It would depend on the construction quality of both homes. Some old houses built a hundred years ago will probably outlast a home built recently. However, some new houses are great and can be a lot more energy efficient than an older house. Not all though, my seventy year old house is incredibly solid, well shaded by mature trees and uses very little energy to heat or cool. Also, in our area house value depreciates even if land appreciates for tax valuation purposes.
Having an old house I will say get a new one. We have the money to remodel - that is not the problem. It is the time, upheaval and chaos that goes along with a major remodel. With kids, it is a pain in the ass.
Post by GailGoldie on Sept 25, 2012 18:05:30 GMT -5
hard to say.
our house is 85yo and i love it and hate it, but i love the neighborhood, love that teh whole area has mature landscaping, etc.
i drive through some new home areas and think "ewe- i could never live here" b/c it's so bare, no big trees, cookie cutter homes all looking the same, etc.
so if it was new like that? no- i would not buy that.... b/c to me a comfy feel to a neighborhood with character is more important than a new house.
Post by pitterwoo on Sept 25, 2012 18:23:40 GMT -5
I would go with the old home. However, take that with a grain of salt because our house was built in the mid 30s and it's the newest place I've ever lived. I really enjoy mature landscaping and old homes and I get into renovation projects and getting to design everything. If you aren't into that, go for the new home.
Also, your update sounds like you are conflicted about what kind of lifestyle you want to have. New home on big lot with a pool vs. old home in a walkable neighborhood. Clarify that and you'll have your decision or maybe you need to keep looking.
I like that (at least here) new neighborhoods = families and young kids. There are lots of kids on our 10 year old street. Not the case in older neighbourhoods. If there were lots of kids in both neighbourhoods, I'd buy the old house so I could renovate it just the way I like it.
Post by KaraOrNot on Sept 25, 2012 18:41:02 GMT -5
We bought a home that was built in 1900. It is built like a tank. The previous owners did all the updates, but I would definitely buy a well built, older home again.
Post by mollybrown on Sept 26, 2012 0:02:10 GMT -5
I think I would need to see both homes. How do the layouts compare? Are they the same size? I love the look and character of fully remodeled older homes (like, older than 1940's), but I also like lots of the features that are more commonly found in new homes (large closets, lots of storage, large bathrooms, master suites).
And as for cookie cutter, plenty of the older homes in my city are totally cookie cutter on tiny lots. I'm talking blocks of mirror image brick bungalows that are like 8 feet apart. Older doesn't always mean architecturally special, so I'd really have to compare these 2 homes on their own merits.
Post by sillygoosegirl on Sept 26, 2012 1:52:59 GMT -5
Older home. Unless the new home was designed by me, or I loved it as much as I'd love a home designed by me. I figure with renovations to an older home I can get closer to exactly what I want than a move-in ready newer home, because I am choosing the specifics. Also, the move-in ready newer home would probably have upgrades I don't give two shits about but am paying for anyway, which would not be true if I was updating an older house.
Though IRL for us, 100% of the homes in the neighborhood we want with an acceptable lot size are 40+ years old, and the empty lots are prohibitively expensive, so this wasn't a choice we actually had to make.
Also, $4000 extra in property taxes would raise our PITI by almost 30% percent, making it a much more expensive house overall. Though I suppose the renovations on the older house might push up its tax assessment to match...
If you think that NOW, the price of old + construction is equal to the price of the new, I am going to tell you that the older home will end up being significantly more expensive. Construction always comes in higher than expected. The older the home, the more potential for hidden problems. Renovating an older home is really like gambling. So take this into account - the older home could end up costing you a lot more (a lot more than the 4k extra in taxes on the new home).
That being said, I could never live in a 10 year old house in a new neighborhood. I renovated a house from the 50's. If I was to ever move, I would prefer to build brand new, custom, with an architect. My renovation sucked my soul dry LOL. I was a mess for about a year afterward. It was not a fun process.
Those pictures are gorgeous. The built ins would have already sold me. Living through a renovation is do able as long as you have one working bathroom (toilet and sink). I have lived through three renovations. I showered at the gym for three weeks and worked out my stress there too. When we renovated the kitchen, I moved the small refrigerator (left over from college) and the microwave into the living room and the coffee pot into the bedroom. Since the coffee is on a timer, it acted as a wakeup call too.
Wow, that "renovation" looks nothing like ours! Ours was basically a gut job. It doesn't look like you'd really be tearing anything apart - it looks like it is in great condition. The floors are super shiny and pretty - I am not even sure why they need to be refinished! When you said old house + renovation, your photos were not at all what I was imagining.
Well we talked about it again last night. DH is really sold on renovating the old house. He loves some of the detail in the house like the trim, in laid floors, pocket doors, and built in book cases and thinks with some work it could be really nice.
Renovating WHAT?? That house looks gorgeous as it is! The floors and windows appear to be in great condition. Kitchens and bathrooms are easy if that's the issue -- leave the rest of it as is.
Well we talked about it again last night. DH is really sold on renovating the old house. He loves some of the detail in the house like the trim, in laid floors, pocket doors, and built in book cases and thinks with some work it could be really nice.
Renovating WHAT?? That house looks gorgeous as it is! The floors and windows appear to be in great condition. Kitchens and bathrooms are easy if that's the issue -- leave the rest of it as is.
Old house for sure - it's GORGEOUS. We live in a 1928 Tudor. I am so happy it's not a cookie cutter new development home, I really love the uniqueness and character.
And anyone who claims that a 10 year old house is less maintenance than one that is in that good of shape after 90 years is crazy - all houses are work, especially ones that weren't built to last 100 years.
Well we talked about it again last night. DH is really sold on renovating the old house. He loves some of the detail in the house like the trim, in laid floors, pocket doors, and built in book cases and thinks with some work it could be really nice.
Renovating WHAT?? That house looks gorgeous as it is! The floors and windows appear to be in great condition. Kitchens and bathrooms are easy if that's the issue -- leave the rest of it as is.
This is what I was going to say - that house is BEAUTIFUL (though, I could see an argument for changing some of the paint colors).
You mentioned floor refinishing - are there other rooms that are BAD? Because none of the floors pictured need it.
The kitchen isn't in dire need of being updated yet, it's just not what I would like ideally. So we could probably push that off for a couple years. We're still looking at an addition, the outdoor stuff, refinishing the floors, replacing the windows...are we crazy to be considering this? lol
What? The floors and windows look really good in that house. You couldn't pay me to cover up those floors. Part of the reason behind buying an older home is that you often get craftmanship that you don't see a whole lot in newer homes. Those floors are amazing, and I have no idea why you would refinish them. All that house needs is some paint and a new non-gold fireplace.
I love older homes. We lived in a house built in 1900 but it was renovated before we bought it. Ou rhouse now was builte in the '60's and again- renovated before we bought it.
I LOVE the idea of renovating, but I would only do that if money weren't a huge concern and we could pay people to do pretty much all of it!
Thta house is gorgeous. I'd have a hard time giving that up for a new house!
And anyone who claims that a 10 year old house is less maintenance than one that is in that good of shape after 90 years is crazy - all houses are work, especially ones that weren't built to last 100 years.
And I completely agree with this.
A lot of newer homes that have been thrown up in massive cookie cutter subdivisions are made from the shoddiest and cheapest materials available.
I'm changing my vote to new home. Sorry if this is rude, but I don't think you will likely be able to put on an addition to that house that will be seamless or that won't involve ripping out nice architectural details. Leave that house for someone who will be able to live in it as-is. It's a nicely preserved home and from the pictures it doesn't look like it's in need of anything for the right buyer.
If you do get it, seek out a historical preservation architect for your addition.
Definitely old house!! That house is in great shape, I would not touch those floors nor windows. I live in a 1900s house (my 3rd old house) & have the original windows in it. Yeah heating bills are higher im sure but to replace 55 windows with the same wood frame period looking ones would cost 50yrs worth of heating bills. People putting ugly cheap vinyl windows in old homes ruin the look of them! Ditto on tearing down walls & ripping out the character--don't do it unless you really have a good contractor/designer & have the ability to match (as best as possible) what's there. None of my houses (1942, 1928 & 1900) were real money pits except the 42 one that I bought low (completely all original), remodeled & sold for a huge profit. It was worth spending the cash. You can't remodel to buy walkability & mature landscape...and those are 2 of my must haves!
I would have said old anyhow, but those pictures really would have sold me if i was on the fence. I am not a big fan of new housing. As long as the bones of the old house are in decent shape, the rest of it looks great! Definitely old!
I would have said old anyhow, but those pictures really would have sold me if i was on the fence. I am not a big fan of new housing. As long as the bones of the old house are in decent shape, the rest of it looks great! Definitely old!
I was just coming to post exactly this. Another vote for old! Team DH
The kitchen isn't in dire need of being updated yet, it's just not what I would like ideally. So we could probably push that off for a couple years. We're still looking at an addition, the outdoor stuff, refinishing the floors, replacing the windows...are we crazy to be considering this? lol
What? The floors and windows look really good in that house. You couldn't pay me to cover up those floors. Part of the reason behind buying an older home is that you often get craftmanship that you don't see a whole lot in newer homes. Those floors are amazing, and I have no idea why you would refinish them. All that house needs is some paint and a new non-gold fireplace.
Lol, yeah the fireplace has to be changed. It's way too dark and I hate the gold trim. I was thinking of trying to find someone who could do decorative craftsman-like tile with maybe a black wrought iron screen.
The floor is pretty scuffed on the second story so that definitely has to be refinished. As far as the first floor goes, does anyone know if you can you refinish the floor and keep the inlays? I don't know how that works. They're a little scratched up in some spots so it would be nice to get rid of that if we can.
I'm changing my vote to new home. Sorry if this is rude, but I don't think you will likely be able to put on an addition to that house that will be seamless or that won't involve ripping out nice architectural details. Leave that house for someone who will be able to live in it as-is. It's a nicely preserved home and from the pictures it doesn't look like it's in need of anything for the right buyer.
If you do get it, seek out a historical preservation architect for your addition.
There's a sun room that juts off the first floor of the house and we were thinking we could build a bedroom on top of it on the 2nd floor. There are other similar looking houses on the street that have that set up and it doesn't look out of place. We would also build a master bed/bath suite in the attic.
That doesn't mean it's necessarily worth the money though, which is why we have been looking at newer houses.
I agree with pps, the new house is a bit cookie cutter on the outside. However, it's really nice on the inside. We wouldn't have to do much to it and it has that big yard. I think my H is really sold on the old house though.