Buying a new house- older with character or newer low-maintenance?

[AngelBy]

Originally Posted by Squirl

Well, OK, Monk. BTW, new toilet seats are a lot cheaper (on the pocketbook and spirit) than long commutes if you buy a house in a far out location just because its new.

We intend to buy a newer and bigger house with a large yard for my 2 dogs playing, the price and property tax for the closer houses are too high, we can't afford. Only the further ones meet our criteria, but we have to commute more (I have to drive 6 miles more and my husband does 15 miles more), and we're still thinking, is it worth?

[fallingwater]

I can't really say which one because for me it just depends on the house. My current home is the newest house I have ever lived in. It was built in 1994. My previous homes ranged in ages from the 1920's to 1950. I love older homes with character and have renovated each but my husband and I got to the point where we didn't want any major projects. We were tired of ripping out plumbing, updating electrical and so forth. We wanted newer and we went that route with this last home purchase. I have added character to the home very little is left from the builder grade selection. The one thing I do really enjoy is our heating bills are very low compared to the other houses we owned and this place is almost twice the size.