Johnnysan said:Truer words were never spoken. My wife and I purchased our first home in 1994 - a Victorian built in 1886. We're still there, but can't wait to move. You simply can't stop the ravages of time and there is always something that needs to be repaired or replaced. If you want a crash course in home maintenance or the law of diminishing returns, then definitely buy an older home. :eusa_doh:
+1
I am not rich, and I am NOT a handyman, and neither is my wife. Our first was an 1890 Victorian. It was in great shape, but still needed work...
Houses will ALWAYS need something, and with the old houses, nothing new that you buy fits right: nothing is level, square, etc, so you're always eyeballing and hoping to get it right....
and it's never ONE job...
It's always "Well, I needed to change the lighting fixture, so I had to first install a new up-to-code electric box." Or "I needed to paint the porch, so I first had to strip 5-6 layers of lead paint off and replace old putty or dry rot..." Old houses like that always have lead paint and asbestos. I thought of that one day as I was stripping paint using a heat gun on a 90 degree day...."hmmm, wondering how much lead it takes to go mad"
Then a lot of the houses in the neighborhood were split up into rentals because nobody can afford to heat a 3000 sq. foot Victorian with bad insulation...
Well, we sold the Victorian and moved into a BORING, late 80s split level that has everything that we want but character.
I love it, but my wife aches for an old house. And now the garage door needs to be replaced, and even though the opener works it will need to be replaced with a new one that's up-to-code....
it NEVER ends...
BUT,
it's easier to find fixtures and replace things with a newer house.
YMMV