I have some advice for anyone buying a used house. Don't do it unless you intend to live in it until you die.
I dogged the bullet with my 90 year old home in VA. 2/12 storey's, a for the area unusual full cellar, big and beautiful, big front porch, good area, I was in heaven as the asking price for it was $28,000 in 1974.
The seller was a Realtor and he arranged all the financing for me, all the inspections and did the VA paperwork. Hubby was on a 9 month cruise, skimmer at the time and had left me with a POA to buy the home.
After 10 years we divorced and he gave me the house. My children were growing up and moving out so I put the house up for sale. The city inspector came in told me a friend was interested in the house, it had good bones he said. So I sold to him and EX and I split the equity around $10,000 and moved on.
25 years later the kids and I visiting decided to ride out and check out the old home. We drove past it twice not recognizing the home I raised them in for 10 years. Fortunately the across the street neighbors still lived there and were home.
Interesting tale they had on the past years. Seems the new owner found so many things wrong with the structure that went back years before we bought it, those good bones were to be found to have big time diseases.
They told us it had taken the new owner --gasp--10 years to bring it up to code. They had to remove half the windows and cover them over with siding. Cellar had pipes covered with Asbestos, Attic had old wiring with cermatic insulators. All wiring had to be replaced, plumbing shot and brand new heating system and the roof needed repair.
All those years we lived in the home we had no problems as we did not look for any. Lucky we got out when we did, the new owner should have burned it down and rebuilt a smaller home on the cellar hole.
Times change the inspector from the city was due to retire and he was able to pass all the things wrong, the NEW inspector hower ever was new to the game and hard nosed about everything.
So this beautiful home inspected by 3 agency's and passed when we bought it, 10 years later when we sold it now cost the new owner $150.000.00 to upgrade it and 10 years to do so.
Have to take into consideration climate when buying an old home, this home had no insulation, a sewer system 60 years old, the heating was a conversion from coal to oil. The windows ran on the old weight and rope method. A good many did not open at all.
BTW when buying a older home with drop ceilings remove the tiles to see what is above them that someone wanted to hide, water or fire damage ?
