Buying an Old House

Let’s talk about the realities of buying an old house!

1. The Pros of Buying an Old House

Character and Charm

It is really, really rare to find a modern home with the character and charm you might find in a 100 year old farmhouse or a 70 year old MCM home.

The 1980s really changed the way builders built. Overall, they transitioned from a craftsman’s approach to let’s get these homes up ASAP approach. Gone were the intricate moldings and woodwork and thoughtful artistry.

And that has continued through today. Understandably, it’s about the bottom line and it’s hard to make a living as a home construction business, so I get it!

But if you are open to the quirks and costs of owning an older home, you’ll find those elements of charm and character abound!

Established Neighborhoods

one of the big benefits of owning an older home, is the neighborhood. Our neighborhood is well over 100 years old, and the trees are beautiful and the neighbors are committed to taking care of their properties.

We don’t have an HOA, which was a huge thing for us. The two a HOAs that we have belonged to have been frustrating and expensive and not beneficial in terms of the details.

I definitely prefer living in a neighborhood without an HOA. We pay for our own trash pick up and we don’t have to worry about snow removal because the state does that here.

And we don’t have the neighborhood drama that we had before. People picking sides and arguing all the time.

Larger Lots and Spaces

Oh my goodness, our yard is so much bigger in our older home. Granted it needs some leveling out and do some landscaping. But are single-family home had a very very small lot. In some ways it was great because it was less to take care of, but we were right up on our neighbors.

Then the next home we owned was actually a townhome and we didn’t have to do the yardwork, which was also great. But we were literally right on our neighbors. We had a patio out back, which was really nice, but only had small privacy fences which could be a little uncomfortable at times.

I love to go sit outside and talk on the phone, and I always felt a wee bit self-conscious about being on the phone if someone walked outside. I also like to work outside, so playing music always felt a little uncomfortable, even though I kept it really low.

So it’s really nice to have a bigger yard with a feeling of more privacy. I do need to plant some trees because my deck is elevated almost above the fence because of the slope of the yard!

Solid Construction

If you’ve ever lived in an older home, you can just tell the difference. Even though our home has some issues with it joist system, it feels really solid. We have some dipping in our floors, but the foundation is really solid. Even the inspector said so.

Sometimes, in our newer construction homes, I felt as they might just blow over. There’s just something about the solidity of an older home that I personally can just feel.

That’s what made buying an old house attractive to me, for sure!

2. The Cons of Buying an Old House

Maintenance and Repairs

When you buy an older home, the likelihood that you’re going to have more maintenance and repairs is pretty high. When we first moved into this home, even though it was remodeled, we had some serious issues that we had to address.

The first thing that we had to do was replace the flooring in the Main Bedroom. Although that wasn’t as serious as something like a foundation repair, it was an unexpected expense and headache.

Then we had a plumbing backup and that was a day we spent up to our ears in sewage! Oh man.

But we got it going with the help of a “bladder” that saved the day…after many attempts with two different kinds of snakes. Hopefully, we got it cleared and that won’t happen again any time soon, but you never know!

If we have roots in our pipes going out to the road, that could be a time-bomb waiting to happen. We’re not sure if the person that renovated our house replaced any of the plumbing from the house to the street, so it could be old clay pipes. Yikes.

We also had a minor leak in our shower that took several weeks to diagnose. My biggest fear was that we were going to have to pull out the entire shower to figure it out!

We had no access to the pipes on the other side of the wall as our shower backs up to the stairs to the second floor.

But when we finally took off the fixture (we kept thinking it was just escaping from behind the shower curtain and running down the tub), we saw a small stream of water coming from the connection in the valve to the spigot.

We were able to replace that connection with some PEX and sharkbite connectors. That’s also when we realized that our guy probably didn’t replace ALL the plumbing infrastructure. Womp. Womp.

Energy Inefficiency

If you might be buying an old house, one of the things to consider are the windows, insulation and air conditioning systems.

We’re fortunate that we have all new double hung windows, added insulation and high quality heat pump and mini split system.

The mini-splits work surprisingly well and aren’t as much of an eye-sore as I thought they might be. The downstairs is vented but the upstairs has 2 mini-splits. They’re kind of nice because each room can control its own temperature!

Hidden Issues

If you buy an old house, just know, that like our plumping issues, you are going to have hidden issues you are not going to expect. That’s why you definitely should have an emergency fund in place… for any home you buy really. That way the hidden surprises are not financially devestating.

Modern Conveniences Missing

This is one of the big things we had to compromise on. Our sweet little cottage is small. We have closets in every room, but the biggest downside is how small the Primary bedroom is.

We had to downsize our King bed to a Queen and the closet it teeny tiny. I ended up building a make-shift closet for all my clothes until I can find a vintage wardrobe that I like which also fits the space.

3. Key Factors to Consider

Home Inspection

If you ever have a realtor recommend skipping an inspection, please think twice! The first house we bought, our realtor was really doing everything to make the sale go through. It was 2009 and a really tough real estate market.

We heeded her advice and skipped the inspection because it was new construction and we thought, hoped, that the local county inspectors were doing their jobs.

However, after our first winter, and a $400 electric bill, we were suspicious that something wasn’t right. So Morgan and a friend cut a hole in the knee wall in the attic to discover there was ZERO insulation above our boys rooms on the second story. Morgan was fuming.

Thankfully, our builder came and took care of it for us. He said he paid them to blow insulation up there and made the subcontractor come back out and do it!

You can bet your bottom dollar that we had a thorough inspection on our 1916 home. There were some issues that the inspector found (he didn’t see the leak in the bathroom which we think the homeowner had somehow disguised).

We were able to negotiate on those findings thankfully so we had the extra cash to cover some of the unexpected issues that cropped up!

So, if you are considering buying an old house, make it a priority to get an inspection…no matter what the market says.

(Unless you have the means to just fix anything and everything. That’s the only scenario where skipping an inspection might be ok.)

Renovation Costs

All of that to say, if you buy an older home, make sure you have the budget to take care of any issues or renovations…expected AND unexpected!

We had to buy a new fridge and that was more expected than not, but not something we really considered when signing the contract. Once we moved in, we realized that the little fridge that came with the house was not cutting it!

Zoning and Building Restrictions

Depending on our local community, you’ll need to consider if there are any historic district regulations that may limit changes to the structure or renovations.

Some localities are more stringent than others. This is something we still need to check into if we ever decide to add on a dining room off our kitchen. It needs it because they decided to put an island in the eat-in kitchen with a dishwasher, so there really is nowhere to put a real dining table. Yup. That was a big compromise!

4. Financing an Old House

We didn’t run into any issues with financing our century old home. Thankfully, we had a great downpayment, so that probably always helps. But here are some things to consider –

Special Loan Programs

FHA 203(k) loans or Fannie Mae HomeStyle loans for renovations.

Appraisal Challenges

Some outdated features might affect the appraisal process.

There might be some difficulty in finding comps for historic homes.

Insurance Considerations

Older homes might need specialized or more expensive insurance coverage.

5. Restoring vs. Renovating

Restoration vs. Modernization

If you buy an older home, consider your purpose. Do you want to restore it to it’s former state? Are there detailed features and moldings that you want to maintain?

Resoration is a very different process than renovating. If you want all the modern convieniences and fixtures, then you’ll be renovating it.

I’m watching a great series on YouTube where a guy in St. Louis is restoring a beautiful old home and he is really trying to do everything he can to honor the original state of the home. Even to the point of recreating the wall paper patterns he is finding under layers of wallpaper and paint!

Balancing Historic Preservation with Modern Needs

You might consider, rather, a blend of restoration and renovation. Perhaps you want to keep the beautiful moldings and craftsman details that are rare in modern homes, but you want a new kitchen with all the modern ammenities.

I think I would fall into that category. I love the historic details, but man, do I love a modern kitchen with all the modern conveniences!

6. Tips for Success

Work with Experienced Professionals

I’m sure this is common sense, but if you are buying an old house, make sure you are working with real estate agents, contractors, and inspectors who specialize in older homes.

We didn’t set out to buy a centurys old home, but we were fortunate to have a realtor experienced in this market. She helped guide us and recommended a very thorough inspector who really went through our home with a fine toothed comb.

If we ever do renovate, we’ll definitely look for someone very well versed in working on old homes!

Get a Second Opinion

This is huge! We had a potential foundation issue, which we thought was going to cost a LOT of money. The first guy came out and quoted almost 10k!

The second guy came out and said the wall that was cracked wasn’t even structural and there really was nothing we needed to do save for address some moisture in the crawl space.

SUPER important to get multiple opinions. SUPER!

Be Patient and Flexible

Renovations and repairs most always take longer than expected, especially with an old home. So pad your timeline so you have realistic expectations are aren’t pulling your hair out at delays!

The small repairs we had to make ended up taking at least 1/3 longer than I added up in my own mind.

Now, thankfully, we were able to do everything ourselves, so they cost probably half of what it would have cost if we had hired someone.

But I can say with a good deal of certainty, I’ll probably never lay another laminate floor again. It was not hard, I have all the tools and I’m proud of myself, but it really took a toll on my body.

So next time, I’ll either be in really good shape physically before I do it or I’ll hire someone and probably micro-manage them. LOL