I am currently in the process of house shopping. This is my first
house, so budget is everything. I found a nice home in my target area
well within my budget. Reading the spec sheet, I noticed the house was
rewired in the mid 80's. Thinking to myself that this was too good to
be true, I went and viewed the property. The house wasn't perfect on
the inside, but nothing a coat of paint wouldn't fix. It was smooth
sailing until I reached the basement. I looked up to catch a quick
view of the wiring and there was a big old burn mark on 1 wire. The
realtor tried to cover it with his thumb, but I saw it. I went in for
a closer inspection and noticed that it was burnt black! Well, this
scared the *!#& out of me and decided to continue looking at other
properties. When looking at other properties however, I found myself
comparing them to the house I turned my nose up to. Before I do any
life changing decisions (Like buy the place), I want to know if I
should be concerned, or if I should buy the place and have that 1 wire
changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

On Sep 9, 1:39=EF=BF=BDam, camryguy89  wrote:
> I am currently in the process of house shopping. This is my first
> house, so budget is everything. I found a nice home in my target area
> well within my budget. Reading the spec sheet, I noticed the house was
> rewired in the mid 80's. Thinking to myself that this was too good to
> be true, I went and viewed the property. The house wasn't perfect on
> the inside, but nothing a coat of paint wouldn't fix. It was smooth
> sailing until I reached the basement. I looked up to catch a quick
> view of the wiring and there was a big old burn mark on 1 wire. The
> realtor tried to cover it with his thumb, but I saw it. I went in for
> a closer inspection and noticed that it was burnt black! Well, this
> scared the *!#& out of me and decided to continue looking at other
> properties. When looking at other properties however, I found myself
> comparing them to the house I turned my nose up to. Before I do any
> life changing decisions (Like buy the place), I want to know if I
> should be concerned, or if I should buy the place and have that 1 wire
> changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Replacing a burnt wire is always a good idea. I would investigate a
little further and find out what all the wire went to and what the
circuit breaker size is, as compared to wire size. I am guessing the
circuit breaker is too large to supply the demand put on the wire.
Hey, it hasn't burned down.............yet! :-) Then estimate the cost
of repair and deduct from the price you want to offer. Hell, many
times the realtor will have the repairs made to make a sale.

Hank

"camryguy89" <a...@gmail.com> wrote in message 
news:5...@q7g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
>I am currently in the process of house shopping. This is my first
> house, so budget is everything. I found a nice home in my target area
> well within my budget. Reading the spec sheet, I noticed the house was
> rewired in the mid 80's. Thinking to myself that this was too good to
> be true, I went and viewed the property. The house wasn't perfect on
> the inside, but nothing a coat of paint wouldn't fix. It was smooth
> sailing until I reached the basement. I looked up to catch a quick
> view of the wiring and there was a big old burn mark on 1 wire. The
> realtor tried to cover it with his thumb, but I saw it. I went in for
> a closer inspection and noticed that it was burnt black! Well, this
> scared the *!#& out of me and decided to continue looking at other
> properties. When looking at other properties however, I found myself
> comparing them to the house I turned my nose up to. Before I do any
> life changing decisions (Like buy the place), I want to know if I
> should be concerned, or if I should buy the place and have that 1 wire
> changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I think you mean "cable", when you say wire, and I think you saw a cable 
with a burn on it, as opposed to a cable that was overheated by an internal 
conductor, to the point of burning. In all likelihood, it's perfectly fine. 
Cables like this are pretty common, especially near locations where plumbers 
have been sweating pipes. It's not a big deal to repair, and certainly 
should not be a deal breaker. You can even have it's repair as a condition 
of the sale 

"camryguy89" <a...@gmail.com> wrote in message 
news:5...@q7g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
>I am currently in the process of house shopping. This is my first
> house, so budget is everything. I found a nice home in my target area
> well within my budget. Reading the spec sheet, I noticed the house was
> rewired in the mid 80's. Thinking to myself that this was too good to
> be true, I went and viewed the property. The house wasn't perfect on
> the inside, but nothing a coat of paint wouldn't fix. It was smooth
> sailing until I reached the basement. I looked up to catch a quick
> view of the wiring and there was a big old burn mark on 1 wire. The
> realtor tried to cover it with his thumb, but I saw it. I went in for
> a closer inspection and noticed that it was burnt black! Well, this
> scared the *!#& out of me and decided to continue looking at other
> properties. When looking at other properties however, I found myself
> comparing them to the house I turned my nose up to. Before I do any
> life changing decisions (Like buy the place), I want to know if I
> should be concerned, or if I should buy the place and have that 1 wire
> changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


*As RBM said if that is the only thing wrong with the place don't let it 
discourage you.  During your inspection process you could bring in an 
electrician to have a look.  Don't rely on the home inspector.  If it is a 
problem it can be corrected. 

On Wed, 9 Sep 2009 02:14:26 -0700 (PDT), "Hustlin' Hank"
<n...@aol.com> wrote Re Re: Burnt Wire:

>Replacing a burnt wire is always a good idea. I would investigate a
>little further and find out what all the wire went to and what the
>circuit breaker size is, as compared to wire size. I am guessing the
>circuit breaker is too large to supply the demand put on the wire.
>Hey, it hasn't burned down.............yet! :-) Then estimate the cost
>of repair and deduct from the price you want to offer. Hell, many
>times the realtor will have the repairs made to make a sale.
>
>Hank

That's good advice.
-- 
I filter all messages from google groups.

John Grabowski wrote:
> 
> "camryguy89" <a...@gmail.com> wrote in message 
> news:5...@q7g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
>> I am currently in the process of house shopping. This is my first
>> house, so budget is everything. I found a nice home in my target area
>> well within my budget. Reading the spec sheet, I noticed the house was
>> rewired in the mid 80's. Thinking to myself that this was too good to
>> be true, I went and viewed the property. The house wasn't perfect on
>> the inside, but nothing a coat of paint wouldn't fix. It was smooth
>> sailing until I reached the basement. I looked up to catch a quick
>> view of the wiring and there was a big old burn mark on 1 wire. The
>> realtor tried to cover it with his thumb, but I saw it. I went in for
>> a closer inspection and noticed that it was burnt black! Well, this
>> scared the *!#& out of me and decided to continue looking at other
>> properties. When looking at other properties however, I found myself
>> comparing them to the house I turned my nose up to. Before I do any
>> life changing decisions (Like buy the place), I want to know if I
>> should be concerned, or if I should buy the place and have that 1 wire
>> changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> 
> *As RBM said if that is the only thing wrong with the place don't let it 
> discourage you.  During your inspection process you could bring in an 
> electrician to have a look.  Don't rely on the home inspector.  If it is 
> a problem it can be corrected.
Having just sold a house to some overly 
demanding people, I'd say that
you should put this repair in the 
contract.  My buyers actually "respectfully
requested" that we provide them a new 
furnace to replace the perfectly
working 20 year old high efficiency 
unit!  And, this was after they signed
the contract.  BTW, we didn't give in on 
this one, but they did get manage
to get both realtors and both lawyers to 
"kick in something" to finally seal
the deal.  I don't believe in making 
demands post contract, however, it
seems to be the norm especially in a bad 
seller's market.

"camryguy89" <a...@gmail.com> wrote in message 
news:5...@q7g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
>I am currently in the process of house shopping. This is my first
> house, so budget is everything. I found a nice home in my target area
> well within my budget. Reading the spec sheet, I noticed the house was
> rewired in the mid 80's. Thinking to myself that this was too good to
> be true, I went and viewed the property. The house wasn't perfect on
> the inside, but nothing a coat of paint wouldn't fix. It was smooth
> sailing until I reached the basement. I looked up to catch a quick
> view of the wiring and there was a big old burn mark on 1 wire. The
> realtor tried to cover it with his thumb, but I saw it. I went in for
> a closer inspection and noticed that it was burnt black! Well, this
> scared the *!#& out of me and decided to continue looking at other
> properties. When looking at other properties however, I found myself
> comparing them to the house I turned my nose up to. Before I do any
> life changing decisions (Like buy the place), I want to know if I
> should be concerned, or if I should buy the place and have that 1 wire
> changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

First thing is get yourself a new realtor! Willful concealment of a known 
defect is unconscionable and violates every realtor code of ethics in the 
country. I'd file a complaint with his agency-- and the state realty board! 

camryguy89 wrote:
> I am currently in the process of house shopping. This is my first
> house, so budget is everything. I found a nice home in my target area
> well within my budget. Reading the spec sheet, I noticed the house was
> rewired in the mid 80's. Thinking to myself that this was too good to
> be true, I went and viewed the property. The house wasn't perfect on
> the inside, but nothing a coat of paint wouldn't fix. It was smooth
> sailing until I reached the basement. I looked up to catch a quick
> view of the wiring and there was a big old burn mark on 1 wire. The
> realtor tried to cover it with his thumb, but I saw it. I went in for
> a closer inspection and noticed that it was burnt black! Well, this
> scared the *!#& out of me and decided to continue looking at other
> properties. When looking at other properties however, I found myself
> comparing them to the house I turned my nose up to. Before I do any
> life changing decisions (Like buy the place), I want to know if I
> should be concerned, or if I should buy the place and have that 1 wire
> changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

We got "burnt wire" in our condo when the owner upstairs had new 
flooring put down.  The first time the breaker tripped in our unit, my 
hubby and I were sitting almost directly below where the guy hammered 
the floor.  Tripped again while we were not home.  The final time, 
resetting the breaker did not restore power.  Each time the guy acted 
clueless, "I don't know what I could have done..."  The last time it 
tripped, I marched up there and asked exactly where he had been working, 
which was in kitchen midway betw. ceiling fixture and sink.  When the 
electrician arrived, he first tried switching the wires to see if the 
circuit worked on a different breaker.  Nada.  He then started pulling 
out wire from the outed circuit and, alas, the heavy copper wire was 
burnt entirely through at exactly the point where the work was located.

Condo board got pissy about repairs, so the neighbor furnished a 
different electrician who rewired the circuit in question.  Nice guy. 
He gave me the old wire, which had numerous nicks and black marks. Since 
he was hired by the other owner, he worked from above and had to open up 
some flooring in kitchen.  Told me that the conduit was too high in the 
rafter space, thus too close to the floor being nailed.  Owner denied 
using power nail gun, but elect. said that was only way to penetrate the 
conduit.

Two days ago, our AC quit.  Have had trouble almost since install. 
Repair guy said this works, that works, but it arcs when he does 
something else, so it is grounded somewhere.  I asked whether a nail 
through a wire would ground it.  Yep.  The guy has also done a little 
structural work, sans building permit.  I complained to the city, and 
the clueless city guy said the guy denied structural work.  End of 
story.  Except that after they did some bathroom plumbing, I briefly had 
water dripping from the bathroom ceiling.

On Sep 9, 12:39=A0am, camryguy89  wrote:
> I am currently in the process of house shopping. This is my first
> house, so budget is everything. I found a nice home in my target area
> well within my budget. Reading the spec sheet, I noticed the house was
> rewired in the mid 80's. Thinking to myself that this was too good to
> be true, I went and viewed the property. The house wasn't perfect on
> the inside, but nothing a coat of paint wouldn't fix. It was smooth
> sailing until I reached the basement. I looked up to catch a quick
> view of the wiring and there was a big old burn mark on 1 wire. The
> realtor tried to cover it with his thumb, but I saw it. I went in for
> a closer inspection and noticed that it was burnt black! Well, this
> scared the *!#& out of me and decided to continue looking at other
> properties. When looking at other properties however, I found myself
> comparing them to the house I turned my nose up to. Before I do any
> life changing decisions (Like buy the place), I want to know if I
> should be concerned, or if I should buy the place and have that 1 wire
> changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

It could be a minor one-time issue.  Or.  It could be indicative of an
ongoing problem.  You need an inspector with electrical experience to
look at it.  A burn mark on the side of a wire could simply mean that
someone worked on it hot at one time (maybe installing a fixture, etc)
and caused a short that threw soot on it depending on what metals were
contacted. I once turned my thumb black when a hot lead accidentally
hit an aluminum ground, the spark vaporized a corner of aluminum and
threw the soot an inch away to my thumb.  There was nothing wrong with
the circuit.  Now if you saw a two feet of melted insulation, then I'd
worry.

camryguy89 wrote:
> I am currently in the process of house shopping. This is my first
> house, so budget is everything. I found a nice home in my target area
> well within my budget. Reading the spec sheet, I noticed the house was
> rewired in the mid 80's. Thinking to myself that this was too good to
> be true, I went and viewed the property. The house wasn't perfect on
> the inside, but nothing a coat of paint wouldn't fix. It was smooth
> sailing until I reached the basement. I looked up to catch a quick
> view of the wiring and there was a big old burn mark on 1 wire. The
> realtor tried to cover it with his thumb, but I saw it. I went in for
> a closer inspection and noticed that it was burnt black! Well, this
> scared the *!#& out of me and decided to continue looking at other
> properties. When looking at other properties however, I found myself
> comparing them to the house I turned my nose up to. Before I do any
> life changing decisions (Like buy the place), I want to know if I
> should be concerned, or if I should buy the place and have that 1 wire
> changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

It may have been burn with a plumbers torch. Check/replace it.