LOOK BEYOND THE CHARM, CHARACTER OF OLD HOMES
Factor in major upkeep and updating in decision to own a century house
Old homes have an old charm to them that you don’t usually get with new builds. I get it, it’s easy to get rose-coloured glasses over an older home that comes with a ton of character.
But are older homes truly better?
In older cities like Toronto and Montreal, many homebuyers find themselves making a tough decision when it comes to home ownership. Do you want the character of an old home, or are you looking for something modern, renovated and completely up-to-date? If you’re swayed by old school, is it really the right choice?
The real question is, if you’re considering buying a century home, how do you know if yours was built to last?
HOW DOES IT RUN?
First thing’s first: what powers the electricity in your century home? Is it still knob and tube wiring?
Knob and tube comes with a handful of problems that need to be addressed. We’re using more electricity than we did in the early 1900s, and knob and tube wiring just isn’t built to handle our modern needs. It’s dangerous.
First, it leads to blown fuses, and can result in overloaded cir- cuits, and in extreme cases, even electrical fires.
What you’ll often see in older homes with knob and tube is that you’ve got a mixture of the old stuff with some new work thrown in by the homeowner — and I don’t like seeing that. Knob and tube on its own isn’t a bad thing, but it just can’t handle the needs of a modern homeowner. It should be upgraded as soon as possible. Is the home a pain to heat and maintain? Don’t just take the previous homeowners’ word for it. Ask for some of their previous energy bills — you are allowed to ask that. It costs money to run our homes, and with the rising cost of energy, it’s just plain smart to ask.
Don’t forget to ask about the lifespan of the home’s major pieces. Windows, roofs and furnaces don’t last forever. When was the last time the century home got a new roof? If it’s been 20 years, that’s a repair you’ll likely have to make a few years after taking possession. Factor in the repairs and upgrades you’ll likely need to make in the next five years or so before you make your offer.
WHAT KIND OF BUILDING MATERIALS?
When you know better, you build better — and over the last few decades we’ve really wised up to how harmful some of our old building materials could be. Things like asbestos and lead used to be pretty commonplace in our homes, but now we know they can really make us sick. Asbestos products could have been in use in our homes up until the ’80s, so it’s a good bet that your century home originally had materials containing asbestos. Now, if you suspect your home has asbestos, as long as it remains undisturbed, you’re safe. Once you start demoing and renovating, that’s when you have to be smart. Have your space tested for asbestos before renovating — and if it tests positive, hire an abatement company trained to handle it.
THEY DON’T BUILD ’ EM LIKE THEY USED TO
You hear it all the time that old homes were just built better, but is that true? Not necessarily. It really does come down to the craftsmanship of the original team that completed the build. Not every original owner of a century home had the money to hire the right people to do it, and many may have completed the build themselves. Keep in mind that we’re always changing building codes to have better, safer structures, and what would have passed 100 years ago probably wouldn’t pass the sniff test today. My best piece of advice when looking at a century home is this: Don’t skip the home inspection.
Even for a new-build home, an inspection is valuable. But for an older home, you want to know exactly what you’re getting. These old buildings have a lot of charm, but they could have many hidden problems, too. You may even want to bring in a contractor who specializes in older homes to give you an estimate of what it will cost to bring the house up to your standards.