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#1
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Buying a house: Some questions
I am buying a house here on Long Island. It is a cape with a full finished basement. It is in a
good, average neighborhood and has a good school district. They asked $399,000. I offered $350,000. They said no. They had a few more open houses and didnt get what they wanted so they finally agreed on $368,000. The house was built in 1960 or so. Most of the rooms have paneling from the 70's. The basement and the 2nd floor have paint (maroon and tan, respectively) over the paneling. Most rooms have no moldings where the paneling meets the ceiling. In other words, this house has many cosmetic flaws but I am not concerned with that. A house in this area usually goes for higher than this these days so I am getting a decent deal. I had an engineer come in and he found some things out. My main concerns are that there is no ground wire in the house, therefore, every room has a 2 prong outlet. No outlets in any of the 3 bathrooms. The roof will be gone in a year (there are two now so I am going to have to go down to the sheathing. There is 100 amp electric service, which is ok, even though most houses have 200. There is very low water pressure despite the fact that this house is 2 blocks from the water tower. When you run the kitchen sink and flush the first floor toilet, the sink water goes below 50% of it's original pressure. The house has all 1/2" pipe (no 3/4"). SInce I will be pretty strapped after buying this house, I am not going to have the money to fix all of the above problems. The engineer is figuring on $8000 or so to re-wire the house with a ground wire and installing 3 prong outlets. I do not want the house reduced by any amount. I would rather have the house in good order. Also, the main bathroom needs a new shower body installed (tiles ripped out, new shower, re-tile) and there is a leak in the lead bend. In the end, structurally, the house is great. But the electric and plumbing need some work. The seller has no legal obligation to upgrade the electric or the plumbing but can I expect him to address the pressure problem? He said he and his son are plumbers. Hmm. I heard that the water company will come down and do pressure test for free. My friend said that a lot times, the water meter gets clogged on both sides (in, out) and sometimes that causes pressure problems. Any ideas of what to do here? I do want the house but I based my house on there being no problems that need to be fixed right away. I can live with the cosmetic deficiencies and the roof, but is it too much to expect to have normal outlets in the house? I have many computers and I will have to buy a bunch of adapters and have no grounding. Thanks for any suggestions. What would some of you do? Tony |
#2
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Buying a house: Some questions
Been there, done that.
You're being penny wise and pound foolish. You don't want a house with a lot problems and you can't force the seller do to anything that they don't want to do, nor are you being forced to buy this house. Move on now while your only expense has been the inspection. "Tony" wrote in message ... I am buying a house here on Long Island. It is a cape with a full finished basement. It is in a good, average neighborhood and has a good school district. They asked $399,000. I offered $350,000. They said no. They had a few more open houses and didnt get what they wanted so they finally agreed on $368,000. The house was built in 1960 or so. Most of the rooms have paneling from the 70's. The basement and the 2nd floor have paint (maroon and tan, respectively) over the paneling. Most rooms have no moldings where the paneling meets the ceiling. In other words, this house has many cosmetic flaws but I am not concerned with that. A house in this area usually goes for higher than this these days so I am getting a decent deal. I had an engineer come in and he found some things out. My main concerns are that there is no ground wire in the house, therefore, every room has a 2 prong outlet. No outlets in any of the 3 bathrooms. The roof will be gone in a year (there are two now so I am going to have to go down to the sheathing. There is 100 amp electric service, which is ok, even though most houses have 200. There is very low water pressure despite the fact that this house is 2 blocks from the water tower. When you run the kitchen sink and flush the first floor toilet, the sink water goes below 50% of it's original pressure. The house has all 1/2" pipe (no 3/4"). SInce I will be pretty strapped after buying this house, I am not going to have the money to fix all of the above problems. The engineer is figuring on $8000 or so to re-wire the house with a ground wire and installing 3 prong outlets. I do not want the house reduced by any amount. I would rather have the house in good order. Also, the main bathroom needs a new shower body installed (tiles ripped out, new shower, re-tile) and there is a leak in the lead bend. In the end, structurally, the house is great. But the electric and plumbing need some work. The seller has no legal obligation to upgrade the electric or the plumbing but can I expect him to address the pressure problem? He said he and his son are plumbers. Hmm. I heard that the water company will come down and do pressure test for free. My friend said that a lot times, the water meter gets clogged on both sides (in, out) and sometimes that causes pressure problems. Any ideas of what to do here? I do want the house but I based my house on there being no problems that need to be fixed right away. I can live with the cosmetic deficiencies and the roof, but is it too much to expect to have normal outlets in the house? I have many computers and I will have to buy a bunch of adapters and have no grounding. Thanks for any suggestions. What would some of you do? Tony |
#3
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Buying a house: Some questions
On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 04:27:04 GMT, Tony wrote:
I am buying a house here on Long Island. It is a cape with a full finished basement. It is in a good, average neighborhood and has a good school district. They asked $399,000. I offered $350,000. They said no. They had a few more open houses and didnt get what they wanted so they finally agreed on $368,000. The house was built in 1960 or so. Most of the rooms have paneling from the 70's. The basement and the 2nd floor have paint (maroon and tan, respectively) over the paneling. Most rooms have no moldings where the paneling meets the ceiling. In other words, this house has many cosmetic flaws but I am not concerned with that. A house in this area usually goes for higher than this these days so I am getting a decent deal. I had an engineer come in and he found some things out. My main concerns are that there is no ground wire in the house, therefore, every room has a 2 prong outlet. No outlets in any of the 3 bathrooms. The roof will be gone in a year (there are two now so I am going to have to go down to the sheathing. There is 100 amp electric service, which is ok, even though most houses have 200. There is very low water pressure despite the fact that this house is 2 blocks from the water tower. When you run the kitchen sink and flush the first floor toilet, the sink water goes below 50% of it's original pressure. The house has all 1/2" pipe (no 3/4"). SInce I will be pretty strapped after buying this house, I am not going to have the money to fix all of the above problems. The engineer is figuring on $8000 or so to re-wire the house with a ground wire and installing 3 prong outlets. I do not want the house reduced by any amount. I would rather have the house in good order. Why rewire? Unless code is forcing it, two prong electrical outlets were safe enough for the longest time. If you just want to have additional safety, see about installing some gfi receptacles in the kitchen; these don't need a ground to operate. If you want 3-prong for your computer, consult an electrician about just running a new circuit and find out what code would say about making it grounded. I wouldn't give the electrical the highest priority, that is relatively minor. I'd be worried about the roof! It may need more than just reshingling; no way to tell until you pull it all off and check. This house sounds like a fixer-upper; not a problem as long as you understand that going in. If you aren't willing to do the work or if your standards are too high, move elsewhere. Also, the main bathroom needs a new shower body installed (tiles ripped out, new shower, re-tile) and there is a leak in the lead bend. I'd see if I could get something knocked off for that. |
#4
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Buying a house: Some questions
In article ,
Tony wrote: [snipped cosmetic items] I had an engineer come in and he found some things out. My main concerns are that there is no ground wire in the house, therefore, every room has a 2 prong outlet. No outlets in any of the 3 bathrooms. This isn't a problem. Most old houses are this way, although yours isn't very old. Like someone else said, just install GFIs where you want them. Maybe ground the bathroom outlets. My house had only one GFI in it when I moved in. It was in the bathroom and they had run a ground wire for it. Since then I added a grounded outlet (no GFI) in the kitchen for the refrigerator and it cost me $80 for an electrician to do it. Rewiring the entire house would be nice, but is not essential. It sounds like you can do better things with that $8K. The roof will be gone in a year . This is your biggest problem. With no roof you have no house. Water damage is your worst enemy. Roofs are expensive, too. If you back out of the deal for any reason then this is it. There is 100 amp electric service, which is ok, even though most houses have 200. 100A is more than plenty. This isn't a problem. There is very low water pressure despite the fact that this house is 2 blocks from the water tower. You will need to repipe. I do not want the house reduced by any amount. I would rather have the house in good order. It sounds like it is *already* reduced $32,000 from the $400,000 figure which was fair for the area. This is probably what it will cost to bring it into good order. Your biggest problem is the roof and you have it listed as the problem you are least concerned about. Your smallest concern is the electrical and you seem most concerned about that. Since you won't have the money to fix any of these things that are wrong then how can you expect to buy this house? Your best bet is to ask the seller if he will give cash-back at closing to do some of the repairs. If he balks then there is still a chance. Offer him, say, $10K more ($378K) and ask him to give *that* back to you at closing. It sounds like the appraisal will make it in any case and at least you can roll the repairs (some of them) into your mortgage. You can also have the repairs done to your liking. Dimitri |
#5
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Buying a house: Some questions
Tony wrote in message . ..
The seller has no legal obligation to upgrade the electric or the plumbing but can I expect him to address the pressure problem? He said he and his son are plumbers. They're plumbers, and neither one has gone to the trouble of fixing this house? Either they're bad plumbers, they're really lazy, they don't actually use water, or this plumbing problem is going to be huge and expensive. |
#6
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On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 04:27:04 GMT, someone wrote:
Thanks for any suggestions. What would some of you do? Don't buy a fixer upper if you can't afford to fix 'er up. If you buy a fixer, you need to have the money for both the purchase AND the renovations, and it should still be a "deal" even AFTER you add those two numbers together to put up with the PITA of doing it. If you only have barely enough $ for the initial purchase, then it is elementary that you should purchase something that is in good condition at the time of the purchase and will not need any work. You need to set your sights lower if all the money you have can only buy a fixer and not the repairs. -v. |
#7
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I do not want the house reduced by any amount. I would rather
have the house in good order. Any ideas of what to do here? I do want the house but I based my house on there being no problems that need to be fixed right away. From what you posted you should move on. |
#8
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#9
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In article ,
Tony wrote: -v. In all fairness to the house, there really are not any houses under $400,000 in this area. As long as the leaks are repaired, which the owner has to do, I could live with the 2 prong outlets. The owner doesn't have to do anything. The fact that this house is the lowest priced house reflects the condition it is in. It has nothing to do with how you think *you* might repair it. If you have the means then it might be a bargain. If you do not, then it's not for you. If I had to live in it the way it is, I could and it is nice as long as the leaks are fixed. I guess you'd better plan on fixing the leaks then. Dimitri |
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