Picking the Bones

Dear Pat,
My wife and I have been renting in the Seward neighborhood for the last few years while finishing grad school at the U. Although we’re from the suburbs we’ve come to love this end of town, and we want to buy a nice older house in Seward or Longfellow soon. Here’s the problem: our dad(s) tell us that housing construction around here is often substandard and that we’d be better off buying something newer and built to current code. We would need some financial help from them to buy this year so we can’t ignore their preferences. What can we say to reassure them that it’s OK to buy an older home around here?
-Hearts in the City

Dear City Hearts,
Tell them that our neighborhood enjoyed a higher rate of appreciation than any suburb over the past five years. Tell them that you will only make an offer on a house is it’s contingent on a full home inspection by a qualified housing inspector. But mainly, tell them you’ll find a Realtor who can help you pick good bones.

There is no substitute for good bones in a house. By “good bones” we mean solid construction, appropriate elements and standard designs. Of course construction standards have improved over the years: we can see vast changes over the decades from 1910 to 1960 as floor joists widened from 8 to 10 and even 12 inches, wiring went from knob-and-tube to metal sheathing and Romex; as windows, insulation, roofing, boilers, furnaces and a wide array of materials conformed to higher building standard. That’s great, but it doesn’t mean that a 1960 house is necessarily a better buy than a home built in 1925, or that it has better bones.

Tell your folks that most homes in our neighborhoods came from standard designs used again and again, which include identifiable floor plans and elements for a specific period. For instance, a 1920’s bungalow was typically trimmed using 4” oak window and door casing with back band, a cased archway between the living and ding rooms, hardwood of oak or maple, a ceramic tile bath nestled between two bedrooms, and a kitchen at the rear with a sink window overlooking the back or side yard. We’ve all seen this house--savvy buyers expect a 1920’s bungalow to conform this standard.

These are the design bones we’re looking for. As to elements, let’s pick a little deeper. Light fixture from the period are a plus, as are original built-ins, ceiling coving, and plate rails. Of course most buyers would prefer a “grandma’s” house in perfectly preserved condition, along with a tastefully remodeled kitchen and bath. But every generation for 80 years has taken a shot at “improving” our housing stock, so buyers often have to do mental surgery to determine the quality of a house’s bones. For example, sprayed ceilings are unfortunate, but fairly simple to undo: what you’re looking for here is whether the ceiling is sagging, and why.

Remember, City Hearts, bones are not roof covering, furnaces, or water heaters. These items we expect to replace over time. Think classic design, appropriate elements, and solid basic construction: the bones that frame the soul of a house. Rattle them right, and you’ll make your parents happy when it’s your turn to sell.