Getting Through the Home Inspection on a Historic Home

The home inspection either makes or breaks the buyer - either you are an old house person or you find out you aren't. I can generally get a feel while I am working with someone if they are or aren't and counsel them one one or the other. Sometimes, however, buyers love the romance of owning a historic home and they want to go in that direction no matter what I say.

If you are thinking you want to buy a historic property, keep in mind - it is an old house. Yes, it may have been updated or renovated - but it is STILL an older house. Most contracts negotiate a cap on repair money. This is all the seller has to do - they aren't contractually obligated to put more money into repairing the house than what is negotiated up front. That being said, they also aren't obligated to fix "cosmetic" items or bring the house up to code. All they are required to do is to make sure the systems (electric, plumbing, etc) are functioning.

The biggest mistake I see buyers of historic homes make is that they go into the home inspection thinking the house is going to "pass" or "fail." That isn't what the home inspection is intended to do and you will be sorely disappointed as all homes will most certaily "fail."

Purchasing a house isn't like purchasing a car - houses, even new ones, aren't perfect. There are always going to be items that the owner can upgrade or fix or make work better. The purpose of the home inspection is to let the buyer know what they are getting into. Many items can be fixed down the road. And, because houses are like living organisms, always changing, many more items will come up as the buyer lives in the house.

If you want to purchase a historic house, look to the home inspection to make sure the systems are properly functioning - everything else is just part of the expense and upkeep of homeownership.