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well said thisguy... I have to agree. My wife and I are coming from the slash and burn mentality up here in Northern VA. In fact the townhome we live in now we purchased brand new in such a neighborhood, and so we've already experienced the "new home" feel. And like you said, that feel and smell doesn't last very long... And then you have to start making repairs to all the crappy workmanship that went into hastily slapping up your house to make the fast sale to begin with... drywall issues, foundation problems, window leaks etc... Our new townhome had problems from the get-go... some of which the builder agreed to pay, and others they just snuffed off as being "settling" problems that commonly occur with every home. All the builders up here in NOVA come in and rip down all the trees before they start building. Even the very high end communities here in NOVA where people pay close to a mil for a house have that issue... they just make the excuse that their houses are in a nicer neighborhood because they have a 16 hole golf course endorsed by Arnold Palmer or something. When they're no better- all the trees are gone. I personally find it repugnant. I can't stand the whole "cookie cutter" homes they commonly build in these types of neighborhoods anyhopw... they all look pretty much the same. And most of the time you can reach out and practically touch your neighbors door without even reaching. I'd much rather have something a little older with more trees, maybe slightly larger lot, matured, yet well landscaped and manicured. I think you get a lot more style with many of these older homes, 'specially if the previous owner really cared about putting in some nice upgrades and taking care of their home along the way. I'm not sure if my wife and I would go for a 1940ish home, but we certainly are not overly nervous about going back to say 1980ish. The biggest issues you have to check with the older homes are... 1. how old is the HVAC, hotwaater heater, furnace etc... 2. how old is the roof, 3. have there been any foundational cracks or leaks etc... Those are the things I'd worry bout more than how old the house is. :Let's face it, most of the building materials, as well as the craftmanship were much better thirty years ago than they usually are today anyhow... just my 2 cents
well said thisguy... I have to agree. My wife and I are coming from the slash and burn mentality up here in Northern VA. In fact the townhome we live in now we purchased brand new in such a neighborhood, and so we've already experienced the "new home" feel. And like you said, that feel and smell doesn't last very long... And then you have to start making repairs to all the crappy workmanship that went into hastily slapping up your house to make the fast sale to begin with... drywall issues, foundation problems, window leaks etc... Our new townhome had problems from the get-go... some of which the builder agreed to pay, and others they just snuffed off as being "settling" problems that commonly occur with every home. All the builders up here in NOVA come in and rip down all the trees before they start building. Even the very high end communities here in NOVA where people pay close to a mil for a house have that issue... they just make the excuse that their houses are in a nicer neighborhood because they have a 16 hole golf course endorsed by Arnold Palmer or something. When they're no better- all the trees are gone. I personally find it repugnant. I can't stand the whole "cookie cutter" homes they commonly build in these types of neighborhoods anyhopw... they all look pretty much the same. And most of the time you can reach out and practically touch your neighbors door without even reaching. I'd much rather have something a little older with more trees, maybe slightly larger lot, matured, yet well landscaped and manicured. I think you get a lot more style with many of these older homes, 'specially if the previous owner really cared about putting in some nice upgrades and taking care of their home along the way. I'm not sure if my wife and I would go for a 1940ish home, but we certainly are not overly nervous about going back to say 1980ish. The biggest issues you have to check with the older homes are... 1. how old is the HVAC, hotwaater heater, furnace etc... 2. how old is the roof, 3. have there been any foundational cracks or leaks etc... Those are the things I'd worry bout more than how old the house is. :Let's face it, most of the building materials, as well as the craftmanship were much better thirty years ago than they usually are today anyhow... just my 2 cents
I would not recommend a 1940s house unless it was in downtown Raleigh and in very good shape but the cost per sq foot down there is $200 in "many" cases (not all) You get more in the suburbs
I will say the cut off for newer styling seeemed to be around 1990 for the houses I went to go look at in my price range (maybe it was earlier for houses in higher price ranges) so I'd like 1990 or later if you want the vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, open floor plans, natural light in the bathroom etc. It seems 1980s homes that I saw still had the closed floor plan (each room into onto itself), popcorn type of ceiling (ugh), not very many master baths in master bedroom type of things... again it was 2 days of searching and I don't want to speak for all of the area but it seemed 1990 was the magical year, I looked at a lot of 1990-1995 and then some earlier just to see why they were so 'cheap', and basically to get it up to "current styles" you'd have to knock down some walls, re-do ceilings etc to get that open airy floor plan everyone likes nowadays.
Also a lot of the 70s/80s homes are "split level" (sort of like the Brady Bunch house) and not really the up to date look
p.s. I still have an original furnace! Talk about quality of workmanship. I doubt its very efficient but it works 60 years later! Amazing.
Agree with you on the quality of homes 30 years ago versus now, but tradeoffs with that in terms of styling of the homes.
I sent that private e-mail I promised a couple of days ago. I'm not sure if you know how to check e-mail, (a lot of people don't) so if you look up at the top of the screen under "Welcome Beittels" you'll see that you have a private message.
Just wanted to make sure you received it.
All the best with selling your Townhouse and with whatever you decide!
Regards,
Cassie
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassie
Hi Stefan.
I know Catharpin Road. I know the horrific 66 commute, one of our reasons for leaving. My husband must have aged 10 years in the last few years driving it. I stopped doing it about 3 years ago. Couldn't take it any more.
I haven't forgotten about e-mailing you but a close friend of mine from Chapel Hill whom I haven't seen in a while has been visiting and is leaving today. I'll try to get to it tonight.
Regards,
Cassie
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Taking a big risk sticking around that long hehe
To Beittels
