Buying an old house regret

[Anonymous]

It sounds like OP has never owned a home before. I’ve owned new and old homes. There are issues and standard maintenance with both. You should get an annual plumbing inspection- plumbing issues are the worst to deal with in an emergency.

[Anonymous]

New houses have repair issues too and things you will want to change so it is more to your taste.

Unless it is brand spanking new and you built it custom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering my brother was just hired to dig a foundation of a "new custom build" in Arlington where the people are surely paying well over 2M for the home and he has never in his life dug a foundation, I'm not too confident in new builds. I wouldn't allow my brother to remodel batheoom let alone dig a foundation. I have zero faith in new construction in this area. It is so hard to find workers to do anything, thr criteria is a heartbeat and that's all.

Well then it’s never going to pass inspection

Bets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't get a medal dealing with an old house you get pissed off and broke

old houses are cheaper. you could still buy a new house and have to deal with repairs, but you will have spent a whole lot more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't get a medal dealing with an old house you get pissed off and broke

old houses are cheaper. you could still buy a new house and have to deal with repairs, but you will have spent a whole lot more.

Not newly renovated old houses! You pay a premium for that in certain areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New houses have repair issues too and things you will want to change so it is more to your taste.

Unless it is brand spanking new and you built it custom.

+1 In which case you paid a premium anyway to have it built. So you're behind cost-wise where everyone else is who bought their houses "used."

[Anonymous]

OP how old is your house?

When people talk about preferring old houses, I think they mean prewar. So anything in the 1930s or older.

No one wants a house from the 70s or 80s though in 2019, you might consider those old too.

[Anonymous]

The kinds of repair issues you're talking about could easily pop up in a new house that is less than 10 years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't get a medal dealing with an old house you get pissed off and broke

old houses are cheaper. you could still buy a new house and have to deal with repairs, but you will have spent a whole lot more.

Nope. Real estate is always about location, not age of the house. Older houses in prime areas sell for more than new houses in less prime areas. And even in prime areas it's all about the house, not the age of the house. A beautifully maintained old house can easily sell more than a new build in the same area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP how old is your house?

When people talk about preferring old houses, I think they mean prewar. So anything in the 1930s or older.

No one wants a house from the 70s or 80s though in 2019, you might consider those old too.

OP has never specified what "old" means. To me - "old" is at least early 1900s. But I have a funny feeling that OP means 1970s or something like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP how old is your house?

When people talk about preferring old houses, I think they mean prewar. So anything in the 1930s or older.

No one wants a house from the 70s or 80s though in 2019, you might consider those old too.

Not true as it just depends on house. My 1975 house I bought in 2017 was originally built really good, four sided brick colonial with central air and gas heat. Built with five bedrooms upstairs and 4.5 baths.


My house I sold my 1955 split house was built no AC and had oil heat and I could not add Central AC as house built with no real attic or places in walls for air handlers or vents. I also did not have gas heat and had no water heater as hot water on demand form oil and no real place to squeeze a water heater in. I also did not come with three baths new so third bath kinds jammed in.

I also looked at some late 1990s and early 2000s houses and they seemed to be cheaply made in house boom and time bombs as HVACs, Gas Burner, Roof, Kitchen Baths all have around a 30 year life span. Seemed owners did nothing and owned for 15-20 years and next buyer gets the time bomb where everything goes in next ten years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Actually, the grass is greener. We bought a 5800 sq fr home from a reputable builder and it’s been awesome! The builder took care of any problems that popped up in the first year. All we had to do is hire a gardener, pool guy and cleaner. All the appliances are brand new and thus still under warranty if there is an issue.

Karma is coming for you soon.

As an FYI, you misunderstand the concept of karma. Karma is not revenge. Educate yourself about religious and spiritual concepts, even if they aren't your own.

[Anonymous]

I think OP is confused about the difference between the house structure and the appliances in the house. All appliances will break or become energy inefficient relative to newer models in several years. So anybody buying brand new construction today will need to repair or replace at least some of these appliances in their first 10 years of home ownership.

The roof on any house, new or old, should last 15-20 years unless there was an installation screw up or something damages it. That's the reality whether you buy a 100-yr-old house with a brand new roof or a brand new house.

The only way in which I think older houses present additional issues is with the electrical system. An outdated system will present more problems if it hasn't been updated. However, the 125-yr-old house I recently sold in DC had a "heavy up" done to it that included a new circuit box. The new owners of that very old house will have as much if not more capacity electrically than owners of a new build. They also got a roof we installed only about 4 years before the sale and it has a 25-yr warranty. I installed the dishwasher less than a year before putting it on the market. Same with the microwave over the range.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Actually, the grass is greener. We bought a 5800 sq fr home from a reputable builder and it’s been awesome! The builder took care of any problems that popped up in the first year. All we had to do is hire a gardener, pool guy and cleaner. All the appliances are brand new and thus still under warranty if there is an issue.

Karma is coming for you soon.

As an FYI, you misunderstand the concept of karma. Karma is not revenge. Educate yourself about religious and spiritual concepts, even if they aren't your own.

Thank you, Your Holiness. (Or is that Your Holier-Than-Thou-Ness?)

[Anonymous]

The thing is OP, I have a friend who bought a new build and appliances are failing left and right amongst other things and actually getting those “warranties” to cover anything has been a nightmare. Not saying older homes are better. Just that they all have issues and you’re kidding yourself if you think some company is going to come fix everything for you after you move in.

It sounds like you don’t like home ownership.