Buying an old house

[Alex Monaco]

What do you think of buying an old home (1900)? Is that too old for a buy and hold? House is well maintained and numbers are great, I’m just concerned of age.

[John Montgomery]

As a contractor, working on older homes is much more difficult than newer ones for reasons mentioned in the post by John Teachout and Kevin Sobilo. Any type of remodel or repair is much harder and will cost more to do it right. Just changing a light switch or outlet can end up being a major job because the wire insulation is old and crumbles apart. It will cost more, because things just take longer, but you'll want to make sure you have a handyman or contractor that knows what they're doing and has worked with older homes. If they don't, then they'll find that they've underbid the job and then try to make it up by taking short-cuts and possibly putting your asset in jeopardy. Just things to keep in mind while doing due diligence or if you're planning on doing renovations after the purchase.