Buying an old house regret

[Anonymous]

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.

[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.

Why would you choose to do a home improvement project on the basis of "getting your money back on it?" You'll never get your money back on anything. If you want hardwood floors, and you can afford it, then why wouldn't you put them in? If you don't want them, then why not just replace the moldy carpet which isn't very expensive?

If you can't handle dealing with contractors yourself have you considered a concierge-type home warranty? For example: https://www.hellosuper.com/ These guys would have handled the fridge, water heater, and A/C issues.

Not sure what the timeframe of all these issues is. This doesn't seem like a crazy amount of stuff to go wrong in a house over a period of a few years. If it's just a year it seems like a lot, but sometimes you just have bad luck.

In any event if you really hate dealing with home maintenance stuff, I agree a newer build would be a better fit for you, but presumably it would have cost a lot more. The balance between upfront $$ and potential maintenance is different for everyone. I don't mind dealing with maintenance stuff once in a while, but I am also pretty handy and can fix many things myself.

[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.

So.... exactly how old are your fridge and oven? Your water heater is only five years old? AC system had shorts? How old is it?

All these things can happen to houses just a few years old. It's not a war between old (however old it may be, whether 100 years old or 10 years old) and brand new. It's always down to house by house. You're kidding yourself if you think a new house won't have teething issues.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

what do you define as an old house? 20 yrs? 10 yrs? 50?

[Anonymous]

I don't know. We bought a 70 year old house. We have small kids and put about $15k into repairs in the first six months. It sucked.

But we haven't had another thing pop up over the next three years. I'm still happy with our choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know. We bought a 70 year old house. We have small kids and put about $15k into repairs in the first six months. It sucked.

But we haven't had another thing pop up over the next three years. I'm still happy with our choice.

+1 We bought a 90 year old house knowing we'd have to put in new windows. We ended up needing to do about $10k worth of plumbing work on top of that in the first year. 4 years later, nothing else has cropped up. Love our house.

[Anonymous]

How long have you owned the house, OP?

We bought our 1953 colonial 10 years ago. We did some renovations right away, and probably spent the next two years discovering big and small problems with the house that we inherited from the previous owners, who were not sticklers for maintenance, shall we say.

After that, though, the flood of problems seemed to slow down to a relative trickle. There's stuff we new we'd have to do sooner or later (replace parts of the aging deck) and things that just naturally happen in any house (hot water heater needed replacing, toilet broke).

So you may find that things get more manageable over time, after you'd had more years go by in which you've been the primary caretakers of the house.

[Anonymous]

Also remember that newer homes have their own issue like cheaper materials that don’t last as longer as older ones do. Our home is 43 years old but our last home was less than a decade when we bought it and they each have their issues.

[Anonymous]

You should rent.

[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.

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

OP, use the $$ you saved on the old house and replace the moldy carpet and get a sitter for the weekends. Trust me, you’ll feel better.

[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.

Our house has appreciated tremendously too. Is that the karma you’re referring to?