Old house or new house... which to buy...

Yeah, what Bora said. Some older houses have been updated but most have not. Limited number of electrical outlets, wattage restrictions, less closet and storage space, old plumbing, one bathroom - all of that can become very tedious after the 'newness' wears off. Give me new, comfortable and low maintenance living quarters.

A thought, Lincoln has a lot of variety for housing. Why not check with a realtor to see if they can find an older house that has been modernized. Best of both worlds, maybe?

 

I suppose it depends on how handy you are and how much you are willing to put into maintenance. The house I just sold was a small semi-detached built in the late 1800s. It had additions, new insulation and windows and most of the lathe and plaster had been replaced with drywall.

In the time I lived there, I was able to renovate the kitchen and do a bunch of improvements.

I could have purchased a newer house but it would have required moving to a part of town where new houses exist (i.e. the Suburbs or ex-urbs). In the end, it wasn't about the house itself, it was about living downtown that matter more to me. This meant I lived in a smaller home, that needed maintenance... but it was worth it. It might not for others.

 

Does any home improvement project not turn into that?

My rule of thumb for any DIY plumbing project; start it early in the day.

 

I love modern living spaces. I'm not a fan of houses/villas; and unless my fiancée makes me do otherwise, I will very likely live in apartments my entire life.

That I live in a house here in Afghanistan has three reasons: A) lack of quality apartments, B) this house is built with German construction-engineering standards and looks modern-ish, and C) huge security issues.

I'm a modern minimalist. I like black/steel furniture, white walls and very sleek interior design. I never had pictures on my walls. Never more than was necessary for the comfortable life of a single male, with enough extras to accommodate 4 others in the living room, when required.

My fiancée's going to fuck my living space. At least I'll have my car, and she better keep her girly hands off it!

 

I've lived in old and in new. My parents' home is about to turn 100, and they've lived there for 35 years - and are the third owners. That's either really good or really bad. My grandmother's house was built in 1918, and she was the second owner. The problem was that once she got to be about 80, maintenance stopped. She moved out when she was 95. When we sold it, we had to lower the price to account for the asbestos and lead abatement.

If an older house has been well-cared for, you have to continue to do so to maintain your investment. If it hasn't, sometimes tearing it down and starting over is the best option.

I live in a new house. It has hardwood floors on 2 levels and carpet in the basement. It has high ceilings - our bedroom tops out at 22'. On the first floor, the ceilings are 10'. We have tall windows, woodwork and working fireplaces. It was also expensive.

If you two - both of you - are handy, then an older house might make sense. If you're not, then go with something that's going to require less maintenance. That said, you should first agree on a few neighborhoods where you both want to live. If you want to be able to walk to the store, but the nearest one is 6 miles away, that might be a deal killer regardless of the house.

 

Your bedroom has 22' high ceiling? Tell me you got a whale skeleton hanging off of it.

 

Nope. Ceiling fan. Changing light bulbs are a bitch, and when we got it repainted, the height cost us extra. The problem is that in the summer, the windows grab the afternoon light and the hot air gets trapped up there. It's not a great design, but it looks neat.

 

Hopefully you can find something with modern construction that still matches your tastes.
Not everything new is a ranch with wall to wall.
I remember looking at some beautiful old homes (1800's) when we were house shopping. One in particular I fell in love with. My wife was strongly against it and she was right.
We bought a modern home. Wooden floors downstairs, high ceilings, lots of windows.
You know what? With a young family and a job it is all I can do to keep up with maintaining this place. I don't know how I could be maintaining an older home right now. There just isn't the time and energy.

 

All pretty good advice, so far. You might want to watch a few episodes of "This Old House" and see what people go through, and how much money it takes to update older houses. Admittedly most of these people are mostly in expensive houses to start with...

 

Ah. Well, my old apartment in Dubai had 15' ceilings in all the rooms, but only a bunch of lights hanging off it, because it had central A/C.

I remember how much I liked the high ceiling.

In this house I have 9-10' ceilings and I miss it when they were high.

I assume your bedroom's ceiling equals the roof of the house. In that case, consider getting a glass ceiling installed right on top of it. If you have good weather where you live, you'll love it.

 

It's easier, and MUCH cheaper, to change paint and decor than it is to retrofit an older home.

That aside, my house is 10 years old, and every day I find something wrong with it that is truly baffling. New homes are far from perfect in terms of craftsmanship and being worry-free. Lazy builders and cookie cutter build plans are largely to blame.

 

I understand it would be expensive. My going assumption was that money is no too much of an issue when you have 22' ceilings.

 

Remixer, I'm having a hard time imagining the climate where a glass roof for a home wouldn't be a heating/cooling nightmare. A skylight is one thing, but I don't think that's what you mean.

 

My home was built in 1977 and purchased in 1999. One hell of a lot of things have a 20 year life span and I got to replace them all.

That's the bad news, the good news is that I got to do things my way. I upgraded windows, roof, septic, kitchen(everything), and floors. I also installed a wood burning stove insert into the fireplace. In every case, I put in much nicer stuff than someone looking to turn a profit would have used.

My home is one of the first built in this area. I have the best view and arguably, the nicest lot. As an investment, my choices were so so. Since I intend to live here forever, I have exactly what I want.

 

@the jazz

Actually, Skylights are what I meant. Obviously I don't know how you cool/heat your house and even what type of cooling/heating you prefer, but a full glass roof should be more than manageable with central A/C.

 

Do you know what a full glass roof is used for? Greenhouses. And those aren't known for 1) their durability, 2) their usefulness in the summer or 3) their warmth at night during the winter. Typically they're heated at night - glass is a poor insulator compared to a standard roof.