Help!Should I buy old house or build new house in Midland area? (real estate)

[midlander008]

Hi Everyone,

I Just moved to midland,MI and is now trying to decide whether to buy an old house or build a new one; whether to buy soon or wait a couple more years for further price drop. It gives me a little headache trying to make up my mind. I could really use some good advice in making my decision.

I am looking at the price range of 160,000-200,000. It seems in the 160,000 range, I could get decent houses that were built in the late 1970s (maybe not in the best neighborhood and maybe because the local real estate market is a buyer's market). In the price range of 180,000-200,000, I could get houses built in the late 80s 90s or even in 2000 in some new subdivisions.

My question is are houses built in the 70s in better quality than the new ones? Are those 70s houses built to last for another 50 years? It seems quite some homes are custom built, not sure if I am right. I know it depends on the builders and the area. Could someone give me advice on which ones were the good builders back in the 70s and 80s, the good and bad about the neighborhoods, and the school districts. I want to buy old houses since they are cheaper but are afraid i will need to do a lot of fix-up soon as I move in and spend a lot of money on that. Buying relatively newer houses in that price range means I need to be in a new subdivision which may not be as good as some mature neighborhoods. I also particularly care about the insulation of the house, the winter here is very cold. Do most houses have good insulation and double pane windows?

I got comments recently that I should get a house less than 10 years old so it will last for a while, an old house won't last long and will be worth little after more years. But some old house in midland look just as good to me as many of them look like they were custom built unlike the recently built tract houses, actually some good ones are priced higher than even new tract houses. I am in a dilemma. My friends are young so I don't want to rely solely on their comments. I think midland is different from bigger cities.

Also, do you think I should buy now or wait a year or 2, since everyone now knows the national housing slump. Overpriced houses in midland seem to seat on the market for a long time, only the ones with the best values are sold. Not sure if my observation is correct.

I really appreciate anyone here lending me your great wisdom.