Home-quality wise, what should I keep in mind when buying a 1950s single family home in and around Sunnyvale? Do not care about expenses below $10,000 as that's small in comparison to the 1+ million price. But do care a lot of any health issues we might run into like lead paint or asbestos etc. Or any safety concerns like ungrounded wires. Or any long term time-consuming things like plumbing, foundation etc. Is getting an inspection done myself a fool-proof way to ensure these concerns are addressed? Also, how resistant are these older houses to earthquakes? Is there any way to know how strong they are?
I disagree. It depends on area but most parts of the country homes of the 40s-60s are very high quality. things like copper plumbing, copper wiring, sheetrock, central HVAC became popular during this time. Things started bottomed out in quality in the 70s and 80s. I would take a 1950s midcentury over anything built today.
When you buy a house for the first time you don’t really know what to expect or what you want. Just FYI it’s very possible you’re fed up in a year or two with what you bought. I’ve you’ve bought before it’s a different story.
Single story construction from this era does very well in earthquakes. Wood flexes, which means fairly minor damage to stucco, drywall, etc. during quakes. Main thing is getting a home inspection and remedying any "major" issues. Basically the inspectors job is finding things that are wrong, so there will be tons of things. Just focus on termites , wood rot, and anything unsafe. (Ask your realtor to look at the report and tell you their opinion, don't freak out if it highlights 50+ things)
50s is cheap and straightforward. Remove asbestos obviously. Plumbing is likely to be galv steel so replace.
FHA loan 3.5-5% down
Mid century homes are among the cheapest quality builds so the issues are as vast as anything that comes with cheaper quality. There was an explosion of post war buyers around this time. Eichlers were one fast and cheap solution. Other choices are turn of the century with better quality but issues due to age. Third option is all the contemporary stuff with modern code and floorplans but higher density and bad labor
I think newer stuff is much worse. 90s/2000s build scare me.
Best ones are ranch style homes. Eichlers are cheap and worst w.r.t safety of the house.