might be buying a house

89streetbeast said:

hopefully will hear back in the next couple days. might be getting a 3 bed 1 bath 2 story house for 30K. needs vinyl siding put on and a new roof but other than that the inside is in pretty good shape for being a 100+ yr old home . the lady is willing to do a plan on renting to own and payments will be $308 a month. pretty sad im paying more for rent $450 plus paying utilities which equal to 150+ .

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My god I pay 1,000 a month with just heat included for a two bedroom apartment.

I am looking at houses right now is southern new hampshire and all the ones I am looking at are in the 300k price range.

I heard housing is much less expensive out in the mid west but i did not know it was that much cheaper.

Man, for $30K each I'd buy a few tomorrow!

Good luck

Any pics of this house?

mansonozz said:

Man, for $30K each I'd buy a few tomorrow!

Good luck

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+1 - can you ship a few to me?

Humm... 100 year old home...sounds like the Florida Cracker house that my wife uses for a floral design shop.

I have spent some time working on the 100 year old house, and here's what I know. ..
Most of the houses were built before building codes were in force, so there may be some oddities. As you walk through the house, notice the slope of the floors: are they all level and even? Since it is winter all the creepy crawly things that sometimes live under the house are dormant, so plan to crawl under it to inspect the foundations and underside of the floor. Code for most modern homes is 2x8” or better flooring supports spaced 24" apart. Many older homes don't have that, and the floors sag, or are uneven. The foundation spacing has a spec on it too, but I don’t know what it is. While you are contemplating your trip under the house, find a termite inspector to go with you. Many mortgage companies will not write a mortgage on a home that does not have a current termite bond or inspection. If you have a basement, look at the walls: are there evidence of water stains and leaks? Cracks in the basement walls indicate a shifting soil or water seepage problem. Look for cracks in the plaster or ceiling – more indication of foundation problems.

Check out the plumbing and electrical: they can be expensive to fix. Older homes are not usually wired for 3 conductor wiring that includes the safety ground. They also have a shortage of outlets, since they were built before the total electric home became popular. The Florida Cracker house had two outlets per room and I had power strips with 2-3 wire adapters for all the outlets. To top that off, there are many things that don’t work well without a true ground. Computers and high end sound systems are some of them.

Kansas has some cold winters, so how’s the insulation? No insulation in the original 100 year old house makes it run up the winter heating bills very quickly. Think your wallet hurt when gas was $3.00+ a gallon? Think about what heating oil would be if some OPEC country decides the USA is their enemy and jacks up the price sky high. Got a wood fireplace instead of oil or gas heat? Better have a chimney sweep inspect it to make sure the lining is intact and won’t catch the house on fire. A fireplace is really nice, and wives can get very romantic with one, but a fire in the chimney will definitely ruin your evening.


If you are a handy carpenter/plumber/electrician type of guy, the house could be a bargain that is too good to pass up. If you aren’t and don’t have trusted friends who can help and do quality work, run the other way. Spend some time watching educational TV’s “This Old House” and you'll get some perspective on what goes into making an old house comfortable for modren living.

89streetbeast said:

hopefully will hear back in the next couple days. might be getting a 3 bed 1 bath 2 story house for 30K. needs vinyl siding put on and a new roof but other than that the inside is in pretty good shape for being a 100+ yr old home . the lady is willing to do a plan on renting to own and payments will be $308 a month. pretty sad im paying more for rent $450 plus paying utilities which equal to 150+ .

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thats sick a house like that here in new jersey goes for an easy 180k!!! and the average rent is 950 for a 1 bedroom apartment!!!

ps, just saw the pics - looks like that back door is sagging?

dude that is so bad a$$ i want a house