Buying an old house regret

[Anonymous]

My friends with new builds have had a bevy of problems.

[Anonymous]

Why are the only options a 6000 sq ft new build craftsman or an old house? And how old is old OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friends with new builds have had a bevy of problems.

Bad builders. Do your homework!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New homes have a host of issues too. The grass isn't greener. As a colleague used to say to me, the grass is brown everywhere. I think you need a vacation.

+1

[Anonymous]

Who are the good builders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who are the good builders?

They all died after building the 75+ year old homes. All new builds and builders are crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hear you, OP. I’m also hesitant about old houses due to safety concerns with young kids. Lead paint, asbestos, lead pipes, mold, low railings, large window panes that aren’t safety glass, etc. I used to live in an old home right before I had kids and went through a lead paint remediation process that was a PITA. I do love old homes for other people, thry’re just not for me.

At least the dangers of these things are well known by now and for the most part not that big of a deal if left undisturbed. I think it’s naive to assume there aren’t equally toxic/dangerous things in new construction that we just don’t know about yet. I’ll take a (well cared for) old house any day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who are the good builders?

They all died after building the 75+ year old homes. All new builds and builders are crap.

I'm sure some people here will turn up their nose when i say this, but we just built an NV home 3 years ago and we've had minor issues. I can't really think of what they are- that's how minor they have been. Also, after a year, most new builds will have a one year walk through and fix any issues found during the first year. We built a new home because my husband and I wanted to not have the hassle of dealing with unknown issues in an old home. I know many people can handle it and have the capability/knowledge to deal with them. We on the other hand are not these types of people. I think it's over the top to call all new builds crap. Do your homework and go to a reputable builder; and yes, they do exist. Don't be one of those snobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who are the good builders?

They all died after building the 75+ year old homes. All new builds and builders are crap.

I'm sure some people here will turn up their nose when i say this, but we just built an NV home 3 years ago and we've had minor issues. I can't really think of what they are- that's how minor they have been. Also, after a year, most new builds will have a one year walk through and fix any issues found during the first year. We built a new home because my husband and I wanted to not have the hassle of dealing with unknown issues in an old home. I know many people can handle it and have the capability/knowledge to deal with them. We on the other hand are not these types of people. I think it's over the top to call all new builds crap. Do your homework and go to a reputable builder; and yes, they do exist. Don't be one of those snobs.

PP again. And our house prior to that was a new build too. We were there for 15 years and again, we had minor issues with the exception of the HVAC system which we had to eventually replace.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry your experience has been bad

I bought a 55-year old home in 2002. As a single man. Started fixing it up. Kept fixing it up. Got married, kept fixing it up, had one kid, added on a huge addition that I did much of the work for, had twins later, added on a second-floor bedroom. EVERYTHING has been redone, and 90% of it by the sweat blood and tears of myself. And quality work too, skilled craftsmanship, not slipshod idiot bungling.

Understand though that I love doing this stuff. I love fixing and tinkering and repairing. It costs me basically the cost of materials to do things, and my time. My wife loves it because we can afford to live in a paid-off well-appointed house with 3 kids and she doesnt have to go out to work every day at a full time job. She does part time work she likes and chooses to do so can be around to get kids to school and back.

Not everybody's into this stuff, I know that. When you buy an old house, you need a keen eye for spotting major issues to avoid, and beyond that you need a sense of fearlessness and adventure.

[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 just mentioned this myself. People with nannies and dual incomes complaining about vetting contractors....where's my violin

[Anonymous]

We've been in our 1940s house for 15 years and have been thrilled. No major problems. We did an addition we loved it so much vs. trading up to a newer build, though we could afford it.

I personally have nothing against newer builds though. DH doesn't like them, but I can see the appeal for some.

[Anonymous]

The biggest difference between a new build and an older house is all the investigation into the unknown. Whether an old house is a money pit or not an issue is dependent on how it was originally built and maintained over the years.

You should look at your inspection report and come up with planned 1 year, 5 year and 10 year plan for replacements and upgrades. It is always going to be more expensive and drive you crazy to have to deal with something as an emergency instead of proactively replacing it when it is time or signs point to problems. The upside here is once you get over the shock in what you will spend over the next 5-10 years and have to a plan to afford it, you are much more likely not to put it off.

1. Roof patching. This is a warning sign. How old is the roof. If it has 10 years left on it, why is it leaking? If it was poor installation, you should consider replacing it. Roof leaks often can be small and not visible to owners but they are rotting out your support beams and possibly sending water down the walls creating mold behind your walls.

2. Bad wiring to the HVAC. Did your inspection include looking at the electrical? This could be a fire hazard so I would up the priority.

3. Moldy carpet. I'm not mold phobic. You can rip out the carpet and use bleach to get rid of it but if it is near a wall pull off the baseboard to make sure it isn't coming from the walls. Try to figure out where the water came from -it could be a leak, basement or main floor flooding or even condensation. Invest in dehumidifiers.

4. Test areas for lead and asbestos before you do work.

5. Appliances. You can get a home warranty and often ask the seller to pay for it to give you peace of mind that things won't break in the first year. Its always best to buy appliances when they go on their annual sale.

[Anonymous]

We've lived in both- we've had just as many problems with a newer house- it is true older homes often have more craftsmanship so you don't see the dumbass errors and cheap materials.