Getting the beaten-old-house fatigue...now what? (Boston, Marlborough: fit in, sale, daycare)

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Whoops. I assumed the commute was to Boston. If you're in Reading and you don't want "woodsy," then scratch my suggestions. They're both southern and woodsy.

Yes. Commute is to Reading, we're freaked out by the Massachusetts woods, can't seem to get over the old, crammed and un-renovated qualities of many houses, and cannot afford renovated or new-ish in walkable, small town places either. At least not in those where schools are between decent and good. We may be out of luck.

I love Boston and its small towns but we're absolutely freaked out by rural Mass. It's no different from rural Alabama or any other rural place in the US. After all, nature in and of itself has some sort of beauty everywhere on this Earth, but it wasn't nature itself we were after, or isolation.
It was a sense of true neighborhood, people who are not THAT obsessed with privacy, and places to walk to with the kids.

I just don't see how we will ever be able to afford Boston, as beautiful as it is.

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by ThinkingThinking

A big thing you need to do is TELL your realtor what you want to see. Tell them I do NOT want to see older homes, I want to see new and recent construction, OR completely rennovated turn-key properties."

If they do not listen to you, you need to find a new agent. These homes are out there, I just dont believe they're being shown to you.

Thinking,

It is not a question of telling the realtor what we want. She knows. There are extremely few options for renting in our price range right now - new OR old. We went up to 2600 asking price, with the hope we would be able to negotiate down. Hardly anything. The options we are looking for are simply not there.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by syracusa

The options we are looking for are simply not there.

Have you looked in Natick? It has a pleasant, walkable downtown w/ housing nearby. Also, the outer 'burb of Franklin? This town has an attractive, walkable town center with housing nearby. Good schools, too.

[syracusa]

Thank you, professor. We didn't look at them and I wonder why. Would they be too far from Reading? We will check those out too. Thanks again.

[LeavingMA]

Welcome to New England housing. The other option is to try and find an older home that has been renovated and has an updated kitchen and bathroom and has put in newer windows (great for keeping out the winter cold). Older homes will never be as efficient as newer homes just because the technology is so much better now.

There are not a lot of new homes up here because there is not a lot of available buildable land. A 20 year old house is considered fairly new in New England.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by syracusa

Would they be too far from Reading? We will check those out too. Thanks again.

Oops! I forgot you were targeting N/NW of Boston. Yes, those two communities would definitely be too far. Sorry.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by LeavingMA

The other option is to try and find an older home that has been renovated...

It is not by accident that the popular home renovation TV show This Old House originated in Massachusetts.

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by LeavingMA

Welcome to New England housing. The other option is to try and find an older home that has been renovated and has an updated kitchen and bathroom and has put in newer windows (great for keeping out the winter cold). Older homes will never be as efficient as newer homes just because the technology is so much better now.

There are not a lot of new homes up here because there is not a lot of available buildable land. A 20 year old house is considered fairly new in New England.

I do understand there is no new land to build on. Europe is the same. However, there is such a thing as RADICAL RENOVATION and that can be done. I believe it must be the high cost of living here and little money left over that prevents so many people from doing a severely needed extreme make-over to their old houses. In Europe this is done in spades now, to houses much, much older than what New England has.

[ThinkingThinking]

Like i said, you need to ask your agent to show you turnkey rennovated properties. The kind that are 100 years old at the bones but everything else has been updated. They are gorgeous homes, too.

[FellsMom]

Many houses had been renovated here. They became too expensive after that renovation. Some people rent an old house and negotiate a cut on rent by putting in work to the house. Local builders are known to move from one old house to another, fixing them up while living there.