[Soup Nazi]

Beautiful house, CatwomanofV! Lots of charm and character.

[joe moving]

cool house - it reminds me of the houses I see on the main street in Brandon, VT.

[URob]

To be fair, although an open floor plan is not for me (I prefer some definition and boundaries, including that guests in the dining room not see all the dishes in the kitchen, etc.), the newer homes are all built to much more exacting energy efficiency and insulation standards, including double-paned windows, real insulation in the walls and as barrier in roof between 2nd floor and attic space (at least R30 and up), insulation along the basement walls, etc. While the old-fashioned homes can often have more charm and the smaller rooms served an important heating conservation purpose based on the standards of building construction at the time, be it the 1800s or early 1900s, a modern open space floor plan is really not a serious energy penalty nor will be as drafty and cold as suggested. I also prefer hot water radiator heat, as is more common in older houses, as compared with forced hot air. But forced hot air does allow for easy addition of air conditioning (not really necessary in Vermont but could be nice about 3-4 weeks during the most humid parts of summer).

Shelburne is a nice town, excellent public schools, true village center and community feeling, easy commute to Burlington but not as much amorphous McBurbia or "condo canyons" as South Burlington. We have friends in Shelburne who like it. As others have said and as you've noticed, it is not exactly the cheapest spot in Chittenden County. Like another said, maybe you could buy land in Shelburne and then build what you want, floor plan style you like? Speculative builders have to build to what they perceive as the broadest market appeal but with land, you can then make the choices you want that matter most to you and sacrifice other things that are not as necessary in order to meet your budget.

Be forewarned, unlike states of Washington and Texas where you previously lived, Vermont does have an income tax, as well as sales tax (6%) and property taxes. You might want to talk to a realtor or even call Shelburne town offices to get a better handle on estimated property taxes for a house in your range.

[Sporin]

That HGTV-everything-stainless-huge-open-spaces thing is far less prevalent in New England where homes tend to be 50, 80, 100 years old. That's a relatively recent construct that has a strong keep-up-with-the-Jones's feel to many folks.

Up here houses were built to be easy to heat, and even to be able to close off some rooms in the winter. Houses were built strong, we value "good bones" up here far moreso than perfect drywall and magazine-spread design. Towns and neighborhoods are OLD, so you don't see that cookie-cutter style of manufactured suburb.

It has it's negatives to be sure, but if you are interested in settling in rural New England you will have to adjust your tastes to the kinds of homes that are available here, which will be different than what you are used to.

[tkln]

We looked at a lot of homes when we were searching...ran the gamut from 100+ year old to practically brand new...in the end, the house we bought was built in 2000. It was built by an older couple to retire in, so mostly one level living, open lr/kitchen/dr, however it is built very well and insulated like crazy, with very thick walls. Also radiant heat. Which I am now spoiled by, and can never go back to any other kind of heating system lol.

It's not a cookie cutter builder home but it does lack some of the charm of the older homes we looked at, and the charm I had wanted. There are trade offs in everything though.

[Gemini1963]

Originally Posted by tkln

We looked at a lot of homes when we were searching...ran the gamut from 100+ year old to practically brand new...in the end, the house we bought was built in 2000. It was built by an older couple to retire in, so mostly one level living, open lr/kitchen/dr, however it is built very well and insulated like crazy, with very thick walls. Also radiant heat. Which I am now spoiled by, and can never go back to any other kind of heating system lol.

It's not a cookie cutter builder home but it does lack some of the charm of the older homes we looked at, and the charm I had wanted. There are trade offs in everything though.

I expect this to be our story, as well. I just love the older style homes and to my eye, they're by far the more attractive. But after living for about nine years in a REALLY well-built ranch-style house in Texas, I gradually came to appreciate all the benefits of well-thought-out (and well-executed) single-story living, especially if you think it might be your retirement house.

Also, I totally enjoyed radiant heat in a house I lived in for a while in Germany. Yum.

[ansible90]

Another thing to keep in mind... at this time of year, there are very few houses on the market. A lot of what you see are homes that didn't sell last spring and summer. There will be a better selection in a few months. Also, realtors know about homes before they go on the market -- some of the best ones never make it onto realtor.com.

[CatwomanofV]

Originally Posted by ansible90

Another thing to keep in mind... at this time of year, there are very few houses on the market. A lot of what you see are homes that didn't sell last spring and summer. There will be a better selection in a few months. Also, realtors know about homes before they go on the market -- some of the best ones never make it onto realtor.com.

But, the ones that didn't sell last spring & summer are likely to have been lowed in price. It is still a buyers market out there. We tried to sell our other house and had it on the market for about a year. We went as low as we could with the price without giving it away and then decided to take it off the market and rent it out. We didn't want to be landlords (been there, done that and have the horror stories to go with it) but we felt that was our best option at this point. We will put it back on the market when the market improves.



Cat

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by vter

That is because our housing stock is much much older. This is New England after all. You can find more modern/open concept in the new construction that has been going up. I much prefer older homes..love the quirks and much more charming and cozy.

It's part that and part that much of New England has seen either no population growth or outright population contraction. Chittenden County is at least seeing some population growth. 115,500 in 1980; 132,000 in 1990; 145,500 in 2000; 156,500 in 2010. Compared to sun belt states, that is anemic population growth but it's above average by New England standards.

There's quite a bit of newer or remodeled housing in Chittenden County but it's not on the market. If you're singling out Shelburne, it has seen very little population growth in the last 30 years so you're not going to find a heck of a lot of newer homes.

[Sporin]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

It's part that and part that much of New England has seen either no population growth or outright population contraction. Chittenden County is at least seeing some population growth. 115,500 in 1980; 132,000 in 1990; 145,500 in 2000; 156,500 in 2010. Compared to sun belt states, that is anemic population growth but it's above average by New England standards.

There's quite a bit of newer or remodeled housing in Chittenden County but it's not on the market. If you're singling out Shelburne, it has seen very little population growth in the last 30 years so you're not going to find a heck of a lot of newer homes.

Very good point, I hadn't thought of that angle. We don't have a need for a lot of new construction because there's not great influx of new people.