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As others have said, a 10-15 year old house is not old.
If I understand, you either have or are getting ready to have some kids. So you really need to have your housing a smaller fraction of your budget even than guidelines would say. What if one or both of you lose a job? Even worse, what if one of you becomes disabled, so your life insurance doesn't help, but you can't work and you have expensive medical bills long-term? When you are just responsible for yourself, you can decide to take risks, but when little ones depend on you it's different.
It does not sound like you are faced with a real decision like stretching your finances to get out of the ghetto, it sounds like you are contemplating stretching your finances to have a media room. Not recommended.
And I want to say "Hallelujah" to the person above who pointed out that lack of skills simply means that you need to learn them just the same way that people who do have those skills learned them. If you are not mentally or physically disabled there is precious little in the way of minor repairs around a house that you cannot do yourself.
As someone else pointed out, think about the neighborhood. You can get a feel about the neighborhood and how the homeowners keep up their home in established neighborhoods versus new homes. In new neighborhoods you don't know what kind of neighbor will live next to you. (My in-laws bought a new construction home, the neighbors across from them blast music from their garage door that's open all day long. The next door neighbors let their backyard lawn die, when the wind kicks up, the sand blows over into their pool that they built.)
Most new constructions will depreciate $10-15k and require another $10k of builder grade replacing depending on how long ya live there and if you supervise what they use while constructing. Some older homes can be a good deal while others require $15-20k in updates... Best to look at price and look at lots of houses and learn a bit about what to look for....
I learned the hard way - better to spend less on a house and more on road trips, camping, white water rafting, etc. A smaller house forces your family togethr more and makes you closer anyway.
Don't forget bluegrass festivals! Or would those be included in camping? I could never go camping without bluegrass!
As someone else pointed out, think about the neighborhood. You can get a feel about the neighborhood and how the homeowners keep up their home in established neighborhoods versus new homes. In new neighborhoods you don't know what kind of neighbor will live next to you. (My in-laws bought a new construction home, the neighbors across from them blast music from their garage door that's open all day long. The next door neighbors let their backyard lawn die, when the wind kicks up, the sand blows over into their pool that they built.)
If it's bluegrass music, then it wouldn't be a problem at all! But I doubt that's the music they're playing.
LOL at a house less than 150 years old being called older . . .
Many will have the latest trends in many ways because they will be updated. Notwithstanding the original configuration, our house has been fully modernized with indoor toilets, closets, electricity and even an attached kitchen! WE even have CAT 5 cable to every single room (which was out of date by the time I finished installing it since everything is wireless now).
Cat5 (Ethernet) is NOT outdated by any means! Wired connections are ALWAYS much faster and far more reliable and secure than wireless. Especially over greater distances. I bought a house built in 1983 last year, and I wired Ethernet connections to each room, even several to a room where I use multiple devices. I have both wired and wireless in the house. The cable modem and router are in the basement, and my bedroom is on the opposite corner of the house. Wireless simply wouldn't be an option for that distance, to get a reliable signal for the devices.
I can tell you there is little difference between a new home and one that is 15 years old as far as materials and workmanship. Very little has changed in the past 15 years.
Just because it is new does not mean it was thrown up quickly, or poorly constructed. Same goes for a house built 15 years ago. About the only thing of note that has changed over the past 15 years is the energy efficiency of the HVAC units and water heaters.
In my area a 20 year shingle will last about 16. A 30 year shingle will last about 25. Life of shingles can vary a lot depending on the area.
HVAC units are pretty much gone after 15 years. In my area a heat pump will last 12 - 14 years and a gas furnace will last 16 - 18. Water heaters last 10 - 12 years.
Kitchen appliances will also be about worn out in 15 years.
If the 15 year old house has a new HVAC system, water heater, and appliances then you are good to go. Depending on the age of the roof, you might be in for a large expense in a few years.
Keeping in mind the potential costs for appliances, HVAC, and roof, if the price is right, then go with the 15 year old house. But it really all comes down to $$$$$ and what is the best deal.
A better deal might be finding one that's about 20 years old and well maintained, so many of those things have recently been replaced.
Thanks for the info all, lots of good insight in here.
Tomorrow we are going to see two different 2007 houses (same subdivision), so looking forward to checking those out. On paper, they have good floor plan, size, and pricing. And in a very nice location. They may not feel new, but I'll remind my wife we can do some refacing (master bathroom for example) before we move in.
Last edited by Go Blue 99; 01-13-2017 at 07:19 AM..
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