# Thoughts on a house built in 1900



## rtztgue (Jul 9, 2010)

I wanted to pull expertise from across the various fields. I was thinking about buying a rental house and just saw a nice remodeled home that was built in 1900, upgraded in 1950 and remodeled in the last 5 years or so. It has new appliances countertops etc, and a nice looking addition. I realize that the quality of the remodels and original construction could very widely, but I figure I would ask some basic questions to get a feel for it.

Is this house something I should avoid entirely due to the age?

If not, anything about the house that would be a definite deal breaker? ie, asbestos insulation etc


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

The age should not be a factor except for electrical and mechanical systems.

From a construction standpoint, it could be far superior of far worse the current construction.

You must get somebody qualified to look at it.

I had a 100 year old home that was far superior to anything possible now from a standpoint of construction methods, strength and stability and basic materials.

At least, as on owner of the rental, many expenses for maintenance can be expensed or rolled into the asset value.

For 1900 construction, the asbestoes would a very minor possibility, but you have to assume the applicances have a short life and upgrades could require some mplumbing and electrical expenses. Roofs are an ongoing expense. Depending on the market area/economics, going modern on the things renters look at (kitchen countertops, cabinets, bathrooms, etc.) could be a factor.


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## Aframe (Mar 24, 2008)

The age of the house alone should not be the deciding factor. 

Like CM^ said I am currently working in an 1887 home, 3x8 joists, 1" thick subfloor, 10' ceilings stained glass windows the works. The place was fully renovated in 2000. New kitchen, bath, 2 person jacuzzi tub, 5/8 board everywhere.

But, hardly any shutoffs on the water, gas, leaky rubber shower pan, new strapping on dropped ceilings don't land on joists, mahogany decking so tight it pools, bead of silicone as flashing.

Depending on what your looking to do/spend, if a house has good bones as we say, you can bring it back to life if you want to put the effort into it.


This house was built for the "owner of a company", the 100 year old house from last year was built for the "worker of the company". You did not need to go to the beach to ride the waves on that one.


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

concretemasonry said:


> The age should not be a factor except for electrical and mechanical systems.


Older units (to me) seem like a little dysfunctional maze other than their "great room" or vast, open spaces. Changing the interior layout can be a challenge, leaving out the problems you mentioned.

And you're right, a lot of new construction is junk vomited up by unskilled illegals.


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## PA woodbutcher (Mar 29, 2007)

Framing is usually the biggest obstacle in remodeling the older girls. Balloon framed or plank? Various framing styles in various ages and parts of the country would make it difficult for someone to guess. The studs usually have various widths and depths....they made up for the difference with the lathe and plaster, but tough to do with sheetrock

Exterior paint will also be an issue and an added expense that you should keep in mind.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

rtztgue said:


> I wanted to pull expertise from across the various fields. I was thinking about buying a rental house and just saw a nice remodeled home that was built in 1900, upgraded in 1950 and remodeled in the last 5 years or so. It has new appliances countertops etc, and a nice looking addition. I realize that the quality of the remodels and original construction could very widely, but I figure I would ask some basic questions to get a feel for it.
> 
> Is this house something I should avoid entirely due to the age?
> 
> If not, anything about the house that would be a definite deal breaker? ie, asbestos insulation etc


If it's a rental you should be most concerned with a combination of the following -

1) location (school district, access to jobs from it, who will rent it? If it's in a crack neighborhood, your renters are going to be people who will live in that neighborhood ie - crack heads) (can't change it's location)

2) ammenities - how many bedrooms and bathrooms, basement, attached garage, deck, porch, big yard ( can't really change these things either, if it's a 100 year old house it's going to have tiny closets, small bedrooms etc...)

3) condition - how much money will you need to put into it to rent it and keep it rented (this you have control of)

I personally rarely would be intersted in a house that old unless it had something that really made it stand out, but that's me. I want rentals that are going to work 30 years from now, not be disfunctional or unwanted in 30 years. People generally want at a minimum 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car attached garages, nice sized yards, houses that fit their furniture in, not ones that the stair case is so old that you can't get a modern king sized mattress up the stairs to the bedroom.

However, there are exception such as in some of these up and coming old revitelized neighborhoods are crazy hot and appreciating with crappy old houses in them that you couldn't pay me to live in.

It's very hard to give somebody hard and fast rules to buy real estate by, local conditions are way too important in the scheme of things.


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## rtztgue (Jul 9, 2010)

Thanks for the info. As far as rentals I am pretty much up on that. One of the reasons I am looking at this area is it's location. It's got a small town feel with local shops and restaurants and you can walk to the newer commuter train to ride into Seattle. The small town feel is actually kept up and the area is very nice. The next town over is trying to do the same thing but has a much more ghetto feel because, while the houses are just as old, they have not been successful at getting people to take care of them.


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## moorewarner (May 29, 2009)

I am assuming this is a wood frame house.

Where I live it is all 120+ year old houses, but they are all brick and they really don't build em like this any more.

If it is wood frame, that I would feel less confident in. Crawl everywhere you can and poke for rot, forget about how the surface looks and see if you tell if those "rehabs" are covering crap, a lot of kick outs, soffits, lowered ceilings, things that say "covered up".

As others said I would be paying special attention to the mechanicals, the wiring in particular. I have seen some pretty ****ty wiring work, new romex ganged off of old knob-n-tube, grounding wires jimmied up. 

What does the foundation look like.


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

I love that era houses. A few years back I did a remodel on one and it was very interesting. You never know what you will find in the walls and in the attic. Some good and some bad. I found dead rats with their teeth into most of the wiring, bad. I also found a who's who of the town written on a big section of wallpaper from when phones first came to town, good. Depending on how much has been done in the past, you may find sawdust in the walls, or stuffed newspaper, or if you're lucky it has been insulated recently.

It sounds like it may have already been refurbished. That is good, but make sure it is more than skin deep. Post some pics if you can, that would give us a better idea as to what to look for.


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## nailit69 (Sep 8, 2010)

My sister bought a house a few years back, built in the early 20s, bad electrical, bad plumbing, leaky old original windows, old oil furnace, etc. The house itself seemed to be solid, straight, plumb, and level, had a newer roof on it and decent original "double drop?" siding. Long story short... I gutted it down to bare bones, replaced everything, and found it to be very solid and almost no rot anywhere.

I say check it out as thorughly as you can, determine what needs to be done to satisfy your wants and needs, figure out what it's going to cost you, and go for it or decline... there's a lot of great old homes out there just begging to be refurb'd and you can usually get a great deal on them too.

My sister paid $89k for 1500 sq. ft., dumped another $80k into it, now it's valued @ $246k. Not a bad ROI for 5 months time if you ask me.


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