Replies

1. 
   Design2Reno | Mar 05, 2008 09:11am | #1

   1. Be sure to check for an oil tank, get a certificate indicating it has been removed. This can be a big expense.
   2. Are the heating joints or internal window trims taped with asbestos?
   Asbestos is usually only dangerous if the fibers become airborne. If you don't disturb then usually no problems.
   3. If you are worried about insulation then most likely you should not purchase the home.

   Dennis
   Vancouver, Canada
2. 
   DougU | Mar 05, 2008 02:33pm | #2

   Around here at least, you'd have to check your area, but I can call the power company and get a cost on power use for a house thats for sale. I think they will give me more then just one or two months, more like average usage. Dont need to ask the HO.

   Yes you can vinyl side over the old siding, at least in most cases.

   Doug

   
   

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   Edited 3/5/2008 6:34 am ET by DougU

3. 
   RedfordHenry | Mar 05, 2008 04:46pm | #3

   I don't think there's anything specific to a house built in 1950 that would be any more of a concern than any other house.  I have worked on 200 yo houses with asbestos siding and pipe insulation, USTs, lead paint, lead solder, etc. , as well as three year old homes with poor insulation, wet basements and enough mold in the walls to choke an elephant.

   When I hear 1950, I think post-war tract home, which may, or may not be the case with this one.  If this IS the case, I'd be thinking location is the single largest value driver because many of these tract homes are smallish, light on quality (think metal kitchen cabinets, clamshell casing and hollow core doors), and are located in working class neighborhoods.  Nothing wrong with them, but lots tend to be smaller, and may have limited opportunity to expand, etc.  Can be good starter homes for young folks though.

   I'd initially focus on the things he can't change/fix, like location.  Everything else can be made better but the variables are way to many to start listing here.

    

    

    

    

4. 
   frenchy | Mar 05, 2008 05:20pm | #4

   REempire,

    Location, location, location!  The building is cheap what you really are buying is the land..

     That's like selecting a car because you like the radio staion that was playing on a test drive..

    If the location is right then you will win if the location is poor then nothing you do to that property will be worth squat.

      Women love to go into a house comment possitively about the colors and drapes etc.  then buy it and change all that stuff!.  But blue or green it's the same location!

5. 
   CapnMac | Mar 05, 2008 05:43pm | #5

   Any ideas on others things that he should be concerned about w/ a house that age?

   Galvanized pipe.

   Electrical cabling & fixtures in an ad hoc mis-match.  Specifically, grounded outlets not actually grounded.  Also, india rubber-insulated cabling in fabric sheathing--which will often be in some disrepair after a half century.  That predecessor to NM cable tends to be marked in a way that less-professional would-be electricians have been known to, ah, mis-wire.

   Panel loading is another issue, circuits have likely been changed, added to, abandoned entire.  If no one is in the house, getting an electrician in to make a map or schedule can be very informative.  Before the fact is a better time to find out that, that 40A breaker is not connected to anything.  Or that switch by the door is connected white-to-white (which is why it doesn't do anything).

   Electrician can also test for non-compliant fixtures Not-Me installed over the last 50 years, too.

   HVAC system should be looked into, too.  Assume that mechanicals over 15 years old will fail just after the "homeowners warrantee" the RE is going to push for, expires.  Check for soundness of ducts, radiators, the piping--anything that is often "left in place" when the core mechanicals get changed.

   The local electric utility can sometimes be asked to email you a summary of the last year's billing for properties that are for sale.  Note that may not tell you very much, the current owners might be clueless (that was the case for me, they were running up $360 electrical bills--in 1998 dollars--and did not know why).

   Check the foundation and drainage, that will suggest checking the roof structure and the gutters/downspouts and how they drain, too.

   The asbestos siding (or the mock-shingle siding) is only a real problem if it is failing.  Undisturbed, it's benign (a nocebo, no less).  Sticking vinyl over it is a sign that the RE person needs to stick to flogging houses.  If the house is resided, do it right.  Strip to the sheathing.  Take advantage of that to get cellulose blown into the walls if that is needed (and, perhaps, after you have replumbed any wiring).  Then, side the house right (no mater what with).

   But, that's my bias, from living in a 1951-built house.

   Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
6. 
   JAlden | Mar 05, 2008 08:21pm | #6

   A good friend in my neighborhood has the original asbestos siding on his home. Built early 10900s. Still in great shape and holds paint well.

   I wouldn't replace it unless he really needs to. And not with vinyl. Charm killer right there.