House hunting, issues to look for? Crack in ceiling

Considering a house built in 1940's, stucco on exterior and shingles on roof. Noticed two of these cracks in living room area. Are they from contraction and expansion over the years or could this be a more serious problem??

 

That looks like a drywall joint. It could be from shoddy workmanship or also due to shrinkage.

 

x2

 

Looks to me like where the drywall is mudded/taped since its in a straight line. Just an opinion though, not an expert

 

Thanks for the replies guys, makes me feel a lot better on putting an offer in.

Forerunner, looks like it is drywall.

 

Could be. Could not be. My house, built in the 50's, is plaster over drywall (it's the type drywall/gypsum board with holes in it for plaster adherence). I have similar cracks/seams in mine and I just don't worry about it right now.

Plaster walls are a love/hate thing. Mostly hate, in my case.

 

Yeah, try a 1906 house with horsehair plaster. That crap is awful to work with! Pretty much anything having to do with an older house and plaster will be a PITA.

DCGirl, given that it's a nice, straight line it just looks like a taping joint. It's easy and cheap to fix.

 

This

 

Find an independent guy w/a license who is not afraid to you under your home, not just poke his head under the crawl space access and shine a flashlight and say everything is ok. Same w/the attic. Make sure he goes up in the attic and looks around thoroughly. Also go through the house yourself and write down any concerns you may have and bring them to his attention.

 

agree.

 

First or Second Floor? Considering the house is 72 years old it is not even slightly surprising, I wouldn't personally be concerned. My house is 3 years old, bought it new, and I can show you cracks about 1/2 that size, houses settle. That may be a crack from settling, and no one ever bothered to fix it, most people never paint the ceiling, and the owners probably just ignore it.

 

This but ensure he is Lic, bonded and insurred. You may want to talk to some of the neighbors if they are old enough they can tell you prob what what has been done to the house.

Cypher

 

Call Mike Holmes , he'll make it right

 

^^^^^This do not just go with who the seller or listing peeps sends, guess who they are looking out for,,,Also there should be some $ to fix things 1 TO 3 % of the selling price,Thing's that bug you get them fixed before you move in... Jim

 

Good luck in this market getting the seller to fix anything, maybe 10 years ago this was normal, but in the current market, owners want to do zero things to the house, it is a shame. Seems like most things are "as-is"... Unless they are a safety hazard.

 

In a good market If no fix up beans ,,,, move on to the next house!!!

 

It's a drywall crack in a 70 year old house .

Rescrew , tape , mud , sand , prime , paint

 

^^^^this. almost simply a drywall joint going thru natural contraction/expansion............although i have seen a case where the crack was later determined to be a leak in the 2nd floor toilet seal, requiring replacement of the insulation and drywall, not to mention the possible mold remediation and all that entails...............

 

^^^^ THIS, no one is going to give you a 1-3% Discount because of it, it is a $10 fix if you do it yourself.


Most houses for sale are foreclosed, bank owned, bankrupt or an their way to that, so the owners just want to run away.

I have seen so many homes with pools that look like they were filled with dog poop, dead rats/mice, water leaks all over because of frozen pipes, mold, broken windows, holes in the wall, missing railings, etc, and it is normal in this market, and no one is going to fix it for you. I cant get a loan from Navy Fed because they wont give loans on houses that need repairs, if it isnt "live in ready" they wont close on the house with you, it sucks, and banks and owners wont fix things to help with this, and no one will let you go in and fix it at your risk because they are liable while you are in the house.