Expert: John McKenna, CMI - 11/1/2006

Question
  Hi, I have a Q reg buying a home with some consideration of build date.  I.e.; abstetos was banned in 79' I believe, lead paint same date.  Do you have any opinion in other factors, such as quality of materials, earthquake laws for constructions that made homes made after a certain date more durable.  I've heard a real estate agent say that she would not buy any home from the late 70's to the early 80's based on the (fact?) that during the gas crunch, housing materials were of a very cheap quality during this time.   Opinions?  I live in Los Angeles.

Thanks
Tim  

Answer
Each house is different from the next.  A builder who does quality work and uses quality materials could have built a wonderful home in the years you have mentioned.

A brand new home built with poor quality and compromised materials might look nice but still is a poor structure.

In other words, I have seen such a wide spectrum of quality and materials that I cannot make general assumptions just based on the date a house was built.  Your concerns are good points and the more you know about these issues the more you can protect yourself from these problems.  

Here is a good rule of thumb to go by.  If you buy an old house then you are going to inherit some issues and maintenance that does not come with most new homes.  But the older home may not cost as much and therein is the temptation to buy the older house.  

Here are some examples of why it is hard to tell what you have until you have it inspected:

1 - Today's lumber is grown faster and dried faster than the old forest and processing methods.  The new lumber therefore weaker, most of the time, than the old lumber.  It takes more braces to hold up and secure the new structure.  But if done properly, the new house can be built to endure, even with the new and weaker lumber.  Things are not what they appear.

2- You can build a huge concrete slab with tons of steel... but if you fail to prepare the site properly you can create major problems with the foundation.  Things are not what they appear.

If you cover lead paint and leave the asbestos alone, it can be a non-issue most of the time.  If you are exposed to lead paint and stir-up the asbestos then you can create some problems.  There are other considerations with each environmental or construction concern (ie... radon gas, mold, termites, pollutants, earth quakes, re-called materials, unsafe electrical products, faulty fixtures, corrosion, decay, moisture penetration, etc...)

Be sure to hire a qualified home inspector that is familiar with these issues and knows the building requirements for your local area. I cannot even begin to cover all the possible questions that could arise with an older home.

I am glad to see you are asking questions. You will be better prepared to go into the deal with your eyes open. Please go to my web site and click on the links that discuss some of these issues to learn more.  There are tons of links on my web site that can help you with more detailed answers than what I can deal with hear.

Please let me know if you have any concerns or questions.

Good Luck,

John McKenna, CMI
Certified Master Inspector
American Home Inspection
http://texas-inspection.com