Buying a house/property. What would you do & look for?

[UG Krishnamurti]

I am looking for a house with some land in my home country (Serbia) to buy with my girlfriend with more focus on the bigger acreage than a big house.
Things I am looking for is that the property and house is not close to overhead power lines, cell towers, industrial zones etc.
I would also not buy a house with visible mold in it.

The best thing would be (I think) to buy a piece of land and get a prefabricated/modular home but the bank will not approve a loan for that endeavor unless I put some other home under a mortgage and I don't want to do that.

So what would you do and look for when buying a house/land and what are the other things I should aim for.
Any suggestion/idea is welcomed.

 

[Perry Staltic]

I used to be really wary of the big power lines. Since buying a meter to measure electric fields (for another reason) I've discovered that the field strength of those big power lines drops off dramatically as you move away. So now I would probably be willing to live closer to one. Maybe @RealNeat can offer some advice in this regard.

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

I used to be really wary of the big power lines. Since buying a meter to measure electric fields (for another reason) I've discovered that the field strength of those big power lines drops off dramatically as you move away. So now I would probably be willing to live closer to one. Maybe @RealNeat can offer some advice in this regard.

Interesting, thanks!

How far you would say is the safe distance away from the power lines?
Do you feel the same about cell towers?

 

[Perry Staltic]

Interesting, thanks!

How far you would say is the safe distance away from the power lines?
Do you feel the same about cell towers?

I haven't tested the big towers in a horizontal distance yet; just when I drive under them. The strength of the line that feeds my transformer, which is about 31KV, gets pretty high directly underneath it, but drops off to safe within about 50 ft. There's a huge line that I drive directly under for about a km that doesn't even register. I guess it's 100 or so feet above me.

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

I haven't tested the big towers in a horizontal distance yet; just when I drive under them. The strength of the line that feeds my transformer, which is about 31KV, gets pretty high directly underneath it, but drops off to safe within about 50 ft. There's a huge line that I drive directly under for about a km that doesn't even register. I guess it's 100 or so feet above me.

Thank you.
Just to play it safe I would like to trust RP on this where he said that "especially within 100m of a those powerful power lines - is very dangerous place to be."
Meaning that even outside of that range there is a certain risk... So maybe as further as possible is the safest bet :)

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

Me: What would you look for in a house or a property if you were to buy one yourself?
Unfortunately the area where I'm planning to buy a house has a low altitude [100-200m] so higher CO2 is not achievable at the moment.

RP: I would look for a stone house, good soil and sun exposure, and a reliable water source, with good neighbors.

Me: I don't think I will ever find a stone house here in Serbia :)

Bricks and building blocks are the most common here. The old houses are made out of mud. I think we don't use stone because winters are very cold and it would be hard to keep the house warmed up

Do you think bricks or blocks are ok?
What do you think about modular homes?

RP: I think mud is best, bricks next, then cement blocks.

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

RP: I would look for a stone house, good soil and sun exposure, and a reliable water source, with good neighbors.

There is no way I can find a stone house in Serbia

We make houses here with mud, bricks, blocks or wood xd

 

[ReSTART]

i look for natural disaster risk like flooding and earthquakes and asbestos, lead paint, mold.

i suggest taking a sample of paint, anything that looks like asbestos and a few samples of dirt. then if the dirt is good, you can grow food and be sure there is no asbestos or lead.

if you buy a house with plastic or synthetic carpet, rip it out.

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

i look for natural disaster risk like flooding and earthquakes and asbestos, lead paint, mold.

i suggest taking a sample of paint, anything that looks like asbestos and a few samples of dirt. then if the dirt is good, you can grow food and be sure there is no asbestos or lead.

if you buy a house with plastic or synthetic carpet, rip it out.

Noted :)

 

[ReSTART]

I live in Australia, we used to export asbestos worldwide and they used to put “asbestos snow” in roofs as insulation. All the old public schools have buildings with signs saying warning asbestos.

You can fix the dirt if it’s low in minerals or phosphate, etc but if it’s polluted with heavy metals or pesticides, you’re screwed.

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

I live in Australia, we used to export asbestos worldwide and they used to put “asbestos snow” in roofs as insulation. All the old public schools have buildings with signs saying warning asbestos.

You can fix the dirt if it’s low in minerals or phosphate, etc but if it’s polluted with heavy metals or pesticides, you’re screwed.

Thanks! Very useful!

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

Me: I don't think I will ever find a stone house here in Serbia :)

Bricks and building blocks are the most common here. The old houses are made out of mud. I think we don't use stone because winters are very cold and it would be hard to keep the house warmed up

Do you think bricks or blocks are ok?
What do you think about modular homes?

RP: I think mud is best, bricks next, then cement blocks.

Ray's response.

 

[Rafe]

Access to uncontaminated well water, soil that is rich in bacterial & mineral nutrients for growing but with good drainage. Also you would want soil that percolates enough (not too much clay) for draining off sewage & waste water in a septic tank or leach field. The capacity to have water storage either underground or in a tank outside, or a cistern.

A wood stove with a cook top.

Good land would have a flat portion cleared for sun exposure & pasturing, but also some woodlands for harvesting wood for a stove.

A road into it. Unless you have the resources to clear it & build it yourself. Electricity unless you want to go without.

Once a stone house is warmed it conserves heat. The next best thing would be brick. One level means you can get around if you can’t climb stairs, but 2 stories conserves heat better. A cellar.

Near a town. I like what Ray says about having good neighbors. <3

 

[Rafe]

You make the best choices you can.

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

Access to uncontaminated well water, soil that is rich in bacterial & mineral nutrients for growing but with good drainage. Also you would want soil that percolates enough (not too much clay) for draining off sewage & waste water in a septic tank or leach field. The capacity to have water storage either underground or in a tank outside, or a cistern.

A wood stove with a cook top.

Good land would have a flat portion cleared for sun exposure & pasturing, but also some woodlands for harvesting wood for a stove.

A road into it. Unless you have the resources to clear it & build it yourself. Electricity unless you want to go without.

Once a stone house is warmed it conserves heat. The next best thing would be brick. One level means you can get around if you can’t climb stairs, but 2 stories conserves heat better. A cellar.

Near a town. I like what Ray says about having good neighbors. <3

Thanks. :)

Don't you think a cellar would just be constant place of mold growth?

 

[Mister]

How expensive is family house in Serbia on average?

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

How expensive is family house in Serbia on average?

Well, I am only limited to a certain area around my city because of our work. I think you could buy a decent house with 2 - 2.5 acre, for around 30 000 - 60 000 euros.
For example I have a house in a downtown and the value for it is around 100 000 euros...
So the average price for a square meter in my city is 520 euros (including the villages). The price is higher if you look at the city only.

But in Belgrade (the capital) price of a square mile can be up to 4000 - 5000 euros but the average is 1500 euros for a square meter.

The square meter is also quite expensive in a certain "mountain cities"...

 

[Rafe]

Thanks. :)

Don't you think a cellar would just be constant place of mold growth?

It might, yes. Homes around me sometimes have sump pumps & dehumidifiers in the basement because the humidity is high.

But windows, or a partial basement in the side of a hill where the basement can have windows & a door could help prevent mold, especially if there is some sun exposure in it. In a cellar like that you could even raise a small number of meat rabbits if you couldn’t have them outside (harsh winter, say).

A root cellar in a separate location would work for storing some root vegetables & fruit.

 

[UG Krishnamurti]

It might, yes. Homes around me sometimes have sump pumps & dehumidifiers in the basement because the humidity is high.

But windows, or a partial basement in the side of a hill where the basement can have windows & a door could help prevent mold, especially if there is some sun exposure in it. In a cellar like that you could even raise a small number of meat rabbits if you couldn’t have them outside (harsh winter, say).

A root cellar in a separate location would work for storing some root vegetables & fruit.

Thanks. Yeah the air flow and no exposure to the sun is what scares me when I see house with a basement or a cellar :)
My grandparents have a cellar in the countryside and I think they've had some mold growth there... It was flooded numerous times when it rained :)

 

[Veritas IV]

How are you OP? Going to jump in here.

My former significant other was a health inspector, she was always testing for molds etc. It had encouraged me to research "mold prevention" and also mild remediation for our previous home. Going off memory here:

Mold remediation experts in my area use Didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride. It is or was the active ingredient in Lysol disinfectant, a USA brand. It has special properties and advantages over common bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite).

Didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride has the ability to penetrate porous material to attack mold from it's "roots". Bleach cannot do this, bleach simply sits on the surface, kills the surface mold, but the remaining "roots" stay alive within the pores and helps the mold re-establish itself within 1 year.

If kept away from direct sunlight and rain, Didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride treatment can be considered semi-permanent, spray and forget it for years.

You can use a slightly watered down Lysol version, just spray more of it. Or use a more stronger commercial version if you can find it (amazon or similar?)

Edit: am not sure if the brand Lysol has changed their formula.

Hopefully this alleviates concerns about potentially moldy basements, it worked for me in my garage as well.