# Is it good idea to buy old house ?



## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

Hi Folks.

Looking for some advice. First little about myself:

We don't have any kids yet but the family will be growing in future. Me and my spouse both work in downtown.
household Income is close to 180k. I will be a First time home buyer.
I like the idea of living in the inner city and thinking of buying an old house near to Calgary's downtown.

Problem is that I am not really a DIY guy when it comes to home renovation. so few questions:

1)Is it really lot of work when you buy houses build in 1960's or after that? After reading the threads about asbestos and other issues it seems like risk

2)My idea is to buy it as a investment with a hope to use it for building infills in future.

3)Buying new house in Mahogany (suburbs) 45 min from calgary DT or old house something 15 min from it make more sense ? Just want to know your preference

Love to know your thoughts on it.

Thanks
K


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## Newby1983 (Apr 9, 2015)

Do yourself a favour and hire a contractor. I bought an old house to fix and move into 10 years ago. I originally though "ya I can do this myself" because I was a DIY guy. But trust me, there's precision, patience, hard work, stress, surprises, legal stuff, your marriage, and your day job. Find a contractor who can do most of the work themself eg, framing, drywall, taping. Go see some of their work. And hire out tile electrical plumbing hvac if needed. If you want paint yourself. I see many DIY renos of friends and family and tile grout joints are inconsistent, hack jobs on trim, shoddy electrical. You'll thank yourself when you are settled in and don't notice all these things.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Personally, I'd prefer a house that was built before the 1970's to anything built after. In my experience, the quality of building and he materials used after that time really went downhill after the early 70's. I've owned a few houses that have been around 100 years old and I imagine that, properly maintained, they could be around for another 100 years. Some of the stuff built today, I wonder if they'll still be standing 30 years from now...

Now, as newly said, it all depends on how hey we're maintained and how you will maintain them. Many homes have had questionable renovations done by homeowners...

As for things like asbestos, used and maintained properly, they pose very little risk for example an asbestos floor tile poses no risk as long as you don't start chopping them up and making dust particles out of them...attached to the floor, and even covered over with new flooring, they are fine. Asbestos is more dangerous to people who get constant exposure to aerosolized particles like remediation workers and people who made or applied it, not to people living with a finished, locked in product. If not, everyone who lived through the 60's would already be dead. Same with lead paint, which you actually have to eat or snort a lot of he dust from, aluminum wiring which, properly maintained works fine (in fact most of the main power lines coming to your home are aluminum, only the stuff inside your home is usually copper), etc. 

People who don't know, don't maintain properly, etc. Get injured by all these building products, so the government passes legislation to "ban" them in an effort to protect stupid people...same as why kids clothing can no longer have drawstrings, if you learn about the products, your fear level should decrease substantially.

Remember too, it takes years before people realize the "hazards" of new products. Who knows what current building supplies will one day be the source of new fears...read up on how some people think new houses don't "breath" enough causing people to get sick as an example.

As for contractors, be really careful about who you hire. Any idiot can call themselves a contractor, can even apply lipstick on a pig to make them look really good, but it doesn't mean they know what they are doing, or even do it right. Over the years I've seen some very nice looking places that have things like copper wire tied to aluminum wire using no antioxidant and bound together using masking tape, I've seen a ground wire with so much carbon build up (since it was acting as the return) that I actually thought it was an insulated wire, I've seen pipes that try to drain uphill, big pipes draining into smaller pipes, water leaks that had ponds behind walls, suppor walls which have been removed,...I could go on and on...but that is poor renovations and construction, not the age of the house. Old houses are usually built like a rock.


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

gladaki said:


> We don't have any kids yet but the family will be growing in future. Me and my spouse both work in downtown.
> ..........
> I like the idea of living in the inner city and thinking of buying an old house near to Calgary's downtown.
> ..........
> Problem is that I am not really a DIY guy when it comes to home renovation.


I support everything "Just a Guy" says, and I also dislike the extra hours spent every week commuting from the suburbs.

But, if you plan to have a family, it's often not the best place for kids in a downtown area. Suburbs are ideal for kids, and they take precedence over your desire to be downtown. There are places to play, and lots of friends, a family environment and lots of sports. I always wanted to live downtown as my kids were growing up, but did the whole suburb thing until they were gone. Now I live downtown.

I would also be wary of buying an older home, (even though the structure is usually much better than new), since you admit to not being a DIY guy. I have renovated a mid century bungalow myself over the last 6 years and it ain't for the faint of heart. Lot's of doing dishes in the bathtub, living in a construction zone, etc. If you aren't DIY and can recognize what needs to be done and how it's to be done, you'll be eaten alive by contractors.

ltr


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## Retired Peasant (Apr 22, 2013)

Calgary..downtown...make sure it's not on the flood plain


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

Retired Peasant said:


> Calgary..downtown...make sure it's not on the flood plain


For those who aren't familiar with it, Calgary is huge. One of the largest cities in Canada by area. '15 mins from downtown' can cover a large area.

If you are wanting to do lot split/infill in the future, then don't bother with any renovations. Anything that needs to happen to make it liveable (to your standards), maybe a basic bathroom renovation - get someone to do it for you.
Asbestos will be in any home built before about 1982 or so. It was used in drywall mud until the late 70's. Generally, asbestos is well hidden from the homeowner and pose no harm unless you go banging around in the attic or ceiling.

Personally, I find the Calgary suburbs depressing. Just hills full of vinyl siding and asphalt shingles as far as you can see. At least in the older areas in the core you have trees and a variety of housing styles and finishes.


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## twa2w (Mar 5, 2016)

Places like Brentwood, varsity, triwood and similar communities are now mature neighbourhoods with mature trees and houses are not quite so cookie cutter. These are within 15 to 20 minutes of downtown depending on where you work. They also have good ctrain access. They have decent schools, playgrounds etc. The original buyers are moving out and younger families moving in. There are communities closer in as well but price goes up. 
I live further out in Hawkwood and it takes me 22 minutes to downtown on average morning. ( I am retired but drive my son in occasionally )

There will similiar neighbourhoods in the sw and ne just on the fringe of downtown.

I agree with most newer calgary subdivisions being depressing. Fifty shades of beige. Engineer and accountants housing  no offence to engineers


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

gladaki said:


> ...We don't have any kids yet but the family will be growing in future. Me and my spouse both work in downtown...


I don't know how imminent a family is, but make sure when choosing where to live that you have thought about what family life will require. Will daycare be an issue? What about schools? Cagary public as I recall has to bus kids all over due to a lack of area schools. Grade 1 seems a long way off but the time goes by pretty quickly. 

Is walkability something you are looking for? Unless planned for, it can be difficult to find it in the burbs (you get in the car to go anywhere). At the same time, the inner city can also have walkabiity challenges. There may be a corner store, but finding a larger grocery store or a school may require a drive as well.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

The primary issue with older homes is the foundation. Another major issue is sewer lines in mature areas.

There are many other issues, especially if the home has not been updated over the years, but spending a pile of money on a basement so that it is no longer crumbling, sinking, tilting, or leaking doesn't add a dime to the value of the home.

Just like tree roots in the sewer lines or a roof that doesn't leak, buyers expect some aspects of a home to be in good working order.

Personally, having both renovated old homes and bought new ones, I would recommend purchasing an older home that has already been professionally renovated to the highest standards. It is worth paying the extra money spread out over 25 years, especially at today's low interest rates to have none of the headaches or surprise costs of renovating.

Consider it like rebuilding a classic car professionally. They start by removing everything and rebuilding from the frame up.

Some people get involved in renovations and end up overspending. When they sell they can't recover their costs.

That is the type of home you should be looking for if you want to live in an older area.


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