contract if something expensive is found that i don't want to deal with. Unless the seller wants to pay for the repair .
@@pong9000nice. Most would appreciate that.
My house had bad leaking in the basement shortly after I moved in. Not in the seller's disclosure, yet they just happened to have placed a rug right in the middle of the basement in a low spot and under that rug you could see damage to the paint job. When we ended up ripping out this ridiculous man-house in the basement (seriously, it has windows...inside the basement) we found the damage and could tell it had been going on for quite some time. No way they couldn't have known. But they were idiots who ruined their water fixtures by never repairing a broken water softener (thankfully that was super evident so I knew what I was getting into) so it's just par for the course.
Flippers are parasites. We went into serious debt thanks to one of their disgraceful ilk and their mold infested lipstick on a pig disaster. The inspector sucked, btw, and caught none of the very obvious things our later contractor pointed out in under fifteen minutes.
I just bought my first house 2 months ago. Immediately when I started looking at homes I ruled out flips for these exact reasons. The cosmetic work was horrible and I didn't trust what was in the walls. My favorite flip red flag I saw, they walled off a portion of the living room to make a 3rd very small bedroom with a closet. The house had a double front door into the living room. They walled off 1 side of that double front door, so it was in the closet of the new bedroom. Left about 3-4 inches of the now useless left side of the door with the doorknob exposed. I was like first of all I don't trust this to be water tight and will probably leak into the wall that was just created. And more importantly, if someone does this and thinks it is ok, I don't trust anything else they did.
I ended up targetting homes that were being sold by a newer widow where the spouse that died was in their 60s/70s. (I did research through property records and obituaries) Why? Because the homes were well taken care of with plans for the couple to live there long-term then typically one would get sick (cancer everytime actually) and die so the survivor was selling to downsize.
I bought a great house with all new mechanics, quality everything, for below asking price within 48 hours of it listing.
Thats great. I would just be precautious regardinf if the cancer cause had anything to do with the house.
Thank you for giving great ideas of how to do it well. I'm pretty clear on what to avoid. It's so scary when we have to find a place to live in a hurry. Sometimes we dont have loads of time to wait, & with these higher int rates, there isn't nearly as much on the market. Renting doesn't work out if you have petS.
@@HumanOptimization Exactly what I was thinking. I don't think contaminated homes are as common as we may worry, though. The bigger concern is cancer being on the rise period.
@@fleatactical7390 And it's on the rise because BILLIONS of people around the globe complied in the last 3 years.
I agree with everything that was suggested. But... If you buy an old house, don't depend on the inspector sent out for home purchases because they just do not tell you everything. It happened to me. The old house I bought was passed but we were not told of issues that we wish we had known. If you can, hire your own inspector. Believe me, it will be worth it.
Our house is 70 years old. Inspector missed tons of stuff, including asbestos and thousands and thousands of dollars of plumbing issues. My advice is to get a plumbing and electrical inspection.
Find a civil engineer.
A relative of mine purchased a condo - first home and yes, it came with an hoa. Two things. The person who inspected the property was so clueless that he didn't find that most of the windows collapsed and were in dyer need of replacement, the dishwasher didn't work nor did the washing machine that was included in the sale. He did threaten a lawsuit against the inspector and was reimbursed for the inspection but had to eat the rest. Furthermore, the building was sold after about a year of him being there and the new owners and staff were miserable. Needless to say, NO to condos and HOAs.
Yeah, my realtor told me the inspectors in our area are not worth anything and you are much better off finding a friend or relative who knows construction to come with you when looking for homes. They at least have your safety in mind.
Ruth here, make sure you lay up money, DO NOT LIVE PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK, you will always have repairs, whatever, l would not buy a split level, when older, ya don't wanna be going all those steps
Semi detached homes or row homes are a problem if you dont insulate against neighbor noise. My attached neighbors constantly kept us up at night due to their schedule. There wasn't any privacy when it came to conversations near a wall. Their answering machine was near the air duct, so their messages got broadcasted though our vents. When they took the carpet off their stairs, we heard running up and down at all hours.
We moved do to the stress.
When we bought our house it had a buried oil tank, still in use. We asked the seller to remove it. What a nightmare! Our own agent acted like we were overreacting. They tried to guilt us into letting them decommission it. They did a wick test and said there was no water in the tank so it didn't have any leaks and it was perfectly okay to leave it there. No! We insisted we wanted it out, they made us feel crappy about the whole thing - but finally the seller agreed to remove it. When they pulled it out of the ground there were so many holes in it and there was oil in the ground soil 14' down. We were right and glad we stuck to our guns, but at the time, I did tell our agent, "If this sale falls through, we are done." Our agent later told me that they had 3 more buried tanks after ours and that they had learned a lot from our experience.
My property has an unused oil tank, above ground and abandoned. Is there some sort of risk to that?
I DESPISE agents that act like they aren't working with you! Mine tried to have my house re-appraised because the seller was going to cough up a pretty penny. She tried to have it re-appraised to where I'd have to ask my lender for 10k more to pay back. Trust completely broken and I'm happy my Lender immediately emailed and called me before going ahead
@@kumikor3392 So did you drop the agent?
@@iamhischosen3866 no, it's super late in the process. Now I have to treat her like a child that a parent can't 100% trust. I'm double checking all her words, micro-managing the progress and expecting updates in a timely manner. I speak with my lender who I can trust more, but I'm definitely never recommending this agent again
I would've fired that agent..
The house flipped by LLCs - spot on. My cousin bought a house from a wall street investor company - it caught fire (total loss) and it was due to crap insulation material around the fireplace. The reno was trash.
New sub, I enjoy your content!
Thanks so much for subscribing! So sorry that happened to your cousin. How awful!
@@JackieBaker her whole family was home, they barely made it out - you never think about the danger you put yourself in when corners are cut!!
Wow. I'm not surprised. That really shows the real dangers of flippers. I wish there were more laws to prevent that sort of thing..
@sheisLD so glad they made it out.
Word of advice, talk to the neighbors. They know if a homeowner didn’t take care of their property, especially the outside areas. If they don’t take care of the outside property, they probably didn’t maintain the inside of the house.
Talk to the neighbors to find out what the neighbors are like, but your suggestion makes little sense, compared to looking at it yourself. "Maintain" is a nonsense word anyway. You're going to get it inspected, right?
@@stinkycheese804inspection isn't the end and be all, they are very high level. I agree about the exterior being a giveaway as to the overall condition. Have never seen a house that looked like trash on the outside but great inside.
This is an excellent point. I have lived in my house for 38 years, and the house next door has had about 5 owners since then. I know all kinds of things about that house, what work they have done and not done. No one ever asked me anything until it was too late.
Ask the mail carrier how long they’ve delivered that area and what they’ve seen. I delivered same area over 20 yrs, I saw a lot! Who lived where, how they took care of outside, sometimes saw inside too, and when flippers came in and bought the vacant houses, I could tell you how long they worked on it, what upgrades they did/didn’t do and if I got chummy with the workers they let me inside to check progress. I could always tell the ones that were jacked up somehow cuz they were on the market more than 2 wks. Houses in my area were close if not 100 yrs old, flippers were putting in half baths off kitchen or under stairs, high end counters, walk in showers…but not replacing wiring or plumbing in walls or not replacing drainage pipes in yard and 6 months after these newbies move in they got plumbers out there tearing up yard putting in new drainage. One I would have loved to see disclosure on…owner had been sick for years, let mail pile up for wks so if it went longer I’d ask his neighbor to check on him. Most times he was ok…last time neighbors had been away, new neighbors other side did not know him so went a couple months before someone cared. He had been deceased long enough he decomposed into the wood floor and then into the ceiling of the floor below. 😑 eventually his ex sold house to flipper, they worked couple months gutting the place and sold it for 3x what houses in area went for (10 yrs ago, houses in area went for $100k or less…this house went for $350k). I still wonder if new owners know someone died in there. I’ve been watching the house across the street getting worked on…was a rental/absolute train wreck on inside when it sold, I’ve talked to the owners/flippers once when it got broken into and would love to see what they’ve done to inside, may have to take a tour when it’s done! I kinda figure they owe me that since I didn’t complain when their workers kept using my driveway to park while working in it lol
I dissent on the yard not being immaculate
I can’t do it but my inside is spotless
I ONLY buy houses over 100 years old. I don't even look at houses built after ww2. Re-doing wiring and plumbing is a big pain but not a deal breaker for me.
Yes! All these great tips plus never buy someone else's flip. Corners are always cut.
Yes! Sad fact but it's true!
You can check out the type of plumbing and electric by going into the basement. There are RUclips videos on many repairs.
@@shanedavison7473 That's great if you want to throw money and your time into a house you just purchased, otherwise, not great but a potential money pit. The price one pays should reflect that. The question is "what is your time worth?"
Yep, bought a flip. And you don’t see the issues until after you move in. I already have to get the windows redone and the “bathroom Reno”is already falling apart. They painted or glazed the tub and it’s already peeling. The seller side, your realtor and inspector are all in on the racket so they’ll never point out the problems.
But you’re also asked to not buy an extravagant remodel where corners were not cut. The likelihood of a flip is more than an extravagant remodel. My feeling is buy if the price is right.
One other type of house I would *never* consider buying is a tri-level. "Tri-level" is code for "always having to go up and down stairs anywhere you go in the bouse."
Absolutely! My cousin lives in a duplex house with SIX split levels. My paternal grandparents were the original owners about 1970 or so, and I think that sort of architecture was the in thing at the time.
From bottom to top:
1. Game room that used to be a garage
2. Dining room and kitchen
3. Living room with front door as main entrance to the house
4. Bedroom
5. Two more bedrooms and both bathrooms
6. Bedroom
@@Tes7000 Mostly tri levels are cheaper to build
Maybe you should buy one so your wife gets a firmer ass instead of a fat lumpy one. Just a suggestion. Gotta keep them on the stair climber, ya know.
Split level or bilevel floor plan is not good
Can u imagine tryin to do that as u get older…
I bought a old home. It is beautiful. My husband took our time to update it, but it worth it. Very well built.
Kathleen, what do you do to heat your home?
That’s one of my concerns buying an older home. Since they were not as well insulated, most have high ceilings……even when I was a little girl my grandmother paid quite a bit to heat her house. Other than that, I think nothing is built like an older home. My grandmother’s house had pocket doors, and stained glass, and carved railings….. I look at it this way, every house will end up needing some type of work…,it comes with the territory!
We moved into a neighborhood with mostly ranchers and a few modest sized colonial houses. Recently, many of these homes are being completely leveled or expanded to the extent that the size of the home overtakes one's view, blocks the sun, and the new expansion is closer than desired.
When I called the zoning board they said they really never expected anyone would build to the limits, but neighbors are doing exactly that. The continuity of the neighborhood has been destroyed. The only way to gain back some privacy is to dump your pockets out to do a lot of landscaping.
Privacy & views in a subdivision? 🤣
U want country living close to a SB
I have owned two old houses, both over 100 years old. They have been less problematic than the newer homes we have owned! But, they had been restored prior to my purchase. The quality and beauty of the old homes far surpasses anything new.
IMO it’s difficult to set down specific predictions for the housing market is because it’s not yet clear how quickly or how much the Federal Reserve can bring down inflation and borrowing costs without tanking buyer demand for everything from homes to cars.
Trading systems allow you to limit the factor of emotional influence on decision-making, as well as to give the trade a certain degree of systemic character.
I agree because there are opportunities in the market doesn’t mean you should go in blindly. To understand the potential factors that contribute to your financial growth, I'll advise you to seek the help of a professional.
You're right! I diversified my $400K portfolio across various markets with the help of my financial advisor, and I've been able to generate over $1.2 million in net profit from high dividend yield stocks, ETFs, and bonds during this downturn.
That's quite impressive! Can you share more information about your financial advisor?
‘Grace Adams Cook’ is the licensed advisor I use. Just search the name. You’d find necessary details to work with to set up an appointment.
I bought a home in New Jersey next door to a home with an underground oil tank that was leaking for years. Even those owners did not know about the tank, but there was always an odor of diesel fuel in both our houses and yards. The EPA came out, evicted us, raised up our houses, dug out the soil underneath, rebuilt the basements and lowered our houses back onto the new foundations. It took 3 years total. Out of the 4 years I owned the house, I was only able to live in it for 1. What a mess! Luckily, I paid nothing, got a new basement, and immediately sold for a profit.
Holy cow! That has to be the worst story I’ve heard! Sorry you had to go through that!
@@philipfrancis2728 Yikes! Glad you came out in the black, at least.
How did u pay rent and a mortgage 🤯
Jackie is 110% right on all of these videos. I’m a home builder and real estate investor . I always tell people I’m not a real estate agent t because I would only tell them why they Should NOT buy the house . I hope Jackie writes a book. Great content .
It's not just money you may have to spend on repairing the house but also sheer stress of either figuring out how to do it yourself, or the stress of dealing with workers in your home all day long!
or finding someone reputable to do the work
The cost of stress is very underrated when purchasing a home
@@betmo Ugh. Yes. It's why I'm trying to make as many connections as I can while we're looking for land. Ideally, we'd like an old farmhouse and it'll almost certainly need work.
Or even moving out while work is under way. It's expensive paying rent elsewhere.
Back in the day, when I purchased my first home to live-in; that was Miami in the early 1990s, first mortgages with rates of 8 to 9% and 9% to 10% were typical. People will have to accept the possibility that we won't ever return to 3%. If sellers must sell, home prices will have to decline, and lower evaluations will follow. Pretty sure I'm not alone in my chain of thoughts.
If anything, it'll get worse. Very soon, affordable housing will no longer be affordable. So anything anyone want to do, I will advise they do it now because the prices today will look like dips tomorrow. Until the Fed clamps down even further, I think we're going to see hysteria due to rampant inflation. You can't halfway rip the band-aid off.
consider moving your money from the housing market to financial markets or gold due to high mortgage rates and tough guidelines. Home prices may need to drop significantly before things stabilize. Seeking advice from a financial advisor who understands the market could be helpful in making the right decisions.
I will be happy getting assistance and glad to get the help of one, but just how can one spot a reputable one?
I just googled her and I'm really impressed with her credentials; I reached out to her since l need all the assistance l can get. I just scheduled a caII.
I currently have a 2.5 percent, I purchased my home in 2013 and refi.d 2 years later to get this rate. 10 years later, I would like to move, but not at today's rates. I am hoping we can get back to 3 percent or between 4 to 6percent.
My grandfather-in-law was an engineer and city planner and he always said to go to planning departments or archives to get aerial photos of what the land looked like before development if possible. If you see water, even a small, seasonal drainage stream, run. He insisted you would have nothing but foundation issues forever. My ex-sister-in-law worked for a home builder and she also said you really need to get geology reports and land-use history reports. She knew of entire developments built on little more than sand. Those homes were barely five years old at the time and already a mess. People also need to know that buying rural doesn't mean you own everything and can do whatever you want either. There are often pipelines under the land. In Alberta Canada, if they need to put in a highway, frack, install an oil well, or build a utility corridor, you learn pretty quickly how little control you have over your own land. There are also often strict land-use regulations that have to be followed and sometimes you have to pay for expensive environmental or historical impact assessments before you can make any changes. Bottom line: no matter what type of property you are looking to buy, investigate every possibility for what you are getting into and don't assume anything.
I've lived rural all my life. You're just supposed to call before you dig to see where any pipes or anything might be. Federal land isn't sold. You just have to deal with state and city. If a pipe runs through the middle of a property, you're not allowed to build on it for example. My neighbor's have an extra lot attached with theirs because it can't be built on due to a sewer line running the length of it. Just more reasons I'm glad I don't live in Canada.
Great advice. Thank you!
I agree and appreciate with all of this advice, but as a first time home buyer, we have no power. Saying no to all of these is saying not to buying a house. Every time we’ve gone back to the seller to negotiate, they terminate the sale.
Yeah
Not the market to be doing this lol
I remember a story about well-known HGTV flippers and how some buyers who bought their flips complained about how shoddy their work was and had to spend money to get it fixed by a professional contractor.
was that "Love it or List it"? I heard of a North Carolina couple who took the show to court.
They use contractors in all the HGTV shows, however, does not mean they are good contractors.
@@mickyo7171 that's the God's honest truth!
@@raymondlussier3920 Flip or Flop Vegas was one of them
@@raymondlussier3920no they were in Canada
Great advice, esp the recently sold/remodeled. We often see the "graywash syndrome," with grey plastic fake wood floors, cheap kitchen and bathroom remodels, white spray-painted everything. We look for 1960's brick ranches that have been owned by original owners and never remodeled. Just bought one this year and we love it.
Ours 1950's also. Real 2 x4s, solid everywhere.
Yes!!! Looking for a homes and all flooring and kitchen cabinets are mostly gray. 2024
Our house isn't even that old. It's a mid century modern custom built in the 90s. The young couple that owned it before us "remodeled" it. It's awful. He put down cheap bamboo lament that's already fading, new cabinets he bragged about that the finish is coming off of, he put a mud finish on the walls but didn't even bother removing the fixtures before spraying, and they covered all the garden beds in plastic and killed everything in them. The master bath was still gutted when we bought it. The only thing good is the kitchen counter top but it's got an uneven lip where it's joined but I can live with that slight imperfection. Fortunately we noticed it all when bought it and my husband is a carpenter.
We purchased a home 2 years ago. We wanted a large home with a big yard. We opted to buy an older home (20+ years). The newer subdivisions had no yard and many had large HOA fees. They also felt like an apartment with the generic amenities. Just research what you want and keep looking. Houses were selling by the time I requested to walk thru so we had to act fast when we found our perfect home. Hired an inspector who I trust. The house wasn't perfect, but had good bones. No regrets. Just do your homework and hire a trusted inspector.
What’s up with these new houses that have no backyard?
The house im living in was originally built in 1905. I just bought it last year. And i absolutely love it.
I live in a 1928. It is the best built solid home. You will find you made a good choice.
In 1984, we bought a house that was just above the 500 year flood plain. We sold the house in 1992. Water came within 15 feet of the building, but the house itself never flooded when we owned it. The rains were so bad this year (2024) that the house was flooded. It happens. Topography shifts. One of the things you don't mention is homes that are in a slight depression. If the slope runs downward toward the house, it will eventually flood in heavy rain. The water has no where else to go. We were lucky. We owned another property on a hill, where all of the water drained away from the house. Our neighbors were not so lucky and many of them spent a small fortune for construction fixes. Be sure that the property has methods to drain the water away from the house. This is particularly true of garages.
The answer is a moat.
Very good advice. I'm in my 70s and I would add to all those retirees that they might avoid houses with too many stairs. It's harder to use stairs when you get older.
My Dad's 87 and my Mom's 86. The stairs in their house keep them in shape😀. Use it or lose it.
@@samantha-eu3cc My sister, who lived alone, fell coming down the stairs. Your parents may be unusually limber, but not everyone has that kind of balance.
Bannisters, preferably double (on each side of the stairs).
My friend has multiple sclerosis, she showed me her new dream home; a split level. I was quite surprised by her choice, so many stairs. She relapsed and lost her mobility quite often. I havent seen her in many years, dont know if she still lives there.
@@samantha-eu3cc yes. I'm partially paralysed. I have various ways of pulling myself upstairs and it's the toughest exercise available to me. We're thinking of moving. My husband suggested a bungalow. Absolutely not!
31 female here 👋 my advice is never by slab house. If there is no under the house crawl space just dont. My dad a plumber of his own business and the amount of people who bought slab house with leaking pipes. And thats just begging. U have to tear the whole house up to replace flooring and all
@@elishadavis6598 I don’t think you can find a house in Florida that isn’t built on a slab with no crawl space. I have never seen a basement here. Don’t buy a house in Florida is the moral of this story. I wish I hadn’t!
I’m living in an old home and the worst thing for us is the lack of outlets!!! It’s maddening. Our bedroom does have 2 outlets but one doesn’t work. It’s nuts. There are entire walls that have no outlets either.
Getting a home inspection is the best way to find out exactly what is needed. I would buy an old home any day of the week.
My house is 124 years old. I absolutely love it. As the saying goes, it has good bones. I had it very strongly inspected before I bought it. The plumbing was fine and the electrical was fine and that was my two main concerns. Don’t be scared of these old houses. The inspector told me that my house will still be standing in another 100 years. And the brand new builds that he is inspecting, he figures will literally not be standing in 50 years. give those old houses a chance. My house is small, but solid. I updated over the last three years and had no major issues. I’d rather invest in an old solidly built house than the crap that they are building nowadays. I have had less trouble with this house than my friend who bought a brand new build house has had.
Like I said I love old houses. But they’re not for everyone. I’m sure your house is very cool!
@randomletter-5i4same thing can be said of new builds in regard to inspection/inspectors. I know people who have bought new and have had plumbing, electrical, mold, because no inspection can catch it all.
@@jmbisme yep! Some friends bought a brand new house & it had many leaks & other problems. I've always bought old houses & didn't have any more problems & paid way less.
The inspector told me the same thing. They all have the same rhetoric because it’s all a racket and they’re part of the working parts of the cog to get the house sold.
Lol, my house was built in 1895-ish. What she said is true! Fortunately, my plumbing and electrical had already been replaced. I tested for asbestos before removing the flooring and green-light there. Thankfully, the oil tank had been an above ground one and decommissioned. But the electrical panel is in a freaking stairwell. The upstairs ceilings are so low at 5‘,3“ I can touch them and the stairs replaced the gym, they are so steep. None of the windows match. But good bones 😂, and I love it dearly after my efforts.
You MUST love hard work to buy a geriatric home. You’re never “done” fixing it.
I own a 170-yr-old brownstone in Brooklyn and a large 100-yr-old house in Nashville. Between the two, they're worth about $5M and I earn 6 figures in rental income from the brownstone. EVERY building comes with challenges, regardless of build date. "No old homes" is not serious advice.
Yea but I understand what she's saying. I'm originally from Boston. Almost everyone I know who bought homes built in 1890, 1905, etc. had endless issues. Not literally everyone, but I get what she's saying. Looks amazing on the outside and in, but get in those walls and ground and depending where you live, so many issues can arise.
@@GenoG1202 not true, if the house is standing 100 years most likely it will be there another 100 years
@@raydemos1181 👍🏾
@raydemos1181 agree! All houses need proper maintenance and upkeep but if it's been around that long it will keep standing.
I bought an old home. I'm the 3rd owner. I love it.
I’m a housekeeper for a 94 yr old mansion. 12,000 square feet! You need a whole army of engineers and electricians to keep that place up and running. The up keep is insane. These homes are best owned by mega wealthy people who won’t be burdened by the extravagant expenses.
This particular home was abandoned for years before a luxury hotel chain bought it.
I could imagine. My house is 1/10th that size and my list of maintenance tasks grows faster than I can check things off.
But I bet it's a beautiful pain in the a**!
I live in a smaller mansion colonial style 1920s 5,000 square foot mansion in Connecticut. It’s awesome
The fact that it's 12,000 sq ft has a LOT to do with the excessive upkeep required!
@@lizlee6290 right? What 12k sq ft home WOULDNT need constant upkeep? Literally 4-6x the size of the average home.
I remember when I was working in real estate seeing people buy homes new from builders with the intention of selling before close of escrow to a new buyer for profit. The crash was so brutal and fast that I remember seeing a lot of these units foreclosed on with the builder plastic still on the carpet.
Most people find it difficult to handle a fall since they are used to bull markets, but if you know where to look and how to maneuver, you can make a size-able profit. Depending on how you intend to enter and exit, yes.
The enduring US stock market bull run evokes a mix of fear and excitement, presenting opportunities with insight, resulting in $780k gains in the past ten months, utilizing a portfolio advisor for a well-defined strategy.
How do I reach out to one? my assets have been struggling since 2022 and I’ve been holding on by the skin of my teeth.
Research and contact Sonya Lee Mitchell and follow her directions.
Just ran an online search on her name and came across her websiite; pretty well educated. thank you for sharing.
Above all never buy any house in an HOA. We thought they were ruthless years ago but it keeps getting worse such as fining an old lady for having a wheelchair access ramp at her front door and telling her to get rid of it (later blocked by a court)
Yes, I hate HOAs, they made my mother's last years a torment.
@muffs55mercury61 I ĥave relatives that love their HOA. But they are the type of people who are picky about everything. They don't like that the people across the street haven't had a stump removed. I love them but I never could be their neighbor. No hoa for me!
I see both sides. The minimal hoa we have protects our value without being too intrusive, plus we get good snow plowing and a park. I just need to power wash every few years but don’t mind.
Absolutely! The only bad thing is that most, if not all, new developments are "Deed restricted" with an HOA - I think by collusion with local planning departments. HOAs are invariably run by a bunch of Karens that have nothing better to do than poke their nose into other people's business.
I've lived ten years in an HOA with no trouble with the board or neighbors. The neighborhood across the way has no HOA and total chaos and neighbors fighting constantly. I'll take my neighborhood any day
As a house flipper and licensed HVAC tech, having seen thousands of homes, this Realtor is spot on. Better listen to her. Foundations are another aspect of home inspections. Don't skip hiring your own home inspector with no connection to Realtor or buyers.
You're familiar with pyrrhotite? A naturally occurring mineral that can take decades to crumble concrete, but that's guaranteed. Owners in parts of Mass and Conn are paying absurd costs for their homes to be lifted and a new foundation poured, or they're just walking away. Insurance companies won't help. 😢
I always take the realtors suggestions for inspectors
Then I know which ones to def NOT use!