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I know this post is very general, but I am curious about your perceptions of new developments (say in past 5-10 years) and the homes within them. For me, it would be very convienent for me to live in one but I am really having trouble with my perceptions of quality of new home construction and the sameness of the neighborhood/subdivision.
What are your thoughts on this? Are you bothered seeing seas of similar vinyl siding homes next to each other?
For what it is worth, in my situation, I work in a county near Charlotte. My options are basically an older home in the town (nice homes, but town is run down and bad) or live about 10 miles away in a new subdivision, in a nicer town more closely tied into Charlotte. The big advantage about living in the new development area is that I have much easier access to my kid (divorced dad here).
Any ideas and thoughts about the new subdivisions and the quality of the homes in it? Ironically, the town which has the new subdivisions and which is most convienent for me has a nice older neighborhood but I am totally priced out of it.
There is no easy answer as all communities in town or in a subdivision are the same. Obviously the ideal is a quality development regardless of where it is situated.
I agree that I would not want to buy in a development that has the sameness of a barracks, but not all areas will have this problem. In the search for my current home we looked at hundreds of houses over a six month period and still had to compromise a little.
Finding the right location, good lot, acceptable home configuration and construction, at the right place and still having good aesthetics is not easy. I expect you need to order your priorities and decide where and if you will compromise before you dedicate too much time to searching.
Well I bought in a 13 year old subdivision for these reasons:
1. all houses in the neighborhood had brick on all four sides! Imagine that! what a concept
2. there was more than 5 feet of space between each house
3. every house looked different in the neighborhood-not cookie cutter
4. mature trees
I looked in some newer subdivisions and HATED how they looked. I also fear construction might not be as good because they just threw up as many as they could to capitalize on the bubble.
Well I bought in a 13 year old subdivision for these reasons:
1. all houses in the neighborhood had brick on all four sides! Imagine that! what a concept
2. there was more than 5 feet of space between each house
3. every house looked different in the neighborhood-not cookie cutter
4. mature trees
I looked in some newer subdivisions and HATED how they looked. I also fear construction might not be as good because they just threw up as many as they could to capitalize on the bubble.
just remember, the home you are in now, was like the ones that are now being built. They, at the time had the same "new" look.
If the op decides to look in the new sub-division. Make sure you do a very through look at the builder. Walk through some of the houses that are being constructed and see what the innards look like. If the builder suits your needs, higher an engineer or inspector to do regular visits to the home during construction so that they can keep an eye on what is going on, and if shortcuts are being taken.
I think people get into the "houses aren't built like they used to be" thing way too much. You're right- houses aren't built like they used to be- they now build them with insulation, with weather barriers to keep rain out of walls, and with energy-efficient windows and HVAC systems. I always hear about all of the "craftsmanship" in old homes- sure, if we're talking about the painted ladies in San Francisco there's some craftsmanship, but the average house built from the 1920's to the 1980's was nothing special, and the materials were nothing to write home about. I've worked on hundreds of homes of all vintages during my career, and I had no qualms about buying a brand new home- I prefer not having to spend my weekends replacing plumbing, repairing roofs, and having to listen to my wife complain about her closet being too small, thanks
for what its worth....
my brother bought into a sub in maine. The lots are small - about 1/4 acre, although I feel they are small since I have 10 acres. The houses are all modular, with about 40 of the 60 planned on site. He has been there 2 years now - no issues with his house.
His house is a colonial. there are saltboxes, ranches, and 2 story capes. Some have garages, others don't. Some porches/decks. I don't believe you could find an identical house in the whole place. Each has some difference to add variety.
Personally - i would not live in such a place, but his two girls 5 and 7 love it. They have many friends to play with. There are many conviences less than 5 minutes away.
There definately are a lot of subdivisions in both described areas if you do your homework you can find a subdivision that will suit your likes. definately do a search on the builders and the sub contractors they used .
This is our 4th new house in less than 8 years (three have been new construction, and one was 2 years old), so obviously the 'sameness' of the houses does not bother us. We don't like the houses on top of each other though, so each of our houses had between .5 - .75 acre.
As for the overall construction of our houses, they have all been different, but I think for the most part, they've been quality. I am sure that they "don't built 'em llike they used to", but since we're not handy people, we'd rather buy new than deal with major problems that are inevidable with an older.
I think people get into the "houses aren't built like they used to be" thing way too much. You're right- houses aren't built like they used to be- they now build them with insulation, with weather barriers to keep rain out of walls, and with energy-efficient windows and HVAC systems. I always hear about all of the "craftsmanship" in old homes- sure, if we're talking about the painted ladies in San Francisco there's some craftsmanship, but the average house built from the 1920's to the 1980's was nothing special, and the materials were nothing to write home about. I've worked on hundreds of homes of all vintages during my career, and I had no qualms about buying a brand new home- I prefer not having to spend my weekends replacing plumbing, repairing roofs, and having to listen to my wife complain about her closet being too small, thanks
bravo!
I live in a house that was built in 1925. It is 83 years old. Just because the house is old doesn't automatically mean it was well built, had character, charm or all those other pleasantries. I can't WAIT to get into a new house... new new NEW!
Old house are leaky, cold, have the most peculiar "renovations" over the years. I swear Geofroy Bodine (the beverly hill billies) own this house before us. We replaced an electrical outlet.. there was aluminum foil used a filler to bring the outlet flush with the wall. (huhn?). the basement was dugout and finished after the house was built... (uneven floor, low ceilings)... the doors are so narrow, when we shop for furniture we have to measure to ensure the furniture will fit through door ways.
Old house are not always better built... sometimes they are just old, tired houses.
Last edited by kcam213; 03-16-2008 at 08:17 PM..
Reason: hit send button before finished.
I know this post is very general, but I am curious about your perceptions of new developments (say in past 5-10 years) and the homes within them. For me, it would be very convienent for me to live in one but I am really having trouble with my perceptions of quality of new home construction and the sameness of the neighborhood/subdivision.
What are your thoughts on this? Are you bothered seeing seas of similar vinyl siding homes next to each other?
I am not a fan of vinyl siding. My house (3 houses ago) had issues when it was windy. I had to get someone to repair it.
I lived in development but there were different styles/elevations of houses. Houses were not supposed to be of the same style next to each other (at least the same 'elevation'.
I live in a gated community now where there are several builders and each house 'style' has a different 'elevation' (houses run from the mid 400k's to 800k's). It is less monotonous.
New construction homes are more 'energy efficient' and open (except mine regarding energy efficiency - 12 foot ceilings). I also like the ceramic tile and granite counters, etc.
What you have to ask yourself is what amenities and advantages of the neighborhood (school districts, convenience to shopping, golf, tennis, pools, etc) or disadvantages (parking in the street/along the street - where there are driveways/garages, abandoned cars with flat tires and oil running in their driveway or huge boats sitting in the backyard, 'yard animal displays' , dogs tethered to leashes that are too long for passersby that get nipped- my old neighborhood as a child/teenager).
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