Question:
My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something resembling original condition. Any suggestions? Thanks, Robert
Response:
> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is > mostly 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate > online & print sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) > when buying and renovating such houses. She would like to return the > home to something resembling original condition. Any suggestions?
Having just sold an 1850’s vintage house in Maine that my wife and I tried to rehab (I should be a little more positive, but I can’t), my wife (and I) would probably tell you that my favorite saying during the whole process was "The only thing that works in an old house is the owner" I’d second the recommendation for www.oldhousejournal.com. Note that site is IN NO WAY to be confused with the show "This Old House" on PBS. That show can be watched for the "Holy sh*t, those folks have more money than brains" aspect and the occasional comedy clip, but -DO NOT- view it as reality… Bruce — When you’re dodging bullets, it’s hard to do long term planning. – Charlie Plum
Response:
> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions?
You might want to check out Old House Chronicle (www.oldhousechronicle.com). We’re a volunteer-based, on-line publication by old house owners for old house owners. Lots of how tos and discussion about how to make decisions about what to do with your old house and then how to do it. Kari–managing editor, http://oldhousechronicle.com
Response:
says… > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Well, I would definately pay for an inspection, and an appraisal before I would think about buying a home this age. There are a lot of decent houses in this age bracket, and I’ve bought 2 of them. I was really glad I paid for an inspection on the two I *didn’t* buy!
Response:
what part of town, I bought a 1909 Craftsman in Olde Town East, Columbus.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Response:
Oooh! I attended Ohio State in the early 70’s, and lived in a great old (probably turn of the century, maybe up through the 20’s) duplex in what was then a not very nice part of town, but now I understand it’s quite the fashionable place to be. It was a block and a half south of the medical school, and I believe the address was 1467 Michigan Ave. Any of you familiar with that area now? P.S. I now own a small 1917 Craftsman bungelow in Seattle, have had it for 11 years, love it. (I’d really wanted this older Victorian, but couldn’t afford it.) I had it professionally inspected before moving in: the previous owner had updated most of the wiring and some of the plumbing, and for the most part left it to me in excellent condition. It survived our 5.8 earthquake of last year unscathed, unlike some of the newer brick houses on my block. There is always something to do, but isn’t that true of any age house? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> what part of town, I bought a 1909 Craftsman in Olde Town East, Columbus. > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & > print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
– — "Poodles are space aliens who think they’ve disguised themselves as dogs." - Paghat the Ratgirl
Response:
Find a different girlfriend quickly!!! Seriously, restoring an old house can take a lifetime of work and two lifetimes of money. Give it lots of thought beforehand. The end result can be great, but getting there ain’t half the fun!! Everything will take orders of magnitude more time and more money than you originally think. This house project could be your entire leisure life. Every project you start will will uncover new "challenges". Are you willing to make this level of commitment? If you can’t do it right, don’t do it. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering >buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly >1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print >sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and >renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something >resembling original condition. Any suggestions? >Thanks, >Robert
Response:
This could be a nightmare, or a fabulous house when your’e done with it. Unless any updating has been done already, don’t even move in after closing. Living in an old house that needs lots of work can be very demoralizing. Been there done that. Stay where you are or rent for a year, and gut the whole thing down to studs, joists and subfloor. Rip out all plumbing and electrical. Now you have a clean slate to work with. You can move walls, redo plumbing, electrical, heat/AC ducting, etc., properly. Unless you gut the thing, you have no idea what is lurking behind the walls that may bite you in the heinie later. You will find that it is cheaper to do it this way than to live in the house and try and do it piecemeal. The end result will be better also, as EVERYTHING will be new. The only problem with this approach is that you need to pay for the renovation that first year. I don’t know what kind of downpayment your’e thinking of putting down, but if it is a good amount, consider taking out a 1 year ARM with 5% down. This leaves you with at least the down payment in hand to hopefully finance the renovation. Once your’e done with the renovation, you can refinance with a 20 year or whatever. Hope that helps, Lukas – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Response:
I’ve been upgradingl "this old house" for over ten years now, and I wish I’d had that advice before I moved in. I agree with Lukas; Live somewhere else. Tear out all the lath & plaster. Do the electrical/plumbing/insulation Re-sheet-rock. Then, move in. <rj> – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >This could be a nightmare, or a fabulous house when your’e done with it. >Unless any updating has been done already, don’t even move in after closing. >Living in an old house that needs lots of work can be very demoralizing. >Been there done that. >Stay where you are or rent for a year, and gut the whole thing down to >studs, joists and subfloor. Rip out all plumbing and electrical. Now you >have a clean slate to work with. You can move walls, redo plumbing, >electrical, heat/AC ducting, etc., properly. Unless you gut the thing, you >have no idea what is lurking behind the walls that may bite you in the >heinie later. >You will find that it is cheaper to do it this way than to live in the house >and try and do it piecemeal. The end result will be better also, as >EVERYTHING will be new. >The only problem with this approach is that you need to pay for the >renovation that first year. I don’t know what kind of downpayment your’e >thinking of putting down, but if it is a good amount, consider taking out a >1 year ARM with 5% down. This leaves you with at least the down payment in >hand to hopefully finance the renovation. Once your’e done with the >renovation, you can refinance with a 20 year or whatever. >Hope that helps, >Lukas > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & >print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Response:
We moved into a similar home 29 years ago, it’s still not done. It takes your time, your life, and strains big time a relationship. If the "repairs" are cosmetic, you’ll do them, only to find that someting deep inside fails – now what? tear out all your beautiful surface work? If you’re planning on reselling, do it quick and fast. If you’re planning on living there the rest of your life so to speak, live elsewhere, gut it, do it up completely from the inside out. You’ll find that that is faster and more longer lasting. = Robert – PS Beware of knob and tube electrical. Especially added in plumbing, galvanized pipe, old cast iron drain pipes all like to fail with time. Galvanized pipe rust out clogging. Rust out bursting (slowly failing first over a period of years). Sewer drain pipes like to rust out leaking inside the walls. That’s why you gut, inspect, replace, THEN do your cosmetic fixes. >My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering >buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly >1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print >sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and >renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something >resembling original condition. Any suggestions? >Thanks, >Robert
—–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–== Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–
Response:
>My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering >buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly >1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print >sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and >renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something >resembling original condition. Any suggestions?
My suggestion is, unless you have a large contractor budget or a lot of construction skills and a LOT of time, start with something simpler. I think I’m almost ready to tackle a Vic or Queen Anne but I’ve been building up to it for years, starting with rehabbing apartments, then downtown NYC lofts, then a Brooklyn townhouse. Victorians offer a whole different set of challenges because of their wood construction (dry rot, bugs), draftiness, frequent structural problems, steep roofs and especially the heavy detailing. A fixer-upper Vic can be _very_ expensive to rehab well. If you’ve never rehabbed a house before, give my little photo archive a visit: www.magpie.com/house Steve Manes, Brooklyn, USA www.magpie.com
Response:
>Stay where you are or rent for a year, and gut the whole thing down to >studs, joists and subfloor. Rip out all plumbing and electrical. Now you >have a clean slate to work with. You can move walls, redo plumbing, >electrical, heat/AC ducting, etc., properly. Unless you gut the thing, you >have no idea what is lurking behind the walls that may bite you in the >heinie later.
Gut a Vic? That’s a friggin crime! The charm of these old houses is the wealth of architectural detail they contain. You renovate them. You work around them. You bring them back to their original glory. You don’t chuck it in the dumpster. If all you’re going to do is gut it, save yourself a lot of time and money and buy something built in the 1960s. Steve Manes, Brooklyn, USA www.magpie.com
Response:
Bob-My friend currently rents in a former single family on Hunter in Victorian Village which has been cut up into 3 apartments. She started looking in the VV area, but we are gradually branching out a bit. Today for example, we looked at a place on Oak in Old Town East, listing for ~$237K. I do like the area there around Parsons, especially the "comunity feel", but I must confess the neighhborhood seems a bit less safe than VV. It was nice, in need of some work but basically sound, though it seemed a bit steep, since we found an similar (though somewhat smaller) place on 2nd west of Neil for $249K which was in much better overall condition, all new mechanicals, nice paint, beautiful new kitchen etc., even has a new 2 car garage in back, plus a more desirable area. Do you have any suggestions on good local resources for our search? Robert
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> what part of town, I bought a 1909 Craftsman in Olde Town East, Columbus. > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & > print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Response:
>My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering >buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly >1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print >sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and >renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something >resembling original condition. Any suggestions?
My suggestion is, unless you have a large contractor budget or a lot of construction skills and a LOT of time, start with something simpler. I think I’m almost ready to tackle a Vic or Queen Anne but I’ve been building up to it for years, starting with rehabbing apartments, then downtown NYC lofts, then a Brooklyn townhouse. Victorians offer a whole different set of challenges because of their wood construction (dry rot, bugs), draftiness, frequent structural problems, steep roofs and especially the heavy detailing. A fixer-upper Vic can be _very_ expensive to rehab well. If you’ve never rehabbed a house before, give my little photo archive a visit: www.magpie.com/house Steve Manes, Brooklyn, USA www.magpie.com
Response:
>Stay where you are or rent for a year, and gut the whole thing down to >studs, joists and subfloor. Rip out all plumbing and electrical. Now you >have a clean slate to work with. You can move walls, redo plumbing, >electrical, heat/AC ducting, etc., properly. Unless you gut the thing, you >have no idea what is lurking behind the walls that may bite you in the >heinie later.
Gut a Vic? That’s a friggin crime! The charm of these old houses is the wealth of architectural detail they contain. You renovate them. You work around them. You bring them back to their original glory. You don’t chuck it in the dumpster. If all you’re going to do is gut it, save yourself a lot of time and money and buy something built in the 1960s. Steve Manes, Brooklyn, USA www.magpie.com
Response:
says… > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Well, I would definately pay for an inspection, and an appraisal before I would think about buying a home this age. There are a lot of decent houses in this age bracket, and I’ve bought 2 of them. I was really glad I paid for an inspection on the two I *didn’t* buy!
Response:
what part of town, I bought a 1909 Craftsman in Olde Town East, Columbus.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Response:
Oooh! I attended Ohio State in the early 70’s, and lived in a great old (probably turn of the century, maybe up through the 20’s) duplex in what was then a not very nice part of town, but now I understand it’s quite the fashionable place to be. It was a block and a half south of the medical school, and I believe the address was 1467 Michigan Ave. Any of you familiar with that area now? P.S. I now own a small 1917 Craftsman bungelow in Seattle, have had it for 11 years, love it. (I’d really wanted this older Victorian, but couldn’t afford it.) I had it professionally inspected before moving in: the previous owner had updated most of the wiring and some of the plumbing, and for the most part left it to me in excellent condition. It survived our 5.8 earthquake of last year unscathed, unlike some of the newer brick houses on my block. There is always something to do, but isn’t that true of any age house? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> what part of town, I bought a 1909 Craftsman in Olde Town East, Columbus. > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & > print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
– — "Poodles are space aliens who think they’ve disguised themselves as dogs." - Paghat the Ratgirl
Response:
Find a different girlfriend quickly!!! Seriously, restoring an old house can take a lifetime of work and two lifetimes of money. Give it lots of thought beforehand. The end result can be great, but getting there ain’t half the fun!! Everything will take orders of magnitude more time and more money than you originally think. This house project could be your entire leisure life. Every project you start will will uncover new "challenges". Are you willing to make this level of commitment? If you can’t do it right, don’t do it. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering >buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly >1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print >sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and >renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something >resembling original condition. Any suggestions? >Thanks, >Robert
Response:
This could be a nightmare, or a fabulous house when your’e done with it. Unless any updating has been done already, don’t even move in after closing. Living in an old house that needs lots of work can be very demoralizing. Been there done that. Stay where you are or rent for a year, and gut the whole thing down to studs, joists and subfloor. Rip out all plumbing and electrical. Now you have a clean slate to work with. You can move walls, redo plumbing, electrical, heat/AC ducting, etc., properly. Unless you gut the thing, you have no idea what is lurking behind the walls that may bite you in the heinie later. You will find that it is cheaper to do it this way than to live in the house and try and do it piecemeal. The end result will be better also, as EVERYTHING will be new. The only problem with this approach is that you need to pay for the renovation that first year. I don’t know what kind of downpayment your’e thinking of putting down, but if it is a good amount, consider taking out a 1 year ARM with 5% down. This leaves you with at least the down payment in hand to hopefully finance the renovation. Once your’e done with the renovation, you can refinance with a 20 year or whatever. Hope that helps, Lukas – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Response:
I’ve been upgradingl "this old house" for over ten years now, and I wish I’d had that advice before I moved in. I agree with Lukas; Live somewhere else. Tear out all the lath & plaster. Do the electrical/plumbing/insulation Re-sheet-rock. Then, move in. <rj> – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >This could be a nightmare, or a fabulous house when your’e done with it. >Unless any updating has been done already, don’t even move in after closing. >Living in an old house that needs lots of work can be very demoralizing. >Been there done that. >Stay where you are or rent for a year, and gut the whole thing down to >studs, joists and subfloor. Rip out all plumbing and electrical. Now you >have a clean slate to work with. You can move walls, redo plumbing, >electrical, heat/AC ducting, etc., properly. Unless you gut the thing, you >have no idea what is lurking behind the walls that may bite you in the >heinie later. >You will find that it is cheaper to do it this way than to live in the house >and try and do it piecemeal. The end result will be better also, as >EVERYTHING will be new. >The only problem with this approach is that you need to pay for the >renovation that first year. I don’t know what kind of downpayment your’e >thinking of putting down, but if it is a good amount, consider taking out a >1 year ARM with 5% down. This leaves you with at least the down payment in >hand to hopefully finance the renovation. Once your’e done with the >renovation, you can refinance with a 20 year or whatever. >Hope that helps, >Lukas > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & >print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Response:
We moved into a similar home 29 years ago, it’s still not done. It takes your time, your life, and strains big time a relationship. If the "repairs" are cosmetic, you’ll do them, only to find that someting deep inside fails – now what? tear out all your beautiful surface work? If you’re planning on reselling, do it quick and fast. If you’re planning on living there the rest of your life so to speak, live elsewhere, gut it, do it up completely from the inside out. You’ll find that that is faster and more longer lasting. = Robert – PS Beware of knob and tube electrical. Especially added in plumbing, galvanized pipe, old cast iron drain pipes all like to fail with time. Galvanized pipe rust out clogging. Rust out bursting (slowly failing first over a period of years). Sewer drain pipes like to rust out leaking inside the walls. That’s why you gut, inspect, replace, THEN do your cosmetic fixes. >My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering >buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly >1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print >sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and >renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something >resembling original condition. Any suggestions? >Thanks, >Robert
—–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–== Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–
Response:
My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something resembling original condition. Any suggestions? Thanks, Robert
Response:
> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is > mostly 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate > online & print sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) > when buying and renovating such houses. She would like to return the > home to something resembling original condition. Any suggestions?
Having just sold an 1850’s vintage house in Maine that my wife and I tried to rehab (I should be a little more positive, but I can’t), my wife (and I) would probably tell you that my favorite saying during the whole process was "The only thing that works in an old house is the owner" I’d second the recommendation for www.oldhousejournal.com. Note that site is IN NO WAY to be confused with the show "This Old House" on PBS. That show can be watched for the "Holy sh*t, those folks have more money than brains" aspect and the occasional comedy clip, but -DO NOT- view it as reality… Bruce — When you’re dodging bullets, it’s hard to do long term planning. – Charlie Plum
Response:
> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions?
You might want to check out Old House Chronicle (www.oldhousechronicle.com). We’re a volunteer-based, on-line publication by old house owners for old house owners. Lots of how tos and discussion about how to make decisions about what to do with your old house and then how to do it. Kari–managing editor, http://oldhousechronicle.com
Response:
>My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering >buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly >1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print >sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and >renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something >resembling original condition. Any suggestions?
My suggestion is, unless you have a large contractor budget or a lot of construction skills and a LOT of time, start with something simpler. I think I’m almost ready to tackle a Vic or Queen Anne but I’ve been building up to it for years, starting with rehabbing apartments, then downtown NYC lofts, then a Brooklyn townhouse. Victorians offer a whole different set of challenges because of their wood construction (dry rot, bugs), draftiness, frequent structural problems, steep roofs and especially the heavy detailing. A fixer-upper Vic can be _very_ expensive to rehab well. If you’ve never rehabbed a house before, give my little photo archive a visit: www.magpie.com/house Steve Manes, Brooklyn, USA www.magpie.com
Response:
>Stay where you are or rent for a year, and gut the whole thing down to >studs, joists and subfloor. Rip out all plumbing and electrical. Now you >have a clean slate to work with. You can move walls, redo plumbing, >electrical, heat/AC ducting, etc., properly. Unless you gut the thing, you >have no idea what is lurking behind the walls that may bite you in the >heinie later.
Gut a Vic? That’s a friggin crime! The charm of these old houses is the wealth of architectural detail they contain. You renovate them. You work around them. You bring them back to their original glory. You don’t chuck it in the dumpster. If all you’re going to do is gut it, save yourself a lot of time and money and buy something built in the 1960s. Steve Manes, Brooklyn, USA www.magpie.com
Response:
says… > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Well, I would definately pay for an inspection, and an appraisal before I would think about buying a home this age. There are a lot of decent houses in this age bracket, and I’ve bought 2 of them. I was really glad I paid for an inspection on the two I *didn’t* buy!
Response:
what part of town, I bought a 1909 Craftsman in Olde Town East, Columbus.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
Response:
Oooh! I attended Ohio State in the early 70’s, and lived in a great old (probably turn of the century, maybe up through the 20’s) duplex in what was then a not very nice part of town, but now I understand it’s quite the fashionable place to be. It was a block and a half south of the medical school, and I believe the address was 1467 Michigan Ave. Any of you familiar with that area now? P.S. I now own a small 1917 Craftsman bungelow in Seattle, have had it for 11 years, love it. (I’d really wanted this older Victorian, but couldn’t afford it.) I had it professionally inspected before moving in: the previous owner had updated most of the wiring and some of the plumbing, and for the most part left it to me in excellent condition. It survived our 5.8 earthquake of last year unscathed, unlike some of the newer brick houses on my block. There is always something to do, but isn’t that true of any age house? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> what part of town, I bought a 1909 Craftsman in Olde Town East, Columbus. > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & > print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
– — "Poodles are space aliens who think they’ve disguised themselves as dogs." - Paghat the Ratgirl
Response:
Find a different girlfriend quickly!!! Seriously, restoring an old house can take a lifetime of work and two lifetimes of money. Give it lots of thought beforehand. The end result can be great, but getting there ain’t half the fun!! Everything will take orders of magnitude more time and more money than you originally think. This house project could be your entire leisure life. Every project you start will will uncover new "challenges". Are you willing to make this level of commitment? If you can’t do it right, don’t do it. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering >buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly >1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print >sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and >renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something >resembling original condition. Any suggestions? >Thanks, >Robert
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This could be a nightmare, or a fabulous house when your’e done with it. Unless any updating has been done already, don’t even move in after closing. Living in an old house that needs lots of work can be very demoralizing. Been there done that. Stay where you are or rent for a year, and gut the whole thing down to studs, joists and subfloor. Rip out all plumbing and electrical. Now you have a clean slate to work with. You can move walls, redo plumbing, electrical, heat/AC ducting, etc., properly. Unless you gut the thing, you have no idea what is lurking behind the walls that may bite you in the heinie later. You will find that it is cheaper to do it this way than to live in the house and try and do it piecemeal. The end result will be better also, as EVERYTHING will be new. The only problem with this approach is that you need to pay for the renovation that first year. I don’t know what kind of downpayment your’e thinking of putting down, but if it is a good amount, consider taking out a 1 year ARM with 5% down. This leaves you with at least the down payment in hand to hopefully finance the renovation. Once your’e done with the renovation, you can refinance with a 20 year or whatever. Hope that helps, Lukas – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
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I’ve been upgradingl "this old house" for over ten years now, and I wish I’d had that advice before I moved in. I agree with Lukas; Live somewhere else. Tear out all the lath & plaster. Do the electrical/plumbing/insulation Re-sheet-rock. Then, move in. <rj> – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >This could be a nightmare, or a fabulous house when your’e done with it. >Unless any updating has been done already, don’t even move in after closing. >Living in an old house that needs lots of work can be very demoralizing. >Been there done that. >Stay where you are or rent for a year, and gut the whole thing down to >studs, joists and subfloor. Rip out all plumbing and electrical. Now you >have a clean slate to work with. You can move walls, redo plumbing, >electrical, heat/AC ducting, etc., properly. Unless you gut the thing, you >have no idea what is lurking behind the walls that may bite you in the >heinie later. >You will find that it is cheaper to do it this way than to live in the house >and try and do it piecemeal. The end result will be better also, as >EVERYTHING will be new. >The only problem with this approach is that you need to pay for the >renovation that first year. I don’t know what kind of downpayment your’e >thinking of putting down, but if it is a good amount, consider taking out a >1 year ARM with 5% down. This leaves you with at least the down payment in >hand to hopefully finance the renovation. Once your’e done with the >renovation, you can refinance with a 20 year or whatever. >Hope that helps, >Lukas > My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & >print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions? > Thanks, > Robert
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We moved into a similar home 29 years ago, it’s still not done. It takes your time, your life, and strains big time a relationship. If the "repairs" are cosmetic, you’ll do them, only to find that someting deep inside fails – now what? tear out all your beautiful surface work? If you’re planning on reselling, do it quick and fast. If you’re planning on living there the rest of your life so to speak, live elsewhere, gut it, do it up completely from the inside out. You’ll find that that is faster and more longer lasting. = Robert – PS Beware of knob and tube electrical. Especially added in plumbing, galvanized pipe, old cast iron drain pipes all like to fail with time. Galvanized pipe rust out clogging. Rust out bursting (slowly failing first over a period of years). Sewer drain pipes like to rust out leaking inside the walls. That’s why you gut, inspect, replace, THEN do your cosmetic fixes. >My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering >buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly >1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print >sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and >renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something >resembling original condition. Any suggestions? >Thanks, >Robert
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Response:
My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something resembling original condition. Any suggestions? Thanks, Robert
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> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is > mostly 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate > online & print sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) > when buying and renovating such houses. She would like to return the > home to something resembling original condition. Any suggestions?
Having just sold an 1850’s vintage house in Maine that my wife and I tried to rehab (I should be a little more positive, but I can’t), my wife (and I) would probably tell you that my favorite saying during the whole process was "The only thing that works in an old house is the owner" I’d second the recommendation for www.oldhousejournal.com. Note that site is IN NO WAY to be confused with the show "This Old House" on PBS. That show can be watched for the "Holy sh*t, those folks have more money than brains" aspect and the occasional comedy clip, but -DO NOT- view it as reality… Bruce — When you’re dodging bullets, it’s hard to do long term planning. – Charlie Plum
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> My girlfriend and I live in the central Ohio area. She is considering > buying a house in an area of the city where the housing stock is mostly > 1850’s-1910’s vintage. I would like to find some appropriate online & print > sources of info on what to look for (and look OUT for) when buying and > renovating such houses. She would like to return the home to something > resembling original condition. Any suggestions?
You might want to check out Old House Chronicle (www.oldhousechronicle.com). We’re a volunteer-based, on-line publication by old house owners for old house owners. Lots of how tos and discussion about how to make decisions about what to do with your old house and then how to do it. Kari–managing editor, http://oldhousechronicle.com
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