Buying a house in Okanagan - pitfalls?

[mkmurrays]

4th March 2007 02:51

Hi

We're hoping to be over in Kelowna/area in the spring, and we will be buying an older property as we want somewhere with a reasonable sized garden. We don't mind having kitchens/bathrooms etc updated, so it doesn't have to be in perfect shape.

In terms of construction, is there anything specific to the area we should look out for? We've bought and sold houses before, so we have a general idea, but we wondered if there is anything new we should be aware of. Also, in terms of surveys of the property, what's available, and what would people recommend, for a 1980's/1990's home?

Thanks
Sharon

[admin]

4th March 2007 09:21

In terms of construction, is there anything specific to the area we should look out for?

Rich_007 -

I found this interesting....

"I bought a 25 year old house. It is built from straight fir full dimension framing that is so dense and well dried that it is difficult to drive a nail into it any more, not punky, knotted, boreholed and warped spindly spruce that the beetles seem to love so much. And sheathed with real dimension plywood, not metric thickness chipboard or powderboard. The foundation is thick, intact, solid and rooted in undisturbed ground, not fill, and well served with updated perimeter drainage that is properly installed and works. The floor is almost two inches thick, made up of diagonally placed tongue and groove 1 inch planks, overlaid with a layer of 3/4 inch real plywood. Not a squeek to be found anywhere, and when you walk on it it is like walking on a rock. You can even jump up and down on the floor without the pictures on the walls going wonky, or the dishes in the cupboards rattling. The exterior finish is stucco so thick and solid it is difficult to drill a hole through it without a hammer drill. "

I guess, in a nutshell, that's what you should expect from an older home. Some of these new builds are awful, poor finishing, tatty work, angles, lack of attention to detail, flimsy construction.

In an older home IMHO you're paying most attention to structural integrity, no cheap nasty badly-built additions, wiring & water in need of overhaul/update, furnace condition, surrounding land should be well settled, driveway upgrade (possibly). Roof, when to renew ? All depends on overall condition. With a lot of the older homes, yards=huge=mucho $ cost to landscape/design/finish so could be looking at a lot of money for that. Big long stretches of fences = money overload if replacing. Look for hideous fireplaces dominating rooms, usually painted white with ceramic cats on the mantle :-(

R.

[Betalil]

5th March 2007 10:55


In the city of Kelowna for a larger than average yard (.21 ac) you would probably look at Rutland area, alot of older homes (20-30yrs), some requiring updating, some already done, generally with a reasonable price. Crawford estates is also a good place to get larger properties (.4 ac +) bigger homes, some quite fancy but also some older ones (reflected in the price being asked) although through Crawford you have a couple of big hydro elec. lines running through (hummers).

When buying an older home: if any updates have been done other than cosmetic, then make sure that permits were pulled especially for electrical. Check the state of the insulation (current code requires R40 in the roof) so on an older house this would be something that you would consider upgrading. Go in the attic and the crawlspace. Check the wiring (main panel) some homes built in the late 60's had aluminum wiring, which works fine provided it has not been tampered with, and is harder more costly to upgrade, also check the size of the elec.service, ie: 100amp,125, 150 or 200? If the house is all electric with a detached garage with power (and maybe a suite) then anything less than 200 service is probably overloaded, if it has an "illegal" suite make sure the downstairs kitchen has been wired correctly. Check the state of the furnace, if original it may need to be replaced, you should have it as a subject to your purchase to have it inspected by a certified tech (especially if it's a gas furnace). Condition of floor coverings is really irrelevant, but are the floors level, are they solid or do they bounce. Look for any signs of water/mold damage in bathrooms & basements primarily, condition of the roof (how many years life left). Pay special attention to foundations, any cracking (there will be some, the only guarantee with concrete is it will crack) you are really looking for major cracks, shifts, faults or anywhere that water can infiltrate. What is the grade of the land around the house, does it slope away or toward the house (away is better), how about the gutters/soffits if wood do they show signs of rot. Windows, what type are they, single pane with inside storms? older style double pane or have they been upgraded? Decks, railings and stairs, condition of deck coverings/finish, height of railings (current code: outside 42", inside 36") do exterior stair bounce too much or show signs of rot.

Anyway, a start for you.

[Betalil]

5th March 2007 10:57

Oh, check for insect damage. Certain areas of the Okanagan (primarily Penticton south) have issues with termites, forested areas could have carpenter ants. Best to check for it, maybe add as another subject to purchase if you are concerned.