House

Slab construction. It's nearly impossible to find a REAL basement down here and even crawlspaces are limited. And this house is only a few years old (Don't have the full disclosure yet-but it looks like 8 years old with the roof replaced for storms)

When you say the lot slopes "inward" what do you mean?? The house sits on the crown of a "hill" (3-5 feet above the majority of the lot)

Thanks for the tips/info about AC and heater units.

 

I wasn't the poster but you always want to have slope away form foundation - remember that concrete is essentially a sponge- General soil drainage and gutter drainage (many CA homes don't have gutters and I always remind people to get water away form the foundation even if you are living in the desert! But anyway, drainage out to the street, creek (but becareful as the drains also allow 2 way traffic and can be a bad thing too!), is always a good thing.

Edit: Although many people think it is a waste - putting in a French drain or yard drains are priceless when the 100 year flood comes to your neighborhood and they usually happen every 17 years!

 

Yeah...The slope away looks good to my untrained eye- And there is a road on both sides of the house.
As far as the flooding goes- Yeah-We'll be keeping a close eye on that. The property is about 300 yards from an industrial canal between the Mississippi River and the Intracoastal Waterway....

 

Drive by later on, like at night to make sure its not a party spot or something. You can always make changes or repairs to a house, but you can't do much about bad neighbors.

 

Wow that's nice. Hope you get it.

 

Follow up.

Seeing as you know your way around a house, i'll get a little more detailed.

With an 80+ yo home, look for Knob and Tube wiring. That woudl be the original wiring in the home and there may still be some of it left, possibly inside walls and ceilings. Look above the service equipment ('Main panel') and in the attic 'floor'. Those are areas where you can often find it if it is there. In NJ, they may have some hidden beneath insulation. You saw it up until about 1930 in my area, though later in some areas from what i understand. You can Google it to see what it look like in the event you are not familiar.

The problem with K and T wiring, other than any that would be left would be over 8o years old, is that you do not want to cover it with insulation as many uninformed often do. The wiring was not insulated like older and newer sheathed insulations from the 40's and after. Age makes it brittle and covering it does not allow the heat to disperse from the wiring. (AKA Fire hazard) I've seen K and T wiring that started on fire in attics and put itself out without the occupants even knowing. Yikes. I have photos of it somewhere in my library.

Also - If an inspection reveals and documents K and T wiring, insurance companies are going to give you a harder time providing you with coverage. (Translation - Less options, more $$$) May also raise a financing issue, depending on the lender. 'Federal Pacific' and 'Federal Noak' service panels are another concern that carreis the above concerns, both due to safety and insurance considerations....

If you do find it, budget to have it upgrades for your own safety as well as reasons noted above. In NJ, insulation matters, and you want to make sure some bonehead didn't just add insulation over existing K and T.

Bottom line; I would definitely want to rule out any remaining K and T in the home, whether during an inspection (not always possible) or after when you can get extra pesky moving insulation and stuff. Sellers and agents don't appreciate that during what is supposed to be a 'visual' inspection, though my philosopy is that you need to 'break a few eggs to make an omelet', so long as i'm short of witnesses. Having been in the trades for many years prior to getting into this side of it, i know how far i can go, and its pretty rare that i run into see something i haven't already seen over the years.

...might want to rule out any buried oil tanks during the inspection. See if the disclosure raises any red flags there.

I did a 100 year old 3200 sq ft Victorian last weekend and found evidence (a pair of copper tubes coming through the wall near the furnace area) of a buried oil tank on the property. (K and T also, as is pretty much expected in those) Bad enough if they are still buried there, worse if they have leaked. Then it has to be made 'official' and can get expensive. House records carry that from that point on, as well, so you need to rule that out.

Not trying to freak you out, just trying to let you know what to look for so you aren't Pearl Harbored with this stuff after the fact.

 

This is one of the best comments too. I tell my clinets to live in the home (neighborhood) while you are in your investigation period. If you like to jog at 5 am - Jog at 5 am - find some nice routes. If you walk your dog every night at 10. Walk your dog there at 10 pm - find out what your dog knows that you may not. If you like to sleep in 'til 10 on Saturday. Go there and see how quiet it is at that time. The NUMBER 1 thing to do is to go knock on the closest 6 neighbors doors and ask open ended questions like: "I am thinking about buying this home and was wondering what you think of the neighborhood?" "What is the best thing about this neighborhood?" "What is the worst thing?" "Would you want your best friend to move in to that house?" etc! You will hear the best and the worst... better now than a week after escrow closes. Understand every home and every neighborhood has it's problems.

I have one client that I have helped with 3 purchases and sales - they did not take me seriously 1 of those 3 times and now are like neighborhood investigation Nazis - they now have the home and neighborhood they will retire in - I wish that happened one house prior.

Once again good luck!

 

Very good point! We have a apartment complex that has K & T and we have just dealt with it... we let all the prospective tenants that this is an old building and we have to deal with some old things like wiring and insulation - We have all new appliances, completely new plumbing and windows but it is still an old an charming place. Our tenants rent our places due to the period style and closeness to the beach - I would love to re-wire and insulate but it has not caused us any problems but we do have to do more maintenance and keep a check on everything. We get more calls but all in all the place has it's charm. Charm isn't free!

 

taxes aren;t too bad for the area ..The flood insurance just pisses me off! The area is pretty chill. Let me know how it goes or if you want me to take a look at it with you.

 

i'm also looking at homes and have come across some good info on this thread. thanks guys! one thing i look at is windows. old shitty windows will kill your power bill, but replacing old windows with new ones is an extremely expensive en devour. i'm also looking for fairly new homes, that are more energy efficient.

 

Thanks man I'll let you know. That house actually isnt in a flood zone so no flood insurance! You live like 2 streets over dont you cause I have seen your truck before in the area just cant remember which street lol

 

yeah I live on river drive ave... I CAN'T BELIEVE ITS NOT IN THE FLOOD ZONE. Almost all of penn beach is flood zone.

 

I know I was suprised too, hopefully all this works out and I cant get the house. I'm waiting for the bank to call me.

 

Seriously look at the neighbors. I have a beautiful home with a great yard. I have to mow the south neighbors yard cause he won't. I have (2) kids, no one else has kids anywhere close to my kids age. Sucks!

 

Run the sinks/shower/tub/flush the toilets a bunch. I didn't run the kitchen sink long enough nor did my inspector and I ended up having to gut the kitchen after I found water damage and mold due to an old copper drain pipe.

Also take into consideration: wiring, windows, and plumbing in general. My house is 55yrs old (CBS) and all of these have been issues so far.

 

Bump this thread- Put in an offer on the house I put in my earlier post. Got the counter this morning. We are accepting.

Any of you inspectors know any other inspectors in the New Orleans area?? Going to be making calls early next week to get it set up. The realtor has a few recommendation and I like her/think she's a straight shooter but any outside info is welcome!!

 

Just make sure that they are either Creia or Ashi. Yeah, most all are x-contractors but these orgs hold higher standards.

 

You can find ones here:http://www.ashi.org/ Creia is cal only

 

Ask your realtor for a sample (for actual home) from 2 or 3 inspectors that she has dealt with on either side of a transaction.

 

Like sample of their old reports?? That's pretty awesome idea.