Older construction
When buying houses or condos, what should be the cut off for the construction year? Yes, I know, a well maintained older house or a completely upgraded older house is as good, but in general is there a rule of thumb to follow here?
It really depends on locality.. typically local codes change every few decades and an older construction may not be up to date with current local codes.. in short, there is no “one” cutoff year that determines what is an “older” construction.
Where do I find the local codes(total noob here)
https://up.codes/codes/california Or you can select the state you are in.. There might be city codes as well.. check with a realtor.
1910 was a good year for brick
For us anything beyond 1978, that is when they stopped using lead based paint.
Rule of thumb is the money you pay for house + rehab costs at least 20% lower than the potential sale price. 20% of your investment not the cost of the house. Everything is fixable but at a cost. Plumbing is 20k for a very large house but while doing you will tear down walls, so another 20k, foundation 10-40k, each bathroom around 10-15k, kitchen 50-200k (depends where the property is located) and electrical is around 20-25k. These are bare minimum costs except the kitchen of course. Floors 15k, landscaping 25k... If you need to update an old electrical panel PGE will charge 2-100k (I am not kidding). Lead paint is actually not that big a problem, maybe 10k at worst. There are other factors... If the house has non permitted structures then the city will hold you responsible for fixing it, that can range from 0 to infinity.
I am thinking of buying old and remodeling with hard capital then refinancing to get more money back and then buying another house.
What about plumbing etc. You plan to overhaul all of that too?