Dreaming of a NEW home

[SSDonut]

Lately, I have been dreaming of having a new house--as in new construction.

I have always lived in "old" houses. Grew up in a late 1800s brick and plaster house, owned a real fixer-upper, now live in a mostly nice 1940s rancher. I remember not even considering new construction when DH and I were looking for a house 7 years ago, because I always saw myself in an older house "with character."

Now I'm getting fed up with something always needing attention--it's that never getting ahead thing--and I'm fantasizing about owning a new house. I very recently made a comment about not ever doing the "house poor" thing as I'd rather spend the money on WDW, other vacation etc., but I'm really getting tired of all the work that always needs to be done. . .

Any thoughts? If you've bought new construction (or a resale <5 years old, say), do you LIke it? Love it? Find it no different? Wish you'd found a cheaper alternative?

Tell me what you think--I can take it!

Thanks!

(Yes, I've just returned from WDW and needed to find something else to occupy my mind! )

 

[palmtreegirl]

Our first house was around 70 years old and we vowed we'd never own an older house again.

So we built our "dream home" in PA, it was beautiful but looking back I honestly preferred the older home. The older house just had so much character, things were just built better back then. I thought with a new house we'd have no problems, no worries-wrong! We had just as many things to do, they were just different things.

They were both equally expensive. Sure the old house required remoldling and updating but I ended up wanting to do the same stuff to the new one. Unless I could afford to build and design a true custom home (where you pick out everything yourself) I'd never build another home. But that's just me.

Good luck!

 

[stinkerbelle]

I totally agree with Palmtreegirl...we've lived in 2 new construction homes (the second one we had built)...omg...yes, it's what we wanted...but you have "new house" issues. And older homes just feel, I dunno, homier. Yes, we have the open floor plan everyone wants these days, high ceilings, white walls (ick), lots of hard wood...I go to my mom's house (built in the 70's) and it just feels like home.

to each their own...but going either way is goign to have it's pros/cons.

 

[icebrat001]

No suggestions or advice but we are dreaming if a house too! Of course, a shack cost $700,000 and a small little fixer upper would probably cost us a mil and we can't afford that. I know that new contruction is our area is very expensive. I'm sure a new build would be great, more so if you could customize a few things, if you can afford it, I say go for it.

 

[bananiem]

We've custom built our 3 houses. We have had great luck with our builders but we're here to stay now and I'm glad I do'nt have to pick anything out for awhile! I love old houses with character but neither dh or I know how to fix anything. It's nice to not have to worry about the electrical, plumbing, rotting floor boards,etc. The character I like of old homes is the style of houses and the woodwork (like built in china cabinets). If you custom build you can still get those things.

 

[SpecialK]

We've custom built our 3 houses. We have had great luck with our builders but we're here to stay now and I'm glad I do'nt have to pick anything out for awhile! I love old houses with character but neither dh or I know how to fix anything. It's nice to not have to worry about the electrical, plumbing, rotting floor boards,etc. The character I like of old homes is the style of houses and the woodwork (like built in china cabinets). If you custom build you can still get those things.

Totally agree. I've lived in old and new and I much prefer new. You still have work to do with the house, but it's maintenance rather than constantly fixing something.

 

[Chicago526]

The grass is always greener! I grew up in new construction and always wanted to live in an OLD home!

Got my wish, our "new" house that we bought in August was built in 1947. In all the houses I've ever lived in, this has got to be the most SOLID house I've ever known! Who ever built it knew how to build a house, let me tell you! We've had a lot of wind storms the past 6 weeks (unusual for our area) and where in the new(er) homes I'd lived in, you'd feel the house vibrate, in our house it felt like the wind could blow 2x harder and it still wouldn't budge. And maybe it's just because it's so old that it's settled as much as it ever will, but I've never lived in such a quiet house, either. Late at night when I'm trying to fall asleep, the house makes no noises! The one I grew up in was always poping and making noise!

It's also so old that a lot of stuff has already been replaced. We will have to replace the furnace and A/C in the next year or two, but otherwise we shouldn't have any other major things to replace. All the house needs is updating (I think the last time the previous owners decorated, Nixon was in office!).

 

[SamRoc]

I always wanted a new home too. The one I'm in now in NYC is 65 years old. Funny thing is though we are building one in Orlando, a beautiful 7 bedroom pool home except we won't get to use it! It will just be an investment and renters will have all the fun in the new home. Well it was fun picking out colors, cabinets and tile, someday I hope I can do that for myself!

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

We are smack dab in the middle of building a new house. It has been a freakin' nightmare. We are general contracting it ourselves, which saves quite a bit of money, but it has been really, really stressful.
I will let you know if it was worth all the trouble when we actually move into our new house!

 

[Rozzie]

We moved into a new construction this past Dec. and our first home was 40 years old. Don't get me wrong, I love the newness, but I miss the character of the old home. We live in one of those every house looks the same kindof, a neighborhood that I swore I would never want to be a part of. (funny how a great price can change your mind, and we are floored about the recent price hike...bought just in time...)

We like the neighborhood, met some nice people, and like the open floor plan. Our house is much bigger, and more space, closets, etc, which is nice, but our heart sometimes ache for a rancher with the cozy feel. We actually spend most of our time in our office, very cozy in there. The living room and the big ceilings is nice for a big group, but we rarely sit in there.

A new home is also stressful to me, as you have to do everything, landscaping, garage cabinets, etc, little things I never thought about before. If we move again, we will most likely go back to a rancher with some character, and a neighborhood where every house has it's own look.

 

[ReggieB]

I grew up in a 13th century pub in England. I now live in a new house in USA, it's 5 years old. I think I have more problems with the new house than I ever remember in my Dad's pub!! Dad set fire to the chimney one year (he was good at that, he did that the day of my christening too) We had to replace the thatch on the barn. We also had some renovation work to re-expose the beams and the floors, but that probably could come under general maintenance. They sure don't make them to last nowadays!!! Actually the main problems we have had is with the air conditioning, not something that you get in any house in England, let alone old ones. I guess that's not really a construction issue...though our roof does leak, we have a damp patch on our bedroo ceiling, because one of the vents on the roof lets in water sometimes. I've given up on all the nail pops, that are still happening 5 years down the line. Our basement stairs came away from the wall...so they just filled it with filler stuff, which wasn't quite the result I was looking for! Oohh and most of the downstairs windows either stuck or wouldn't hold open.

Saying that I do secretly dream of buying one of those huge new houses, and having it done exactly (hear me DH exactly..) how I (me, me, me) want. Can't see me finding a nice 13th century pub in Maryland somehow. Unfortunately!!

 

[chrissyk]

I hear you! I'd love new construction too...it won't happen here, though. The town is all built-out Fixer-uppers are a never-ending project, aren't they?

 

[we3disneygo]

we used to live in a old house with beautiful lead glass doors to built in bookcases, wonderful woodworking, french doors,sunroom on front of house. but the neighborhood was going bad. we now live in a ranch which we have had no problems it's smaller and we all miss our big old house! we have been making our new house "ours" we have put in all new hardwood flooring. I don't really want a new house, just a extra bathroom!!

 

[ducklite]

We built true custom, every last detail down to the drawer pulls were chosen by us. The process was a bit stressful--just toomany darned decisions! It was worth it, we have a brand new, solidly built, wonderful home. Yes, there's always something needing to be done, but instead of it needing to be done to keep the place from falling down, it's little touches and extras.

It's definitely more comfortable and a lot less work than our not-so-well built 15 year old house we owned before this one!

Our energy bills are lower because it's better insulated and we added some energy saving upgrades when we built--that in itself is food for thought.

Anne

 

[Christine]

My house was "new construction" when I moved in 11 years ago. Yes, for the first few years, it is great. After that, you get the same thing. I'm "into" my house now by 11 years and I feel like everything needs to be redone. My cooktop is failing, I have had to get new countertops, the windows need replacing as that weren't that good in the first place, and I could go on and on.

So while you will get the "coasting" period for a few years--it doesn't last. The best thing to do is look for a home that is several years old where SOMEONE ELSE has made it their mission to do everything good to it. They call those "cream puffs" in the real estate market.

And my mother's philosophy on new construction is that "from the day you move in, it's only downhill from there."

 

[Kay7979]

There are certainly advantages to both old and new, so I think which is better depends on the exact old house, or new house, in question! Our current home was built in the 1860s, with a rear wing built in the later 1800s. The rear part of the house was more cheaply built. Things were crooked. Plaster was not great and we ended up gutting the back portion of the house. Yes, the home has character, but not all of that character was good!!! We decided we would like a non-crooked, energy efficient house, with features that would be nearly impossible to add to an old house, such as a walk-out basement. Sooooo, we decided to build. Four years later, we are almost done and will move into the new house. DH has done much of the work himself, so that's why it has taken four years. Doing a lot of the construction is not possible for most people, but I do recommend having a custom home builder so that you have more imput over design, materials, and quality of workmanship.

We built this house to be the quality of an old home, but with new home features. We have a big front covered porch with mahogony decking and a bead-board ceiling with crown molding, all cedar siding, and brick porch pillars and chimney. The greatroom has wide board oak floors, and a 17' cut limestone wood-burning fireplace that DH built himself. We have wide moldings, oak downstairs and painted wood upstairs. The upstairs has natural pine tongue and groove floors, no carpet. The kitchen has pine tongue and groove ceiling (formed by the pine floor on the second floor) and big pine beams. We have hand painted sinks and custom vanity tops. The basement is walk-out and has three sets of french doors across the back so that its always light and bright. Everything is custom.

The good news is that we have saved a lot of money while having complete control over every aspect of the building process. About 70% of the materials in the house were purchased at auctions such as building material auctions, eBay, cull lumber from 84 Lumber, and a lumber yard that went out of business. Items were cheaper but much nicer than we would ever have bought through a conventional builder. The bad news is that this took way, way, too long and we have had the expense of two houses for four years, so that has negated much of the savings. It wouldn't have taken so long if not for the fireplace which was a monumental project, and if we had not opted for "real" everything. It takes so much less time to apply vinyl siding than cut, fit and stain cedar boards. Prefinished flooring or carpet and masonite doors goes a lot faster than natural wood floors and doors that have to be sanded and stained and varnished. We also built a large two story wood garage/barn with a basement under half, so that diverted time from the house construction. Ask me in a couple weeks once we're moved in if it was all worth the wait. I do hope the answer will be yes! One other benefit to a new house is that you can choose the location. We were lucky to find 15 acres with 9 acres of woods and trails, just off a golf course, a few miles out of town. I love this setting and would have been tempted to live in a shack if that was all we could afford.

Again, the choice between old and new is complex and the answer will be different for each family, but we feel that building an energy efficient new house with all the specific features and floor plan that we wanted was the right choice for us.

 

[golfgal]

I really go back and forth on this decision. If we end up moving for DH's job I sort of want to build new mainly because we just put a ton of work into fixing up our house, mainly cosmetic, stripping wallpaper, new paint, replaced some toilets, etc. Nothing real major but a LOT of time. I just don't' know if I want to do that again. I grew up in a house that was built in 1860's and always wanted another house like that. The second house DH and I owned was built in 1920, a true Craftsman house, and I LOVED that house. I would probably build "that" house if we did. Our current house is built like a rock. It is so solid, so homey feeling. There are some things I would like to change but for the most part it is a "perfect" house for us.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have custom built 3 houses too. We lived in the first one for only 7 years, and the second one for 25 years. Now we are in our dream home, and I must say, you do NOT have to sacrifice character for new. All of our new houses were built to be unique and had lots of character. One was very A fram rustic modern, one was English Tudor character with window seats, turrets, and bay windows. Now our newest house has the most character of all. No need to think you sacrifice character just because it's new construction.