No house is perfect - your experience of buying

Dortilolma

I'm under the impression that when buying a second hand home not a one is going to be perfect and there will always be issues ranging from incomplete insulation to badly built extensions.

I'm interested in what kind of problem's people were willing to take on when buying a their house and what problems were deal breakers.

So, When buying a second hand house what issues did you take on?

Ray Palmer

I wouldn't see much difference with issues on new houses. There may in fact be more problems with newer houses.

Rewiring and re plumbing would be ones I would expect with most 2nd hand houses. If they haven't been done since being built your insurance will even cost more.

Insulation in older houses is nearly non-existent bar the roof. A modern house is really only the property that is likely to have modern standards of insulation. That doesn't actually mean they are better either. Older houses can have massively thick walls which provide the same thermal value.

Ultimately a 2nd hand house could mean anything. You are better off talking about when a house was built and what has been done to it over the years to determine what may need to be done.

riclad

Most extensions need planning permission ,would have to be built to certain standards.
IF house is older than 30 years ,get a structural survey if your offer is accepted by the estate agent , seller.
most people buy a house because of the location ,size of garden , etc
ANY house over 15 years old will have low level of insulation ,unless it was upgraded .You can judge by the ber rating before you buy anything.
if you want to live in certain area,s your ownly choice is older houses ,
There,s not many new houses in ,rathmines, phibsboro.
OLDER houses may need rewiring And ,new pvc windows , new doors to reach a modern state of insulation.

Ray Palmer

riclad wrote: »

Most extensions need planning permission ,would have to be built to certain standards.
IF house is older than 30 years ,get a structural survey if your offer is accepted by the estate agent , seller.
most people buy a house because of the location ,size of garden , etc
ANY house over 15 years old will have low level of insulation ,unless it was upgraded .You can judge by the ber rating before you buy anything.
if you want to live in certain area,s your ownly choice is older houses ,
There,s not many new houses in ,rathmines, phibsboro.
OLDER houses may need rewiring And ,new pvc windows , new doors to reach a modern state of insulation.

Most extensions in Dublin do not require planning once under 40 sq metres and there hasn't been a building inspector sign off for a long time either (15-20 years).

BER is a useless system that is as bothered by the light bulbs being used as insulation in the walls.


Not arguing with you just that certain things you said would have applied to property 10+ years ago and would not be something to use as a gauge. Even when things are built to code it doesn't mean it was actually done correctly or the code is sufficient.

L1011

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Rewiring and re plumbing would be ones I would expect with most 2nd hand houses. If they haven't been done since being built your insurance will even cost more.

How old are the second-hand houses you're looking at? :eek:

Rewiring is only critical if the wiring is unsafe or undercapacity, if its PVC coated its probably got life left in it.

Replumbing is only likely to be an issue if its gunbarrel (or outright insufficient, e.g. cold water system only).

Neither of those are really likely to happen in a house under 45 years old, maybe a bit older - I'm not sure when wiring standards changed.


I was willing to accept anything that was actually habitable. Had a wishlist, only thing I got off it was that the house had UPC - its extremely patchy in the areas I wanted to buy in. Got a house that stank of old man and wet dog, had to replace every floor covering and wash every surface. Single-glazed PVC and OFCH when there's gas on the street. Extremely cheap though.

riclad

Some old houses ,50 years plus, have old metal water tanks,
with main s water going thru a lead pipe ,
This would need replacing for health reasons.
some older houses maybe be cheaper , probate.sale

Empty house ,owner has passed away.
EG needs modernisation,old furniture .old wallpaper, and old style kitchen.
This puts off some buyers .
Even if the house is in good condition .
I,M sure you could find a perfect house on daft.ie ,well insulated,
ie needs no repairs ,all mode cons ,new kitchen, with large garden .
WHETHER its within your price range is another story.

Mrs OBumble

A new build will always have problems that weren't identified during the snagging / sign-off. I'd far rather take on a previously-owned-but-modern enough property and than the unknown of a new build which has not yet had time for flaws to show up.

I hate the term "second hand house". The vast majority of houses that people in the world purchase are previously-owned, not new builds. Get used to it.

quietsailor

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

A new build will always have problems that weren't identified during the snagging / sign-off. I'd far rather take on a previously-owned-but-modern enough property and than the unknown of a new build which has not yet had time for flaws to show up.

I hate the term "second hand house". The vast majority of houses that people in the world purchase are previously-owned, not new builds. Get used to it.

Another option, but it's the hard & dirty one is to deliberately look for a formerly good house that has been neglected but is in a good area.

a weeks work in a garden will bring the most unruly wild garden back to neatness - I'm talking about ripping out trees and rotavating a lawn.

I your buying an older house the structure should be sound and if you have the time or money you can gut it completely, rewiring and re-plumbing so you know you have a modern updated house.

Now that I'm talking heavy duty DIY here, basically the level of work most people would get a builder in for. But if you've the ability & time you an slowly renovate it over a space of a year or two

riclad

99 percent of houses are not new ,unless you are very rich not much advantage to buying one.
Houses that are neglected old wallpaper, carpets , messy garden, maybe abit cheaper.
it does,nt cost that much to redecorate ,buy new carpets.
Most people look in an area, near schools ,shops,, etc then see what,s for sale there.

IF you see a house completely empty,no tv, no clothes , less than 20 years old ,it may be a bank sale.