Buying an old house regret

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like many on here, we thought the 6,000 sft new build craftman were gaudy and too large, boy did I turn out to be wrong.

I just had our number two and my son is now 3 year old. Even with a nanny, DH and I are absolutely exhausted on the weekend from running repairs and meeting contractors for all sorts of work that needed to be done all over the place. We had our fridge and oven break over the course of the same month, our fridge installation had some issues because the waterlines were setup poorly in the house. Overtime, we found moldy spots in the carpeting and had to just live with it because putting hardwood floors is an investment we would never get our money back on. There were multiple leak on the roof that had to be patched. Our water heater had some issues despite being just 5 years old and our AC system had shorts, which we found was possibly due to the way the wiring is done in the house. If I had to do it all over again, I would just bite the costs and live in a new/new-ish build.

I am really on the verge of losing it even with a nanny. I feel like even having a full butler won't make up for the headache of owning these old homes. My husband tried to convince me to go for a new build but I wanted to budget some cushion for our retirement and vacation. Boy do I regret it now.

If you have young kids, i repeat, do not, ever buy an old house. You are better off renting in an apartment with repair on 24/7 standby or even a new townhouse. If you can stretch it, just buy a new build, the peace of mind of things working at least for the next 10 years is worth your sanity.

None of this relates to the house. My house was way worse of a fixer upper. Difference is I have no Nanny, my wife is stay at home which helps with the contractors schedules and I am handy and do most repairs myself. I bought my fixer upper when wife was nine months pregant and she had another one 21 months later.

Work you described above for me would be something done very easily, call Lowes get new water heater, Fridge and oven. Pull carpet up over some beers, spray mold and order new carpet, hop on roof with some black tar and old paint brush.

My house had alluminum wiring, foundation issues, main electric line issues, flooding issues, mold, needed new kitchen and two new bathrooms, new front and rear doors and all new paint and a new roof. Was easy in sense I had no money at the time. I fixed what I could on weekends. I painted whole house on a Pizza/Beer party with relatives and friends over. Trouble with a two income family with a Nanny no one wants to help you.

The old home was great as it allowed my wife to stay home as it was cheaper. I sold the home and some shit just never got fixed. My rotted out rear porch is still rotted out. My flat roof still leaks sometimes, my lights flash if too much plugged in. The siding still looks like 1989. Someone bought it and they will fix what they can and pass it on. New construction was around 160K more than house I sold. Buyer will throw 10-15k patch it up and enjoy his 10-15 years. Just chill, or even better fire Nanny and stay home. You have a cheap house why work.

I am the same way. Ultimately housing is a consumable. I prefer investments, they seem more fungible. I like that our house is a small part of our net worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is probably a grass is greener. And after you’ve lived on one patch of grass for a while, you’re just in the mood for the different grass. We’ve lived in a 1920s row house for 18 years and are selling and moving to a 2006 cookie cutter new(ish) build. I know I will miss the beautiful solid wood doors, the heavy brass door knobs, the lovely woodwork, and the thick brick walls. But I will be happy if I never again have to hear “you’re going to have to have that custom-made because that isn’t a standard size”. We just had a washing machine returned to Lowes because it wouldn’t fit in our basement door.

We are old house people, or so I thought – history buffs, costume fans, and so on. But I’m getting old and cranky and I just want things to work and be straightforward, or at least be readily repairable if they don’t work. Old houses are wonderful but they are complex relationship and I’m going to be happy for a change for a while. Won’t be surprised if someday we retire to an older building, but right now, I’m going to delight in our soulless new construction. I hope the next owner will delight in all of the nice details that I enjoyed for so long.

This is totally us as well. Our former 1910 house didn't really have any solid wood doors or the like, although we did have thick brick walls and it felt sturdy. But I'm sooo ready for our newly reno'd home with everything brand new. I know it won't be for lack of issues, but at least I know the roof and all appliances are completely brand new and come with warranties, and we won't have to worry about redoing the bathrooms or kitchen anytime soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Old houses are bad but are cheaper

False and false.

[Anonymous]

Paid 1.5 for my older house, did some work, made updates and expanded slightly (but you would never know it) but kept the best of the classic parts and it’s been great to live in. My 4 kids love the space and the charm. AND someone just offered us $4 million for it! Old for me please - yesterday, today and tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Paid 1.5 for my older house, did some work, made updates and expanded slightly (but you would never know it) but kept the best of the classic parts and it’s been great to live in. My 4 kids love the space and the charm. AND someone just offered us $4 million for it! Old for me please - yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I am one of the PPs and would just like to point out that living in an old house when you’re rich is very different from an old house when you’re not. The more money you make, the less of a big deal is it it is if you get a unpleasant surprise or need to buy expensive mortise locks or whatever. Financial setbacks that are annoying for the rich are devastating for the not-rich. The not-rich have a much bigger stake in reducing uncertainty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is probably a grass is greener. And after you’ve lived on one patch of grass for a while, you’re just in the mood for the different grass. We’ve lived in a 1920s row house for 18 years and are selling and moving to a 2006 cookie cutter new(ish) build. I know I will miss the beautiful solid wood doors, the heavy brass door knobs, the lovely woodwork, and the thick brick walls. But I will be happy if I never again have to hear “you’re going to have to have that custom-made because that isn’t a standard size”. We just had a washing machine returned to Lowes because it wouldn’t fit in our basement door.

We are old house people, or so I thought – history buffs, costume fans, and so on. But I’m getting old and cranky and I just want things to work and be straightforward, or at least be readily repairable if they don’t work. Old houses are wonderful but they are complex relationship and I’m going to be happy for a change for a while. Won’t be surprised if someday we retire to an older building, but right now, I’m going to delight in our soulless new construction. I hope the next owner will delight in all of the nice details that I enjoyed for so long.

We did something similar only to find out the 15 to 20 year mark is when many systems need to be replaced—hvac, roof, appliances, floors need to be redone, etc. . . But you won’t need custom replacements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Paid 1.5 for my older house, did some work, made updates and expanded slightly (but you would never know it) but kept the best of the classic parts and it’s been great to live in. My 4 kids love the space and the charm. AND someone just offered us $4 million for it! Old for me please - yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I am one of the PPs and would just like to point out that living in an old house when you’re rich is very different from an old house when you’re not. The more money you make, the less of a big deal is it it is if you get a unpleasant surprise or need to buy expensive mortise locks or whatever. Financial setbacks that are annoying for the rich are devastating for the not-rich. The not-rich have a much bigger stake in reducing uncertainty.

we live in a 125 year old row house and have had very few repairs over 9 years. Biggest issue is windows, but we live with them. Getting appliances in the basement is probably the biggest issue, but I’m sure the added appreciation from being in a historic district covers that. Honestly the only people I know in my neighborhood who have had big issues were due to bad flips, bad new construction, or lead issues from improperly done renovations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s totally false that new homes are made with cheaper materials that aren’t as high of quality as older homes. It’s all about maintenance and whether the people who built and maintained it did a decent job either way. If you move into an older home that has been well maintained, you are going to be fine. Our first home was build in the later 1800s but it was well maintained and renovated in the mid 2000s. We had zero issues with it. We are now in a tear down/new build and also have zero issues. If you don’t maintain anything, it’s going to deteriorate no matter how well it was constructed or how good the materials were. If it wasn’t constructed well to begin with, you are going to have to put money in to fix it but it’s hard to know that going in and the age of a house won’t tell you anything about construction quality.

Partially true but many things included in older homes that simply aren’t available or used any more—old growth wood floors, moldings and windows, slate roofs (available but no longer widely used on new homes of cost), plaster walls. Even most appliances are now built for a 5 to 10 lifespan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should rent.

Agreed. Op should rent. Home ownership isn’t for everyone, renting is just fine.

[Anonymous]

I do agree here that this is less of an old house story and more about OP discovering that homeownership and small children both involve a ton of exhausting and thankless labor just to keep life remotely running on track. Surprise!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Paid 1.5 for my older house, did some work, made updates and expanded slightly (but you would never know it) but kept the best of the classic parts and it’s been great to live in. My 4 kids love the space and the charm. AND someone just offered us $4 million for it! Old for me please - yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Woah! Did someone knock on your door, did they send a letter? Tell us how they made the offer!

[Anonymous]

I must say that I'm in an older home (40+ years) that I purchased not too long ago. I really regret not buying new.

The amount of things I've discovered, and will now have to fix, is just taking up all my free time. I've had to tear out walls, siding, HVAC, etc. Renos + repairs will soon be over $100K (repairs easily $50K) without a kitchen, bathroom or roof.

I'm not new to homeownership but hadn't dealt with a house of this age before. The workmanship was criminal behind the scenes, and the constant problems, including insulation issues and mold, are just killing me. I've never dealt with anything like this before in a house before.

I'll NEVER buy a used house again, that is for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I must say that I'm in an older home (40+ years) that I purchased not too long ago. I really regret not buying new.

The amount of things I've discovered, and will now have to fix, is just taking up all my free time. I've had to tear out walls, siding, HVAC, etc. Renos + repairs will soon be over $100K (repairs easily $50K) without a kitchen, bathroom or roof.

I'm not new to homeownership but hadn't dealt with a house of this age before. The workmanship was criminal behind the scenes, and the constant problems, including insulation issues and mold, are just killing me. I've never dealt with anything like this before in a house before.

I'll NEVER buy a used house again, that is for sure.

And the good news is we won't have to with work from home... we can live as far away from the city as we want now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since the purchase of a house has already been made, you do not need to regret it. You can redo a house project from scratch. Make a convenient entrance to the garage, the platform in front of the house to fill with concrete and stain concrete. Also paint the walls of the house and redecorate the rooms in the middle of the house.

Most people usually do this when they buy an old house.

[Anonymous]

New homes are money pits also. I went to buy a semi new home. Guy bought brand new. Got divorced. Had close to $200,000 in receipts in his 13 years. It was FSBO. Told me he put in pool, had to fence property, put in sprinklers as sold thrown down dying, fence the property all new windows treatments and crappy builder grade appliances and hvac gave out.

I was selling my fixer upper I owned 13 years with 100k worth of receipts in box. But I had new kitchen, two new bath, new driveway and fence.

Is house has 13 year old kitchens and baths still.

I bought a well cared for older house instead. Kept both homes a few months. I did windows, floors, paint, little electrical before I moved in.