An older home can be a very smart first purchase in Des Moines, as long as you buy the bones and budget for the systems. Many pre-1960 Des Moines homes were built with solid framing, real plaster, and great locations, and they often cost less per square foot than newer homes in the suburbs.
I took this photo at a farm history museum. It is a hand-crank washing machine, and yes, I briefly wondered how it would do on a home inspection. It would not pass. But it makes the point: in an older home, the house itself is usually fine. The systems (furnace, water heater, electrical panel, sewer line) are what tell you how old the home really is.
Here is what I look at in an older Des Moines home: the age of the roof, furnace, AC, and water heater; whether the electrical panel has been updated and whether any original wiring remains; the clay or cast iron sewer line out to the street (a sewer scope usually costs a couple hundred dollars and is worth every one of them); the windows; and the basement walls.
The trade-off is character and location versus maintenance. Condition is flexible. Location is permanent. You can replace a furnace. You cannot move a house closer to the park, the trail, or your job.
What I typically see in Des Moines neighborhoods like Beaverdale, Waveland Park, and the south side is that older homes with updated mechanicals sell quickly and older homes with original everything sit. That gap is where a patient first-time buyer can find value, as long as they budget for what is coming.
As one example, an 18-year-old HVAC system that still works is normal wear. Budget to replace it in two to three years and do not fight the seller over it. If that same system is leaking refrigerant with a failing compressor, it gets addressed now, before closing.
If you want a plan for weighing older homes against newer ones, my Home Search Game Plan walks through it. And to see what just hit the metro, here is the live list of new listings, homes under three days old.
Related Resources: How Do I Spot Water and Drainage Problems in a Des Moines Home Before I Buy It? and Moving to Des Moines: Should a First-Time Buyer Live in the City or the Suburbs?.
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Written by Jason Huffey, REALTOR with RE/MAX Revolution (License S73436000), serving Des Moines and the greater Des Moines metro. Call or text (515) 606-1227. The Best Is Yet To Come.
