Buying our first home

[WrapperX]

So my wife and I are looking into buying our first House!

There are SOOO many things to consider! Where do we want to live? What are the schools like? How far is it to work, family and friends? What are the neighborhoods like? Do we buy "ready to move in" or do we buy an investment/fixer upper and live "under construction" for five years?

For instance - we looked at a house just yesterday - a GORGEOUOS old Victorian in a very nice area - it was a forclosure so it's listed at 99K it needs work immediately and over the course of ownership so I would probably only offer as much as 80 or 85K. Its over 100 years old so the "over the course of ownership" work is to be expected. But there are somethings that would have to be done with-in months of living there to make it more livable to our expectations. But it would certainly mean living underconstruction for the entire time we lived there. BUT the investment would be exceptional. The neighborhood is very nice and I would bet that in 5+ years after work had been completed the house could/would EASILY sell for over 300K. That would be a GREAT return on investment. The downside is that we would be living under construction. The nice thing is that some of it could be done by us and people we know to help and some of it would need to be done by professionals.

OR do we just keep looking and buy something that is newer - with in the last CENTURY - and by something that is more or less ready to live in and just go on doing what we do....

This whole life step is bizzarre and so foreign to me/us it's hard to take it all in and not start to feel a little insane! :ROFLMAO: I never knew it was possible to want to bang my head against a wall, roll on the floor laughing and pull want to pull my hair out all in such a short period of time!

I guess this is what makes life worth living right?

 

[Gino]

Do you have little ones ??

 

[Pat Whatley]

Some things to consider about old houses:

-Insulation. Most of them don't have insulated exterior walls, if they do it was done with blown in batting that will have settled. The 2500 sf 80 year old home I lived in cost almost $400 a month to heat and I only ran the heater when I was home. Our new 2500 sf house costs about $125.

-Electrical. Two prong, non-grounded outlets are a pain...so is living with only one outlet in each room. If the electrical work hasn't been updated hooking up the entertainment center can be interesting.

-Plumbing. Pipes build up plaque which can reduce water pressure to nothing.

-Kitchens. Kitchens tended to be small, so were bathrooms. When you're first looking it's easy to think that will be okay....when you live there it gets to be a pain.

-Closets. Most old houses were severely lacking in closet space.

Air conditioning. Does it have central heat and air or any way to run the ductwork if you add it?

All of that said we've looked at several 100+ year old houses and as soon as we find the right one we're moving. There's a charm, and character to them and they tend to be overbuilt structurally. The constant construction zone isn't that big a deal. Work on a room at a time, you can adapt around it pretty easily. I kind of miss the days in the 80 year old country home I had when the refrigerator and stove were on the back porch and the sink was mounted on 2x4s and hooked up to the garden hose.

Congratulations on the first home. Once you do it you'll kick yourself for ever paying rent.

 

[Billct2]

I've always lived in old houses, my parents is 1840, mine is 1919. You have to have a certain mentality to accept the quirks (problems) of living in an old house. My only serious suggestion is to find a good house inspector and don't buy snything without it being contingent on an inspection.

 

[WrapperX]

Gino - Yes, we have a 6.5 year old but we would like to have more, and soon so that is a concern. The wife certainly won't be of any help pregnant and crabby - hell, who am I kidding, she probably won't be of any help anyways however she'll probably a little less bothersome if she WASN'T pregnant.

Pat W - All good things to keep in mind. Hopefully a good Home Inspector would be able to let us know all these things in advance so we would be able to know ahead of time. Most deffinately AC/Furnance Ducts would be a necessity so we are deffinately keeping that on our MUST list. As for Kitchens and Bathrooms - you are totally right. The one hosue we looked at yesterday had the most atrotious bathrooms too small and just gross. Those would be the first things to get worked on. And the Kitchen was designed by someone who never did any sort of cooking or any food prep. So that would also need to be redone.

All in all this one house was great - if you look past all the work. i doubt we'll get this one just because of the amount of issues but it made me rethink the issue of just moving into a house that is more modern. The frame work and the trim as well as the beautiful hardwood everything was just gorgeous. I could totally live in an old house and work to make it nice and neat. They deffinately have a charm about them that these newer houses just don't have.

 

[Gino]

It's getting harder and harder to buy houses built prior to.... 1978 I believe is the year.... without inspections for leaded paint.

We're doing some renovations to our house and two of the wallpaper contractors have said they won't do any painting in houses before 1978 and I read up on it on the internet and it's true.

If you want to do any work to your house, you will have to have an inspection company come in and do an evaluation of ALL the paint in your house. They scrap various places and will get back to you as to how to go about getting rid of the leaded paint in and on your house.

It' just a matter of time..... before you go to sell a house, you'll need to pass this inspection. One of the contractors is an old friend of mine and he said it's very expensive for the tests, but far more expensive to remove. To boot, you can't cover over it, because they go down to bare wood. They'll do it in bathrooms, kitchens, closets, bedrooms and any other place...... probably even your garage windows.

 

[WrapperX]

The one thing about the older homes and the lead paint is the plaster walls. If you remove the plaster walls and replace with drywall/sheetrock that should go away right?

 

[Billct2]

Here's some good info on lead paint
http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/lead/exposure/childhood/leadq.htm

 

[Pat Whatley]

By the way, something you may want to look at, when my brother bought his house which was built in the 1880s he ended up ripping out all the plaster and lathe in the house. Every inch of it. Having access to the studs made it painless to update the plumbing, wiring and the insulation in the entire house. He replaced the plaster walls with sheetrock. It was cheaper and got better results than having it done without damaging the walls.

 

[SignManiac]

If you end up buying a new house, be on the lookout for Chinese sheet rock. Here in Florida they have condemned brand new homes because the sheet rock is sick. It's contaminated and emits chemicals that are making people sick and it also is destroying the pipes. Double wides are cheap down here but you cant stay in them during hurricanes.

 

[WrapperX]

Yeah I would want to remove any plaster in an old house and do it myself room by room. It would make for a fun project and keep me busy. I don't really have much going on outside of work that keeps me busy all the time. Mostly just messing around with Illustrator and playing the PS3 when the wife heads to bed (she gets up real early for work) So a nice project house would be something to do and something to learn.

 

[signswi]

You need to remove the idea from your head that a home is an investment. Don't even think about ROI only whether you think the value will hold (mostly depends on the area). You don't live in investment properties, you live in a home.

A really good home inspection will pay it's value back in magnitudes, make sure you find someone you know is good at what they do (referrals from friends who have bought in the area help).

If you do buy an old home (and I agree on style/build quality) try to work it so that you buy the house and work on it for a few months before you move in. Having the major stuff done when you aren't living there is a hell of a lot smoother than trying to do work or have contractors in while you're in residence.

If you really want to remove all of the plaster get an estimate on the tear down and sheetrock install before you make an offer, rock and labor are really expensive.

 

[Gino]

Most older homes were wall papered. The majority of the lead paint is the woodwork, window sills, doors, cabinets, porches, ceilings, railings and some built-in furniture.

 

[WrapperX]

You need to remove the idea from your head that a home is an investment. Don't even think about ROI only whether you think the value will hold (mostly depends on the area). You don't live in investment properties, you live in a home.

A really good home inspection will pay it's value back in magnitudes, make sure you find someone you know is good at what they do (referrals from friends who have bought in the area help).

If you do buy an old home (and I agree on style/build quality) try to work it so that you buy the house and work on it for a few months before you move in. Having the major stuff done when you aren't living there is a hell of a lot smoother than trying to do work or have contractors in while you're in residence.

If you really want to remove all of the plaster get an estimate on the tear down and sheetrock install before you make an offer, rock and labor are really expensive.

I disagree - a house IS an investment - obviously it would be OUR home for the time being but I doubt that we will live in this, our first house, much longer then a few years - probably 5 years at most. We want to expand our family and a 3 bedroom house no matter what age is not big enough for what we want - its just the biggest we can afford at this time. So to look at this house as an investment for resale in 5 years is something that makes sense. Obviously NO ONE can speculate ROI on a home because the market is in constant change especially right now. Things could get worse and sink more, but it can't get much worse so it HAS to go up. And most "experts" and I use that term loosely, say it will be about 5 years before things REALLY start to go up. Which is about the time that we will probably be looking for our next home. And honestly if I wasn't concerned with ROI then I would even waste my time right now with a house I would just go with a town home - but its a known fact that Townhomes don't increase in overall value the same way a house does.

And we don't have the luxary of buying a home that needs work and to have it done before we move in. Our lease is up in the next 45-75 days (depending on if we can get a 1 month extension or not) so we have to move on it and move into it asap. Living under construction is something that we have to accept as a possible living situation. It just is.

 

[shakey0818]

Being in and around the remodeling business my whole life,and being licensed in lead and asbestos removal,my first question would be are you qualified to deal with a whole house full of lead and or the disposal of it?Are you willing to put your children and wife in danger?I wouldn't buy a house that has too many issues.It is hard work that will put a great deal of pressure on you and your family.Everything seems like its going to be kinda easy until u open up that can of worms.There is always thousands of dollars worth of things and upgrades that you might not have the experience to foresee. Somebody said don't ever think of it as a investment,they are correct,no matter how much you do there will always be something that has to be done.Bye the time you get with the house where you want it,it will probably be needed to be updated again.My suggestion would be to buy a house with some issues but not many,ones that you feel comfortable taking on.Remember a house is to enjoy.You don't want spend most of your time working on it and not be able to enjoy your family.The monetary gain in the long run cannot replace the time lost with family.Whatever you decide i do wish you and your family great happiness with this new venture.

 

[Locals Find!]

In this economy houses are definitely not investments if your living in them. Don't ever plan on gaining equity in a house unless you paid cash for it. If you are going to have a mortgage your goal should be to pay less over the 5 years your in it (including maintenance & updates) then you would have paid in rent for a similar house. If you pay out more each year in mortage, maintenance & repairs than you would have paid in rent. You just lost.

I was raised playing the real estate game. If you gain any equity after interest, pre-payment penalties and all your repairs. Then thats a bonus. Just don't count on it.

 

[threads1]

Get a house with a garage. A man needs a garage!

 

[TyrantDesigner]

For the love of all that is unholy ... ask for about home owners associations (and get a copy of the guidelines they set forth), find out the taxes on the property, and if there are any deed restrictions. Too many people I know got the house they thought they could grow into only to find out that those 3 things kicked them right in the man bits.

 

[jiarby]

100yo fixer upper = money pit...

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Mr.-Blandings-Builds-His-Dream-House/60028137

 

[Jillbeans]

I would always go for an older home if possible.
Besides the charm and history, I think they are so much better built than a new cookie cutter plan-style house.

Be careful with the forclosure type purchases though (I am no real estate expert) My son is looking to buy a home and he's toured two foreclosure places. Something about you can't make an offer if the bank owns it, you have to pay what they are asking. And something about if you are not approved for the loan from your bank you risk losing your down payment. At least that's what my son was told.

Laws about home inspection vary from state to state, I believe, but if you can possibly get the place inspected, do so. It's worth the cost, and they can see things that you or I would never even think about. Make sure to get the property surveyed if it hasn't been already done. Find out about local zoning to see if you are allowed to put up a garage or even a fence.

You'll also want to check out the school district, the taxes, the utility costs and providers. Any used home can be a risk, but sometimes one can be a diamond in the rough, and with some hard work you can turn it into a palace. You might also barter sign services with local contractors.
Good luck!
Love....Jill