High baseboards, retro light fixtures, narrow oak floors (in prime condition!) -- that vintage home you toured seems so perfect.
Remind us why you’re laying awake at 2 a.m. worrying about asbestos or other hazards that could be lurking in the shadows?
Defective Thinking Can Be Expensive
You're right to be concerned.
Open houses for a vintage home can gloss over latent defects. Hazardous materials are a hassle and expensive to remediate. Asbestos is not the only hazard commonly found in pre-21st century homes. Even contemporary homes can have problems.
Defective thinking about a vintage home could make your next home buying experience miserable.*
Hazards Hiding in Plain Sight
Look for these four, lesser known hazards during your next vintage home open house.
1. Oil, Gas, or Wood Heat
Fossil fuel heat is banned in new and renovated homes in Vancouver and Quebec for good reasons. Combustion gases from oil- and gas-burning furnaces, water heaters, and wood fireplaces in a vintage home can expose you and the climate to noxious vapours and toxins. That, and a too small, poorly installed, or aging chimney can give you one real or financial headache. Check fossil fuel heaters for combustion spillage. Switch from oil to a heat pump with this federal grant.
2. Polybutylene Plumbing
Who wants microplastics or bacteria floating in their drinking water? Not your family. Call a professional home inspector if you see light gray, blue, or black plastic pipes under the kitchen or bathroom sink. Cheap, durable, and easy to install, Poly-B pipes were officially banned in 2005 because, behind closed doors, chlorinated water and disinfectants cause them to flake, crack, and leak. Without expensive repairs, home insurers often refuse to insure a vintage home with Poly-B pipes.
3. Forever Chemicals
Less easy to remedy are PFAS. The forever chemicals made famous in Dark Waters are in vintage home MDF cupboards your dishes could be stored in, hardwood floors you're walking on, and paint on the living room walls. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) coatings cause immune system and hormone disorders. Hard to remove forever chemicals are a fact of life in a vintage home. See a list of home construction materials with PFAS. Seller liability for environmental hazards.
4. Sinkholes to Landslides
Ponds and mountain views are charming vistas, as long as you’re not standing on shaky ground. Sloping floors can be a sign of a sagging foundation from soil subsistence, just as rocky escarpments can be a red flag for landslides. Before you buy a vintage home, ask the municipality if a new address is in a hazard zone. Check if your realtor has a property survey or make your offer to purchase conditional on a soil assessment. Advantages of buying in established neighbourhoods.
Pros of Buying a Vintage Home
All worries aside, buying a vintage home has many pros:
- spacious rooms
- high ceilings
- real wood construction
- ample lots
- and mature landscaping.
Just look out for what's lurking in the shadows. Is vintage wallpaper an asset?
*Close home deals with Axess Law, your virtual real estate lawyer. Ask us about flat rate legal fees for in-person services in the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, or Vancouver, or virtual real estate closings. Axess Law can video conference with you anywhere you are.
Image by Jill Wellington | Pixabay.