Ever notice on TLCs “Flip this House” they never upgrade the electrical unless the inspector makes them do it. Oh they will put in new fixtures and or spend 20k on a new kitchen with granite countertops but they will not bring it up to code or put in a new service no matter how badly it may need one, unless they are forced to by the AJH. The same goes for plumbing.
I even saw an episode where the “flipper” was advised by a realtor NOT to tear out walls because they did not want to expose any electrical problems that needed to be fixed. The comment “out of site, out of mind” is exactly correct.
Then the new buyer comes in and buys this “completely remodeled” house, which has the same electrical service and branch wiring it had when it was built 30 years ago.
The problem is people don’t value the infrastructure of a house until they have to pay to fix it, or it fails and ruins their investment. (Key word being “investments”) Most people see their house as an investment, and don’t want to spend money on something they don’t have too, and won’t show a return. If you completely rewire an old house, you have increased the value by exactly zero, but if you put in a whole new kitchen, you can double your money, even if all the kitchen receptacles are on one circuit.
Just my thoughts on it…
