Older homes

[Anonymous]

Our first “starter house” that we ended up living in for 20 years was one of those post-war small brick ramblers built in 1954. It was in poor shape when we got it and we patched it up over the years: new roof, windows, attic insulation, siding, kitchen, HVAC the works. It was nice after that but towards the end of our tenure there plumbing issues started cropping up.
Our current house was built in 1956 by the owners who were in the construction industry. It is well built but had a lot of deferred maintenance since we got it from the original elderly owner. So we’ve had to do a good amount of work, but we’re very happy with the results. The one drawback is the small partial basement and the lack of an additional bathroom but there’s enough space on the main level.

[Anonymous]

Prose
They are mostly in desirable established areas.
They have good details and characters.
They have good structure.
Cons
Electrical, plumbing and insulation could be obsolete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can again tell the majority here aren't DC natives.

+1. OP, the average house is Montgomery County was built in 1979. Probably similar for other suburban areas. Average age of houses in the district are from the early to mid-1900s. I don't really consider a house built in the 1970s to be "older" home. Also, I have lived in the DC area in a brand new house, a house built in the 1960s, and a house built in the 1980s. The new house had many problems.

[Anonymous]

My favorite thing about older homes in this area is that they still have yards. Builders these days fill every inch of property with a ridiculously large house so there isn't a reasonable backyard at all. I like having outdoor space for a swing set, patio, garden, and place to kick a soccer ball or host a birthday party. You can't find that with a new build. They're built right up to the property line so you're staring into the windows of the neighbors with no buffer space. Yuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a new build home that was built when I was 2. It was drafty, leaky and had mold issues. I now live in a house that is 100 years old. Pre-1950 homes have quality materials and craftsmanship that is tough to find in homes built after that time. Trouble is they have to have been well-maintained. I was lucky to find an older home in good shape and I vastly prefer living here but it does require extra care.

Same! My high school years were miserable due to all of the mold.

Though the house we bought was built in 1954, so 71 years old. Very solid home. Just normal maintenance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our house was built in 1930. Pros - its well-constructed, has character, has radiator heat, and the bedrooms are a decent size. Cons - the layout is choppy (i would love an open plan), the kitchen and bathrooms are small, the basement ceiling height is low, no garage. We've replaced a bunch of things over the years, roof, windows, kitchen cabinets, all the appliances, HVAC, etc but unless we want to totally gut it there's no way to make it open plan or enlarge the bathrooms/kitchen.

The roof on any house needs to be replaced after like 25 years. HVAC typically after like 15-20 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Older homes are well built and meant to last. New houses are cheaply constructed.

+1 especially the ones that are brick or stone on all four sides.

[Anonymous]

Older homes are well built and meant to last. New houses are cheaply constructed.

Some older homes were cheaply constructed, but you don't think about that because they are no longer with us. New houses can be cheaply constructed or well constructed. Same as what happened with old houses.

[Anonymous]

My house was built in the 1800s so…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My house was built in the 1800s so…

And how is it holding up? Maintaining it?

[Anonymous]

Our house was built in 196-something. We moved into it in 2000. Once we upgraded all the systems (Electrical panel, HVAC, new roof, new and larger hot water heater, replace copper pipes that had a pinhole leak with pvc and I'm sure some other things I am forgetting), all is fine. It's a brick home, 3 levels, and has been good for us for 25 years

[Anonymous]

My apartment is in a 110-y/o building, and we have renovated every inch of it.

Pros: lovely original details, masonry walls that help with soundproofing, high ceilings

Cons: radiator heat is hard to regulate, closet space is limited

Renovation issues:

• replacing doors and windows was a pain because they aren't "standard" sized
• lead paint and asbestos abatement may be necessary if your tearing out walls or floors
• we found all kinds of weird stuff when we opened walls in the kitchen and bathrooms . . . mystery plumbing, old gas lines that we couldn't move, weird electrical wiring

[Anonymous]

would you mind share your inspector's contact info? Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on when and where it was built. We used to live in a 1960s house and it was nothing but problem after problem. I do think pre-1950 usually was built with higher quality materials but you have to update all the systems and there is a great deal of maintenance. We now live in a new build (non-custom, “big box” builder) built in 2020. I was so hesitant because these types of new builds tend to generate a lot of hate, but we loved the location (small group of homes built on a 12 acre tear down lot in an established area), and decided to take the chance. This house has been fantastic. Super airtight, efficient, the materials and systems have been solid and reliable, and we had it inspected by our highly regarded and very particular private home inspector who was super impressed by the quality. I think we got lucky with the particular contractors, etc working on it at the time. But my point is, that could apply to a house built during any decade. It’s difficult to make generalizations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Older homes are well built and meant to last. New houses are cheaply constructed.

+1 especially the ones that are brick or stone on all four sides.

Exactly. Our home has six inches of solid brick on the exterior. Not stick built with a brick facade.

[Anonymous]

It’s not age- houses built in the 1950s-80s were really poor quality. My parents bought a very stylish but nightmarish house built in the 60s. I would lean towards a younger or older home than that period.