Buying an Older Ranch Home in Donelson or Hermitage: What to Check Before You Offer

If you're looking at an older ranch home in Donelson or Hermitage, here's what I'd check before making an offer: the sewer line to the street, the electrical panel and wiring, the crawlspace or basement, the age of the roof and HVAC, and the permit history on any updates. Those five things usually decide whether a well-priced brick ranch is a good buy or a money pit. Dated bathrooms and old carpet are easy to see and easy to price. The expensive surprises tend to be underground, behind the walls or under the floor.

I've spent 26 years selling homes on this side of Nashville, and the single-level brick ranch is the house I walk through more than any other.  Here's what I look at, and why.

Why so many east-side homes are ranches

Most of Donelson grew up right after World War II, and the classic Donelson house is a red-brick, single-level ranch on a good-sized lot with big trees. Hermitage has plenty of ranches too, especially in subdivisions like Lake Park, Tulip Grove and Hermitage Hills, where many of the homes were built in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Buyers love these houses for good reasons: one-level living, solid brick, real yards, and often hardwood floors hiding under the carpet. They also work well for anyone who wants to stay in their home as they get older.

But a house built in the 1950s, '60s or '70s has had a long life. Some have been cared for and updated the right way. Some have had fresh paint rolled over old problems. This checklist helps you tell the difference.

1. The sewer line: the expensive thing you can't see

In Nashville, the property owner owns and maintains the sewer service line from the house to the public sewer main. If it fails, that repair is yours, and it can mean digging up part of the yard or driveway.

Older homes may have clay or cast iron sewer pipe, and some mid-century houses were connected with Orangeburg pipe, a tar-and-wood-fiber pipe that tends to flatten and collapse with age. Add decades of roots from those beautiful mature trees, and you can see why I recommend a sewer scope on almost every older home. A plumber runs a camera down the line and records what's there. It costs far less than the problems it can catch.

2. The electrical panel and wiring

Have your inspector look closely at the panel and the wiring behind it. Here's what I pay attention to:

• The panel brand and age. Older panels such as Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco are ones many electricians recommend replacing, and some insurers ask about them.
• Two-prong outlets, which usually mean the circuits aren't grounded.
• Aluminum branch wiring. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it went into homes mainly from about 1965 to the mid-1970s, and its connections can overheat without warning. If the house was built or rewired in those years, ask.
• Do-it-yourself add-ons, especially in garages and enclosed carports.

None of this automatically kills a deal. It's a budget line and a negotiating point. It can also affect your homeowners insurance, so get a quote early in your inspection period, not the week before closing.

3. Crawlspace, basement and water

Many of these ranches sit on a crawlspace, and some have basements. Either way, I want to know whether it stays dry. Look for standing water, damp or fallen insulation, mold on the floor joists, soft or sagging floors, and whether there's a vapor barrier on the ground. A lot of crawlspace water starts with gutters and a yard that slopes toward the house, which is often a cheaper fix than people expect.

Donelson and Hermitage sit between the Cumberland and Stones Rivers, with creeks running through both, and plenty of folks here remember the May 2010 flood. Check the FEMA flood map for the exact address and ask the seller directly about any water history, even if the disclosure looks clean.

Test for radon too. Metro Public Health says the EPA lists Davidson County as a potential high-radon area, and about 40% of the homes Metro tested showed elevated levels. Testing is simple, and if a result comes back above the EPA's action level of 4 picocuries per liter, mitigation is a well-understood fix.

4. Roof, HVAC, water heater and the original parts

Ask for the age of the roof, HVAC system and water heater. Those are the big replacements most likely to land in your first few years. Then look at the original parts of the house: single-pane windows, thin attic insulation, galvanized water pipes that can rust and lower water pressure, and ductwork running through the crawlspace.

Two more items come with the age of these homes. Any house built before 1978 comes with a federal lead-based paint disclosure, and buyers get a chance to have it tested before they're locked in. Old floor tiles, popcorn ceilings and pipe or duct wrap can contain asbestos. That's usually fine left alone, but have it tested before you sand, scrape or tear anything out.

5. Permit history on the updates

Many of these homes have had something done: a den added on the back, a carport closed in, a kitchen opened up. Updates are great. Unpermitted ones can create headaches with insurance, appraisals and your own sale down the road. Metro Codes lets anyone look up permit history for an address through its ePermits system or the Metro Planning Parcel Viewer. If the listing says "new electrical" and there's no permit on file, ask who did the work.

How to use this before you write an offer

Before you offer, ask the listing agent for the age of the major systems and any past inspection or sewer scope reports. Drive by after a hard rain. Then give yourself an inspection period long enough to get the sewer scope, and an electrician or structural engineer if the general inspection flags something. On older homes, I usually recommend an inspection period of 10 to 12 days.

Once you have the results, you can ask for repairs, ask for a credit, adjust your price, or walk away with your earnest money intact if your contract allows it. And be careful comparing a dated ranch to a renovated one down the street on price per square foot alone. My post on how to know what a Nashville home is really worth explains why condition changes the math so much.

If you're still deciding on the area itself, my guide to living in Donelson covers airport noise, commuting and parks, and my Donelson & Hermitage market update shows how prices and timing look right now.

An older ranch can be one of the best values on the east side of Nashville, as long as you go in knowing what you're buying. If you're looking at one and want a second set of eyes before you offer, call or text me at 615-260-0521. I'm glad to walk through it with you, whether you're buying next month or next year.