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would you choose: new house or nicer neighborhood?
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Anonymous
| Faced w/ this decision: Great new house is on a street of eight homes, but then you're out on a road without sidewalks, so you can't walk anywhere. Park and shopping are a quick drive. Older home is in a walkable neighborhood w/ a lake but would require some rehab (tree removal, new kitchen, baths, other...) and is further from park & shopping. Just curious - what would other people choose? |
Anonymous
| Location, location, location. I would choose neighbourhood definately. I would rather have an OK house on the best street than the best house on an OK street. You can always renovate a house not a street. Also of course for resale value. Good Luck |
Anonymous
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That's a tough one! I love walk-ability, but I also wouldn't have the patience/temperament to renovate. No wisdom here, but just to say that I don't think you're crazy for agonizing about it, LOL. Let us know what you decide. Good luck.
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Anonymous
I would take an older house close to park and shopping, but I guess that's not a choice is it??  Can you do the renovations before you move in? If so, I would take the older house. However, it doesn't sound like the new house is in a bad neighborhood - just that it is not as walkable. I do like the idea of being on a lake!
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Anonymous
| If in both places I have to drive to shop and go to the park, I would pick the walkable neighborhood. Then again, I don't mind living in a rundown house. Right now my house is pretty rundown but it's three blocks from the metro. So you can see my priorities right there. |
Anonymous
| Choose the house with the most room for your family-this will be your biggest hassle in the years to come-not enough space! |
Anonymous
| We chose the better, walkable neighborhood. It is great being able to walk out my door and go down to the lake or the park. |
Anonymous
| The neighborhood would have to be pretty compelling...I agree with PP, pick the house that will accomodate your fam! |
Anonymous
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I pick neighborhood first, house second. Some things you can't change are the neighborhood and the lot. For me a nice lot is #1 priority. Unlike most posters, I could NOT live next to a metro and see my neighbors. I would live next to a metro, if my home were surrpounded by trees. I also cannot listen to traffic, horns, and sirens.
The lake feature would really appeal to me. |
Anonymous
| Neighborhood first. I don't know how old your kids are, but I cannot imagine living in a neighborhood without sidewalks. Also, you have no idea what a brand-new neighborhood will turn into - have all the houses sold? WIll any new buyers foreclose? An established neighborhood is really valuable and a wonderful place to live. And no matter what they do to the new house, you can't buy old trees! |
Anonymous
| In my mind a neighborhood would be a better place for kids to grow up in, assuming you have any. A house on a street of eight and then a road doesn't sound like it lends itself to much of a neighborhood with lots of (good) activity. |
Anonymous
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New construction is often (not always) energy inefficient. Thin walls, builder-grade (cheap) windows, and huge open spaces that are expensive to heat and cool. Older houses (maybe 50+ years) tend to have thicker walls, smaller rooms and lower ceilings and therefore are much more energy efficient. (My 100-year-old house has 12-foot ceilings; not cathedral space, but not a cave, either.)
The neighborhood thing is a big consideration, but all other things being equal, I'd go for a nice solid old house that needs some updates before anything built in the last 10-20 years. You can replace windows, bathrooms, kitchens, etc. But you can't fix a double-story foyer or tyvek-on-particleboard walls. |
Anonymous
I would disagree with this. As long as you're not talking about tract housing, newer houses are typically much more energy efficient than older ones. A great deal depends on the quality of construction. |
Anonymous
| Neighborhood |
Anonymous
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Given today's market - not sure why you can't find something better in "nicer" neighborhood.
Things are not going to move anytime soon. If I was given the option -I might keep looking. |