There were also many many more crapy homes built in both the 90s and 10s. Each decade is known for its own home trends. We’ve seen a lot of the 80s these past couple of years (neon, Southwestern style), much of which is still with us today. This can cause corrosion, dry rot, moisture damage, and other risks. Our second home was built in 1990 and although larger and had new things in it, I longed for the old house we left. There are problems to look for when buying an old house you should be … In general, a semi-custom home built today should be much better built than a semi-custom home from the 1990's, but probably similar to the 2000's. But first, a little history lesson. When inspecting an older home, check for doors and windows that jam easily, visible wall cracks, cracked tile, and uneven floors, as these are common signs of foundation problems. Some buildings have become unhealthy to live in due to moulds and … But there are differences and it's important to know what you have in your own home and understand how to maintain it. Unfortunately, it can also bring with it a lot of issues that you may not be prepared for. Over time, even the most solidly built homes can form cracks and unevenness in the foundation slab. It all depends on the individual property. Environmental problems are a new and growing area of home defects. But, if history is our guide, some of the 90s is next. Houses built in the 1970’s are also likely to still have many original items such as appliances and heating/AC systems that are likely worn out. There were great homes built in the 90s and great homes built in the 2010's. The leaky homes crisis is an ongoing construction and legal crisis in New Zealand concerning timber-framed homes built from 1988 to 2004 that were not fully weather-tight. In 1990 it was our turn to buy a first home and returned to the same part of Tampa to purchased a home built in 1957, going backwards not forwards. Recently, too, homes have gotten bigger, especially since the 1990s: homes built in the current decade are 80% bigger than the typical 1940s home. Common Issues With Older Homes Buying an old home may allow you to live in a stylish, affordable piece of history. They include lead-based paint (common in homes built before 1978), asbestos, formaldehyde, contaminated drinking water, radon and leaking underground oil tanks. Right: The facade of a crumbling home on U.S. Highway 80 in Jacumba Hot Springs. The exception, oddly, is council or housing association-built property which was held to a much higher construction code than private developments - although this too took a turn for the worse in the 1990s. The problems often include the decay of timber framing which, in extreme cases, have made buildings structurally unsound. What seems like a great deal at first may ultimately cost way more than you bargained for. Buying a House built in the 1950’s; Buying a House built in the 1970’s So check out the guides below to shed light on some of the most commonly found issues in homes of this age. There’s not necessarily a clear-cut start or finish: they overlap with past years, and also come with their own modern twist. "The median size of a new home increased from 1,938 square feet in 1990 to 2,300 square feet in 2016, but lot sizes during this same period decreased from 8,250 square feet to 6,970 square feet." 09/09/2013 17:34