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Few questions on fixing up an old house

nisryus

nisryus

Golden Member
After a few weeks of house searching, we put reserve down for a detached condo (looks like a single house with very small lot, comes with land ownership). However, wife couldn't get over the term "Condo" so we backed out.

Yesterday she saw this beauty https://www.redfin.com/TX/Round-Rock/1123-Oaklands-Dr-78681/home/32830833

So we went and take a look today. It is build in 1992. Plenty of upgrades to the dinning room and kitchen, plus master bath and WIC. For a house that old, I thought 305k is a little too much, but consider how hot Austin's housing market is.. oh well.

When walking through the house, I saw a few places that I weren't sure of..

1. The microwave range hood does not vent outside and it is located in the middle of the kitchen, or by the side. So in order to put in a duct to vent, it has to go up through the cabinet, or behind and through the wall, and then up to between the first and second floor so the duct could go horizontally to the side of the house. Would this kind of job cost a lot? Since we don't know how the stud and support beams would be in the way, the wall has to be opened to take a peak inside.

2. The gutter close to the tree (front of the house) is bent, possibly due to weight of the leaves and branches from the tree. Do I have to replace the whole section of it?

3. On picture #25, the area where the rail meets the wall. In the picture it looks fine. But if you were there and look at it, the dry wall is kind of "bloated" outward. I pressed the wall and felt it is rock solid. Shouldn't wall be flat? That wall is possibly has load support studs as that is almost the center of the house where the stair is located. Would this be a warning sign?

Besides the above three things, the house is almost perfect to us.
 
1. you'll need an hvac guy, drywall guy, mudder and painter to fix that. Not sure what the contractors in austin charge but i would say 2k max. I would add that cost when negotiating the price.

2. im sure it could be straightened out, can't see anything from the pics. But it seems like the tree will bend it back no matter what, you probably need to call an arborist and see if he could cut some branches off.

3. it could be the stud that is twisted/bowed behind the wall, not every 2x4 is perfectly straight, of course im no expert.
 
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Thanks Shabby.

For #3, would that be a problem to the structure? I could feel the area is about 5mm "outward", and size of a 7 ft adult male (from top to bottom and left to right). So probably more than one stud is my guess.
 
Yeah, but the HOA is cheap comparing to others and they are not as intrusive as some others around here. Few friends also live in that subdivision for years and they really like it.
 
nisryus said:
Thanks Shabby.

For #3, would that be a problem to the structure? I could feel the area is about 5mm "outward", and size of a 7 ft adult male (from top to bottom and left to right). So probably more than one stud is my guess.
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No its simply a shoddy stud that was used, go to home depot and see if every 2x4 is straight, they're not, some are bowed so bad they'd make great hockey sticks. Framers aren't going to throw out studs when they're framing.
Perhaps tell the inspector to take a look at it if you decide to buy it.
 
Why does the roof look wavy?

What is the stain above the window to the right of the wreath?

How is the roof flashing at the chimney? Builders nearly always F that up.

Any signs of water damage or repairs to the wood siding?

Does there appear to be excessive caulking or re-caulking around windows and doors?

That's some of the more important stuff to look at when buying a house IMO.
 
I checked and the shingles were ok. They were replaced a few years ago.

That stain was water from the gutter (which was bent from the weight of the branches and leaves).

Yeah, need to check the roof flashing at the chimney. Probably need an inspector to go and look at that.

So far no signs of water damages anywhere inside or outside the house (where we can look) No excessive caulking found.
 
Yeah, that's a nice area; I live just a few minutes from there in a smaller home built in '85. The Austin market has been crazy for some time now. Good location and good schools if that's a consideration. The Round Rock area is just about as hot; I chose the west side because it's just a bit calmer - no 75mph traffic 100 feet in the air (yet).
 
It is getting too crazy. A few times got out bid by investors and wife is almost giving in after losing bid after bid. Heard there were offers already for this house.. =/

We don't really care for school since our kid goes to a charter school. We just want to be closer to the school so I don't have to spent two hours a day just to get him to and from school. We also consider East of 35, but our agent told us most of that area used to be farm lands, and there are lots of foundation issue with houses there.
 
It's a very different market than anything I've experienced before. A couple friends who bought recently told me about offering asking price plus 5k and still getting outbid! Best to keep trying and don't fall in love with anything; eventually you'll find one that doesn't have multiple bids. Another thing I wasn't used to is finding out it sold while you were getting your bid together, sometimes the first day or two.
 
old house... built in 1992.. lol

Doesn't seem old to me, but to each his/her own. I think it looks nice.
 
slag said:
old house... built in 1992.. lol

Doesn't seem old to me, but to each his/her own. I think it looks nice.
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Agreed here.

If the housing market is hot the little issues you mentioned are basically nothing. There's technically nothing wrong with the range hood so no help there. The gutter is minor fix but it's certainly worth asking the seller to fix. If the stair railing is otherwise solid then it's probably just wasn't done right in the first place. Honestly, not worth fixing.

Good luck!
 
Wife thinks a house that is 10 years+ = old.

for me, the only main concern is the range hood. Going to ask the agent if she knows anyone who can take a look. But that will be difficult without opening the wall, which can only be done after buying the house. However, I am fairly sure there is no electrical lines, plumbing or any other pipes in the wall. The chimney is in the living room, and up-stair common bathroom is on the other side of the house.
 
nisryus said:
After a few weeks of house searching, we put reserve down for a detached condo (looks like a single house with very small lot, comes with land ownership). However, wife couldn't get over the term "Condo" so we backed out.

Yesterday she saw this beauty https://www.redfin.com/TX/Round-Rock/1123-Oaklands-Dr-78681/home/32830833

So we went and take a look today. It is build in 1992. Plenty of upgrades to the dinning room and kitchen, plus master bath and WIC. For a house that old, I thought 305k is a little too much, but consider how hot Austin's housing market is.. oh well.

When walking through the house, I saw a few places that I weren't sure of..

1. The microwave range hood does not vent outside and it is located in the middle of the kitchen, or by the side. So in order to put in a duct to vent, it has to go up through the cabinet, or behind and through the wall, and then up to between the first and second floor so the duct could go horizontally to the side of the house. Would this kind of job cost a lot? Since we don't know how the stud and support beams would be in the way, the wall has to be opened to take a peak inside.

2. The gutter close to the tree (front of the house) is bent, possibly due to weight of the leaves and branches from the tree. Do I have to replace the whole section of it?

3. On picture #25, the area where the rail meets the wall. In the picture it looks fine. But if you were there and look at it, the dry wall is kind of "bloated" outward. I pressed the wall and felt it is rock solid. Shouldn't wall be flat? That wall is possibly has load support studs as that is almost the center of the house where the stair is located. Would this be a warning sign?

Besides the above three things, the house is almost perfect to us.
Click to expand...

1.) May need permits to add vents as well. Technically, you don't always have to have an external vent. A recirculating vent is kind of common. I would much rather have an external vent, so I can see why you'd want that. You may have to get into a new microwave too, some microwaves do not support external venting. Might be something to ask if the microwave supports it. As for the job, it looks like it wouldn't be trivial. You'd need someone to likely take down the cabinet and the crown molding along the top of the cabinet. Then demo, ductwork, drywall, paint, and rehanging the cabinets. I'd say the $2k figure is about right unfortunately.

2.) You can see the brick below the gutter is discolored from the gutter not properly removing the water, so add in a brick cleaning. Likely the gutter will need to be replaced. Seamless guttering for that one length is cheap, but you won't get a seamless gutter guy out there for under $400-$500. It wouldn't be worth their time.

3.) It is hard to see, but depending on the extent of the bulge, it could be water damage. Drywall warps and gets brittle/very hard after being exposed to water. It could be improper crowning of the 2x4's though. If it looks like it bulges back and froth every 16" then the framer didn't check for 2x4 crowning. Naturally the 2x4s bow slightly out of the mill. Good framers will align all the bows in the same direction so you don't notice them. If you don't do this then the wall will look like it waves in and out. There is absolutely no structural problem with not crowning properly, it is only for looks. So I'd say either a water issue or crowning issues. If you get far enough into the house then be sure to pass your concerns along to the inspector.

Otherwise, it looks like a nice house. 1992 isn't a very old house. They used practically all the same methods and materials that we use today. The problem houses come from pre 1970's (ungrounded electrical) and some 1970s-1980's houses due to some initial issues with pvc.
 
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After talking to the wife spoke with the agent, we have decided not to bid on it.

The search continues...
 
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