Getting the beaten-old-house fatigue...now what?

[snoopy2009]

Originally Posted by syracusa

Some of those areas we have seen in Andover and North Andover would look so much less scary if more trees had been cut down to set off the human presence. Not ALL the trees, but I would have loved to see SOME trees gone and a bit more manicuring of the land.
I know this is environmentalist heresy but that's what I feel.

I think you have a perfect right to want what you want. But I think we should both agree that it's funny that I'm the right-winger and you the left-.

[missionhill]

I'd go with Clevedark's advice, except that it doesn't have to be Brookline ($$$). Interesting, the preference here for wooden houses. Most parts of the country have brick and other materials but wood-frame has always been the thing in New England--and I'd say New York too. A fellow professor, Clare Cooper Marcus, wrote an interesting book: House as Mirror of Self: Exploring the Deeper Meaning of Home. You might enjoy--at least once you've gotten past your own crisis. But one thing that stood out to me from that study was the great preference among women for urban situations because women put more importance on social networks and, as working parents, cant afford to have too many miles between home, work, and children's school. Men seem more likely to prize the house on a suburban acre--man's home is his castle, and all that--which may explain at least some of the persistence of the suburban house in the woods as a popular, even dominant building form. All those older, closer in towns are a historical accident--the lots were small of necessity (centripetal force of urbanization without the centrifugal effect of the private automobile). Before the nineteenth century, and since the mid-20th, the house spatially isolated on its own land has been the norm.

[snoopy2009]

If you're not already aware of it, walkscore.com is invaluable. We used it to pre-screen houses before flying in to view. Long-distance home shopping is surely no fun.

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by snoopy2009

I think you have a perfect right to want what you want. But I think we should both agree that it's funny that I'm the right-winger and you the left-.

High-five!

[redpanda]

Renting, while often cheaper in the Boston area, usually won't get you as nice a place as buying. $2600 won't pay the mortgage on a $500k house, or even on many homes in the $400k's, so with a few exceptions, landlords tend not to rent out larger homes, or single family homes at all. Apartments can be a better 'deal' because multi-family homes are cheaper by the square foot than single family houses or condos.

I agree with clevedark--back in the days before I bought I rented several nice, large apartments in Brookline that rented for under $2600. One had 3 bedrooms, a sunroom, an office, etc...

It is definitely a challenge finding deleaded rentals, or even landlords who are willing to rent to people with children. I had no idea how bad it was until I sold my house and needed to move into a temporary apartment. Let's just say our current temporary dwelling is a HUGE compromise.

[blehman]

Originally Posted by syracusa

I will respectfully disagree.
Many European apartments and houses are built with extremely sturdy materials, impeccably renovated and made to look like they belong to the "21st century". Even at prices accessible to "mere mortals".

Unfortunately, I think old American houses are at a disadvantage when it comes to renovation because they are made of wood, and to get an old place in sparkly shape again, you pretty much have to razor the whole thing to the ground. Wood is simply not as durable as stone, cement and other very hard construction materials, which Europeans tend to use.

I am definitely not qualified to discuss construction, but this is my impression.

I'm inclined to agree with some of your impressions. One of the best Realtors I ever worked with, Lorraine Herbert in Sturbridge put it best "once you have new construction it's tough not to have new construction" I have found that to be true the last three times I have changed houses. As for suburbs being soulless, they are as soulless as they want to be or made out to be. The comment smacks of typical urban elitism.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by blehman

I'm inclined to agree with some of your impressions. One of the best Realtors I ever worked with, Lorraine Herbert in Sturbridge put it best "once you have new construction it's tough not to have new construction" I have found that to be true the last three times I have changed houses. As for suburbs being soulless, they are as soulless as they want to be or made out to be. The comment smacks of typical urban elitism.

I live in an older home now (built in the 40s) and frankly I really like it much better than the large new houses I lived in growing up. There's something to be said for the more solid construction employed 60 years ago than some of the low quality construction that is employed these days.

[Beantown_mama]

We moved from the midwest and had 'old house' shock as well. When looking at rentals, we were amazed about what our $$ would get us, and we had to settle for MUCH worse than we originally had expected. But now that the years have gone by, and yes, we do live in a 100+ year old house, we are kind of over the shock. This is just housing in MA. The houses are old. However, the benefits of some of these old neighborhoods are mature trees (a lot of them - that is what happens when you live in the part of the country with deciduous forests), really uniqueness of every town (in the midwest, I felt like the only difference between the tract suburbs was the name of the town on the water tower), and a great culture. No, we don't have 2 bathrooms in our house but it is beautiful here with the oceans, the mountains, the seaside towns, the Berkshires - it is just a great area of the world. But old and dense.

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by snoopy2009

If you're not already aware of it, walkscore.com is invaluable. We used it to pre-screen houses before flying in to view. Long-distance home shopping is surely no fun.

Many thanks, Snoopy. This is great!